Qi Yuwu feeling strain of being 1st-time dad

Qi Yuwu feeling strain of being 1st-time dad

Barely a week into fatherhood, China-born actor Qi Yuwu is already feeling the strain of being a first-time dad.

The 38-year-old and his actress-wife Joanne Peh, 32, welcomed a healthy 3.2kg baby girl through a natural birth at Mount Elizabeth Hospital at noon last Friday.

Speaking to local media for the first time since becoming a father, Qi, who was by his wife's side throughout her 16-hour labour, witnessed the delivery of his baby girl.

Describing it as a surreal experience, he said: "Some people told me that guys lose their sex drive after seeing the process of their babies being born, but I am not affected by it at all.

"It's so amazing and beautiful. I just stood there, watched the whole thing and didn't move.

"I remember seeing the baby's head first, she has a lot of hair."

Qi was speaking to local media during the filming of Channel 8 blockbuster The Dream Makers 2 at Chijmes yesterday.

He will return to Beijing to take up more acting projects in November after filming here ends.

Qi, who appeared to be in a good mood despite the lack of sleep, said in Mandarin: "I've been sleeping three to four hours daily as the baby cries for milk in the middle of the night."

When asked who the baby resembles more, he said matter-of-factly: "Some say that the baby's mouth looks like mine. But to be honest, I think all newborn babies look the same."

"I went to the babies' room to look at my baby after she was born and I couldn't tell which one was her."

Last Thursday, the day before the birth, Qi said he returned home at night after doing some promotional events at a radio station for his new movie 1965 and took Peh for dinner at a friend's house.

At around 10pm, he took her to hospital after she broke into a cold sweat. Their baby was born the next day at noon.

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Tired

Qi said his wife is healthy and recovering well, but is constantly tired as she is breastfeeding.

To help with her recovery, the doting husband has been brewing soup for Peh during her confinement period.

On being a first-time father, he describes it as "picking up a new subject as there are too many new things to learn from scratch".

But he said that both he and Peh are very calm parents and not the type to panic when their baby wails.

He said: "My daughter is a typical Leo. If she wants something, she cries until she gets it.

"So far, she is quite easy to take care of, but Joanne is the one who does most of the work, so it's very tiring for her."

Even though he has been taking countless photos of his daughter on his mobile phone, Qi declined to share new photos with the media, saying that he has to discuss it with Peh first.

He also declined to reveal the English name he came up with for his daughter, nor the Chinese name Peh gave.

He offered a hint, saying: "The name I gave means pretty, positive and good."


This article was first published on August 13, 2015.
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