Battling Eczema

We are finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel after a two-week battle with Spud’s eczema. And this time, without the use of the Protopic cream or seeing yet another useless Pediatrician.

We decided to do some home-treatment with the use of natural, fragrance-free hypoallergenic creams/ lotions which came recommended by well-meaning friends, acquaintances as well as the holy grail of Google. I think we may have even start a small collection of moisturizers!

So far, neither Vaseline nor Beeswax had worked as Spud’s condition did not improve even after using them liberally for at least 2 days. This was on top of me cutting out all possible allergy triggers from my diet since last week. So yes, I have literally stopped consuming any food with wheat, chocolates, nuts, dairy [including butter, ghee which unfortunately extends to cake :’( ], eggs and seafood. For at least two weeks. Tsk tsk tsk. The things I do these days! (Spud better be grateful!)

However, I was pleasantly surprised with the California Baby Calendula Cream. It actually seemed to be working! Now, I am not sure if it is my diet or the cream, but I dare say that Spud’s skin made quite a visible improvement on just the second day of usage. By the fourth day, her skin appeared so much calmer. There certainly has been a stark improvement in her skin condition as depicted in the picture here, taken after 5 days of use.

For that, I am inclined to think that the Calendula cream might have helped. In fact, her mood has improved tremendously, too. Truth be told, I have not seen her any calmer or happier before! She really is a happy baby.

We shall see in about 2 weeks if it is the works of the cream as I’ll start re-introducing back the food to my diet. Fingers crossed.

Flower in the balcony

Our not-so-little tumeric plant has been flowering! Not just a little flower, but one of a rather decent size too.

I have no idea how long it has been there, let alone having a clue as to when it actually started to bloom. I am ashamed to admit that I have been pretty oblivious to the "outside world".

Had it not been for the Nanny who pointed it out to me, I think I might have missed it altogether.

Just one white flower. A pretty one too. Makes for a pretty sight. How cool is that! I reckon, Silver Bullet will be so proud of his handy work.

Starting Young

It seems like Spud has taken an affinity to alternative music. I have accidentally discovered this new little trick in my bid to calm her down as she wailed in hunger while we were royally stuck in traffic one evening. Even though I was sitting right next to her, it was quite tricky to get her out of the child-seat to breastfeed without accidentally bumping her head and fragile body in our tiny Honda City. Hence, I tried all I could to distract her and as a last resort, started fiddling with the ring tones and songs available on my phone.

She almost immediately calmed down with these: 
** Supergrass’s Alright,
** The Who’s Pinball Wizard and
** Supertramps’ Logical Song.

She cried at Jason Mraz's I’m Yours

Spud at her state of calmness

I also realise that sometimes things may have the tendency to not work the next time round. As dubious as the above sounded, I gave it a shot a few times more thereafter whenever she has her crying bouts. So far it worked like a charm! I can only grin from ear to ear at the choices of songs that calmed her down. Screw Twinkle Twinkle Little Stars!

I guess Moms do have a tendency of figuring things out! :p

Anyhow only!

Spud has, unfortunately, had another flare up of eczema a week after the red, angry rashes invaded her face. They did not seem to want to go away anytime soon, with the rashes spreading to her chest and neck. It was so disheartening to have to witness her discomfort whenever the rashes flared up. Day after day. Night after night. And, neither do we intend to prolong the use of the prescribed steroid cream.

Hence, off we went to see a Pediatrician again last week, requesting for yet a different one this time. As an allergist, the doctor went on to say that she could be allergic to the food I’ve been eating and advised me to stay off dairy product namely milk (which I don’t consume as I am lactose intolerant), eggs, chocolate and wheat. Obviously, as an allergist, his professional opinion was that pets are usually the #1 culprit of an allergy. Considering we have 3 cats, I reckon, it is always so easy for doctors and people alike to blame us for exposing Spud to our resident cats and that we should be getting rid of them. Fortunately, he did not impose his opinion against having pets on us, and went on to prescribe some medication.

I have to say, having a kaypo husband who wants to know everything is really a blessing. With Silver Bullet, he always makes it a point to thoroughly check on every single medication prescribed by any doctors here. It turned out to be a smart thing to do as. Apart from prescribing antihistamine syrup (Zyrtec) and a Eucerin cleansing lotion, he also prescribed Spud with an alternative to steroid cream, called Protopic. Now, what the doctor told us about this very cream was that it is for long-term usage. Also, one does not have to worry if the cream gets into contact with the eyes or mouth,; and when we asked, we were told that the cream is definitely suitable for a then 7 week old infant. I wondered later if he had meant that for a different type of cream or if the pharmacist had accidentally fished out the wrong cream because, the leaflet that came with the cream said otherwise.

As we probed further into the medication, it appears that Protopic should only be used as a last resort. Under no uncertain terms should the drug be used on a child below 2 years old. Furthermore, the drug comes with a black box warning! The more we read about it, the scarier it became. Spud does not even have a severe case of eczema! Truly, we both were glad that we did not apply the cream on her too fast, too soon.

One really has to question the doctors’ practice here all.the.time. It pays to be an informed patient here in Thailand since the doctors in this country have the tendency to so easily prescribe you with antibiotics for every known common ailment there is when there isn’t a need too!

We have had it. We are switching hospital and finding a new Pediatrician for Spud.

