A Liverpool Fan In-Training

I don't care if the Little Piggy is going to be a boy or a girl, one thing I know for sure is... this Little Piggy will be a loyal Liverpool supporter! (I hope!)

Morning Update and Communications

Fear of what Jae would do to me after reading last night's post, I decided to avoid showing up at work, and work from home instead. My guess is... my cubicle at work is already completely trashed by now. The letter 'A', 'B', and 'C' on my keyboard are probably popped out by a screwdriver! But fear not! Halloween will be over in about 10 more hours!

Our phones have been ringing non-stop in the past few days! Tom Cruise and Katy Holmes just called during lunch to make sure that we are 'okay!' P-Diddy (or whatever his name is now) text-ed me, again, at 3am this morning, to make sure that there is enough Bling Bling for the newborn. Now that J-Lo is pregnant, she is trying to be friends with us, again, and decided to call us last night to find out if the Baby is born yet.

With all these phone calls, it's really difficult for Amy to stay relaxed. That's why I added a new Google Talk button on the side-bar (underneath the Twitter display), so that some of you can instant message me. During my time at the hospital, I will be carrying my Blackberry with me, and I will have access to the Google Talk. Since we will not be answering any phone calls during those critical moments, you can choose to instant message me and I will write back to you when I have a moment. My Google Talk ID is my FirstName, Middle Initial, and my Last (Surname) Name, all in one word! No spaces! And if you do not have a Google Account, you can just sign up for one. It's free.

And of course, if you don't want to go through the hassle, that Twitter thing should keep you fairly up-to-date.

At approximately 1pm, Amy reported a contraction. Half an hour later, another contraction was reported. It's 2:25pm right now, and there hasn't been anymore contraction for an hour already. I think the Little Piggy is playing some Trick or Treating on us already!

3 More Hours before the Big Heads-up Match!

It's almost 9pm as I'm typing this post and Kevan's bet on October 30 doesn't look all that good as we speak! With Kevan's bet almost out of the picture, we are now down to only 2 warriors battling out for the jackpot!

But before I provide a brief introduction of these 2 final contestants, please allow me to tell our Readers something...

"I DO NOT WANT A HALLOWEEN BABY!!"

That is, of course, if I'm given a choice! My view is that if the Little Piggy is really born on Halloween, the following is bound to happen:

• The Piggy's next 10 or so (could be more) birthday parties are all going to be in costume!
• His/her Birthday pictures will almost always be taken with a costume on him/her!
• If I'm nice enough to throw him/her a Birthday Party, no one is going to show up because all the kids will rather go Trick or Treating instead!
• And if I do NOT throw him/her a party, the door bell is going to ring all night long, while he/she is enjoying his/her new birthday gift, or during our family dinner!
• Oh, and if I choose to take him/her out, all the so-called kids-friendly and fun places are going to be 'haunted-ly' themed, with restaurant servers that look like Dracula serving us!

And every year will be almost exactly the same! So how much fun could that be?

Again, that is, of course, if I get to choose! That's why when Amy told me this morning that she felt a few contractions last night, I was a bit worried that the Little Piggy might pop out tomorrow! Even if the contractions start now, there is still plenty of time before we wave October goodbye!

With that thought in mind, now take a guess on why Jae Choi picked October 31 as his bet?

JUST - TO - GET - ON - MY - NERVES!!!!!!

For those who do not know, Jae and I work together. He knew all along that I am not looking forward to the possibility of a Halloween Baby. To get back at me for leaving all the work for him to do while I'm gone for the Piggy, I think he purposely picked Halloween as his bet, just to get back at me! It's not nice of him, but I can take it like a Man Dad!

Well, in case you are wondering what that picture is for... this is the belt that I'm going to put on Amy for the next 20 hours or so, plus, I am going to tie Amy's legs together... just to make sure that the Little Piggy stays put past October 31! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ( <--- that's an evil laugh, by the way!) Jae, did I tell you that the only person left to fight for the jackpot... IS MY BROTHER!!??!!?? Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha ( <--- that's an evil laugh, TOO!)

PS. Dear God, I promise to be a good boy if you can make this Little Piggy to stay in her Mommy's tummy for another 20 hours or so! Thanks!

Newborn Screening

It's a rather lengthy article.  It talks about newborn screening and how the screening test - process can be improved. 

3 Left in the Contest with 2 Days (or More) to Go!

We have finally come down to the final 3 contestants! 

On Tuesday, October 30, we have a single bet from Lori and Kevan Kwan.  Kevan is Amy's cousin, who lives here in Los Angeles.  I want to take this opportunity to also thank Kevan for giving us everything that he has, from his 2 kids, to our Little Piggy.  It certainly saved us a lot of money!

My Mom told me today that the Little Piggy is already building up more and more enemies!  (Because of this stupid betting game.)  There are a lot of friends and relatives that are unhappy with the Little Piggy because he/she did not pop out  on the date that they chose.  (If you want to know who they are, just check the calendar.  They are usually from my side of the family.)  My brother, Chris, whose bet is on Nov. 1, even called and told me today that he's very unhappy with everything that the Doctor did to Amy today.  He said: "He shouldn't be doing anything to speed up the process!  Why is he (Dr. Chen) doing this?  Just let it goes naturally... so that I can win the pot!"

Well, even after what Dr. Chen did to Amy, she is still not feeling anything!  Just like what the Doctor alerted us this morning, there was indeed some bleeding after the procedures.  The bleeding was sometimes heavy, but it did stop at around 4pm, and has not returned.  The Little Piggy is kicking and moving as usual!  But there is still no contractions consistently.  (Amy believed that there was one from yesterday, but that was it!)

