Curious Case of Yong

Terengganu: the Trip Home

2010-05-31T17:26:00.000-07:00

May 31st, 2010

Aik, still not over yet. Well, we suppose since we came this far, why not spend some time at a beach resort.

Besides, Terengganu is well known for its long stretch of clean and beautiful beach, not to mention its mesmerizing island (Perhentian and Redang),of which the latter has fine white sandy beach with crystal clear water. Last i heard the state government is going to turn Redang into a rich man's island, with resort accomodation touching RM1500. Part of the objective was to prevent the natural beauty of the island (especially its corals) from being wrecked by the consequences of unscrupulous tourism.

We stopped to buy keropok lekor from one of the many shops lined along the road on the exit of Kuala Terengganu. Some were ready fried and some were raw, all of them home made and we can't really taste the difference. We usually like it fried crunchy but most of the stall sold it "lembik" ie soft. They also sell the ready-to-eat keropok in 1.25 ringgit package.

Journey from KT to Kemaman (terengganu border) mostly consist of the coastal road so we could see the nice long stretch of beach and the south china ocean. There would be some playground, makan stall, malay hawkers and beach resorts along the way. Both sides of the road are marked by coconut trees and pokok ru among others. Traffic wasn't heavy and the weather was fine, which made it a pleasant drive.

Beautiful beach overlooking the south china ocean

The coastal road stretching along Terengganu

Then we arrived at the district of Kerteh, Kemaman. This well-known industrial place serves as the base of operations for Petronas in Terengganu, which oversees petrochemicals production and crude oil refining among others. Its location proximate to the port makes it convenient for exporting products.

The best time to pass by here is at night or dawn (eg. by express bus travelling to KT or Kelantan), when this whole stretch of industrial site is brightly lighted up by its power station, in addition to the bright flames burning from the multiple tall chimneys.

Kerteh, an industrial area for petroleum

Come here at night and this place would be as bright as day

1 of the river mouth with fishing boats

Aiyak, mami why take picture of me drooling over my double chin..

And finally we arrived at Holiday Villa, Cherating. 1 would think that Cherating is situated in Terengganu but its at the northern coast of Pahang just passed the southern Terengganu border. We got a spacious deluxe room at a promotional price of Rm180, probably because of off peak season, orelse the original price would be Rm320nett.

http://www.holidayvillahotelcherating.com/

Supposedly a 5 star beach resort, this resort has private villas, chalets, spa services, open-air jacuzzi, swimming pools, etc. Room is inclusive of complimentary breakfast for 2. Among the other activities you can find outside the resorts are beach walk, Elephant Sanctuary at Kuala Gandah, Cherating Turtle Sanctuary, Kuantan river cruise, etc, which we didn't indulge because we were tired and just wanted to slow down the pace.

Mami, next time buy swimmingsuit for me ya~.(..bikini also can).

Wa~ so deep..but both papa mama here to protect me.

Fear me..i am the great white shark..de deng~ de deng~

Mami, see my hand is breast stroke but my leg is freestyle~ pandai le?

For the second time, Nana was put through swimming lesson. Really took to the water like a duck, except that Nana represented more of a great white shark. Most of the time she was simply amused at this new experience and would start to get excited and start paddling. 1 instance papa accidentally slipped and Nana's head submerged under water for a second, she cried a short while and after we consoled and gave her assurance, Nana continued her great-white-shark thing again.

Papa, your skin so tanned from all the running..

Thank you so much mami~

This is why ppl say i look like a boy, cos i no hair~ :-l

Papa, next time i also want to swim butterfly~ whee~

Dinner was at the resort restaurant. Food in the menu was obviously expensive (at least for us), and nothing special actually. We ordered Tenggiri curry fish and chicken chop.

Later we drove out for supper, picked 1 of the malay shops along the road. To our shock 1 ikan bakar fish (grouper) was Rm60 per kg. Beats me how could they charge such a ridiculously extravagant price to a fellow malaysian. So many fishes were left there, are they gonna eat all these or sell them back at the fish market or worse still throw them away...Poor fishes, caught from the sea but not able to fulfil their purpose. In the end i just settled for a Rm3.50 mee goreng.

........

poor poor fishes~

Nana:..kah kah kah..poor papa didnt get to eat those fishes!!

The next morning we forced ourself up from the nice cozy bed and cool air-con room. Lest we could sleep beyond check-out time. We gently woke Nana up, she greeted us with her bright sunny smile, as always, and would sheepishly put her head back on the pillow. After mama fed Nana, we lazed around again, and finally enough was enough..off we went to the beach.

Aye aye captain! Where's the Black Pearl ?

Black pearl don't have, but i'm holding the Mother of Pearl

It was 8.30 am and the sun was quite high but still not too hot. The beach was clean, beautiful and peaceful. No one else was there except us. The beach stretches so long we could hardly make out its boundaries. The sea water was chilled and it was fun walking along the shallow, friendly waves. It must have been low tide since the sand still felt wet and compact..nice to walk on.

Nana played at her second beach and she enjoyed the feeling of submerging her feet in the sand.

What mother of pearl?...Great white shark! put Nana down so Nana can swim

The beautiful Cherating beach

The sun light shimmering over the crystal-like ocean

The happiest and sweetest moments i can ever have...

..is to see my wife playing with my daughter...

...makes me feel on top of the world..

...makes me strong..

..i can do anything for them..

..like a shadow that never leaves..

..so will papa always be there for you guys..

Then it was breakfast time. The best we have tried so far among all the hotels we have visited. A variety of western and malaysian breakfast made us went for round after round until we filled up our lunch portion. Nana was exhausted after playing at the beach and slept through breakfast, orelse she would stare intently at the food and reach out her tiny hands towards our plates..haha. Still miss the mango cordail, what a good way to start the appetite.

Um..um..um..faster eat before i eat yours~

Zzz..zzz. when my teeth gonna grow~

Around 1, we checked out the resort and really headed home this time. Cut through Kuantan for the 1st time to see what was it like. Passed by the turning into Tasik Chini but maybe next time we'll drop by. Smooth drive all the way with minimal daytime traffic. Christiana has gone through a lot of eye-opening experience throughout her holiday, and in her sleep won't be surprise she would be dreaming it over again. Well, sweet dreams Nana and lots of love from us~Mmmuuacks~

Clear blue sky..God is beautiful

The road back to Muadzam Shah

Entering Jempol, Negri Sembilan, numerous oil palm estates

Terengganu: Land of Origin

2010-05-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

May 27th 2010

( Nana 4mths old)

Whee~ Botak Na going to Terengganu..where's that ah pa?

20 something years ago, i was born here. Spent up to 2 yrs of age playing with my 2 chindian cousin brothers by their beach-side house until our family shifted to another state up north to set up my dad's practice. So returning to Terengganu after all these years with my new family of 3 feels amusing and

nostalgic at the same time.

In Terengganu, but still have ~200km before reaching KT

An example of a river mouth occupied by fishing villages

Nana was definitely up for the travel. She has already travelled to more places than karling & me combine when we were at her age. The fact that she was obedient and always attracted to new surroundings made our long 6 hrs drive to Kuala Terengganu a hassle-free experience. After consulting a colleague, we took d trunk road which cut through Kuala Pilah, Jempol(Negri 9),Bandar Tun Abd Razak, Muadzam Shah and Gambang(Pahang) before entering Terengganu. We were met with heavy traffic all the way from Kemaman to KT as tomorrow was the start of the Wesak day long weekend, and the non-existence of a highway along the coast didn't help ease things up.

Mami, are u entertaining urself (because you're bored) or entertaining me.

Kerteh, Dungun- petroleum refining plant, the place is very brighly lighted-up @ night.

Arrived there before 8. We stayed at my ai pak's (father's eldest brother) house at Batu Burok. As we were all weary of the long journey, Ai pak brought us for dinner at KT's chinatown, situated by the mouth of Terengganu river opening up to the south china sea. There were quite some land reclaimation project going on therefore gone are all the private jettys belonging to the island resort agents at the back of their offices.

Wa~ Mami, so this is China Town Kuala Terengganu?

China town in a majority Malay populated state appears partially alive at night, unlike the the Jonker street in Melaka where the whole road is turned into pedestrian path on weekend nights. Over here, besides the few chinese restaurant and hawkers selling pau; lok-lok, all others shops closes latest by 8pm. Come back in the morning, you can find souvenir shops, sundry shops, island tour (Redang & Perhentian island) agents, antique, batik shop and even my uncle's clinic buzzing with visitors and tourists alike.

Not so busy on a weekday night but the best place for chinese food is here

Ai pak, the most well-known doctor in town, leads a very healthy lifestyle

and treats us only to the best quality food.

Before ai pak brought us for food, he would ask whether we wanted good restaurant or good food. Apparently for local like him, he felt both doesnt come hand-in-hand. Anyway the place we went to, food was good: fried fish with black ketchup sauce was fresh, oysters for the " hao chien" (fried oyster omlette) were big, belacan kangkung was tasty, pork--nice, and the coconuts were tender. Ai pak is very particular about the freshness of the fish and he knows which restaurant "tauke" offers the best fish in town. Qualities of fish we deem fresh back in the west coast, ai pak demands better because he used to buy seafood fresh from the sea from d fisherman at their fishing village.

Me and my lao ai pak, isn't he handsome?

My lao ai pak has quite a nice cushion at his abdomen there~

Later we bought the best pau in town (also from chinatown) for breakfast. Ai pak's house still looked the same from how i remembered it. Every corner has meticulously decorated antiques ai pak has brought back from as far as China. The proud owner of this house used to be an antique collector and his big corner house could easily be mistaken as a museum hotel. At least thats how i like to think of it because of the warm hospitality ai pak's family has shown us everytime we spent our holidays there.

Mami, can i swim like a duck after wearing this duck shoe?

The next day mum and dad came over for a mini reunion, like old times. Nana got to know her grandparents better by playing with them. Lunch and dinner was great, nice chinese food with fresh fish and big succulent prawns. Only thing is not everyone's a fan of crabs. Since i wasn't competing (in sukan kementerian kesihatan malaysia) until tomorrow, ai pak showed us the way to the venue.

Ai pak, pa & ma @ Restoran Teck Lai, average place with good food.

"..Joy and Robin loves the food here whenever they come back."

Not fair, popo..why do i always have to sit & watch you all eat~

Behold, the collapsed stadium built for the last Sukma (sukan malaysia) games 2 years ago. Fortunately during the mishap no event was going on neither was there any casulties, according to the news report. In the same sport complex, there's a dome shape hall which was also specially built for the Sukma; and another mini stadium where my tracks and fields events are held tomorrow. Until now no repair or restoration work has been started due to some on-going investigation procedures, thats what i heard.

Kuala Terengganu sport stadium..what's left of it.

Looks like a war torn building eh?

Just go a few kilometres from here into KT town at Batu burok, you will find the state's grand aquatic complex, also built in conjuction of the last Sukma, where many games and national records were shattered during the meet. Many attributed the success to breakthrough technology in the aquadynamic swimsuits of Arena and Speedo, which provided a cutting edge to the wearer by reducing water friction and increasing speed. Or so they thought, until months later official news revealed the swimming pool was actually shorter than how it was supposed to be. Currently, the grand aquatic centre is closed due to leakage from the roof..with repair work still pending.

...Comments anyone? I shall reserve mine..haha.

1 of the popular tourist landmark in Terengganu, my opinion says we should preserve it that way.

Afternoon, all of us became cheerleaders at the state equestrian complex. Yeeling representing Melaka in the women's badminton team gave us a good show after being cheered on by the youngest member in the family, Nana. Despite some earlier set back, she went on to beat all her subsequent challengers in the women's single and help her team emerge 3rd overall. Bravo~after this can train Nana ya.

Hmmpph!! i'm not allowed to eat again :(

Dinner with the freshest seafood and vegetables in town. Ai pak prebooked the table and the

dishes the day b4 in view of the huge crowd on a friday night. This fresh fish head cost Rm75.

Hello there, you look so colourful..can we be friends?

The next day, was D-day for me..do or die. The last time i ran competitively was 6 yrs ago in Manipal intercollege meet. What the heck??!! I just realized i've aged so much. This old horse ain't gonna go down without a fight with those hotheels. Karling would give me a good physiotherapist massage over my right hamstring and calf the night before and post race. I had neuropraxia (injury to the nerve) during my overzealous centralized training. I haven't felt so nervous in a long time, this kind of thing is not for the faint hearted..i hope i can make it to veteran category in the future. So we qualified for the 4x400m final and i KOed in 400m semifinals. Still managed to match my personal best though- 58secs. I know, slow right? Never mind, i shall train earlier for the next Sukan KKM in Sabah in 2 yrs time.

