He will never leave us alone

James & I spent the last 6 nights in the hospital. It was a very testing period for us (hubby too).

On Sunday, our boy couldn't stop vomiting til his stomach acid came out. He couldn't hold anything in. So hubby and I decided that we shouldn't wait any longer and rushed to the ER even though it was already 11pm. 

The Medical Officer (MO) told us that there's no choice but to admit him and put him on drips. The crying begun when the first MO couldn't find my son's vein on his left hand. He was poked twice but no blood came out. Then the next MO came, and tried on his right hand and still can't find it. So they decided to not put him on drips and just give him anti-vomit jab and let him rest for the night in the hospital.

By the time we got into the ward, it was already 2am.

The following morning, the vomiting continued and James was in pain. He only felt better... after vomiting. 

Feeling better after a round of vomiting. 

I sent this photo to my mum and she said.. "Wah, why does he look like he is so happy to be in the hospital?"

She don't know how uncomfortable he was when the pain strikes.

The vomiting continued at night and midnight, the purging started too! The nurses got very worried and called the Dr at midnight to ask for her opinion. So we had to try to get the line in at 4am! 

Another MO came and guess what, he failed too! (My son has almost invisible veins on his hands.) So they had to resort to place the needle on his arm. (Not the most preferred place as they have to ensure that he doesn't bend his elbow too often.)

Oh yes, more crying and I think by now, my son is afraid of needles.

He don't look so happy now eh?

Lying down, like a boss!

Once the drip is in, he felt a lot better. There was still pain, still purging and vomiting but he found his appetite for food that he can't eat. Eg: Mc Donald's, Pizza and Hot Chocolate

After two days being on drips and being able to drink without vomiting, Dr decided to take him off it.

He was very happy that he gets to walk around freely.

The boy wants brown noodles!

He gets brown noodles!

Just when I thought, he's finally recovering well (he was in such good spirits), he vomited again at night (only once), followed by purging an hour later . On that night, I couldn't take it anymore. I was so tired and just when there was a glimpse of hope, it was shattered once again. I was heartbroken and all I could do was go down on my knees and ask God to heal him. 

By the 5th day, I was already pushing myself so hard to just stay strong. I wasn't myself and I was just hanging on to God's promise and support from family & friends. Most of all, my son inspired me to stay strong.

He didn't stop being himself even though he was the one in pain, vomiting, purging and walking around with a bloated tummy. 

He could even smile.

(He gets moody at times, especially when he's in pain but he bounce right back once the ordeal is over.)

There's really no reason for me not to smile right back at him. :)

The vomiting stopped for a day but then we had to solve another problem, the bloated tummy. The Dr gave him a stronger colic drops and it helped.

On the 6th day, he was eating organic oven baked crackers.

Purging stopped on the 6th day and he had a good sleep on the 6th night.

Then we finally got the green light to GO HOME!!!

James giving me a thumbs up! ;)

It was very nice to be home. Less tiring for hubby as he don't need to juggle between work & hospital. (I believe being the bread winner is tougher, your heart is at home but you also have obligation towards your career.)

We have God to thank for not leaving us alone throughout this testing week. He gave us strength, gave us support via family & friends, shown us light at the end of the tunnel.

Home sweet home. :)

Making Baby #3: Supplements junkie

I believe in taking supplements. Although I know we can get most of the 'required' daily vitamins and minerals from food but how we cook the meat and vegetables plays a part and most of the time, kill them all off.

I take them also to ensure there's a healthier me before we conceive. (Something that I didn't do in my last pregnancy but I did in my 1st pregnancy.)

So here's what I take daily and taking these also requires me to drink a lot more water. (pssst..Water helps in losing weight too.)

1) Salmon Omega-3 fish oil (it contains EPA and DHA. may help in my attempt to outsmart my son since his milk powder has it.muahaha.)
2) Calcium : cos I'm a female and we come with all sorts of bone and joint problem as we age and after giving birth.the 'beauty' of being a woman.
3) Folic Acid : women take these a few months before they try to conceive and during the early stages of pregnancy. but not every woman who takes this are planning to get pregnant la.not a single function supplement.
4) Lecithin-E: the secret to my almost flawless complexion. ok no..I believe that I've inherited good complexion genes.
5) Vitamin C: keeps me away from having a common flu or cough.
6) Vitamin B: energy is required being a housewife and it helped with pms (which all of a sudden appear after I had my miscarriage. hormones. *rolls eyes*)

Here's to a healthier me and a healthier pregnancy. *fingers crossed*
(Don't get me wrong. Consuming supplements alone don't guarantee a healthy body. You'll need to combine it with exercise, lots of water, healthy food and enough sleep.)

