Stories about my maid

1) One of the days my cell leader called me up to ask me to facilitate the group. I agreed without realising that I did not copy the notes for last week's message by Pastor Daniel. I was leafing through my notes and to my dismay found out that I did not copy anything. I was lamenting to my maid about that and she coolly took her own notes and passed them to me! I was astonished.. how did she managed to take care of the babes during Sunday celebration in church and have time and inclination to take notes (in English too!)

2) I was shopping in Bandar Utama at the URS store for shoes. I was trying on some and my maid gave comments and urged me to buy a pair that she likes. I bought the slippers and had good comments from my Hermana, Marido and Cunada too! My maid has good taste! Sometimes she would comment on my clothes and say that I am underdressed for the occasion.. can u believe that?

3)My maid came to Malaysia with no knowledge of Malaysian cooking styles.. within 6 months, she was cooking nyonya, malay, chinese and indian dishes... yummy!! Eg of what she does.. delicious old cucumber soup, ayam sioh, ayam dry curry, ayam rendang, yam rice with bak kut teh, ayam masak merah, bbq pork ribs, all sorts of veges, steamed fish with ginger and tomato, etc etc I must say that when I passed her the recipe books, I did not expect such excellence! Now I have bought her a mixer so that she can bake cakes too! More of that after CNY since I will be in Australia from Xmas till CNY. Anyway, I have told her that she better be a chef when she gets back to Indonesia... what a waste of talents otherwise!!

4) My maid loves my cat as much as I do.. she has also started giving him a smooch every day now in the morning... kakaakaka! But I only allow her to bathe kids but not the cat! The cat's bath is my job!

5) My maid is famous in my apartment. Almost everyone who gets to know me will tell me that they have seen her around wheeling the kids for a walk or to play in the pool. I think she enjoys the attention she gets wheeling the twins around... people actually stop her to chat to her.. how many maids can claim that the neighbours are friendly and chat to them!?

6) My maid is truly acting like my housekeeper and my time keeper.. just today, i was due for a Xmas party at 6.30pm. At 6pm, she told me that I had to stop talking to my kid (eldest daughter- 16) and had to pump milk and go off! Housekeeper? Oh.. she is very houseproud and will lament "Oh my house is so messy.. I best go and clean up now!"

Even More Twin Pix

Grrr...This is Eggy looking upset cos Cookie has her hand on her butt! Doesn't Eggy look like a little duck?


Hmm.. I find this photo hilarious! They are on their high chair waiting for breakfast! They are on 2 solid meals a day.. can be 3 but I am too lazy.. or rather I am waiting for them to grow up a bit more!



Swimming in the pool.. I started them at the pool since they were 5 months old. They love it! But these days it's been raining cats and cats... and more cats... and so they have been moping at home.. together with my cat! Poor darling.. my cat i mean!

Esteve, Ashton, Hofma and Takamine

These are not names of the men I love! However, it must be names of men before they put it on their beloved guitars. Ahem... if they were men.. I would be mostl likely interested in Esteve.. Spanish mah! I was looking at these guitars in a shop today and managed to get all the prices and heard them being played... of course the best was the most expensive out of these brands- the Esteve.. the problem is that there is no website that talked about the model I am looking at the Esteve 3G163 I did find a french website said that it's a child guitar... ???

Well, the guitar sang.. it had a beautiful voice. But I better check out other Spanish guitars before I decide!

Why do I want a guitar.. well I got fed up of not getting the right chords during my song leading at cell group.. when u don't get the right notes, u either end up screeching like a wild cat or bellowing like a bull. Both are not great for being making a joyful and nice noise!

Fraternal Twins

You know, people tell me that they cannot differentiate between my 2 girls. Even my sister has trouble sometimes. Well, I guess that it must be hard if u have just seen the girls.. cos they are both almost 6.5kgs at 6 months and are also about the same height and have the same head circumference!

But to me that is where the similarity ends. Here are some examples of how they differ.

Cookie	Eggy
Olive complexion	Fair complexion
Soulful eyes	Oriental eyes
Curled lashes (mascara)	Straight lashes
Smiles with great delight	Smiles shyly
Mummy's nose	Daddy's nose
Shouts	Screeches

Some behavioural differences. Cookie has started crawling.. or rather creeping at 4 months and so now, she is all over the place knocking her head on so many things that got in her way. She also seems to want to grab anything and she will keep trying by crawling right towards the thing and screaming her head off when she is blocked by some obstacle. She also bulldozes past things (even going on top of Eggy) to reach her goal. Eggy seems contented to just stay at the same position (developmentally she seems about 2 months behind even though they are only 2 mins apart- but all babies develop differently ;) ) Sometimes when Eggy pushes her head up and she finds that she cannot stay up long, she would just collapse with her head sideways on the mat (rather violently too!) and when she gets tired with too much pushing her head up, she would giggle by herself and smile before giving up!

