merry christmas

its 30 pass 5 on a thursday afternoon, 25 december.... yup its christmas day.... we are at me folks, THE WIFE is with junior in one of the bedroom playing with cousin edbert, number two is with me old man..... and me? well, its been a while since i last made an entry, i guess i am making up for it.....

the last two months had been a rush, time really flies when you are having fun... or buried with work... junior had learnt to pick his nose in the last two months and put whatever he digs into his mouth... he even offered some to THE WIFE....

junior: mommy, eat pee sai?
THE WIFE: eeee.... you dont eat pee sai... sooo dirty....
junior: nice nice....
me:hmmmmmmm...
i swear he did not pick up nose picking from me... he digs with his thumb, i prefer to use my little pinky.... i guess nose picking is one skill he is born with but to dig it discreetly is an art he has to, with pun intended, pick up....... although i am a believer of, what one does with his pickings is nobody's business but his own.... but please do not put it in your mouth... hmmmm....

number two has been putting on weight steadily... he weights more than 8 kgs now... according to prof p, he is in the 25 percentage, overweight..... on the bright side, he seems to be thriving.... putting on weight just on breast milk, i guess its not too bad, most babies ive seen put on weight due to formulas...... and right now, number two is wearing L size diapers, a size that junior can fit... THE WIFE is even letting number two wear juniors shorts and shirt, and the thing is, they fit!! junior weights about 11 kgs, i guess it wont be too long before number two over takes junior.....

two cakes for turning two

its 10 past 11 on a friday nite, the last day of october.... THE WIFE is washing up number two, junior is spending the nite at his wai gongs place, i am just enjoying the peace.... yes... today, two years ago, junior came to be.... i have been a daddy for two years..... two years of dirty diapers, nite feeds, tantrums, baby pao tiao and of course, my favourite, papa carry you.......

junior is becoming more and more like a little person.... with his own likes and dislikes.... he chooses which grand pa to play with, what shoes to wear, what cartoons to watch and of course what to eat.... junior is quite particular about what he eats... depending on his mood, he would swing between chicken rice, noodles or nothing at all.... he can go all day with just bottle milk and nothing else.... which could explain why he still poo once or maybe twice a week... i guess if nothing goes in one end, nothing much will come out the other... hmmm.....

the good thing about spending time at both grand parents is, you get to have two cakes on your birthday..... and the thing with a big extended family is, you get to celebrate birthday quite often.... me mom and number two are in sept, me sis and junior are in october, me old man and me fil are both in november, me bro and cusion edbert is in december, cousin izzac is in january, THE WIFE is in march and mine is in april..... i guess with birthdays lined up like that, putting on weight should not be a problem for junior... hmmmm....

whole family in hospital

its 15 past 9 on a tuesday nite.... THE WIFE is in NUH with number two, junior is at me father in laws and i am at office, getting some work done... well sort of.... I am on leave today, i just thought i swing by get some work done so that i wont be buried by it tomorrow.....

yup, number two is in the hospital.... he was warded last tuesday for an infection... THE WIFE has been spending her nights keeping him company... i have been with them the last couple of nights... junior was admitted to the same hospital yesterday... he was discharged today and staying with his favorite grandpa.... yup... how lucky can a guy get? both of me kids warded in the same ward at the same time... on the bright side, i dont have to go to different hospital to see them both and i dont have to take too much time off...... hmmm.... frankly i hope it never happens again..... not many parents go through lives with all their kids in the hospital at the same time... at least none of the ones i know....

number two was having an infection on his scar he got during his operation.... the wound was sort of swelling and puss was flowing out of his tummy.... prof p said that we had to admit him for observations and have some procedures done to draw the puss out of his scar.... if not, the scar will not heal and the infection might spread..... so far, number two is barely two months old and he had already been warded into two different hospital, its rough... most folks i know, gets through life without spending much time in the hospital....

as for junior, he got into a little accident in the bath.... the motherinlaw was bathing him when he slipped, fell forward and hit his head against the toilet.... it was a pretty nasty cut, blood everywhere.... he was rushed to the polyclinic, which in turn referred him to nuh..... they stitched him up and warded him for the nite for observations...... well for the record, junior always bump his head when he falls and the last time it involved blood was when he hit his lips while climbing chairs at me dads.... so i guess its fair, the scar above his right eye is from his wai gong and the scar under his lip is from his ah gong..... hmmm

touch 4D ten times.....

its 15 past 11 on a sunday nite... the boys are in bed, as is THE WIFE.... number twos been cranky the last couple of days, we havent been having much sleep.... i guess a baby being a baby, he is just doing what he is program to do...... keeping mum and dad up... hmmm...

