Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Blessing in disguise?
Last Thursday, 15 January 2009, my husband and I took our 10-month old baby girl to her pediatrician at Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre as she had been coughing incessantly throughout the night. I kept waking up, fearing that she would vomit all over herself in the buai like she did before. Oh, didn’t I mention this before? I just breastfed her, then she was coughing and coughing, and suddenly I heard the vomit. This was 6 in the morning, mind you. Vomit was all over her face, in her hair, (I suspect she swallowed some as well) on her bolsters, on the Sleep Sheep which I put under her buai, and also the toto underneath her. I had to give her a quick bath, and she was happily splashing herself as if it was 6 p.m.
That was the week before. Her coughing did not subside, so we decided to take her to her pediatrician. He listened to her breathing and immediately frowned, which was not good news for us. He asked us to do an x-ray on Aliah downstairs, suspecting pneumonia. His suspicion turned out to be right, and he advised us to admit Aliah into the ward. So I got two days compassionate leave.
Hubby had to go to work after the admittance, so I was left with Aliah alone for the rest of the day until evening. So I got to fully breastfeed her and luckily, she settled down easily, sometimes falling asleep after a feed. It was a bit tedious as I couldn’t let her crawl all over the room on the floor, so she was restricted to play on the bed only. And I couldn’t leave her alone even for one second, because she would follow me to the edge of the bed. One time I had to call the nurse to watch her so I could urgently go to the toilet.
The first night in the hospital ward was, in a nutshell, a nightmare. Hubby’s family came to visit, and Aliah had a great time, the social little butterfly. I could see that she was very sleepy, judging by her number of yawns and eye rubbings, but she simply refused to lie down and relax. So around 11 p.m. everyone left and I had the light dimmed, so she could settle down to sleep. She fell asleep within minutes while suckling. We lifted her into the baby cot beside my bed. Around 3 a.m. she woke up, wailing at first, then started playing and talking. Then she tried to climb into my bed and got her leg stuck in the cot bars, and that really woke us up. Hubby was really mad by this time and gave her a scolding and a few whacks on her leg. She was scrambling to get away from him to me, sobbing. We gave her hugs and comforted her, and then I don’t know how (I was dozing my head off), he succeeded putting her to sleep, around 5 a.m.
The next day was more fun as Daddy was around, and we were granted home-leave by the doctor. We left the hospital around 2 p.m. and had to get back before 10 p.m. for Aliah’s next medication. She got a more fitful sleep in her buai, and got to eat homemade porridge, which she devoured like a starved baby. I guess she could tell which one tasted better. Good girl.
Going to bed that night was pretty easy too. After breastfeeding her to sleep, I lifted her into her cot next to my bed and whispered in her ear to sleep tight tonight and “wake me up only if you need to feed.” Miraculously, it worked! She woke up once at 5 a.m., then went back to sleep right after the feed, and didn’t wake up until 7.30 a.m. she didn’t even stir when the nurse came to check her temperature or came to give her medication. Talk about psychology babble, haha!
All in all, the hospital “vacation” was boring because we, of course, had to stay in the hospital. (Duhh.) The food sucked, the air-conditioning was too cold, Aliah had too little space to play, limited tv channels etc, etc, etc. But I got to spend four whole days with my beautiful baby, which I enjoyed tremendously despite the tiredness. Babies grow up so quickly, I wish I could capture every single moment of her growing up so I wouldn’t miss a thing. I was pretty bummed to see her cry her heart out when we left her at the nursery Monday morning. But then again, life goes on.
That was the week before. Her coughing did not subside, so we decided to take her to her pediatrician. He listened to her breathing and immediately frowned, which was not good news for us. He asked us to do an x-ray on Aliah downstairs, suspecting pneumonia. His suspicion turned out to be right, and he advised us to admit Aliah into the ward. So I got two days compassionate leave.
Hubby had to go to work after the admittance, so I was left with Aliah alone for the rest of the day until evening. So I got to fully breastfeed her and luckily, she settled down easily, sometimes falling asleep after a feed. It was a bit tedious as I couldn’t let her crawl all over the room on the floor, so she was restricted to play on the bed only. And I couldn’t leave her alone even for one second, because she would follow me to the edge of the bed. One time I had to call the nurse to watch her so I could urgently go to the toilet.