How much is enough?

I've always wondered how much water do we drink every day. When I was working,I made sure there's a filled 1.5litre of water bottle in my car and then I found out 1.5litre a day is not enough. So I have an extra 1litre bottle in my car.

And yet sometimes I feel dehydrated, I have cracked lips at times.

So how much of water is enough? You may want to find out more here: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

(Sorry I'm an amateur when it comes to blogging using the bloggers app.)

So for a female who didn't do any workout and is not ill or breast feeding, you'll need to empty this many 600ml bottles of water..a day. :)

Hello again!

Sorry for the lack of update. I've been really caught up with every day life. Every day I come home, I just want to crash once my son's asleep. (HOW ON EARTH DO WORKING MUMMY BLOGGERS DO IT?)

Just a little update on what I've been doing besides "Mummy + Wife + Employee + Daughter + Sister" Duties.

Besides going on a diet programme, I've been good friends with these weights..

Here's a 10kg Medicine Ball. 

Use it when I don't attend any Body Pump class.

Here are my weights for Body Pump.

The ones on the bar are my warm up weight.

You burn this much of calories by doing one Body Pump class + 10 minutes cardio.

If I don't work out at the gym, I'll be doing house work..

And you burn this much of calories by doing 2 hours of house work.

And to strengthen my core and to massage my muscles (my whole body)...

I use these Fit Bars.

I burnt 209kcal doing this for an hour.

I've also been eating healthy after my diet programme. (Ok, not all the time, I cheat but I'd always do my best to avoid unhealthy food.)

I'm loving the results because...

I found my ab lines once again!

Hello again my dear ab lines! :D

Cikumuffin was inspired by many fit people and celebrities that she knows to be this disciplined. Now to eliminate the tendency to "reward" herself. :P

Hari Merdeka!

Can you recall what you did over the Merdeka weekend?

I had an interesting one. One which ended with me being hospitalized!

Yes, my record was broken. After proclaiming not visiting the hospital for more than 2 years. I had to be rushed into the hospital on the 31st of August 2009.

Why was I hospitalized? FOOD POISONING! (what's new?)

I was enjoying the long weekend just like everybody else and on Monday evening, my tummy just had to react to whatever food that I ate.

We were a little more afraid this time because I'm pregnant. My mum especially kept persuading me to see the Dr once I started feeling uncomfortable. So I succumb to her persuasion and decided to go to the hospital. (My gyane's clinic is closed on Public Holidays.)

The Dr in the Emergency Room was calm and called my gynae to inform him of my situation. Since I didn't come in with fever, diarrhea, or vomiting, I was told that I should just take some medicine and rest at home.

I was happy that I didn't have to check into the hospital or take any injection. (oh wait, I'm pregnant, so no injection allowed!)

Went home and I still felt horrible. Just less than 5 minutes at home, I threw up and purged! I'm cursed! After 2 rounds of the same thing, everyone begin to worry and we decided to go to the hospital once again.

The same Dr was still there and I just gave him a weak smile and say "I'm back! Looks like I have to check myself in!"
He said.. "Aaahhh.. vomited & diarrhea?" I just nodded and added.. three times!

He just replied.. "We will have to keep you here then." I just sighed.

At that time I just wish there was an injection that I could take. So I asked the Dr & nurses if there's any pain killer for pregnant woman.. the answer was "Yes! Panadol!"
I went.. "YAY? Panadol? That's it? sigh."

I also went in with a fever and that got the Dr worried. I was admitted into the Labour ward and assigned to be taken care by a Gastroentologist instead of my gynae cause my pregnancy was doing good.

The Dr assigned was very hardworking. He came in to check on me at almost midnight! I was very surprised because usually Drs will only come and see me the next morning. (Yes, this is how often I've been to the hospital that I know when the Drs will come and see me for the first time since admission.)

Even after purging for 10times throughout the wee hours & the next morning, the Dr was reluctant to put me on drugs especially antibiotic. He only gave me the necessary and on the 2nd day he had to succumb to giving me antibiotic because I had high fever for a few hours and I felt very cold & weak.