Cookie Cutting her first tooth

OOh.. Cookie cut her first tooth yesterday.. that would explain why she was kinda out of sorts these days.. a bit grumpy and refusing to feed. Hmmm.. so is Eggy actually.. so she won't be far behind. They just turned 6 months!

They have started on rice cereal with mummy's milk and they have been at it for the last 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, they have finally finish the cereal with relish. Time to start them on rice porridge next week.. after my financial exams on Monday and Thursday.

I am still pumping away for them. I produce about 250ml++ per pump and I pump 6x a day.. so that works out to be more than 1.5 liters per day or actually close to 2 liters. That is a far cry from my initial days of only 60ml or less per pump. All the hard work of diligently pumping every 3-4 hours (even during the night!) paid off. And I also stay at the pump for at least half and hour. What a cow!! So this cow is able to feed her babies fully on her own milk... ;).

More twins pix

I love this photo of my twins.. they look as tho they were planning something farnee and are laughing or snickering about it.



Cookie looks like she's gonna do the joget... and Eggy looks horrified at that thought! Both wearing hand-me-downs from their cousin Elysia.


This was taken at Sepang Goldcoast. It's such a gorgeous place. My twins in animal clothings... given of course by someone.... I did not buy them!

And look at the chalets behind us. The chalets go out until 2km into the sea!

Itty Bitty Baby Girls.. er Boy

I was listening to the baby lullaby type of song titled "Itty Bitty Baby Girl" but I can't help singing it as

Itty Bitty Baby Boy
Daddy's pride and Mummy's Joy
Tiny treasure so petite
But great is the joy that you bring
To your daddy and me

Our love for you
Will only grow stronger each day
For yes, it's true
You've stolen our hearts away
And my little boy
You're just the right size today
To hold in my arms
To look in your eyes and say

Sigh! What a sweet boy!

Video of the Cookie and the Egg (m&m)

The Egg fell at Sepang Goldcoast

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

In my case it was:

Humpty Dumpty laid in her pram
Humpty Dumpty fell- head hit the land
Papa picked her up and prayed she'd be fine
Praise God, she only cried... no cracks no lines!

We were at Sepang Goldcoast on the 30th Aug on Saturday for a meal with some good friends (one who is in charge of the development of this gorgeous place). We were to have a meal on the deck by the sea. Unfortunately the deck only had stairs up and so we had to lift the pram up. When my maid and Marido was trying to do so, my maid accidentally lifted her front of the pram without realising that Marido was not holding on the back of the pram and it fell backwards with Eggy slipping out of the pram head down and dropping like an egg on the concrete floor! Aiiii! My heart almost stopped! I thought that she may have broken her neck in that fall.

However, Marido picked her up immediately and just prayed for her. My maid for so distraught that she started crying. I was surprisingly calm. After crying piteously for abt 15 mins, Eggy calmed down and seemed fine after that. I thought that her head a bit senget after that but when I checked with her paed 2 days later, he assured me that it was ok.

Optimistic!

I saw this on a door in my 2nd office:-

Soldier : Sir.. we are completely surrounded!!
Commander : Excellent! Then we can shoot from any side.

Are they boys?

That is the question I keep getting everytime I go out with them... even though they are wearing dresses. I guess that the bald heads certainly makes them look like baby boys. Sigh!

Anyway, don't they look farnee??? So hilarious. I better get a shot of them crying.. it's very very farnee.. really!

Cookie and Eggy

Was at Avillion and decided to put both the girls in the bubble bath- this is Eggy! Farnee eh?

Cookie enjoying the bubbles...!

Cookie looking like she is running in the pool.

Eggy asleep peacefully with Cookie playing by herself at the background.

Cookie sticking out her tongue...; p

Leaving you

I had loved you for far too long than I should. Even after you caused me not a small amount of anguish with the nasty people that you have bred within your fold. I had been so blind to your faults because I wanted so badly to give you a chance to prove yourself true to me. But after giving you a chance for almost enough time to bring a child to this world, I feel that I have to move on in my life.

But why? Well, you continued to allow the other woman (devastatingly gorgeous but supremely evil) to try to get rid of me from the first day I arrived, you were unfaithful by giving all your time to someone else there too and totally neglecting me even though you knew that I was the one who needed the most attention for the relationship to work. You continued to allow another person to dictate the nuances of the relationship which you knew would cause a friction! It seems like you have no idea what it takes to make this work!

You allowed everyone concerned to work in silos and bred such a hostile and secretive culture. I did love you, pls never think that I did not.. in fact I loved you so much that I even neglected the new people in my life who needed me more than you did.

But I now see the light.... so I am leaving you with a heavy heart but still knowing that if I put my time and effort in this new person... it would be worth it.. becos I can bring the person to join me in the next side of heaven.

I guess you could say that I intend to be a good steward what what I had asked for.

Therefore goodbye... but never think that I was not grateful... I do thank you for being a part of my life when I needed that reassurance that I was still capable in getting your attention even though it was shortlived. Farewell...

