Mic vs Photographer

There's a reason people deserve to get paid for their work.  

And here's the difference between my weekly mug shot that mic takes

And some better pictures from the photographer ....

Polar Bear Habitat

The latest "nickname" mic gave me is Polar Bear.

Hong Kong's weather has cooled down considerably from the hot and muggy summer to the breezy fall.  However, I am still feeling perpetually hot like my body thermostat has broken down that I can no longer distinguish when it's really a bit warm or when it's just me.  I would have never turned on the air conditioner at night in mid October in the past (what a waste of $$!), but now I have it on at 23 degrees almost all day long, with the ceiling fan blasting, and still wearing a tank top and shorts.

One day mic came home from work found me in bed in the refrigerator like room and said "It's so cold in here.  Our home is like a polar bear habitat now."   I think the "hot mama" phenomenon is getting worse as the bun in the oven is more and more baked.

And if Hong Kong does have a poor polar bear around panting from the heat, I am happy to share my home with him.

Photo Shoot

We had a really fun session with the photographer at home this morning.

Given the delay in admission to the hospital, I was lucky enough to find someone on two day's notice to come and take some pictures of the pregnancy at home today.   It made me appreciate how much we love every corner of our home, and also thinking through all the little moments during the pregnancy I wanted us to remember.  It was also fun just putting on some make up and doing my hair so I am not feeling like a complete slob at home.

We'll hopefully get the photos in two weeks time before little K comes.  (And I will finally have some pictures other than the weekly mug shots mic took of me)

Week 35: Last Weekend

The doctor's visit this week went well.  Little K is still firming staying in the head down position, and he continues to be a super shy baby refusing to reveal his cute little face for us again.  However we did manage to get a glimpse of his profile while he was putting a finger into his mouth (how cute!).   Our doctor seemed confident that things are stable enough to delay my admission to the hospital by another week.  I feel like I am crying wolf now this is the third time I claimed this will be my final weekend at home, but then again I should not complain about the progress of the pregnancy going well despite the risk and the fact that we do get to enjoy the comfort of another couple of days being at home as opposed to the hospital.

I am getting another round of steroid shots (the effect of the last ones only last for 2 weeks) to help to mature the baby's lungs again this weekend, and then seeing the doctor again next Tuesday aiming for admission at some point after that.  Then, the final D date.

What should I do for the final weekend?

Maybe those long awaited belly shots with a photographer if I can get someone on such short notice to savour some nicer images of my final gigantic belly of carrying little K around (since the only pictures that mic has taken of me so far are weekly mug shots where I am standing on my side, mostly with my head cut off and just the belly, or a close up of what he suspected to be stretch marks on me -- I feel like I am in the nature program and mic is the photographer "documenting" the animal's behavior!).

Maybe it will just be like any other weekend in the last ten years, a lazy Sunday morning waking up to mic's itunes Sunday playlist and having a late brunch, before the baby's loud scream become our morning wake-up call.

The Name Challenge

Although we have the first name picked out (and for the record, it does not start with a K, little K means the "Kid", as referenced in an earlier post), the last name remains a challenge.

I find mic's name quite endearing and potentially career enhancing if you are a double spy -- I used to never be able to find mic when he's checked into a hotel on business trips, having to try about every single combination there could possible be with the hotel operator to locate his room (Mic Wan, Jean-Michel Wan-Min-Kee, Mic Wan-Min-Kee, Jean Wan, Jean-Michel Wan, Jean Wan-Min-Kee, Mic Kee, Wan Kee etc etc, the list goes on!)

But the poor man himself has endured a life time of hassle with his name, and wanted to see if there's a way that we can shorten the Mauritian trait of his last name to the real Chinese character Wan (溫) only.  Even though that means our family will bear three different last names, which can probably be confusing in itself, but at least little K may have an easier time in the future.  

However, after some research it seems that unless Mic decides to change his last name himself, little K won't be able to have a different name from the father, and that's obviously a big undertaking with all the legal records, bank statements, investment accounts etc.  So it looks like Wan-Min-Kee stays, or else maybe we should opt for Liu to save everyone the trouble?

