Dads & Their Daughters

While in Singapore, we managed to catch up with Chee Chuan and Joey, whom we haven't seen in a while and meet Tricia, their miracle baby. Tricia was born at Week 24 and lived for a few months in an incubator; she's had two eye surgeries and a heart surgery. Her mom, Joey, had excessive bleeding after the birth and I can understand why she and Chee Chuan don't want any more kids at the moment.

It was a short, hurried, crowded meeting at Atria's Food Avenue. Being there was as hazardous as being in a crowded kitchen: strollers, babies, crowds, cramped areas and bowls of hot soup don't mix. Since Rizal and I weren't hungry and the Cheong's had had their dinner, we adjourned to their hotel where there was a Harry's and had the sampler there. Rizal swears that it's better than the food at Las Caretas in Jalan Damansara.

The meeting was short as the Cheongs had an early morning flight to Hong Kong. Wished we had more time to talk but a short meeting was better than nothing since the last time we met up with the Cheongs was a few years ago when they were back in Seremban/Batu Pahat for their wedding.

Here are the two gals with their proud dads.


Rizal does look round in this one and complained about the photo; wanted it taken down but as it's the only good photo I have of the two dads, it's staying up.

Where The Animals Cavort and Play

It's been a long time since I've been to the zoo. I avoid the KL zoo for a valid reason: looking at listless, half-starved and vapid animals in captivity is depressing. That was a long time ago but I don't have faith that there has been much improvement since the last time (15-20 years?) since I've been there.

The same can't be said for the Singapore zoo; I actually WANT to, look forward to going there. And to see how Sophie would take to an outing in the sun.

So today we met Sam and Aisha in the morning for our traipse out into the Singapore 'wilderness'.



Otters taking a break from building their dams, baking in the sun.


This is not a dear but I can't remember what it's called.


Sophie and me catching some sun, on the way to see the cheetahs.


We saw the lionesses instead.


Old man monkey.


This green tree python and his sleeping position reminds me of Janell Cannon's Verdi.


Exhibit 56: Crying baby.


This is a jaguar, not a cheetah or a leopard.


Jaguars have a black spot in the middle of their rings.


Like Trixie in the wild.


Handsome boy.


My target exhibit; there weren't any other Asian tigers, just the White Tigers at the zoo. The Asian tiger can be found at the Night Safari. Note: there are only 7,000 tigers left in the wild and they are all Asian tigers. I hope Sophie can grow up knowing tigers and that they will still exist when she's an adult.


Sam the Man.


All of us camera ready except for Sophie.


A little loving from Daddy.

Hanging with Uncle Chin Lai

Hanging with Uncle Chin Lai, originally uploaded by Ashkarya.

Another one of her preferred spots; talk about VIP parking...and they match too!

Five Adults and a Baby

Last night marked Sophie's and my first alone together. Well, technically, we were alone only past 1am. Prior to that the turtle gang (or half of the turtle gang plus an addition) came by to keep us company for lunch. Sophie became the centre of attention as PA and mommy went overboard testing the ISOs of their DSLRs and snapped away even when she was trying to sleep. The results from PA's efforts can be seen here and here. Yee yee and her beau stayed on with us for dinner with po po and kung kung after the turtle gang had left.

After dinner, the Sams dropped by for an unusual round of games (the usual rounds take place on either Sunday and/or Monday nights). How many players does it take to play Citadels and Power Grid? Five adult players and an infant, apparently.

Sophie would not sleep; for Citadels she remained mostly in her cot with aunt Aisha dashing from her spot at the dining table to the cot in between turns. Towards the end of the game, it was a no-go: mommy had to whip out the milk supply to appease the little monster. Mealtime over, she stayed bright and chirpy so mom reserved a spot on her lap for a courtside view when the game switched to Power Grid.

Unfortunately sitting on mommy's lap proved not to her pleasure, as Sophie demanded to be put into the sarong swing, which was wheeled from its usual place on the carpet in the middle of the living room closer to the players at the dining table. Yee yee and aunty Aisha took turns entertaining and swinging her to sleep. Multi-tasking took its toll on aunty Aisha as she lost concentration on the game and didn't bid for power plants, buy resources or build power plants as efficiently as she would have if she'd concentrated fully on the game.

The little monster slept only for a while. Halfway through the game, she gave everyone a taste of her powerful vocals. No choice, mom had to carry her on her lap again. This time, she had to be patted to sleep.

Third time's the charm. In no time, Sophie was deep in slumber. Mom had to rearrange the power plant cards with one free hand and receive help with marking her cities on the board and buying resources.

Unfortunately, multi-tasking for mom also didn't seem to work for her game. With extra cash to spare and a couple of power plants short, mom didn't win the game. Sophie however, remained asleep.

As if I haven't Bought Enough Baby Stuff

A friend insisted we go baby shopping today. I must say that shopping with someone who's given birth before is so much more fun than going on my own. Lots of advice and tips were given out while we looked for essentials. Here's what I ended up with:


1. Bottle warmer. Great for night feeds when you're too tired to mix in the formula with hot and/or cold water. "Just keep some water in the bottle, make sure it's warm, add in the formula, shake it and your baby's ready to go. It's worth the investment because you can use it until they're two or so."


2. Pacifier. "We tried not using it at all and then not too often. But you never know when you need it."


3. Compartmentalised formula container. "Just pour the formula into the warmed bottle and you're done!"


4. Rubberised baby change mat. "You need this because you never know if or when the baby's gonna pee when you change him/her." Yikes.


5. Non-slip baby mat for tub. "Useful because it helps to keep the baby in position in the tub."


6. Talc container with puff. Self-explanatory.


7. Baby oil. For myself more than the baby, since I bought a really small bottle to begin with and it's running out (didn't expect to use such copious amounts at this late stage).