New Pix of Twins

Since I barely have time to blog these days, i will just post some pictures of the little ones - these were taken when they were about 1-2 months only and weighing a sad 3kgs only.


Looks like they are trying to get the rose above their heads. Photo taken during their private full moon when they turned one month.


Dada trying to be funny with Eggy!


Isn't Nimbus such a giant cat!!


My 3 girls - looks like they belong to my eldest girl huh?


Crybabies!

My Only Son

These days has been hectic with feeding babies in the wee hours of the morning, once more when I wake up for work, driving around in traffic, coping with a new boss, pumping milk at work (much to the chagrin of my colleagues as the milk smells), trying to leave work on time, eating enough to take care of myself and finally trying to sleep the required 6 hours a night. As you can tell from my blog time, I have just finished a feeding session together since I am awake while everyone else in this house is sleeping!

In moments of stress in coping with the new additions in my family, I turn to my only son for comfort. He is such a constant wonder- he seems to anticipate my mood and comes to me to allow me to give him a big squeeze so that I feel much better. Somehow, hugging the cat makes me feel heck of a lot calmer esp when the babies just finished a long bout of crying.

Here are 2 updated pix of NImbus!

Reflux!

I have nicknamed my twin 1 as Cookie and Twin 2 as Eggy. Reason : Cookie makes a noise like a kookaburra and Eggy simply looks like an egg!

Eggy has been crying inconsolably for the last 2 weeks and it has wreaked havoc on my sleep pattern and my own well being (not to mention poor Eggy's too). I took note on all her behaviour and checked with my book and it all points to 'reflux'. I took her to the local paed who told me to change my milk formula to something thicker (hello.. I am breastfeeding).. then she told me to put cereal in the milk (hey bodoh! My anak is only 1.5 months old). As you can tell, I gave up on that paed.

I then took her to the paed who tended to her when she was born. He agreed that it was reflux and prescribed Losec Mups. He was writing down in his sheet "Once a day" and then Eggy threw up in my arms.... "Make that twice a day".

At first the medication worked well, Eggy was still throwing up but no longer crying like she was dying. But after one week, she started crying inconsolably again. Took her back... this time she was pumped with Zantac and also Colimix (which, btw is not supposed to be taken by infants less than 6 months.. sigh).

After the 3 drugs, she proceeded to sleep for the next 2 days.. with her body all floppy and only waking up to feed. Today is her 3rd day and I had reduced the medication to only Losec Mups and Zantac. And tomorrow I shall only feed her with Zantac. Both these medicines are acid inhibitors - meaning they reduced the production of acid in the stomach. None that really solves the problem of the weak spincter (the valve that prevents food from coming back up from the stomach).

However, the doctor says that the problem should go away in about 2 month. I hope so... cos Marido has the same problem but he is controlling it by eating Probiotics and exercising.

CONFINEment Lady

The concept of the confinement lady or confinement period is probably a weird one to my in-laws. But it's an age old one with the chinese community here in Malaysia and if I am not mistaken, other cultures like the Malays and the Indians have their own version too.

Well, I looked out for a confinement lady when I had passed the critical 3 months period. I called 3 different ones and they were all booked. I had one lady in Penang who was rather excited to take on twins but she had a bung knee and found that climbing stairs too difficult. So I did not take her. In desperation, I had one confinement lady recommend one for me. Her name was Peggy (so cool huh.. one wud think that confinement ladies are called Auntie So and So). Peggy is 62 years old but very sturdy and looks healthy.

She arrived on the day I returned from the hospital. Good thing I did not get her in earlier as i could hardly eat anything on the first day post op as the body rejected water and food. Kept on vomitting as I kept on trying to take sips of water.. bad idea!

Peggy came with bags and bags of things. She looked like she was moving house. But that was a good thing as she came very prepared. She promptly started preparing dishes for me. I had lotsa ginger (but not that much-maybe I find it ok).. but there was like 3kgs of Bentung ginger (apparently the China variety is not that nice to eat).

I have been enjoying good food... so nice to have Peggy around..it's like having a mum.. a little naggy but I feel rather pampered.. lucky me! She does not come cheap though.. but i figured that since the way I take care of my health during this period may determine my overall health later in life (this is what the Chinese believe), it's worth the money! ;)

She takes care of the babies for all their needs except their nutritional ones.. this is where she hands the babies to me each time they cry for a feed (even at night). At the moment, I am feeding on demand... hmm.. trying to see if I can set a routine but that will only happen after Peggy goes home.

Malaysia Artistes for Unity - Here in my Home

Here is where my blood was shed (when I was born) and where my twin daughters were born too.. here is to Malaysia.. and may we be colour blind!




Hold on brother hold on
The road is long. We’re on stony ground
But I’m strong. You ain’t heavy

Oh there’s a misspoken truth that lies
Colors don’t bind, oh no.
What do they know? They speak falsely.

