Monday, September 29, 2008

Getting Slightly Better? (29.09.2008)

The first thing your mother and I do in the morning now is to check your foot, we were very disappointed to find that it was not getting any better (still swollen), but you were your cheerful self, and your temperature was normal...

The visit to the Dr. yesterday was quick and kind of fruitless, we could tell that he was concern (he had already prescribed all that he could), before we left he made another prognosis, that may be your foot was broken, and that was the reason for the swelling... but he said he was not quite sure because when we squeeze your foot you didn't show any sign of pain.

The Dr. said to give it a week, at least this time he had not prescribed any more medicine for you... I am sure you'll be glad at that, the pink solution looked purely evil... haa haa haa.

It takes around an hour to drive from our house to my parents (on a good day), and of course you sat in your little car seat with your mother next to you (most of the time putting on her make up :)), and this morning she was telling me that your foot felt a little softer than yesterday (she should know because she was massaging you foot all the while we were on the road), we are hoping so much that your foot would return to normal soon.

It certainly looked less red, let us wait and see how it looks tonight... fingers cross...

Love you

Dad

Friday, September 26, 2008

Super Mum...

I went up to the bedroom around 11 pm last night, and I came across your mother fast asleep with the breast pump machine still running. She was sitting in her chair, with her head bowed right down, she was in such a deep sleep that she didn’t stir when I gently shook her.

Just wanted to let you know how she is so devoted to you, the small things she had to give up (more than willingly) for you, no coffee, no booze, no sleep, no rest, and on top of that she is still trying to loose all the weight she had gained… haa haa haa, only a few more Kgs to go…

This morning she work up at 2 am, then again at 4 am to feed you, then she had to be up again at 6 am to get everything ready before we go out to my parents then to work. I am sure there are more mothers out there who is doing exactly the same thing with the same devotion… so I am going to whoop your little bottom if you give your mother a hard time when you grow up… (well, that is until you get bigger than me… J)

Cheers

Dad

Swollen foot and one bitten arm (26.09.08)

It was Tuesday evening, we went to pick you up as usual from my parents, only to discover that your left foot was swollen (really swollen) and your right arm have this huge bite mark. I was taken back slightly, but didn’t think much of it, we all kind of assumed it was from an insect bite…

Wednesday morning came, although the bite on your arm looked better, but your foot was still quite swollen (your mother and I was quite worried by then), not to take any chances we decided to take you to see Dr. Wanchai.

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He wasn’t too concern about the bite on your arm, but your foot  was a different matter. However all of the key variables were fine, there was no high temperature and you were far from being lethargic. After prodding in the various locations, he prescribed some ointment and some anti-allergy medicine (which made you quite sleepy).

By the time Wednesday evening came, both of us were hoping the swell would subside just a little, to our disappointment, it was just the same… ‘Things will be better tomorrow’… Thursday morning came… it got worse, the swell had spread from your foot and ankle to your leg we decided to follow the usual routine and dropped you off at my parents, your mother was going to call Dr. Wanchai once she got to the office.

Not surprising, Dr. Wanchai asked us to come in right away, so my mother and her sister (my aunt) bundled you up in a taxi and headed to the Hospital, your mother drove from her office (10 minutes away) and I had to catch a ‘Bike’ taxi (extremely common in Thailand) as I only work just a couple of minutes away.

Like some grand master plan, we all arrived within 3 minutes of each other, by the time I got there you had were already being checked by one of the nurses (she stuck a thermometer up your hoo-haa and you defecated all over her work station, haa haa haa). Your temperature was normal, and you were very playful, Dr. Wanchai called you in and after some more prodding he had decided to have your blood tested, he was afraid that you were infected by something…

The blood test was a hoot, you didn’t cry at all (all the nurses were very surprised), she stuck a small needle into your forefinger (left hand) and squeezed it to get the blood out, this was tedious, as the blood came out in such small droplets, it was a good 4 or 5 minutes before she got enough of it.

Your mother had to go to her important meeting, she was so worried. 25 minutes later the blood test results came back and I had to go and see Dr. Wanchai alone. Your white cell amount was normal (too much would mean you were infected), however just in case, he was deciding on which of the additional medicine to give you, there were 3 options, option A tasted terrible (he said) so I said no to that one and option C could give your diarrhoea. We went with Option B (actually he did), it is all pink and looked disgusting (I was wondering if option C would have been better).

Today is Friday, 4 days into this latest saga, and this morning you were your cheerful self, but the swell is still the same but your leg is a little better. Dr. Wanchai had just called your mother a few minutes ago, he said to keep an eye on your temperature… If things are not better we shall have to take you in again this Sunday… fingers crossed lets hope you are back to your old self by tomorrow

Lots of love

Dad

Thursday, September 25, 2008

First Trip (Sorry for drowning your teddy) (Saturday 20.09.2008)

IMG_3205IMG_3206Your mother and I have been discussing this trip since last Friday, the only thing that would have stopped us going on this short trip was the rain, and it had been raining so much of late (in fact, it had been raining every morning and evening consistently for the past 2 weeks, and I am not talking about little drizzle like you get in England). The sky was getting darker and darker but it didn’t rain, by the time 5 O’clock came, it was positively sunny, so we decided to take our chances and in a rush, gathered everything together (this was my job… milk bottle, car seat, the ‘huge’ pram, umbrella… etc… etc…).