I took the day off today to take Amy to the Doctor.  I'm glad that I did because we didn't know the Doctor was going to perform such procedure on Amy.  I'm going to return to work tomorrow, provided that nothing will happen tonight. 

Until next time, Take Care!

Doctor's Visit - The Final One Before Birth?

Seeing that lady filling out her form at Dr. Chen's office reminded me the first day when we step into his office.  It felt like it all just happened last month!

We arrived at 10am, our usual appointment time, and we waited a while before we got called-in.  The same routine took place, and a few minutes later, Dr. Chen came in.  As soon as he found out that our Due-Date is Nov. 1, he told us that he needs to do a physical examination.  Dr. Chen told us that he would like Amy to deliver a few days before the Due-Date, up to a few days after the Due-Date.  And a few days before the Due Date is actually like.. now!  He explained to us that he's going to perform a physical examination to see if the Cervix is opened.  If it is opened, he will perform a special procedure to make the contractions to come sooner.

As Dr. Chen was performing his examination, he told us that the Cervix is indeed opened.  He then moved vigorously, with force, and in a few seconds, whatever he was doing down there was done!  Looking from my angle, I thought he was going to pull Little Piggy straight out!  Whatever he did, he looked like he was using a lot of strength/force. 

Dr. Chen told us that the Baby should come in the next day or two.  He also told us that there might be bleeding today, and there's is no need to be alarmed.  There's no need to go to the hospital unless it doesn't stop, or if the bleeding is heavy.  He also told us to continue with our 2-3 hour walk per day!

12 Gone, 5 Left, Liverpool Drew, and a Final Shopping Mall Visit!

Liverpool vs. Arsenal
I started my day watching Liverpool vs. Arsenal. It was a 1-1 draw. We led for 80 minutes, and Arsenal finally pulled one back to earn a point. :-(

Shopping Mall
After the game, we had breakfast and then we headed out to the Beverly Center. We chose Beverly Center, to fulfill Amy's 2-3 hour walk as prescribed by Dr. Chan, because neither Amy and I has been there for more than 10 years! We were just curious to know what does it look like now. We also know damn sure that once the Little Piggy has arrived, we won't have any time to hit the mall, not to mention a mall like Beverly, which is not the nearest to our home.

Before we left the house, I decided to grab my camcorder to take a few shots of this memorable day... a day that mark the last time that Amy and I get to walk the mall alone, and in peace!

We arrived at the mall, and it turned out that not much has changed. The only eye-opening thing is the Ferrari Store that they have there. The Ferrari clothing are all very nice! I saw this one cute looking infant outfit that Amy and I both really like. But it was way too expensive! Otherwise, all the other merchandise in the store are very impressive!

We spent a good few hours in the mall... certainly enough to fulfill her share of walking for the day. We wanted to catch the movie, but the theater in the mall was showing some very old movies. With some time left before dinner, we decided to hop back into our car and cruise around Sunset Boulevard and Melrose Avenue. Again, it has been a while since I've visited these places! (I guess I should have taken Amy out on a date more often... back then!)

After our short drive, we decided to have dinner at Lawry's. Gosh, I think it has been at least 10 years since I last ate there as well! The Prime Rib was good as always. But the prices are a bit expensive! I think it will be another 10 years before Amy and I would go back again!

Below are some pictures that we took from today (with caption)...

Below is a video that I shot, while we were enjoying our afternoon tea. I took this video from the top of the Beverly Center. It shows a panoramic view of Downtown Los Angeles and Hollywood. (This is really meant for my Readers from around the world or out of state.)




Below is a 180 degree view of the dining room at Lawry's (it was taken with the 'night mode' feature turned on, therefore the color is a bit 'strange.')...




Due-Date Contest
It's way past midnight as I'm typing this post. It means that there are 3 more victims that fell for this Scam! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! As for Monday, Oct. 29, we have 2 bets. They are from Elsie 契媽 (my Godmother), and Aunt Jean and Barton (Amy's Aunt and Uncle.) I have no idea why they picked Oct. 29. All I know is that they have 24 hours to go before they kiss their US$20 goodbye! And the somewhat good news is... Amy believes that she had a contraction while we were having dinner tonight. Although we cannot confirm any re-occurance... because her back/waist area has been hurting most of the time. Amy can't tell if it was the Little Piggy's kick on the nerves, or was it really something else.

Okay, I better stop typing. It's a very long post and I'm getting very sleepy! Doctor's Appointment is scheduled for tomorrow morning. We'll find out what Dr. Chen has to say. Maybe I'll post an update tomorrow afternoon.

A Breast-Milk Donation Business in Southern California

My first thought was... how do they know the donor-Mom wasn't doing drugs, alcohol, or even infected with some strange diseases or viruses, right before pumping?  If I didn't miss-read anything, all it mention is some kind of screening 'questionnaire.'  I didn't see it mentioning in the article on any scientific test on the donated breast milk. 

Then, as I was reading this news article, my second thought was... How could they ask for the donation (i.e. 'for free.'), yet turn around and SELL the breast milk at a cost/revenue?  (I didn't want to use the word 'profit' as I don't know if this business model is profitable.)  I understand that they have a 'business' (not charity) to run, and there are certain overhead costs in running this joint.  But hey, at least give the donating-Moms some coupons for discount on nursing pads!! 

