Last week, an old friend from Anaesthesia/ GDFM days emailed me regarding going back to SGH to locum for the anaesthesia department.
I was torn.
Part of me was definitely interested, to see if I could still do the stuff I used to do. Maybe even (horrors..) consider a change in career (again!)
Of course the other part immediately quashed all that. What about the clinic! what about the kids!
and the first part started thinking, why is it my problem again? How come I can't be the one to leave for work everyday at 7, 7.30am, and let other people feed/change/ferry my kids around and plan their schedules every day?
So initially I thought I could just ignore it and hope that I didn't have to decide so quickly if I wanted to do it.
Then another message: he was going to start Friday 27th! So soon! So I said, no thanks, Madison has music that day, can't make it!
Then guess what? Just at that very moment, after I replied his message, I got one from the music teacher, saying she was away Friday 27th, no music class!
So I took that as A SIGN. Guess I should give it a shot. The universe has aligned for me to do this.
Once I made that decision, things happened really quickly. Emails, phone calls and text messages fired away from various directions. Finally my BCLS recertification was organised, and we were booked to come in on Friday morning at 8am!
I'm not really sure what to expect or what to think, but I guess after having 2 kids, I've learnt to let go a little and just go with the flow. See where and if it'll take me anywhere.
CNY 2012
Our first Chinese New Year in Singapore. Turned out pretty good actually. Since all the family was away, we didn't have to do anything special. We did have dinner at home and the kids got to toss Yusheng(twice!). We were also kindly invited to New years' lunch at our neighbour's place.
And was it a good thing we opted out of travelling this year. Apparently it was a nightmare getting to KL!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
School for Annika, HMDP
Last year I started thinking about school for Annika.
My initial plan was to accompany her for a few months in some form of Mandarin based programme, starting with an hour or so once a week, then gradually progressing to a drop off class, 3 times a week, max.
My preference was also Joy Little, which is a stone's throw away from us, rather than the one Madison attended at Serene Centre.
But, as it turned out.. Joy little didn't have any of those things I wanted. So I hesitantly signed up for drop off classes twice a week starting Feb.
I was(am) still quite nervous so today I took Annika down to the centre to have a second look.
Turns out, Annika went right in, started playing with the stuff at the school! She's really quite a sociable person with an endless amount of energy. No wonder she stays skinny.
And I got to talk to the teacher/principal, and was quite reassured:
1. They allow the kid to be accompanied for up to 2 weeks at the start
2. They are rather flexible in pick up times: so this means Annika can start with a shorter class and be picked up earlier if I so wished.
That really took a big load off my mind. So looks like Annika will be starting next month at the school, and depending on how she copes she might end up going between 3 to 5 times a week.
HMDP: Human Manpower Development Programme
That's the fancy name for the fellowship year.
After all this time, FINALLY Chris will (hopefully, fingers crossed) be exiting this year and become his profession.
After that, he has to consider taking 6-12 months off to work overseas.
Most times the family accompanies the husband.
Should I do that too?
What would happen to the clinic?
What would happen to Warni?
What about school?
But 6-12months seems rather long to be apart too... although my parents did it for a year each.
And it would be time well spent with the kids.
I really don't know what to do.
I know in 5 years time it probably won't matter whatever we do, but for now there is a decision waiting to be made.
Hopefully the answer will come by itself.
My initial plan was to accompany her for a few months in some form of Mandarin based programme, starting with an hour or so once a week, then gradually progressing to a drop off class, 3 times a week, max.
My preference was also Joy Little, which is a stone's throw away from us, rather than the one Madison attended at Serene Centre.
But, as it turned out.. Joy little didn't have any of those things I wanted. So I hesitantly signed up for drop off classes twice a week starting Feb.
I was(am) still quite nervous so today I took Annika down to the centre to have a second look.
Turns out, Annika went right in, started playing with the stuff at the school! She's really quite a sociable person with an endless amount of energy. No wonder she stays skinny.
And I got to talk to the teacher/principal, and was quite reassured:
1. They allow the kid to be accompanied for up to 2 weeks at the start
2. They are rather flexible in pick up times: so this means Annika can start with a shorter class and be picked up earlier if I so wished.
