A Tribute to 2006

Finally, the year is coming to an end. I felt like singing My Way, really. But that's just me, corny as usual.

I did something similiar last year, reflecting on my 2005 and what happened throughout the years with notable memories.

This year would not be much different as i wind up the year!

January 2006
With absolutely nothing to do in January, a couple of us decided to cycle up Cameron. It was my first maiden trip via Simpang Pulai and i was looking forward to it as much as the rest of the jokers that went along. We got up safe, but decided to ditch the idea of riding 70km down via the same road as we were drenched with sweat and the mist. The cold wind would be enough to freeze one of us!

And what more fun than to have a press conference where you are one of the people the press would, err...interview? Felt like a celeb? you bet!!! And seeing my own face in the paper again after so many years!

January was a really hectic month with rides, runs and more cam whoring!

Memorable moment: Terence Penguin was diagnosed with brain aneurysms and till today, he is still racing. How is that for human spirit? Get well son bro!

February 2006
With wedding just around the corner and loads of things need to be done, i found myself prioritising and had to leave the dream of racing in Ironman Langkawi. Nevermind the fact that i've not registered for it, but i have every intention of racing it sans the road bike. Now that i've missed it totally, and gonna miss it again in 2007, i decide that targeting to do this in 2008 would be a better idea. Enough time to save for a road bike and enough time for more preparation.

So, to my 3 heroic friends that did Ironman Langkawi with minimal training and with one of them beating the crap out of some more accomplished atheletes, here's to you...WELL DONE!

Memorable Moment:Getting live update from Ironman Langkawi through Karo and Azmar, which were there to cheer, run, bike and accompany all of them until the finish line. Can't get better friends than that!

March 2006
With wedding just around the corner and a marathon to run. I somewhat felt that i was pushing everything to the limit. I did it in 2004, where i did the Perhentian Island Challenge like 2 weeks before my marriage registration, going into the registrar office with a tan so dark he thought me and wifey had the wrong place to register our wedding.

Accomplishing my first ever marathon (that is 42km mind you) in 5hours 55 minutes was hardly anything to brag about. But the mere fact that i actually complete it when my preparation was jeopordised by me having a viral attack in december and january, i know i should just be glad that i did finished it. And Thank You Adilah, for running with me up till the 34km mark (then you started running faster and i can't catch up!) Will i do it again? Well at that point of time, it's a hell yes! Read on to see if i have the intention to do it again....

Then came the wedding. Where all the effort over the past 2 years of organising it paid off. Iqbal, Karen and Claudia came from a far to grace out wedding. With my friends that grew up with me helping out and doing all the could, and with wifey's friends chipping in to help, it was a good experience for all of us. I must say i was really appreciative of their help and presence!

The saddest part was when Murphy boy went missing. Till this days, me and wifey still hope he is found by someone and well taken care of. It's like losing a family member! Devastating!

Memorable moment:When the pregnancy test kit turned postive a day after the wedding, before the Malaysian F1 GP. Iqbal was the first one to know about the pregnancy. I was excited and wifey kept asking me if the test is 100% accurate.

April 2006
Took a sabbatical from blogging and went missing for 2 weeks. Obviously no one misses me from the amount of comments or site traffic that i saw.

Went off to Bali with wifey for honeymoon. The deed was done, which makes every moment more rewarding (you can't get pregnant again when you are pregnant, right???) It was also my first trip to Bali, but it was wifey's second or third. It was a good break for both of us, especially when everything we planned for went smoothly and she is pregnant.

Memorable moment: Seeing our yet to be born son inside his/her mother's womb. He/She was only a dot wide! (ya la, that time don't know if boy or girl mah!). Anohter memorable moment was finding out that Chipang's wife and Zabil's wife was also pregnant and all of them share the same due date as my own baby. That could only mean that the fertilisation were all calculated to be on the same day, and it was the Ironman Langkawi weekend!

May 2006
My schedule race in Explorace Season 3. Me and bandit raced and managed to win the race with a very comfortable margin. To our opponents, James and David, thanks for the memories! We raced in Kota Tinggi in our frist round! I recalled Abang Jebat telling me that my hands were shaking when i open the clue envelope..and he was actually shooting with the camera like from 50meters away (for dramatic panaromic zoomed in effect la...)

The same month, i entered the first edition of MMDS at Dataran Merdeka. Recalling my knees getting weak the year before, i was more determined to finish the race in better timing. Afterall, i'm supposed to be fit and just finished my first ever marathon!

The same month too, a friend passed away. Rest in Peace Bro!

I too had the privy to cycle into National Park via Kahang with a bunch of like minded buggers. The ride was enjoyoable and fun. Some of us also caught sight of the Pigmy Elephants; a whole herd!

That trip was also the last i saw OP Tahir (The late, he passed away a week before christmas). May you rest in peace sir!

Memorable Moments: Seeing Bandit almost drown in Rompin and being saved by Superman Puzi. I almost lost a friend and a partner but i am just glad he is all safe. Since then, Bandit has tried to follow whatever Puzi does! Hahahah!

The other memorable moment was when i got my middle finger snapped by the mud crab's claw. The claw broke, but my finger was intact, abeit throbbing throughout the race in Kota Tinggi!

June 2006
Explorace Season 3 Round 2 brought me and Bandit to Thailand. To be more specific, Bangkok. We lost the race due to our luck with the local taxis. I felt really bad as it was me that has caused this mishap (i was in the taxi la!) and when i saw Amazing Race Asia Episode 7, where they raced in Bangkok (same route: Ayuthaya to Bangkok), i realised that Bangkok Taxi Drivers are a bunch of Morons!!!