As we Singaporeans like to say: How can anyhow only prescribe medication to baby like that? So dangerous one. Anyhow only! Next time cannot anyhow trust.

Scary or what!

A Red Packet

Another week. Another gift pack. Along with another handwritten paper card, no less. It almost seemed like Christmas came early!

This time, it came all the way from Cali, USA. I was a little puzzled at first as I don’t think we know of anyone from there who’d care to send us a package. It turned out that the sender is actually a very good friend of Silver Bullet’s mom who took the trouble to send us these swanky gifts for Spud. This is despite the fact that neither Silver Bullet nor (let alone!) me knew the sender personally. I must say that we’ve been pleasantly surprised as there can never be too many gifts!

By now we must have received gifts from 3 different c.o.n.t.i.n.e.n.t.s! What is interesting for me is that I really have no idea that Spud’s arrival caused quite a ‘stir’. I’m in awe, knowing that somehow, we managed to get a lot more people excited on Spud’s arrival more than us ourselves! I reckon, unlike me, people in general love shopping and there is a lot more to be excited about for a baby girl. 

Truth be told, we have been clueless when it comes to shopping for baby’s clothes. There were times when we walked into a shopping mall intending to get some clothes and came out with nothing because we just don’t know what to get! I’m such a bad mom that I’d just be dressing Spud in a onesie or just singlet and diaper day-in, day-out given the choice (or lack of). After all, my (warp) logic is, she’s just a baby and does not know any better. In all honesty, I’m glad that other people have done the shopping for us. Right now, we definitely have A LOT of variety! Hooray for Spud!

One thing that stood out from this very package though was the swimsuit assemble. Now, THAT is definitely one thing we have not gotten before and one thing which we have not thought about. The swimsuit really is brilliant!

We may not know or meet the sender in person just yet, but I think we like the sender already. ;p

I guess, there can never be too many clothes for this little shaolin. Thank you!

Grocery

A recent conversation on grocery shopping went like this:

Me: We need grocery already

Silver Bullet: Yep. I need to buy milk.

Me: Milk? I've got milk!!! 

Silver Bullet then remarked he thought I sounded almost offended! It was as if what he said sounded like a crime and how dare he suggest we have to buy milk.

Hee...heh! Lame I know, but I had a hearty laugh at that. Talk about speculation!

Rockabye Baby

Children’s songs are just godawful! During my pregnancy days, we had a hard time picking up toys or hanging mobiles for Spud as they tend to come with annoying music attached. I really do want to jump out of my skin each time I hear them. Every time I pressed THE button, I cringed. Those music are hideous; and whoever came out with such terrible music ought to be shot! Dare they call such atrocious music lullabies too! Spare a thought for the parents who have to listen to such dreadful tunes repetitively!

We did delay buying such items for the above reason during my pregnancy days. It was also during that time when I found out about Rockabye Baby from a blogger. (Nice find, Boo!) I thought that was the coolest thing ever! They have lullabies from my favourite bands. Simply hilarious! I mean, they have Green Day, Metallica, Pink Floyd, NIN and even Tool! Stuff I started listening to in my youth. Beat that.

Despite all that excitement, we decided to go to the “safe side” for fear of ‘spoiling’ the real music of our favourite bands. (You know what I mean)

Hence, for Spud and for the sake of our own sanity, we veered towards the classic, starting with Beatles. We have recently purchased Queen and they now play a huge part with Spud’s bedtime ritual. In fact, I found myself humming these tunes to her when I try to settle her during the day. How bizarre is that!

Honestly, I don’t mind adding a few more to Spud's collection. They were really an awesome buy. Worth every penny.

From the lens of Silver Bullet

I love this shot.



Courtesy of Silver Bullet who candidly shot this image when my parents came over for the 2nd time last weekend. Needless to say, Spud received a very good dose of loving and attention for four full days. Not to mention, a new hairstyle from Grandma who came equipped with professional tools fit for the barber!

The end result reminded me of a little Shaolin. I had a hard time trying to put her to bed after swaddling her because I was laughing so hard at the bald-headed, funny looking swaddled-up package in front of me!

Street fruits

Perhaps I should take back what I said earlier about buying fresh fruits from the streets of Bangkok after reading the articles here and here.

Actually, it should have been no surprise to anyone that the street fruits can often be contaminated, given the kind of condition and tropical heat we live in. Either my stomach has adapted to the environment or perhaps I have been plain lucky for I have not, so far (touch wood!) fall victim to food poisoning from consuming those street fruits.

Baby Talk

Here’s a question: Why do people tend to see the need to change the tone of their otherwise normal voices to that of an annoying high-pitched one, with pronunciation of words that makes absolutely no sense whenever they try to talk or entertain a baby?

Apparently, there are some who think it is absolutely necessary to do that. These people drive me insane!

It’s also as if they have forgotten how to speak properly in order to communicate to a little person who has yet to understand anything. And no, I don’t think they understand your mispronounced words or why your voice has to be so shrill-sounding. While baby language is to a certain extend tolerable, in my mind, there is absolutely no need to change the tone to the highest octave that could be hazardous to the eardrums!

Seriously, speak normally to a child. I guess it usually comes with a gentler tone, but not to the extend of transforming the pitch of your voices completely or even mispronounced words all the time. God forbid the kid would not understand what you are trying to  say if your pitch ain’t any higher; or that the kid will actually learn to speak properly later in life!

