Confinement

So, my sis had this Confinement Lady sent to her on 3rd day of BB’s life. Agent told us she was a Singapore PR…. My sis had requested for a Malaysian lady. Agent wanted to charge her for the Work Permit that she’ll have to apply. But this was not told outfront when Agent was engaged.  So my sis refused.  On the date… the Agent brought a senior lady. Told us she was Singapore PR and thus, no need to apply Work Permit.

I asked for her IC & Passport for verification and was conveniently told that it was left at her son’s home and didn’t bring along. So we got her name and NRIC.  I suspected the Confinement Lady (CL) had memory issues. She asked me 3 times which dialect group I was from. And the fact that she doesn’t speak Malay when she claims to be a SPR… I should have sensed something fishy!

Her hygiene standards were an issue with me. She cleaned BB, but missed out on a spot of motion at his heels.  I also found it strange that she asked about feeding water and milk formula when I told her BB was on total breast feeding.  She was also very disorganised and didn’t clear up after cleaning BB up. The towels, nappy used to line the bed were  just left there.  Not sure about others, but during my time, my CL would clear it up as soon as she’s done.  Extremely particular about being organised.

The other thing was that, we had prepared some Bai Fung Yuen for my sis. I used to take those everyday during my confinement.  But this CL had no clue as to what it was for!! I had to tell her! huh??  And then she commented that she’ll do it for her daughter who is going to be due in Feb 2010!  Goodness.

Anyway, upon further probing, the CL confessed that she was Singaporean and that the Agent had asked her to lie. So, the Agent was summoned to collect her that night. And the deposit was returned.

This Agent is totally dishonest! No one should use them!

So, my mom & I helped where we could until the new CL arrived.  In the meanwhile, I had lots of help from Cookie Monster & Aggie to help me find a new CL and had loads of information of what Mummy can eat and what not.  This is very controversial as different dialect groups have different practices.

Anyway, I had a good time enjoying my “happy work” as I called it, being with my sis and the lil one.  But my sis had a hard time following the Traditional way of confinement (by Mom’s standards)…

1) must not be exposed to breeze (no fan, no air-con, windows are only kept slightly open);

2) must not bath!! (yes, it is traditional that a mummy doesn’t touch water during the 1 month confinement period.  The rational?  I really don’t know where’s the origin of this)

3) can only consume certain meats & vegetables… yup, some says sim or any leafy white stem are a no, no but spinach is ok. And yet, some say otherwise! It got me confused.

Oh yes, if it’s normal delivery, eggs are safe to eat but not if it was by ceaserian.  It is believed that consumption of eggs would cause wound infection and thus, delay the healing process.

The myths and believes that goes along with Confinement Month is endless.

God’s creation… new baby

My new nephew came into the world on 21 September.  He’s so adorable!

Latest addition to the family. He's so adorable!

He came earlier than expected.  Mummy’s water bag burst at about 0615 but wasn’t till about another 24hours before he arrived at wee hours of 21 Sep.  He was discharged the next day.  He weighed-in at 2.6kg.

Tim & Josh were so excited over his arrival and both carried the baby at the hospital…errr, I had them both seated down when carrying the fragile one   A new journey begins for my sis & hb.

BB all ready to go home. His 1st trip on his 2nd day of life

It must be God’s plan that I’m not at work yet. Sis had problems with the Agent providing the Confinement Lady.  That’s another story… anyway, I went over to sis’ place to help her most of last week.  It was so much fun…. I enjoyed their company.

Timothy’s 1st Holy Communion

The day (13 Sep) had finally arrived for Timothy to receive the Body & Blood of Christ!  And he was totally excited.

Timothy was up at 6.45am and was in his white shirt, long pants and tie by 7.05am!  Too early!!! We were only going to set-off at 7.50am!  His happiness and anticipation showed on his face.  It was glowing and nothing could make him angry. Not even his normally annoying little brother! LOL!

So, we all got dressed up and left for St Anne’s Church.  We arrived at the waiting area at 8.15am and left him to take his seat while waiting for the rest.  Hubby, Josh & I went to take “good seats” in church and sat in the 1st pew where we thought would give us good view of Timothy receiving his 1st Holy Communion.  Unfortunately, it was not going to be so.

Although there were official photographers, when it was time for the children to go up for their Holy Communion, all the parents swamped the area and lingered on … we couldn’t even get close to the front to get a shot of Tim.  Fortunately, I had  managed to capture it on my hp!  But I can’t figure out how to upload the file…

Tim going up to receive his 1st Holy Communion

Tim receiving his 1st Holy Communion certificate & gifts from Fr James Yeo

We went for a lunch celebration with his Godparents.  It meant so much to him to have them around with him on his 1st Holy Communion.

Tim with Godpa & Godma. He's holding the Banner he made as part of his 1st Holy Communion preparation.