The same month, because of frustration of not being in contention to grab the RM100K, me and bandit joined Eco-X in Hulu Langat. We did a last minute teammate change to balance out the group and my team, consist of Steve, Bacin and Me, were the only team among the LnE members that completed the race ranked.

June was a sad month too as Dr. Poon lost his daughter. May her soul rest in peace.


Then, Engelbert Humperdinck came to KL for the RMC-OPA Charity Dinner/Concert. The whole do was almost disastourous when Engelbert was down with bad sore infection. Cancellations and crowd control was the main highlight and kudos to all the volunteers ( that has the choice of walking away), that handled everything really well!

Memorable Moment: The excitement when Explorace Season 3 finally started airing on TV3. That could only mean i would be seeing myself on TV for the very first time!

July 2006
Went for my first unoffical race marshalling duty with Nomad Adventure for the 3R season finale.

Then coming out in the month's issue of Galaxie magazine of me and Bandit cycling when we were in Kota Tinggi for Explorace.

Then it was the first Triathlon race for me in 2006 in PD!!! Of which i did not do as well as i did the year before. Not sure why, but i'll definately train harder!

One week after, it was MMDS race 2 at Putrajaya. I managed to finish it of course, as usual. Timing was somewhat similiar to what i did last year. But there is no exact benchmark as the race was in a different venue compared to last year. Anyhow, it was a good race!

Then it was me and bandit on national TV!!! But of course, that morning, we were also on MHI!

Memorable moment: Being a wannabe TV star in July!

August 2006
August was more of a time to rest and reflect on what has happened over the year so far. I bought myself a Phiten product, which was supposed to eliviate pain and improve my atheletic performance(at least now got tools to blame if my racing sucks!).

But August was also the very first time i blogged about Ryan. Bringing my blog readers from him, being just a tiny cell in wifey's womb to showing the world his face. :)

August was also the month when me and Bandit finally won something BIG. We were the champ for AXN Amazing Mall Challenge!

On the 31st August 2006, a bunch of us actually went cycling around KL. We were at Dataran Merdeka when some reporters came up to us and snapped our pictures.

Memorable Moments: Seeing Ryan's face via 2D Scan! And Iqbal telling me that his wifey is expecting! Such joy! And of course, winning the cash and hamper in AXN Amazing Mall!!!!

September 2006
Considering myself lucky when i chance upon a Paradise Tree Snake, and a rare one at that when i went climbing with the usual suspect at Damai.

One day after i blogged about the snake, news has it that Steve Irwin passed away. It was indeed a sad day and a lost for the wildlife world. Rest In Peace bro!

September is also the month where i looked forward to. As it's also when the Desaru Long Distance Tri will take place. This was also the race where i beat ONE profesional triathelte! hahahaahah! My race time aside, it was indeed a really fun outing, and most probably my last before Ryan comes to the world.

I had my first taste of being a official marshall officially alongside Choco and Soulpop in Perhentian Island Challenge. Being a marshall and racing as a participant are a totally two different set of experience. It is easier to race than to marshall! Trust me on this!

September also marks the 4th year that i know my wife. Such bliss and joy! Thank you baby!

September was also my parent's wedding anniversary!

And to cap off September, i joined the crazy bunch to cycle up Genting again. It seems and looked like a yearly pilgramage for me! The immortals did it every week during the fasting month.

Memorable Moment: Eating the road going down Genting...ouch...

October 2006
October was when my mum gave me a blender old enough to be older than my youngest sis.

It's also the month when Wifey and partners opened yet anohter branch of their shop! Well done. 6 years down and they have 4 branches.

This month too, i realised that i totally forgotten to renew my Kancil's roadtax and has since been driving minus the road tax for the longest time. Getting old, but i had fatherhood to blame!

That also meant i had to say goodbye to my trusty ride and had gotten myself and wifey anohter new car!

It's also the month where my sister celebrate her 26th Birthday. happy birthday again sis!

And officially, i was allowed to tell the world that Iqbal would be a dad!

Memorable Moment: Saying goodbye to my old ride and getting a new one...

November 2006
With Ryan coming anytime soon, i decided to write a letter to him.

Then, it was my granma's 80th birthday celebration. By now, she's already a great-granmother!

Then it was my sis turn to be famous in 3R! Obviously getting more airtime than me..hahahahah!

I ran the Subang 10K as well. I did not break my own personal best time which i did last year. Maybe due to loads of inactivities over the months by spending more time with wifey.

My birthday came, then Zabil's daughter came, then Chipang's son came. Still no sign of Ryan coming out though. Would be great to share the same birthday as me, but like my mum said, he will come out when he wants to come out!

And finally, on the 18th November...Ryan Ambrose Lim Jo-Hann came into the world!

Memorable Moment: what else? Ryan of course

December 2006
With baby in our arms and taking up most of our time, wifey had a slow, but good birthday celebration.

Ryan grew pretty quickly and he seems to be the joy in both his paternal and maternal family side.

Then, Surin got married. Which was the highlight of December!

December are usually slow for me and family. With no races in sight and no rides that i've done since the last race in Desaru, it sure felt like ages. I recieved an entry form to run next year's KLIM on the 18th March 2007. I'm signing up, not to take advantage of the early bird discount, but to race again.

Hence, i was back on the threadmill yesterday, running a painful 2 mile (or 3.2km) in 15 minutes. Got to start somewhere, no?