That really took a big load off my mind. So looks like Annika will be starting next month at the school, and depending on how she copes she might end up going between 3 to 5 times a week.
HMDP: Human Manpower Development Programme
That's the fancy name for the fellowship year.
After all this time, FINALLY Chris will (hopefully, fingers crossed) be exiting this year and become his profession.
After that, he has to consider taking 6-12 months off to work overseas.
Most times the family accompanies the husband.
Should I do that too?
What would happen to the clinic?
What would happen to Warni?
What about school?
But 6-12months seems rather long to be apart too... although my parents did it for a year each.
And it would be time well spent with the kids.
I really don't know what to do.
I know in 5 years time it probably won't matter whatever we do, but for now there is a decision waiting to be made.
Hopefully the answer will come by itself.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Injections, injections
I'm so glad the final round of vaccinations is finally OVER!
Yesterday Annika went for her last round of immunisations. My plan : for her to receive the last round of diptheria/tetanus/pertussis shots and then I would follow up with her last round of measles/mumps/rubella and chickenpox shots.
What she ended up with? ALL OF THEM. I was slightly nervous about giving them all at once, was it an overkill of antigens??
But her paediatrician said:" how many antigens are we exposed to on a daily basis?" Which is true, I guess. And of course, that would make it her FINAL round of routine shots. Which was probably the best selling point.
And while we were there, she also asked me if Madison has had her booster dose of the MMR. Of course she hadn't, I was "saving" that for next year. And of course I was sold on the idea of having BOTH their shots done once and for all.
Madison heard the news and she immediately protested. But she was really logical. When I asked her if she would rather get measles and have fever/rash/abdominal pain blah blah she agreed on having the shots. Then she told me she wanted the shots at home! How amazing was that!
Annika was first up to receive the shots. She wasn't too bad. Yelled for a split second and then stopped when she was distracted.
Madison was next. She knew what she was up for, so gave me instructions specifically as to how she wanted it done. 1. Sitting on my lap. 2. Left thigh. 3. ASAP! She kept telling the nurses to do it NOW ! while they were busy checking her name, her allergy status etc etc.
But, she was fantastic. Not a tear, not a scream. Took it bravely. I was so proud of her. And she didn't even ask for compensation!
So they both have their vaccination certificates all printed out ready for school, and they were "discharged" from the paediatrician! Hooray! (makes me think really hard if I could do this all over again another time!)
Yesterday Annika went for her last round of immunisations. My plan : for her to receive the last round of diptheria/tetanus/pertussis shots and then I would follow up with her last round of measles/mumps/rubella and chickenpox shots.
What she ended up with? ALL OF THEM. I was slightly nervous about giving them all at once, was it an overkill of antigens??
But her paediatrician said:" how many antigens are we exposed to on a daily basis?" Which is true, I guess. And of course, that would make it her FINAL round of routine shots. Which was probably the best selling point.
And while we were there, she also asked me if Madison has had her booster dose of the MMR. Of course she hadn't, I was "saving" that for next year. And of course I was sold on the idea of having BOTH their shots done once and for all.
Madison heard the news and she immediately protested. But she was really logical. When I asked her if she would rather get measles and have fever/rash/abdominal pain blah blah she agreed on having the shots. Then she told me she wanted the shots at home! How amazing was that!
Annika was first up to receive the shots. She wasn't too bad. Yelled for a split second and then stopped when she was distracted.
Madison was next. She knew what she was up for, so gave me instructions specifically as to how she wanted it done. 1. Sitting on my lap. 2. Left thigh. 3. ASAP! She kept telling the nurses to do it NOW ! while they were busy checking her name, her allergy status etc etc.
But, she was fantastic. Not a tear, not a scream. Took it bravely. I was so proud of her. And she didn't even ask for compensation!
So they both have their vaccination certificates all printed out ready for school, and they were "discharged" from the paediatrician! Hooray! (makes me think really hard if I could do this all over again another time!)
Thursday, January 5, 2012
New school year
After a 2 week school holiday, Madison is finally back at preschool.