These annoying high pitched voices and purposely mispronouncing words such that they somehow emulate what babies say when talking to babies is really one of my pet peeves. I really want to crawl out of my skin when I hear anyone do that. And then I really do want to slap them purple.

Cards 'n Such

There has been a constant stream of gifts coming our way these past few months for Spud.; which given the occasion was not surprising at all. What surprised me though was the sheer amount of greeting cards we received via snail mail all the way from The Netherlands. Yes, paper greeting cards. In an envelope. Postal delivery.With stamps and all.

I'm amazed to discover that the culture of sending cards via snail mail is still alive! According to Silver Bullet, sending of physical cards especially to send wishes in celebration of births are being done all the time. As a matter of fact, this very culture of sending cards is STILL being practiced by many in Holland. It's just a Dutch tradition.

I never knew, of course. And, I was pleasantly surprised...especially by the sheer number of cards, all handwritten which we have  received. Thank you for all the lovely gifts, thoughts and wishes.

1 hour photo

Having a baby's photograph taken at a studio for a passport photo must be one of the hardest thing to do. I mean, the poor little 4-week old bugger cannot even lift up her head, yet all these government bodies will insist that passport photos HAVE to be taken in a certain, specific way. Nooooo...visible parental hand support will not be accepted in any way. If the head appears too big, the image will be rejected as well. And oh! better get that background colour right too!

After having the first set of photographs rejected, we were sent off to a nearby make-shift photo studio to make yet another set of photos for Spud. Trust Spud to give us an absolutely wonderful experience to the whole thing.

Of course she was asleep, and so had to be woken up for her photo to be taken.That did not make her happy (i.e WAIL!). Of course she then decided that she was hungry and needed to be fed (More massive wails). As she is now being exclusively breastfed, I had no choice but to whip out those titties right there at the shed which happened to be the size of 4 toilet cubicles joined together. Spud took her own sweet time with her all-you-can-eat buffet and of course she had to fuss about while at it, extending her feeding time to eternity. And of course, after that, she HAD to have a wet diaper (Another major WAIL).During the transition of  changing the wet diaper to a fresh one, she figured it would be fun to just pee away for all sundry to see. There we were scrambling away to stop the pee fountain from spreading out further as this was happening on the counter of the studio as there really was little room at that tiny shop. Right after changing her wet diaper, she then decided to honour us with her stinking explosive poop and filling up her just changed diaper to the brim. She rewarded us with a priceless "oh-that-was-a-divine-crap" look.

They somehow managed to get a decent picture of her in between those frantic moments. Believe it or not, this took all but just ONE entire hour!

An interesting day indeed. The adventure has just begun.

Almost manipulated

I am not against formula feeding in any way. If it has to be done out of necessity, so be it. But given a choice, I’d choose breastfeeding over formula anytime. Simply because, it has been proven that the benefits far outweigh that of formula. Besides, breast milk is free!

I did research as much as I can on breastfeeding, but the theory behind breastfeeding did not prepare me for the practical aspects of it. Truth be told, it did not occur to me that breastfeeding can be really tricky. Besides, it hardly seems to be a topic that people talk about on how difficult breastfeeding can be. Fact is, years and years ago, women just put the baby on the breasts and everyone knew what to do. There was no lactation consultant. After all, isn’t breastfeeding the most natural thing? If only it was THAT simple.

I struggled in my first few weeks of breastfeeding. I blame it on the lack of support and education from the medical staff at the hospital I was in, and I did not know any better. While they seem to be pro-breastfeeding, their attitude towards it certainly was very far from the truth. Being a little more knowledgeable now, I feel angry at the thought that they could have tried to subtly manipulate me to go with formula and undermine breastfeeding. I absolutely hate that feeling of being manipulated. I have my reasons for thinking so (and I did not know these things then):

#1: They should be bringing Spud to me often enough as soon as I delivered. No one explained to me that the baby needs to suckle on the nipple often (every hour!) to stimulate milk production, especially at night. In fact, I was told to rest the nights away to recover as the nurses can take care of the baby in the nursery.

#2: On the 3rd day, we were basically told that the baby is dehydrated, with crystallized urine. Hence, I should consider supplementing formula to get her fluid up. Despite being apprehensive about it as I wanted t just exclusive breastfeed, we agreed as we did not know any better. This supplementing with formula thing was drummed to us for several days thereafter for the same reason.

#3: That if you had a C-sect, there will be a delay in the milk production as compared to normal vagina delivery. Hence, the baby will have to work harder at suckling or use a pump to stimulate.

#4: Nobody at the hospital said anything about not to breastfeed for 2 hours continuously at a stretch. I did it only because Spud refused to let go and they had told me they baby will stop when they are done, so I ploughed through.

#5: No one warned me about having extremely sore nipples and that the pain can just be too intense to bear. I had to stop breastfeeding after just a few days of trying as my nipples blistered and bled, as the skins around it came off. I was told that these things are “normal”. I was only given a Lanolin cream to soothe the pain away. The nurses dismissed me and no one bothered to examine my condition properly and provide me with the support I needed.

#6: When we asked the nurse if I could use pumps to stimulate milk production since I could not breastfeed, I was basically told not to do it as it was not necessary.