we were at nuh a couple of days back... we were refered to a professor queck, by the good dr simon, and he in turn referred us to a professor prabah... i guess they are must be pretty good in what they do to get referrals... hmmm... prof q is a pretty nice fella, looks like he is pushing 60... he did a once over with number two and referred us to prof p..... lets just say that its sort of comforting to see old profs, with so many years under their belts, they must have seen everything..... hmmm... and according to prof p, what number two has is something only 5% of babies with this particular condition gets.... when you worked it out, 5% of the 1 in 5000... that would make it 1 in 100,000..... considering that the chances of touching 4D is 1 in 10,000.... number two just touched 4D ten times... hmmmm......

according to prof p, he has only seen 2 or 3 such cases and most of them are girls.... he should be able to do the second operation when number two reaches 6-7 kgs.... that means we have to fatten up number two.... at around that weight, prof p should have enough of intestines to work on.... what prof p wants to do is to take the existing part of number twos intestines, fused to some of his other large intestines and hopefully have enough to make everything alright....

prof p arranged for us to meet the stoma nurse... as it turns out, i knew the nurse... we used to be classmates back in the old days... junior, number two, if you are reading this.... point to note here, be kind to all your friends, you never know when you will meet them again needing their help.... the last time i met her was 16 years ago.... i guess number two is in pretty good hands.......

1 in 5000

its 10 after 9 on a friday, 2 days after childrens day.... its the fourth friday since number two came to be.... THE WIFE is trying to feed number two soy milk formula... number twos been having diarrhoea lately.... junior is at me father in laws.... he should be sending him back home anytime soon..... me? i am just doing what i do best... nothing....... its been a while since i last did any nothing....

number twos been putting on weight steadily... he was 3.4 kgs when he came to be, he was slightly over 4 kgs yesterday when we went to the dr about his diarrhoea.... bearing in mind that he had a major operation not long after he was born, i think he is doing pretty well.... what number two has is a condition called hirschsprungs.... its where, for some unknown reasons, the cells in his intestines stop forming... this condition renders the part of the intestines without the cells, useless..... the usual treatment would be to find out where exactly the cells stop to grow and then remove it... hence the operation.... as to why he had to have the operation on the third day after he came to be?... according to the surgeon, his intestine has, in the words of the surgeon, perforated.... in words where normal people like you and i can understand, his intestine has burst and poo is leaking into his tummy... nasty when you think about it... the infection alone can killed anybody, not to mention newborns.....

if you think having a baby will cost you an arm and a leg, having a baby who needs an operation and spend almost two weeks in a NICU will leave you pretty much limbless... hmmmm...... the bill for THE WIFE was a little over $1200, the bill for number two came up to $20000... according to the dr, this condition happens in 1 out of every 5000 births.... considering the number of babies born every year... there should be more than a handful of kids out there just like number two.. i might even start a support group for folks with kids of the same condition...

this blog started out as a diary or sorts for me... now its more like a letter to the future for junior and number two... junior, if you are reading this, study hard, eat your greens, be good to your mother... number two, if you are reading this, it means what i fear most did not happen and study hard, keep healthy, yada yada yada, make loads of money and give them to your old man.... hmmm......

do it or else....

its 20 past midnight on a wednesday morning, number two is in his cot, THE WIFE is in bed, junior is in bed and i am in a chair.... for the past few nights since number two discharged from the hospital, we have been all sleeping in the same room... THE WIFE has to be close to number two, to breastfeed him in the middle of the night.... junior has to be close to THE WIFE else he cant fall asleep, mama boy... and i sleep on the floor next to the bed just in case THE WIFE needs me help with number two..... four of us in one room, sort of like tenants in our own house.. hmmmmm....

the pediatrician told me about the bloody stool on a saturday morning, the surgeon talked to me that evening, took another x-ray the next day and explained to me that number two must be operated on that very afternoon or else... by this time number two was already in the NICU with tubes running in and out of him... to think that it was just two days ago when he was kicking and screaming when the good dr theo first pull him out of THE WIFE... i just hope that not too many fathers have to go through that... the surgeon also said that the operation will take about two hours... they will start at two thirty and should end before five.... i guess i really have to hand it to these doctors, they dont seem to have any day off.... i wonder who help them to spend the buckets of money they made if they are at work seven days a week... hmmmm....

THE WIFE was due to be dischargd that sunday afternoon... it just doesnt feel right... the thing with giving birth is, two check into a hospital three should check out.... unless you have twins, then four checks out... i guess giving birth isnt always about smilling babies, rainbow skies, bunny tails and unicons... sometimes crap happens.... and i guess the crap from number two says it all.....

number two was wheeled back into the NICU at five thirty that day... THE WIFE was already at home resting by then... standing there alone looking at number two with all the tubes and scar across his little tummy, i am just glad that or else did not happen.....

speechless

its 15 to midnight on a sunday nite..... junior is in bed, THE WIFE is in bed, number two is in his cot..... yap... the day came.... and passed.... frankly i dont know what to feel....