Speaking of which, i enrolled in the Google Adsense. Got to try to find ways to earn some extra pocket money to buy milk for Ryan, no? So, readers, click on, please! :)

We had our first christmas as a family with wifey and Ryan. I must say, Fatherhood is rahter rewarding. Nevermind the sleepless nights and sleeping while feeding the baby, it's all worth it, especially when you see them smile and reacts to your action.

Memorable Moment: Surin's wedding. It's like seeing a brother getting married.

So, with December ending in 3 days time. Here i am, wishing all of you a very healthy, merry, happy, properous new year 2007. Many good tidings and many more good wishes for the years to come.

I won't have any new year resolution, infact, i never did have any for the longest time. I just hope that 2007 will be more exciting than 2006 in all the good way and manner!

Bring on 2007, i should say!

Sharing a Christmas Tree

Merry Christmas to everyone that reads my blog. Nevermind if you are not celebrating it, just enjoy the long weekend!

This year would be totally different as we have Ryan with us to celebrate his first christmas. And this is officially our first christmas as a Family!

Excited? You bet!

While we have most o the pressie for family done and wrapped up. Me and wifey are still short of one pressie for Ryan. Maybe the milk powder that i bought from some cronies yesterday could be wrapped up as pressie for him?

:)

Nah!

Anyway, as promised, our christmas tree!



This Xmas tree is 2 years old. We make it a point to buy one ornament a year. Last year was the big star which will be capped on the top of the tree. This year, we bought 52 assorted plastic decorative from Ikea and was given 1 nicely painted ball (which were painted from inside like the snuff bottles) and one angel which we are using to put at the top of the tree. We also bought extra lights, to make it bling!

I know, we are supposed to buy ONLY ONE thing, but can't help it la!

Merry Christmas to all, again!

I've no wishes for myself but just that my family would be safe from harm, get richer by the day and be as healthy as healthy can be!

L-O-V-E

Originally sang by Nat King Cole but was covered versioned by Frank Blue Eye Sinatra.

This song was played during my wedding and was featured in the edited wedding video.

I love this song. Wifey loves this song. And it's no wonder that Ryan, too, love this song.


L-O-V-E


Here to download - Frank Sinatra's Version

Originally By Nat King Cole ( Billboard # 81 in 1964)
Lyrics by Milt Gabler and Music by Bert Kaempfert

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can

Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please dont break it
Love was made for me and you

(trumpet instrumental)

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can

Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please dont break it
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you

We first discovered that he love the song when wifey played it when he was crying. So, yesterday i also experimented la. Bugger this kiddo love oldies la, i play Maroon 5's She Will Be Loved he don't like, but once Chubby Checker came out with Lets Twist Again, he smiled! Funny thing is when i play Paris Hilton's Stars are Blind, he likes it. does it mean he will marry a Blonde when he grows up?

I think it's because me and wifey been listening to oldies all this while and it does gave him the soothing effect when Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka and those oldies came on air! :)

Surin's Wedding and Ryan's Full Moon

Firstly, Congrats to Surin and Sumathi!

Congrats bro! By now, you and Sumathi is already in Nepal for your honeymoon.


thanks for giving me the opp to hold the video camera and see the wedding like within 3 meters from you!

May both of you have many juniors running around in years to come. Hurry as Ryan and Iqbal's son need friends to grow up with as well!


very last moment as a bachelor...pic taken before the top one!
Also, thanks for giving me the oppurtunity to give the audience a speech during your wedding dinner on your behalf. I didn't want to give you any corny advises as it could only be cornier than anything else. :)

It's been a pleasure helping you out as much as i could and it's been a privy to be a friend, which i would rahter classify you as brother, in my life!

Come and visit Ryan soon, i'm sure he wants to see who Uncle Surin is!

Pictures below taken on the 18th December. Marking Ryan's first month on Earth.

How has it been?

Well, for one, it's been pretty rewarding, seeing your own son growing from 3.3kg at birth to 4.59kg as of 18th. He has since grew taller by 6cm and his head has also grown by anohter 6cm. His growth is above average (well, average are pretty low anyway...)

He has his Hepatitis B jab on the 18th. Thinking he will wail his lungs out as the Dr. Yong sink the needles in, it was infact, not true, he did cry, but for a moment only. Told my mum and she said that Ryan will grow up to be a stubborn person. Oh my...

Loads of people came for the fullmoon that we had on Sunday, 17th December. Decided to hold it a day earlier as it was the weekend. We did not shave Ryan's hair, as it's already scarce...hahahaha...


i'm one month old

So, to those that came, thank you very much. You guys and girls know who you are! ;-)

He has started to smile involuntirary, doing so as we talk to him in mandarin, hokkien, english and bahasa. Was expecting Surin to help talk to Ryan in tamil though.


Daddy making me do push ups...

And wifey is right, over the days, we've not taken any pic as a family. So, without further ado, here you go, pic of wifey, me and Ryan. Taken on the day he turns 1 month old.

:)


We are Family...


Ryan's BCG mark burst and pus came out, leaving a tiny weeny hole on his left upper arm...

Now, lets hope Ryan will be more settled with his sleeping hours (he has been sleeping only after 3am for the past days), feeding hours (he is only supposed to eat every 5 hours, but cried to be fed every 3hours!) and everything so that me and wifey could finally get back to our normal biological and me getting back to train for marathons, races, triathlons and everything else under the racing sun!

Ryan - Day 27 Milk Talk

How times flies.

Ryan is now 27 days old.

This was taken this morning after his feed and after his mum gave him a bath.


don't disturb me!!!

Letting him sleep in prone position to avoid his head from getting flat (like me).

Even at 14 days, he was showing good neck strength and could lift and move his neck un supported. We just need to watch out for sudden snapping motion that he do at times.