 

dwdfIMG_3207Phutthamonthon [1] (a Buddhist Park) is not too far from our house (on a good day, 20 minutes East by car), one of the highlight of this park (apart from the 52 ft. Buddha statue) are the fishes, it is quite a spectacle to have thousands of fishes coming up to you and taking food from your hand, your grandfather prefers to throw in a real big chunk of bread and see them taking turn (gladiator style) to chomp up the bread.

IMG_3211 Unfortunately, we had left the house rather late, and after an uneventful drive it must have been around 17:45 when we arrived at Phutthamonthon, so instead of going to feed the fishes we have decided to go for a short walk instead.

It was fantastic to see you smile and enjoying the new surrounding as Phutthamonthon is only ~160,000 times larger than our back garden (at 2500 rais = 4 million m2), judging by the smile on your face, I think you must have really enjoyed the open spaces and especially the nature. It was so refreshing for us to be out in the open area while the sun was setting and being caressed by the light breeze.

 

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IMG_3250As they say, time passes quickly when you are having fun, soon it was getting dark and it was time to come home, and this was when it happened. Your teddy was in a bag, which I had placed at the bottom of your pram, the pram had to be folded to get it into the car… but I had forgotten to remove the bag… your teddy felt onto the ground… because you enjoy sucking on your teddy so much… I had asked your teddy to jump into the bucket for a quick wash…

 

 

IMG_3278 I am so sorry, I didn’t know that your teddy couldn’t swim, to my knowledge all teddies have to pass their basic swimming proficiency course before taking on a job of being a little boy/girl side kick. By the time I got back to him, he was already floating and lifeless, faced down in a bucket full of water… all I could do was to hang him out to dry and hope that he will come back to life once all the water have gone…

3 days later… you’ll be glad to know that he had survived the drowning, although his squeaky thing is still sounds like it is full of water… give it a few more days I am sure he will be back to his squeaky self…

 

Cheers

Dad


[1] Wikipedia: Phutthamonthon (Thai: พุทธมณฑล, also often called Buddha Monthon) is a Buddhist park in the Phutthamonthon district, Nakhon Pathom Province of Thailand, west of Bangkok. It is highlighted by a 15.87 m (52 ft) high Buddha statue (given the name Phra Si Sakkaya Thotsaphonlayan Prathan Phutthamonthon Suthat by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, it is located at the centre of the park), which is considered to be the highest free-standing Buddha statue of the world.

The park was created in 1957 (which was the year 2500 in the Thai Buddhist Era) on the basis of an idea of Thailand's Prime Minister, Phibunsongkhram. The park covers an area of about 400 hectares, which in traditional Thai units is 2500 rai. Construction started on July 29, 1955, and the park was inaugurated on the Vaisakh Bucha day (May 13) in 1957.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

No G10 for me (yet)

g10 Your mother won't let me get the new Canon G10 ... it should be coming out in November, probably a little later for Thailand. I have been a firmed fan of the G series for quite a while now, actually it all started with the S60, then 2 G6s (one was stolen while your mother and I went to help out with the Tsunami (26th December 2004), you should read up on that), and now I have the controversial G7 (no RAW mode & fixed LCD screen, of course it means nothing to me...).

5 days after I had bought the G7 (and this is very typical for me), the G9 arrives, and the worst thing was that it was cheaper than my G7! Your mother enjoyed that very much... of course there was no hope in hell I could have bought the G9 so soon after getting the G7 (not because of my own common sense, basically, your mother wouldn't have allowed it (we were married by then)).

Coming back to the 'now', G10, I have already started pestering your mother for this (same old strategy, this pestering skill have been refined since I was about 7, when it was used extensively with your Grandmother), having no clue how much it costs have hampered my chance of trying to convince your mother give me the green light to get the darn thing... I am sure I am going to win out in the end... keep your fingers crossed for me.

Cheers,

Dad

Sunday, September 14, 2008

More Development

IMG_2332 Today is 14th of September 2008 (13:32), which makes you exactly 4 months and 9 days old.

Your mother is now grabbing some much needed sleep (you are now being looked after by my parents), just wanted to let you know that you can now turn over on your tummy by yourself (in fact you have been doing this since a few weeks ago).

You also love playing with water, splashing the bath water everywhere, it was extremely cute in the beginning, but it is my job to clean up afterwards, which isn't that much fun, but I am more than glad to do it :)

Your mother is now awake, and she is now sitting next to me reading this blog being written, we are still debating whether who you look like? In the beginning everyone was saying that you were a spitting image of me, but now we are not so sure (which is a good thing for you), each day you are taking up your mother's good looks (I am looking to gain some points with your mum here... haa haa haa).

