Not perfect but good enough

On the way to work today, I was listening to Glenn Ong and the Flying Dutchman on Class 95. They were talking about the boy who was born with two heads that died. They also commented about how we should be thankful for what we have, worries and all...

Then, at work, I received an email from a colleague about a blind boy. The message, be thankful for what we have. 2 messages of the same nature...someone must be telling me something...

It got me thinking. I do have problems, everyone does but it's how we handle it and the severity of the problem. When I look at it, my life is not bad at all. It's not perfect. In fact, I don't think there is a PERFECT life.

I have a loving husband, beautiful daughter, healthy pregnancy, supportive family. I am stable financially, although there are shortages (at times, hehe), but we still manage to eat a full meal everyday. I can afford a car, a nice house....alhamdulillah...life has been easy for me.

Especially after the learning journey to Bukit Candu yesterday, it really made me feel so lucky to be alive in this decade, in this country. Despite all the complaints, I realised that I might not have it this good elsewhere in the world. Sudddenly, I am glad to be a Singaporean. A bit too late, I know, since National Day was weeks ago, but hey, better late than never.

Darling's birthday

My darling husband celebrated his 29th birthday on the 21st of August. I have already decided to buy for him an Arsenal jersey. So, after school, I went to Sportslink and looked at the jerseys. I don't really want to buy for him the new home jersey. He already has last season's home and the only difference is the sleeve so I thought of buying for him the away jersey. Now, the last season's away is white with maroon collar. The latest away jersey is orangy-yellow. Last season's away is more appealing in terms of looks but the orangy-yellow one is just launched this month. Should I buy the nicer one or the newer one?

I spent like 10 minutes just looking at the 2 jerseys. The salesperson must be thinking this pregnant women is so fickle. She keep coming up to me and say, "Can I help you?", "This is the latest", "Shall I get the size for you?". I couldn't make up my mind. In the end, I bought the latest season's jersey!

By the way, found a splendid website that allows you to watch TV from your computer....movies and can even watch football if you don't subscribe to the sports channel....

Anyway, I digress...After that, I picked Mia up from my mum's and headed home to bake some brownies. I didn't bake a cake because both of us are not exactly cake eaters...but brownies, yum yum! Mia loves it too...

After the brownie is baked and the present is wrapped, I hid the brownie in the oven and the present in the shelves. When my baby gets home at around 8.30pm, I just pretended that nothing is happening. We talked for a while, he played with Mia then he went to bath. While he is in the shower, I switched off all the lights. Took the brownie and placed a candle on it. Placed the present on the table and prepared Mia by the table. I had to keep her hands off the brownie, of course! And as soon as he comes out of the showers, we started singing Happy Birthday...hehe, so that was the celebration.....

To take medication or not to take

Well, the flu that I got on Friday did not subside. In fact, it got worse. And as usual, the flu resulted in a blocked nose and very bad cough. To make matters worse, every time I cough, my stomach hurts, especially the lower abdomen. So, I had to go to the doctor to get some medication and therefore am on MC since yesterday. I kind of lost my voice and every time I tried to speak, I would cough uncontrollably. Luckily today, I felt much better. Although my stomach still hurts when I cough, the number of coughs has decreased much.

I do feel very guilty when I take the medication. Would it affect my growing baby some how? What are the risks? How do I know what is going on in my pregnant body?

I feel groggy after taking the medication, would my baby be groggy too? Of course at times like this, I have to think of the risks. Which is more risky? To deprive my baby of oxygen because of my blocked nose and to cause undue stress from my coughing OR to take the medication? I choose to take the medication so that whatever virus that I am having would stop attacking me or my baby. The risk of NOT taking the medication outweigh the risk of actually taking the medication.

My darling is on reservist for these 2 weeks and he will be on shift. Well, I have gotten used to it actually. When he first started going for night shift, it was kind of hard not to be with him at night. It felt different not to have another body in the bed next to you. You just have to get use to these things, I guess...at least he is not away for 2 or more consecutive nights...

Wear your baby!

I have always been an advocate of babywearing. I have been wearing Mia since she was only 2 months old and I love it. I recommend it to everyone. Especially now with the forum buzzing with people talking about strollers being a nuisance especially in shopping centres or crowded bazaar.

About 90% of the time, I wear Mia when we go out. The stroller is very seldom out of the bonnet of the car. It's easy and quick. I can shop, eat, carry bags with two hands...I just love it. I love the feeling of having her near me. She can sleep peacefully in it. At times, even when I am at home doing housework, I wear her. These are times when I get to teach her about household chores, hehe. Always start early! I only stopped wearing her after she weigh more that 11kg. After that, I have no energy to carry her for long periods of time. Anyway, by then, she is able to walk by herself.

Back to babywearing. I have experimented with lots of babywearing methods. I first tried the ring sling. Although when she was only 2 months, this is not the position she is in. I feel that the ring sling is great especially if you are breastfeeding. You can use the extra cloth to cover your modesty and should there be a slight drizzle, you can always use it to cover your precious little one's head.



Then I saw the wrap. Now, this is a bit different in that it's basically just a very long cloth. Of course you need a lot of practice wearing this one....I used this one mostly during my holidays...for sightseeing and shopping...in fact, when I was in Australia, I got quite a few eyes on me and some even asked me where I got it....I guess it's something new there. When I was in Bali and Batam or even Malaysia, no one asked or even glance in my direction. Babywearing is not something new in Asia anyway...