Anyway, click here to view this news article came that from today's Orange County Register. 

I Googled their business and this is their official web-site.  As mentioned in the article, their company's name is Milkin' Mamas Breast Milk Bank.  I didn't read into their web-site.  Maybe they did explain further on how to ensure the donated breast milk is safe and hygiene.  If you have the time to read it and found anything, please leave a comment to share with my 1389 readers.

A Night of Mahjong!

I'm typing this post at Juanita's mansion right now.

My plan for today was to take Amy out for a walk in the shopping mall. But this morning, I learned that Grandma will be accompanying Mom to her office, for no good reason, so Amy and I decided to pick up Grandma from Mom's office and take her out for Dim Sum.

On our way out, we rang up Juanita to see if she is interested to join us. She did, but we were too late in the afternoon to have Dim Sum. (It was only 2pm, and I don't know why these places stop serving Dim Sum so early on a Saturday afternoon.) Anyway, we went to another restaurant, and later on, Bruce (Chris' friend) joined us. Before we finished lunch, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at Juanita's house to play Mahjong with Grandma. It started off with Grandma, Juanita, Bruce, and Amy. Mom came by to pick up Grandma later in the afternoon, and the line-up switched to Juanita, Peggy, Amy, and Bruce. Notice that I was not included? Fortunately, I have my laptop with me. :-)

It's now past 10:35pm at night, and they are still playing Mahjong. It's okay! Because this is probably the last time that Amy gets to play Mahjong, without any interruption from the Little Piggy! Yeah, I'm pretty sure that this is the last time we get to play Mahjong before we become parents! (I've heard that once you become a parent of a child, your Mahjong skills improve too!)

With approximately 1.5 hour left before we step into 10/28, it looks like my Father-in-Law is not going to win the Jackpot either. Tomorrow holds the record of receiving the most bets! 3 bets total! They are made by Uncle Sung, Joseph (Amy's brother), and Noelle (my cousin in Hong Kong.) I don't know much about the reasoning behind Joseph and Noelle's bet. But Uncle Sung's bet is based on the lucky Chinese number '28.' I certainly don't mind if the Little Piggy is born on 10/28. As long as he/she doesn't stop me from watching my Liverpool vs. Arsenal game tomorrow morning!

Until next time... go Liverpool!

A Message to My Little Piggy

My Dear Son or Daughter,

On Sunday, at 8am PST, Liverpool is hosting Arsenal at Anfield. Although my team (and soon to be yours too), Liverpool, hasn't been performing well lately, I still have every intent to watch this game, LIVE, on DirectTV Channel 613. It means that I have no plan to spend that 2 hours of MY Sunday morning, anywhere else other than the comfort of OUR home! Let me explain it to you, again, as if you are a 3-year-old kid...

"I DO NOT WANT TO SPEND THIS COMING SUNDAY MORNING AT THE TORRANCE MEMORIAL HOSPTIAL!"

So please behave yourself! Got it?

Love,
Daddy

8 Down, 9 More to Go!

Hi Wing, since you only see Amy once every quarter (sometimes even less than that), I just want you to know that I am only going to charge you Prime+1.75points interest, compounded monthly weekly of course, for the US$20 that I am going to put into the pot for you. Yeah, my Mom hasn't paid me either! But that's my Mom. So, stop whining and pay up!

Today has brought down 2 more contestants... Wing and my Mom. I have no idea why they picked today. I guess 'Great Minds Think Alike." Well, maybe the opposite.

Up next is my Father-in-Law. It means that I need to be nice with my commentary, again!

For those who remember, this weekend will be exactly 2 weeks since we last visited the hospital because of Amy's bleeding. It has been a bi-weekly event, so all eyes (and fingers... for dialing) will be on Amy, especially on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the Little Piggy continues to kick, kick, kick... and there is no sign of any contractions.

Wow! It's Officially Less Than 1 Week Now!

So, yesterday's bet belongs to Gloria, and nothing happened! We had our usual TV-night on every Thursday, and therefore, I didn't made time to type up a post to thank Gloria, and all the previous... em em... Losers Participants who have contributed to the Jackpot so far, and lost!

Today is the first time that multiple-bets were placed onto the same day. We have Amy's friend, Wing, and my Mom, both picked today as the 'Big Day.' I'm at work right now, but the last check from this morning was... Nothing! Amy's only complain this morning was the Little Piggy's vigorous kicking throughout the night. Maybe this Little Piggy wants to get out of Mommy's tummy, today, to make Grandma happy!

Bumbo Baby-Seat Danger

Must see if you have one of these Bumbo Seat.

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3775205&affil=kabc

The Suitcase is Packed! We Are Ready to Go!

We are just waiting for the Little Piggy to give us the signal!

Below is a picture of the under-shirt that Little Piggy will be wearing when he/she leaves the hospital.


These are all the clothes that the Little Piggy have for the next 72 months! No more shopping!

5 Outs! A Dozen More To-go!

Today's bet is from Uncle George and Aunt May from Australia. With 3.5 hours left before we step into October 25, I don't think today is the day. Sorry!

Up next is Gloria. Gloria and I went to Kindergarten together in Hong Kong. She now lives in San Francisco, married, with 2 cute little boys. She gave us plenty of advices throughout our pregnancy. If she wins the pot, she deserves it completely!

The philosophy behind her bet is simple... 1 week early!

We are going to find out within the next 27 hours if she will be the winner.