He is feeding on his mum's milk and we are supplementing with formulas for reasons that we can't seems to keep up with his ferocious eating habit.

From a 2 oz per meal baby, he is not drinking 4oz, sometimes 5oz per meal. Feeding is every 4 hours, but his biological clock is better and more accurate than any alarm clock as he wakes up 30 minutes before his feeding time, without fail!

For first time parents like us, choosing formula was hard. There is so many out there on the shelf, each promising you the sky where the nutritional benefits were. Some claimed to be as close as breast milk, which we all know nothing comes close to breast milk, so, i deliberately avoided those that has such claims.

AA, DHA and ARA are all overrated, but most milk formula has it in them.

due to the fact that it's not right to advertise the milk formula, the following blog entries will be without hyperlink to the respective brands.

We started off with S26 Gold. The most premium whey based milk formula with fortified iron, AA( or sometimes knowns as ARA) and DHA. It was given away as sample. At RM28.80 RRP per 400gm, it's easily the most expensive can of milk in the market.

We feed Ryan twice daily on formula. Letting wifey rest during the night feeding and early morning feeding. Breast feeding is and should be on demand. And as easy as that may sound, it's actually very hard. Breast fed baby sometimes need to be fed up to 15 times a day, that's like every other hours as their appetite is as fickle as when i go shopping for grocery (got to get the best goods with the best prices).

S26 came with their own host of problem for our bub. Firstly, it was the irregular passing of motion. Before S26, Ryan poo after every meal. When we introduced S26 into his diet, he poo only once, twice at most everyday. And i suspect that it gave him Colic as well due to indigestion and gas build up. In short, S26 Gold, though the most premium and expensive, is simply too rich (of content) for Ryan 's tummy to handle.

So, there i was, searching the internet for the best other possible formula. Similac, SMA, Snow, Nan all were returned as search results. There were also a 2001 report on the violation by the formula manufacturers where marketing and claims were concerned. All of the brand from A to W were implicated with mostly giving away samples and promoting the formula as substitute to breast milk.

There i was, at the baby's food aisle in one of the many hypermarket in Klang Valley, looking at all the brands.

Price was secondary, but a decisive factor. Primary and most important criteria is the nutritional benefits. I found myself comparing Nestle Nan HA 1 with S26 Gold. Content wise, it's true that S26 Gold tops all the others on the shelves.

Nan HA 1, however, was just slightly below what S26 has to offer PLUS it claimed to be hypoallergenic and easier on the tummy. In short, easy digestion. At Rm44.85 per 900gram, it's about RM16 cheaper that say, if i continue to feed him S26 Gold (of the same weight).

So, i did more research. More forums were reviewed and more mother(funnily, most of these forums were female infested, i seems to be the only father there!) were happy with Nan HA1 than S26 or even other brand.

Some even went to give the baby Goat's MIlk, as it's so claimed to be closest to human milk because of the low lactose level. Some vegetarian babies were put on Soy based milk.

But one thing for sure, where S26 Gold is concerned, out of 10 respondent, 9 says that it causes their baby to have constipation. The 10th is feeding her baby on Goat's Milk.

But when i search for S26 Gold forum, their review were good too, where the formula were concerned, but they all agree that it's the most expensive at USD20 per 400gram. But they did not rule out that it does make their baby constipated when on that formula. To them, the benefit outweight the constipation, as they find their baby put grow much faster and stronger.

Where Nan HA1 is concerned, most of the mother that converted to this formula were also users of S26 Gold in the beginning. Soon after changing to Nan HA1, the constipation seems to go away and the passing of motion seemed to had been back to normal. Baby were also reported to be less cranky.

"Only one way to know it this is all true la" i was telling myself.

So, yesterday, at 11pm feed, we gave Ryan 4oz of Nan HA1, there seems to be less gurgling sound towards the last 2 oz(which sounded like you had phelgm in your throat as you swallow the milk), and he seems to like it more as he does not expel them out as much compared to S26 Gold (where he will push some out from the corner of his mouth, at times, wetting the whole part of the hankie).

Maybe it did work. So, i told wifey that we need to monitor if he slept more soundly and less cranky.

Before this, he would sleep for only an hour before waking up, crying. By then, me and wifey would had our sleep reduced from 3 hours between feeding at night to 1 hour at most. Which explain why both of us were almost too tired by 4pm everyday.

Guess what. Ryan slept for a good 3 hours before waking up 30 minutes before his feeding time. He was fed again at 2.30, which takes him 30 minutes to finish the 4oz of milk. But for the 3am feeding, we gave him expressed breast milk. Soon after the 3am feeding, burping and settling him down to sleep, he did not wake up until this morning at 6.30am for his 7am feeding time!

This is absolutely a record sleeping hours for me and wifey! a good almost 6 hours of rest with 3 hours each in between feeding! We only manage to clock in 2 hours at most everynight since we gave him formula about 2 weeks ago! Which, coincidently, was when his colic started to give him problem as well!

Wifey bath him at 8am this morning and changed him. We were surprised to see him passing motion in the morning as opposed to non for the past 1 week plus (where he passed motion only ONCE in the evening).

He went to sleep right after the bath.


so peaceful...

As i went back just now at 10.30am, he was awake for his next feeding. Wifey fed him breast milk and the last i checked, he was sleeping after his burping!


Long lashes, not like mine!

Oh ya, Wifey and Ryan is back home (to our own home) already. Baby settling in fine with the new enviroment. We needed this to get accustomed to the soon to come routine of waking up, feeding, burping, giving him morning bath, and leaving for work while my mum or wifey's mum take cares of him until we come back from work.