I cannot imagine what kids her age do at home if they didn't go to school! 2 weeks seemed like a really long time when she was home everyday! I had to think really hard of things to occupy her everyday. It is great that Anthony is here with us at the moment so he's around to referee the kids fights. If it wasn't Madison vs Annika, it would be Annika vs Elizabeth, or in the worse case scenario Madison vs Annika vs Elizabeth and all 3 would be screaming/crying .
Anyway, drop off on Day 1 wasn't too bad. I went into the school with her because we had to find her new classroom. It was great that her Chinese teacher was the same so not everything was new. I think class numbers went up so she had more classmates.
When I picked her up she seemed ok but she did tell me she didn't really talk to anyone. Over the next day or so she seemed a little more emotional than usual, so I figured it must be due to the "new class" effect.
Today, I checked the shoe boxes carefully and then I realized: her best friend was no longer in the school! Most of the other kids were from her previous class but her closest friend didn't seem to be there anymore.
Anyway, I talked to Madison and encouraged her to socialize and talk to her other friends. I think today must have been better because she seemed to be more cheerful and back to her usual self.
Next year Annika will start school with Madison. Already I've been bringing Annika along with me to pick Madison up, so she gets to walk around the classrooms. She seems to like the place, but I guess it will be different once she realizes that I'm leaving her there! But it will be quite different to have both of them occupied the entire morning! I can't imagine starting again with another kid by that stage...
I cannot imagine what kids her age do at home if they didn't go to school! 2 weeks seemed like a really long time when she was home everyday! I had to think really hard of things to occupy her everyday. It is great that Anthony is here with us at the moment so he's around to referee the kids fights. If it wasn't Madison vs Annika, it would be Annika vs Elizabeth, or in the worse case scenario Madison vs Annika vs Elizabeth and all 3 would be screaming/crying .
Anyway, drop off on Day 1 wasn't too bad. I went into the school with her because we had to find her new classroom. It was great that her Chinese teacher was the same so not everything was new. I think class numbers went up so she had more classmates.
When I picked her up she seemed ok but she did tell me she didn't really talk to anyone. Over the next day or so she seemed a little more emotional than usual, so I figured it must be due to the "new class" effect.
Today, I checked the shoe boxes carefully and then I realized: her best friend was no longer in the school! Most of the other kids were from her previous class but her closest friend didn't seem to be there anymore.
Anyway, I talked to Madison and encouraged her to socialize and talk to her other friends. I think today must have been better because she seemed to be more cheerful and back to her usual self.
Next year Annika will start school with Madison. Already I've been bringing Annika along with me to pick Madison up, so she gets to walk around the classrooms. She seems to like the place, but I guess it will be different once she realizes that I'm leaving her there! But it will be quite different to have both of them occupied the entire morning! I can't imagine starting again with another kid by that stage...
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
New Year 2012, sleep training kid 2
Another weekend flew past.
New Year's eve celebration was held at Novena as usual. The grandparents had organised a countdown party, complete with catered food and alcohol.
Turned out pretty good. Not all of the invited guests came, which made for a cozier group of people.
We catered from Chilli Api, which serves Peranakan food. It was surprisingly good for catered food. There was a good selection of seafood and the spice level was tempered so nothing was excessively hot.
By midnight, we were down to a few closer friends and family. MH's family were visiting as well, but they were sound asleep at champagne toast! The kids were sound asleep upstairs too. We took them home afterwards.
Sleep training:
I think we are at it again, but this time with Annika. She used to be such a good sleeper till the past few months! I really don't know what happened. Maybe just teething, being sick etc. Now she goes down really well, but then starts to whine and cry in the middle of the night. Most times she would settle but then do it again at least once more before dawn. Exhausting, to say the least.
The other night she was inconsolable! Chris wound up sleeping in Madison's room, and she slept on the bed with me. She slept amazingly well that night.
So Chris decided to be firm with her. For 2 nights he has been putting her to bed, ignoring her cries and just simply shushing her to sleep. Apparently she doesn't want him to pat her down or to be carried. After a bout of screaming, she went down. And stayed asleep till the next day! The second night she started crying again in the middle of the night, but Chris went in and repeated his actions. Seemed to work till morning. Hopefully we are on to something? Why can't kids just SLEEP already!! That is all WE want to do!