we got into the hospital at a little past midnight three fridays ago... the nurse preps the wife while i tried to catch some Zzzs in the freezing labour ward waiting for the number two to come... its was seven in the morning when THE WIFE had the urge to push... but the dr with the epidural was not around... seven oclock was also the time when the nurses change shifts... by the time the nurses realise that this is not a drill, it was too late for epidural... THE WIFE was well into it.. she was going do it the old fashion way... al natural... pain killer free... i have never heard THE WIFE scream so loud before, i was told later THE WIFEs scream can be heard in the whole labour ward and the rest of the pregnant ladies immediately ask for the epidural... when dr theo arrived, he barely had enough time to slip into his scrubs.... number two pops just as the good dr positions himself... time of birth, 7.43 am.... number two weights in at 3.4 kgs.... almost half a kg more than junior when he came to be....

everything was nice and dandy until the next day when the pediatrician pull me into the baby ward and showed me number twos poo...

dr: his stool is not normal... i am concern
me: ok...
dr: you see this stool, its like mucus and there is also blood present.....
me: ok...
dr: we need to take an x-ray and i will speak to the surgeon about it...
me: ok....

trust me, a conversation like that out of the blue will catch any new father speechless....

thank god its friday

its 15 past 11 on a wednesday night, junior and THE WIFE are in bed, i am just taking stock of whats going to happen next..... we were at the docs office last nite and according to the good doctor, number two should be out...

we were at the doctors for our 38 week visit, the nurse took THE WIFEs weight before we got in to see the doc... THE WIFE was 68 kgs.... and according to the scan by the doc, number two was 3.5 kgs... compare to junior when he was born, he was only 3.01kgs, number two is a big fella...

doc: i think we can induce to have the baby delivered...
me: when?
doc: tonight or friday.....
me: huh? can we wait till full term?
doc: you can wait till full term, the cervic would be softer but the baby will be bigger you might have some probelm or you can induce, the baby will be smaller and it would be easier....
me:hmmm.....
doc: you can check into the hospital tonight, induce and give birth tomorrow or you can check in on thursday and give birth on friday....
me: can we do it on friday? its THE WIFEs mothers birthday... and i can finish off some work before then...
doc: okay, you check in on thursday midnight, induce and i will come on friday morning and see how...

i guess thats that.... seeing as how this is the last night before all the crazy stuffs starts, i should enjoy the peace of only one kid.... come tomorrow, we will start the ball rolling on changing our world of three into a world of four....

joel chua ren he

its 30 past 6 on the day after national day, junior is hitting on some pots and pans, THE WIFE is on the comfy chair watching the news, i am just hacking on the computer and enjoing the peace, sort of... at least till number two comes along... should be within these few weeks, at least thats what the dr says.....

we are getting ready for number two... we got back juniors cot and some baby clothes from cousin edbert.... set up the bath and changing station.... even clear out the spare room to make room for the nanny to stay in.... the thing with not being the first one in the family is, you get to inherit loads of hand me downs.... and from the stuffs that we are getting for number two, he should cost us next to nothing..... here we can see the marks left behind by junior on the cot when he was growing out his front teeth....either juniors got strong teeth or the cots got soft wood.... hmmmmm

number twos grandpa, me old man, handed me this paper the other day... like it was with junior, number twos name came with strings of poem... although the two poem looks the same.... according to me old man, those words are calculated through the pen stroke of the chinese charaters... juniors name and number twos name both have the same number of strokes, hence the same four string of poem.... i still cant make out what those four lines mean.... junior is ren jie while number two is ren he... me old man decided that for this generation, they will all share the same middle name.... cousin edbert is ren yi...... the thing with ren jie and ren he is, if you put the last charaters of both name together, you would get jie he.... union or sorts.... talk about deeper meanings... hmm......

i guess little by little, we are getting ready for number two.... frankly with the workload i have at work, i am pretty looking forward to the three days of paternity leave, i might even throw in me own annual leave and take a week or two off work.... of course if anybody asks.... i am spending time with the little one... hmmm....

ok and bu yao............

its 50 past 10 on a tuesday night... junior is asleep and THE WIFE and myself are having a little quiet time... in another three weeks or so, THE WIFE is going to pop and number two is going to be, i guess we better enjoy it while we can....

junior is growing to be a small little boy.... hes picking up more words... english, chinese, hokkien.... and yes, he speaks singlish... not with the lahs and lors, but more with the "papa, chong liang, go sleep sleep" when you actually think about it... he is trilingual... how many kids can do that before they turn two??... but the two phrase that he really uses with great effect is "ok" and "bu yao" ... i would ask if he wants milk, he would pause for a while, as if pondering lifes greatest question, then answer "okay".... me: you want to go walk walk? junior:.......okay .... me: you want your pooh pooh? junior:....okay ..... but if he dont want anything, he would say... bu yao... turn around and run away.... me: you want to give papa kiss kiss? junior: bu yao... and then turn around and run away shouting, "baby pao tiao"....