Alamak!*#^ monitored on CCTV so that i can't run away

I'm glad that for the 1st time every1 saw me run, Neyney, Nana, including my parents (after all these yrs).

The tracks just next to the collapsed stadium

Evening, we went to Pantai Batu Burok, just a short walk from ai pak's house. That was Christiana's 1st time to the beach. It was quite late so we didn't like sun bath her or teach her to make sandcastle, or better still make her into a mermaid. Nana looked puzzled when we submerged her feet under the shallow waves, otherwise she just can't stop smiling at us taking her pictures. This was where pa and my uncles brought me to when i was 2 yrs old, its sad that as people pass away their names are forgotten like the countless sand. Which reminds me of a Bible passage, God promised the obedient Abraham to bless and multiply his offsprings to be as countless as the sand on the beach, which became true, interesting eh?

"Dear Christiana,

It has been a wonderful journey with you so far for the past 5 months.

You have been a pleasure to watch and have brought nothing but joy into our lives.

When papa look at you smile, i see the best of papa & mama in you.

Oh how u have grown since the 1st day u were born..and papa was there to welcome you.

You have stared intently into papa's eyes;

you have lighted up papa's day when you see papa making funny faces at you;

& also you have broken papa's heart at times when you cry so hard when papa failed to pacify u.

Christiana you're growing so fast all your milestones are advanced...

& papa thought it was a good thing.

But all of a sudden your stranger anxiety sets in..

you don't smile that much to papa anymore,

Sometimes you stare at papa, sometimes you're not even interested when papa call you.

Still 1 great blessing papa truely count is,

Nana allows papa to hug you and hold you tight tight,

to feed you and to kiss you good night.

Papa pray hard to God that He will protect you in papa mama's absence,

and that Nana would never forget the person who loves you so much he refuses to use the stroller

but rather carry you everywhere he goes and everytime he eats.

...More than words can say how much papa love you, Christiana."

yours forever,

papa.

After a few hearty chinese meals, its (fusion) western food time. Ai pak and pa each finished

1 chicken chop and then shared 1 steak.

Kong kong..hold me tight tight, don't drop me ah~

On our last night, we dropped by to visit old college mates working in KT hospital

Aahh, jie jie so warm and so soft and xiang xiang~

Dr jie jie please don't prick me with needle ya~

On our way back to the mini stadium, lies the Crstal mosque left from the Terengganu bridge.

The Cystal mosque

After pa and ma left, we stayed back for our final race. The pulsating last event of the day and of Sukan KKM- 4x400m final. This time i volunteered not to be the 4th runner in the team. The noise from the spectators were pierching and eventually the host state emerged champion beating the favourites- a team of ex-Sukma runners representing KL. We tried our best and emerged 6th overall..oh well~~

My Kar Ling and Nana cheering for papa before the race

The Negri Sembilan contingent

Hope to see you all in Sabah 2012

The mini stadium after the dust have settled

The dome shaped multipurpose hall at the Terengganu sport complex

Just glad that its finally over and we can all go home now. We had our last meal back at china town. Drank to our hearts content big glasses of fruit juice cocktails. Not forgetting to buy some Terengganu T-shirts, we thanked ai pak so much for his love and bid bye-bye with heavy hearts, partly because of all the hearty meals he had treated us. On our way back along the coastal road, we bought raw keropok lekor to bring back and fry.

Last meal (..and drink) before leaving Kuala Terengganu

Guys, never fail to visit this shop which sells cheap, fresh and refreshing fruit juice cocktail.

The taste of Terengganu's delicious chinese cooking, Malay nasi dagang & nasi lauk still lingers in our taste bud, felt like still haven't had enough...till next time. Good bye KT:-)

Going Back 2 Work

2010-05-26T00:45:00.000-07:00

(3 months old)
3rd May: I started work today, continued paediatric posting, picking up from where i left it. Sending Nana over to my aunty aka baby sitter was easier than i thought( i have been hearing stories from other mothers who cried or feel very sad when they had to go back to work and was preparing myself for the worst). I think probably i was more nervous about working again as my brain felt empty and rusty after 3 months of not using it..;-P

Nana woke up at about 6.40 am just in time for me to feed her. I then sent her over to my aunty's who happen to be my next door neighbour..Talk about convenient. Left for work at 6.55am and so my working day started. After leaving the department for so long, everything seems so new to me. But as there were a lot of us(housemen), things were pretty relax. Ivan purposely followed me to make sure that i got all 'settled' down.

Y i have to wake up so early 1 today?Zzzzz

It was during our neverending rounds when i started to wonder how baby was doing. I started to wonder if my aunty could handle her and if she would drink milk from the bottle (she has been refusing for the past 1 week). It was also at that time when I started to feel the pain from engorgement as i still have not managed to steal some time to express my breast milk (EBM). Finally after the rounds, i excused myself and went to EBM. I called my aunt to ask how Nana was doing and my heart broke when i could hear her crying a lot. It was busy that day and i couldn't find time to go home to feed Nana. All i could do was to steal more time to EBM and pray that Nana was ok.

Papa mama abandoned me..Tiger..just u to keep me company

After 10 grueling hours at work, it was finally time to go home. The moment i got out from the car, i could already hear Nana's cries. Taking a quick bath, i brought her home. I felt so happy to see her but at the same time felt so bad that i caused her so much misery. She even looked like she lost weight after that 1 day.

Now that mama is back from work, i'm so happy i can fly without wings

That night was the first time i didnt feel tired entertaining Nana. I savoured every second spent with her and cherished every single coo and smile that she makes. I realized how much i missed her and how precious every single second was.

Woo..woo..mother's milk is medically proven better than formula milk~

Over the next few days, things became a bit more settled but Nana was still crying a lot and refusing to drink from the bottle. My aunty had to spoon feed her and eventually started feeding her with a syringe. It took nearly 2 weeks before Nana finally started to drink from the bottle. During this time, i would go home during lunch whenever i can to feed her.

I started having 'on calls' after 1 week of work. I still remember the first time, it was a Sunday. Ivan volunteered to take care of Nana. It was truly a challenge for all 3 of us; it was my first paediatric call; it was Ivan's first on call with Nana as Ivan has never single-handedly taken care of Nana without me being around and it was the first time Nana would be spending a 100% father-daughter time without mummy being in the picture. I would say that things went quite well and all 3 of us survived it..

Ivan, " Although we all survived, i couln't recall that day without a sense of guilt. Nana was crying non-stop from the moment she opened her eyes and all i could think of was feed her. She totally rejected bottle feed eventhough it was mum's breat milk and i was forced to feed her through syringe and that was a real struggle. In the beginning, Nana refused to open her mouth let alone swallow..i nearly injured her lips and hard palate with the tip of the syringe. Only much later when hunger took over she forced herself to drink, that also with her hands trying to push away the syringe. Later i tasted the milk and discovered the milk felt a little weird..sour to an extent..but i had no idea how breast milk was supposed to taste like. It dawned on me that could be the reason all along Nana was rejecting the milk. Subsequently i fed her with another new bottle of EBM.

The 1st time Nana ever started sucking her thumb, it was papa's fault.

I thought after feeding her, my job was done and she would go to sleep..but she couldn't stop crying on the bed . It left me helpless and frustrated. Still i wasn't gonna throw in the towel and send Nana to the babysitter. Nana eventually cried herself to sleep and i caught up wif my rest after a frustrating sunday morning. I was woken up by the sound of her sucking her thumb ( ?agressively), an act she has never done before. This was my daughter trying to pacify herself when her father couldn't. 1 of the 1st sign of insecurity an infant would show..I was totally devastated and my guilt just piled up. What kind of father am i?

My Nana's forgiving smile..the burst of sun-ray after the storm

I totally corrected my mistakes. i fed Nana with the new expressed breast milk albeit the struggling. I carried her close to my chest, pat her back and talked to her. I never wanted to leave her alone anymore that day. It saddened me so much whenever she sucked her thumb. Later in the evening after i wiped her body and dressed her up, Nana shine a smile at me. I broke down instantly and begged her for forgivenesss; and promised not to loss my cool on her again . Despite being "neglected" earlier on, Nana would still smile at me, and chose not to hold anything against me. My daughter taught me that day an unforgetable lesson of forgiveness and child-like faith. I still feel guilty whenever i recall our experience but that has since spurred me to love my Nana more and more each day".

Papa found it amusing to dress me up like Teletubbies

15th of May: the first weekend when Ivan and i were both free. We decided to make it a 100% family weekend and we made sure that no other plans would get in the way of us spending time with Nana. On that day, Nana was introduced to a new dimension in this world.. The " Water World". It was the day when we brought Nana to swim. I know..by now u guys must be thinking what kind of parents are these?? Their baby's only turning 4 months and they are already soaking her in chlorinated cold water. Well, Nana enjoyed every moment of it. She was happily kicking and floating in the pool (with me holding her of course).. Never seen her so excited before. It was truly indeed a very precious weekend for us and we made sure we spent every moment with Nana.

Ma mi, is it "pong pong" (bathing) time again? Y are we bathing outside?

Applying sun protector 30 on Nana

Hold me tight tight Mami, i can't swim.

huff*~puff*~ See i swam so many laps today..

As the month progressed, i realize that we rarely have time for Nana and at 1 point we even felt that Nana has changed and does not recognize us anymore.. Everyday after i bring her home, she would just spend about 4 hours with us and then went to sleep. Time flew by whenever we were home.

Oh..paiseh..haha.i just finished some business and landed a big deal on my pampers..

22nd of May, we had our own mini belated mother's day( i was on call on the real day). We brought Nana to Sunway Pyramid. It was initially our intention to get Nana a car seat (see...even when it was suppose to be a belated mother's day celebration, Nana was still all we were focusing on..) but after entering a few shops, we realize that everything there was so expensive and we couldn't find an appropriate one for Nana so we decided to keep it on hold. Nana had a fun time listening to all the noise and looking at all the different people passing by her. We had dinner at 'Olive and Figs', a restaurant with Lebanese theme. There were a few variety of steaks and both of us ordered different ones but they tasted the same.

Don't i look more girly in pink top?

Happy mother's day to the world's best mum..my Ma mi

Ivan had a Ministry of health's sport event at the end of the month and he was busy with his training. He went for training every morning while i left for work. Nana would be sent to my aunty's. It felt like all 3 of us were just living our own individual lives.

Nana was developing well. Towards the end of May (4 months old), she was cooing more and smiling more. She was also able to hold toys more firmly in her hands and would reach out for toys that attracted her. Ivan and i teased her sometimes by making her sit up on the bed. Her back is quite straight but she was still wobbly and would cry in frustration once she becomes tired and wanted to be carried. Nana was able to turn over more often but is still quite lazy in doing so.. Maybe it's because she's 7.2kg by then and found herself a little bit too heavy to turn over...;-P

Nana attemping to pull off a seemingly impossible stun.

This is what happen when babies grow up under the influence of WWE.
...Nana executing the "Stunner".

Somehow Nana's head got stuck in between the ring and her game plan backfired.

Viewers: Do not try this at home. Leave it to the professionals.

Time flies and before we realized it, Nana was already entering her 4th month. Time flies so fast, and Nana is becoming more and more a joy to behold. We celebrate every milestone Christiana achieved with excitement and encourage her to do more. Past mistakes we made has taught us to be wiser parents and more sensitive to our daughter's "patterns" and needs. Henceforth, we hope to provide the best of everything to Christiana and pray that God will continue to give us His wisdom and guidance in spurring Nana to a blessed growth and childhood.

..Amen to that..and God bless ya all. Mmmuacks +-)

Coming up, Sukan KKM (Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia) in Kuala Terengganu. And we all get to go on a mini holiday =). Stay tune...

The End of Maternity Leave

2010-04-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

March 27th, 2010

2 mths old Nana

Blue : Ivan

Purple: KarLing

Pink : Chistiana

Since the "traumatic" DIY haircut for Christiana, she somehow looks rounder and chubbier, truly living up to her nickname "Botak Na", given by me her father. By this time, she is smiling more eventhough most of the time looking "stoned". Still, its not easy to catch her smiling on camera so when we did, we would savor the picture with sense of achievement.