Meanwhile, there was no more contraction dreams last night. Amy's tummy seems to have gotten bigger, and lowered. Otherwise, everything is normal!

We're Finally Down to Single Digit!

9 more days to go!

We can officially start doing the 10, 9, 8, 7, 6.... countdown!

Not much has changed so far, except that Amy had a dream that she was having contractions last night. I did ask her if the contractions were real, and only because she was sleeping, she thought it was a dream. The fact that she didn't have a single contractions all day, today, tells me that it was really a dream.

As for the Due-Date Contest, today's bet belongs to my Mother-in-Law. It's almost 11pm right now. I don't even think I can rush Amy to hospital and have a c-section by midnight, even if it is planned. Therefore, I don't think Oct 23 is the winning bet. Up next, Amy's Uncle and Aunt in Australia.

Fire Update (for those who don't live in Southern California): We are okay. Amy's Parents are okay. My Parents are okay. Of the 3 families, my parents live closest to the fires. You can smell the burnt all around Los Angeles anyway.

This one is for all the parents out there...

... who understands English.

It was actually sent to me from my Mom. Turn up the volume a bit to hear the lyrics, but not too loud if you are reading this from work.

Doctor's Visit - 37th Week

I can't believe there is only 10 more days left to go before we get to the Due-date!  I still remember vividly that when I added that "Live via Satellite" thing on the sidebar, it was still at the low-200-days-to-go level!

Another week has gone by, and it's time to visit the Doctor again!  Although the waiting area of the Doctor's visit was relatively empty, we waited for quite a while before we were called in to meet with the doctor. 

The same routine took place... Urine Test, Blood Pressure, and Weight.  Nothing really exciting, anymore!  We almost ran out of questions to ask the Doctor!  But I did managed to pull a question... a question that I'm sure all the contestants of our "Guess The Due-Date" contest wants to ask:  "Dr. Chen, when do you think the actual Due-Date is going to be?"

Dr Chen:  "I can assure you that the Baby will be born in 2007!"

Well, at least I tried!

Dr. Chen then used the Doppler to measure the Baby's heartbeat again.  159 beats per minute!

And that's about it! 

When the nurse at the reception was scheduling our next visit, which is 1 week from today, she said:

"We'll see you in a week!  If the baby is not born yet!"

Wow!  This is getting really close!

2 Out, 15 To-go!

My dear cousin Juanita has not spoken to me since almost 30 hours ago!  Amy saw it on her Facebook saying something like "I feel rich!"  I tried to find it on her Facebook page, but her Facebook page is looking like an over-flow toilet mess on top of pages of Yellow Pages.  I just can't find any "useful" information on her Facebook page, other than her name!   Anyway, as long as she hasn't changed her cell phone number, I can still get hold of her to get the money! 

Today's bet belongs to Juanita's partner-in-crime, Peggy!  Somehow, Juanita convinced Peggy that her unproven theory of every-other-weekend is going to work, and made Peggy to pick today, a Monday, just in case Amy has a prolonged labor, from yesterday.  Well, Peggy, let me tell you this... the only thing from Amy that is prolonged right now, is probably her constipation!  (A normal sign of pregnancy, by the way.)  Other than that, everything has been normal so far! 

As of right now, Amy is taking her afternoon nap, and unless something drastic happens, I don't see the Little Piggy will be born within the next 7 hours!  So, pay up!

Up next, Amy's Mom (aka my Mother-in-Law.)  Follow by Amy's Aunt (her Dad's sister in Australia.)  Looks like it's time for me to be nicer with my comments for the next few days!   :-)

T-minus 11 Days...

But for Juanita, she has only 7 hours left before her bet expires. We are heading to Amy's parents home for dinner tonight. We skipped the trip to my Mom's home in Riverside this weekend. So far, there is absolutely no sign of contractions!

Dear Cousin, I think your only hope of winning the bet is if our ride (my driving) to my in-laws is so rough, that causes the Little Piggy to actually pops out!

Oh, did I mention that you still haven't paid me?

Doctor's Appointment is tomorrow morning. Let's see what the Doctor has to say!

Tobacco Smoking Screws up the Y-Chromosome

On a different note, my high-school buddy Gary called last night, from Hong Kong, to find out if my baby is born yet. For those who remember, I mentioned earlier that he is also expecting his second child, with the same Due-Date as ours. And that second baby has just arrived, early, last week. Baby Julie Suen was born on October 16, 2007. Both Mom and Baby are healthy! Congratulations to the Suen family! Actually, I should also mention that Gary's younger brother, Dr. Richard Suen, also gave birth to a baby boy in Riverside, California. Again, both Mom and Baby are healthy as well. Congratulations to you too!

Gary asked if I still don't know the gender of the baby. I told him "of course!" He told me that his guess is a 'boy.' And this is his reasoning...

I asked our Doctor, after our first child (a girl), on how I can 'create' a boy next time? He asked if I smoke. I said 'yes.' The Doctor told me to quit smoking and my chance of having a boy will increase. The Doctor said tobacco smoking affects the y-chromosome of the gene, which means that it will increase the chance of giving birth to a baby girl.

That's totally something new to me! I guess they should start adding this warning/advice onto the cigarette packaging label. If this is really scientifically proven, I'm sure the smoking population will greatly reduced in China!

Just a trivia to my loyal Readers... October 16 not only is Baby Julie Suen's birthdate, does anyone remember the significance of October 16?

1 Out, 16 To-go!

We have about 3.5 hours left before Great-Grandma's bet expires. Even if Amy breaks her water now, I doubt that the Little Piggy will be out by midnight.