So far so good. I already sense that it would be a great Christmas with Ryan and Wifey around. What more could i ask for?

ok, apart from the fact that he sleeps through the night like this morning so me and wifey could get more rest!

Oh ya, have i spoken about diapers???

By the way, wifey's supplier bought Ryan a Full Moon gift. It's a Fisher Price's Swing.


Aquarium Take-Along Swing™

Thank You very much for the gift!

Me, 30 Years Ago...

My mum had to dig out some of my old pics. She says Ryan looks like me. Well, if not me, who else? Then again, there is loads of wifey's feature on Ryan as well.

For one, Ryan has Wifey's ears, eyes and double eye lids. His face is of Wifey's face shape.

Only thing similiar is that we are both male and first born in the family.

Here is Ryan. Adorable and a Devil in his own way... how else could i explain myself losing sleep at night over him staying up with his eyes wide open???


mummy's eyes, mummy's ears and mummy's double eye lid...


My favourite Statue Of Liberty Pose


With froggy...


My fav pose again...

You all be the judge, and do tell me i was a cute baby too, 30 years ago.


Me at 30 days


Me with Ryan...


me at 100 days...i know, big head!


Me with Ryan, again...


"bugger, make so much noise, knock your head then you know"

:)

Happy Birthday Wifey!!!

Dearest Darling,

you son telephatically told me to blog and wish you a happy birthday.

thank you for giving me Ryan (he is sleeping on my chest as i'm typing this and i'm sure he is shitting as i'm typing this).

thank you for all the pain you had to go through and thank you, for being such wonderful wife.

i love you from the bottom of my heart and happy sweet 16th birthday!

yours as always,
Stupe

Happy Birthday Mummy!!!

Dear Mummy,

Happy Birthday to you!

Thank You for bringing me into this world and thank you for all your sacrifices of taking care of me and ensuring i have enough to eat.

i don't know how old you are as i can't count yet.

Happy Birthday to you Mummy!!

yours lovingly,

Ryan

Midnight Scare

Never too fond to receive midnight calls. Usually it's a bad thing. So, yesterday, it was out of the norm that i went to do everything earlier than before bedtime. I bathed earlier, i fed Ryan and put him to sleep earlier, i went to toilet earlier and basically, everything, earlier.

Guess i didn't see it coming.

At 12.30am, wifey's phone rang. It was my sis.

My phone were switched off because i do not want to receive call in the middle of the night like i used to get when some of the projects at work were at full swings. Those has to wait, if someone died at the work site, he has to wait until tomorrow. Getting there earlier won't bring him back to live.

"Ko, dad feeling dizzy and he fell down from the bed just now. Now he is vomitting", my sis said.

I rushed back home from PJ to Gombak, thank goodness that it's that time of the day where traffic was almost non existence except a few mat rempits and modified cars which thinks loud sound equals big horse power.

"Check his blood pressure", I told my sis as i was driving pass Help University College.

"Can't la, the BP monitor is with Ber Kor", she said.

Recalling how my aunt has bouts of high blood pressure during her pregnancy and the BP was lended to her.

"Give him his medicine, those statin stuff", i instructed her.

Dad refused to take. He continues to vomit, breaking out in cold sweat, shivering and says he can't open his eyes or the whole room would seems to spin.

I was telling myself that it might be his blood pressure. He had a stroke 2 years ago and i dread to think if this will happen again. The first one was a size of 50 sen and it's an infract.

With my hand shivering as i drove closer to home, i was prepared for the worse sight. Much like the one i seen 2 year ago when i waited for my dad to arrive from Kuantan at the Gombak Toll; speech slurring and half the body immobile.

I went upstairs, i swore my legs felt heavier with each steps. The denial and the possibility of what i would see.

There he was, lying down on his bed, with his upper body on the bed, breaking out in cold sweat and his thighs at the edge of the bed with his feet on the ground. His shorts were wet, due to the vomit. His lips were trembling and his eyes was like someone in REM (as in Rapid Eyes Movement, not the sing song band).

"Pa, you ok?", I asked, stupidly.

Of course he is not OK you Stupe. If else he won't be lying there!

Sis went over to the extended family and get 2 more far cousins to help carry him down to my car. Mum was anxious and every words i tried to use to calm her down only met with ice cold stare of uncertainty from her.

I drove as fast and as steady as i could to Selayang Hospital. The only other government owned hospital that i have faith in since December 2004. Arrived at the A&E and requested for a wheelchair.

"Bang, sorry, ada kerusi tak? Ayah saya mungkin kena serangan angin amar, dier ada history, pernah masuk sini", i told the attendant.

He pushed the chair near my car and helped me carry my dad. If only most of the government hospital is this courteous.

Sis then took a number for dad and we waited for 30 minutes before going into the pre-examination room. This could be a good sign, If he is in any danger, they would had pushed him into the Red Zone like 2 years ago. With that, i was a bit relieved. Dad could still speak clearly that that should be an indication that the stroke ain't coming as yet, if there is any this time.

The nurse called his number then had his BP, sugar level and heart rate taken. Everything within normal parameter.

"Uncle, uncle ada sakit dada?", the nurse asked.

I know she is asking that to rule out heart attack.

Dad complained to the nurse that his head is spinning.

"Kepala pusing, bukan sakit kepala", he said with his eyes shut tight, with one hand holding his forehead.

The nurse gave him an injection to lessen the spinning, which i suspect is some form of statin to thin the blood.

We were told to wait outside for doctor's examiniation.