The first night in the hospital ward was, in a nutshell, a nightmare. Hubby’s family came to visit, and Aliah had a great time, the social little butterfly. I could see that she was very sleepy, judging by her number of yawns and eye rubbings, but she simply refused to lie down and relax. So around 11 p.m. everyone left and I had the light dimmed, so she could settle down to sleep. She fell asleep within minutes while suckling. We lifted her into the baby cot beside my bed. Around 3 a.m. she woke up, wailing at first, then started playing and talking. Then she tried to climb into my bed and got her leg stuck in the cot bars, and that really woke us up. Hubby was really mad by this time and gave her a scolding and a few whacks on her leg. She was scrambling to get away from him to me, sobbing. We gave her hugs and comforted her, and then I don’t know how (I was dozing my head off), he succeeded putting her to sleep, around 5 a.m.
The next day was more fun as Daddy was around, and we were granted home-leave by the doctor. We left the hospital around 2 p.m. and had to get back before 10 p.m. for Aliah’s next medication. She got a more fitful sleep in her buai, and got to eat homemade porridge, which she devoured like a starved baby. I guess she could tell which one tasted better. Good girl.
Going to bed that night was pretty easy too. After breastfeeding her to sleep, I lifted her into her cot next to my bed and whispered in her ear to sleep tight tonight and “wake me up only if you need to feed.” Miraculously, it worked! She woke up once at 5 a.m., then went back to sleep right after the feed, and didn’t wake up until 7.30 a.m. she didn’t even stir when the nurse came to check her temperature or came to give her medication. Talk about psychology babble, haha!
All in all, the hospital “vacation” was boring because we, of course, had to stay in the hospital. (Duhh.) The food sucked, the air-conditioning was too cold, Aliah had too little space to play, limited tv channels etc, etc, etc. But I got to spend four whole days with my beautiful baby, which I enjoyed tremendously despite the tiredness. Babies grow up so quickly, I wish I could capture every single moment of her growing up so I wouldn’t miss a thing. I was pretty bummed to see her cry her heart out when we left her at the nursery Monday morning. But then again, life goes on.
Monday, November 3, 2008
My (current) wishlist
1. That my baby would sleep thru the night, at least until 6am, so I won't be so groggy-eyed in the office every day.
2. A fab baby carrier, so my I could carry my baby everywhere without straining my back. (I'm working on this part!)
3. More time. Like maybe 30 hours a day, maybe??
4. More intimacy and romance, hubby, please?? We're slowly turning into zombies... gone are the days of the hand-holding (becoz one of us always need to hold the baby), the spontaneous-hugging (becoz one of us always need to hold the baby), the movie & dinnner dates (becoz we don't have a permanent babysitter). (Notice how this cute one is dominating our life? I wonder if all new parents feel like I do.)
5. For my milk supply to flow like a waterfall, so I don't need to worry about adequacy. (at least until she turns one year old.)
6. For my baby to breastfeed more with me, so I don't need to lug my breastpump everywhere. (Read: EVERYWHERE. I mean this literally. EVERYWHERE. Except maybe the toilet. If I have a handsfree gadget, I might pump while I poop. But then again, that's gross. Yucks!)
7. Enough money so I can go for some kind of slimming program specially for the tummy. I could fit into my pre-baby clothes easily, save the chest part. (Boobs have expanded due to breastfeeding. As if they are not attention-grabbing enough as it is!) But I'd loved to have that flat tummy I used to have. Without too much abdominal crunches, that is.
8. I'd love to develop some kind of exercise routine to do with my baby. Be the pioneer. Then I found Babyfit.com. Great site! Too bad I still haven't developed my exercise routine. Due to Wish # 3.
9. I'd love to be a momprenuer or a WAHM (work-at-home-mom). Wait till I get a maid. Haha.
But I have set a target to do this by the arrival of the second child. (I'm not pregnant at the moment. So we yet have to 'plan' the arrival of the second child.)
I could go on and on. I mean, who could stop wishing for better things in their life? But don't worry, I'll update this list from time to time. And I'll inform whether I've gotten any wishes.