#7: After I got home, it was not explained explicitly to me that one should never miss the breastfeeding sessions at night as it is the crucial time where milk production is at its peak. Not knowing any better, I skipped the night feeds, substituting with bottle feeds so Silver Bullet could help just because I was really tired as I did not get any sleep in the day with Spuds hourly feeding sessions.

# 8: Pediatrician and Nurses told me the baby should be fed in a 2-3 hour intervals. Hourly feeding is not normal at all, limiting to about 30cc per feed.

Throughout the entire time, I was convinced that I did not have enough milk. Spud can easily polish off 50 cc in one seating in her first 2 weeks, and then some. Besides, the nurses also seemed to think so, encouraging us to supplement with formula as my milk had not come in yet. Their reasoning is that I could easily switch back to breastfeeding when I start producing enough milk in about 2 weeks.

After that, whatever amount of breast milk I pumped out never seemed enough for Spud who demanded an hourly feed and so, supplementing with formula became a natural progression.

The entire ordeal was not easy. The attempts of just feeding Spud the right amount at the right time was frustrating. Top that up with a rough 2 weeks of recovery, sore nipples, hourly feeding and pumping, sterilizing the pumps and bottles before and after use, crying baby round the clock, lack of sleep …it all became utter madness.

Nevertheless, I have had no intention whatsoever to stop breastfeeding just because it was frustratingly difficult. I finally managed to get some help recently, and the only thing I did different after almost 3 weeks of madness was to do away with the bottles at night and start breastfeeding her.

Since then, I am glad to say that things have gotten better. I figured that her day seems to be regulated by proper feeding (duh!) and when we got that right, everything else seemed to be falling into its place. The supplement of formula and believing that I was not producing enough milk without understanding the underlying issues were probably the primary reasons why we screwed up in the first place!

My take is: Never believe you would have to supplement with formula if you don’t want to, especially in the early stages of breastfeeding! Oh, and the hourly feeds are certainly normal for a breastfed baby.

It's genetic

Poor Spud has been attacked by a nasty case of atopic eczema in the last few days. Initially, it started off as baby acne but we noticed that her 'baby acne' had gotten progressively worse in the last week, as more of her face was covered with those pimply-like rashes. It was clear that she was somewhat bothered by it last Friday, and we were told by her Pediatrician that applying Vaseline on it will make it better in just a few days time.

We took her advice, but by Sunday, she got extremely bothered by it as her condition worsened. She seemed annoyed and irritated. She would not stop fussing and was whining the whole day, especially at night. The tell-tale sign was also that could not keep her hands away from her face as the angry, red rashes spread to almost her entire face. It was then we decided that we ought to seek for a second opinion and requested for a Pediatrician who specialises in allergies.

Upon consultation, it appeared that her atopical eczema is most likely caused by either detergent or food. Which means, I really have to watch what I eat and that we are going to be smelly since we have to eliminate all those lotion, fragrances and the normal detergent  or softener for the time being.

The worst thing about this is, apart from applying the cream which the doctor prescribed, there was very little else we can do to reduce her sufferings. We both feel helpless and it was heart-breaking to see her whining in her sleep throughout the night yesterday; robbing us yet another night of slumber.

The good news is, her eczema is looking so much better today after 2 nights of treatment.

The bad news is, the chances of her inheriting our genes for allergies are pretty damn high since both Silver Bullet and me are chronic sufferers of allergies!

Poor, poor Spud.

Stressful Sunday

Never dismiss a doubt. Neither should one agree to a dismissed doubt that quickly. When faced with one, check and double-check. And then just do another check again just to be sure. If we had done exactly that, we would not have come home to this:

Our dining table caught fire. It could have been worse had it not been for an alert neighbour and a quick action from the staff of our apartment building.

Long story short: I did not know any better of the actual content of some sort of an incense-smoked belt I was told to wear on my waist for two whole hours as part of my post-partum massage therapy. I had only worn it for about half an hour and then decided to un-wear it as we had to rush Spud to the hospital for a bad case of rashes. While there was some skepticism of leaving the "smoked-belt" on our dining table before leaving our home, we were convinced that nothing untoward would happen. I had worn it just the day before too, and also did not complete the whole 2 hours routine.With Spud being our priority, we soon forgot about it as soon as we closed the door behind us.

What a mistake! How silly of us. The idiots that we were, we  got a rude shock the moment we came home as we stumbled upon one of the maintenance guy at the elevator who tried to describe the situation to us in Thai. As soon as we opened our door, we were greeted with a rather smoky apartment. The entire place stank of burnt object.  Apparently, somehow the belt started smoldering and was smoking away. They detected the smoke just about 10 minutes before we got home.  I could feel the blood drained out of my body almost immediately. It was a scary thought. TEN FREAKING MINUTES.

Luckily,  apart from a slightly charred dining table and a stinky home, nothing major happened. All the cats are fine, with all other things are intact.

My nerves are not doing so good, though. With Spud unwell, there is only so much stress I can take for the day. She's been fussing real bad for a few days because of her rashes.That incident of nearly causing a fire was an unnecessary occurrence.

We certainly are the idiots that we were.

Lesson learnt: When it comes to safety issues, NEVER. EVER DISMISS. A. DISMISSED. DOUBT. No matter how trivial it may seem.

I am going to slap myself purple now and then try to sleep it off. Of course, Spud permitting.