The next babywearing equipment I got was a pouch. Now, this is the easiest. I just put it on and pop Mia in. Simply in and out.



I guess different people would prefer different methods...as for me, I choose one according to the type of activity I am going to be involved with...so everyone out there with a baby, go get yourself a babywearing thingy fast...you won't regret it. Aahh, talking about this makes me miss wearing Mia....

HFMD?

Do I have HFMD?

Had quite a scare today. Especially in the wake of the HFMD tragedy of the 3yr old boy who died of HFMD...

I woke up with a mouth ulcer!! Actually, since I came back from school on Wednesday, I saw some red thingy on my hands and my stomach. It was damn itchy. My darling kept asking me to go for checkup but I said no. Wait till later. On Thurs, one of the red thingy on my hands disappeared but the rest are still there and itching. Then on Friday, while waiting for the students, I felt an ulcer in my mouth. I was like, DAMN! To make matters worse, I somehow got the flu and sneezed quite a bit. So, straight away after school, I went to Mak house and waited till to 2pm for the clinic to be opened. Can't sleep, can't eat! Too nervous.

Once my number is up, I went inside and told the Dr Tan about my worries. He inspected my mouth and throat with the torchlight. Finally, after what seems like a few hours (it's only a few minutes, actually), he diagnosed that it is not HFMD...Alhamdulillah....that was such a relief! Well, he said that he is 95% sure that it is not but I am to monitor the ulcer. Should there be more ulcers or any rashes or blisters appear on my hands, I am to go see him immediately. He is quite worried cos I am pregnant and he said that there are no concrete evidence to show that the baby would not be affected...

I just cannot imagine how it would be if I were to have the dreaded HFMD. Can I still hug and carry Mia? Do I need to go to hospital and check on my baby? I must stop this. Just think positive thoughts......

5th Month checkup

Went to Mount Alvernia Hospital today to have my 5th month detailed scan. Appointment at 9.45am. Came and went to see Dr Lee first before the scan. We talked about the blood test that was done last month. Alhamdulillah...he said the tests showed good results. That was great to know. He told us that he would be doing a 3D scan for us that day because he is trying out his new machine. We were excited. So excited that I completely forgot all the questions that I have been waiting to ask him, like can I rebond my hair while pregnant, can I take off-counter cough syrup and flu medication, is my aching normal....sigh...only remembered all these questions while waiting to do the detailed scan.

The 3D scan was amazing. As he was still learning how to use the machine, we got to see quite a bit of our baby. You can even see the baby's facial features and body contours....It would have been clearer if the baby is bigger, as in more that 28 months. I was only 19 months so there was not enough fats on the baby to see much. He said that once the baby has more fats, the image would be clearer. But the sad thing was, he did not give us any printout. He said the machine at his woodlands clinic can also do 3D scans. Again we forgot to ask if additional payment is needed to have the 3D scans.....hope not.

Anyway, after that, we had our detailed scan. The radiologist measured baby and checked for his organs. We saw the kidney, the 4 chambers of the heart, bladder. In fact we saw quite about everything except the genitilia. The gender could not be confirmed yet as the baby is not in a 'conducive' position...

The radiologist kept pressing and pressing my stomach with the scan thingy cos my baby would not stop moving. Baby kept moving and changing positions whenever the scan thingy is pressed onto my stomach. The radiologist kept chuckling and asked me if I can feel the movements. I could feel it but just slightly.

Mia too was super hyper that day. My darling could not contain her as she was squirming and talking and just touching every single thing in that small scanning room. I guess the baby was excited to hear Mia's voice and got her energy too.

Well, that's it. After that we went to makan and went to Jurong. Exciting day!

After very very long hiatus...

I know it's been soooooooo long since my last post. Like 2 years ago!! Anyway, a lot had happened since then. My precious daughter was born on 7th of July 2006. I did went through all the confinement stuff and managed to lose weight quickly but the weight did not stay off for long. I think after about a year or so, I gained weight again. And so the battle continues....

Well, during the past 2 years, we had gone on several holidays and I am proud to say that I went to my holidays with my baby. Australia when my baby was only 5 months, then drive up to KL with Ju, Ain, Ivan and Josephine when she was 10 months. After which, we went to Batam with my family in the same month. At the end of 2007, we went to Bali where I brought my Malay dancers on a school trip. And recently, we went to Mauritius in June. So far, it has been hassle free...well, except for the Mauritius trip. And that is not because of my daughter. I WAS the hassle. You see, I am currently pregnant with my 2nd child. So, during the Mauritius trip, I was only 2 months pregnant and I was having the morning sickness. I got worse there and I was feeling crappy most of the time. Yah, so that's the holiday stories...

Other updates include, my sis got engaged this year and will be getting married at the end of next year. Ju and ain also got engaged this year (FINALLY!) and getting married by mid next year. Ivan also having the Chinese wedding at the end of next year. It's going to be a year of marriages, I guess...Oh ya, Az had her 4th child last month I think. It's a girl.

I think that about sums it up. Hopefully, from now on, I could find the time to update more frequently....