By now Karling is in her 3rd month of maternity leave. Was she still feeling a bit of postpartum blues?

I guess so..although she cherish the time taking care Nana, she's starting to get restless and fidgety at home and sometimes get moody if we don't go out. So this month we spent most of the weekend

bringing Nana on a live national geographic channel, in other words "jalan-jalan".

Hahaha..I'm finally 2 months old...

Sniff..sniff..papa left for work.. Now mummy's going back to work soon too..;-(

Finally, i brought Christiana back home to Subang. Of course it is an improvement for her in terms of space (the house is bigger) and climate (there's ac!!). And grandpa grandma adore the presence of the latest addition admist the extra noise at the backround of their favourite soap.

And her 2 aunties (my sis) will come to visit and play in her AC sleeping chamber.

At night, we will go out to Subang Parade for dinner at our favourite family restaurant

Manhattan Fish Market and make Nana salivate at all the delicious food she can't eat..haha..so bad~

Be Yi, ur face looks funny from this angle..

I'm getting all the love from Er Yi and Be yi..:-)

Why can't i have fish and chip? Not fair!..woo~woo~

Bluek..jealous or not my mummy hug me so tight..

Nana's daily life became more routine. But her sleeping time was still haywire. She would sleep long hours during the day and wake up only to feed. Needless to say, she would wake
up intermittently at wee hours of the night.

I would try to play with her and keep her entertained by talking, telling stories, singing, even make her watch House with me;-p, jz to keep her awake but in the end she would still look as drowsy as a
drunkard (as described by her father) and i had to put her to sleep.

In the end i have to sleep together with Nana to cope with her sleeping pattern.

Nyum..nyum..hhmm..Taste so nice..i'm definitely dreaming.

Hia~Tak!!

Uuuuu...Ahhh..My name is Nana..;-P

Nana is a very demanding and attention-seeking child hence becomes bored easily.

Whenever she is awake, i will either have to carry her or play with her or otherwise, she will start crying.

My parents say i spoil her too much and sometimes i think i do too but when i hear her crying so loudly,

it hurts me and i rather be the one to suffer than her.

Anyway, she loves aerobics so i would on the music and exercise her hands and legs in dance motion according to the beat. Ivan would find it amusing and come join in the fun to
give her a good workout. Nana on the other hand would smile broadly and
coo so sweetly it melts our hearts, that its hard to imagine what a menace she
can be whenever she starts crying.

Hehehe..mummy, daddy, stop tickling my legs..

Nana's spine became stronger and she enjoys sitting up though she cant do it without support.

I would sit her up on the bed and support her back with two pillows while playing with her or taking pictures of her. I think it is more of me entertaining myself then Nana enjoying herself..

She's so big. When she sits up, she looks like an 8 month old child.

And i must say that some 1 year old children i have seen in the peadiatric wards are smaller than Nana..

Do i look "stoned"?..

..(btw what's taking papa so long to come back?)

Yo dude..whatcha doing?

...(give me milk milk stat.)

Then 1 day after cheng beng in Melaka, Popo came down to visit with the

main intention of seeing the bright star of the family, her granddaughter.

Same time we went up together to KL to meet Nana's uncle Chi Phoy, who's studying in UKM.

We brought Nana to walk around Taman Tasik Titiwangsa, which is just beside Chi Phoy's student hostel.

It was a sunday and there were alot of crowd, we had to cover Nana's nose from the carbon monoxide.
Nevertheless we had a great time at the park, showing Nana around and snapping pictures away..

although at times Nana still looked "stoned". :_l

Ooo popo, put me down so i can run..

Hmm..don't i look like a mushroom in the park?

Is that a bird? Is that a plane?..oh i give up..*yawn*~

Peek-a-boo...

Do u think papa and mama want me to be a world famous cook nxt time?

Nana became more and more curious. She would keep quiet and observe everything around her whenever she's at a new place. She looked like she's learning from the environment

and everything appears either funny or mesmerizing to her.

One of the things Nana is exposed to the most is food. Ivan and i love food and we always take the opportunity to enjoy ourselves with good and healthy food outside every now and then. Poor thing for Nana is that she will always look curiously at us eat..at what we eat and how we eat.:-p

As for today, grandma, Chi Phoy and us went to Pavillion's Tony Romas for a nice steak :-)

We are here to feed the malnourished university student Chi Phoy..
& grandma is trying to be young again..

Steak and Hawaian Chicken Salad at Tony Roma's.. Yum..Yum..

Let me taste..let me taste the steak daddy..

Then on 1 of the day, we celebrated Karling's belated birthday, so happened i was on-call on the actual day.

Bought her a eat-all-u-want cake. Then later neyney was introduced to her new i phone 3Gs,

something she would never own or learn how to use unless given as a birthday present:-).

Happy 26th birthday Ney, from me and Nana, may your wish come true. :-x xoxo.

The candlelight on the cake was as bright as her smile :-)

Surprise belated birthday cake

By this time Nana has started to become more emotionally independant. She enjoys her bath time, can play with herself (for a while)after waking up and easier to console her after crying.

Nana is physically becoming stronger. She could push chest up in prone position, although she stil can't turn from supine to prone. Her legs are very strong and she's kicking all the time, especially when angry. Her head control is good now and doesn't keep head-butting papa uncontrollably like before.

Wee..~i'm so enjoying my bath..

Mummy, i'm not scared of water.

Papa..i enjoy being ur soft toy..hehe.

Ei..i didn't know frog and snail could fly..

As the end of April drew near, it dawned on me that i was going to start work soon. I started to feel sad and depressed that i would have to leave Nana behind. Each passing day i spend

with Nana became more and more precious to me as the day for me to start work drew nearer.

But there was 1 thing that concerned me. Nana's sleeping pattern was still upside down.

I was worried that i wouldn't be able to cope working and staying up the whole night.

Nana was also refusing to drink from the bottle and only wants to suck from me.

She started to become more demanding the last few days.

I felt that she knew i was going to leave her soon therefore wanted to spend more time

with me and demand for all of my attention.

Hei daddy, don't take me changing la..

I'm telling you ar, don't take Nana's picture without Nana's permission next time..

Who say Nana fat!?!? Bluek :-p

Hmmph!! Nana don't want to friend papa di!

(...merajuk..)

Finally, it was the eve of my working day. Preparations was made to send Nana over to our babysitter who's also my aunty. Ivan and I spent those last few precious hours with Nana before putting her to bed.

Surprising as it was, Nana slept through the whole night and only woke up the next morning when i woke her up to feed. It was as if she knew that the time has come, that her mother needed rest, that the day for her to grow up and be independant has finally arrived.

This day on would be a new challenge for us, all 3 of us...

Mummy, daddy, don't worry about Nana..Nana will be strong,

will make you 2 miss me even more..hehe. Mmuuacks :-x xoxo

Call me "Nana"..uuu~ :-o

2010-03-27T02:09:00.000-07:00

February 27th, 2010
(1 month old)

Today was the day we celebrated Christiana's full moon aka 1 month old also the day i achieve my independance from confinement...Yay!!! But it was also the day of a new beginning for me, Ivan and Nana for as soon as the 'party' ended, we were left alone. Not that i'm complaining la. My parents went back and that was when i realised i would have to take care of this family by myself as well as bring up Nana by myself with Ivan's help.

Look at me do the hip-hop in my sleep

Thank God it was Friday and Ivan was free that weekend. We took the time to get used to the idea of just us and Nana in the house. We also took the opportunity to enjoy each others presence without other people being in the house because since Nana was delivered, we never really had the chance to enjoy our 'mini' family life..=)

Ah mummy, i jz Luvv leaning on ur shoulders..

That Sunday, 28th of February 2010, was the day Nana first went to church. I had to wake up 2 hours earlier than service so that we wont be late to get Nana and myself ready but in the end, we still end up reaching church 10 mins late.

It was praise and worship session when we reached church. Nana was slightly startled by the loud music when we first opened the door but thank goodness she did not cry but quickly adapted. Our house is usually very quiet so i guess she needed some getting used to. Nana slept throughout worship session and only opened her eyes occasionally. When it was time for the word of God, Nana suddenly woke up. She seemed to be listening intently to Pastor Gan's preaching for the first 15 minutes but she started to get a bit irritable after that. Guess her growling stomach got the better of her. However after feeding, she went back to sleep until service was over.

Burrpp...Aahhh..so comfortable now..

Eeewww..what's that smell?? Oopss..i think i jz pooped..;-p

Ivan went back to work the next day and it was the day when i was officially all alone. I managed to bath her safely..;-p Nana's quite demanding when she's awake as she wants me to carry her all the time and would cry if i attempted to put her down. What to do, she's smart..Only 1 month old and already know how to demand and twist her mother around her little finger..=)

Uncle Chi Voon and his sweetheart came to visit me...Awww~~

I would say that i am proud of myself that i survived the first day. After Nana went to sleep, i still managed to have dinner ready before Ivan reached home..hehe...just taking the opportunity to boast about myself a bit. I even managed to take a bath..;-p

Yum..yum..that's my mum's cooking..Can't wait for my teeth to grow.

3rd of March 10, it was time for Nana's 1month immunisation ~ the Hepatitis B vaccination. As i was not good at organizing the time yet, we only reached the Rasah Health clinic close to 9am. I nearly fainted when i saw the que and amount of people ahead of me. I was already patient number 97. Thank God my aunty came along and she helped me take care of Nana while i lined up for the number. Nana was already 4kg by then. It was a long wait indeed and by the time it was Nana's turn, it was already close to 12pm. Imagine that!! Its acceptable if it was only i who waited but the thought of a baby needing to wait so long to get vaccinated is just unacceptable. And the worst part was when we finally got to see the Medical officer, she was in such a hurry that she just quickly examined Nana and sent us off. The time we were in her room was probably less than a minute!!! Thank goodness i am also a doctor so i know how to take care of Nana but imagine this happening to other patients? Especially those who are not so educated and required more guidance... Talk about quality health care..Hmph.. It was close to 1pm by the time we left the health clinic and half of our day was wasted just like that..

Mummy, I'm not a soft toy..Let me turn my head another way la..

Over time, things became a little easier. I started to get used to doing the housework, taking care of Nana and preparing food. As the day went by, i realise that i could tackle all these chores more efficiently. Hmm..maybe i'm born a natural housewife..hehe..just kidding.

Papa u jz exercise very smelly leh...=p

Nana developed faster than the average population of children. Before 1 1/2 months, she could already hold her head up 45 degrees, smile spontaneously and follow moving objects well. She slept a lot but lesser compared to earlier days. However, her ability to demand is getting better..=) Her sleeping schedule is still haywire and she would wake up about 3-4 times every night. This became a challenge to me as i did not want to disturb Ivan sleeping. He was still in medical posting and was always tired from work. I would try my best to wake up at the most minimal sound that Nana made and pray to God that she does not start her loud crying.

ZZzzz...I'm so secure...

One thing both Ivan and I noticed about Christiana is her ability to behave when there are visitors or strangers around. She would be very quiet and just observe all the people around her. It also looked like she just quietly listen to our conversation but the moment the visitor goes home, she would start all her attention seeking methods ie crying loudly. Nana also loves going out. She really behaves herself when we bring her out ie to Tesco or Jusco. I think it is because she's always couped up in the house with me so when she finally gets to go out, she enjoys every moment of it.

Hmm..ever since i opened my eyes papa always follow me everywhere wif the camera..

Ei...Daddy's turning it when i turn my head wor..

Just wanna say, Christiana's really smart.. Not bragging here. It is true. She will be throwing one of her tantrums but if we put a camera in front of her and attempt to take her picture, she will suddenly quieten down. When we remove the camera from her face, she will start crying again. We have experimented this a lot of times and each time, she really stops crying. Well, you might say that she's probably distracted that's why she stops crying but we tried waving and putting a toy in front of her face and it doesn't do the magic the camera does. She still continues crying. It is like she's afraid to have her picture of embarassing moments taken...Talk about baby geniuses..=)

After talking so much about Nana, 1 must be wondering how the two young parents are doing.. Taking care of Nana is quite taxing but fun at the same time..Admist taking care of the new family, the two lovebirds did still managed to steal some time to reignite their love for each other..;-P On 1 of the day, we passed Nana to my very keen-to-be babysitter aunty nextdoor and left for KL to have a mini date. After being couped up in the house for so long, i went wild.. Just kidding.. Dressing up our best we headed to Sungai Wang.. We had Delifrance for lunch.. Never in our life have we ever thought of eating Delifrance as it is expensive but on that day they were having buffet promotion.. Thinking about all the yummy looking pastries makes my mouth water.

