Off to Jakarta!

Whee! I'm off to Jakarta tomorrow for a visit. As I've mentioned before in this post, we're moving to Jakarta soon. My beloved TM has just been appointed Overlord of Jakarta (as I put it) and I'm really excited to be moving to a new place! I've lived all my life in Malaysia and I can't wait to experience another country.

I'm all packed and ready to go. This will be my first recon visit, it's a chance for me to check out the neighbourhood, to check out the housing available and to see if the shops stock the same stuff we get back here. We'll also be looking at making new friends there, both local and fellow expats and I'm quite eager to join several social clubs. TM loves little dinner parties and I'm looking forward to hosting them when we're there.
I'll also be checking out the hospitals since I'll need to get to know some gynaes there. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.

I am so excited to be able to see my TM daily again. He's been shuttling back and forth between Jakarta and KL for some time now and I really hate not being able to see my husband every day.

Jakarta, here I come!

Updates from the chiro

Well, this is my 3rd session today. I'm much improved compared to when I first saw him last Thursday. However, my pelvis is still kinda crooked and I'm worried about how this will impact me during pregnancy. I'm just not sure how I'm going to able to carry all that extra weight around. I can't even pick a baby up right now, so I'm quite upset about it all.

Right now, I can walk and sit fine but not one after another. LOL I can't quite straighten up again after I've sat down for some time and I need to wait a bit before I'm fully upright again. According to chiro, my back muscles are still rather tight. Can't wait to be given the all-clear so that I can get back to the gym and start working on a baby-ready body again!

Check out Tips for New Bloggers!

I've been trying for a few days to get my blog to have three columns and all the tips online didn't work for me until I stumbled upon this site. They had all the info I needed to learn how to convert my blog into a 3-column page and best of all, everything was clearly spelt out.

Do check them out, they've got lots of tips and tricks to help you out.

Choosing Unique Baby Names

Ok, I do realise this is a little premature but it's so much fun to think of names. TM and I have done it before, usually when we're curled up on the couch after dinner and we're in that cosy mood. We haven't worked out yet if the baby should have a combination of English-Chinese names to reflect her heritage but we've got lots of time yet!

Each time I think of names for Little Monkey, I can't help but think of these fellows...

Unique Name #1: My father once taught a pair of brothers who had the most unusual names. Their surname was See. The elder boy was called See Major... so it made a lot of sense that his younger brother was named See Minor! Dad reckons their father must have been mad on music.
Unique Name #2: Sophia's friend came from a family of 11 siblings and he was the youngest. By the time he was born, his mother must have run out of names because he was named Wong Tee Pot.
Unique Name #3: This was my aunt's childhood friend. Her name, Poh Pai, looked innocent enough on paper but if you say it quickly, you end up saying "Popeye".


So there you go. If you have heard of any unusual names, please let me know!

How long before I conceive?

This was a conversation TM and I had one night while we were in bed. I'd just spent most of the day working on this blog, reading up articles and reading responses on pregnancy forums from women who were all, like me, trying to conceive.

I'm not young anymore, I'm 33 and I've watched my own friends try a few years before they were finally successful. I'm now wondering if I'm going to be the same.

I've read the articles. They all assure me that even the healthiest of couples can take some time to conceive. Most websites and friends tell me that I should just enjoy it and take it easy. A friend I was talking to today told me that the moment she stopped worrying, she conceived! I appreciate all the advice and the comforting words but all the same, I can't help wondering if I'm going to be lucky or if I'll have to wait a little longer for our Little Monkey to come along.

How long did it take YOU to get lucky?

Getting Ready for Pregnancy

Let's see. What have I been doing to get ready? Got the sperm donor, sorry, husband? Check. Come off the Pill? Check. Ovulation calculator? Check. What else is there to do?

I found this article off WebMD which is pretty useful if you're planning to get pregnant. To me, it's akin to getting into a car for a long-distance trip. You wouldn't do it unless you're sure the car's in tip-top condition, right?
Basic things to do:

1. Improve your diet. Cut out the junk and focus on a well-balanced diet. This is the time to look at taking vitamin supplements. Most stuff I've read as well as friends I've consulted have also advised me to take a folic acid supplement BEFORE I get pregnant. This helps in reducing the chances of having a baby with neural tube defect. Most articles I've read recommend a 400mcg (micrograms) of folic acid supplement for women who are trying to conceive up till the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
2. Get a full check-up. If you haven't had your Pap smear, this is the time to do it. You may also want to check for STDs. This should also be the time that you check your immunisation records e.g. for rubella (German measles). It's also a good time to let your doctor know if you have conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure which could affect your pregnancy.
3. You may also want to get screening for potential genetic problems such as thalassaemia, Tay-Sachs.
4. Change your lifestyle if it's unhealthy. Give up the ciggies and cut back on the alcohol. If you've never exercised, this is a time to hit the gym and get your body in good shape for the baby.