It was also then that i see the extend of damage on his face the falling down from the bed has caused him.


sigh...

We waited for a good hour before his turn came in. Telling myself that others are being called as they have more severe problem. 2 boys were admitted for broken arms.

"School holiday, boys naughty", my mum told me in hokkien.

With that,i know she is much relaxed.

tired of waiting, i asked the nurse when would be my dad's turn. There were only 1 doctor in the Green Zone on call that night, eventhough it was stated there should be 3. With that, dad's number were called.

Doctor did a more through examination on him again. Sis brought along his medical history from Klinik Kesihatan Awam Setapak.

Dad was diagnosed with vertigo about a year after his stroke. The imbalance liquid in his ears has caused him to lose his balance sometimes. This time around, it has caused him to have these dizzy spell and vomiting scare.

Doctor told me to wheel him into observation room.

"We wait for the medicine the nurse injected to wear off first to monitor his condition", Dr. Hirul said.

So, i wheeled him into the Emergency ward, passing by the Red Zone and Yellow Zone to the Observation ward.

ECG was done to check for heart irregularity. His BP were monitored every 30 minutes.

By then, it was already 4am.

I've been on constant touch with Wifey to update her. She won't be getting enough of sleep as she needs to wake up to feed Ryan. Something which is my responsibility as i've taken the midnight shift to let her rest.

Dad asked me to leave home, as he feels better. So, i sent my mum and sis back home for them to take sis car to come back to the hospital. While i drive back home to my in laws, feeling much better that it wasn't the worse i could think of.

But before that, i smsed my best Bud, Dr. Iqbal to let him know what's happening and maybe to see him for second opinion on my dad's vertigo. Afterall, that is what ENT are supposed to do, no?

Reaching home at 5am, i slept an hour before i wake up to feed Ryan. I was almost zombified as i write this. Wifey is down with fever due to not enough of rest.

I received a sms from Sis that Dad was discharged at 6am and was brought home. Mum just called to tell me everything is ok and asked me to get enough rest.

She will come over tonight with some neem leaves to put on Ryan's navel, hoping it would reduce his colic

Told her not too, but like the next picture you would see, you would understand why a mother's love knows no bound, even when they has become grandmother.


Taken at Centre Point Bandar Utama's Ground Floor post box next to the kopitiam

Colic Colic Colic

In case anyone thought i went to see the new Thai scary movie Colic, i haven't. And this is not a movie review either. I never do movie review. Not that i could remember i did any in this blog since it started 2 years ago anyway.


Everytime the baby cries, someone dies...

Now, even with the much anticipated Avent bottle that claimed to be able to lessen colic in infants, Ryan has what seemed to be a case of Colic yesterday. He was never this cranky and moody until yesterday.

He is eating really well now, drinking 4oz fl of milk every 3.5 to 4hours and sleeping in between. He is like an alarm clock, it's almost certain he would wakes up for his feed.

This, we thought, would had made me and wifey getting more rest at night with less frequent feeding. But we were wrong.

The colic has caused discomfort in him right after we overslept his 7am feeding time. He wakes up rudely, wondering why Ryan hasn't cried since his 3am feeding. It was already 8.30am on sunday when we realised that.

After the 8.30am feeding, he slept for an hour and then he woke up crying. Maybe a bad case of Bob the Builder in his dream, or the possibility of his mother or granma watching Bold & Beautiful with him in the morning sometimes, or even the possible fact that Barney had an effect on his REM in his sleep.

i gently tap his tummy and noticed that it has a lot of gas/wind in it.

"got to burp him more!", i told wifey.

Apparently it took wifey up to 15 minutes to burp him once after feeding. Not too good. The air isnt coming out.

So, later in the evening, and recalling what Dr. Amir's uncle, Dr. Yahaya's email to me about "5 common reasons why baby cries", i went to the local pharmacy to get some cure.

First in mind was of course, Wood's Gripe Water. Nada, it went out of stocks and there were still legends about the Gripe water being poison at one point of time many many years ago, and has since been not a favourite with many parents since.

So, the next possible answer to Colic was this medication called demethicone.

3. colic pain, the cry is intermittent, the abdomen appears distended, sometimes the coils of intestine give the abdomen a ridgy appearance. The cause of colic is trapped gas from bottle feeding when the child swallows air as he drinks. Breast feeding will reduce the incidence of colic.
The addition of simethicone or dimethicone ( eg Dentinox anti colic drops ) will help the baby to burp and reduce colic by preventing air trapping.

Dr. Yahaya wrote.

I bought a bottle for RM15.50 and the instruction was not more than 6 doses of 2.5ml a day. Could be taken with feed or after feed.


The Cure! The Cure! The Cure???

So, until this morning, me and wifey has given him 4 feed with Dentinox towards the end of the feed, usually about slightly less than 1 oz.

His condition improved and eventhough it takes slightly longer to burp him after every meal, it's the least we could do to make him more comfortable.

Of course me and wifey a bit stress with him crying and all. He is such a darling that do not cry unless he is hungry or he wet his nappies. Got to be level headed...I just pity wifey as she has to put up with the crying more often.

Other than that, Ryan is doing great. I swear he gained a kg or more as he is certainly not any kinder to my arms as i cradle him anymore!


Now, all my daddy needs to do is to take my breath away....

My Son has my Toes

Maybe it's just me, but see the pics for comparisons.
:)

Remember this when i showed you all Ryan's foot inside his mummy's womb?

Ryan's feet at Week 20

At newborn, his feet was at least 3 inch long from heel to toe. I wear a size 10 shoe.