Once I was on antibiotic, I felt much better. No longer weak, could even tell the Dr that I don't want anymore drips and any medication that I don't feel like taking.

After spending nights in the hospital, the Dr finally gave me the green light to be discharged even though I was still purging. He told me to just monitor myself and be sure that I don't have fever.

The next day, purging finally stopped. We also went to see my gynae to ensure that my pregnancy was doing well.

My pregnancy was not affected at all. Thank God for that! Our baby was behaving very well. (At the hospital, the nurses do come in to monitor the babys' heartbeat every day.)

I was also told that all the medication given to me was safe to be taken during pregnancy. :)

That's how my Merdeka weekend ended! I hope yours was sweeter than mine!


P/S: I have to mention that my husband have been the best when I went through this. He stayed over with me for a few nights, keeping me company throughout the day, even though it's not the most comfortable since he only gets a lazy chair to sleep on instead of an extra bed. He felt guilty that he had to go back to work before I was discharged but I understood his situation. Thanks darling! *hugs*

A(H1N1)-Don't be ignorant!

I've been following the news on A(H1N1) cases in the newspaper. Every day there will be deaths reported. (May the victims Rest in Peace and their family members be blessed with strength.)

Today it is reported that it claimed a pregnant woman, 2 young innocent children, 2 elderly men & a 24 year old man. (As you can see, it's all ages that are victims.)

I did my research on how to prevent from being infected by this virus. As I'm pregnant now, I have to be extra careful since I am categorized in the "high risk group".

My mode of transport to work would not allow me to "distant" myself from the public. Therefore, I pray that I'll be kept safe & guarded from this virus. (I also pray for those that I love to be blessed with the strongest immune system.)

For those who are reading this, please practise your own social responsibilty. If you have any of the symptoms of A(H1N1), I beg you, PLEASE be responsible and consult a Dr or go to the hospital immediately. Do not be selfish and continue with your daily routine.

Your ignorance will only kill your loved ones and those innocent people around you.

How to conceive - Week 3

Folic Acid for those who are trying. :)

A colleague of mine introduced "Folic Acid" to me, way before I tied the knot. She told me that it's recommended to take Folic Acid 3-6months before you plan to conceive.

I've also read about it but just didn't pursue my hunt for folic acids. :P

My gynae gave me a bottle of it and I was instructed to take it once a day. It help keep the "egg" healthy and also prevent miscarriage, which is very common in this generation.

So, for those who are trying to conceive, do consider taking Folic Acid. :)

How to conceive-Week 1

After visiting my gynae, everything was normal. I didn't have any blood stain. Well, the next blood stain was the beginning of my menstrual cycle.

I was also advised by the gynae not to do a pap smear test just before my menses because at that time a woman's cervix is very sensitive. So when they perform a pap smear, they may "damage" the wall. Especially if you are trying to conceive, any sign of fresh blood would "kill" the sperm. So the best time to do a pap smear is just after your menses.

(FYI, women who are sexually active -not necessary married- are advised to do a pap smear test annually.The test is to detect potential pre-cancerous changes.)

Although everything seems to be back on track, I was still a little "concerned" (I am a little paranoid when it comes to health.) but thanks to the amount of support that I received from my family & friends, I was just calmly waiting for my thin-prep test result which would be out in a week.

Time to start counting! :)

How to conceive

Before we got married, my husband & I planned to start a family in 2010. Meaning we would only try to conceive after June 2009.

After we got married, our plans sort of diverted. After hearing so many cases of people wanting to conceive but yet they can't because they have been "avoiding" it. We both thought that we shouldn't wait.

So I went to do a Pap Smear test just to ensure that I'm healthy to conceive. I went to a normal clinic and the Dr performed a ThinPrep Pap Test instead. I bled after the test and the Dr was quite concerned. The nurse gave me a sanitary pad and the Dr told me to just wait outside to see if the blood would subside.

To my dismay, I didn't stop bleeding. Initially, I thought it was normal.The Dr mentioned that it should stop bleeding in 2-3hours. If it doesn't and your report comes out negative, I would have to refer you to a gynae that specializes in cervical cancer. The "C" word was very sensitive to me as my dad was recently diagnosed with cancer.

I was disturbed the whole day. Told my husband. He asked me to just be calm and wait for the results. I know that it disturbs him too but I guess one of us have to be calm.I was contemplating whether to break the news to my parents.