Chorus:
Here in my home
I’ll tell you what its all about
There’s just one hope here in my heart
One Love undivided
That’s what it’s all about
Please won’t you fall in one by one by one [with me]?

Push back sister won’t you push back?
Love won’t wait. Just keep pushing on.
Yes I’m strong. You ain’t heavy.

Oh don’t you worry about that…
What we have the shadows can’t deny
Don’t you know it’s now or never?

Rap:
[Malay: TRANSLATED]
Years of fears and years of tribulation
The heart keeps searching for that endless devotion

[Chinese: TRANSLATED]
Hand in hand we’ll march like blood brothers
I speak for my people hope we’ll find peace forever

[Tamil: TRANSLATED]
May the road ahead quench my thirst for success
May the road behind echo a song of the blessed

[English]
So I will let it be known yes I feel it in my bones
No matter where I roam this is home sweet home
Sing!

Instant Weight Loss Programme

I have to admit that giving birth is such an excellent weight loss programme. I did not manage to weigh myself right after I left the hospital but after one week, when I went back, I had lost 10kgs thereabouts and 10 inches off my waistline.. yippee! So happy to see that. So altho I still look like I am six months pregnant, I am rather glad that there is no longer the heaviness of the belly when I walk.. what a huge relief!

My weight is now at 55kgs.. that is also another minor miracle. That means I only have 5 kgs to lose to reach my original weight of 50kgs.. not to hard I suppose. But at the moment, the amount of food that I am eating definitely does not allow me to lose weight. I eat many times a day.

7am - A glass of warm fresh milk/ milo
10am - A steaming bowl of noodles with ginger wine
1pm - Lunch with 3 dishes and rice
2pm- A plate of apples
2.30pm - A cup of Tang Long wine/DOM double boiled with chicken
5pm - Dessert - either Red Bean soup, corn on the cob, some kind of black bean soup etc
7.30pm - Dinner with 2-3 dishes with rice
11pm - Nesvita or some late night snack!
3am - Nesvita
All days - drinking not plain water but Red dates water.

I need to eat so much to keep up the breast feeding. So have not lost any weight but who cares... I don't...;)

Breastfeeding after Caesarean

I was worried initially that having a c-section will mean that I have a lot of difficulty breastfeeding. But my fear was unfounded. Although it was a bit more troublesome trying to breastfeed as you have to put yourself up (hence using stomach muscles - which is painful when you have had the operation) but it is still manageable if you stay in a breastfeeding friendly hospital or you have an extremely supportive husband who brings the baby to you when it is feeding time.

Also, having good pain relief helps as well. I was on morphine for 3 days post partum. That helps me to be more mobile as I don't feel as much pain as I should have if I had not had any pain relief.

However, one has to be careful that you do not carry the baby while walking during the first 10 days post operation. For my case, after 10 days, I was still in some pain and should refrain from bending at the wound area or carry heavy things. Hence, no carrying water or anything more than one liter of water.

Even after 2 weeks and 5 days, the area above and below my wound is still painful or rather tender... wonder why.. I guess being older does slow down the healing process...

Jozua And other baby

My Twin pictures

Here are some shots :

Mummy with M ia and M ikayla (from here I cannot tell who is who).

M+Ms

M kayla wide eyed - Day one

M ia sleeping- Day One

Weak US and Zimbabwe Economy

The Wall Street Journal Monday, May 5, 2008

For Tony Crooks, 48 years old, of Austin, Texas, there is little reason for optimism. Laid off from a residential-construction firm in late February, he has been applying for up to eight jobs per week. The only offers pays 20-30% less than he wants to earn, he says.

"A lot of your better jobs are filled," he says. He says that he and his wife, who works for an engineering firm, try to save money by eating at home and avoiding driving. "Vacation is out of the question." he said.

GDP - per capita is $46,000 (2007 est.) The unemployment rate is 4.8%. Population below poverty line is at 12% and inflation is at 2.7%.

Zimbabwe Economy 2008

The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued official exchange rate, hyperinflation, and bare store shelves.

GDP per capita is US$500 only (2007 est). The unemployment rate is at an appalling 80%. Population below poverty line is at 68% and inflation is at a whooping 6072%.

In contrast to Zimbabwe, what the US is facing.. pales in comparison and yet......

Finally, our own babies' birthday ticker

Delivery via C-section

When I visited the gynae on Friday and he told me that at 36 weeks, the twins are progressing well and that since they are both breeched, I will have no choice but to do a c-section. He recommended that I go for the operation at the end of next week (Friday). I looked at my belly and heaved a sigh.. the pain of the weight was really unbearable now. I then told the gynae that I would like them out as soon as possible, Monday would be good.

He looked at his secretary who then quickly scooted out and confirmed that Monday at 4pm was a suitable time.