junior can also count up to twelve.... recite by heart actually, i dont think he knows what they mean, he just knows what comes after one and two and so on.... THE WIFE is starting to teach him the alphabets... she makes flash cards and get junior to read them... sort of like a for apple, b for ball... so far, junior knows that x is for xylophone... i didnt even know what a xylophone is... hmmm.....

but a kid being a kid, he still throws a mean tantrum, crying fits and rolls on the floor when he dont get his way... he is getting very clingy to THE WIFE too, becoming more and more of a ma ma boy... with THE WIFE ready to pop... within the month according to the good dr, im not too sure if junior is ready to share ma ma wif number two... if one throw fits like tat, imagine having two boys going at it.... i cant wait... hmmm.....

twice a month

its 15 past 12 on a saturday afternoon.... THE WIFE is doing some crossword puzzles, junior is swinging in his swinger, sound asleep... i am just trying my best to ignore the fighter jets buzzing around outside.... yes, national day is coming and they are flying formations in the clear blue sky... its pretty cool when you think about it, i get a sneak preview of the planes going through their rountines, most people would only get to see it on the actual day itself....big fat hairy deal....

we were at the dr theos two tuesday back.... we are into our 27 week.... number two has been kicking and turning in the tummy according to THE WIFE.... he is a kicker, unlike junior... we got to the docs office 15 mins past seven, 15 minutes late.... theres about four couples infront of us... but it wasnt long before we were called in....

doc: hello, how are we today?

THE WIFE: fine, i guess
doc: well, you put on quite some weight, i guess you are making up for the past few visits..... has the baby been kicking?
THE WIFE: yah, pretty much the same time everyday...
doc: okay, lets take a look....

the nurse readies THE WIFE while i tried to make some small talk with the doc... it wasnt long before we were looking at the little screen...

doc: everything looks normal.... heres the head, spine, and leggs...
me: can i have a picture of that?
doc: sure..... let me see if i can get a good one......

after everything is done, we made an appointment to see the doc in two weeks time... from this appointment onwards, we would be seeing the doc every two weeks... i guess it wont be long when we start seeing the doc every week and before we know it out pops number two.... i guess i better enjoy it while i can, when number two comes around, i would be up to me nose in diapers and milk feeds again......

laundry basket no pants

its ten past one on a wet saturday afternoon... THE WIFE and junior are having their nap and i am just taking a little time out to catch up on this blog.... I have been a little behind, its been a while since i last updated..... a convenient excuse would be that i am busy but i guess the real reason would more likely be that i am getting lazy.... that would also explain why i am putting on more weight and why junior is running around the house with the laundry basket on his head.... no, he is not trying to be spongebob squarepants, although he is more like laundry-basket no-pants.... hmmm....

the fact is, i am pretty beat from work and THE WIFE is getting heavy with number two.... couple that with junior who is always running around and dosent want to be held on to, going out for walks is like some sport race... THE WIFE with the weight lifting, junior with the running and me with the catching up.... hours of fun....

junior is still not eating much... he can actually get through one day with just 4 bottles of milk and maybe a little noodles in the middle of the day.... most meal time involves us chasing him down to get food into his mouth... doesnt work most of the time though.... he still weights 10.4kg... considering that he is coming to twenty months, thats light for a boy.... his cousin, edbert, who is 7 months old, is weighting about 8 kgs... chances are he will out weight junior when he turns one... but the doc whom junior sees, says that junior is within the average weight and height range for his age... i guess as long as he is healthy, THE WIFE is happy and i am fatty... hmmm...

one plus one equals...

its 4.30 on a hot saturday afternoon, THE WIFE and junior are both having a lazy afternoon nap.... i am just having a lazy afternoon... the thing i find with naps is that they make time goes fast.... you pop into bed at two and in an instant, you woke up at four... where did that 2 hours go??... although surfing the net makes time flies too..... hmmm....

today we finally grill up the remaining two windows thats ungrilled.... the balconey and the kitchen.... it set us back by $520.... but i guess its money will spend.... junior is starting to climb chairs and i dont think it would be long before he reliase that there another world outside the window.... where theres cars and bus and blue skies and green grass..... more interesting than what we have in the house.... Junior is growing into his own little person... when he dont get what he wants, he would kick and scream and throw fits on the floor... but i found that if i talk to him in a calming voice, reason out with him, he would calm down and listen... here, we can see that a happy meal is a deflated balloon and an ice cream cone... although pants is still an option, hes still running around in diapers on most days.....

junior is getting bigger, its one of those things, you see them everyday, you wont see a difference... but when someone points it out, you suddenly realise, yeah... hes grown quite a bit... hes outgrown some of his clothes, shoes and hes getting tall enough to reach over the dinning table.... but he still looks pint size to me, although he is getting heavy to be carried around.... here we can see that junior is fast asleep in his supper high tech pram... it boasts a self containing air ventilation system, driver control steering wheel, which doesnt control anything and cup holder thats too small for most cups..... cool... useful yet useless at the same time.... hmmmm

junior is pick up quite a few words... he can point out to things and name them.... doors, lights, pictures, cars, bus, see saws.... all sorts of things... ive though him recently one puls one equals two.... and every now and then i would test him...

me: one plus one equals...

junior: too....

me: two plus two equals...

junior: too...

me: 100 divided by 50 times one equals....

junior: too....

me: sooooo clever.....

you get the drift.... every equals two to him.... hmmmm......