2. A fab baby carrier, so my I could carry my baby everywhere without straining my back. (I'm working on this part!)
3. More time. Like maybe 30 hours a day, maybe??
4. More intimacy and romance, hubby, please?? We're slowly turning into zombies... gone are the days of the hand-holding (becoz one of us always need to hold the baby), the spontaneous-hugging (becoz one of us always need to hold the baby), the movie & dinnner dates (becoz we don't have a permanent babysitter). (Notice how this cute one is dominating our life? I wonder if all new parents feel like I do.)
5. For my milk supply to flow like a waterfall, so I don't need to worry about adequacy. (at least until she turns one year old.)
6. For my baby to breastfeed more with me, so I don't need to lug my breastpump everywhere. (Read: EVERYWHERE. I mean this literally. EVERYWHERE. Except maybe the toilet. If I have a handsfree gadget, I might pump while I poop. But then again, that's gross. Yucks!)
7. Enough money so I can go for some kind of slimming program specially for the tummy. I could fit into my pre-baby clothes easily, save the chest part. (Boobs have expanded due to breastfeeding. As if they are not attention-grabbing enough as it is!) But I'd loved to have that flat tummy I used to have. Without too much abdominal crunches, that is.
8. I'd love to develop some kind of exercise routine to do with my baby. Be the pioneer. Then I found Babyfit.com. Great site! Too bad I still haven't developed my exercise routine. Due to Wish # 3.
9. I'd love to be a momprenuer or a WAHM (work-at-home-mom). Wait till I get a maid. Haha.
But I have set a target to do this by the arrival of the second child. (I'm not pregnant at the moment. So we yet have to 'plan' the arrival of the second child.)
I could go on and on. I mean, who could stop wishing for better things in their life? But don't worry, I'll update this list from time to time. And I'll inform whether I've gotten any wishes.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
What is my life passion?
This morning as we rushed thru the mad peak-office-hours traffic, hubby asked me. "Do you want to do this until you're old? 30 years into the future?" "What're you talking about, honey?" I already know what he's talking about. Just playing dumb here. "This. Rushing thru traffic every morning to get to your office before 9am. We're not maximising our full potential, you know. Aren't you bored with your work, doing the same thing every single day? Do you honestly like being bossed around, being told what to do all the time?" Here comes the lecture again.
The truth is, I don't know what to do with my life. I certainly can't imagine working where I work now for the next 20 years. (yikes!) Now hubby reminds me, "Don't you used to like writing and creating stuff? Like those cards you used to make for me?" Yeah, I used to love writing. I had a few journals where I wrote about anything and everything about my life. (Back then I wrote a LOT about my boyfriend - who is my hubby now ;) ) When I was younger, I loved Enid Blyton's books, the Malory Towers books, Famous Five books, Sweet Valley twins books. I used to dream of being a writer just like Enid Blyton, even more famous than her. Yeah well, I'll just keep on dreaming at the moment.
My other (used-to-be) passion is... get ready for this.... exercise!! Really.... I just love to run. With loud music cranking up my ears, my heart beating fast, adrenaline pumping... Then towards the end of my path, I would put on Foo Fighters "Best of You" and sprint to my imaginery finish line. The last real run I did was before I got pregnant. Everything's changed now since the arrival of our baby. It's like... my passions just disappeared into thin air. I've got a new passion now, and she's got big round eyes and a dimple on her right cheek and likes to crinkle up her nose when she grins.
I think I'll stop today with one of my favourite article which always makes me think... hmmmm...
What do you really hope to achieve in life?
Read this story. You will find that you may already have what you are always hoping to achieve.
There was once an American businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Mexican village. As he sat, he saw a Mexican fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore. He noticed that the fisherman had caught quite a number of big fishes known to be a delicacy. The American was really impressed and asked the fisherman, "How long does it take you to catch so many fishes?"
The fisherman reply; "Oh, just a short while."
The businessman was astonished. "Then, why don't you stay longer at sea and you could catch even more?"
The fisherman simply does not agree, "This is enough to feed my whole family", he replied.
The businessman then asked: "So, what do you do for the rest of the day then?"
The fisherman replied: "Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and
catch a few fishes, then I would come back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I will take a nap with my wife. When evening comes, I will join my buddies in the village for a drink. We play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night. My day is ever so complete and carefree."