I had a relatively awful time during the weekend as I was soooo heavy that walking anywhere really was a torture. On the night before I went to the hospital, I could hardly sleep as it got too painful each time the twins moved. So you can imagine my tiredness when I checked into the hospital (with my 6 bags - out of the 6, 2 were eyebags! and 2 pillows - later I found out that I needn't have brought the diapers along). When they put me in my single room (I truly wanted a single room for more privacy!), I ended up sitting on the chair while Marido fell asleep on the bed. In fact, when the anesthesiologist came over to discuss with me pain relief options, he did a flip when he saw a man on my bed! ;) I was given 2 options - epidural or spinal block. Doctor said that he would try for the epidural as it has less side effects.

So at 3.30pm, I was wheeled into the operating theatre.. it was quite an experience being wheeled in.. felt like I was on TV. There were about 5 nurses in the theatre whom I chatted to while they were preparing me for the operation. They were remarking that my heartbeat was so calm... "Have you done this before?" Nope I had not but really, what was there to be afraid of? Other than bleeding to death??? Or the pain relief did not work (Like my friend Linda who had an operation was like aware of that op when she was supposed to be under GA).



I was made to sit up and to curl my spine. I saw Dr Helmi take out a huge syringe ... wow! That was one big needle.. imagine the size of the epidural needle... !! I kept looking at him putting stuff into the needle and he was looking at me and told me not to look.. just in case it freaked me out.. but nah! It did not. How can something that will help my pain make me freak out!

The 1st jab was probably the most painful experience of the entire operation. Sharp pain but very bearable. Then when the site was numb, he inserted the epidural needle (fortunately Marido was not there yet or else he would have fainted!!

Then, the next half and hour or so (fortunately there was a clock conveniently within my view) I waited for the numbness to set into the lower part of my body.

Marido joined me right after they inserted the epidural needle and he recited to me Proverbs 31 about the virtuous woman... ie me... who does good to her husband and not harm... etc. I was moved to tears as he concluded and gave me a kiss on my head.

It was really freaky when the time came to 4pm (schedule for the operation) and I could still feel my legs and worse still.. I could move them.. much to the horror of my anesthesiologist who kept on pumping drugs into me. All that drug really made me feel high.. I was practically floating on cloud nine and wanted to burst into song... seriously. It's a feeling like you've down a bit too much beer in the hot afternoon that everything feels nice and cool. They actually strapped my right hand down which annoyed me cos I started to feel really itchy and wanted to scratch all over. I kept calling the nurse to scratch my hand, arms, head... but it was terribly itchy. I even used my teeth to rub against my free hand. Apparently it was the side effect of epidural.

At 4.30pm, Dr Guna's head popped out of the curtain and said hello to me.. he also said "I am going to start the operation!" The whole procedure felt like an out of this world thing. I could feel them tugging and sticking something inside me but I felt no pain. What a wondrous thing! I kept on wincing and making little noises much to Marido's chagrin. He has an 'uneasy tummy'. When the first twin arrived and Marido saw her... he turned decidedly white that one of the doctors had to get the nurse to escort him out. Hence he did not manage to see the 2nd baby when she came out. When they cleaned the babies, Dato Dr Musa (the paed) showed them to me... ai yee! They look nothing like me!! Oh gosh.. the faces looked like Marido.. where is the hair????

The next half hour or so, I was stitched up.. I was almost asleep.. kinda sleepy. Then when it was all over, they wheeled me out and transfered me to the single room where I promptly start to shiver... not of the cold but of the effects of the epidural. I shook like I was in a discotheque and I scratched like a dog with fleas during the next 1.5 hours.

Within an hour after I got moved to my room, they feed the babies with formula milk via a cup cos their blood sugar level was too low. After that.. I am not sure when, they took the babies and gave them to me to feed them their colostrum. Very little but very nutritious. I was glad that they took to the breast. Relief! The nurses there were very supportive, every single one of them when they visited me would ask me about my breastfeeding and even giving me a reassuring pat that I did well. ;)

All night, I kept feeding them every 2 hours and was very very exhausted the next morning. But I was happy! They got their feed from their mummy.. what an achievement!

Babies' names

I have decided to name my two girls M ia and M ikayla.

M ia has been the name I have used as a non de plume for this blog. It also means Mine in Spanish. Blessed Girl of Mine...... wonderful. So I thought that it is a very sweet name... short too. However, after I named my first born twin M ia, my housekeeper told me that in the area where she comes from in Indonesia, there are heaps of M ias... ka ka.. apparently it's not that unique a name here in Malaysia.

I initially wanted to name my 2nd twin M el.. but objections from many quarters citing reasons such as too popular a name (M el C, M el B, stars with that name) and also not to mention the ever handsome M el Gibson who is a MAN! Then I thought of another one syllable name - Mae. However, I already have quite a few Mays, Maes in my life so I thought that that was not suitable. Then after consulting and bugging Marido, we narrowed it down to Maegan (to be able to call Mae when we need to) and M ikayla/Michaela. Ok Ok it's 3 syllables but the name sounded sweet. Then when one of my good friends smsed me to say that she thought that Michaela was a great name with our combined surnames, I decided immediately that we sud be calling my 2nd twin M ikayla. In Hebrew, it means Gift of God (which she certainly is.. we never expected the joy of twins) and also means "Who is like God"... what a great meaning her name has. I guess we could shorted her name to Kay, or Mick or Mike depending on what feels good on our tongue as we watch her grow a little more.

