Update on my mom: Healing

It's been almost a week since I had the scare of my life with my mom. She is presently still in the hospital though we expect her to be home by mid-week.  Subsequent to the earlier observation, the doctor also found a hairline fracture on one side of her hipbone and her sternum. There's nothing that the doctor can do for these except for them to heal naturally.

She is still in a lot of pain - her ligaments and muscles are all hurting from the impact of the hit. Physiotherapists have been trying to get her started on physiotherapy but the both times they tried, she blacked out due to the pain. We all know that my mom has a very high threshold for pain - so it must be extremely painful for her to faint from it!

While it will take months before she is mobile again, we are constantly thankful that her life was not threatened. As it was a hit and run incident, there is also no closure to the tragedy and we believe that it's affected her somewhat. We are thankful to all who prayed for her and who have been so concerned. Please continue to pray for a speedy recovery - physically and emotionally.

Update on my mom

It was around 8 pm when my mom called me from her cellphone. She was concerned about my swollen feet and wanted to know if I feel better. As always, she would put everyone else before herself. Fifteen minutes later, I received another call from her cellphone but this time it was a man on the other end. He asked if I knew the owner of the cellphone. I said yes, and he informed me that the person has been in an accident and was unconscious. He asked if he could contact her family members. It was as if a dagger was stabbed into my chest as I gave him my dad's phone number. The Good Samaritan finally contacted my dad and by the time he got to the scene (which was very close to my parents' home), the ambulance was already there.

Being almost 500 kms (300 miles) away only intensified my panic and worry. Brian was out and it was the longest hour as I waited for news on my mom's situation. As my dad was frantic with worry and riding in the ambulance, I was calling my uncle and aunt who are in Ipoh to get an update instead. I felt so helpless being so heavily pregnant and so far away. There was nothing I could do except to pray and remind myself that God is a good God - one who loves, sees all things, cares and is omniscient. 

Soon Brian was home after I informed him of the situation.  We prayed and waited. And waited. By the time my sister arrived in Ipoh (from Kuala Lumpur) at 12:30 midnight, mom had been transferred to a private hospital from the General Hospital (a government hospital). We were finally able to get mom an x-ray and detailed scan to find out her condition by 2am.

We are so thankful that none of her injuries are life threatening. Her right fibula and right toe were broken. Her right arm was dislocated. Her elbows' bone are slightly crushed but other than these are external injuries. As her condition was not life threatening, she was only wheeled in for surgery in the morning at 6:30am. She was out by 9 am and the doctor says that she'll be fine.

As I'm so advanced in my pregnancy, no airline would let me fly to Malaysia and the 8-hour bus ride to Ipoh would be too difficult for me. I long to be with my mom but have been advised to stay put in Singapore. It hurts me so much to know that my mom is in so much pain. I'm praying that she'll find some comfort in the pain management medication and that God will give her peace in her soul as she recovers in the hospital. Knowing my mom, she'll be worrying about me, about my sister and a host of other things except about herself. I hope she'll have the peace to rest and heal. Due to her age, it may be awhile before she is mobile again.

We found out subsequently that it was a hit and run by a speeding motorcycle. We know for a fact that God was watching over her as her injuries could be so much worse than they are. Also, a Good Samaritan who acted so swiftly was truly God-send. As we reflect with much gratitude for God's mercy and goodness, we continue to pray that my mom would recover smoothly and quickly. 

Baby update

We visited the gynecologist today to see how Craig is doing and found that he's doing great. He's big and long compared to an average baby in utero his age. An average baby at 31 weeks weighs around 3.3 lbs (1.3 kgs) but Craig weighs 3.74 lbs (1.7 kgs)! No wonder I feel so heavy! He also has been extremely active moving around inside and often we can see his movements as my belly thumps and swells. Sometimes he punches and kicks so hard it hurts!

Meanwhile, his room is almost ready. The crib and changing table were delivered over the weekend and we're slowly but surely setting up Craig's room. We find it hard to believe that in less than 8 weeks' time, it will be 24/7 - Craig!   