New Year's eve celebration was held at Novena as usual. The grandparents had organised a countdown party, complete with catered food and alcohol.
Turned out pretty good. Not all of the invited guests came, which made for a cozier group of people.
We catered from Chilli Api, which serves Peranakan food. It was surprisingly good for catered food. There was a good selection of seafood and the spice level was tempered so nothing was excessively hot.
By midnight, we were down to a few closer friends and family. MH's family were visiting as well, but they were sound asleep at champagne toast! The kids were sound asleep upstairs too. We took them home afterwards.
Sleep training:
I think we are at it again, but this time with Annika. She used to be such a good sleeper till the past few months! I really don't know what happened. Maybe just teething, being sick etc. Now she goes down really well, but then starts to whine and cry in the middle of the night. Most times she would settle but then do it again at least once more before dawn. Exhausting, to say the least.
The other night she was inconsolable! Chris wound up sleeping in Madison's room, and she slept on the bed with me. She slept amazingly well that night.
So Chris decided to be firm with her. For 2 nights he has been putting her to bed, ignoring her cries and just simply shushing her to sleep. Apparently she doesn't want him to pat her down or to be carried. After a bout of screaming, she went down. And stayed asleep till the next day! The second night she started crying again in the middle of the night, but Chris went in and repeated his actions. Seemed to work till morning. Hopefully we are on to something? Why can't kids just SLEEP already!! That is all WE want to do!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Happy holidays.. Christmas weekend
I am happy that we had a successful Christmas weekend.
1. Both kids were finally better from HFMD, eating better, sleeping somewhat better
2. LONG WEEKEND! We had Saturday, Sunday and Monday off. For a change!
3. Social events lined up...
Friday: Lunch out with clinic staff. Dinner with Joan, Adrian and Su. We were meant to go out but it was pouring and we figured Christmas eve would be booked out so we got takeout and ate at home. The kids had a ball and Annika was so excited she refused to go to bed till close to 10pm! My fault.. I got her really excited about going to the airport to pick her Uncle Anthony up on Saturday.
Saturday:
Hung out at home, swimming, then lunch. Evening was AIRPORT excursion for the kids. Mission: Pick Anthony up. The kids were so excited! We took Madison, Annika and Elizabeth together with Warni and Maria. Good thing we brought the team. Took a while before Anthony came out from immigration and picked his bags up. The kids were running amok! Playing tag at the empty taxi queue area. It was exhausting keeping an eye on them. When we got back from the airport, turned out Geok and Munhon hadn't had dinner yet so they brought food over and we ate together at the poolside. Finished in time for torrential rains to start. That was Christmas eve dinner.
Sunday:
RAINING. ENDLESSLY. We had breakfast with the family at Dempsey, followed by PRESENTS, presents and more presents. Of course the kids had a ball ripping gifts open. This year everyone was more prudent, so the kids didn't wind up with a whole bunch of useless plastic.
Afterward, I got to watch my 2nd movie since Annika was born! Mission impossible 2. Met up with Su at Golden Village at Great World City. It was a pretty good show to watch at a cinema since it has so many dramatic effects. Some parts were pretty lame, to the point that it was probably implausible. Still... that's what movies are for.
The evening was spent with ALL the kids. Madison, Annika, Elizabeth and Lynn. Took them all swimming, then dinner at Great World City (again). It was pretty stressful, trying to manage all of them, but we did pretty well.
Monday:
It was supposed to be a BORING chill out day, but wound up to be another "kids" day. Caroline brought her boys over to swim. Now we had Joshua, Matthew, Madison, Annika and Lynn. They were screaming the place down, running round and round the pool, jumping in, getting out. The energy! Endless! We were supposed to go out for lunch, but by the time we got everyone showered and settled I think the adults were pooped.