Straight As

Mr and Mrs Tan was looking at their son's academic report card and were shaking their heads. "Joe, why can't u get straight As like your cousin Mark?" "This is very disappointing... u know?"
'What is it that he has that you don't have?"

Joe simply looked at his parents and without batting an eyelid said "Hmm.... Different parents..."

My babies are coming!

I planned to have a c-section this coming Monday on the 28th April at 4pm to deliver the babies. I would have like to have a natural birth but seeing that they are both breeched as of today, it is highly unlikely that they will move to be engaged by next week. Anyway, I think that the lack of space makes it hard for them to move much except to kick and punch... oof!

Elective caesarean then! Checking into the hospital at 10am. Only allowed toast and milo at 9am.... so sad... I will soooo hungry. Anyway, I am sure I will survive. Marido initially did not want to be with me during the op. I think he does not want to freak out but I insisted that he be there for support... after all this is a 2 person effort, right?

The gynae was suggesting that I sud do a c-section next friday but I am already so big that I dunno what will happen by next Friday. I think that a planned c-sect is safer than an emergency one (which is what will happen if I wait for the contractions to come). So I asked to be cut up sooner. Since the doctor said that the babies will not likely need neo-natal care.,... it's ok... yippee!!

They will be small .. as babies go.. abt 2.6kgs but combined.. they are a whopper! In fact, my father-in-law's waistline is the same as mine! Har har. And a friend of mine solemnly said "It is interesting to note that at one point in time, ur waistline is larger than mine."

Well... so in total, I gained about 19-20 kgs... not bad considering I did not bloat up that much. I kinda looked like I put on about 4 kgs overall and everything else went to the kids.

Okie.. babies.. mummy is looking forward to meeting u... man! Is my life going to change.... phew!

Weight and Waistline

1st month - 50kgs and about 26 inches in waist
2nd month - 48kgs and about 25 inches in waist
3rd month - 45 kgs and about 27 inches in waist
4th month - 50kgs and about ????
5th month - 53kgs and about ????
5 1/2 month -55kgs and about 34 inches in waist
6th month - 56 kgs and about 38 inches in waist (yicks!)
7th months - 57 kgs and about 40 inches in waist (measured at 28 weeks)
8th months - 60kgs and about 42 inches in waist (measured at 32 weeks)
9th months - 64kgs and about 44 inches in waist (measured at 36 weeks)- stretch marks starting to show

As you can tell, I am very very tired of being pregnant already. I can hardly walk and it hurts to move around. I was like practically begging the doctor to deliver my babies earlier.....

7 things I could not have done without during pregnancy

1) Belly Support Belt
My good friend in Australia bought me a support belt and it was such a godsend. I got Marido to buy another for me to for rotation.... and it really helps with the aches of the back and also with the weight of the babies since they are heavier than normal singletons. It's a wonder why women don't get them.. for the RM100++ they are worth it....!! Rather than suffer the aches and pains.
2) Ginger tea
Man! I was throwing up so much that anything that helps with the nausea - I would take it. Ginger tea in any form, powder, home made, store made...etc. It takes the edge of the nausea. Problem is you gotta down it all the time.. and ginger is 'heaty'.
3) Assam boi
I just had a funny tongue throughout most of the pregnancy so the asam boi certainly helps. I bought like 300 biji of asam... yummy! Bought them from Old Town PJ for a song!
4) Bread +Dry Crackers
Ok.. so I developed a huge liking for bread.. and the dry crackers were helping during the nausea stage. I like pizza too.. anything bready! I think that the body was just craving for carbohydrates since I threw up so much and pretty much had nothing in the tank!
5) Fajitas
Another carbohydrate filled food... but I loved it! It was like one of the only things I could stomach during those hazy days of nausea. However, until now, I still associate Fajitas with my early pregnancy.... yuck!
6) Barley, Cincau, Coconut Juice
When I could not stomach plain water, I seem to get some hydration from these traditionally 'no-no' drinks. My smum always scolds me when I drink these 'bad' drinks but hey.. my body seems to like them.. so take lah.
7) Bio Oil
I started rubbing Bio-Oil since my 2nd trimester. And I have not stopped since.... twice a day.. and I had a smooth belly until yesterday.. sob!! I guess the trauma of having 2 babies was just too much even for Bio Oil.

Waddling like a duck and feeling like a beached whale!