A story to tell

These pictures were actually taken at random, with no such intended sequencing whatsoever. However,  when I looked through them again recently,somehow a little story emerged...

1. Spud stealing glances at Oom Tom's chocolate mousse and smacking her lips away

2. Spud screaming her guts (probably screaming I WANT!!) out as Oom Tom puts a spoonful in his mouth. Daddy Silver Bullet trying to soothe her as she was not getting any of those evil stuff as he had not had the chance to touch his own chocolate mousse just yet!

3. Daddy Silver Bullet finally gave Spud a feed, while he himself got fed by me!  

I just thought the sequencing as well as the images captured were spot on, given none of the above was a conscious effort when the pictures were taken. Just hilarious!

  

*Oom = Uncle in Dutch

Breastfeeding in Thailand

UNICEF: “Only 5.4 per cent – or around 43,000 of the estimated 800,000 babies born in the country each year – are exclusively breastfed for the first six months. This is the lowest exclusive breastfeeding rate in Asia and one of the lowest in the world, according to UNICEF. In Bangkok, the exclusive breastfeeding rate drops to just 1.1 per cent, the lowest in the country.”

This is far below the World Health Organization's standard at 30%.

Quite appalling, I must say!

While Thailand’s health care facilities are almost world class standards, they may not necessarily be an advocate to things like natural vaginal delivery and breastfeeding, preferring instead, C-Sects and Formula feeding. While these things seem to be the most natural thing in the world, they somehow are just not embraced enough by the local community.

I found that there has been no adequate support and a proper education on breastfeeding when I was still in the hospital. This showed, even when I desperately needed help after I was discharged. What was disappointing was that they could not pinpoint me to the right direction or one person who could help me. In the end, I was pretty much left confused and frustrated while trying to figure things out on my own with Google at hand. I finally managed to find some help &  tips from an independent group on breastfeeding who referred me to a Lactation Consultant from another hospital.

It has been said that Thailand’s been contaminated by aggressive marketing activities perpetrating that formula can just be as good as breasts milk. While advertisers in Thailand are facing some tough restrictions, they are not completely banned altogether. It is a sad fact. In fact, I have also heard from people on the streets that breastfeeding is viewed as something that only the rural dwellers (hence, lower status standing) indulge in. Feeding your child formula on the other hand, indicate a higher social status and economic standing. I remember reading somewhere on the web where one woman actually said the reason she is not having kids is because she thinks she cannot afford to buy formula for her child. If such is true, I find that to be really sad and a pathetic excuse. 

I just don’t understand the very subtle sentiments against breastfeeding in Thailand. New mothers practically receive little or no education to breastfeed from medical staff and no support on proper breastfeeding techniques. At least, not at the hospital I went to for my delivery. While the process of lactation is very natural, there are so many problems that can occur while breastfeeding. Hence being able to resolve those issues is the key to a positive experience, and thus, avoid being manipulated to using formula as a means to an end.

Knowing what I know now, I felt as if I was being manipulated to start on formula.(The whole story in another post). I was later told by a kind soul that Samitivej Hospital is THE only hospital so far to have a certified Lactation Consultation (the only one in the country) and the only one so far that really advocate breastfeeding by giving proper support.

I still say I had an awesome doctor as my OBYGN, but I doubt he is an expert on breastfeeding. Speaking from experience, just be aware that there’s a high chance that the reputable hospitals here may just undermine your good intention on breastfeeding. You may just be steered to formula feeding, since breastfeeding can often be exhaustingly frustrating.

Cats' Call

I feel so terrible for the cats. Since Spud arrived, the cats barely received any attention from us, particularly from me. It makes it worse for them since they have now been banished from our room at night, rendering them ZERO cuddle time in bed with us. They must have really hated us for it.

Of the 3 cats, I think the most affected one is Fudge. Donut does not seem to be affected and he seems almost blasé. I figured he is generally ok with everything since his routine is not disrupted. Meanwhile, Andy seems to be the kaypo one; wanting to be in the centre of everything, checking everything out.

Fudge has somewhat retreated from human company nowadays; even our nanny notices her change in behavior as she is less affectionate and hardly seen around. Our Nanny has also asked me if Fudge has been ill as she has been unresponsive, and pretty much stops following her around.

In the last few days however, Fudge probably called it a truce with me since she came and snuggled up to me while I napped. But she did not venture further from that, usually avoiding me as Spuds almost always attached to me. 

A few days ago though, Fudge has been wailing her guts out at our door almost every morning. She wails and wails and wails ever so loudly right outside our closed door, wanting to be let in. Her cries just broke my heart…but we know better than to let her or any of the other cats in, since we have Spud in the room temporarily.

A little while more, my dear cats. A little while more.

From the inbox

Brilliant humour on taking leave. Certainly had me in stitches! Courtesy of Vicvanvinkle.

Infosys, Bangalore
An employee applied for leave as follows:
"Since I have to go to my village to sell my land along with my wife, please sanction me one-week leave."

This is from Oracle Bangalore
From an employee who was performing the 'mundan' ceremony of his 10 year-old son:
"as I want to shave my son's head, please leave me for two days ..."

Another gem from CDAC.
Leave letter from an employee who was performing his daughter's wedding:
"as I am marrying my daughter, please grant a week's leave ..."