Ivan digging in to all the scrumptious pastries..

Aiyak..caught red handed eating so much again..:-P

We even managed to watch Alice in Wonderland in 3D at Pavillion. But things are different after having Nana. Eventhough it was supposed to be just us, Nana was never far from our hearts and thoughts for right after the movie, we bought a dragon soft toy for Nana whom we named Jabberwocke..;-P ya the 1 that Alice slayed in the movie. Dinner was at a nice and cozy Japanese restaurant at Bintang walk. Food was delicious and again Nana was all we could think of as our conversation dwelled around her.Feeling guilty for leaving Nana alone for so long, we headed back home.

Hubby and I on a romantic date.

I wish dinner was another eat-all-u-can buffet

Aiye~ Y mummy n daddy so romantic 1. Bluek :-p

After a day out without Nana, our guilty conscience got to the better of us. We decided to bring Nana out on a date too..;-P As uncle Wong aka Yoong Cheng's father has always been paying us visits at Seremban and always hinting to us about selling Nana to him..hehe..we decided to bring Nana to visit him and his family. We finally reached his house after rounding a few times. Uncle Wong and his family were so excited to see Nana. Auntie Wong immediately grew fond of our baby for it was a long time since she last held 1 close to her. After spending some time there, uncle Wong brought us to his new house, a whooping 3 storey building facing a scenic mountain. Nana immediately got comfortable in the AC hall and fell asleep on the couch..Uncle Wong treated us to a nice chinese dinner and after a few more hints on selling Nana to him, we left for home.. With Nana of course...:_l

Uncle Wong aka Yoong Cheng's dad and family..

"What r they all looking at with such amusement??"

Oh..it's me enjoying the brand new sofa and air-con.

Aunty Wong also cannot resist posing with me..;-p

20th of March, Nana's life changed forever...just kidding.. Her hairstyle changed forever.. Ivan and I decided to cut Nana's hair.. and no, we did not bring her to a saloon. We decided to DIO (Do It Ourself);-P

Mummy, i've got a bad feeling about this..

It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning and Nana had just woken up and fed. She was in a very good mood.. We started off by me using scissors to snip off Nana's hair as it was quite long. She seemed to be enjoying it in the beginning and was smiling while Ivan took pictures.. But as time passed, she realized she was becoming bald and that was when she started to fidget around and make noise. We applied a little shampoo and the real challenge started.

Oohh..what's that cold thing on my head??

Tee hee~mummy..it tickles!

Yawn..yawn.. y is it taking so long??

Don't shave my hair daddy!!~~

Woo..woo~ i don't wanna loss my crown jewel..sob sob

We started to shave her head using Ivan's shaver. The 1st time Nana felt this unusual sensation, she became more and more restless and started crying. It was really difficult trying to shave her hair off as we were afraid that we might hurt her delicate scalp. When Nana started screaming, Ivan and i came to regret our decision to DIO. But what has been started must be completed. Slowly but surely, Nana's head turned shinnier and shinnier. Towards the end it was a lot of work shaving off the patches of fine hair here and there over the scalp. And yes, Nana was still screaming. After a grueling 1 1/2 hours, finally! Phew~.. I quickly bathed Nana and she fell asleep almost instantly after her bath.. Talk about exhaustion!

Suddenly the universe feels so light..hold me close mummy..

ZZzzz.. I'm all zonked out..

Christiana was given a new name by her father since that day..."Botak Na";-p. Sometimes he called her Shaolin Na.

Smirk..do i look like Ronaldo??

As the month progressed, Nana grew bigger and bigger. She also became smarter. She knew how to make her daddy and mummy succumb to her likings although i must say that i am the easier target. I always thought i would be strict but i guess i am a softie after all....Next blog, more of Botak Na "adventure".

......wave bye bye :-)

Its My Birthday!!

2010-02-26T23:56:00.000-08:00

January 27th, 2010
(Christiana's journey to new moon)

Hi, I'm Christiana Yong Min Xuan and I just finished my first bath.

Christiana Yong Min Xuan was brought into this world after nearly 7 hours of labour. Her birth weight was 3.4kg which was at 50th centile and her length 56cm which is actually above average.. She did look rather lengthy for her age with nice long legs just like her daddy.

Ahh..its so nice and cosy to be wrapped up but its nothing compared to mummy's womb.

She was brought into my room after her first bath and was all nicely bundled up. Ivan and I held her close and looked at her adoringly. She was so tiny and cute and is really such a beauty. Her skin so fair, soft and smooth. Her cheeks chubby and she only opens one eye, her left eye. Her eyes are like mine,small and narrow; lips like her daddy, pink and plump; ears like me and hair like her dad,wavy. Features of Ivan and i could be seen all over her.

I can still see you eventhough my eyes are small k and dont my lips look kissable??

My parents were overjoyed to see their first granddaughter and my siblings happy that they were going to be uncle/aunties...:-p They were a bit scared to carry Christiana though because she looked so fragile. At about 7.30pm, Christiana's paternal grandma arrived from Kota Bharu, Kelantan. She was also excited seeing her first granddaughter. By then Christiana had quietened down and was sleeping peacefully; her chest moving up and down to her breathing rhythm.

My 2 grandmas. Dont they look young?

After my parents and mother in law left for dinner, it was my turn to take more of Christiana's pictures. First child ma so don't want to miss out on anything.Ivan came back about 12.30am all tired and exhausted. Both of us collapsed on the bed after a while. Christiana started crying at 1am but both of us were so tired that we could not drag ourself out from the bed to see her. The nurses must have heard her cry because shortly after that, 1 of them came in and offered to bring Christiana to the nursery. Both Ivan and I unanimously agreed.

Mummy stop taking my picture,i'm trying to sleep ere.

Our little bundle of joy so peacefully asleep.

Christiana came in as early as 7am the next day. She had just been fed at the nursery and was therefore sleeping soundly. We packed our things and after meeting with our obstetrician and pediatrician as well as settling the hospital bills, we headed home.

Quickly change my clothes so that i can go home.

Me with my mummy, daddy and grandma.

Bye bye KPJ!

Christiana was sleeping most of the time and only woke up when she was hungry. I breastfed her but as my lactation still hasn't fully commenced, we had to top up with formula milk. Ivan spoon fed her the milk to avoid nipple confusion (can happen if we feed Christiana with bottle and artificial nipple. She might even reject me after that). Being the new parents that we are, quite a lot of milk ended up on her shirt instead..=)

Wah..the nappy wipes is so cold.

My very first visitor ~ Aunty Lee Shien

Daddy's feeding me with a cup but i think my shirt is getting more nutrients than i am..:-p

Ivan started working when Christiana was 2 days old (Being a houseman, we are not entitiled to paternity leave). Ivan's mom took care of Christiana and me. Being in confinement, i was like the 'queen' of the house. I was only allowed to get out of bed to feed Christiana, eat and go toilet. Christiana had her first bath that morning by her grandmama. She cried quite a lot during bathtime. I took the opportunity to call the health clinic to inform them that i have delivered so that they can come and do home visit.

Peek ~ now,who's that trying to take a picture of me sleeping?

My daddy's trying to wake me up.

Sorry la pa, I'm just too tired to play with you.

Christiana started to become a little jaundiced (yellow) by 3 days old. The nurses visited the house and told that everything was well. They advised us to sun Christiana and to feed her more. As the day passes, Christiana's jaundice continue to deepen but she was still waking up regularly to feed. We gave her an early morning 8am-9am sunbath as advised. She passes motion very frequently but her stools were still greenish in colour (meconium stained). She also started developing heat rash due to the extremely hot weather.

Day 3 of life.

Oohh..Its so bright and hot. Mummy, what ru trying to do? Roast me?

Day 4 of life.

Hmm..im starting to enjoy this natural phototherapy process.

On the 5th day, the nurses came to visit again and this time, the jaundiced had progressed to the lower chest. Christiana was also getting more lethargic and sleeping longer hours and not waking up to feed. We brought her to the A&E in Seremban Hospital and took a TSB (total serum bilirubin) to check the level of jaundice. Christiana did not even cry when she was pricked. She merely opened her eyes and then went back to sleep. After waiting for 1 and 1/2 hrs, the results came back and her TSB was on the higher side 208mmol/L (normal is <230). We were advised to wake her up to feed her as frequently as 2 hourly even if she's asleep. We were also told to repeat her TSB the day after.

Day 5 of life.

Mummy seems to be stripping me more and more each day for this sun-bathing process.

I'm becoming yellower aren't i?

After 1 week old, we brought Christiana to KPJ as she had an appointment with her paediatrician. She was more active but still looked very jaundiced. A TSB was repeated and her TSB increased even further to 231mmol/L. At that point of time, i was in a dilemma. I did not know whether to admit Nana to the hospital for phototherapy or to repeat TSB the coming morning. In the end, we decided the latter. Christiana fed often that day and she was awake most of the time. We played with her and talked to her. That night, i set my alarm and woke up every 2 hours to feed her. It was the least i could do to ensure that her jaundice does not worsen.

Arms away..Lets go check my bilirubin level..=)

Hmm..y does mummy, daddy and poh poh look so worried?

The next day, we repeated the TSB. As it would be a long wait, i decided to go get Christiana's birth certificate done while Ivan's mom brought Nana to take her TSB. After dropping them off, i set off to Wisma Negeri to get her birth cert done. Even though there were only 3 people ahead of me, it still took an hour before it was my turn (ahem..u know la). By then, it was close to 12pm and i was afraid that Christiana might already be hungry. I rushed back to KPJ just in time to see the pediatrician. Her TSB came down miraculously to 197mmol/L. Praise God!! I was so relieved that Nana did not need admission and that her jaundice was improving. I called Ivan immediately after seeing the pediatrician and he too was relieved.

Wink*wink* Told you i will be just fine.

Over the next few days, Nana's jaundice continue to improve. By now, i was getting used to her cries and could roughly guess what she wanted. Nana started to enjoy her bath time and was feeding well. But she still sleeps quite a lot. I guess that's the lifestyle of all neonates (from birth until 1 month old).

Weee....higher poh poh, higher...

After 11 days (6/2/10), Ivan's mom went back to Kota Bharu as she had to work. It was my mother's turn to come and take care of me and Christiana. She brought my sister Mei Ling along as she was worried she couldn't handle us..;-p But things turned out to be manageable and Mei Ling was just sleeping most of the time..hehe..

Enjoying a mummy-daughter time..=)

My mom would bath Christiana with Guinness Stout. It is supposedly believed that it would give the baby beautiful skin and provide warmth. I did not agree but didn't want to fight with my mom. Ivan was busy working (medical posting) and by the time he came home everyday, he was already drained. He would gather the remaining strength left in him to play and talk to Nana for awhile then he would drop dead on the bed. Nana started having abdominal colics when she was 2 weeks old and she would be very irritable and cry for few hours every night. I on the other hand would look like a zombie every morning..;-p

Wwaaa...papa, i dont like the way ur carrying me.

Dont look so happy, change my position first la.

Father and daughter both comatosed.

Aaww..mummy,i like the way you feel.

Having really sweet dreams...;-p

After 1 week, my mom went home and Ivan's mom came back down to take care of us. It was Chinese New Year then. I was still in confinement and therefore could not leave the house. Ivan and his family went out for CNY eve's dinner while i stayed at home to take care of Nana. I was sad that i couldn't follow but glad because Ivan would be on holiday for a few days.

Ivan's family having a Chinese New Year eve's dinner.

"Lou ar...Lou ar.."

While they were busy, so was i...

I'm trying to sleep mummy,dont disturb me la.

It was a quiet CNY for us as it was just Ivan's family and us. I remember waking up extra early to get Nana ready. She wore her Mini mouse clothes and pants given by her paternal grandma and also had her pink mushroom hat on. She looked so cute. It was our first CNY together as a family and Nana received many red packets from Ivan's relatives (given by Ivan's dad). Ivan's family left for Melaka after that while Ivan stayed back to accompany me and Nana. It was the first time when we were together alone since Nana was born.

My CNY clothes. Cute leh?? I look like the mushrooms in Super Mario Bros:-p

ZZzzz..just give my ang pows to daddy or mummy la.