Stretching to make the feet wider to act like flipper when swimming


look at the big toe....


now look at mine!


Now look at ours!

And no, i do not have any feet fetishes, in case anyone is wondering.

Stupe Blog in Bahasa - Almost LEGAL way to tint your car

:) Hamba bukan kedekut, tapi pasal next year ada operasi besar besaran untuk tangkap keta yang tinted gelap gelap, hamba tak nak ambik risk la. adding that i have a baby now, budget also shrink sikit la...

keta dah ada satu layer tinting biru, tapi tak cukup puas pasal kalau cuaca siang hari, for sure mata sepet aku tak leh buka.

Memang planning nak kasi tinting sama itu cermin besar belakang, cermin passenger and the two triangle.

so, hari tuh, hamba gie jalan jalan kat Tesco. Jumpa car visor yang jenis letak kat cermin. Dapat pulak yang besar pulak tuh. Turun balik and ukur balik cermin keta...cermin passenger matrix belah belakang is 480 x 600. Yang dioffer jual at RM4.90 per pair is 480x 550.

apa lagi, hamba siap rembat 2 set....kira satu set kasi pasang satu cermin, kasi overlap, kasi gelap.

this is how it looked like:



lepas tuh, ada pulak issue cermin besar belakang. Cermin belakang keta kiter is 1000x380 kira kecik tuh beb...(ukuran diambik di tengah cermin)

yang dijual pada harga rm5.90 is 1000x500, for sure tak muat...

tapi nampak yang boleh dipakai di kancil is saiz 990x400...kira boleh la tuh!

yang triangle pulak, hamba pakai surat khabar ambik saiz, kira macam buat moulding la...

lepas tuh, hamba ambik static screen yang dijual pada harga rm9.90 sepasang dan gunting ikut mould.

harga siap pasang tinting almost legal is RM4.90x3 +RM9.90 = RM24.60

effectnya almost macam dah tinting belah belakang macam MPV yang besar-besar/recond dari Jepun.

Kalau ada road block JPJ, cuma tanggal jer dah jadi fully legal.
:)


Belakang mali


Tepi - before


Tepi - After

Tinting macam nie pun pasal si Ryan. Mana tau, kang masa bawak jalan si matahari kuat menyinar, nanti Ryan buta. Lepas tuh, mungkin jugak ada privacy sket masa nak menyusu kan?

:)

More of Ryan & Aunt's Daughter too!!!

I know, by now, most of you would had expected me to write more things other than my son.


Big Boss

But don't blame me. He is the joy of our life and nevermind that he pee and poo like some manufacturing line churning out, err, pee and poo, he is adorable and completely make all our sacrifices worth it.

My aunt, the one that came back from Brazil, gave birth via C sect too last week, friday. She however, opt to have it at GH because of financial constraint. Her baby is a girl. So, that makes Ryan to have Aunt which is younger than him. Anyway, any idea what my son should call the daughter of my father's sister? The girl is my cousin, but does that make her my son's grand cousin? Is there such term?

She has to deliver 2 weeks in advance because her blood pressure was sky high and she has been in and out of GH ever since she got back from Brazil. Noting that the doctors there didn't reccomend her to deliver at 7 months plus, she hanged on for a month more before "enough is enough", as per what the doctor said.

The baby girl, which yet to be named, came into the world on the 24th November afternoon.

My aunt opted for a shared 4-in-1 cubicle ward which cost her RM25 per night stay. Compared to what we paid at RM128 per night, i can't help but feel bad for my aunt. Cubicle ward? yes, you heard me right. It's essentially GHKL at it's worse, rows of bed end to end, separated by cubicle which houses 4 bed per cubicle.

My aunt wasn't able to produce any milk due to her blood pressure. After more than 1 week being a father myself, me and wifey know breastfeeding isn't easy and it takes a lot of patience. We didn't give up, in the end, it all paid off. But poor aunt of mine. However, she was lucky that her cubicle mates were kind enough, each of them gives their extra milk to be fed for the baby. She was borned and weight in at 3.2kg, slightly lighter than Ryan.

Then, came the big surprise. My cousin is down with jaundice. 3 days after her birth, the doctor came and tell her that her baby has jaundice. Bad enough that the GH does not help wash the babies after delivery to clean them off the aminiotic fluids, it takes them 3 days to tell her she got jaundice? And the level was 500 plus plus counts! That's critical! I suspect because over the weekend, there isn't any doctors checking on the babies, or there was simply too many babies to be cared of in the nursery of GH.


With his big feet, Ryan wants to kick the doctor that did not check his aunt properly...

So, what did my aunt do? She was shocked, didn't help her blood pressure, no ma'am. Doctor came and say "if the level remind this high by tonight, i'm afraid we have to do a blood transfusion for her".

OK, bad enough that she has to deliver via C because the "doctor has to go for a meeting", bad enough they did not help bath the baby off the fluid, bad enough she didn't have any milk, and now, blood transfusion?

I know some of you would be saying that it's RM25 per night and the C sect most probably will cost her only RM200 instead of Ryan's thousands. But that is not my point. My point is, Our health system and delivery has to improve!

Having said that, i've heard horror stories from a friend based in UK about her close friends' delivery where the doctor did not sew her up properly and resulting in a second stiching needed. And anohter friend did not have her perinium sew properly, resulting in an almost disastrous event. Yes, in UK my friend, in UK, a land where the more effluent Malaysians sing song off.

So, as luck would has it, her baby's Jaundice level went down to about 400 points the same day, later at night, doctor ordered more observation and decision has to be made the day after.

The UV treatment (photovoltaic) yield good results as by the second day afternoon, the level drop to 250 odd points.


hmmmphh...