So? PIZZA! KFC! I whipped up a batch of dino pasta with sundried tomato pesto ( just so we could be a little bit 'healthy' ). Took everything down to the 14th floor deck to eat. Fantastic. Annika was down for a nap, the older kids entertained themselves and we ate in peace. Caroline went home after lunch to nap her kids, and we took Madison out for a drive while we got Starbucks frapps.
After naps we met up yet again, this time at Bishan park. It's great when the kids are together. They are able to play together quite independently now. The adults got to sit in the sand while eyeballing the kids, then when they were worn out we got dinner at the Canopy cafe. The cafe did pretty well to keep us happy, considering there were 7 adults and 5 kids. It started to drizzle just as we got there so we had to eat indoors. We took up a big corner and were rather messy, but they were so good to accomodate us and service was prompt. I will definetely go back there again. With or without kids.
Tuesday was ZOO outing day.
Met up with Caroline and her kids at the zoo, saw a bunch of animals and then made our way to the waterplay area right at the end. The zoo visit is not complete for the kids without the de riguer visit to the water play area. It is the perfect place to tire the kids out and ensure a healthy appetite for lunch. By the time they were done for, we had no choice but to have KFC (again!) for lunch. My only grouse with that place is the lack of food choice. You either eat KFC or Ben & Jerry's for lunch. Or pack your own.
That ended the Christmas weekend, but we still had the New Year Weekend to look forward to! I love this time of the year!
1. Both kids were finally better from HFMD, eating better, sleeping somewhat better
2. LONG WEEKEND! We had Saturday, Sunday and Monday off. For a change!
3. Social events lined up...
Friday: Lunch out with clinic staff. Dinner with Joan, Adrian and Su. We were meant to go out but it was pouring and we figured Christmas eve would be booked out so we got takeout and ate at home. The kids had a ball and Annika was so excited she refused to go to bed till close to 10pm! My fault.. I got her really excited about going to the airport to pick her Uncle Anthony up on Saturday.
Saturday:
Hung out at home, swimming, then lunch. Evening was AIRPORT excursion for the kids. Mission: Pick Anthony up. The kids were so excited! We took Madison, Annika and Elizabeth together with Warni and Maria. Good thing we brought the team. Took a while before Anthony came out from immigration and picked his bags up. The kids were running amok! Playing tag at the empty taxi queue area. It was exhausting keeping an eye on them. When we got back from the airport, turned out Geok and Munhon hadn't had dinner yet so they brought food over and we ate together at the poolside. Finished in time for torrential rains to start. That was Christmas eve dinner.
Sunday:
RAINING. ENDLESSLY. We had breakfast with the family at Dempsey, followed by PRESENTS, presents and more presents. Of course the kids had a ball ripping gifts open. This year everyone was more prudent, so the kids didn't wind up with a whole bunch of useless plastic.
Afterward, I got to watch my 2nd movie since Annika was born! Mission impossible 2. Met up with Su at Golden Village at Great World City. It was a pretty good show to watch at a cinema since it has so many dramatic effects. Some parts were pretty lame, to the point that it was probably implausible. Still... that's what movies are for.
The evening was spent with ALL the kids. Madison, Annika, Elizabeth and Lynn. Took them all swimming, then dinner at Great World City (again). It was pretty stressful, trying to manage all of them, but we did pretty well.
Monday:
It was supposed to be a BORING chill out day, but wound up to be another "kids" day. Caroline brought her boys over to swim. Now we had Joshua, Matthew, Madison, Annika and Lynn. They were screaming the place down, running round and round the pool, jumping in, getting out. The energy! Endless! We were supposed to go out for lunch, but by the time we got everyone showered and settled I think the adults were pooped.
So? PIZZA! KFC! I whipped up a batch of dino pasta with sundried tomato pesto ( just so we could be a little bit 'healthy' ). Took everything down to the 14th floor deck to eat. Fantastic. Annika was down for a nap, the older kids entertained themselves and we ate in peace. Caroline went home after lunch to nap her kids, and we took Madison out for a drive while we got Starbucks frapps.