All together now..Not fair, my eyes are closed..ZZzz

Daddy,ur so full of my drool. Go change first la before you kiss me.

Mummy, clean me first only take my picture ma.

On the 4th week of my confinement (Finally!), my mom came back to take care of me and Christiana. By then, i was already comfortable with Christiana's lifestyle and was used to her 'habits' already. She was growing well and feeding well. I was also recuperating well..;-p

Mummy, its always so nice sleeping on you.

Dont i look bigger compared to the first picture of me?

Yippie...more visitors to see me..=)

We celebrated her achieving 1 month old on the 26th of February 2010. I also celebrated my independance from confinement on that day..hehe..;-P We had chinese buffet for my relatives and few church friends, the max we could accommodate 1 time in our little single storey terrace rented home. To top it up we ordered 3 large Domino pizzas which finished in 5 mins..Ivan who ordered it was like, "Ney,where did u all put the pizzas ah?"

My guests who came to celebrate me turning one month old.

Hhmm, my bed is so so cozy and comfy..

ZZzzz...Good night everyone, it's been an exhausting first month of life.

Check out what my mom has to say when i become 2 months old..=)

The "BIG day"~

2010-01-27T23:59:00.000-08:00

January 27th, 2010

The "BIG day"...Do not mistaken this as my wedding day. That day has long gone. Okay,maybe i should change my title to something like "My 2nd Biggest Day" but i think i will stick with my current title The "BIG day". After all, today is the coming of my 1st princess into this world and it's a once in a lifetime thing. Until nearly term i wasn't feeling any labour pain so following specialist's plan, i had to be induced medically.

At 7am, I woke up and took a nice long bath, shampooing my hair thoroughly because after this, i'm not allowed to even wet my hair during confinement period. I know, hard to imagine right but lets just hope my mum would show me mercy, or change her mind after she could no longer tolerate me stinking like a fish market..haha. Checked all my bags to make sure that everything my princess and I need are in there. Then at 7.45am, hubby and me left the house for Seremban Specialist Hospital (aka KPJ), seriously excited but didn't know what to expect.

Sunny day with bright blue sky - the view from my labour room

It was a beautiful day with good sun and blue sky. After registering at the admission counter, me and the other expecting mothers were brought to our individual labour rooms. The room was cozy, quite spacious with a personal television and a shared bathroom. It was like a mini hotel room. Now i just have to wait for my Obstetrician specialist, Dr Kala, whom i know i will be in her good hands.

Me just settling down - anxious about what is to come

After a while, a staff nurse entered and administered me ravin enema (a laxatives, something that makes 1 wanna pass motion instantly) from my behind. My goodness, that was my first ravin enema experience. It took only a mere 3 seconds to feel the urge and as much as i wanted to control myself, i could not...Imagine the effect. Okay..okay, Ivan is telling me to stop here before you people feel grossed out.

By the way, did you know that giving birth shares the same sensation as defaecation? Hence the importance of laxatives pre-labour, because the only object we want to evacuate during delivery is our product of conception, not bowel content.

CTG(cardiotocography) - to monitor contractions and fetal heart

The nurse then inserted a branula, and started me on intravenous Pitocin drip (a type of medicine administered to initiate my uterus to start contracting). I was also placed on CTG monitoring ie a machine which helps monitor baby's heart rate and uterus contraction strength. Dr Kala came in shortly and examined me. She did an ARM (artificial rupture of amniotic membrane also done to start my uterine contraction) and to my relieve, the liquour was clear. *Meconium-stained liquor indicates fetal distress and its something to be alarmed of.* After the physical examination, she informed that my cervical os was already 4cm dilated and reassured me before allowing me to rest.

CTG's looking good

It came to my realization i was bed-bounded, not allowed to climb off the bed for any reason. Had my breakfast and just lied down listening to baby's heartbeat from the CTG. I must have let my thoughts wandered before entering dreamland on the comfortable bed only to wake up at 12pm. Surprisingly, the pain wasn't as bad as i had expected. Was more like a very bad dysmenorrhea ie.period cramps but to me, it was still tolerable and therefore i didn't request for any analgesia ie.pain reliever.

I didn't have any appetite but forced myself to eat a bit of the hospital lunch as i knew i would need the strength later. By 1.30pm my uterine contraction was increasing in frequency and intensity which gradually made me feel uncomfortable. The pain was also becoming more prominent to me. What i couldn't stand in addition to that was the constant urge/sensation of passing urine and motion which came with every uterine contraction. Only thing was i couldn't. Felt like there was always something pressing on my bladder but nothing i can do about it.

Trying to eat despite my contractions

At 2pm, Dr Kala came and examined me again. Told me i was already 9cm and encouraged me to bear down whenever a contraction came. *Bear down - to push as in constipation, it helps push down the baby*. I did exactly as told. However, at 2.30pm the nurse examined me again and told me baby's head was still only at station -2 ie. the head is still deep inside. Imagine the disappointment when i heard that. I felt like i was pushing so hard as the discomfort was becoming more and more prominent but baby's head was just not moving. It was then when i felt like giving up. I felt like i simply can't push anymore and really thought to myself i would rather a caesarean section than to continue.

I complained to Ivan and told him i could not do it anymore. He held my hand and told me not to give up, told me to pray and ask God to help me; he asked me to think of our baby. I persevered on. At 3.30pm, the nurse checked me again and this time, the station was -1. Baby's head descended but was still high. I was really worried that baby might suffocate inside. The pain was becoming unbearable but i refused analgesics. The nurses placed me in lithotomy position and encouraged me to bear down. After 2-3 times trying, hubby told me he could see baby's head still high inside and was amused she already has hair. I was so exhausted by then i felt as if i could not continue.

*sorry,no pictures..Ivan did not have enough hands to click on the camera*

It was nearly 4pm by then and thankfully, Dr Kala appeared to save the day. She said baby would need the help of a vacuum because i have been trying for too long ie prolonged 2nd stage labour. The process of inserting the vacuum delivery set was really painful but what came next i did not expect. Dr Kala told me to push as hard as i can with each contraction and she would pull the vacuum to help me. I remembered the pain when she first pulled - it felt like i was going to burst/explode. I screamed ~~ i am embarassed to admit but i could not tolerate the pain neither could i keep quiet. Dr Kala pulled 3 times before baby's head came out. By then, the pain was so excruciating that i already felt numb. I pushed 1 last time for baby's body to come out and that was it.

*sorry,no pictures again..Ivan was too busy looking at baby*

I heard baby's cry. Baby's first cry. And guess what, i also started crying. Crying because of the pain and that i survived it, relieved that the process finally ended, happy that baby is crying loudly and squeling. The nurses dried and wrapped baby up and gave her to me. I hugged her and brought her close to my chest and i started crying again kissing her face. The emotion that washed through me was so intense. I was just thanking God over and over again for everything. Even now whenever i think back upon that moment, my eyes would just fill with tears.

Baby Christiana Yong Min Xuan, 3.4kg , delivered on 27/1/2010 at 4.13pm.

Ivan was overwhelmed too. He hugged me and baby, kissed my forehead and told me i did a good job and that he was very proud of me for hanging in there. Dr Kala proceeded to deliver the placenta and sutured me up but i was already exhausted by then. Everything became blur...Nothing mattered anymore...Except for the thought of my baby being safe..My little bundle of joy..

Next up..."My little Christiana"

The tale of a pregnant houseman...=)

2010-01-26T23:59:00.000-08:00

2009 - January 2010

Hmm...pregnancy. How is it like to be pregnant?? A lot of people say it is one of the toughest but also one of the most rewarding times in life. To be pregnant during housemanship must be worst. What can i say? I have been through and survived it. It is really not as bad as how some people tell it.

I remembered the fateful day when i found out i was pregnant; it seemed so long ago but time flies when you are a houseman. I was in denial... I kept giving myself excuse not to do a UPT (Urine Pregnancy Test) telling myself that my period is running late because i am stressed but like it or not, i could not continue to deny when my period failed to come after 2 months.

I gathered up my courage and finally bought a UPT from Watson; did the test by myself and was .......I do not know how to describe the emotions that ran through me at that time - happy, sad, worried, unsure of what is going to happen in the future. All my hopes and dreams of my future became blur to me at that moment. Nothing seemed certain right then. Thoughts of juggling a family and wondering if i will still be able to pursue my studies for my future just seemed so impossible.

Now, it seemed just like yesterday when i found out i was pregnant. After the discovery, i proceeded to get myself a booking visit (it's kind of like registering your pregnancy where you get a pink book for follow up) from the nearest health centre. Did not do it in general hospital (the place i was working) as i wanted to test out the government clinic (klinik kesihatan) and how it was like for the general population of pregnant mummies when they went for their checkup. Turned out as expected, it was a long wait. I remembered that day when i waited for nearly 4 hours before i finally saw the doctor. Phew...it was a long wait indeed. Dozed off a few times on the not very comfortable plastic waiting chairs (at least i got to sit down and wait).

Urine was tested. Blood pressure,weight and height was measured. A group of routine tests were done ie HIV, Hepatitis B screening, VDRL (syphillis screening), blood grouping and a repeated UPT (just to confirm that you are really pregnant). I was a bit upset when i found out i was slightly anemic. Hemoglobin level was 9.5g/dL (normal would be 11.5 - 16.5g/dL). Haih..thinking that a doctor was suppose to be the healthier of the lot but found myself anemic...Started my pregnancy with a weight of 48 kg which slowly but certainly continued to increase throughout my pregnancy.

Me in my pre-pregnancy state.

Finally close to 12pm, i managed to see the medical officer which did a scan for me - my first scan of baby. Baby was so small. Baby was not even developed yet and i was only able to see a small round thing called a gestational sac. Here, i had another disappointment.. Always thought that my period date was reliable but found out that it was not. I was given a REDD (another expected date of delivery given by the scan measurements) and also to repeat a scan to reconfirm my REDD 2 weeks later. I left the health clinic close to 1pm that day. Half of my day just slipped by.

My baby's first scan.

Baby's second scan 2 weeks later.

Coming back to my pregnancy, the first trimester (the first 3 months) just slipped by. I did not suffer from much side effects. Had an occasional nauseous feeling and occasional vomiting spree, an occasional dizzy spell where i would feel like fainting and could not stand for a long time especially during ward rounds but apart from that, it was quite bearable. No one would even know about my pregnancy if it weren't for the dizzy spells. Initially when baby was still small, i made it a point to go jogging...i know i know..some of you must be thinking i am crazy but it was quite enjoyable actually until of course when baby started to get a bit bigger and i felt like peeing whenever i jogged as i felt baby bouncing up and down and pressing on my bladder - then i stopped.

Me and my hubby during the first 3 months.

Then came the second trimester (from the fourth till sixth month). This is supposedly the safest time and also the best time of pregnancy because mother feels like normal except for the growing tummy. I was just entering into my next posting then (Emergency and Trauma Department also known as A&E - Accident and Emergency). God really planned everything for me because as it was A&E, work was in a shift system. I had plenty of time to rest and plenty of time for myself...

We worked in 3 shifts mainly where morning is from 8am til 3pm, afternoon is from 3pm til 10pm and night was from 10pm til the next morning 8am. If we did 2 shifts per day ie morning and night, then the next day would be an off day. I remembered looking forward towards afternoon shifts as i would have the time to go for a swim in the morning. The pool will always be nearly empty except for a few old uncles. I remember swimming 10 to 15 laps each time. The beauty of swimming when you are pregnant is that you forget that you are pregnant. The water just takes away the weight of your body and it is so peaceful as all you focus on are your strokes. It was also in the swimming pool when i first felt 'quickening'(baby's first movement). I was nearly 5 months into my pregnancy and was getting worried and wondering when i would be able to feel baby move in me.

I remember that morning when i was standing at the shallow end of the pool after swimming 5 laps. I was alone then and was taking a short rest when suddenly, i felt a 'kick' in my tummy. I was taken aback for a short moment wondering if i was hallucinating. I started talking to baby asking if it was really baby moving or was it just my mind playing tricks on me. Then surely and certainly enough, i experienced another 'kick' and another 'kick'. It was then when i knew that it was really baby moving in me. The turmoil of emotions rushed through me again and i felt tears trickling down my eyes. The feeling was undescribable. It just stopped time then and there. The awe and beauty of knowing that there is something alive and that the something is living in you, growing in you, and is a part of you is just so overwhelming. To think of you yourself being a part of God's plan creating another one of His precious child in you is just so........I am speechless, no words can describe the feeling when you come to that realization.