The baby is currently making good recovery. My aunt is now less stressed. Milk not coming as yet. Still relying on other good samaritans in the ward. But things are looking better compared to 2 nights ago.

Me and wifey just feel so blessed as we were in the position to provide the best for Ryan. The rental of the UV light units were enough to cover her delivery and stays in GHKL alone. We did consider wanting to help, but i do not think we have that capacity to help her, where private hospital is concerned.

Ryan's is less jaundiced now, bathing him for 3 straight days in quinine seeds and i've just bought enough supply to do so for anohter 2 days to help lower the jaundice count.

Apart from that, mum has asked me to buy a bottle of Guiness Stout.

So, there i was, at the Tesco check out counter, with 2 boxes of nipple pad and a bottle of stout.

Others must be thinking i'm some bastard husband and father, still drinking despite having a baby. Hahahaha!

Stout, and it must be Guiness, are traditionally used to relieve heatiness in babies. As you see, Chinese confiment has it that the mother needs to take a lot of ginger, chinese wine and other herbs. So called to "repair" and prevent "wind" in the mother. Because the kid is breastfeeding, the baby will eventually digest alll what the mother ate in her milk. (does that meant that my aunt's baby has eaten indian, chinese and malay food via the ward's breast milk???)


Adam King?


Or just Ryan Lim?

So, yesterday, we bath him in 1/3 of a bottle of stout. Can't put in too much as he might get drunk as the alchohol absorb through his skin. Nah, don't worry, no babies were harmed in any way for years that my family practices this.


Burp...

Worse case scenario, the baby, in this case Ryan, will just end up looking drunk like the pic above. Hahahaha!

Even at 10 days old, Ryan has shown a lot of promise to be a sports man. He enjoys his bath time, as that will be the closest he would feel like inside his mother's womb. And at second day of anohter 1/3 of the stout bath, he was already liking it and was seen practising breast stroke.


No Ryan, Triatheltes swim freestyle, only your dad uses breast stroke!

There is 1/3 of the stout left. Lets see if he drinks them tomorrow!!! Hahahah!


But i want OJ instead...can???

Not updating and here it is to make up for it.

Sorry for being missing in the blog-sphere. Been pretty busy and tired with the new joy in my life.

My day doesn't seems to end and all biological function seems to be in total complete wreck. Slept is really a luxury now. Being able to clock more than 2 hours undisturbed is a bliss. More often than not, it takes us 30 minutes to cup feed the baby, then another 30 putting him into sleep. by then, we are left with 2 hours of sleep at night before waking him up for the next meal!

His jaundice level was a bit high 2 days ago. 266, Dr. Yong, his peads said. He suggested we rent home a UV unit to bbq him. Jaundice usually happens to most babies and has no reasons for major concern, unless the figure touches 400. but being new parents, every single thing makes us worry, even his breathing makes us think if he is alright!

As of today, his level went down to 171 after almost a full 16 hours under the UV lights. We have until tomorrow afternoon before the rental of the unit ends, and by then, we hope the level would drop further. I've also introduced him to sunbathing. For the past 2 morning, i've been under the morning sun at 7.30am with him until 7.45am. No way i would wake up this early before Ryan came along. LOL!

Anyway, here is some pictorial of him, over the past 7 days.
:)

Day 1

After my brief encounter with him in the OT, i had to look at him through this opened curtain for almost 30 minutes before i'm allowed in.

My first touch with him was in the previous post, where some of you readers claimed he gave me the finger! Well, if he really did so, it's to you all, not to me! :)

Day 2

This is by far one of my fav picture. Him sleeping in his hospital cot on day 2

His jaundice level was 133 at this point of time, you could see the yellow tinge on the skin around the eyes. With what seems to be like white head on his nose, i might need to send him for facial!

Day 3

Here looking at you, world!

It was his and his mother's day of discharge and i was holding him after the nurse gave him a sip of water. He wasn't feeding as well as we thought he would. but things has been pretty good now.

Day 4

Wrapped up tight like a dumpling inside his own cot. A picture of peace!

Starting them young without any need for any typical chinese household baby bouncing spring contraption. He slept without any problem after his feed. Only need a few good pat on his chest and back and he is on his way to Mr. Sandman's castle.

Day 5

Everybody now say...AWWwwwwww

I recieved 8 complimentary tickets to A1 GP this weekend from Alex Yoong's dad and i had to give it all away. Can't possibly go to see the race, no? Grandstand ticket somemore! Dang it!


Good Luck Alex Yoong!

Ryan do wishes Alex Yoong a good race too. What more because his dad (as in me) had to miss the race!

The very same day was when Dr. Yong told us about phototherapy, so, we rented an UV unit. Wifey and me call it the briefcase. Hey, it's afterall, modified from a President's briefcase! Seriously!


Will DIY next time

Day 6

Earth to Enterprise, Capt Kirk, you read me?

Mum in law call him Batman for having this eye piece over his head. It serves to protect his eyes and gonads.

My mum was especially upset. Not because of the jaundice, but because she can't carry and hold him while he is in the briefcase! Case of Nanny getting upset!

Day 7

Not so yellow-yellow dirty fellow

Taken this morning when he wakes up. Makes me and wifey's sleepless night worth it all. Joy of seeing your own son looking at you. Though you know that this day he won't remember when he grows up. But this picture, and blog, will serve to remind him that he was a curious cat even at day 1, what more day 7?


yo, wassup...i'm 10 sen, far cousin of 50 cents.

I know, the above caption is corny. Who say i wasn't?

:)