Later that evening, when asked how he felt about receiving Holy Communion, he said it was nice & warm

It’s finally here!!! (No. 2)…1st Holy Communion

Yup, no. 2 is finally here!!

Timothy’s going to receive his 1st Holy Communion tomorrow at SAC. He’s been smiling and grining today… and also acting a little funny… due to the excitement!

Obviously, I’m also excited for him.  Yeah!!!! He’s finally going to receive the Body & Blood of Christ!!

It’s finally here!!!…. (no. 1)

There are a couple of things I’m looking forward to this week… the first is happening tomorrow!! Taking a break with the 3 guys!! yooohoooooo!!!!

The 2nd… Tim’s 1st Holy Communion, will take place on the 13 Sep 2009.  And we are all totally excited over this as well.  This is such an important  part of Tim’s life.  He’s been wanting to receive Jesus since he was 5.

Jesus watching over us….

I was contemplating if I should post this but I feel that God’s miraculous works shouldn’t be kept to myself.

I woke up to a start last Sunday morning when hubby shot out of bed and was out of the room in lightning speed. How come?

Hubby came back to the room and said, “Jo, I boil water last night and forgot to turn the fire off.  The kettle is all dried up and the knob had melted. The kitchen is extremely hot now.”

Praise the Lord!  it is a miracle that we are still alive.  Obviously the kettle was all dried up.  It was red hot by the time hubby turned-off the flame.  It’s by His Grace that the other kitchen appliances just less than 6 inches away, didn’t catch fire or that the flame didn’t douse.  We all could have gone to meet Jesus if the place had caught fire or be gassed.

I guess we’ve not completed God’s mission for us here on earth.  We thank God for this miracle!  And for allowing us extra time here on earth to share with each other.

Ps 91 – God our Protector

“… He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and all deadly diseases

He will cover you with His wings, you will be safe in His care….”

God speaks…

Since mid-June, I had been discerning if I should continue to work at the workplace.  Things were getting too much for me… I was spending much time on the Blackberry and work was almost 24×7.  I’ve always treasured keeping my time to myself and for the family.  I worked late, even if I came home early, I’ll be on the Blackberry.  Though my Boss felt that I shouldn’t have to carry the Blackberry, my attempts to give it up was faced with objections from my Boss himself.  What an irony, right?  So, life began to revolve around work.  I was half the time on the blackberry whilst on Compassionate Leave and the kids were telling me to throw away the Blackberry.

Many of us often complain that God never answers our prayers.  Well, on this occasion I was asking for guidance.  Did He answer me….?  You bet!  I was at Mass, when God spoke through Fr. Robertus.  In his homily, Fr said how often we get caught in the SO MANY things that are happening and are so busy.  We have to have some quiet time, to re-collect and think. And only in this quiet time can we hear what God is telling us.  That was a message for me to get some quiet time. Then I “complained” to my hubby and a friend at work that God didn’t tell me what to do!  So, do I stay at this workplace or do I leave?  My friend remarked that may be we’ve all been too busy to even hear God!  I agreed with her.

2 weeks down the road, God spoke!!  hahahaa… you wouldn’t believe how! Yup He did!! Loud and clear in 2 August 2009 copy of  The Catholic News… at the bottom right of the front page, the caption read “It’s Only Money, Don’t Kill Yourself Over It!”  Ok, so I was too dense that He had to shove it right into my face.! I shared with my friend the Article and she had a good laugh!

Ok, that’s it. I hear You. Yes, the $ was good. I was given a 25% increment at confirmation. But that was at the cost of family time, my own sanity. I was highly stressed and was working all the time. So unlike me   My choir members could see/feel that I had changed. I was no longer jovial and smiley.

My boss is a nice guy and up to yesterday, my last day at work, he was saying see you back soon.  I’m a simple person.  I just want a job that pays reasonably well, that would allow me to spend time with my family.  And I’m happy.

So, I’m blessed that God still find ways to speak to me!  To those who wonder if God answers prayers…. DON’T DOUBT!! Yes, He does.  It’s only a matter of whether we HEAR HIM!!  Keep close to Jesus.  He’s always there.

“Speak Lord, for your servant is listening”

Gastroenteritis with Hypotension

The boys & I had 2 funfilled days in JB eating and shopping in the last few days of their March school hols.

But for me, the fun was overshadowed by a hospital stay .  I woke up on Sunday morning feeling a little bloated.  I thought it was a case of indigestion from the night’s char kuay teow, which was a bit too oily for my liking.  Feeling bloated was only the beginning!

I forced myself to vomit, which I thought would help alleviate the discomfort.  When that didn’t help, I drank Eno.  Eno didn’t stay long when I had my 2nd “Merlion”.  After that I took a little water.  That didn’t help either, and I ”Merlion” a 3rd time. All this while, I felt feverish but I didn’t have any fever.