100% boy

its 10 to 11 on a public holiday eve.... tomorrows labour day... when you think about it, we do laundry on laundry days, go to school on school days, give birth on birthdays but we kick back and have a holiday on labour day... hmmmm....

we were at dr theos office last friday... we were in for number twos 20th week check up... we were suppose to check on his physical development, heartbeat and stuffs like that... we got there at two for a two thirty appointment... theres only one guy in the waiting room with a ladys handbag, reading a magazine... the tv is showing reruns of spiderman but i am just starting at the fishes in the little fish tank... there seems to be one or two fish missing.... it wasnt long before we were in dr theos office....

dr: hello.... so you know the results of that test.... everything is alright with the baby...
me: yah, does that mean that the results is a 100%?
dr: well, let me rephrase that, the baby is not a 100% all right, its just that he is not going to have downs syndnome...
me: hmmm.... thats half a relief....
THE WIFE: what else can the test tells us?
dr: 100% sure that the baby is a boy....
me: hmmm.....

THE WIFE hops on the bed and the nurse readies her..... the doc starts with the scaning thingy...

dr: lets see now.... heres the head.... the body, spine.... arms... leggs.... heartbeat... and you can actually hear his heart beat....

he flips some switches on the machine and we hear heartbeats.... cool isnt it? we can actually look inside number two while he is inside THE WIFE.... hear his heart beat even.....

dr: everything looks allright...
me: is his head big?
dr: no... everything is normal.... everything looks all right....i will see you a months time....
THE WIFE: okay

and with that, we made another appointment for the end of the month.....

everythings gonna be all right....... :)

its 40 after 10 on a full moon night.... THE WIFE and junior have turned in and i have just stepped out of the shower and ready for a little me time...... the past couple of weeks was lousy... it was two weeks ago that the good doc told us that results of the blood test that THE WIFE took has indications of a possible down syndrome and we were adviced to take another more invasive test to confirm the results of the first blood test.... although it was me birthday last week, i wasnt really in the mood to celebrate....

i spent most of the days keeping meself busy and trying not to think too much about it.... although i have not discuss anything with THE WIFE, but i think she is also not really having an easy time either..... time seems to drag and your mind tend to picture the worst while waiting for the call to come..... but the good doc called today... it was negative, the blood test was a false positive... number two was going to be alright....

according to the first blood test, we had a 1 in 75 chance of number two being born with down syndrom.... the safe zone was 1 in 250.... according to dr theo, 1 in 75 is a high risk and 1 in 20 of all pregnancy would be tested positive for high risks.... but usually the high risk would turn out to be false positive.... we have to take an invasive test that invloves drawing fluid form THE WIFEs tummy.... that test has a micarriage rate of 1 in 370... and according to the good dr, the results of the invasive test will be 100% accurate.... i am no mathematician but as an engineer... i know, 1 in 75 is not too bad of an odds, when you think about it, out of every 75 births, only 1 would be it.... but when it hits so close to home, even 1 in a thousand is lousy odds....

we were facing a very real possibility that number two would be born unwell and the worst decision for any parents to make is should they or shouldnt... i guess we were spared that tough decision.....

we are going in to see dr theo this coming friday.... we will be doing a routine check on number two to see if his growth is normal, the development of his head, body and stuffs like that.... i guess this means we can start to stock up on baby stuffs for number two.....

swinging to the left again

its 30 past eleven on a tuesday... THE WIFE and junior have turned in and i am rushing my report for tomorrows morning weekly meeting... hours of fun..... we were at dr theo office for the 15 week appointment... this is the appointment that we would have to fork out $500 for the package and the $200 for a blood test.... and most of all, this would be the day we would know which way number 2 swings... THE WIFE decided on the name for junior, so its my turn to name number two.... i was thinking that if number two is a girl, i would name her sophia but if he is a boy, i would name him joel....

we got to the clinic at 7... first come first serve... and we were the third couple there.... the telly in the waiting room was showing reruns of the simpsons halloween specials with chinese sub titles and no volume on... somehow watching simpsons while reading the chinese sub titles is no fun at all.... the nurse did a weight in for THE WIFE and it wasnt long before we were in the docs office...