Me at 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Being in A&E during the bulk of my pregnancy was one of the most enjoyable times in my life. The shift system working hours were in favour of my tiring body which needed loads of sleep which i managed to get. I did not have problems going for my regular antenatal checkups as the doctors were supportive and i could arrange my work schedule to suite the appointments. My collegues and superiors 'sayang' me a lot and refuse to let me do the 'running' jobs ie send stat bloods to lab, collect blood from blood banks, running upstairs to do ABGs(arterial blood gases) and also CPR (cardiopulmonary resusitation). I know, i know, i should not be complaining but be grateful. I am but being the workaholic that i am, sometimes i feel like an OKU (orang kurang upaya) - no offense to OKUs out there.

Still able to sit quite comfortably to watch Avatar..hehe..

Of course, there is no place where it is always a bed of roses. I still have my not so pleasant times in A&E although it is nothing as compared to the joyful times that i had there. I still remember the nights when i have to work night shifts. It is not the work that was giving me problems but more of the problems due to my enlarging uterus. I remember having regurgitations and heart burns in the middle of the night and i did not know what to do. Vomiting relieves the nausea but makes the burns worst. Eating does not really relieve the burning sensations either and it worsens the regurgitations. I just did not know how to cure myself. An irony isn't it?? A doctor who can cure others but do not know how to cure herself. Of course i was also being stubborn as i do not want to get myself injected with powerful gastric medicines which i could have if i wanted to. In the end, i would just ask for a packet of antacids (gellusil to be exact) and started eating them like candies. But they tasted bitter of course.

Me and my hubby.Note that my face is rounder..:(

When i was in A&E, I used to look at all the patients coming in the middle of the night or in the wee hours of the morning complaining of gastric pain. I never understood why they have to choose those timing to come and i still do not understand eventhough i have left the department. Considering that i am having the same problem that they are having but still working and am also being pregnant at the same time, i really do not see their logic. Maybe they are just spoiled brats or maybe i am more 'tahan lasak' than them or maybe they just feel the need to make doctors work harder for their already so little pay by keeping them awake with these small petty things - i know, i know. I am complaining and being sarcastic but seriously, if only the public knew the kind of ridiculous cases we see. Okay..Okay..better stop before i get sued.

noticed my big tummy?

Returning to my pregnancy, getting a shut eye during night shifts became more inconvenient as baby grew bigger and bigger. Initially, i could still curl up in a couch and get some rest. Then as time passed by, i started to lean on the table to sleep as my tummy was getting in the way. Eventually, i could no longer lean on the table as i felt as if i could not breathe when i try to lean forwards. And as baby grew bigger, i had to sit upright to sleep but that did not last long as i realize that baby was pressing on my back and i had backaches after half an hour staying in one position and had to frequently change my position. Finally towards the end of my A&E postings, the only way i could sleep was on the patient's bed but that is hard to come by as when you are about to lie down and make yourself comfortable, a new case comes - so much for the effort of trying to sleep! Not complaining, i am just merely pointing out the lifestyle of a houseman - in my case, there is added difficulty as i was a pregnant houseman.

pregnancy comes with a ferocious appetite..:-P

Time in A&E passed by quickly as did my pregnancy. Before i know it, i am already in my last 3 months of pregnancy also known as the 3rd trimester. I started into pediatric posting when i was about 33 weeks pregnant. Had to tag there(its a process every houseman has to go through everytime they start a new posting - we work extra long hours and have to do everything. Kind of like an express pediatric posting.) We are expected to know most of the things by the time we finished our tagging period of 2 weeks and be ready for on-call.

Big tummy with big swollen legs.

Tagging was really tiring. Starting work at 7am every morning lasting til 10pm sometimes 12am at night was something that i had to readjust to after the shiftsystem style in A&E. I remembered i would go back every night with backache,leg ache and very bad leg swelling that went up all the way to my thighs. There were a few times when i experienced lower abdominal pain and i became so worried telling baby to hold on til 37 weeks(its the cut off point for term pregnancy) and praying to God that it was not labour pains. I remembered i felt so depressed one of the last few tagging nights because my backache was really bad and my legs were just so heavy that i just sat down in one of the houseman rooms as i could not take it anymore. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks and i felt myself apologizing to baby over and over again saying that i am sorry for torturing her and could not give her a good rest. That was the peak of my depression of tagging. I was nearly 35weeks by then.

Still able to fit in the car with the seat belt on.

After my hubby commented that i look round.

Thank God tagging ended. Once off tag, life was more bearable. It is nearly office hour as we work from 7am til 5pm. For me, life was great..=) As i was so pregnant and looked like i am ready to pop, i did not have to do on calls. That was really a blessing to me as i could go home early and rest. I remember seeing my leg swelling becoming worst each day. It would not subside even after i elevate my legs the whole night.

My legs are not normally that big. Its swollen. Crazy huh?

Up close and personal..

My medical officers and colleagues were very kind to me. They would excuse me from following rounds and only join them when it is my cubicle. I sat down once in a while when i really could not stand it but most of the time i still followed rounds as i felt that it was disrespectful and unfair not to. Baby was getting bigger and i could feel that my walking was becoming more and more clumsy. Kind of felt like a penguin waddling. My collegues would not allow me to help hold the kids down when taking blood as they are scared that the child might just kick my tummy and i will just go into labour..=)

Even sitting down looks uncomfortable right??

By the time i was 38 weeks, i was getting restless. Baby was not showing any signs that she wanted to come out into this world. I was getting all worried and paranoid thinking that baby might have some problem inside and i would not know about it. By 39 weeks,there were still no signs of labour. Pregnancy is finally taking its toll on me. At 68kg (i put on a total of 20kg!!), I could not work that well anymore and felt tired and felt like i needed rest. So at 39 weeks and 4 days, i finally took leave and stayed at home to rest before my admission to Seremban Specialist Hospital at 39weeks and 6 days for induction of labour. It was really a time i cherished. I had a full 48 hours to prepare myself to becoming a mother - Finally!! I spent my time talking to baby, praying to God that all will be well. Basically just spending my last moments enjoying the fact that baby is still in me. It dawned on me that life would be different once baby was out and i did not know what to expect; that the 9 months of a creation of God growing inside of me was to be brought out into this world soon. The realization was wonderful as i can finally see the 'product' that i have carried for 9 months but also fearful as the future is unknown.

At the end of 9 months.

Tomorrow morning, on the 27/1/2010 at 8am, i will be getting admitted to the hospital for induction.

"Oh Lord I pray, that all will go smoothly as i commit baby and myself into Your precious hands. Help us both that we will be safe and all will go well. Amen."

Coming up next....' The "BIG" day '

Toughest Training

2009-08-20T01:23:00.000-07:00

August 2009

Here's to 1 of the toughest training in the world..

Its physically and psychologically demanding.

So much so the arch of my feet is flattened and my right big toe is sore and it looks gangrenous..gulp..

I spend more time standing than sleeping..trust me man..

I used to walk past those mushrooming foot massage parlours without giving a 2nd look

but now i'm having 2nd thoughts.

The only way i can delay (since its inevitable)

the effect of this occupational hazard from taking its toll on my health,

is to invest in a rm300 puppy, and a rm168 crocodile.

..read hush puppies and crocs.

Ok by now u can guess which department i'm in.

It has the most medicolegal issues so don't play play..

I remember me and Pradeep were the only HOs taking care of 1 antenatal ward

with a capacity of nearly 60 patients/day plus the extension beds.

Turn over is high we can have nearly 25 discharges/day.

Can't imagine how Pradeep did it on his own for 2wks b4 i joined him.

Right, so we review both the mums, and the babies after they pop out.

Its not as easy as it sounds and i'm not gonna get into the details of it.

You gotta consult me 1st..haha..

..for free k.

1st day in labour room, was so lost the staffs thought i was a medical student.

Could never forget the pressure and intensity of conducting a delivery

and the lil' bit of fulfilment that follows.

It was H1N1 pandemic for a period and everyday there were H1N1 related mortalities around the country. Pregnant mothers and newborns were susceptible groups.

Every1 in the hospital had to wear mask and i quite like the idea of being a boogeyman.

Work can be fun with the right colleagues, dependable ppl together in the same boat.

We know each other's suffering and peril

Share the same sentiments towards some of our "wonderful" superiors..

The staff nurses there are great. Not cool but they contribute alot into moulding and disciplining us.

Its like riding on a emotional roller coaster but at the end of the day, 1 becomes more tick.

The best way to thank them is to buy them food, which is the key to their hearts.

They love pizza hut, kfc, and are obsessed with McDs.

So conquer their hearts, and you'll conquer the labour room.

So there was this young chinese mum,21 yrs old, pregnant for 34weeks with a pair of boy girl twins.

She came in because of pre-eclampsia ( hypertension during pregnancy with risk of seizure).

Her legs were so oedematous she couldnt walk at all.

Anyway we C-section her at 35 wks and both mum and twins did well.

And patient's mum and mum in law each has 1 baby to take care of..so they wont fight haha.

I'm so bad..haha.

To cut the long story short, they flattered me with a fruit basket.

And no matter how sour the fruits, it still tasted sweet to me.

*Kar Ling* :_l :_l

"Dude, whats this place?..I see many zombies dragging themself around..

oh no..look, there's 1 coming with a big black worm around his neck...uuuu.."

.
.

"Oh they're HOs, lowest in the hierarchy, it seems.

They never see sunlight cos they get up when its dark and go home when its dark.

Also they don't eat and they don't sleep..

...these creatures are hard to kill..

.....Hey don't press my stomach..there's no milk in there..waaa~"

.
.

"Do not despair my friend, mummy is coming to get us as soon as they stitch her up.

So much blood and amniotic fluid and urine..what a mess..uuuu...

...but which 1 is mommy? they're all dressed in pink..

and they're all screaming..even the HOs and nurses are shouting.

...this place's a madhouse.."

"Mommy is probably exhausted.

The HOs will review her and make sure she's ok..

But they always seem to be busy writing alot of things and the nurses are always snapping at them.

Oh well, thats life..stinks right..sigh

........

..Hey whats that smell..eeww.."

"Ooops..i think i just poo poo..wa kah kah~~ now that really stinks..waa~~"

Seriously being a HO is really not that bad. Nothing comes free in life anyway so..

I'm thankful for where God leads me and what He wants me to go through..

God has wrote a script for us, He's the author and finisher of our life.

He knows us even before we were born..

So if at times life gets out of hand..Remember, God is making us stronger.

Before we end, let us amuse you with this picture.

This ambulance was parked at the centre of the traffic light opposite our hospital.

Its true that our hosp has very limited and narrow parking area.

I had my car dented and deliberately scratched by don't know who.

Still, how this ambulance end up there for 4 days is beyond me.

Well thanks for reading. And thanks for bearing with us for taking once in a blue moon to update it. God bless ya.:-)

2009-07-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, 2009-07-08

Island Hopping and Duty Free Shopping

Last day in Langkawi, we joined the Island Hopping tour package.

Rm35 per head for a 4 hour tour.

Brought to 3 different places in the vicinity of Langkawi's southern satellite islands.

This is the starting point. A small docking place located behind Awana Resort Hotel.

Cleanliness of the beach is much to be desired.

Sea was crystal clear under the late morning sun.

It looked as if we were skiing on ice.

This is Pulau Dayang Bunting aka Island of Pregnant Maiden.

It harbours a fresh water lake called Tasik Dayang Bunting.

Women facing infertility problem are encouraged to take a dip in their lake and consequently become fertile and be able to conceive..

(thats according to local folklore of course)

Say hello to 1 of the locals who welcomed us with his mating season frenzy (u get the picture).

Anyway this guy here is obviously the alpha male, and he is HUGE~.

Huge hunky or huge obese i can't tell, its a fine thin line between those 2 for him.

...And i wonder where he's getting his protein supplement from...

Alrite, enough with the obsession..

Well so far we found Langkawi a nice local destination for holiday or honeymoon.

Would recommend at least 3 days on the island for a satisfying and rewarding experience.

Working our way up towards the "miracle" lake.

For women who long to bear children, its like a quest for the Holy Grail.

.......

Climbed down the stairs and...

Ta~ da~

Behold. Lake of the Pregnant Maiden.

