Stories I read recently...

In the November issue of Motherhood magazine, there was an article,"He wont stop blaming me for our Baby's Death!". As I was reading it, my heart felt so saddened by how the mother feels.

This article talks about how the couple has been married for almost 7 years and it was a fairy-tale like marriage-very joyous and had a baby girl, named Natasha. However, things took a turn for the worst one day when after putting the daughter to sleep in the crib, the next morning, she woke up to find that Natasha had ceased breathing. She was blue and non-responsive. She tried CPR on the daughter, called ambulance and rushed to the hospital. But to no success. Natasha was pronounced dead. And she was only 13 weeks old.

Of course, the parents were devastated and the mother went into depression. She had dreamt of Natasha for 3 years, carried her in the womb for 9 months and now she was dead. Natasha had even recently passed her 3-month check with the GP with flying colours. "If only I had known that they were to be her last smiles and hugs, I would have given extra kisses." (quote from the mother in the article)

What made the situation worse was that the couple did not support each other but the husband turned abusive and became an alcoholic. Before Natasha died, the couple were best friends, really loved each other, shared intimate secrets etc etc but after Natasha died, everything changed. He now takes every opportunity to batter the wife with his words, blaming her for causing the death of their daughter.

As I read this article, my heart pounded as I realised how real it can be. Natasha was just 3 weeks younger than Caleb when she died. I was just thinking-how would I cope with this if it happened to Caleb. Will I be able to take it? The more I think of it, the more I feel I have to appreciate every second with him and not take things for granted.



SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is commonly known as crib death as babies die in their sleep. Babies in the first year of life (usu between 2-4 months of life) may die suddenly without any known cause.

Another article I read recently is an article in today's Straits Times.It talks about how an eight month old baby was choked to death as the maid was feeding him. The maid has not worked since as the incident had been 'tramatic' for her. She also mentioned in the article that she does not want to take care of young children anymore.

As I reflect upon this article, I relate to how I trust Vicky to take care of Caleb in the day when I go to work...and how I know many friends and relatives have some kind of doubt in their mind when I tell them I leave Caleb and Vicky at home in the day time when I work. They will always ask," Huh? Safe or not? You can trust ah? Why dont you leave it at your parent's place?" blah blah blah..and they will go on and on, telling me how I should worry and not leave the maid and child alone in the house.

My thoughts?

Well, I just want to tell them that to a certain degree, yes, I trust the maid to take care of Caleb as I have observed her already. And she takes more safety precautions than CT and I have. She is more meticulous and safe. But to a larger degree, I place my trust more on God. The One who brought Caleb into this world, the One who created Caleb from my womb, the One who allows everything to happen for a divine purpose and reason. I have learnt to face that if it really comes to a point that Caleb one day leaves CT and I, of course, I will be sadden. But ultimately, I know that God has a purpose. With His infinite wisdom and knowledge, who am I, a mere sinful being with finite wisdom, to question Him?

Here is one of my favourite song sung by Michael English which talks about where we should place our trust as people fails us but not God. I very much love to share with all of you!

In Christ alone will I glory
Though I could pride myself
In battles won
For I've been blessed beyond measure
And by His strength alone, I overcome
Oh, I could stop and count successes
Like diamonds in my hands
But these trophies could not equal
To the grace, by which I stand

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory
In the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone

In Christ alone will I glory
For only by His grace
I am redeemed
And only His tender mercy
Could reach beyond my weakness
To my need
Now I seek no greater honor
Than just to know Him more
And to count my gains but losses
And to the glory of my Lord

In Christ alone
I place my trust
And find my glory
In the power of the cross
In every victory
Let it be said of me
My source of strength
My source of hope
Is Christ alone