I've been going to the gym regularly since Oct to get myself into shape. My diet's quite ok, I think. I eat mostly chicken, rice, salads and I always eat breakfast. That's usually muesli and fruit for me and I'm not big on coffee. I'm not good at vitamin supplements though, I usually forget to take them! The only biggie I haven't done is the full physical check-up which I wanted to do only when we've settled in Jakarta. A friend has advised me to do it now in KL anyway - any thoughts, anyone?

I'm in ok physical shape, I think. My only big problem now is my still-misaligned pelvis but the sessions with the chiro have helped a LOT.

TM's done the same, he's a much more faithful gym-goer than I am and he's fit and strong. He's been trying to cut down his alcohol intake, he usually has a few G&Ts when he gets in from work in the evening, nothing serious. Maybe a bottle of wine over the weekend but he's not a big drinker.

I've had some friends advise me to take ginseng if I wanted to conceive. Now I don't doubt this at all because I've had two friends who'd been trying to conceive for years turn to ginseng steeped in brandy and they were pregnant within a few months of taking it. I'm just wondering - WHERE do I get it?

Testing, testing...

I'm in the midst of adding some nifty widgets to my site, but I can't figure out how to get them to fit in properly. So I apologise for any weird looking stuff on here, but bear with me... I'll figure it out soon!

Cuddle Rater for 25 Feb 2008

The morning's cuddles were rated 6/10 which is great since I'm still a teeny-weeny bit sore.

25 Feb 2008: I'm feeling....

....because TM has flown back to his office in Jakarta and I'm going to be all lonesome and cuddle-less until I fly over to join him for Phase I of house-hunting...



Mood rating: 3/5

Project Little Monkey

We've just started trying, so I don't know either! :)))

Introducing the Top Monkey Family - Mr Top Monkey

Now, this is Mr Top Monkey. TM for short. TM was born in England a long time ago and this pic was taken when he was about 5 years old, I think. According to my MIL, he was a "...beautiful baby!" I agree! TM was brought up in Liverpool but thankfully doesn't talk Scouse or communication would have been a major problem between us.

TM has just been appointed Overlord of Jakarta. Well, not really. He's just been announced as the new head of his Jakarta office, which is why we're moving there soon. I'm going to miss living in KL, I am.

What's life with TM like? Well, life's heavenly so far! TM is one of those men who can actually cook, do the laundry, clean the house and bring you breakfast in bed. The only time he's unbearable is when he insists on playing odd jazz music on the hi-fi. TM is very fond of music and even fonder of his hi-fi system. Being English, TM has some odd habits which I cannot understand. Odd Habit Number One: wearing shoes into the house. Odd habit Number Two: Eating beans on toast and having peas with almost everything.

Why is he called a Top Monkey? Well, when I first moved in, I would get really peeved each time he brushed crumbs off his shirt onto the floor. His reasoning? "Why? We're going to vacuum anyway!" So I started picking the crumbs off him before he could brush it off. One day, Nat Geog showed a docu on monkeys where the monkeys who were on the lower end of the social ladder would groom the alpha monkey in the troop in pretty much the same way. *LIGHTBULB MOMENT* And thus, the Top Monkey was born.

We met end of 2005 at a Liverpool FC match viewing session. Haha. We're both crazy mad Reds, you see. We got engaged at the end of 2006 and married a year later. I never saw him coming, but I'm glad he did. Life's funny sometimes. :))

Introducing the Top Monkey Family - Mrs Top Monkey

Thought it was time I did a post introducing the Top Monkey family.

This is me. Mrs Top Monkey. Well, in that pic, I was about 6yo and not a Mrs anything yet. I was born and bred right here in Malaysia. I used to work in consumer marketing for the likes of Colgate but have given up all that exciting corporate life so that I could focus on caring for Mr Top Monkey.

Before we were married, I could only cook instant noodles and boiled eggs and always sang in the shower. Now apres married life, I can cook roasts and chicken rice and don't sing much anymore.

Five things my friends don't know about me:

1. I used to be able to play the piano pretty well. I lasted all the way till Grade 7 of the ABRSM syllabus before I quit.

2. I was President of the Gymnastics Club in my sixth form. This was an absolute mistake as I was, and still am, stiff as a board. I did as little work as I could and was always skipping meetings!

3. I used to be able to leap like a grasshopper. I was small but very agile as a child and could always be depended upon in the game of getah (lit. rubber. A children's game in Malaysia where ropes are made out of linked rubber bands and kids take turns to jump across).