I finally told my parents and they were very supportive and told me not to worry too much.

The next morning, I woke up with fresh blood stain! I was very alarmed and immediately informed my parents. My mum suggest that I see my gynae immediately.

I followed her advise. Told my colleagues of my situation. My mum came with me to show "support".

My gynae was very calm when I told him about the whole procedure. He just checked my cervix, did an ultrasound and he told me that the bad news is "You are healthy!". The good news is "You are healthy to conceive!". I wish I could hug him but all I could say was, "That's not bad news!" He just smiled at me.

He told me to just wait for the report and he's 90% sure that the report won't find anything negative. :)

Since I told him that I'm trying to conceive, he gave me a few tips. He asked me a few questions:

1) Is your menstrual cycle regular? YES

2) Were you on any contraceptive pills? NO

3) Is your husband with you every day? NO

He continued to say that I don't "need" my husband every day. Since I have a regular menstrual cycle, it is very easy. He told me to have a habit to mark the first day of my menstrual on my calender. Then start counting. On the 11th day up to the 21st day, I'll "need" my husband every other day.

He was so confident that he said I'll see you within 6 months. If it doesn't work, it's probably something wrong with your husband.

Well, we'll see if the "strategy" works!

Don't speak too soon!

I was just blogging about how many years that I haven't checked myself into the hospital. Last night I nearly "broke the record".

I was down with food poisoning yesterday. Vomited and had diarrhea the whole night. My stomach was in an "insecure" mode as I don't really know what it wants.

I do have a weak stomach and I do my best to keep it healthy. Many people would advise me to be more cautious about it since my dad's case. Thanks for all of your concern! I have been very cautious about it ever since I've been making it a "habit" to be hospitalized once a year until yesterday, I was poisoned by food!

My stomach is a pansy!

Look at the amount of medicine I have to take to kill all the "poison". In actual fact, all I needed was the Antibiotic and carbon but because my stomach can't stand the acidity the Antibiotic gives, I have to take some medicine to line my stomach so that the Antibiotic won't hurt it. Very complicated huh? And of course, since it's food poisoning, there's always the packet of Paracetamol needed. Luckily I only had to take one doze of the Paracetamol. :)

I had a good rest and I'm glad that after my afternoon 3hours long sleep, I'm back to my old self. More energetic than before I rested. When I woke up this morning, all I wanted was 100plus (which my mum refused to buy for me). I just feel so drained from waking up every hour because of the discomfort. I was hoping to have a good night sleep so that I could go back to work today. Unfortunately, that was not the case. I had to utilize the MC my doctor gave.

Now, I'm hungry. Craving for something soupy to calm the stomach and 100 plus! I do hope my mum would surprise me with one. *fingers crossed*

It's back to work tomorrow! It's interesting cause I can't wait to go back to work! haha.. :)

It's one of those things...

...that is bugging me and making my tummy upset.

I have no idea what's stressing me out. Most probably it's work. I have exactly 12 more working days to finish a super long list of things to do at work! somehow, i can sense.. that I might just need to pop in pills soon! The reason why I must try to do everything is because I've requested to go for a 3 weeks break! *serve me right!*

I'm already having some discomfort every now and then. It's good that I have these kind of reaction cause I only get it when I'm stressed. Good to know that I'm stressed then at least I'm more alert of how I should think and how fast I should work. It's bad cause I may just end up in the hospital. Moreover now, it's not as "convenient" to get someone to send me there in the middle of the night. Oooo boy.. I sure hope I don't end up in that situation. To prevent it from happening, it's time to pop in a pill! once in the morning, once at night! :)

On the brighter note, me and my sis (biological sis) is planning for a short "sister" trip to Singapore when she comes back. Unfortunately, my mum has decided that she wants to tag along. Well, I would love to bring my mum but she'll probably restrict us from doing stuff youngsters like to do. Like buying Starbucks and just chill even though the drink is overpriced! Well, hopefully my mum will get the hint. hahaha..

Also on a brighter note, I've been longing to go for this break since September as it will definitely help me settle tonnes of things for our wedding.

I'm so excited that our wedding is near!! :)) FINALLY... Aaaahhhhhhhhh!

Well well, it's just 1 month & 2 days away!! ~wWwweeEEeeeEEeeeee........