I have always wondered why pregnant women waddle like a duck... I now wonder no more. Somehow, the weight in the front shifts the centre of gravity for the person to the front and we find it hard to walk like we normally do. Also, the legs cannot seem to close nicely so we have to walk terkangkang.. which is soooo ungraceful. Really look like either a duck or penguin! Ok.. at least they are cute.. I dunno if I look cute or just clumsy! Fortunately Marido is very very patient with me when we walk together... I take 4 times the time to get to a place then I used to.

Well... I feel like a whale esp when I am in bed trying to turn... I wonder why there is pain when I do so... the pelvic area hurts. And also when I am on my side.. which is the supposed best position.. I still feel like I am in pain. Yuck!


Tried watching some movies at the theatre.. managed to catch "Definitely, Maybe" - sad show.. divorces are always sad. And also caught "27 dresses" - now that was funnier but also Silly! Thank goodness the seats at the movies are comfortable. Otherwise I would have left halfway.

Hmm.. I have bitten my nails to the bones in the anticipation of the impending birth. Walau! Gross looking nails. Mantra "Not Long to go, not long to go,......."

Gestational Diabetes

In my last blog, I mentioned that I felt extremely thirsty all the time. I read up about that and it seems I may have gestational diabetes... oh dear.. I have to admit that I have since stop drinking plain water (my tongue wants to taste sweet stuff) and have been guzzling down soft drinks.. bad bad. that would have contributed to this. Also, readings says that I will also start going to toilet more often. and what do you know.. in the night, I had to get up 5 times to visit the loo. GREAT!!!

Today, I forced myself to drink plain water... yuck yuck.. which is abnormally not yuck for me when i am not pregnant... somehow the tongue has this icky feeling there.... cis!

Well, I must take care of myself.... must take care of myself... do not give in to the tongue... blegh!

On Maternity Leave

I will be starting my maternity leave on the 21st April. Nevermind if the babies have not arrived yet. I simply cannot walk or work without feeling tired and I would feel really bad about it.

So will be at week 36 during the 21st April week. This is actually very good news for me... that I have made it pass the critical 35th week. At week 35, the kidneys are fully developed, and the livers can process some waste products. Most of the basic physical development is complete —they'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight. Yippee.. what a relief off my mind. That would mean that if they come out now, lesser chance of being in the NICU. Phew!!

My big question is ... how do I know when to go to the hospital.. Doc said that to go when I am in pain.... but I have no idea what the pain will be like... some people tell me it's like diarrhea and others tell me it's like period cramps... some others tell me that they just feel some pain in the belly area... so I guess I shall have to find out for myself since every birth is kinda different.

Sleeping is getting harder now... I had to toss and turn (rather painfully too) to get comfortable. I feel that I am most comfortable sitting straight up but that is no way to sleep.

A funny thing today- I noticed that I get very very thirsty all of a sudden.. keep wanting to drink. Wonder why? And yet I don't go to the toilet that often... strange hoh?

My own baby ticker

Can't believe I am going to be a mother

Yesterday, while rubbing my belly with Bio Oil (for prevention of stretch marks and itchiness), the reality of becoming a mother hit me. The babies were moving quite a lot and I could feel them either pushing the uterus with their hands and legs.. what an amazing feeling.

I wonder about these 2 beings - who are alive and literally kicking in here. Wonder how my life will be like when they are out. As it is, my world revolves around them..

I can't go out much cos it hurts to walk to much,
I am not at the office working as climbing stairs may trigger contractions,
I find myself breathless all day (heart beat close to 200 per minute1-normal heartbeat is about 60-100 per minute) as the medication makes me feel this way, but I gotta take it as it's a tocolytic (prevent premature labour)
I can't eat much as they are crowding out my stomach,
I can't stand when I washing my hair as it gets painful,
I am scratching like a cat cos somehow, the body is finding it hard to cope with all the changes,
I tend to read more materials on pregnancy and baby raising cos I am a first time mummy and need all the help I can get,
I find getting comfortable difficult due to my burgeoning size,
I knock my tummy into things (and it hurts) as I underestimate the sheer size of the belly,
I waddle like a duck and look totally ungraceful cos of I can't seem to close my legs when I walk
I find my eyesight deteriorating, probably due to the hormone changes,
I roll my eyes every time my neighbour Matthew does a "Woah! Look at that size" when he sees me,

Sometimes when I look at my belly in front of the mirror, I am just bowled over by how the body is capable of keeping something akin to a huge watermelon in it. All round and smooth. The incredible ability of the body to sustain life... I am awed by the creation of God. How can anyone say there is no master designer..? I am so aware that each day I live and breathe, it's by His grace.

Well, not long to go now. Before I know it, they will be out, grown up and live their own lives and I will be wondering where the years have gone. But as for now, I am learning to appreciate the last few moments left of the pregnancy. It's tough, but not as tough as the 1st 3 months of the pregnancy. Nothing I have ever faced compared with that trauma of throwing up and feeling like I am losing my life. I wonder if I dare to venture that path again.

Well, here's to life and more lives.....

