Looking for and choosing an OB-GYNE in a foreign country can be a mammoth task. If you are like me who finds personal connection in everything she does or meet, it would really be a tough job. I only had one requirement in choosing an OB-GYNE, that she is a female because I am not comfortable spreading my legs in front of another man! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t resent women who don’t mind having a male OB-GYNE. In fact, I do admire these women because unlike them, I get disturbed just by thinking about it.

I found my OB-GYNE through a search engine. Internet penetration in Singapore is close to 100% and what better way of finding something in the ‘little red dot’ but to ‘Google’ your way to an information. I particularly went to motherhood and women forums because in there I knew I would easily find the answers I was looking for.

I finally found a certain Dr. Soong at Thomson Medical Center which is probably the nearest private hospital from our place. She has good reviews from her patients. She has a Chinese name, but since she’s better known as Dr. Bernadette Soong, I knew I wouldn’t have difficulty communicating with her because having an English name is one sign that the person is English-educated in this country (so communication wouldn’t be a problem) and/or the person is a Christian. The latter isn’t really that important because I know it would be asking too much since I am no longer in a Christian-dominated country. (But fate would have it, I have known later that my chosen OB is a Catholic. We share the same faith. The significance of which I will share later in another post.)

And so I searched for her clinic’s number at the hospital’s website (merchants’ websites in this part of the country is as important as their telephone numbers). I phoned in and asked for an appointment. I was lucky, there was an available slot two weeks from that day and the nice Alice, the nurse-cum-secretary, fit me in to the doctor’s schedule. Normally, the busy doctor’s slots get filled up a month before.

The day of my appointment came. I waited for more than an hour despite arriving 30 minutes before my scheduled time slot. I guess that’s the case with any doctor appointments. They cannot control the length of time of each consultation. There are patients who tend to ask too many questions (and would even bring a list of questions with them, which is a good idea I think). There are also times when doctors engage in some personal conversations with their patients, thus, eating some of the consultation time.

I can say it was ‘attraction at first sight‘. My OB made me feel comfortable and at home the very moment I entered her consultation room. Her genuine smile and show of care gave it away. The first five minutes were spent getting to know each other. Natural, I guess, since we would be seeing each other for the next 7 months or so. She was ‘gentle’ specially during intrusive examinations.

The first consultation confirmed my first pregnancy. There was a sac and a heartbeat at 8 weeks. I was asked to go back three weeks after but fate would have it, I needed to see her a few days after because of spotting which eventually led to miscarriage (A separate account on that experience will be posted soon).

Her ‘first consultation’ fee is a bit expensive. (Although I was already expecting the slightly-higher-than-usual fee because the hospital where her clinic is is actually towards the high-end. Why I chose this hospital is because of proximity although there is a government hospital near our place, I am extra-squeamish so I needed an assurance that everything is spic-and-span.) The next consultation fees are manageable if you saved enough for this pregnancy but the meds and the tests like the ultrasound which she does “every” consultation adds up to the expense.

So since I was comfortable with her from the very start, I stuck with the doctor. If not, I would’ve done more ticking and clicking in the search engines to find the right OB-GYNE.

So before you lift that phone and make an appointment with an OB-GYNE you barely know, do some research. Read through some women or motherhood forums and ask the fellow mothers or mothers-to-be in your area for recommendations. Make sure you’re also clear on your ‘criteria’ such as ‘female’ (in my case), has accreditation or is allowed to deliver in the hospital or community hospital or lying-in centers where you want to deliver your baby, and, of course, fees within your budget.

The first consultation is very important. Make sure you ask all the questions you have (including his/her delivery fees) and that the doctor is someone you are comfortable with. It’s best to visit 2-3 doctors before you settle for ‘the one’ who will finally deliver your baby especially if you have doubts or felt uncomfortable with the first doctor you visited. Or even if it’s not the case, it’s always best to check out others first if you have the means and luxury of time to do so.