Heavy and tired

I (I'Ching) am glad that the weekend's here. I've been feeling especially heavy the last few days and tire easily from simple tasks. Today, I napped for 15 minutes on the train coming to work! I suspect that this depletion of energy will continue till Craig is done with his mothership.

We have lots to do this weekend. We went shopping for baby's crib and other outstanding stuff last evening. His crib plus changing table will be delivered on Sunday. Hopefully by then we would have gotten our act together in having all his clothes washed and room ready for the furniture. I also need to think about packing my hospital bag...

Meanwhile, today, on my way to lunch, I spotted the following which may tickle you...

If you see something strange in the neighborhood, you'll know who to call:

Chivalry isn't dead, apparently

Pix credit: www.travelblog.org

It's just my observation so far and I could be wrong but I think men are more compassionate to pregnant women than women are! The number of men who gave up their seat for me on the train far surpasses the number of women who did the same. I'm pleased to announce that I did get seat today as a kind man stood up as soon as he saw me board the train.

Bus, trains and automobiles

I (I'Ching) started commuting to work from our new home last week. From a mere stone's throw away, now I live 20 minutes away (by car) from the office. There are three options for me: 1) train (30 mins) followed by bus (15 or so mins); 2) bus all the way (1 hr 20 mins); and, 3) taxi: 20 mins but costs $15 or more one way.

I took option one the whole of last week. It was wonderful the first two days as even though the trains were packed, I got a seat - as I'm pregnant. On trains here, there are a few seats designated "Priority Seat" sort of reserved for the elderly, expectant mothers and parents with young children. I say, "sort of" as there is a sign above those seats that read, "Please be considerate - give up your seat for someone who needs it more." So, this means, the occupant of the seat can decide to not be considerate and not give up his seat. A needy person, like my present-self, has no right per se to ask him to get up. In other words, it all depends on the civic-sense (some call it commonsense but I do question how common that is nowadays!!!) of the seat-occupant.

On the third day of my commute, I boarded the train as usual and moved right up to where the priority seats are. Lo and behold, the two ladies occupying those seats did not give a hoot to the fact that I'm 7-month pregnant and need the seat badly (before my feet bloat to size 15). One gave me a look and continued to enjoy her iPod while the other continued to read. I was tempted to ask them for their seat but I remembered a recent story about how a pregnant woman asked a man for his seat and he shouted at her saying that he has no reason to give her his seat: "Why do you deserve this more than I do?" he asked!!!

So, afraid that I'd be publicly humiliated like that poor woman, I decided to stand till someone else with a seat leaves. Thankfully, a few stops later, one of the two UNKIND ladies left and I took her seat.

The same happened the next morning... So, nowadays, I do not take for granted that I will get a seat on the train just because I am a loadful. Kindness can be so rare in this society...

On a cheerier note, we put up our Charlie Brown Christmas tree last night. We made spiced apple cider, listened to carols, put up the tree and afterwards watched A Charlie Brown Christmas on dvd. A wonderful end to my birthday...

Settling in...

As I'm logging this in, the joints of my hands hurt with every tap on the keyboard - thanks to baby Craig, my joints and feet are swollen. As we enter the third trimester, we are experiencing all the related symptoms warned on every pregnancy website. When we visited the gynecologist last week, the remark was that Craig is big for his 29-week age. His thigh bone measured 5.3cm. Since both Brian and I are not exceptionally tall, we reckon that it must be someone else in either of our family that Craig is taking after.

Since we arrived back from the US, we've been busy packing and moving and finally we moved into our new apartment end of last week. We are enjoying our new place thoroughly! We are mostly unpacked except for a few boxes that are still in Craig's room. Once we get those out of the way, we will start work on the nursery.

My mom and sister came over the weekend to help with the unpacking and it was really nice to have them as first guests at our place. As always, their visit entails much good food and shopping. We managed to squeeze in a home-cooked meal by mom which was wonderful! Nothing beats mom's cooking, huh?

Having tea at Ikea's Cafe with my mom

Hmmm... perhaps this evening we'll break out our Charlie Brown xmas tree...