The businessman does not agree with the fisherman's way of life and offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
"I am a PhD holder graduated from Harvard University, specialises in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you have to spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fishes as possible. And when you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fishes. As you go on, you will be able to afford to buy more boats, recruit more fishermen and lead a team of your own. Soon you will be able to set-up your own company, your very own production plant for canned food and do direct selling to your distributors. At that time, you will have moved out of this village and to Mexico City. And then expand your operation to LA and finally to New York city, where you can set-up your HQ to manage all your other branches."
The fisherman asks, "So, how long would that take?"
The businessman reply: "About 15 to 20 years."
The fisherman continued, "And after that?"
The businessman laughed heartily, " After that, you can live like a king in your own house. When the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange. You will be rich, your income will be coming in by the millions!"
The fisherman asked, "And after that?"
The businessman said, " After that, you can finally retire. You can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning and catch a few fishes. Then return home to play with the kids and have a nice afternoon nap with your wife. When evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!"
The fisherman was puzzled, "Isn't that what I am doing now?"
So, what does one really hope to achieve in life?
Do we really need to work so hard in life?
What do you hope to accomplish in the end?
The truth is, I don't know what to do with my life. I certainly can't imagine working where I work now for the next 20 years. (yikes!) Now hubby reminds me, "Don't you used to like writing and creating stuff? Like those cards you used to make for me?" Yeah, I used to love writing. I had a few journals where I wrote about anything and everything about my life. (Back then I wrote a LOT about my boyfriend - who is my hubby now ;) ) When I was younger, I loved Enid Blyton's books, the Malory Towers books, Famous Five books, Sweet Valley twins books. I used to dream of being a writer just like Enid Blyton, even more famous than her. Yeah well, I'll just keep on dreaming at the moment.
My other (used-to-be) passion is... get ready for this.... exercise!! Really.... I just love to run. With loud music cranking up my ears, my heart beating fast, adrenaline pumping... Then towards the end of my path, I would put on Foo Fighters "Best of You" and sprint to my imaginery finish line. The last real run I did was before I got pregnant. Everything's changed now since the arrival of our baby. It's like... my passions just disappeared into thin air. I've got a new passion now, and she's got big round eyes and a dimple on her right cheek and likes to crinkle up her nose when she grins.
I think I'll stop today with one of my favourite article which always makes me think... hmmmm...
What do you really hope to achieve in life?
Read this story. You will find that you may already have what you are always hoping to achieve.
There was once an American businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Mexican village. As he sat, he saw a Mexican fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore. He noticed that the fisherman had caught quite a number of big fishes known to be a delicacy. The American was really impressed and asked the fisherman, "How long does it take you to catch so many fishes?"
The fisherman reply; "Oh, just a short while."
The businessman was astonished. "Then, why don't you stay longer at sea and you could catch even more?"
The fisherman simply does not agree, "This is enough to feed my whole family", he replied.
The businessman then asked: "So, what do you do for the rest of the day then?"
The fisherman replied: "Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and
catch a few fishes, then I would come back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I will take a nap with my wife. When evening comes, I will join my buddies in the village for a drink. We play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night. My day is ever so complete and carefree."
The businessman does not agree with the fisherman's way of life and offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
"I am a PhD holder graduated from Harvard University, specialises in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you have to spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fishes as possible. And when you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fishes. As you go on, you will be able to afford to buy more boats, recruit more fishermen and lead a team of your own. Soon you will be able to set-up your own company, your very own production plant for canned food and do direct selling to your distributors. At that time, you will have moved out of this village and to Mexico City. And then expand your operation to LA and finally to New York city, where you can set-up your HQ to manage all your other branches."
The fisherman asks, "So, how long would that take?"
The businessman reply: "About 15 to 20 years."
The fisherman continued, "And after that?"
The businessman laughed heartily, " After that, you can live like a king in your own house. When the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange. You will be rich, your income will be coming in by the millions!"
The fisherman asked, "And after that?"
The businessman said, " After that, you can finally retire. You can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning and catch a few fishes. Then return home to play with the kids and have a nice afternoon nap with your wife. When evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!"
The fisherman was puzzled, "Isn't that what I am doing now?"
So, what does one really hope to achieve in life?
Do we really need to work so hard in life?
What do you hope to accomplish in the end?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
