Tokyo, Day 2

Woke up at 9am this morning and headed out for Asakusa.

When I first saw the Japanese subway maps, I commented that it was confusing and purplexing. Many said, 'No, it's very comprehensive'. I've had my first experience on the trains and I beg to differ. They ARE complicated. So we ended up just checking with the station master each time we were headed somewhere. Not fun. Anyway, we covered 3 places today - Asakusa, Ueno and Akihabara.

Asakusa
The main attraction at Asakusa is Sensoji Temple and Nakamise Street that leads to it. The street sells all the typical Japanese tidbits from Mochi and rice crackers to kimonos that all cost a bomb.

Asakusa itself is nice, as it has a feel of olden Japan. Lunch was at another vending ticket outlet. This time we had noodles. Nothing to shout about though, but Dad liked it. Seriously, I think the food tasting better than Jap food in Singapore is really due to the weather. In such cold weather, any hot soupy dish would deem yummy, right? You see that long brownish stuff in the soup? It smells and tastes like fart! I thought it was the usual pickle but it's not! Ok, ok I don't know how fart tastes like, but it sure left a farty after-smell when you bite into it.

Ueno

Ameyoko must be Ueno's main attraction - mainly streets selling dried food stuff, tid bits and clothes. I managed to get another jacket at just 1000 yen (about S$15). RT managed to get some tops from Adidas and Asics at a steal too. This place is a little like Chatuchak in BKK. Except that in Chatuchak, they don't charge you S$8 for an apple, S$1 PER strawberry. Not a punnet hor, A SINGLE STRAWBERRY. For a papaya, it's about $10 a piece, and a watermelon one third the size of what you get in Singapore costs about S$10.

As I'm typing this, I'm eating a White Peach Jelly, probably going to be my source of fruit while I'm here. With fruits costing like that, I think the Japs need to be eating loads of vegetables. Or they can forget about removing their bowels!

Akihabara

Dad wanted to see this place - where all the electronics stuff is sold. So we dropped by the area for a bit. Honestly, all these gadgets don't interest me at all. Tried looking for the Naruto masks as the toy shops, but didn't find them again. The Japanese' fascination with toy figurines is another fascination which is beyond me.

Met the Giao Gui family for dinner back at Shinjuku. Katsu rice at Suzuya. This katsu is apparently the only one of its kind in Tokyo - served on a hotplate and then you pour green tea over the rice or the pork.

After dinner, we walked through Kabukicho. Popped into one of their outlets, which isn't really the outlet. Father Giao Gui explained that it's just a shop front, with computer terminals for the selection of the girls. Once selected, Mr Hamsup is led to another place where the girl is.

Walked over to Krispy Kreme to get some doughnuts. Funny thing is, the minute you're in the queue, you're offered a doughnut free! So in total we had 6 free doughnuts and bought paid only for the 8 we bought. Japanese hospitality.

Tokyo!

Probably my last trip before I deliver. For just $622 per pax, we experienced our first ride on the A380. Honestly, it didn't feel much different from the Boeing 747. Then again, we weren't on the suites.

It got us to Narita airport ahead of schedule though. Which was probably a good thing as we didnt have to wait long for the Airport Limousine. The Airport Limousine is actually a bus, and it cost us 3000 yen (approximately S$50) each - the first indication of how expensive things were in Japan.

After slightly over an hour's bus ride to Shinjuku Washington Hotel, we left our baggage at the reception as check in was only at 2pm. We spent the next 2 hours or so at Times Square Takashimaya and had a lunch of beef rice at "Song Wu" - one of those vending machine lunch outlets. Lunch was not too bad. Headed back to the hotel to check in, slept for about 2 hours and then headed back out to shop again at Shinjuku area and meet Mother Giao Gui and Baby Giao Gui for dinner. Bought myself a light jacket as when evening came, I realised what I had brought along wasn't sufficient.