From H.A.L. Administration Dept
"As my mother-in-law has expired and I am only one responsible for it, please grant me 10 days leave."

Another employee applied for half day leave as follows:
"Since I've to go to the cremation ground at 10 o'clock and I may not return, please grant me half day casual leave."

An incident of a leave letter
"I am suffering from World Cup fever, please declare one-day holiday."

A leave letter to the headmaster
"As I am studying in this school I am suffering from headache, I request you to leave me today."

Another leave letter written to the headmaster:
"As my headache is paining, please grant me leave for the day."

Covering note:
"I am enclosed herewith ..."

Another one:
"Dear Sir: with reference to the above, please refer to my below ..."

Actual letter written for application of leave:
"My wife is suffering from sickness and as I am her only husband at home I may be granted leave."

Letter writing
"I am well here and hope you are also in the same well."

A candidate's job application
"This has reference to your advertisement calling for a 'Typist and an Accountant - Male or Female' ... As I am both (!!) for the past several years and I can handle both with good experience, I am applying for the post."

From the lens of Silver Bullet

Recent and decent DSLR shots as captured by Silver Bullet:

I like how these phots turned out in an artistic kind of way. The composition in each image is pleasing to the eyes.

One Month

What do you know! Spud's officially one month old today. One frigging month to the T. Which means we have not screwed up so bad after all this while. Phew! We made it (so far!). Only 18 years more to go...

To date she has put on an additional 1 kg which brings her total weight to 4.2 kg. She's got quite a kahuna of a lung capacity this girl; even the cats make sure that they are out of earshot the moment she starts wailing.

The most distinctive feature at this point is her super funky hairstyle. If the hair on the sides grow long enough, I reckon there's a chance that I can just flip over her hair from one side to the other to cover that bald patch. Perhaps, the parting can be adjusted to start right on the side of her head, just a few inches above her ear. Bwahahhahahahahahahhahaaaaaaaa!

Okay. I admit the above is not a very flattering picture. But she's a baby and she does not know any better. :p (I swear she'll hate me for this). I'll make up with some other better pictures later.

Her funky hair-do really put me in stitches, I tell you. However, on the hind side, I'll be worried for her if that receding hairline is not filled up in the years to come...What's a girl to do?!

Pregnancy: Nobody told me!

[WARNING: AN EXTREMELY LENGTHY BLOG POST]

My entire pregnancy has been one hell of a learning curve. I also discovered some shocking facts of my entire 41 weeks + 4 days of pregnancy that were just pure evil. They were far from fun and enjoyable. The list may sound rather graphic, so skip this post if you think that’s just “too much information”.

 Here goes my list…read it at your own risk!

#1: I suffered from involuntary incontinence almost the entire time I was pregnant. Every cough, sneeze, laugh will cause me to pee involuntarily. Not just a wee bit, but a massive bit! Especially when the tummy gets bigger with each passing week, resulting in me having to wear grandma’s underwear and panty-liners (later upgraded to normal sanitary pads!) 24/7. Very charming!

#2: The toilet became my best friend as I pee more than I ever did in my entire lifetime. I’m sure the increase in my water bill may have been attributed by the constant flushing going on at home.

#3: Besides the belly, everything else just grew. I suddenly developed smurf-like hands, except that they were not blue. They were fat; so,so fat that they looked stunted, as if they all are stuck together. I’m sure the Smurfs will be so proud of me!

#4: My entire feet literally just over-flowed from my shoes. My ankles were swelling nice almost the entire time of my pregnancy. So bad that I think if you poke my ankles with a needle, a water fountain will miraculously appear right before your eyes! You might as well throw a coin and make a wish. It got worse than it already was during my last 3 weeks that I was told to get OFF my feet for a few days or risk a termination of pregnancy. (a symptom associated with preeclampsia)

#5: My face, my chest and my neck became a thriving and conducive environment for The Acne. There were kahunas of a pimple sprouting everywhere, everyday. I thought my bad acne days from my teenage years were over. Those icky, big , fat and painful boil of a pimple just wasn’t fun when new ones keep sprouting on a daily basis.

#6: The crying hormones besieged me unexpectedly. I probably cried more than I ever did in my entire lifetime within a span of months. I became a softie as I cried over sappy movies and the not-so-sappy ones. I’m so lame I even cried over Amazing Race when the camera pans into “speeches” of the eliminated contestants towards the end of the program. I cried at almost every single episode.

#7: I seemed to be dropping anything and everything that I have in my hand. I then became a comic relief to Silver Bullet as he will laugh at me (although he insisted he was laughing WITH me) when I would try to pick the stuff I dropped on the floor and then wasn't very successful at it when my tummy got progressively bigger. I then mastered the art of picking things up with my toes before handing it over to The Hand. Later on, this became an impossible feat as although I could retrieve stuff off the floor with my toes, I could no longer pass it along to my hand as the tummy was in the way!

#8: Menstruation shape shifted in the form of bleeding gums. This happened every single day each time I brushed my teeth or flossed that it appeared as if I have used blood as a mouthwash.

 #9: “Pregnant Brain” was real. It did not happen all the time, but sometimes, even I myself was baffled at me. It’s like I go through the day on a switch off mode. 2 cases that came to mind:

• Bought something from the supermarket, paid for it and left. I mean, I JUST LEFT. I had to walk a good 200 meters back to the cashier at the supermarket to retrieve the stuff I already paid for which I conveniently forgot to take with me. DUH!

