Hopenfaith,
Yes, gassiness is also a phase that bb will outgrow and with ur wise selective diet, sure will improve one
Pink destiny,
Huggzz..can understand how u feel as I have been through that overwhelmed phase between 1st to 3rd mth after bb arrived. During initial months, bb had acid reflux and sensitive startling which made it tough to go out as must prepare for merlion episode anytime. Similar to u, I did not go out and did not receive any visitors as spend a lot of time feeding and patting baby to sleep with little success. The nearest we ventured to was to my heartland shopping area and even that was rare. I was also looking after bb solo 5 days a week till 4th month when I went back to work. Hb helped me on the weekends but bb only wanted me to carry n not daddy. So like u, I was chained to baby, had to hurry up even when need to go toilet, lunch was a 3 min affair everyday when I had to gobbled down the food before bb cries from startling again.
During those months, I followed the Oct MTD 2010 thread to learn things from the ladies there alto I did not participate. And just by reading, u know many moms have lots of help n some travel with their babies with relative ease. Then, I disallowed myself from camparing as everyone have diff circumstances and every baby is diff. If u ask me if I had enjoyed motherhood then, answer is that I switched gear from focusing on enjoying motherhood with the much publicised image of a sexy mom carrying a well-groomed bb in her arms and both mom n bb grinning at the photographer (found on all parenthood/baby mags) to enjoying motherhood simply as long as my happy reflux baby puts on weight despite the fact that for those months, I looked like a piece of rag n zombified everyday So a change of expectations there.
I did not follow ur story as only started rereading this thread but from the fact that you feel very responsible toward ur baby, I am sure you can find your source of joy somewhere and pls be proud of yourself so much so that you can enjoy motherhood with the pride in u. The fact that u dislike going out and find friends depriving u of time that u can spend on taking care of ur baby tells a lot about what kind of mother u are and that is a fact good enough for u to enjoy motherhood. Pls be proud of urself
I know someone personally who feels very sian with the baby that she can go overseas with her friends during her confinement and left bb to grandmother. From what I can see, she has enjoyed motherhood in her own way which I am not in a position to judge but as a personal choice, that is not how we choose to enjoy motherhood.
Regarding leaving ur bb to ur maid and MIL and that she might be alienated with u later, pls do not worry a single bit! I said earlier that my bb only wanted me and not her daddy since I have been the primary caregiver. Now her daddy is her favourite playmate despite not being the caregiver. I believe the change is because as babies grows older, they will come to know that this person must be someone important as he is always seen in the house. So as long as u ensure every in the evening after work, u be seen around, or do something for her such as wipedown, ur bb will still acknowledge u as a very important person in the house. And don't forget, ur baby will always remember the heartbeat she/he has been hearing for 9 months, the heartbeat that can calm him/her down more than any other things - your heartbeat.
One last thing, what many would think as a old wife's myth is actually true. That is many times, once a baby reaches 3/4 months (that kind of coincides with being able to support his/her own head), all the fun will set in. Babies then startle less, cry less, and start to show their jovial side as they feel more in-charge, being able to look at this world from an upright prespective. That is what happened for my gal. And believe me, as u return to work, u can get to enjoy motherhood in a different way, u will get to buy nice clothes for ur bb during lunch, get to buy make up for yourself and enjoy motherhood like those mag covers. U will get there one..Sorry for the long story as I feel ur concerns that I went through a few months ago. Jia you, u are a great mom