Nimbus's reaction to my little ones

I think about my cat and wonder if he will get jealous once the twins arrive? I would feel so bad if he got so distraught that he refuses to eat (read that cats may do that if they are very upset). Well... Marido and I have determined that the babies sud be in their own room across ours and Nimbus can continue to sleep in our bed tucked in cosily next to Marido.

I wonder if our idea to keep the babies in their own room will work. I just read in "The Baby Whisperer" book that babies below 6 pounds/2.7kgs will need to feed every 2 hours... Astagfirrullahhalazim... I would be like a cow feeding them. I may have to move to their room to minimise movement on my side. But hey... I will share more with u about that later.

This is a photo of Nimbus which I love.. there are many more but this one of him looks so ...er.... how sud I put it.. serene. He is truly a darling cat. Now.. tell me how many cats will allow you to shower them without scratching you or even putting up a fuss. He really is a gentle giant for a cat... 5kgs... about 30% larger than most kucing kampung.

Another week at Home

Saw Dr Guna again this morning... that is him on the left but it's not my baby. He is such a pleasant doctor... anyway my CTG shows that my uterus is relatively calm but he is taking no chances... another week of bed rest for me and still on Terbutaine -2.5mg (Britaline) but on a lesser dosage.. twice a day. Man.. that is still going to make my heart palpitate and me feel ill.

After this week - I sud be 35 weeks old and he will not stop if the contractions come. Ooh.... i am going to have to feel the pain of labour... ai!!

According to many readings on the net, it would be normal to have crying bouts in the last few weeks.... wow! I certainly don't want that. Nevermind... i think I feel too tired to be bothered. Right now, I am still working from home but resting every 2 hours or so.

But I can see my work plans slipping down the drain.... oh dear.. too many things and so little time now.

Scratching like a dog or cat....

Another ridiculous thing happened to me last night.. I started scratching like crazy.... I am not sure what happened.. I just woke up scratching my hands, palms, arms.... very itchy. Apparently it is called "obstetric cholestasis" which is a rare condition in late pregnancy that is caused by bile salts being deposited under the skin. If it gets very severe, it may lead to maternal jaundice, liver failure, premature delivery and even stillbirth.. great! .. another thing to worry about!

I wonder if this is similar to something that Goat had.. where she kept on scratching and scratching and driving herself crazy.

Will check with gynae when I see him next this week. Due for CTG tomorrow anyway.

What harm can 16 flights of steps do?

On Wednesday, there was a huge thunderstorm that somehow shortcircuited my offices security system and also the lift. So I had to walk 3 flights of steps down that evening. On Thursday, I had to climb up that 3 flights of steps (not to mention the 1.5 flight from car park to ground level) and climb down again for meetings with merchants and then up again, then down again... all in all, about 16 flights.

At 6pm, I went to the toilet and to my surprise.. after I had urinated, I found my pants wet.. cud not tell if it was urine or amniotic fluid.. (nose not that sensitive!). I quickly drove home, took a shower and washed the hair, ate my dinner, called the hospital and after getting the advice from a staff nurse to come for a CTG, we drove to the hospital at about 8.30pm.

The CTG showed contractions that were one min apart.. not huge ones but mild ones that were dangerous enough. Unfortunately I could not feel anything since my skin was already so tight. I spoke to Dr Guna on the phone and he advised me that I am to be admitted, put on drip (to stop the contractions), given a steroid jab (to mature the babies' lungs), antibiotics (Augmentin- to prevent any infection) and to be monitored all night until he sees me in the morning.

Off I went to the labour room and got all that done. During the night, I heard screaming women and crying babies.. soooo disturbing.. what to do, I was in one of the many labour rooms in the maternity wad... I could hardly sleep... with the constant interruption of my CTG monitoring and the screaming women.

The uterus calmed down after one hour on drip .. amazing! In the morning, the doc told me to stay another day for monitoring. So I was wheeled in bed to a 2 bedded room which was already occupied by a new mother. Again, sleep was elusive as the new born baby cried almost constantly and the husband of the women slept with her and snored all through the night. I definitely must have my own room when I deliver!

On Sat morn, doc was happy to let me go with strict instructions not to climb more than one or 2 flights of stairs in the day (the stairs in my house sud be ok) and must be on bed rest for a week. Sigh! So boring to be at home. But at least its home and not at the hospital where I chalked up RM1800 in terms of bills for just 2 nights. Wonder how bad it would be when I stay in a single room for up to one week.

I am still on medication - Terbutaine 2.5mg (Britaline) which made me vomit the last time I took it but thankfully I only feel a little strange now..and Augmentine.

Ooh... so tired now.. going to rest a bit before lunch. So glad I have a helper who is busy in the kitchen preparing lunch.

More updates later. Good thing the babies have not arrived.. I believe that the human incubator is much better than the hospital incubator. Babies are very active since the incident... I feel pulls and stretches so muc more now. Very uncomfortable. Well, doc did say that if I rest.. I sud keep them in there till week 37.