• One of those days after work, Silver Bullet called and asked if I needed a pickup from him since he was already close by. I enthusiastically said yes, all too happy for a free- ride home, and so packed up my stuff and left the office. When I walked out of the building I absent-mindedly hailed a cab, completely forgotten about Silver Bullet’s offer. I only remembered that Silver Bullet might already be waiting for me at the gas station where I was supposed to be picked up when I was almost home.

#10:  My obsession with food intensified a hundred fold, but for some reason, could not stomach Thai food. The sheer smell of any Thai food made me want to puke. I was in a “give me any other food, but Thai food” mode almost throughout my pregnancy.

#11:  I am usually rendered useless after 6 pm in the evening. I’ll come home from work and concussed on the couch by 7.30 pm and in bed by 9.30 pm every day of the week.

#12: Nothing prepared me for a perpetual blocked nose for the entire time which left me extremely dependent on the nose sprays. It was blocked the moment I wake up in the morning and will continue on throughout the day, especially when I’m in any air-conditioned area. Couple that with my sometimes-crying- hormones which completely hampered my breathing, and a breathing apparatus might just come in handy.

#13: Irritability to the max. Don’t even think of messing with me. I’ve got a raging hormone that could be unleashed in a nano second and you’ll be damn sorry you even tried.

#14: Most maternity clothes are just super FUGLY that made you look like a old hag. I refused to get one (until the last trimester that is) and tried to get away with flowy dresses.

#15: My belly suddenly became a public property. I’m OK with families and CLOSE friends touching my belly, but I really cringed at strangers or sheer run-of-mill acquaintances who smothered my belly.The worst are those who saw me from a distance and immediately start to stretch out their hands like Inspector Gadget. Suddenly, I (or rather, my belly) became their best friends.Colleagues aside, but strangers like the cleaning ladies in the office, waiting staff at restaurants or hotels or the sales persons at the mall became a tummy magnet.  Why can’t they just keep their hands to themselves?! Excuse me, but do you see me grabbing your ass?

#16: I get overly sensitive at times. Mess with my emotions and you won’t hear a bleep from me for a few days. Ask Silver Bullet.

#17: Dreams are just weird while pregnant. I remember one where I saw Silver Bullet’s adult head on Spud’s tiny body. Only, I didn’t know what the gender was.

#18: Out.of.Breath.All.The.Time. Enough said.

#19: Farts-and-burps became a shameless routine, especially so in the evenings and before going to bed. I’m sure they were the most pleasant sounding lullaby Silver Bullet had ever heard.

#20: Snoring became my middle name. As my tummy got bigger, the snoring became louder. So loud that Silver Bullet had to buy a pair of ear-plugs. As he put it, the melody of my snores sounded just like he was sleeping in a sawmill!

#21:Waddling became my signature walk by the 5th month since I started showing at 12 weeks.

#22: Haemorrhoid is a pain in the ass! Literally. (And I have never had this in my entire life before!)

#23:  Everything I ate gave me a heartburn. Antacids and Zantac became my other best friends, although there were times when they have to be purged out and no longer work too well. My heartburn became a  reflux as I mastered the art of projectile vomiting.

#24: Ambushed by unsolicited advice by the We-are-the-New-Parents-Syndrome. These people who unfortunately are associated to us by proximity suddenly felt that since they have been parents for barely 2 weeks and they beat us to having their baby first, they now have all the wisdom and authority on  parenting skills in a 5-minutes elevator conversation.

#25: "Noise" by physical proximity (close friends & family NOT included here!). People started dispensing free advise on the type of food I should or should not consume or comment on the type of activity I should or should not do.I'm only pregnant, not handicapped, people!

#26:  It was fun in the beginning when people started guessing the gender of our child (we didn't want to find out and we didn't, as we wanted it to be a surprise), but got terribly annoying when they decided that they were just going to IMPOSE their guesswork on you because their gut-feel said so!

#27: People IMPOSING their concern so rudely of my 'condition' by saying (quote-unquote) "You  cannot be only 4 months preggars! So big, YOU KNOW... You better watch what you eat, you knowwww!"  Excuse me, but haven't you seen the size of my husband who happened to be walking just right next to you?!
#28:  Finally, the infamous pregnancy glow. Seriously, WHAT glow? The only glow I had was my shiny T-Zone and my acne-spotted face which could have easily reflected light from a million miles away.

Now, tell me if being pregnant is fun. To those who enjoyed every bit of their pregnancy and embraced all the inconveniences with open arms and open hearts, I must say that I really salute you! I know I had issues...

Wrecked!

While breastfeeding in my nursing chair, my thoughts started drifting away as I looked out of the balcony. I was completely lost in my thoughts and started thinking about random, bo liao things while the booby-monster stay perched on me. Then, my gaze landed on my feet. GASPS! My disgusting-looking feet! The 2 month old scraggy nail-polish is still there! And I could feel a few in-grown toenails somewhere, too!

Oh dear! Oh dear! I’m in need of an overdue pedicure!

And a haircut!

Perhaps, a facial or two!

Also my eyebrows could do with a threading session or a simple trim.

And, how nice it will be to go for  just an hour of foot reflexology. OK...make that 45 minutes.Actually, I'll  even compromise for half an hour...