Upon learning about the possibility of undescended testicles, the worried mom in me researched about it in the internet. Undescended testicle occurs when the testicle or both testicle are absent in the scrotum and are lodged instead in the groin or in the lower abdomen. The testicles may be undescended at birth especially for premature babies or those with low birth weight. But, they may eventually descend at 6 months. If that doesn’t happen, a surgical procedure may be needed to correct it to allow full development of the testicles and prevent associated health problems like hernia, testicular cancer, trauma, infertility, and poor self-image. Reading about that made me more fidgety.

On the other end, hubby and MIL (mother-in-law) requested a referral from the GP and booked an appointment with a Paediatrician. I couldn’t believe it takes 3 weeks wait to see a Paedia in Australia even with a private doctor. I reckon this doesn’t happen in Manila under the same circumstances. And mind you the doctor’s fee was really at the roof. We paid $160 for a less than 10 minute check and only recovered about $66 from Medicare. The good thing, though, is that Kimi doesn’t have an undescended testicles but retractile testicles. In this case, the testicles are in the scrotum but they are hiding somewhere especially when it’s cold. It doesn’t require corrective surgery but should still be regularly checked and monitored. What a relief!

Since then hubby checks them on a regular basis especially after a bath. However, few weeks ago, he was a bit concerned as he can only locate one of the testicles. So even without the need to have an 18 month check with the GP, I booked one with the GP who checked him at 6 weeks to appease us once again. I would have sent him to a Paediatrician again if it was not expensive. During the appointment, GP emphasised that she doesn’t do 18 month check. I told her I knew about it and I’ve booked with the Maternal and Child Health Nurse (MCHN) for next month. I expressed our concern with Kimi’s testicles and two other things (that need a separate article). She checked them and in less than 30 seconds, showed us both testicles at the same time. She advised there is nothing to worry about and she thinks Kimi is progressing well.

Enough of being worried.  But, surely, we all know that parents always want to be assured that their baby is doing great and developing well. If you come across with the same dilemma, don’t hesitate to have your baby checked too by the doctor. Afterall, it is best to know from the expert.

After a few more minutes, the wind was getting strong so I decided to start our walk around the block before eventually heading home in time for his morning nap. He enjoyed the walk, smiling to everyone that walked past and saying aw aw! to the dogs.

Life is tough moving away from our comfort zones, leaving family and friends behind, starting anew. However, simple outing like this makes me like living in Australia. The open spaces and parks and the priority they put on families and raising kids are really great — something that can outweigh the benefit of access to affordable nannies in the Philippines.

1) Her looooong eyelashes which easily get utmost attention — they say she has eyelash extensions (plus her matching big and ‘beautiful eyes’ she would “twinkle” purposely whenever people praise her eyes) and

2) That she’s a happy baby and very well-behaved in public places (please note ‘public’ because she can be a raucous toddler-too-early-to-be-a-terrible-two in private!) even on planes!

I’m not the type of Mum who would belt out every accomplishment of my little one except on one thing — that we never had difficulties raising her up!

We didn’t experience sleepless nights when she was still an infant (except for the first two weeks I guess when we’re just learning to get to know her and all she needed was to be wrapped tightly as if she’s still in my womb). After the two-week challenge, it felt like normal. She would sleep straight into the night, our only clue that she needed feeding was when she started sucking her thumb. Up until now, she wouldn’t ask for her ‘dede’ until you mention it to her — if she repeats after you, she needs her milk but if she ignores you, she simply wants to play.

A lot of Mums have been asking me what’s my secret to a stress-free first year. Well, I should say thanks to my cousin, Oprah, and the power of internet!

My cousin, Met, saw it in Oprah and mentioned it to me but since she’s too forgetful to remember what it’s called, I had to search the internet and You Tube for that Oprah segment in preparation for Chelsea’s coming.

I swear by this and since I have three very good friends who are on the family way now, I’d love to share this with them and hope that they, too, will have a stressful-free first year with their little angels.

It’s called the Dunstan Baby Language.