Week 34: Someone Out There

As I approach the end of the my 34th week, and another follow up from the doctor's visit, I had to believe that someone up there is really looking out for us.

At the scan yesterday, little K turned his head downwards (no wonder I have been going to the loo every two hours!).   The doctor said as he's not in breach position anymore, the risk of his little legs kicking the membrane close to the cervix and breaking the water is less therefore reducing the risk of vasa previa implications, plus the cervix is firmly closed, so we can afford to delay checking into the hospital by a few days and enjoy the weekend at home.  Of course the doctor still thinks its risky for me to stay at home beyond 35 weeks so I think this will be last delay before I go lie down in a hospital for a few weeks.

The other thing is as the doctor was trying to scan for the fetal vessels on the membrane yesterday, it is a lot more difficult to confirm where the vessels are since the head is now obstructing the view, which the other two doctors were able to see a week ago clearly on the scan.  What that means is had we not been to the doctor two weeks ago for a regular check up, we could have missed seeing this condition completely.  The fact that there's actually a "window" where this condition could have been diagnosed, and I have been diagnosed during the window, is such a blessing.  

Everything seems to fall into place and happen for a reason, even though at the time every single condition seem to be such a scare for us -- the placenta previa led us to having a back up plan at Queen Mary Hospital, the Queen Mary doctor was extra careful and wanted to see me at fixed intervals in addition to my main doctor's visit, little K has been in breach position for the longest time allowing her to diagnose the vasa previa condition.... all of this, even though still is more drama than we had hoped, feels like more than a random set of events.  I whispered to myself how thankful I am for all the prayers that's been coming our way, it works!

We are certainly in the final count down stage with the arrival of little K at most 3 weeks away.  The baby room is ready, and all we need is little K!

Good and Evil

I had to whisper the mantra "you are not worthy of my time and anger" as I was getting out of the taxi tonight.

The taxi driver was so rude first he refused to come up the ramp of our driving lot that gets us directly to the lobby, and after pleading with my 8 month pregnant belly that it is a little difficult for me to walk up the stairs after coming from the hospital where he waited in line and have picked us up (while I thought that should have been so obvious to him), he reluctantly drove up complaining the entire time.  Then he left the meter running while I was getting money out to pay him, and after I paid him the exact amount, the meter jumped and he demanded the extra HK$2.  Out of principle and his attitude I refused to pay him the extra HK$2 that he did not deserve and slammed the door shut.

I am sure he was cursing something pretty bad, but then thankfully my Cantonese is not that good so I actually didn't understand a word he was shouting out and just tuned everything out and went up the lift to go home.

Hong Kong can be so annoying with these ridiculously rude people sometimes.

There is evil, but then there is also good.

The numerous times someone gave up a seat for me on the bus, in the taxi line, and on the MTR.  One bus driver even picked me up a little before the station and dropped me off not at the station but closer to where I needed to get off just to save me some walking.  Luckily, people that can empathize and have a heart, still exist, in a city where patience is generally non existent and not rewarded.

I should also not forget that I have been a receiver of so many acts of kindness, from people I don't know, from people I know, and from people I barely know.

A good friend from business school introduced me via email to a friend of hers who had the same condition as me (vasa previa) and successfully delivered her baby in Washington DC earlier this year despite much more severe complication symptoms with bleeding and hospitalization from 22 weeks onwards until the baby was born.  I joked that my friend ought to be buying the lottery ticket  -- what are the odds of her knowing two people with this condition in one year!  One of the HK doctors we saw only had two cases in his entire career.  I felt so warmed by her friend's kindness to offer her time to speak to me in length in such detail about her experience, things to look out for, and words of encouragement.

I know we don't have much control in the world we live in, but I will endeavor to do my part, to teach little K to be one of those people that will bring warmth to someone else's heart one day, and make the world a place with one more soul of good than evil.