Dinner had to be the highlight of the day - extremely yummy sukiyaki at this restarurant in Shinjuku called Na Be Zo. For 1900 yen (about S$30) per person, it was free flow of beef and pork and vegetables for 90 minutes.

After dinner, we headed to Yodobashii to get see if we could get the Naruto masks which RT's nephew and niece wanted. Didn't find the masks, but found these 200 yen toy dispensing machines. We were told Baby Giao Gui was fascinated with the machines, especially the Am Pan Man ones. The Japanese fascination with these machines escapes me, but the fascination with Am Pan Man, I can understand. He's quite cute leh. And I think it's also because I like eating Am Pan (red bean bun). Check our Baby Giao Gui - she looks like a fuji apple! Think it's got something to do with the air in Japan.

After that, it was back to the hotel. We were all dead beat. Hotel room is a tad small, but nonetheless comfortable. There's even a massage chair! Great after a whole's day's walking.

Beanie's 20-week Check Up

The detailed scan on 30 March showed that everything was in place, normal and growing well.

"Hands here, the right and here's the left. Both kidneys here. The lips, top and bottom. The four chambers of the heart. Here's the left ventricle, and here's the right. And here we have the right atrium, and the left. Brain developing well, we can see the mid section. And the spine, developing well. The pulmonary artery. The aorta. You know the sex? It is very obviously a boy. Good. Baby's of average size and growing well thus far. Still in breech position but that's normal at this stage."

Honestly, I couldn't make out half of the things the gynae was seeing on the scan. The most distinct was the spine. The scan from this angle makes my baby look like a dinosaur.

Anyway, I'm glad I'm already at the halfway mark of the pregnancy.

The terrible first trimester is over. No more nausea and reduced lethargy. No stretch marks...yet. No pigmentation....yet. No water retention...yet. Each day I get my colleague to check out if any varisose veins have developed on the back of my legs. None yet, she says. I have about 3 more weeks before I enter the third trimester. I'm hoping and praying none of these will set in.

As at 30 Mar, my baby weighed 357g and I've put on 5 kg. Bleah. I've never weighed so much in my life.

"A" for?

This sight greeted me a couple of years back while I was on the train - a mother teaching her kid the alphabet. I didn't know whether to laugh or to feel sorry for the kid.

The mother had one of those alphabet books with huge letters and pictures which correspond to the letter. And then the mother goes.....

Mother: "A" for?

The kid looks at her blankly.

Mother: "A" for "ping guo"

?????

How does A even sound anything like the consonant P?

What is "B" then? "Qiu"?

Indian Wells

This time, I didn't wake up in vain.

I woke up to watch Nadal beat Murray 6-1, 6-2.

6-1, 6-2!!! What terrible scores for a final.

Shame shame.

Nonetheless, I am happy. :)

The Confinement Lady Search

After a month of searching, we finally found one. But we've realised that whether we get a good one or not is really a "heng-suay" matter. Afterall, someone's idea of good is still subjective isn't it?

The good one recommended by a friend (a reliable one) was already taken for the month of August. So was the one my cousin used last December.

Then, an ex colleague recommended hers, but when I called, she was charging an exorbitant rate, and I didn't quite like the way she spoke. Yes, they all speak Mandarin, but this was was a bit off, a bit difficult to understand. So I passed.

Then there was one who called me and told me she was referred to by another confinement lady. And her price was the cheapest amongst all so far. And she went on to tell me about how she would like to deal direct with me instead of the referee so that we wouldn't have to give the referee a commission. Honestly, her price was attractive but the whole thing all sounded a bit iffy, so I passed too.

Then we had my cousin's nanny's friend whom, really we felt would be good. But unfortunately, in the month of August, she had to pray and would not be able to provide confinement services.