The next bet on the list belongs to my cousin, Juanita. Her philosophy on picking October 21 is based on Amy's bleeding pattern. She said since the bleeding always occur on a late Saturday night, she believes that Little Piggy will be born this late Saturday night (today), and going into early Sunday morning. She even called this morning to warn Amy to 'better start contraction ASAP.' But what she seems to have neglected that Amy's bleeding happened every-other-week. Since Amy's most recent bleeding was just 1 week ago, if 'the pattern' is true, there is still one more week to go!

On a different note, I took Amy out for a walk today to fulfill the 2-3 hours of walking prescribed by Dr. Chen. Including Dinner, I think we managed about 2.5 hours spent outside of the house. But the actual walking time could be less. Come to think of it, it is really not that easy to walk 2-3 hours everyday unless it is part of your job.

As of right now, there is still no sign of contraction. Good luck to you, Juanita!

29 Hours and Counting!

In just a few hours, the first bet on our Guess The Due-Date Contest will begin to kick-in!  Little Piggy's Great-Grandma guess turns out to be the earliest guess, which is October 20.  It means that if Great-Grandma wants to win the jackpot, Amy better be in labor soon!  Considering all those 20+ hours-of-labor stories that we've been hearing, it will be a quite a rush if Little Piggy wants his/her birth date to be October 20, 2007!

So far, Amy shows no sign on contraction.  Although this Little Piggy has been kicking vigorously in the past few days.  You may say that all these kicking is a sign that the Piggy wants to get out of Mommy's tummy.  I think this Little Piggy just doesn't want to leave his/her comfort zone so soon! 

A new feature has been added!

As we get closer and closer to the delivery date (not to mention that money is now involved with the actual due-date), more and more Readers from around the world are constantly asking if Amy is feeling any contractions... yet!?

Therefore, I thought it would be 'somewhat' useful to add a Micro-blog gadget to this blog. To the right of this page, atop the sidebar, you will see a square box titled 'Contractions Update.' Basically, this is an application widget from Twitter. For those who already use Twitter, there's no need for further explanation here. For those who have never heard of Twitter, it is really a tool for blogging, but at a minute detail level. It is designed for a quick and simple post/update with a maximum of 140 characters long. The cool thing is, I can type a short and quick update directly from my Blackberry, and the message will then appear in this window, with date and time stamped automatically.

When the 'Big Day' approaches, I will be spending most of my time taking care of Amy, with less opportunity to update this blog, in detail. Assuming that I remember to bring my Blackberry with me before heading to the hospital, I can simply type a short update via the Blackberry, and all the Readers around the world will know exactly (well, not really) what is going on... in between contractions! And if you want to see the entire timeline of events, simply click on 'follow AnthonyChan' and you can see all my previous updates. As you can tell, I don't use this Twitter tool that often.

Anyway, I want to stress that this is just an intent/attempt on my part to keep my Readers posted. I cannot guarantee that this idea will be executed as planned. There are 2 women in this world would make loose my mind when they scream and yell at me. One is my Mom, and guess who is the other one! :-)

Time's up! Here's the Summary of the Due-Date Contest!

• There are a total of 19 comments
  
• Of the 19 comments entered, 2 of those didn't count because the very first comment was just an example made by myself, while the other one is a 'true-comment' that Piggy's Grandma left at the very end
• Therefore, there are a total of 17 valid entries/guesses
• 17 x $20 = US$340
• The earliest guess was made by Piggy's Great Grandma with October 20. It means that if Piggy pops out anytime from now till the 20th, Great Grandma will pick-up US$340!
• The latest guess was made by Piggy's Uncle Chris with November 1. Personally, I think Uncle Chris is in a great position because he would win the pot if Piggy follows the schedule, or if Piggy wants to stay inside Mom's tummy even longer than scheduled.
  
• In fact, I'm surprised to see that an on-the-spot-Due-Date-guess turns out to be the latest one. Most people seem to think Piggy will arrive early! Maybe it's because of Amy's bi-weekly hospital visit pattern!
• October 28 is the most popular date with 3 guesses! If it truly turns out to be October 28, each contestant will win US$113. It's still a significant amount!
  
• The calendar below highlights for you who has picked which date
• If you use Google Calendar, I have opened up this Little Piggy's Calendar so that you can add it to your own Calendar too!
  
• Also, a shortcut link is also provided in the side-bar, on the right-side of this blog. Simply click on the link provided underneath the 'Calendar of Events', and it will take you directly to this calendar
• Last but not least, a big thanks to those who participated this contest! Some day, when this Little Piggy is old enough to read and understand all these, I'm sure he/she will appreciate all you love and care!

Only 26 More Hours Left to Go... Hurry!

By the time you read this post, there will be less than 18 hours, before we reach the entry deadline of the inaugural 'Guess the Due-Date Contest!'

So don't wait any longer! As of right now, the pot is already more than US$200!!

So how much do you think the entry fee would cost you, for a chance to win more than US$200?!!?

No, not US$100!

Not US$80.

Not even US$50!

Lower?! No Problem!

How about less than US$40?

No, that's too much too!

US$35? No, that's an odd number amount and I don't like that!

How about US$30?

NO! NO! NO!

Stop the guessing! Let me tell you...

For only US$20, it will buy you a chance to win AT LEAST US$200!!

But wait!

Post your entry before 11:59pm PST (GMT -8:00), and I assure you that the pot will be AT LEAST US$240!!!