Another one for Sophia

Here's another ode to Sophia from budding poet/singer-songwriter, dear friend Eve. This was written after I'd told her that Sophia must have enjoyed the extra flow of blood circulation during my foot massage.


Foot Massage

Tickle me timbre
Tickle me quick
Tickles when she giggles
Iggly, wiggly, hic!
I'll tumble, and she'll mumble
And I guess she's wondering why
But I love it when it tickles
Aye-aye-aye!

Copyright 2007 © Evelyn Heng

Left out of the Loop

"Have you checked in to the hospital yet?"

"No..."

"Are you in the hospital?"

"No!"

"Have you left the hospital yet?"

"No...oi! Am not due till end July la!"

"How was I supposed to know? You are supposed to tell your friends about developments like these! I suppose I would have had to find out from someone else AFTER you'd popped."

"Err...sorry. I was going to look you up if I'd driven to Penang as planned over the weekend! Swear!"

"Right."

More lists

I asked a good friend (who had her kids about 7 years back) what I should have in preparation for the baby. Here's her list, uncensored:

For the baby:

1) Bed and beddings
2) Bathing items - tub shampoo, slip mat, baby oil and ru-yi oil (the type that comes in bottle inside a cylinder tin box) to rub on baby's tummy.
3) Feeding bottles, sterilizer and washing brush/detergent.
4) Clothes and pins. The right detergent for babies.
5) Cloth diapers and disposables.
6) Towels, lots of hankies.

For myself:

1) Sarongs coz you'll be going to the loo quite a bit and it's easier to take off and put on than pants. Wouldn't want to be lifting your legs so much with all those wounds.
2) Maternity pads. Lots of it.
3) Are you washing your hair? I got dry shampoo coz MIL only let me wash once a week. So I dry shampoo in between.
4) Blouses that button in front. Easy for breast feeding.
5) A small mirror if you dare to check your episiotomy. I used it to apply the flavin on the stitches after each time I pee. Not a pretty sight.
6) A sarong to line the bed if you want to look at your stitches and apply the flavin.

Everything on the baby list looks pretty manageable, except I'm not sure what the ru-yi oil is. And I'm not sure where to get cloth diapers. It's a detail that my mom would probably know the answer to. I think I'll just boil everything as a method of sterilization.

On my list, items 2 and 5 are starting to freak me out (I have been studying this list the past two days). Maternity pads? Did she mean sanitary pads? LOTS of it? Good gawd, what am I gonna be gushing? The entire contents of my reproduction system?

And item 5? Sounds entirely like a gruesome scene from 300 or one of those gory medieval battle scenes in movies. Am I going to even risk peeing? I was thinking of risking swabbing in the general area if I need to and preferably not look at the massacre that will be my nether regions after I'm done with the giving birth bit.

Here's how she ended her email to me:

I hope I'm not scaring you! It's not that bad-lah. The doctors stitch really well these days so it heals really nicely, and the stitch will just melt away as the wound heals. Not even a scar. I don't know where my episiotmies were now. So there's no ugly zig-zag tears and rough stitches/scars like our mother's time.

Make sure you have two bags ready to bring to the hospital. One for you and baby. Should get it ready now and just leave it on standby coz you never know when the contractions come. Then when it's time, you can just grab the bags and go.

Oh, BTW, when you do feel your contractions, there is enough time to take a bath and shower, and wash your hair. It's not like what you see in the movies. The contractions starts really mild and takes a few hours before you dilate to 7 cm. So relax and don't panic.

If your water bursts just put on a pad, get someone to help wipe up the mess while you take a shower then go see the doctor.

Maybe I really should just consider C-section as a viable option...

Pregnant or fat?

An aqcuaintance I hadn't met in over a year thought I was fat rather than pregnant. It all started when we sat down for teh tarik and he advised me not to drink so much calorie-infused teh tarik because I had a belly to show for it.

I didn't know whether to be insulted or amused; I stuck with the latter. That's when I dropped the bomb and told him I was already going along 6 months.

He looked genuinely surprised. He's married with three teenaged kids (I thought married people can spot pregnancies from a mile away?), therefore, he has a load of wisdom and experience to dish out so of course he felt it was his duty to enlighten me.

Here's part of his list:

1. If we're still having sex, hubby better be wearing a condom coz we don't want to take any chances of me catching an infection. "You never know where guys have put their hands before and after they go to the loo. We're generally more resilient because we're not the ones who are moist all the time, and bacteria breeds in moist places, especially now your acidity and immunity are lower."

2. I need to stop drinking iced drinks, Chinese tea, leong char, and all this teh tarik crap. "Do you know what they put in the tea? It's loaded with colouring!" Instead I should drink more water and fruit juices.

3. Eat more fish.

4. "When you hear people arguing, walk away. It's not good for the baby. She can hear already."

5. "No watching scary or ghost stories on TV or at the cinema. It could affect the baby."

6. Keep happy.

Thanks for your concern, James. Will eat as much fish as I can for the next three months till Sophia pops out.

And another one...

Here's another one that almost got me rolling on the floor:

"Don't walk too fast or you'll topple over."

Somehow the mental image that popped into mind seemed entirely too incongruous.

Especially coming from someone who tried to climb into the backseat of a four-door Honda via the front door; she thought it was a two-door sportster. Those were the good old college days. Now she's got two kids and is giving me baby advice.

Time sure flies.

Little Sophia

Here's what a dear friend wrote when I mentioned I'll be writing my Sophia a few lines:

Little Sophee
Floaty floaty
In her tummy
Like a bubble
In her bubble
Waiting to pop

Can you guess why I call her my dear friend?

If it weren't for the armrests on the chair, I'd be rolling and laughing uncontrollably on the floor, tears streaming down my face.