doc: hello... how are you?
THE WIFE: okay... but i think i have put on weight...
doc: you are 51 now... you were 48 then... you have put on 3 kgs.... thats average... good... and the rashes? are they gone?
THE WIFE: yah... but i seem be quite sensitive to insects bites now...
doc: well... that clinic sent me a letter... it doesnt seem to be related to the pregancy... maybe just a coincident... so... are we ready to know the sex of the baby yet?
THE WIFE: thats the million dollar question i dont dare to ask....

the nurse prep THE WIFE on the couch, it wasnt long before we were all looking at the little black and white screen.....

doc: everything looks okay... heres the head.... the chest... the heart beat... arms.... legs... and here.... hmmm......
me: looks like a boy to me... can i have a picture of that?
doc: yup... 95% sure its a boy.... heres the spine... everything looks all right....

back at his table...

doc: i will draw some blood from you and get them tested..... i will see you in 4 weeks time..

the doc took some blood from THE WIFE and we made an appointment for the end of april.... when we were expecting junior, we seem to be waiting forever to know which way junior swings... but for number two, the pregnacy seems to fly by so fast.... midnight milk feed, shooting pee at me while changing him, cry just beacuse he feels like it, sleepless nights and long days...... i cant wait......

baa baa.... twinkle.... E F G...

its 2 minutes past 11 on a sunday night..... THE WIFE and junior have turned in and i am just making the most of what is left of a sunday night, its the 9th of march and yup its THE WIFEs birthday.... usually we would celebrate with a small cake with one candle.... we might start a fire if we were to use the actual number of candles.... hmmmm... happy birthday baby, i love you....

we spent the day at the zoo today.... me mum got this RC function and we got cheap tics....$5 each, comes with lunch, ice-cream and a lucky draw to boot..... crappy weather though.. it was raining then sunny then rainy then sunny then rainy.... you get the picture... but we didnt took much picture.... junior was asleep most of the time in his pram.... i cant really remember the last time i was at the zoo, 10.... 20years ago? the last time i was anywhere near the zoo was during me ns training in mandai more than 10 years ago... just across the road.... greens... trees... monkeys... mosquitos.... not much different.... hmmmm....

cousin izzac started his daycare school this week.... for the best part of juniors life, he would see his cousin izzac at least four times a week at me mums place... but now, he would only get to see him only on sundays... i think junior misses him.... when they are in good moods, cousin izzac would share food with junior, play with him, even helps him put on his shoes when grandpa brings them for walk walk.... its only when they fight that he pushes and junior bites....

now that theres only junior at me mums place, he would spend quality time with grandpa... grandpa would put some songs on the computer, junior would sit quietly on his lap and watch... they can do it for hours on end... junior dont seem to mind repeating twinkle twinkle little star, baa baa black sheep and A B C D E F G.... when you come to think of it, they actually share the same tune.... just different lyrics... gets stucks easily in your head too... hmmm.....

needle equals pain

its 12 noon on a sunday afternoon..... THE WIFE and junior are having their nap and i am in front of the computer thinking of the curry puffs from old chang kee.... the thing with old chang kee is that if you have loads of it often enough, many years down the road, you will be old and chunky.... hmmmm....

we were at the docs for juniors 16 months jap.... frankly i have lost count of the number of injections that junior needs and when they are due.... THE WIFE is the one keeping tabs... me? i am just the one paying for it... whoever said that being a daddy dosent pay? i have been paying through my nose... hmmmm..... we were at the clinic at 11.30 for an 11 am appointment... the clinic is jam packed with parents with their babies and maids.... theres even one maid chasing behind some kid trying to feed her lunch or something..... the easy part is that junior dont need to be carried when we are waiting, he is able to wander around the play corner and mingle..... but among the kids at the play corner, he seems the smallest..... it wasnt long before his name were called and we were in the docs office....

doc: so why are you here today?

me: for his jap...

doc: oh... the 16 month one...

me: i think so....

doc: i see he can walk very well already..... does he response to his name? is he able to pick up small things with his two fingers? does he knows at least 10 words? can he point to his ear nose and mouth?

me: err.... yes.... yes.... i think so.... yes.... yes.....

doc: very good... he seems to know quite a few words.....