And don't forget! The pot is growing BY THE MINUTE!

So why wait? Why? Whhyy? WWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY??????

Especially if you have read this far into this post, you mind as well move your mouse to CLICK HERE!

Yes, just click here, here, here, or here, and you are on your way to an overnight fortune!

So don't wait any longer! Do you hear me! 唔好等啦!!


NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. CONTEST OPEN TO HUMAN BEINGS WHO ARE 18 OR OLDER. CONTEST VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

Doctor's Visit - 36th Week

Another week has gone by, and it's time to go see Dr. Chen again!

Since we had another 'episode' over the weekend, even if we don't have an appointment with the Doctor today, I would have called to request an unscheduled visit anyway.

The Doctor's office was busy this morning! It was crowded, but I was pretty sure that the size of my wife's tummy is the biggest in the room! There's a couple sitting next to us, who spoke fluent Cantonese. They look older... late 40s maybe?... so I assumed that they weren't there for pregnancy related matters. It was obvious that the wife is literate in English because she was totally focused on filling out the forms (the kind that you have to filled during your initial visit.) But when she got to the 'Patient Medical History' section, it was a torture to have to listen to her conversation with her husband. She was reading out loud EVERY medical condition in English and ask her husband, in Cantonese... "remember that one time when I had that , do you think it was related to this ." I swear! She thinks she has/had every medical condition listed under that 'Patient Medical History' section! Not surprisingly, her husband showed not much patience with her questions either. All his answers were given in a short and irritated tone/manner, in Cantonese of course. As soon as the husband answered her question, she would write it down and ask the next question, immediately! It certainly provided some entertainment while we were waiting to see the doctor.

Finally, we got called-in. Amy did the same routine of urine test, blood pressure, and weight. It is very impressive to see that Amy's weight is not gaining a bit, considering that she's been eating quite a bit lately. Dr. Chen even gave the green light for her to eat all that she wants, including ice-cream, since a few weeks ago! And trust me, Amy did exactly what the doctor told her to do!

After we got settled in the exam room, we waited a bit and here came Dr. Chen. We told Dr. Chen that Amy was bleeding again over the weekend. He asked me what did I/we do? As much as I wanted to tell him that we ignored the bleeding and went to sleep, I told him that we went straight to the hospital (which is the truth, by the way!) I also hold Dr. Chen what the hospital did to us, and how we got released a few hours later.

Dr. Chen didn't seem to be concerned at all! Instead, he asked if Amy has been walking 2-3 hours per day. We told him that we usually go for a walk after dinner, and sometimes Amy managed some afternoon walk at the mall, but only once or twice in the past week. Dr. Chen then told us that the kind of 'slow-walking' after dinner doesn't count against the 2-3 hours of daily walk. Dr. Chen told us that he wants Amy to walk 2-3 hours per day, with some pace. The arms have to be almost swinging from front to back during walking, as he demonstrated. I asked if cooking and doing the dishes count? Unfortunately, he said 'no.'

Dr. Chen used the Doppler to measure the baby's heartbeat. It was 144 beats per minute. If you want an idea of what it sounds like, click here to see the video that we took during our latest hospital visit.

I asked Dr. Chen if we should be concerned with the bleeding that happened over the weekend. He said: "No, her body is just preparing for birth. Especially when the bleeding stopped shortly after."

"Is there a possibility that she will bleed again?" I asked.

"Absolutely!" Dr. Chen said.

"And we shall go straight to the hospital again?"

"Yes! Better be safe than sorry!" Dr. Chen said.

That pretty much concludes our visit for this week. Our next visit will be 1 week from today!

Hospital Visit #2 !!

It was exactly 2 weeks ago that we visited the hospital the first time because of some bleeding. And last night, when we arrived home from my Mom's house, Amy realized that she was bleeding again. Although not as strong/heavy as 2 weeks ago, we learned to analyze the blood to determine that it was 'fresh' because of the bright red color. It was already 12:30 at night, we were all mentally prepared to sleep. As much as we don't want to get changed and go to the hospital, we had to. Even though we both think that it will be just like last time... which is getting released from hospital in an hour, we still have to go because this is what the Doctor ordered. Since I want to make good use of this hour in the hospital, I decided to grab my camcorder on my way out! (More on that later!)

Same route, same routine... except that we took our time, drove slowly, and picked out the best parking spot! We were checked in to the hospital, to Room 10, get changed, and settled down. The same tests were performed on Amy, and the same instruments were hooked-up onto her. But right when we were anticipating the nurse (by the way, this nurse is much nicer than the last one!) to tell us that "we can go home now, Amy's body is just preparing for the baby's arrival." We were told a different message this time:

"I've checked with the Doctor on-duty, and we decided to keep you here for 2 to 3 hours to make sure that you are not in labor."

Crap! I want to go home! I'm sleepy and tired! And while I was thinking just that, the nurse looked to me and asked:

"That chair that you are sitting on does open up to be a bed. Would you like me to get you some pillows and blankets?"

"Yes, please!" I said. But in my mind, I wanted to say "could you also bring me a cup of hot chocolate and some cookies too? And make sure the cookies are the chewy kind!"

Anyway, this is the chair that I was sitting last night. I know I looked like I was the one who needed medical attention, but believe me, I did this pose on purpose just to entertain my wife! I didn't take a picture/video of how the chair turns into a bed. As you can imagine, that 'bed' wasn't that comfortable at all, if it can somehow fitted inside this chair!