After naps we met up yet again, this time at Bishan park. It's great when the kids are together. They are able to play together quite independently now. The adults got to sit in the sand while eyeballing the kids, then when they were worn out we got dinner at the Canopy cafe. The cafe did pretty well to keep us happy, considering there were 7 adults and 5 kids. It started to drizzle just as we got there so we had to eat indoors. We took up a big corner and were rather messy, but they were so good to accomodate us and service was prompt. I will definetely go back there again. With or without kids.
Tuesday was ZOO outing day.
Met up with Caroline and her kids at the zoo, saw a bunch of animals and then made our way to the waterplay area right at the end. The zoo visit is not complete for the kids without the de riguer visit to the water play area. It is the perfect place to tire the kids out and ensure a healthy appetite for lunch. By the time they were done for, we had no choice but to have KFC (again!) for lunch. My only grouse with that place is the lack of food choice. You either eat KFC or Ben & Jerry's for lunch. Or pack your own.
That ended the Christmas weekend, but we still had the New Year Weekend to look forward to! I love this time of the year!
Friday, December 23, 2011
HFMD part 2
Almost 1 week has passed since HFMD struck our household.
Thankfully, the worst seems to have passed and we are all on the mend.
Unfortunately Elizabeth seems to have caught the bug despite being kept apart from the other 2 for the past week. She joined them just yesterday..
Annika is on a picky eating phase at the moment. It's really ANNOYING. I don't know what to give her for breakfast anymore. I hope it's a phase and not an enduring trait. It drives me insane having to face food refusal FIRST thing in the morning. EVERYDAY. Thankfully Madison is quite good, she's not really fussy and takes most things I give her nowadays.
I wouldn't be so fazed with her food refusal, except that she is and looks so much thinner than Madison at the same age. It makes me feel sad and bad, like there is/was something that I could have done to prevent it.
So for now, I let Warni do the meals for her, since I have lost confidence and patience with trying to get her to eat her meal.I'm hoping when she turns 2? she will get better? I rationalise that it is better for a patient person to do that and everyone be happy than for me to get worked up every meal time with her. I was like that with Madison and it wasn't a pleasant time at all.
Too quickly the holiday season is upon us and too quickly it'll end as well. Anthony is coming to visit from tomorrow till mid January so that's really nice. Despite our differences I really appreciate him now more so than ever. He's fantastic with the kids and has alot of patience with them. It would be nice if he were living here too.
It's bittersweet that 2011 is coming to an end. So quick. My 2nd baby is growing up, and already she's losing her babyness. Madison is more than half my height and getting smarter everyday. Annika is still small but thinks big thoughts. Our parents are getting older and I get a new sense of appreciation for them everyday.
Hope everyone has a great holiday season!
Thankfully, the worst seems to have passed and we are all on the mend.
Unfortunately Elizabeth seems to have caught the bug despite being kept apart from the other 2 for the past week. She joined them just yesterday..
Annika is on a picky eating phase at the moment. It's really ANNOYING. I don't know what to give her for breakfast anymore. I hope it's a phase and not an enduring trait. It drives me insane having to face food refusal FIRST thing in the morning. EVERYDAY. Thankfully Madison is quite good, she's not really fussy and takes most things I give her nowadays.
I wouldn't be so fazed with her food refusal, except that she is and looks so much thinner than Madison at the same age. It makes me feel sad and bad, like there is/was something that I could have done to prevent it.
So for now, I let Warni do the meals for her, since I have lost confidence and patience with trying to get her to eat her meal.I'm hoping when she turns 2? she will get better? I rationalise that it is better for a patient person to do that and everyone be happy than for me to get worked up every meal time with her. I was like that with Madison and it wasn't a pleasant time at all.
Too quickly the holiday season is upon us and too quickly it'll end as well. Anthony is coming to visit from tomorrow till mid January so that's really nice. Despite our differences I really appreciate him now more so than ever. He's fantastic with the kids and has alot of patience with them. It would be nice if he were living here too.
It's bittersweet that 2011 is coming to an end. So quick. My 2nd baby is growing up, and already she's losing her babyness. Madison is more than half my height and getting smarter everyday. Annika is still small but thinks big thoughts. Our parents are getting older and I get a new sense of appreciation for them everyday.
Hope everyone has a great holiday season!
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