Pix: Our first Christmas in Singapore in 2005

Baby shower

Family here in Maryland decided to throw us a baby shower on Saturday. It was a lot of fun - filled with gifts for the baby, good food, laughter and memorable anecdotes. As we won't be staying till Thanksgiving this year, the party was also kind of an early Thanksgiving celebration. In addition to the usual fare of turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes and pumpkin pie, baby's Nana also got a very nice cake for the occasion:

Opening pressies after dinner:More onesies!!!Bringing home in our suitcases will be burp clothes, bibs, onesies, hooded towels, swaddling blankets, more bibs and soft cuddly toys. Thank you all!

Our week in Virginia

Our week in Virginia has just ended and we traveled up to Baltimore two days ago. As always, it was good to see family and catch up with what we've missed the last year. The only difference is that this year, our luggage is full of baby stuff instead of books and shoes and purses. Below are some random pictures from our time in Virginia.

Otis fooling around:

Home of some yummy bbq sandwiches:Best hotdogs around: Hotdog King

Our footlong hotdogs:

Witnessing history being written in Chicago

Our week in Chicago for meetings is over and I'm presently waiting for my airport pick-up at the hotel lobby. In fact, Brian flew out to his dad's (in Va.) early Monday morning and I join him there today.

Last night was quite a night as I witnessed the victory of Chicago's own homeboy, Obama, soaring against all odds to be the first African-American President of the US. While I disagree with his ideology, I must say that his success only proves that the US is indeed a country that deserves emulation. I cannot imagine how in anyone's lifetime a Chinese would be the Prime Minister of Malaysia. In that respect, in the words of my immediate boss, America is a great country! Both candidates fought hard and McCain conceded so graciously.

iPod vending machine at the JFK airport!

We flew into Chicago last Thursday night and Friday was Halloween. I remember some weeks back a friend asked me what Americans do on Halloween with those huge pumpkins we happened to see on sale in a supermarket in Singapore. Well, the picture below should give you an idea! I saw the two pumpkins on the counter of the coffee shop of our hotel. Apparently one of the hotel staff is a really artistic guy and he carved those faces on the pumpkins - pretty cool.The hotel we're staying at is right on Chicago's Magnificent Mile - Michigan Ave. which is lined with retails shops and brand names; something like Singapore's Orchard Road but more historical.

The Magnificent Mile at dusk:

We also ate much of the famous deep-dish Chicago pizza. Giordano's Pizza, which is two blocks from the hotel, serves up the best pizzas we've ever had! There is so much in the vicinity but we didn't do too much sightseeing as I'm beginning to find walking too long very strenous on my legs. Overall, we had a nice time here in Chicago.

Weekend in Melaka

We spent our last weekend in Melaka conducting sessions at our bi-annual training weekend. As a friend was visiting from the USA this time, we stayed two days longer than we usually do. Following are some pictures from our trip. As always, our visits to Malaysia entail lots of good food and this time was not any different. We also discovered a cafe run by some Malaysian Chinese but serves up the best pizza I've had. This will not be a long post as we're getting ready to leave tonight to the US.

The main entrance to an old Chinese association:

The fabulous wood-fire pizza place:

Great friends, great food:

I'm all bloated from the pregnancy!

Updates: Baby and apartment

We've two piece of good news: one, baby is doing great. We saw him on the ultrasound machine this morning and he was actively swimming and gulping in amniotic fluid! Not sure if the following scan pixs make any sense to you but basically the first one is a side view of him with his arm kind of over his head. The second one is a very faint frontal shot of his face. He was so much clearer and vivid on the scan machine screen.Second piece of good news is that we've found an apartment that we like. Located in the western part of the island-state, Clementi Heights is very accessible via the train and has all the amenities a family needs. Right behind the apartment blocks is a huge public swimming pool where we plan to bring baby to on a hot day. Now we can't wait to move into our new place and start setting up baby's room!