So we dimmed the light, closed the door, and fell asleep (almost immediately) while listening to Little Piggy's heartbeat.

At approximately 3:30am, the nurse came into our room and woke us up. She did another round of examination on Amy, and here's the diagnosis:

• The cervix hasn't opened yet
• The monitor recorded some contractions, although minor
• The bleeding is probably caused by the thinning of the cervix
• Since the cervix hasn't opened yet, and your bleeding has stopped, we are going to release you from the hospital

I helped Amy to get dressed and we left the hospital at 4:00am.

Our next doctor's appointment is booked on coming Monday morning anyway. So we can check with Dr. Chen to get a deeper understanding of the situation. As of right now, the bleeding has stopped, and Amy is not feeling any obvious sign of contractions.

With this note, I think it's time for me to impose a deadline on the 'Guess the Due-Date' contest. Please click here for more updated information.

Before I conclude this post, I would like share with you a short video that I took while we were in the hospital this time. You can see what the delivery room looks like, and most importantly, you get to hear Little Piggy's heartbeat up-close-and-personal! Enjoy!

Dr. Andrew Rutland's License has been Re-instated

If you are looking for a Obstetrician-Gynecologist, and happen to live around L.A./Orange County area, click here to read more about him.

Warning: If you don't read, you wouldn't know how far to stay AWAY from him!

Today is the day that will forever changed the Automotive industry...

World renowned driver and long time BMW enthusiast, Anthony Chan, has successfully installed an infant car-seat in his 2004 BMW 330i (with Performance Package.)

Please observe a moment of silence for this historical event.

Doctor's Visit - 35th Week

We went to the doctor again today for our, now weekly, routine check-up. Dr. Chen first check the Little Piggy's heartbeat by using the Doppler. The heartbeat was 166 beats per minute! Dr. Chen then used his hands to press deep into Amy's tummy to feel the location of Little Piggy's head. As mentioned before, this Little Piggy is now completely upside down. Dr. Chen also held Amy's hand to press against her own tummy so that she could feel the baby's head too!

Doctor Chen also told us the result of the Group B Strep Test that we did last week came back normal.

The Doctor also told Amy to walk 2 to 3 hours per day from now on until she's in labor. This will be a challenge for Amy because she had to sit down for a break whenever she walked for about 10 minutes during this past weekend's baby shopping. I don't know how is she going to walk 2 to 3 hours per day... even with my credit card on-hand!

Finally, we asked Dr. Chen if he has any pediatrician whom he will recommend. He suggested Dr. Annette Liu. I'm going to do some research in the next few days/weeks to find out more about her.

Our next visit is in a week's time. This Little Piggy could signal his arrival at any moment! Therefore, if you still haven't put your name (and money) down for the Due-Date Guessing game, please click here!

Peace out!

Babymoon - Pictures and Videos

Finally! The Babymoon pictures are here! As you can tell, it's been a busy few weeks since the Babymoon, and I have finally completed the video processing so that I can share the following with you.

Let me start by showing you some highlight-pictures of our trip...

Now that you have an idea of what the Resort looks like, I want to share with you all the food that we consumed over the weekend!


Now, it's time for a tour of the Suite that we stayed...


We also spent some time at the pool. And here's what the view looks like when you're at the poolside.


This is another view from the pool... but this time, I was in the video while Amy is trying out the camcorder.


Finally, here is an video of the sunset that I captured while we were dining at the restaurant. The original video was 3 minutes long. Knowing that my readers wouldn't spend 3 minutes to enjoy this magnificent Southern California sunset, I have condensed the length of the video to 1 minute short! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did.


It was such a wonderful weekend getaway, and I am sure that both Amy and I will remember this trip forever! Amy and I want to extend a special 'Thank-you' to Chitra Hammond for the gifts (the robe and the teddy bear from the picture), the Suite, and all the 'special treatments' that we received throughout our stay! This has to be one of the best hotel that we have ever stayed so far! Thank you!

PS. If you still haven't entered your name into the money pot for the 'Guess the Due Date' contest, I would like to invite you to do so now, by clicking here! Come on people! It's only US$20, and I only have 5 entries! Not to mention that none of our parents have participated yet! Show some love to this Little Piggy!

Guess the Due Date Contest

We all know that the projected Due Date of the Golden Little Piggy is November 1. Amy and I have decided to start a contest for those who are interested in guessing the actual Due Date of the Golden Little Piggy.

To enter this contest, simply leave your name and your 'guess' in the form of a comment to this post. You know what… just click here to post your entry. The entry fee is US$20, and the person whose answer turns out to be the closest to the actual Due Date wins the pot. You are also allowed to make multiple guesses. Just make sure you enter 1 guess per comment. Each additional guess/comment will be another US$20 added to the pot.

Those who are reading this post from other countries are also welcomed to join! I will even take your local currency if you mail-in the money, or you can simply donate and equivalent of US$20 to the Golden Piggy College Fund, which you can find somewhere in the sidebar, to the right side of this page.

To start it off, I’m going to post a sample for you to follow. Just keep in mind that my post/guess is not going to count! Not that I would know the exact Due Date, I just consider myself as an ‘insider’, and neither Amy, nor I, should be allowed into this contest.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing your participation!

