Because of my freak accident, I suffered a very bad strain on my lower back. Western medicine only consist of painkillers which isn’t a long term solution in my opinion. As such, I decided to try out Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Decided to go for acupuncture as recommended by my aunt. Admittedly, I was rather nervous about during my first acupuncture experience. The thought of having needles going through my flesh… hmm.. not exactly fun,huh? Many told me, it is just like an “ant bite”. I was wondering, how does an ant bite feel? I haven’t been bitten by an ant before; saved those red fiery ants’ which are really painful! I certainly hope it isn’t like an “ant bite”!

Conclusion, the physician was rather professional/quick and the needles were “poked” through my pain within minutes. What I didn’t know is that she wanted to add on electric current to the needles! So, there I laid on the treatment bed, with several needles and electric current flowing through them! You bet, I didn’t dare to move an inch till the whole treatment is over!

Nevertheless, the results proved to be satisfactory, I have since went back for 2 more sessions of acupuncture. Accordingly to the physician, the injured area can never be back to its previous form; but it is at least 90% there. Try acupuncture if you do have some sprains/chronic pain. It works and trust me – it is just like an “ant bite”!

Poor boy, when we were cutting his fingernails, the thumb got into the way and .. OUCH!! This happened not once but twice – on the same thumb furthermore!

Can someone tell me how not to end up like that?

I am a fan of ieatishootipost food blog. The blog owner – Dr Leslie Tay – is a doctor by profession and part-time (or maybe full-time!) as a blogger who goes around blogging on “worthy” food! I happened to have the same mandate as his blog’s slogan – “Never waste your calories on yucky food”. Mum always comment that “I live to eat” rather than “eat to live”. haha..

ieatishootipost came out with a food review contest today! If you love to write reviews of places with yummy food, now is the time to win some prizes with your hobby! Check out details here

The blog also organises makan sessions at reasonable prices and of course, at good places too. Join its facebook group for details and periodic updates. Do “jio” me if you are intending to go for any makan sessions, ya?

Recently we had the opportunity to enjoy a nice dinner at Morton’s. I have been to Morton’s bar before, but not The Steakhouse, so was looking forward to it! Mum was kind enough to take care of Ethen while we stole out for some couple time.

Check out the sumptuous dinner we had:

The “special” menu that the restaurant prepared for us. Nice touch!

The interior of the restaurant as below. If you can see the waitress at the background, she is conducting an introductory “spiel” with all the fresh ingredients of the day. Hmm.. it is useful for those who are first timers, though I felt that her spiel became really monotonous after a few rounds! And not to mention the lobster on her tray which is struggling for life – I don’t like to see my food moving!!!!

Super fragrant (and HUGE) onion bread served complimentary. Being a bread lover, I can’t resist this! But after being warned by the waitress that the servings are huge, I held back the temptations to polish off the entire bread! See the before and after photos: I ate the best part – the crispy crust! haha.

We choose the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with Mustard Mayonnaise Sauce for appetizer and a creamed spinach for side dish. The “jumbo” crab cake is nowhere near jumbo; but every mouthful is really “crabful”! Yumz! The creamed spinach was a little disappointing though. I have read rave reviews on it, but it appeared a little too “gelat” (creamy) for me. Kim love it though.

Jumbo Lump Crab Cake

Creamed Spinach

The stars of the day: the famous steaks! 

Mine:  Single Cut Filet Mignon with Béarnaise Sauce

Kim’s: Ribeye Steak, USDA Prime

A dinner is never complete without a sweet ending. The hot molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream is good though not heavenly in my opinion.

Molten Chocolate Cake with vanilla ice cream

Conclusion:

Service: Friendly and knowledgeable staff. When I made a reservation, the person-in-charge asked if there is a special occasion. That’s how the personalisation on the menu came about! Also, the waitress serving us offered to doggy bag our leftovers even without us asking! She is sweet enough to say: the portions here are huge, don’t be shy – we have tons of takeaway bags. haa..

Ambience: Nice warm lightings, but came across quite a noisy place with birthday songs and many business men talking shop!

Damage: S$320! But after offsetting a complimentary voucher from Kim’s company, we paid only S$20. heee…

Overall verdict: If you like your steaks chunky and huge, this place will be a good choice. The steaks made very good sandwiches the next day! However, Kim and I prefer the slimmer Kobe beef which we tried in Kobe, Japan before. Slimmer, teppanyaki style! Otherwise, this it is quite an overrated place.  Good for a special occasion or when your company foots the bill!