4. I am frightened to death of butterflies and clowns.

5. I used to make up football chants for Liverpool FC for my own amusement. Example below which I composed during the ultra-frustrating season of 2004-05 (to the tune of Supercalifragalisticexpialidocious)

"Up and down domestically, now number 5 in league

Some say it's luck or injuries or maybe just fatigue

Six games to go, five points behind and Tottenham to beat*

Super Rafa's Liverpool, we're still in Champions League! "*This line would change each time we played match and the points difference between us and Everton changed

My grandparents set sail from their little village in Hainan Island, China a long time to escape the communists and to find a better life in the then Malaya. My parents were born here, so that makes me a 2nd generation Malaysian. I am who I am today because of their sacrifices. If they hadn't worked so hard and insisted on educating us all, I doubt if I would be sitting pretty here in our KL apartment and typing all this out on this fancy laptop.

My grandfather passed away in 1994 and my grandmother 10 years later, so they never got to meet the wonderful man I married. I wish they had because they would have been so amazed at how much things can change in 2 generations.

Trying to conceive - Feb 08

Ok. This would be our official first try. As mentioned, I'd gone off the Pill in early Dec 07 and when my AF (Aunt Flo as in your monthly visitor, picked up this acronym from Babycenter UK) appeared right on time in Jan 08, I started the calculations.
I used this ovulation calculator from Babycenter UK. I like it because it gives you an estimate of your ovulation days for the next 6 months. That gives me the feeling that it's not just this one time that you've got for a chance to try. It makes me feel like Wow! I've got at least six chances!

So we did the uh, deed on the dates indicated in the calculator. Woohoo! What fun! For all you out there trying to conceive, don't you ever forget to have fun while you're at it! I spent my whole life being told not to have sex. This is the first time everyone's encouraging me to have sex! Groovy, baby!
Right now, I'm just waiting for time to pass before I can check if his "boys" did their job. C'mon boys! Swim! Do a Mark Spitz!

I was in Guardian pharmacy yesterday and saw a home pregnancy test kit. Ooh, how my fingers itched to buy it! Haha! Pregancy test kits are able to detect the human chorionic gonadotrophin hormone (hCG) in your urine about the time your next period is due. hCG is first secreted when the fertilised egg is implanted in your uterus by the cells that will then form the placenta. However, if you test too early (Eager Beaver syndrome), the level of hCG may be too low to give you an accurate answer.
I've got about a week more to wait before I can do a test. In the meantime, I shall get to know the other mums I've met on Babycenter UK and learn as much as I can about pregnancy and motherhood and try NOT to walk into pharmacies.

Ok, so how do I get pregnant?

I wonder why it's so easy to get pregnant when you don't want to but when you desperately want to, it suddenly gets... difficult? :D Ok, I've never gotten pregnant before mainly because I'd never been interested in marriage and I wouldn't consider being a single mum. I know a few single mums who do a great job raising their child but I just don't think I'm cut out for it.

Now I want a baby. So what's to do? Well I'm doing what others are doing.

1. Getting to know my cycle
I'd been on the Pill for close to 2 years and came off it in Dec 07. They all say it takes some time for your cycle to be regular again, it takes time for the body to adjust again, so I guess I'll have to be a little bit more patient than I am now. The good news is that my Feb period appeared just when I calculated it would... so am I getting back into cycle now? I hope, I hope!

2. Have lots of sex!
I'm a stay-at-home wife, so any day's good for me! ;) I don't know about you but wouldn't you try to have more sex if you were trying to make a baby? Besides, isn't sex with the hubby the most earth-shattering ever? ;)
But there is a fertile window in your cycle which can INCREASE your chances of getting pregnant, typically a few days leading up to ovulation day (OD). Which can only mean that you have to...

3. Know how to calculate your ovulation day
Ok. This is the easier part. Ovulation is when eggs are released from the ovaries (Oh, why didn't I pay more attention during Form V Bio class!). If an egg isn't fertilised in the 24hrs after releasing, it dies. This normally happens about 14 days before the start of your next cycle and varies from woman to woman. That's why you should start charting your menstrual periods - when they start, how long they last - so that you can determine more accurately your OD. Or you could use this ovulation calculator to get an estimated OD.

This is what we're trying right now and it's great to have a supportive husband who does his best, er, performance when the dates are right. Since this is only our 2nd month trying, we'll give it a go for a bit more before turning to other methods.

Anyone out there with some tips?

Not a backache but a pelvis misalignment

Back from first session with the chiropractor. He told me what I had was a pelvic misalignment. My pelvis had shifted 1 inch from where it was supposed to be and he told me I was just about the worst case he'd ever seen. When he made me lie flat on his tummy, he told me that my right foot was about 1 inch longer than my left. Yikes.