It was Sunday, the clinic downstairs would close at 12noon.  So, I thought I had better get to the doc before they close for the day.  At 11am, I asked hubby to accompany to the doc.  It was almost 1hr’s long wait for the locum.  In the meanwhile, I knew I was dehydrating and hubby got me a can of 100 Plus, which I could only sip if I didn’t want to “Merlion” again.  The ache in my back was terrible.  It reminded me of the time when I was pregnant!  That dull, dull achy feeling that would not go away regardless of how you position your body.

Anyway, the locum’s diagnosis was that I should go to A&E immediately.  He wanted to rule-out appendicitis.  I was also severely dehydrated and my blood pressure was extremely low. (I later found out the medical term for low blood pressure ie. hypotension as opposed to hypertension ie. high blood pressure).  Thank God, my parents were in town.  So, with my sister’s help, they settled the boys.

It was another long wait at CGH.  The Doc in attendance, drew many vials of blood for testing and sent me to the Observation Room to be put on drips.  While there, I felt extremely cold.   I had socks on my feet, wore a jacket and had 3 blankets and yet I felt extremely cold.  I can take all that needles for blood tests and plug, but that cold and ache was something else!

The blood pressure didn’t improve and so I was hospitalised for a couple of days.  More vials of blood had to be drawn.  Thank God I’m partial to needles and blood.  I could look at needles as it gets poked in…pain?? Of course! But those needles are my friends if they can help find out what’s the problem with me.

Anyway, the doctors asked me plenty of questions and took much blood, ran many tests. But it wasn’t conclusive. They sent me for follow-up check for a minute mass of tissue found in my liver while doing an ultrasound.  And then discharged me.  Other than missing my family a lot, I took the whole episode as my annual comprehensive medical check.

Oh, just when I was getting discharged, my Ward doc came to draw more blood.  Apparently, she wasn’t informed during my 3days’ stay there that the blood drawn on my 1st night was not sufficient to do some of the tests the Day Consultants had ordered!  Which hospital did I hear????  Changi General Hospital

My 1st Baby….

Yippeee!!!  Another baby in the family!

It’s not what you think… I got my 1st Baby G from hubby for my birthday!  A beautiful white Baby-GSM!!  Honestly, I’ve yet to figure out the feature. :p  Thanks dear for this baby.

This Baby makes up for not having a birthday cake! hahahaaaa!!!

Economic Downturn

And so I joined the statistics of unemployment about 1 month ago.  Did it come as a surprise?  No, not really as the writing has been on the walls for some time .  Business was getting tough and the office - increasingly quite with undercurrent tension running high. Some would get the “chop” but we just didn’t know who and when. When it happened, more than 10% of the staff strength was affected - mostly back support staff.  Some had just received their 10yrs LSA.

I had been involved in separation exercises whilst in a HR role, and I can tell you it’s a total different feel being on the other side of the table.  Regardless of how prepared you are for it mentally, when reality hits, tears just rolls :p  Honestly, I wasn’t that upset of not being able to be with that office anymore, as I had to “struggle” to be happy there.

In a way, I am thankful that God took me out of that environment.  It was stealing my character.  I couldn’t be myself.  I can’t be an actress for the life of me!   Jesus figured I had enough.  I guess I had completed His mission for me there (Yah, He always got a mission for me wherever He places me!)  Was it the 1 or 2 persons whom I was able to give encouragement to in their time of need?  Well, only He knows.   Hope I did an ok job :p  A friend remarked she hasn’t seen someone who has just been retrenched being so happy.

I digressed – anyway, what made the entire exercise distasteful was the fact that they got my Final Salary computation wrong and didn’t encash me my leave balance.  When I checked, they told me that that’s the formula they had been using and that they weren’t required to adhere to the MOM guidelines, which is what they are – just “Guidelines”.   In this case, it was for Incomplete Month of Work .  That got me very upset.  It took them almost 1 whole week to get their act together and paid me monies that was rightfully mine – 1 week after I was laid-off (Btw, the law states that Final Salaries should be paid on the date of Termination and if not possible within 3 days).   The difference came up to $500!!  The moral of the story, it is crucial to know your rights and have some basic knowledge on salary computation.  If not for my experience in HR, I wouldn’t have spotted the error.  It pays to counter check. Trust me.

When God closes a door, He opens a window!  And so I continue to pray for Him to show me His plans.  It’s really tough not knowing what the future holds, but there’s a hymn that says, “Don’t worry about food, or what you are to wear, is God not more precious by far?”  He has never let me down before, but I think this time He’s taking a little longer in answering my prayers :p

My little family has been most supportive I’m blessed that I have a very supportive and loving hubby, who’s there to remind me that things will turn out fine.  Thanks dear!