THE WIFE: yah... but he still looks pretty small to me....

doc: not to worry able that.... as long as he is eating well.... nature will take its course... but he seems to be slightly below the average weight and height for his age....

me: should i be worried?

doc: not to worry... its not too bad, he is still somewhere in the average.... right, daddy pull down his diapers.... the injection we are giving today might cause some rashes and a slight fever in five days time... if it happens, just give him some fever medicine

me: we just let the rash run its course? i dont have to come running back to you?

doc: no.....

with that, the good doctor jap junior in his little buns and junior let loose with his lungs.... tears are rolling down his little eyes.... junior is starting to associate the needle with pain... i wonder why..... hmmmm.....

little monkey hidding in the cave

its 15 past 11pm... THE WIFE and junior have both turned in, i am still burning the midnight oil on my report due tomorrow... who says that home-work only happen at school?..... hmmmm

we were at the docs today.... it was our second scheduled but third visit to him and thats not including the middle of the night visit with him at the hospial a month ago....for someone in the first trimester, thats a lot of visits.... hmmmmm... we were at his clinic at seven after work for a first come first serve visit, luckily theres only one lady ahead of us... it wasnt long before we were called in.....

doc: hello.... how are we today? are the rashes gone?
THE WIFE: yah, the rashes are gone...
doc: did the doctor gave you a note to pass to me?
(dr thio refered us to a skin doc for THE WIFEs rashes during our last visit with him. A blood test, a course of anti-biotics and consultations cost us $480)
me: nope, but he sure was expensive..... that visit costs us $480 and his clinic dont take nets or credit cards... i think he expects people to walk around with loads of cash...
doc: okay..... so what did he say?
THE WIFE: he mentioned someting about an infection and the virus coming together and little blood vessels breaking up near the skin...
me: but she seems to be getting better if she stayed away from seafood....
doc: hmmm.... you got another appointment with him?
THE WIFE: yah... two weeks later...
doc: maybe he would post me a note or something..... right.. so how are you? you seem to be losing weight...
THE WIFE: yah, i cant seem to keep any meals down, been vomiting three to four times a day.... doc: okay.... lets see how the baby is doing....
(the nurse readies the wife and we are looking at the screen)
doc: here we are... the baby looks fine... i can see limbs forming... he seems to be dancing....
me: hmmm... can i have a picture of that?
doc: no... i will give you something better... after all you paid $480....
me: hmmm....
doc: here.... this 3 d picture would be better... we can see that the facial features are forming... everthing looks very good to me.....

yup... that shy little fella, hiding behind the wall is me number two....

GONG XI FA CAI

its 20 to midnite on a thursday nite... the first day of the lunar new year... THE WIFE and junior are in bed, i am just trying to take stock of the new year... we ended the year of the pig in a hospital.... THE WIFE was having rashes, achy joints and a swollen ankle.... we started the year of the rat in the same hospital... junior had a 39 degrees fever....

THE WIFE was feeling terrible all day yesterday... she could barely get out of bed in the morning and was limping all around the house because of her swollen ankle the whole day... funny thing is, she didnt knock her legs on anything... she just woke up in the morning with a rash and swollen ankle.... she was puking after every meal and feeling crappy all day... i reckon it has something to do with her pregnancy.... she dont seem to be running a temperature though..... after the reunion dinner, we decided to go seek a doctors help, we reckon that we should get this thing sorted out before the holidays.....

we got to the hospital at 8.20 pm... there seems to be quite a few other sick people there as well... we waited an hour before we were in the docs office... the doc looked at THE WIFE, did a once over... before concluding that it might have something to do with her pregnancy.... hmmmm... he ordered a blood test just to make sure... and he adviced us to go see our gyne once the holiday is over... the whole thing cost us $80 and 3 hours... not too bad i guess, considering that we did a blood test and it is on chinese new years eve.....

today started out to be a pretty normal day... THE WIFE is getting better, her joints dont ach as much... we were at me folks house when junior started to get cranky.... at first i thought he just wanted his nap... but after his nap, he is still cranky and seems to be running a temperature... its back to the hospital....

we got to the hospital at about 7... its not as crowded as yesterday... the nurse took juniors temperature... 38.5 degrees.... yup, junior is still running a temperature.... we were told to wait at a separated waiting area for fever patients... it wasnt too long before the doc showed up.....


doc: so how long has he had the fever?
me: since this afternoon....
doc: okay, anybody sick at home?
me: i had a fever last week... could it be because he is growing out his teeth? that why hes got the fever?
doc: fever for growing teeth would not be over 37.5..... it could be a virual infection.... normally i would order a blood test if the fever is over two days old... but hes only got it this afternoon....
THE WIFE: he has been cranky all day...
doc: hmmm.... in that case, i think it better to do a blood test.... and maybe a urine test as well.... wait outside, my nurse would tend to you shortly.....

an hour and a blood test later....

doc: good news, the blood test is normal... i will prescribe some anti-biotics and paracetomal... he should be okay... if his fever dont go away by saturday, come back...
me: okay....

this second visit set us back $110... considering that we did a blood test and it is the first day of chinese new year... its not too bad... hmmmm....