Here's a quiz : (In the book of Genesis) At what age did God open Sarah's womb to conceive Isaac?

There are floating platforms with cubicles between them for tourist to take a dip.

Adventurous ones would swim in their life-jackets a little beyond the platforms.

We didnt bring our swim wear so we rented a paddle boat and manouvered our way around the lake.

Our boat cost rm15 while the solar boats cost rm30.

This self-explainary information on the notice board wants tourist to be aware that

The lake is not salty eventhough its near the sea because of a "miracle border".

I'm not a geologist so...

Hey whaddaya know its Arabian holiday season. You get to see big size hairy guys and Arabic women in bikinis. Wherever there's water, you'll never fail to spot them because they luurrvee playing in water.

Apparently its China holiday season too.

Great view.

The place can be quite happening eventhough its currently not Malaysian holiday season.

So we tried to maneuver and paddle around the lake fighting the current. It was warm but peaceful and serene, with ocassional children laughter from a distant.

Spent approximately 1 hour on the island before heading towards Eagle feeding spot.

Basically we are just invading their territory and disturbing their lunch time.

They are not a fan of tourist because our boats scare their fishes away.

On our way there, a few fish farms.

Here's 1 of the many Eagle hunting ground.

Like i mentioned in the previos blog, there are 2 main species of Eagle living together in a common habitat.

Whether cross breed is possible i don't know.

Its quite hard to catch a good close-up picture of them flying around swiftly.

Here's a stretch of fine white sandy beach with crystal clear water on 1 of the satellite islands.

There's no strong wave, water is shallow.

Perfect for sun bathing and small scale watersport, para-sailing is 1 of them.

There is vendor selling sweet young and tender coconut for rm5.

Refreshing and relaxing.

Again we didnt bring our swim wear.

Nevertheless everyting around us is blissful that we didnt need to get ourself wet.:-)

The island hopping tour ended at 12.30pm.

We headed for Langkawi underwater world but found the entrance ticket pricey and not worth the money.

Anyway we have seen Singapore's underwater world.

Never leave Langkawi without buying from duty free shop.

We went to the Zone, same row as Langkawi underwater world. Be aware that prices of the same item differ even among various duty free shops.

For example there can be a diffence of few Ringgit for a bar of imported chocolate.

Got ourself lots of chocolate. Rare ones, but not too expensive.

Neyney got herself perfume which untill today she's feeling too sayang to use.

Bought ourself chocolate chip Haagen Datz and it tasted soo "premium".

These are the things we would never thought of buying in supermarts.

....and not forgetting 2 bottles of red wine we bought yesterday, 1 new world 1 old world.

Knowing that its gonna be a long drive back, we quickly caught the 3.30pm ferry.

We were loaded with stuff.

Ong Bak 2 was playing. Great martial arts. Ending could be better.

Reached Subang before 10pm.

2009-07-07T23:59:00.001-07:00

Tuesday, 2009-07-07

Telaga Tujuh Waterfall

Afternoon, we rode our rented bike towards west side of Langkawi.

Destination: Telaga Tujuh waterfall and Cable car.

On our way there, we stopped by this yatch dock. Majority of them belong to foreigners, at least i would like to think that way, so that i won't be too green with envy..haha.

One day......

Oh, and there's suppose to be a bread shop owned by our Tun Dr. Mahathir somewhere around that shop housing area.

.....

Arrived at the cable car Village. A few duty free shops, souveneir shops, makan shops.

Looking forward towards the Langkawi suspension bridge at the top of the hill.

Told that due to the bad weather service was temporarily shut down.

Ya, like they were taking precaution over the bridge getting too slippery and some1 might jz slip and fall down the hill :_l

Arrived at Telaga Tujuh waterfall.

We decided to take a different route and explore the jungle 1st before coming to the waterfall.

It was after 4pm as we climbed our way up the jungle. The weather was gloomy.it was drizzling and at times it could be quite dark in there.

The fact that no 1 else was there besides us didnt help.

There were a total of 3 camp sites along the way to the top.This was the 2nd one.

It looked empty and deserted.

Still no signs of any1...

This was the last "human-friendly" road sign we met before we continued climbing what must have been eternity. The peak was no where to be seen. No more road signs along the way

....we were on our own..

Already 5.30pm,it was dark, and raining.

Neyney was getting restless, though she was still fit as a bull.

It would require another 1 hour to make our way down.

Camping in the forest for the night didnt sound feasible, at least on our honeymoon..

We were still the only Tarzan and Jane there...

Stopped by 1 of the streams on our way down.

The water was clean (how did i know that?) and chilly..

There was actually another picture of tarzan (that's me) drinking water like he was devouring something.

Nearly there..

Still no sign of anybody.

And here is the top of the waterfall. See that cliff over there?

I'm standing next to 1 of the 7 wells that forms the waterfall beyond this cliff. Hence the name Telaga Tujuh ie 7 Wells waterfall.

We took a side track down to see the waterfall and guess what

....i ran out of battery.

It was great by the way. All rocky and slippery though.

Tried to bath at the bottom of the torrentous waterfall and could have been swept away and gotten myself killed.

Karling hugged me tight and told me not to do anything stupid like that again.

Anyway, NEVER underestimate the forces Mother Nature.

Last dinner in Langkawi.

Its tasty succulent butter crab.But i spent more time peeling than eating it.

Neyney was like a pro...

Tomorrow!...Island Hopping~~

2009-07-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, 2009-07-07

Mangroove Tour

Before i begin,forgot to tell u last nite on our way back from dinner, we had a 2nd encounter wif the police.

It was at the periphery of the Langkawi airport situated in between Cenang beach & the hotel.

12am. Road was pitch dark & 2 of them riding their bikes pulled us over.

After some friendly enquiries, they wished us happy honeymoon.

People, if ur riding with a hot chick on an island at midnight, be prepare for some adventure.:_l

Anyway....

8.30am. Hotel pickup by the travel agent.

Mangroove tour.

Destination: Kilim Geoforest Park at the northeast part of Langkawi.

Tour duration: 5hrs

Price: Rm 110/pax. Lunch inclusive.

Kilim geoforest park..consist of wildlife..don't expect tigers or elephant ok...

botany, mangroove swamp (paya tembakau)..

sea life..& hot sun.

Otters..like the one from Narnia.

They were restless, & when they get under water, track them by the bubles surfacing.

Bat cave. Did u know..

That when bats die in their sleep their body can still hang for months before dropping?

Mangroove grows in swampy area.

Provides natural habitat for different species of wildlife.

Good firewood.

& did u know.. the latex from mangroove leaf can be so poisonous that

it can blind a person, used for hunting to stun animals, a tool to quit smoking by applying some on the cigarrette?

Very hard to get them to cooperate for the photo session...

Poison latex obtained from the stalk of the leaves.

Viper snake.

Saw 1 of its nest from the outside, located on the top caves with eggs, egg shells and snake skin.

Mangroove fruit.

When mature, the fruit will pop open & seeds fall to the ground to produce new offspring.

Hanging palm tree on the cliff said to be hundreds yrs old.

Also in the wall of the cliffs..spider nests.

Yatchs belonging mostly to foreigners. Cheap parking fee about Rm3k per yr.

Still considered safe although left unattended for months to years.

Pirates from Thailand only target mini-sized motorboats because of their similiarity and parts can be easily disambled.

Crocodile cave. We came a bit late during high tide & couldn't get in.

There was a spot where the Eagles came to prey for fish.

2 species live together..the reddish brown(superior size) & the dark brown(smaller size).

Last destination, a fish farm, built as a floating vessel in the sea.

We had lunch there..well,no fish but just fried prawns.

This type of fish swims very fast, attach itself to sharks, and share chunks of its host's meal.

Erm..whats it call ah?

Sting ray! The 1 that killed Steve Irwin. :-(

No prize for answering correctly.

Blow fish! Can survive out of water max of 3 mins. And we inflated it..:_l

Warning: If u eat this fish, you will die.

..slimy & slippery.

Poor thing, life must be hard being pressed around.

The end of tour.Thanks for joining us...:)

2009-07-06T23:59:00.000-07:00

Monday, 2009-07-06

Honeymoon

So we started on our journey at 8.30am. Most couple would have had their wedding honeymoon pre-planned but we didnt. Thought we might have been broke by the end of our wedding.

And we did the crazy thing, drove Vivi all the way from melaka to alor setar, Kedah. Took us >7hrs. Thats where we parked our car at the ferry jetty and took a boat to Langkawi island.

Many fishing boats. Would have taken us twice the time to reach Langkawi compare to the speed boat. I think this place is called Kuala Kedah.

The seats, for some reason are 90 degrees straight. I suppose i was fishing throughout the 2 1/2 hr journey. The boat was AC though..

5.30pm Langkawi island jetty. Cloudy sky with burst of afternoon sun.

Rented a bike for rm35/day. Chose our ideal hotel through the travel cum hotel agent. Acquired some info regarding the island tour packages.

You can't miss the Dataran Helang in Langkawi. Its the island's most significant landmark.

Huge statue of an Eagle (called Helang in local language) spreading wide its wings situated on a platform shaped as a star.

We rode to Helang Hotel at Padang Matsirat,

about 20mins from Kuah town at a crazily dangerous speed. :-p

Here's a link to the Langkawi map.

This is Helang Hotel. Supposed to be a 4 stars. Got a good rate of rm128/day.

There was no one in the lobby.:_l and the whole place was quiet n kinda "abandoned".

Thats the best thing about off peak season.

9pm.Just enjoyed a long soak in foam bath.

Neyney looking sexy...and hungry. :-o

Had to ride south to Cenang Beach for the best deals in seafood.

Got stopped in a road block by traffic police because i told Neyney no need to put on helmet since her hair was wet.

By God's grace we got off the hook, thank God...

Scary... :__l

Food! Food! Food!

So hungry...

Even now as i reminisce about them i can still salivalate.

1 giant lobster, 1 kicap sauce on siakap fried fish, n 1 veg.

We gave in to Mr.Lobster at a price of rm16 per 100gram.

We wished we could try so many other things.

Behold...Tiger King Prawn!!:-0

The head was even longer than Neyney's little finger...

And their neighbours. Mr and Mrs Lobster.

Or maybe they are of different species..?

Thats all for day 1.

Gotta rest cos we're gonna squeeze in as much of the island adventure as we can tomorrow..

starting with the Mangrove tour.

Good nite.

Wedding Banquet

2009-07-04T23:59:00.001-07:00

July 4th, 2010

(Ivan in blue, Kar Ling in purple)

Here we are, again. Our wedding still ain't over.

By this time, my facial muscles are tired and temporo-mandibular joint is aching. Too much smiling

and too many photoshoot. Its just a discovery that a person who doesnt smile much like me can experience those kind of symptoms on a big day like this.

A wedding banquet with 30 tables

Immediately after the tea ceremony which ended close to 4pm, with no time to rest,

i went straight to sorting out the table arrangement for the few last minute guests and edited the guest list.

Just some minor changes to ensure that everything was in tip top condition.

We wanted to make everyone feel comfortable no matter where they sat..although in

Malaysia food can easily be what unite all people.

We figured that the key to our guests' heart was through their stomach so our expectation

were high that the food should deliver.

5.30pm. After freshening up I arrived at the restaurant and was impressed with the interior

that was finely decorated and ready for the occasion.

I went through all the details of the dinner with the manager to avoid any hiccups and unwanted surprises,

and so that later i could myself sit down, relax and enjoy my food too :-0

1st group of guests arrived at 7pm while i was actually expecting every1 to be caught in a massive

jam in Melaka town since today is a public holiday which i just can't remember what.

Wondered how was my wife doing at that moment?

Lucky Famous Restaurant. They even made a poster for us.

Being back in the hotel room, i thought to myself "Yay, can finally rest and take a nap without all these makeup and hairdo". But by the time i took my shower, it was already close to 5pm. Man...already have to go to the bridal shop to get ready for the wedding dinner.

There was another bride having her makeup done. She was dressed in chilli red and i wondered if i would look good in my own dress. I sat down waiting patiently for my turn (there was only 1 makeup artist) and in the process of doing so, i actually doze off. I did not realize that i was that tired.

It was slightly after 6pm by the time it was my turn. The makeup artist did her magic on me and voila! The plain ordinary me transformed into Belle from Disney's cartoon 'Beauty and the beast'. Seriously, im not bragging, you will see in the pictures later on.