Dowry and infanticide

Photo credit:www.indian-baby-names-at-desimums.com

The last two weeks had been good for me (I'Ching) and I'm suspecting that the sunny second trimester of my pregnancy has finally arrived - yay! I've hardly any serious migraine though my sinus still bothers me (apparently stuffy nose is a part of pregnancy). As of today, baby is 22 weeks old and growing fast!

My short trip to India was uneventful - in a good way. As always, I met interesting people along the way, had great food... The driver who works for RZIM India, Jabasingh, was also getting ready to be a father while I was there (they have since gotten a baby girl, born on the morning after I left Chennai).

When I first found out about his then-expecting wife, I ignorantly asked if they knew the gender of the baby. Of course not! I was reminded that in India, they don't tell you what gender the baby is for fear of infanticide and abortion.

In India, males are favored over females for many reasons. Dowry is one. You see, when a male is of age, his parents would find him a suitable wife. Families of potential brides would then have to meet the demands of the groom's family - usually in terms of cash or big item gifts (furniture, electrical appliances, animals, etc). Though the demand and giving of dowry has been illegalized in India, it is still very much practiced. Sometimes demands from potential grooms are so high that families with girls have to work and save for years to afford marrying their daughters to a husband of fine background.

Due to this, parents prefer to have sons rather than daughters. I hear that in some rural Indian villages, if a girl is born, the baby would be abandoned and left to die. And, if they found out that the unborn is a girl, they would abort the baby (as is practiced in China!). This is inhumane but so commonly practiced! As such, the Indian government tries to curb it by banning doctors from telling parents the gender of their unborn.

So imagine how surprised my India colleagues were when I told them that I know I'll be having a son!

Beautiful boy

We went to the hospital for a detailed scan of the baby this morning. Unlike the routine scans we do at the doctor's, today's was to determine if baby's development is normal and all. Preliminary views seem to show that baby is normal - I was able to see his heart clearly, his mouth (this was to ensure there is no cleft palate), his feet, etc. The doctor had to measure his head, his foot, etc to see if they are growing normally. I am thankful to God and to all who prayed for us and our baby boy!

Brian was not allowed in with me initially - so only I saw most of the action. Baby was so active - he was moving around so much that it took the doctor quite a while to capture his face and foot. (By the way, from what I saw, I think he's got his daddy's flat feet and not my beautifully arched ones!) He was kicking and tumbling around inside endlessly. I first felt his movements a week back but they are getting more frequent progressively.

At 21 weeks old, he weighs 377 gms (13.3 ounces). We'll make sure to post some of the shots of the scan once we get them next week.

Meanwhile, on a totally unrelated note, some of you may find it odd to know that chicken feet is a delicacy here in Southeast Asia. The Chinese love 'em braised or stewed with mushroom while the Thais like 'em deboned in a salad.

My brave husband, after having tried them, said that they taste "okay" but it' too much work (ridding of the bones) for so little meat. He's right there but that's not really the point. Part of the fun in eating well-stewed chicken feet is in the great skill of deboning the feet in your mouth and then spitting out the bones. (This is easier demonstrated than described!)Anyhow, the reason why I'm bringing up the issue of chicken feet is that a few days ago, we passed by a restaurant getting the feet ready. There were hundreds of pairs of feet that were being deep fried! We thought some of you would get a kick out of the sight! Ah.., amazing Asia!

We're moving - again!!!

When we moved from our 3-bedroom, over 1,000 sq ft apartment to our current 2-bedroom 600+ sq ft place, we did not expect to be successful in having a baby so soon. But our needs have changed now that I'm almost 5-month pregnant. Other than the need for a baby room, we will require a guest room for the many family members who will be visiting once our son comes along (yes, it will be a boy!).

So, after having weighed all the options, we have decided that we'll move in December when both Brian and my schedule will be slightly freer. Besides, we would be traveling quite a bit from next week till the third week of November (India, Malaysia and then the US) and would not have the time to pack and move. We have started looking, though, for a larger place. With the economy dampening, we are hoping that rental would fall from its unreal height, making it possible for us to afford a decent place. Much awaits us in the next few months...