'I no longer panic like I did before': Sheila Sim explains why mums appear like they 'don't care' about their second child

In the face of emergency and adversity, Sheila Sim has come out a better mother.

Sheila shared in an Instagram post this morning (April 20) that an incident with her second daughter Skyla has made her more confident in her abilities as a mother and cleared doubts about her feelings towards her younger child, who was born in February this year.

"I used to worry that as a second-time mum, I'm not as nervous about her as I was with Layla, and that inevitably became some kind of guilt," the 38-year-old actress wrote.

"Sometimes, deep inside, I secretly ask myself, 'Do I not care and love her like I did with my first-born?"

Her older daughter Layla is aged two.

At 4.30am today, however, Sheila discovered that her doubts were unfounded.

"I was woken up by Skyla's fussing and periodic crying," Sheila wrote. "A cry that didn't sound like a hunger cry. So I carried her, expecting to burp her. 

"But when I did, she wiggled so hard, and her eyes opened up so big, like she was scared! At that moment, I realised that she was having breathing difficulties."

She then woke her husband Deon Woo up and brought a towel and Sterimar (nasal spray to relieve congestion) to Skyla, flushing any blockages out of her nose.

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She commented: "It's a process I hate watching, and even more so when I have to be the one doing it."

While Skyla was "crying, choking and coughing" intensely, mucus was ejected from her nose and mouth.

Throughout this situation, Skyla continued to wail, likely due to the discomfort that the nasal wash caused her.

"It was painful as hell to hear and watch her cry like that," Sheila added.

Once the crisis was over, Sheila comforted and breastfed Skyla "as long as she wanted". 

She then told Woo that if this had happened with Layla, they'd likely be in an A&E department seeking medical help.

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"And I might end up getting depression because I'd feel like I made her 'suffer'," she said.

Reflecting on the incident in her Instagram post, she shared: "I learnt that it's not that I don't care or love Skyla enough. I no longer panic like I did before because I am now stronger and more confident as a mum. 

"That also means that I am better at putting my fears and emotions aside to do — and to be — what's best for my children."

She added, addressing fellow second-time mums out there: "If you're feeling the same way as I did, know that you're not alone. We are so strong. We just don't know it yet!"

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khooyihang@asiaone.com

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