It was already 7.15pm when i received a call from a worried Ivan. "Are you ready, Ney?

All the guests are here already. Everyone is waiting for you." I thought to myself..'Great..I'm late

for my own wedding dinner'.

Welcoming the VIPs. In truth, every1 who attended my wedding was a VIP.

After 7pm, as the guests started pouring in, so did my pockets get heavier.

Some brought gifts but ultimately, their mere presence and support already meant so much to me.

Mum, dad, Voon, Phoy and our wedding coordinators (from Gateway Church, Melaka) were busy welcoming and ushering the guests to their seats.

I myself was busy busy busy..

Relatives and friends from all over conjured up a lively and energetic atmosphere.

I guess they were all working out an appetite for the banquet.

Mean time, where is my wife??

Dont i look like Belle from Beauty and the beast?

Only in my case there was no beast, only a prince charming..;-p

It was nearly 8pm when i reached the restaurant. Majority of the guests were already

seated and only a few were passing the entrance. I felt lost and was a bit

embarassed because i was suppose to welcome them..

Many of my friends came; friends whom i have not met since after finishing secondary school, busy busy doctors from all over the country, one flew in from Sarawak and another

from Sabah. All of them came just to attend our wedding.

Thank you so much to all of you guys and gals.. Really meant a lot to me and will treasure it always..=)

My prince charming and I making our grand entrance

As the MC announced our arrival, Ivan and i made our way into the restaurant filled with the sound of clapping hands. Once we sat down, the dishes streamed in rapidly. Everyone started digging into their food and boy, it was good!! Or maybe it was just me because i was starving..;-p (only managed to have 3 mouthful during lunch before photography session started).

"Where is our food???.we are famished.."

Ah Phang and Lengkai about to pengsan.Thank God the food arrive eventually.

We felt bad to our guests for the long wait, and hope the food was worth it.

The main table where the VVIPs dined, consisting of the wedding couple, both our grandmas,

both our parents, and my godparents who flew all the way from England.

1st dish was the cold dish platter. Pity we didnt think of taking picture of the dishes ourselves.

So let me reminisce..then we ate grilled piglet, steamed white chicken, steamed fish, just to name a few.

We also had Martell and red wine to add to the guests' dining experience.

The whole restaurant was as lively as it could be even though people had started eating. Ivan and i purposely changed our soup menu as we did not want to have the typical shark's fin soup which people normally serve in weddings. It proved to be the right decision as the soup was delicious and our parents love it.=)

Forcibly thrown into the spotlight. At least Karling has her

wedding gown to cover her trembling legs.

After about 3 dishes, Daulim and Laykhoon our MCs for the night called us up

the stage. It was time for cake cutting, champange pouring and speech.

The champagne pouring was fun. I was worried as Ivan popped the cork as it might hit the light bulbs or worst still, hit our guests.;-p Don't want to have any wedding casualty at our dinner now do we..hehe. Subsequently, we poured the champagne down the glass pyramid carefully not to spill it. It was really pretty-looking as the gold champagne trickling down the glasses from top to bottom one after another.

The toast to celebrate the coming together of the Yong and Chin family.

The 1st of many toasts to come.

After pouring the champagne it was time for our parents to join us in the toast to our marriage.

All together there were 3 toasts. I roughly remembered the 1st toast was to celebrate me and Karling's happy union. 2nd toast was for our friends and relatives who have been supportive of our relationship all the way and who came to make the wedding banquet possible.

3rd toast was for blessing, fruitfulness and productivity, which is ultimately the point of getting married right?

The guest reciprocated in unison.

Every1 stood up and toast to the sound of "yam~~~seng~!!!" at the top of their voices, i felt my tympanic membranes (ear drums) trembling. And i thought the whole building would collapse. The power of all our voices combined was like a football stadium with each toast louder than the previous.

Ivan and i delivering our appreciation speech to the multitudes.

Tried not to let our stage fright get the better of us. A bit of Martell helped to calm the nerves.

It was just Ivan and i left on the stage after that. Ivan gave his thank you speech first then i gave mine. I was nearly close to tears but thank goodness i did not cry (I'm a very emo person
you see, hence the extreme reaction)

When the microphone was passed to us, i realized that suddenly there were so many people.
As they quiet down and turned away from their food, i went through the points in my head..who to thank who to thank and stuff. We hardly had anytime to prepare our speech in black and white
so casual and spontaneity was the way.

Praise God He guided us and to our own surprise we said pretty good things and turned it into a lively session. We managed to make the audience laugh and reciprocate, mostly importantly felt appreciated for coming and all the while being there for us; that each of them had played such important roles in our lives nothing could erase them from our memories, neither can anything take
away our heartfelt gratitutes towards them.
We praise God for making them a blessing in our lives.
.
.

After the speech, we went back to our table to grab a few bites of our "cold dish" before setting out on our next quest - Table by table yam seng time. Each table will shout yam seng as loudly as they can to outdo the previous table. Unfortunately for the bride and bridegroom, it was full strength all the way.

Our 1st table: Karling's 2nd uncle and family and few other colleagues to start the ball rolling.

With Andrew and Jason around, never a dull momemt :-)

Mean while, my Melaka relatives (mum side) couldn't wait any longer and started their own ball rolling.:-) I think uncle Jimmy kicked the ball 1st then the rest all sambung..

Then we arrived at 1 of our Melaka Gateway Church table. Mimi, Pohu and Laykhoon (the mandarin MC) has been with us since our Manipal time.

Others: Benjie Tan & family, Eddie Tay & family. Benjie is leading a choir,

while LK looks "high" not on alcohol but on water.

Once upon a time, it was Kuala Krai, Kelantan. Then we hesistantly spread our wings and fly to our new nest. These are my Kelantan relatives, who have seen me take my 1st few steps

and utter my 1st few words. We are here together again like old times to celebrate

another new milestone in the family.

Karling toasting with her secondary school gang from Subang. In this pic: Aaron, my dad, Joy.

Wonder if my wife was crying or in labour?

Ivan's father and godpa accompanied us on our quest. We visited the tables in an order to make sure we didn't miss out any. Again and again yam seng was repeated. By the 10th table, i could feel my throat sore already and there were still 20 to go. By the 20th table, my voice started to crack and sound different.

By the time we finished visiting all the tables, i could barely hear my own voice when talking.

Another of my Melaka relatives table. In this picture: Casey, Leonard, bee yi tiu, bee ku, bee yi, Chi Voon, Dandy and Wendy. Leonard cannot tahan the sound, ear going to pecah di.

Here are my other childhood Kelantan relatives. In this pic: (from left) aiku, yeeku, sam pak leong, my 2nd bro Chi Phoy, jie jie Nica, Beng Lee & Soo Sim.

Me and bro used to take turn staying in aiku or yee ku's house; causing lots of nuisance to our way elder cousin brothers. Funny thing is aiku and yee ku always "merajuk" when we chose to stay in

either 1 of their houses and not the other.

This table too consist of our Gateway Church members: Siew, Christine, Dau Lim (our Baba MC), Robert Chong who helped coordinate our wedding, & Aunty Rosalyn

(uncle Robert's wife) who bakes the most delicious moist chocolate cake just to name a few.

Christine looked like she could break the glass while Dau Lim look like he's about to

pengsan next to his daughter..:-p

..and Robert Chong looked like he's going to swallow a fly, or maybe he was still munching away food from the table..ahaha. Ney why we so bad laugh at our own church members 1?

Childhood Kelantan friends : (from left) Wei Jiun, Lion King, Ah Phang, Yit Min, Kiat Hwee, Chuan Li, Pineapple Phai Yin, Huey Theng, Jenny's hand, & dancer Wit Chin's macho hand. How's the taste of Melaka food everyone? :-)

Some of my Melaka relatives again. Did you guys know my dad hail from a family of 9 siblings; my mum:10 siblings; Karling's dad:10 while her mum another 10 siblings. So basically half of our guests consist of our relatives, and thats something very unique to us.

These are my evergreen uncles and aunties, they are as young as how i remembered them when i was a boy.

I guess the key to youth is family unity and happiness:-) In this pic: Uncle Frankie, ji yi,

si khim, uncle Louis, uncle Jimmy (aik? he's here again :_l . .haha), uncle Charlie,

jie jie Ah Yeong and her husband-to-be. :-)

My Seremban Hospital colleagues: Tan KL and fiance Thong Pui Ling, Looi, Chik Ian, Teh (some of them my badminton kakis who have currently become Ivan's badminton gang because i'm not much of a challenge anymore), Kang, Yeo, Lee Shien and her hubby Isaac.

Notice the content of the glasses they're holding. All water or tea.

Hmmm, good role model doctors who never drink and drive and add to the A&E (acute & emergency) casualties. All sober except for LeeShien, whom i think is pretending to be drunk..maybe because she switched on her party mood, eh? Ney what do you think?

Our Melaka Manipal Medical College juniors. Wilkins and Andrew shouting their lungs out.

In this pic: Wilkins, Nicholas, Eu Ann, Andrew and Leow. Andrew seriously was as red as a lobster. Did he have a bad day or something? Anyway Eu Ann found it too hilarious to join in the toast. I guess that was the 1st night she and Chi Voon met..and the rest is history. We all toast for a fairy tale in

the making, red wine anyone? :-)

After finishing with all the tables, we came back to the main table to toast again.

This time with my family. Both Ivan and i were nearly voiceless by then.

The Chins welcomed me into their family with open arms. For that i'm grateful.

And now i'm married to not only my wife but also to the Chins. Thank you for giving me your wonderful daughter to love and to cherish for the rest of my life.

My secondary schoolmates (they came all the way from Subang). Some were my

ex-badminton 'kakis'. Haih..miss those badminton days.

One by one of the guests started leaving. Some of them working or on-call tomorrow, thats why

i really appreciate them for coming. I took this opportunity to take pictures with all my friends who came. After all, it is rare that i get to meet them what more when i am looking my best..;-p

Mum and dad thanking the guests as they all departed with a full stomach.

Forgot to mention dad looked stunning in his western suit while mum rolled back the years in her glittering black dress and shaw with pearl necklace. Thank you mum and dad for all these years, and may our good times continue to roll.

These are my friends from Kota Bharu secondary school days. Wasn't the most glorious years of my life but thank God for friends like them, who never fail to cook up some fun, mischief and livelihood at the boring corner of 5Sc2 where we were sitting near to each other.

In this pic: LipHau is a smart robotic engineer. YeePinn is a fan of F1's Schumacher and Arsenal.
Yong Siew Sian and her twin sister are double dragons in karate, they won countless
competitions and now work in Singapore.

God bless ya my friends and thanks for cheering me up. :-)

Our collegemates aka busy busy doctors who made time to attend our wedding.

In this pic: Chutek, Terry, Eugene, Lawren & Kairu from JB hosp; Pohu and Shuxian from KL; Xiaomei from Muar hosp and Stella from Sarawak hosp.

Thank you so much guys.

Still manage to put on a smile despite how tired we actually were.

After all the guests have left, Ivan and i took the opportunity to model for our photographer before they finally call it a day. It has indeed been an eventful day and night. Ivan and i just held each other close and gaze into each other's eyes glad that it was all over; feeling happy and excited about our new life together.

I can't be any more relieved that all the burdens on my shoulder has been taken off. It was a tiring tiring marathon wedding day when all my strength and wisdom came from God's amazing grace.

My only regret was that i was too busy just couldnt say goodbye to every1. If only i had taken a family pic of my father's side relatives..

The joy in my heart was just indescribable beyond words. How could this had happened? How was it all possible? We were simply in awe of God's greatness and that He was all the while faithful to us even if we were never close to deserving it. Thanks, Jesus.

The beginning of our life together as one~sealed with a kiss

My body is weak, my mind is jaded. My eyes are as heavy as a myastenia gravis' bilateral ptosis.

We have departed on an exciting journey full of joy and happiness which nonetheless won't be short of trials and testings. Putting our faith in God that He has a plan for

us, we can look towards the future with courage and optimism.

Having said that, I still have 1 final quest for the night to be carried out in our "Chamber of Secrets".

At least this 1 won't give me a stage fright. Still haven't decided where to go for honeymoon but that's ok,

we like spontaneity, mean time we need rest more than anythingelse.

We hope you enjoyed our wedding blog.

For those still waiting for the right person or right time to come by, we feel:

just give God a chance, for He will provide.

Until next time, good night. :-)