karma

its 20 to eleven on a satuarday nite..... THE WIFE is having her shower, junior is staggering around like a drunken sailor, i am multi tasking with on eye on the telly and the other on the computer.... junior has been pretty cranky today... short attenion span... going around asking to be carried... opening cupboards and pulling stuff out....bursting into tears when he dosent get things his way... hours of fun... makes me wonder if this is karma... i have been getting a lot of "you were like that when you were his age" from me mum.... karma... bites you in the behind when you least expect..... hmmmm

we were at the docs this morning... no appointments, just first come first serve... we were suppose to come for an appointment last week, but two friday nights back, THE WIFE was bleeding.... for a pregnant lady to be bleeding, its not a very healthy sign... she was rushed to mount Alvernia, Dr thio was informed and arrived about an hour later... he did a once over of THE WIFE and decided that everything is all right... he explained something about the fetus and the womb and how they are not sicking too well together.... he gave THE WIFE a hormone injection and prescribed her some more hormone pills..... that visit set us back by about $300... with Dr thios fee coming up to $120.... but i guess to hear the good doctor say that everyhing is all right, $300 is a small price to pay... i am just glad that THE WIFE and number two is alright....


right... back to this morning... we were at Dr thios clinic for our second appointment with him... junior was going around the waiting room pointing at everything, i was trying to read the papers that i brought, THE WIFE was feeling pukey..... its great that everyone has their own thing to do... hmmmmm... it wasnt long before we were in the docs room.....

doc: so how are we today?
THE WIFE: still the same, theres still some bleeding, i still feel like vomiting...
doc:a little bleeding is all right as long as theres no severe stomach cramps.... feeling like vomiting is a good sign for pregnancy, it means that your body is reacting to the hormones produced.... lets do a little scan and see hows everything....

as soon as the nurse turns off the lights, junior starts to scream at the top of his little lungs.... it got so bad that i have to leave the docs office and wait outside.... karma?... by the time he settled down and we got back into the docs office, THE WIFE was back at the docs table....
doc: the heart beat of the fetus is strong, so thats a good sign..... but most miscarriges occurs in the first trimester.... i will give you some more hormones pills.... take them regularly and i will see you in a months time......

this visit with the doc set us back by $110.... well, nobody said having a kid would be cheap... but to hear the good doctor say that everything is all right, thats priceless....

here we go again....

its 30 to midnight on a sunday night, THE WIFE and junior are sound asleep and i am just having a little me time... in the past two weeks, junior walks more than he crawls, i reckon in another two weeks, he would give up crawling all together.... today is a day when i had a rather rude awakening.... a few weeks back, we taught junior "bird bird".... its what he pees with... everytime when THE WIFE baths him, he would look down at his family jewels and touch them whenever THE WIFE asks "wheres your bird bird?" and today, after i came out from the loo after peeing, junior points to me and says.... bird bird..... NUTS.... i gotta close the door when i pee from now on..... hmmmm

we were at the docs yesterday.... its been a while since we last saw Dr Theo.... yup, the nice doctor who helped bring junior into our lives.... why were we in his office? well.... it was last monday when i was happily watching tv, and junior was staggering around like a drunken sailor when THE WIFE walked up behind me and ask " do you want to see something?"... yup, its the pee stick again... and this pee stick have a cross on it... ive always wondered why they place pregnancy kits next to condoms at the pharmacy, i guess its their way of telling us, if you dont want to use this, you will need this.... hmmmmmm... actually, we were aiming for number two, its just that like junior, i didnt expect that we would be so effective... we havent really made up our mind until edbert (me new nephew)came along, we decided that junior should be bullying his younger sibling and not his cousins....

we were at the docs at 10.30 for an 11 am appointment, and as we are not newbies anymore, THE WIFE drank plenty of water before coming to the docs.... junior was staggering around the waiting room and pointing at everything, i was trying to read the papers, THE WIFE was feeling the effects of a full bladder..... it wasnt long before her name was called and we were in the docs office....

doc: hello... you look familiar..
THE WIFE: yah, you helped delivered him 14 months ago...
doc: wow, so big already, can he walk already?
THE WIFE: yah a bit, who does he looks like now?
doc: hmmm..... he looks like the father, but only the nose and mouth part.... so are you pregnant again?
THE WIFE: yah... we did a test at home last monday, another one the next day and the gp confirmed it yesterday.... i have been having morning sickness
doc:okay, we will take your blood pressure and then a scan....
me:wow, you still keep our records?
doc: yah, we keep all records for at least 21 years, just in case someone wants to sue us when he turns 21 and cant be the prime minster or something......
me:hmmm....
doc: lets look at the scan now... it looks pretty small... cant really see anything... you will have to come back next week to be sure if theres really anything there..... but the fact that you are having morning sickness, thats a good sign...

doc: you come back next week and we see again.... are you breast feeding?
THE WIFE: yah...
doc: wow... its time to stop then... have plenty of fruits, remember no pineapple, no raw stuffs, i will give you some pills, take them regularly, have plenty of rest and we will see you next week....
THE WIFE:okay...

the whole doc and pills stuffs set me back by $135... not too bad considering that the last time we were here for the same thing, it was $120 and that was two years ago...