It posits that babies make up distinct sounds called ‘reflexes’ to communicate with us what they need. Dunstan apparently studied more than 2,000 infants and discovered that most if not all of these babies make the same sound when they want the same thing. All you have to do as a Mum or as an adult caretaker is to try to distinguish those sounds and do what the baby wants you to do.

For instance, whenever Chelsea started crying with the sound of ‘Nyeeee, nyeee, nyeeee’ or ‘Ngeeeee, ngeee, ngeee‘, or “Neh, neh, neh,’ she needed feeding. All I had to do was to give her milk and voila, she’d stop crying.

“Ehhhh, ehhh” is for burping so I’d put her on her stomach so she can burp.

“heh, heh“, is for ‘Change Me, I’m wet’

“Owl” is for sleepy and ‘Eairh‘ is for I have wind.

I seldom heard the last two from Simone but the first three especially the ‘Neh’ and ‘Eh’ are amazingly true!

So before you lose your hair (and wits) from figuring out what your infant wants whenever he cries, try to listen more carefully, he might just be telling you it’s time for his afternoon nap.

But, if you are using public transport in the state of Victoria, I recommend that you check Metlink Melbourne before travelling to plan your trip and get instructions on how to go to your next destination. It includes bus, tram, and train schedule, turn-by-turn instructions when you need to walk, and, of course, a leg and stop map.

In case, you’re heading my way, let me know so I can prepare a cuppa!

I visited the dentist for the first time after I got pregnant. I know it was long overdue but I always managed to find an excuse to visit the dentist and have my teeth cleaned and checked. I know it was critical for me to have a dental check-up right after I gave birth to ensure my teeth are in perfect condition after all the calcium that I lost from my pregnancy. However, postponing my appointment to the dentist became a habit until I finally realised, last week, that delaying it any further will eventually make things worse for me.

I booked an appointment for two to our friendly dentist, Dr Payot. My hubby and I were due for cleaning although I know there were lots of things needed to be done on mine including extraction of my FOUR wisdom teeth and a couple of fillings on my upper molars. I have read somewhere that once kids turn one year old, they should be seeing the dentist and because I was concerned of the yellow spot on her teeth caused by the sugar in her milk, I also decided to bring Simone along for a routine check-up.

While Dr Payot was cleaning my teeth, Simone was watching all the time and the nice doctor was talking to her all the time too. He was explaining to my toddler what ‘Mama’ was going through even if we’re not sure if she understood him. The dentist explained kids needed that so they won’t be afraid when it’s their time to sit on the patient’s chair.

Simone’s turn finally came. Dr Payot asked me to put her on my lap while I sit on the patient’s chair. That way, she wouldn’t feel she’s being scrutinised that would make her reject the procedure and future visits. Simone usually obliges when someone asks her to smile and show her teeth. She was in a good mood during our visit to the dentist but for some obvious reasons, she refused to show her teeth let alone open her mouth. I wanted the dentist to see the yellow spot on her front tooth so he could clean it but my Simone just refused. The dentist gave her a ‘mirror’ because I told him she loves acting infront of a mirror hoping she would show us some of her acting skills and eventually show her teeth. But she just returned the mirror to the dentist and continued to shut her mouth!

After a few minutes of cajoling, Dr Payot finally decided that Simone’s dental check-up is over. He didn’t see her teeth and the yellow spot I was concerned of because he was more concerned that my kiddo might develop ‘hatred’ towards him and refuse to visit him in the future!

Simone loves brushing her teeth. The moment she enters the bathroom for her bath time, she would reach into her tooth brush and I would put on toothpaste almost immediately. She’s using Oral B Stage 2 toothbrush and Colgate for kids. Dr Payot told me to use Fluocaril instead since it helps make the teeth stronger better than more commercialised toothpaste. She’s using Fluocaril now but not long enough for me to notice the difference.

Overall, my Simone’s first trip to the dentist was little of a success but I’m looking forward to her next trip 6 months down the road.