...BUT...

At the moment, all of my time ain’t my own. It’s looking like my personal indulgence will have to take a backseat for a little while longer.

Chocolate Mousse

Homemade chocolate mousse made by Silver Bullet.

Don't ask me what went in there, because I absolutely have no clue as Silver Bullet holds the recipe. I only know there was only the good stuff! This one tasted a little bit orangy, which made it more yummilicious. This was actually Silver Bullet's second attempt at making the chocolate mousse. The first attempt didn't turn out as perfect as he wanted to, as the texture was a bit salah*.

With a little tip from Chef Tom, I think he pretty much perfected it. That's another dessert now available in our household!

The sight of 2 boys working together in the kitchen to create something magical was really a sight to behold, I tell you! Can't help but still-frame it. (and they obviously didn't mind posing for it either!)

* salah means wrong in Malay

Living la vida loca

It has been almost four weeks now, but for some reason Spud has not settled into a routine yet. With Spud, every day is unpredictable. Just as we thought we could get some form of pattern to work with, she changes her schedule. No 2 days are the same so far, hence it makes it a little bit more challenging for us to identify a routine, if any.

Perhaps, we are just a bad case of new parents, but I wonder if not settling in a routine is normal for a 3 and half week old baby?

Spud’s a booby monster when it comes to breastfeeding. Her hours are erratic. She seems to want to nurse every hour, on the hour with extended time; especially in the last 2 weeks. Somehow, she doesn’t seem to have enough, and I get no break from just feeding her round the clock. People say that a baby knows when she has had enough, and they will automatically unlatch from the breasts. Not Spud though…if I don’t unlatch her, she’s quite capable of a marathon feeding!

Sometimes I wonder if I don’t make enough milk, but from the looks of it, she seems to have a healthy dose of diapers and even started spitting up milk! I used to have to supplement with formula in her first 2 weeks (also as advised by the doctor here!). I was not producing enough milk then and she got dehydrated. I have now recently gone exclusively breast milk in the last week or so (yay!). At night though, we give her breast milk in the bottle so Dad could feed too or I’ll go crazy!

Some days she will nap, some days she just refuses to nap. Some nights, she’ll wake up just once or twice; and some nights she’ll stretch her waking hours to up to 4 hours at a stretch, a combo of wailing, fussing, feeding and diaper change several times. I wonder if other babies are just as unpredictable.

From what I have heard, read and researched, it would be good to put babies on a schedule, also to just limit 15 minutes per breast. But there is also another school of thought where it is not worth trying to set a routine in the first few months. Instead, be led by the baby's needs, especially so when the baby is being breastfed. In this case, let the baby empty out one breast and let them have a go at it for as long as they need to instead of setting a time limit.

All these conflicting theories are confusing me that I don’t know what is the best way for her. If I don’t set a time limit on the breast, she’ll be on it 24/7, I might as well staple her to my boobs. I don’t know how much of this craziness will last and if she ever will show some form of routine. I guess, for us, it is a matter of trial and error.

I need a concoction of the chill pill and the 'be patient' vitamins.Plenty of it!

Bureaucracy: Redemption

Despite the bureaucracy I ranted about a week ago, I must say I have been extremely impressed with the efficiency of a first world country! You see, one can rant all one wants, but at the end of it all, a process is a process and one has to comply. So...comply I did, expecting the worse.

However, none of that expecting the worse, I assure you. In fact, my case was picked up rather quickly (within a day!) upon my online application. Perhaps, the stars are shining on me as the administrator who was handling my case said,  in view of the newborn and the upcoming festive season, she will help expedite the necessary quickly. She seems nice and took the initiative to anticipate that I'll be coming home for Hari Raya, and so will be needing the necessary documentation for Spud. What was so nice about it was that she did it out of her own initiative and without me having to ask or beg for it. Literally, within TWO DAYS, I was informed that my application was successful and all I had to do was to send in the original certified true copies of the necessary documents by mail to proceed with the passport application.

What a nice change from a usually rigid and uncompromisable bureaucracy. It is just of no comparison to the standard of services in Thailand. Gotta thank my lucky stars too for assigning me to such a compassionate soul who is willing to go out of her way to help me out on this one.

It really is nice to know that there are still some good, kind (and not to mention with brains) souls out there. She really did make my day!

Double Tragedy

My heart broke into pieces when I saw the news update a few days ago, but shattered into several million pieces more when I actually read the news online and saw the photo which were captured along with it.

A few days later, the grief stricken dad has decided to end his life...and I am left with no words after reading the news here. (While there is a video uploaded on the linked site, I decided not to watch it..somehow it felt so wrong...)

God bless their souls.

Risotto with Snapper

Guest Chef Tom cooked up a storm when he came by for a visit-and-crash-at-our-place last week. That lucky bastard has finally finished his 7 months backpacking trip, ending his leg in Bangkok for a few days to visit his best friend, Silver Bullet.

Funny how I have the whole day at home, but no time for myself or do anything else. Definitely one of the rare occasions when I don't cook for guests. Hence, I was only too happy to have someone else offering to cook for us since I have been too busy with Spud to do my own cooking nowadays.

Here was what the Guest Chef came up with:

This Snapper Risotto tasted as good as it was presented here. Yummilicious restaurant quality! Who else is coming by next?! ;D