Another visit to the Doc. today, which means more injection for you, don't worry, I shall try not to laugh so loud this time, it is not that I enjoy to see you in pain, but you make such a funny face before you cry... :)

Cheers

Mum and Dad

Saturday, September 13, 2008

So Many Photos

SNC10909 I had just finished installing the new Picasa 3, having not used in for such a long time so I 'd thought that I would give this version a try. To my surprised I have just realised that in just a little over 4 months, I have taken approximately 2,000 photos just on you! Just imagine if the digital camera doesn't exist, all these photos would not have been possible.

Admittedly, most of them are just of the same shot and composition (and blurrrrrryyyy), but what the heck I am keeping all of them... haa haa haa.

First Emergency Visit

What a fright you have given us, we had left you with my parents (Saturday 02.08.08, 6 days before the Olympic) for a few hours, while your mother and I spent some quality time together (I am pretending to be romantic here, basically we just went shopping for you).

IMG_2910My mother called around seven saying that you were crying, we didn’t think much of it, because at the age of 2 months it is in your job description to cry, but this time the crying sound over the mobile phone was somehow different, it wasn’t a frustration cry or a ‘feed me’ cry, you were really, really screaming.








IMG_1898I must say your mother handled it much better than I did, to save time your mother was dropped off at my parents while I drove off to find a parking space. You would always have better luck choosing the winning numbers in a lottery than finding a parking space in the Worachak area on a Saturday evening (the notorious Klong-Tom weekend market, where you can find anything from used washing machine parts to used false teeth (stolen)).









IMG_2174 I had just barely parked the car when I was ordered to pick you up. Hearing you scream in full was so scary, you were in so much pain, and the hospital was almost 30 minutes away. The next 30 minutes ranked very highly on my ‘most hated moment in my life’ list, you and your mother was sitting in the back and she was doing everything possible to take your mind of the pain (not very successful), and I was driving like a Shanghai taxi driver. Flying over the speed bumps at the speed of light probably didn’t help you one bit, but for me, driving as fast as I could was the only thing I could do.







IMG_2204 BNH (Bangkok Nursing Home) hospital was so peaceful (it must have been around 20:00 when we arrived), only a few people was sitting in the large entrance hall (Information to the left, escalator to the right leading to the paediatric clinic) and cashier straight ahead. Your screams filled the hall magnificently.

We were then told to go to the emergency section, once again we had to go down the escalator, and through the main hall. All eyes were on you as we came down the escalator, by that time my nerve was in bits, your mother was carrying you while I was trailing behind, and all I could see was the pain on your face, I believe you could not have screamed any louder, you have reached the 11th level on the Spinal Tap scale.




IMG_2205 Everything was so slow, where was the *&^%*&# doctor? Once she got there (she was very pretty but looking very tired), she began to talk through all the things that could be causing you the pain (your mother and I had expected that it was gas from the very beginning). She began to describe the various cause, followed by the examination on that prognostic (insect in your ear? Let me take a look. Insect in your nose, let me take a look…), and there were so many things, I was getting so frustrated (but I behaved like a well trained bunny, nodding all the while, but on the inside I just wanted her to give you something for the gas!).

Finally the penultimate prognostic, ‘bleeding in the digestive track’, SAY WHAT? Up to now it was just simple things; fever, things up your nose (ear), soar eyes… but to go from that to ‘bleeding in the lower intestine’??? Holy &*&%, and she went into some detail on this. “I am going to insert my little finger up the baby *&^&, and if there is blood on my finger tip, you’ll need to come in tomorrow to schedule for an operation”, and all this was said in such a calm manner it was so unreal (and all the while you were screaming your head off).

IMG_2278 Luckily, there was no blood… and finally she came to a conclusion that it could be gas, in this electronic age I was told to go to the cashier while your prescription would be sent internally, I walked (trying to be calm) over to the cashier (all the while I can hear your scream in the distant), a lady from the emergency came with me, she was running ahead of me trying to do everything she could to make sure I get the medicine as soon as possible.

Of course it couldn’t be that simple, there was a queue and a lady who was having some issues with her bill, eventually I was able to make the payment for your medicine, and here come the second obstacle. The prescription was not keyed in by the doctor, the nice lady ran back to the doctor’s office at the same time your mother called to see why it was taking so long… I can only describe it as being like the greatest episode from Fawlty Towers, you’ll be glad to know I did not behave like Basil.


The medicine turned out to be Air-X (a normal over counter medicine), the nice lady took the medicine from my hand and ran to the emergency room (I tried to give her a huge score on the patience feed back form but she told me to put her whole department down in the survey).

IMG_2266 After a few minutes the screaming stopped and you began to smile again (another nurse carried you for a while, and that was great for your mother), we couldn’t be any happier (not to mentioned my parents who were calling every 5 minutes), and 30 minutes later, after we were absolutely sure that you were okay, we decided to drive back home, and along the way you had another attack… but not as bad as the one before.

We didn’t get home until around 10 pm, you were back to yourself at around 11 pm and felt straight to sleep (crying and screaming must have been quite tiring), no words can describe our feelings at that time, your mother was brilliant, holding you for all that time while you did nothing but screamed and screamed, don’t forget to thanks her!