That is the question I had been asked ever since Ethen came home. Well… I will always say “yes” – he is ok.

He looks perfectly normal and behaves just like a new born baby; fussing for milk when he is hungry, crying when he wants his diapers changed and whining when he wants a cuddle.

When Ethen was born, his primary diagnoses are one A4 page long. He had almost every imaginable problems a preemie could have. Thank God when he was discharged, the remaining existing conditions went down to 1/3 A4 page. However, he is still battling with a few issues – e.g, a small hole in the heart and grade 1 IVH. – just to name a few. He is also on vitamins, iron and protein on every other feeds.

extra goodies with milk!

Ethen also has a long list of follow up appointments with KKH doctors – from the dietician to the ear doctor to the eye doctor to the physiotherapist to the heart doctor to the neonatologist – the list goes on…. Basically he will be officially“discharged” only when he is 8 years old according to KKH’s policy for preemies with VLBW (very low birth weight).

So – is he ok? Yes – ok to be home with us. He just need extra TLC and time to grow out of his remaining issues.

I am 3.9kg and 52cm now!

Call me slow coach..my first attempt using slideshow! hee..

No kidding! I bit into fish bones in my filet-o-fish!

2 days back, I was enjoying my favourite burger from Macdonald’s and lo and behold I fished out 2 small bones when I was half way through! Thank God I didn’t choke on them. But how dangerous if a young child is to eat this filet instead!

As a preventive measure, I decided to call the branch which I bought the meal from. The deputy manager was apologetic and promised an investigation with the supplier. Hopefully this is just a once off….but parents beware the next time you buy a filet for your child!

“Fathering” methods from a newly minted father:

If you need to work on a laptop and feed your baby at the same time:

To achieve the above, use a special contoured pillow. A closer look (one hand is freed up to do your work!):

To catch up on your sleep, sleep when baby sleeps (avoid treacherous positions though!):

Last but not least, to make sure your baby doesn’t forget you when you go on a long business trip, do the maori :

I shared about my fellow “comrade” during my stay at the hospital (KKH). Patient T – more commonly known as Madam Tan – went through a very similar predicament as me. Right now it is comforting to know that both our babies are growing strong and healthy.

Some interesting similarities that bonded the friendship between both families (adapted in English from Mdm Tan’s blog):

1. Both of us were pregnant with our first baby boy.
2. Both of us had burst water bag between 21 to 23 weeks of gestation and were admitted into the same ward with beds facing each other.
3. Both of us love to hide behind our curtains in the ward; eating durians! (because we heard that durians will help our babies put on weight! But clearly this old wives’ tale didn’t work for me!)
4. Both of us have loving hubbies who came to the hospital after work everyday without fail to visit us. Both hubbies bear all things in silence; willingly and lovingly supported us throughout the entire pregnancy in the hospital.
5. Both of us have mothers who are super-women! Both mothers will go to the hospital everyday; bringing healthy home-cooked food which we readily shared among both families.
6. Amazingly – both of us gave birth to our sons at gestational week 31+ 1 day!
7. Both our babies were born in July – Xi En was born on 31st July and Yuan Hao was born on 13th July. Think about it.. rare to come by 2 dates who are opposite digits within the same month!

So many coincidences (or God-incidences to us) have created an invisible bonding between both families. It is also probably because no one will understand better than a fellow “comrade” who went through the same “suffering”. I am thankful for Mdm Tan because she had taught me resilience and in the midst of “darkness”; we supported each other.

Both of us can definitely see this friendship continuing to our sons’ generation!

WheeWheeWheeWhee!!!! That was the ambulance which brought me to the hospital last fateful Sunday. Due to a freak accident at home, I suffered a severe back sprain and couldn’t move an inch. Kim had to call 995 as there was no way to get me out of the house to see a doctor. Just when I thought we had enough of hospitals…

Thank God, after an x-ray, the emergency room (ER) doctor said that it was a very bad lower back muscle sprain/spasm. After an injection and resting for a while, I was discharged.

After watching so many shows on ERs, ambulances dashing down roads sounding their sirens and doctors/nurses rushing to receive patients in an ER and etc etc, it is never as real experiencing it yourself.

It was indeed a really “thrilling” yet trying experience. However, once is enough.

God, bless me with a stronger and healthier body.. please. 

I am surprised when Kim showed me these photos after the ordeal.. Surprised that he managed to take a few pictures in the midst of the chaos! haa…

The ambulance which took me to the hospital

Medics to the rescue!

Emergency Treatment Room