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Monday, July 25, 2011

The Great Big Irony



Ironies in life are many times funny and they do actually mean a lot. And in our case, the ironies that hit us meant a whole lot without us having the slightest inkling of the great big surprise that was coming our way.

It all started with my short business trip down south to attend the much awaited CommunicAsia 2011 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. But of course, for a 2-day 1-night trip, my 3 colleagues and I intended to make the best out of our trip by focusing on the activities for the evening at some lovely watering hole at Clarke Quay. For all the plans that we had made, I had to fall really ill with stomach flu on the night before our trip, almost wanting to tell the gang that I wouldn’t be able to make it. Alas, I couldn’t as I was the leader of the pack and held all the important details regarding our road trip. So after tossing and turning in bed till 3am on that very morning, I literally had to drag myself out of the house to meet the gang at the office at 5.30am. Though we made it to our neighbouring country in less than 2 hours, I had already popped 2 painkillers and hoped in the vain that my fever would go away.

Miraculously I survived the day, hopping onto trains and cabs as we navigated our way to the event venue from our hotel. At the event itself, I popped another 2 painkillers to make sure that I could keep up with my colleagues to tour the whole event that was showcased on 3 different floors. Miraculously again, I wobbled in my 3-inch heels, for 4 hours before being whisked away by an associate in Singapore who apparently brought us to the ‘best’ Thai restaurant on the island. At 5.30pm, we were too early and got chased away by the lady boss. We ended up in this dingy pub on the next street. They recommended me, an innocent drinker, to an innocent pint of innocent apple cider called Strong Bow. I was too thirsty by then to make small talk so I finished the whole glass in 10 minutes. Boy, did it feel good. The last I had a drink was a good 6 hours back. It didn’t occur to me that I was drinking on an empty stomach as I didn’t have appetite for lunch earlier in the day.

We then made our way back to the Thai restaurant and happily ordered the entire menu because I mentioned that I was starving. The dishes came quickly and filled up the table, much to our delight. Again, too hungry to make small talk, I ate as much as I could and felt that it turned out to be a good trip afterall. I guess I forgot that I was still feeling very ill.

AND THAT WAS WHEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE.

On that very evening, I, drenched in cold sweat, staggered through alleys, sat on pavements, tried to open the lift door, knelt at the hotel carpark, fell butt flat 5 steps before reaching the hotel room and miserably missed out on the after party. I never made it to Clarke Quay or Orchard Road that night.

But I had the best sleep ever, from 8.00pm till 8.00am the very next day.

When we returned to Kuala Lumpur, my illness didn’t go away and stayed with me for another week or so. And then it got really bad again when I woke up at 5.00am one day, sweating profusely and feeling nauseated. I didn’t even know why I whipped out the box of untouched test kits that we got for a steal at the pharmacy a year ago but at 7.00am on 26 June 2011, I tested positive for pregnancy. ( I only managed to read about this little thing called ‘intuition during pregnancy’ in a magazine later on).

I didn’t make it to work that day and I also didn’t tell anybody, not even the Mister about the test result. Truthfully, it left me stunned the whole day, not knowing what to expect next. I was happy and yet stunned, as it came unplanned. Afterall, we have only been married for 4 months.

However I couldn’t contain myself and I ended up calling my mum in the evening to break the news to her. She was even greater, as she was the least surprised! Haha, just because your daughter has never been on the pill? But I told her that I wanted be extra sure of the entire situation and told her my plan of testing the kit for another 2 days. Afterall, I still had 3 more kits to use!

And so, the next 2 days were the longest days of my life. On 28 June 2011, I finally shared the news with the Mister and my in-laws (with the 3 test kits as proof! Haha!).

But the funniest part was that I have never kept track of the cycle of my womanhood and couldn’t tell anyone the approximate age of Peanut who was growing in my tummy.

So I bought myself the most expensive kit on the shelf. At RM29.90, the Clear Blue kit gave a digital reading of Peanut being 3+ weeks old!

When I visited Dr Tan, the gynae at Gleneagles, for the first time, he measured peanut to be 7+ weeks old! He also estimated the due date to be early of March 2012. All I could say during the examination while he scanned my tummy was, “Wow, it’s a really a miracle.”

Seeing Peanut all wrapped up in a mini cocoon of flesh and moving to my heartbeat was indeed a sight of a miracle. I immediately felt bad that Peanut had to undergo such ‘horrendous movements’ during that unforgettable Singapore trip of mine. What a rough journey! I must be so lucky that nothing dangerous happened.

Peanut should be 9 weeks old and perhaps 11mm by now. Despite suffering from fashion woes (no more heels! Boo hoo!), severe heartburn, nerve-wrecking backaches, night sickness and a flabby waistline, the sun has never shined this bright.

Peanut, we are all waiting for you.

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