Then another of my cousins got me a contact which her friend had used. She seemed pretty ok. When I asked her where she was from, she replied, "Pi Li Joe" (at least that's what I heard). So I went, "Billy Joe?". And she said: "Dui ah, ma lai si ya de pi li zhou." (Yes, Malaysia's Billy Joe). Now somebody tell me, where in the world is that? Or who the hell is that? But that wasn't the reason we passed her on. The real reason was that when she asked me who I was living with and I replied, "Wo zhang fu, fu mu qin he gong ren" (my husband, parents and maid), she asked, "Ni ma ma bu hui bang ni meh?" (Your mum cannot help you meh?). Seriously if she could would I be even looking for Billy Joe?? My mum and I didn't quite like that, so we passed on this one too.

So my cousin got a few more contacts from her friends, one which sounded pretty good, but wasn't available in August. Then finally I got one who spoke in decently accented language, albeit still mandarin, who was available.

I guess we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. Like I said, it's really a "heng-suay" thing.

I just wish there were confinement ladies who could speak English. It would make the month a whole lot more bearable.

A New Beginning

So I went to Egypt and became a mummy.

This is a long overdue post simply because for the most part of my first trimester, I was practically horizontal (read: in bed) and feeling nauseous. Worst part is, the nausea comes with hardly any vomit. I sometimes wonder if it's actually better to vomit. And 'morning sickness' is a definite misnomer as it really doesn't just happen in the mornings.

Anyway, some updates on the Beanie (till we name him, it's Beanie)

8 Weeks
The first gynae check up was at 8 weeks.
With it came the usual scan and checks AND a THREE HOUR WAIT that nearly killed RT and me!!!! Anyhow, the scan revealed a sac (so for sure it's not twins!) and what was supposed to be the foetus, but honestly, we couldn't figure anything out except for the heartbeat.

12 weeks
Then at 12 weeks, this is what we saw. Much more defined than the 8-week scan.

So cute right?

The 12th week check up came with the Oscar's test - a test mainly to test for the probability of Down's and Edward's syndrome, among others. As I expected the routine urine test, I had actually tried holding my bladder till it was time to take the test. So when I went in and the sonographer said, "Oh, your baby's position not correct to take the neck measeurements. You go drink another glass of water and come back in 20 minutes ok?" "Oh and don't pee ah!" she added.

Don't pee? I really needed to pee you know.

Anyway, I complied and decided to go for the blood tests first. Here's the conversation between the phlebotomist and me:

P1: Oh, I need to draw a lot of blood from you, you know.

Me: Ya I know. And I think my veins are quite hard to find right?

P1: Hmmm, yea you're right.

So off she goes to get help from her colleague.

P2: Ok let's take a look at your veins. I need to collect 9 tubes of blood.

Me: 9??

P2: Ya cos you got a lot of tests to take.

Me: Ok, just try not to 'orh-chae' the arm ok? Cos I face the same problem every time i donate blood or draw blood- they can't find the vein.

P2: Oh don't worry la, won't orh-chae one. You donate blood before ah? Then should be ok.

Hmmmm. Means what ah?

So she managed to draw the 9 tubes of blood. From BOTH my arms. Cos midway, the blood stopped flowing in one arm. When she was done I was back at the sonographer's and thankfully, Beanie was in place for her to take the measurements.

And then I finally peed.

16 weeks
After that horrifying 3-hour wait, we decided to schedule ourselves for the last appointment slot. Unfortunately, we were still subjected to a 1 hr 45 minute wait. Can die I tell you. One of the things I really hate is waiting.

The check up took less than 10 minutes.

Dr Tan: Everything looks good. Placenta is positioned well and baby is growing well. Your baby is 157g.

Me: 157g?? But I've put on 3 kg!!

Dr Tan chuckles and says, "Now you know what to do. Walk more."

Ya I know there's the placenta and all but still!

I told her about the rash I'd developed on my tummy and was told to stop using the stretch mark cream as it sometimes causes more problems than help.

Stop using? Then kena all the stretch marks how?? Tsk.

Seriously, the physical changes pregnant women go through can be quite horrendous. Bulbous noses, protruding belly buttons, swollen feet/face, acne breakout. I've seen them all during my looong waits at the gynae. These women come in all shapes and sizes. Scary.