Anyway, this is what he did:
1. ice pack on my pelvic area to lessen the pain
2. a crick and a crack to get me back into alignment
3. electromagnetic therapy

My verdict? He's magic. Right after he straightened me out, I could feel an immediate improvement. I texted my husband right after the session saying I felt "200% better!". It's not all fixed yet, he reckons I will need about 6-8 weeks of treatment to get it all fixed.
For now, I've got to put ice on my pelvic area and I've got a 2nd session scheduled for Sat morning. He's quite optimistic we can beat this quickly as he said "...you're still young..." and my word, that was music to my ears! :)

If you need to sort out a kink or two, give this place a try:
Michael Wilkinson
Living Well Healthcare
Level 4, Great Eastern Mall
Jln Ampang, KL.
Tel: +603-4257 8002
www.livingwell.com.my


This is NOT a paid post, I just thought it might prove useful for anyone who is in need of a chiropractor.

Yeouch! My backaches are back!

I've been having mild backaches before Chinese New Year, but didn't think much about it. However, I haven't been able to straighten up properly since Monday and have spent more hours lying flat on my bed than I have out of it.

Enough of this. Tomorrow I'm going to see a chiropractor. I've been told he's so good that "...you can run after just one session with him!" I've also been told that you don't know back pain until you're pregnant. Since I've once been kept in bed for 2 weeks for backaches, I'm really not looking forward to that bit of pregnancy.

Will update post-treatment.

Why do I want to be a mum?

I don't know really. It just seemed a natural progression after getting married. That's how life is supposed to be, isn't it? First you date, then you get married, then you have children. So simple.

To be honest, I've never thought about having children. That's because I've never thought about getting married before and I didn't want to be a single mum. Even when I knew I'd met Mr Right, I didn't think much about children. It just gradually crept up on me. I still don't know why I want to be a mum. But I can tell you this - I know I want to be the best mum I can be for our child. I know I won't be perfect but I know I'll try my best to raise her.

What about you? Why are you a mum? Or why do you want to be one? Or are you like me, you don't know why but you know you want to and you know you want to be the best mum you can be?

Idle Parenting - Yes or No?

I came across this parenting story recently while browsing at The Telegraph website. Basically, what the author is trying to say is - if you want your children to be happy, let them be children. Don't foist upon them the responsibilities of adulthood before they're ready to deal with them. His own experience with his own children has convinced him that this is the way to raise happy children.

I thought about my own childhood when I read that article. My parents were always around but they were usually busy helping out in the family kopitiam to fuss too much over me. I was free to play all day long (as long as I finished my homework and practised my piano) and play I did. I played at being a mountaineer climbing Mt Everest on our little staircase, I played at being an X-wing fighter shooting down Imperial fighters. If the neighbourhood kids were all game, we would all be 100m sprinters competing in the sidewalk Olympics. I nicked rubberbands from Grandpa's stash and linked them up to make a rope and played lompat with other kids.
Then I thought of a childhood friend whose father set many rules and tried to make little adults out of them. While I tumbled around in the school field and played in the sun, she was required to sit primly in the shade. My aunt danced with me to the Grease soundtrack and my uncle taught me Elvis songs. Her father required her to be silent and well-behaved at all times.

I've grown up to be a happy, sensible, cheerful sort of adult. I don't know how she's turned out but at least I know that my parents' unwitting idling parenting did work for me. :)

Chicken with Rabbit loves her Top Monkey - what a wonderful Valentine's!

Thought I might start this blog with this post because I had such a wonderful time yesterday.

Okay, first I have to say I'm not one for Valentine's but it was lovely to have my husband sms me in the morning suggesting a romantic dinner for two. I knew he's not the sort to remember Valentine's so I was just surprised.

What he did that made me smile that day:
1. Cuddles, cuddles, cuddles in the morning.. ooh, we rated it 8 out of 10.
2. Sent me flowers. Sort of. He MMS-ed me a pic of a bouquet he saw somewhere. LOL!
3. Took me out to dinner at one of our fave restaurants, El Cerdo. We didn't book a place, but just showed up and ta-dah! Got a table! Dinner was excellent as usual (Great work, Werner and Andreas!)
4. Got me a heart-shaped balloon from the restaurant. Many thanks to the waitress who plucked it off the wall for me.
5. The laughter, hugs and kisses that we shared.

I'm lucky enough to have a husband who doesn't do the "I love you, baby" bit just on Valentine's but I have to admit his efforts yesterday were superlicious. It was our first married Valentine's and it was the most wonderful Valentine's I've had in my whole entire life.

The Chicken who has the Rabbit loves you always, Top Monkey.