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Update to this post! (updated on 10/14/2007)

• Multiple guesses on the same Due-Date is allowed!
• Multiple entries to this contest is allowed! As long as you pay your US$20 entry-fee according to how many times you have entered a guess.
• Immediate Family Members ARE ALLOWED to participate! (Since I haven't seen any entry from our immediate family members!)
• DEADLINE TO PARTICIPATE IS: 11:59PM Pacific Standard Time (GMT -8:00) on October 16, 2007! (Just in case you wonder... October 16 is our wedding anniversary! I still have not received any insider information on the Due-Date. Everything I know so far has been disclosed in this blog!)
• Hurry and get your votes in before it's too late!
  

Doctor's Visit - 34th Week

We were able to get an appointment with Dr. Chen this morning. I called early this morning and told the Assistant of our incident and she told us to stop by the office whenever.

When we arrived, we didn't have to wait long before we got called-in. We told the doctor about what had happened over the weekend, and after we answered a few more questions, he started the ultrasound machine.

"The Baby looks good!"

"The size of the skull is growing exactly according to term."

"The heart is healthy."

"The leg bones are in good length."

Basically, everything looks good. The bleeding was probably caused by the placenta separated prematurely, said Dr. Chen. This is also known as Abruptio Placenta. This kind of condition is responsible for roughly 1 in 4 cases of late-pregnancy bleeding. But there's absolutely nothing for us to worry about. The key factor was, the bleeding stopped.

I've asked Dr. Chen if further bleeding is still possible and the answer is 'yes.' And if it happens again, we are supposed to follow exactly what we did over the weekend... go straight to the hospital.

Dr. Chen also said that the walking from yesterday's shopping was good because the fact that it didn't triggered additional bleeding, was a very good sign.

Our next appointment is one week from today.

And before I conclude this post, I just want to say a big Thank You to those who offered so much help and care throughout this weekend's incident. :-) Thanks!

Hospital Visit #1

We were at my Mom's house in Riverside on Saturday night. Just when we were getting ready to leave, Amy decided to use the bathroom before the long drive home. When she came out of the bathroom, she told me (us) that she was bleeding! My immediate screen for symptoms were: No Pain, No Contraction, just Bleeding.

We left the house immediately and drove straight to the hospital, with my brother and his newly wedded registered-nurse/wife followed behind.

We checked into the hospital, the labor and delivery department of course, and we were immediately assigned into a room. Amy changed into a hospital gown, and two monitors were immediately attached to her tummy to monitor the baby's heartbeat. (For the record, it was averaging 145.) An urine test was conducted, followed by a physical examination by the nurse. (The real nurse with an attitude. Not my new Sister-in-law.)

We waited a while and the Doctor on-duty told the nurse (with an attitude) to told us that everything is fine...
- The blood was not fresh. It was in brownish color. It means that the bleeding was not continuous. A positive sign.
- The physical examination yielded no sign of labor.
- The urine test showed no sign of abnormality.
- There has been no record (or signs) of complication throughout this pregnancy term so far.

The diagnosis: Amy's body was preparing for the child birth. Some changes and movement in her body had caused the temporary bleeding.

Sounds good to me! But in addition to this positive (or shouldn't it be 'negative' in medical terms) diagnosis, I have learned something more valuable:
1) I showed my wife that I know exactly how to get to the hospital, even when it's dark outside!
2) I showed my wife that I know exactly where to go once we have arrived at the hospital
3) I showed my wife that I can be calm
4) My wife showed me that she thinks I'm too calm when her body is bleeding!
5) We both learned that we are absolutely unprepared for this Little Piggy's arrival! Why?

• The crib is still sitting at Amy's parents' home
• The same for the Stroller
• The car seat is not installed
• How about only 1 piece of baby clothing in our house so far

Basically, we have absolutely nothing! Had the baby arrived last night, the hospital would probably called the Social Worker and take our Little Piggy into Foster Care!

Our plan was to do some shopping this Sunday (today.) Even before this 'bloody' incident, this was the plan. A few readers of this blog can even vow for me because I did mentioned to them over the phone. Well, guess what we have been doing all day today? :-)

Anyway, our next scheduled doctor's visit is not until a week from today. I will try to contact the doctor's office first thing tomorrow morning to see if Dr. Chen can squeeze us into a check-up tomorrow.

**

On a different note, we have received numerous 'expert' diagnosis, offered by our immediate friends and family, before, during, and after last night's incident. Here's a recap of what these 'doctors' had to say...

Mrs. X from HKG (name is withheld for security reasons): "Bleeding means labor is to begin!"

My cousin (name is also withheld, but I only have 1 cousin who has given birth before... well, as far as I know!): "Ha Ha Ha! You're going to be a Dad reeeaaaallll soon! She's going to start contraction tomorrow (today), because this is exactly what happened to me."

Mrs. Wong (name is NOT withheld because Mrs. Wong has no clue that this blog exists): "Bleeding means/is-a-sign-of miscarriage! Stay in bed! Don't move! Sleep! Bleeding means/is-a-sign-of miscarriage! Stay in bed! Don't move! Sleep! Bleeding means/is-a-sign-of miscarriage! Stay in bed! Don't move! Sleep! Bleeding means/is-a-sign-of miscarriage! Stay in bed! Don't move! Sleep!"

It has been more than 24 hours since the incident. As mentioned, we did some shopping today. We went out for dinner tonight. There has been no abdominal pain, and no sign of contraction what so ever. More importantly, I'm glad to report that the bleeding never re-occurred. In fact, it pretty much stopped by the time we arrived at the hospital last night. Like I said, I will try to get some face time with the Doctor tomorrow. I will update this blog with the latest.

Now, it's time for me to get some bed-rest!