Dutch Shortcakes

This recipe is quite simple and loved most by Adam and his dad. I used a cheap piping bag and when I was about to pipe the dough, it tore! So I had to pipe the dough using just the nozzle. Surprisingly, it did not stress me out but made me laugh instead :) So, if you wanna make this shortcakes, make sure you have a good and strong piping bag. Or you can just make a ball and flatten it :)

Ingredients
2 tablespoon custard powder (or cornflour)
180g plain flour
150g butter
80g caster sugar
1 egg yolk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Sift the custard powder and flour together.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together and beat in the egg yolk. Mix in the flour well.
3. Put the mixture into a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle and pipe three flat zig zag lines about 5x25 cm on a non stick baking sheet. (I made smaller lines maybe about 3x15cm each)
4. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until pale golden brown. While still warm, cut each piece into six and cool on a wire rack.

Pre-prenatal Checkup

I only started to read on prenatal after I was pregnant with Adam. This time around, I hope to be more prepared hence the little research I did on the size of the pelvic bone and all.

So, after much consideration and reading hundreds of reviews, last Saturday I went to see Dr Shahbahiah Mohd Zain, Obstetrician & Gynecologist at Selangor Medical Centre. Unfortunately she had to perform an emergency C-Sect and by the time I was called to her room, it was already 1.10pm. I told her a bit on my history and the reason I went to see her. She agreed that by doing an X-ray we could determine if there is any chance at all for me to have a vaginal delivery but it was too late to do that day so she asked me to come again on Monday. She was nice enough to just cancel the consultation and I did not have to pay anything. 

When I went to see her again on Monday, she told me she just called the Radiology department and was told they do not have the ruler but the radiologist will look around for any other hospital. Since I was already there, she did the pap smear. I was soooooo scared after hearing so many unpleasant stories. Surprisingly, it was not that bad. It was a bit uncomfortable but there was no pain, at all! She also did an ultrasound and Alhamdulillah everything looks good. I like this doctor. :)

Dr Shahbahiah also asked me about my previous pregnancy, trying to understand what happened before. She also answered all my questions and cleared some doubts I had earlier. She was soft and nice. I like her :)

After paying for the consultancy and the pap smear, I went to see the nurse again to ask for MC as there is a possibility that I have to do the X-ray in the afternoon but the doctor went to see her patients so I went to have breakfast. While having breakfast, I called Poliklinik Al-Hikmah to ask if they can do the procedure. Unfortunately the don't but they referred me to NR Screening Cerntre. Uncle Boy the X-Ray Man (I swear that was how he introduced himself) told me they don't have the ruler for Lateral Pelvimetry Screening but Daya Screening Centre (or was it clinic) in Jalan Raja Laut has it because he worked there before. As I was writing down the clinic's phone number, Kak Aida, Dr Shahbahiah's nurse came to me in the canteen and handed me a blue slip. Apparently they could do the screening there!

I went to the Radiology Centre right after that. Had to wait for a bit as there were quite a number of patients. Then they called me in and I had to do 2 X-Rays. One standing up and another one lying down. Then I had to wait again for them to print it. But then, they called me in again to do another 2 X-Rays lying down. I was told that the doctor wanted to see a few angles. And again, I had to wait for them to print it.

Once they gave me the X-ray, I brought them to Dr Shahbahiah and she assessed the X-Rays. And she told me what I was waiting to hear, by looking at the size of my pelvic bones I might be able to have a vaginal delivery. Yes! But of course it will depends on the size of the baby and it's position later on. But at least I could try for normal delivery and save the $$ to buy a nice beautiful cot :) Anyway, she told me that usually baby will engaged by the 38th week. Only 1 of 20 will only engage right before delivery. So, that could be a possibility as well.

That sums up my visit to Dr Shahbahiah. Oh, one more good news, I only had to pay RM140.85 for the whole visit. X-Ray was RM40. Pap Smear was RM50.85 and consultancy was only RM50! This is good. Good service and good value :)

Asam Pedas Melaka

Actually recipe ni dapat from my sister in law, anak jati Terengganu. Tapi dia dapat from her sister yg pernah kerja kat Melaka bertahun-tahun and sekarang ada kedai Asam Pedas Melaka somewhere in Cheras. And bila guna resipi ni jugakla first time my hubby (org Melaka) cakap jadi! Kalau tak mesti ada je x cukup masamla x cukup pedasla walaupun pada tekak orang Terengganu ni dah rasa hebat giler..  Ok so here is the recipe..

Bahan-bahan
1 biji bawang besar, ditumbuk
3 ulas bawang putih, ditumbuk
6 sudu besar cili boh (saya guna cili kering yang dah direbus n blend)
1 cm kunyit hidup, ditumbuk (saya guna 1 sudu kecil serbuk kunyit)
1 cawan air asam jawa (asam jawa lebih kurang besar bola ping pong)
2 keping daun limau purut, dikoyak
Bendi
Garam
Ikan Tenggiri/merah

Cara-cara

1. Tumis bawang besar dan bawang putih
2.  Tambah cili boh, kunyit hidup dan belacan. Teruskan tumis sehingga naik bau.
3.  Tambah daun limau purut.
4. Selepas naik bau dan pecah minyak, tambah air asam jawa.
5. Biar lama sikit dan rasa dulu baru masukkan ikan.
6.  Tambah terung atau bendi.
7.  Tambah garam secukup rasa.
8.  Kalau perlu tambah air, tambah dengan sedikit asam jawa.
9.  Biar sehingga kuah pekat dan ikan masak

Adik ipar saya cakap, trick dia, jangan tambah air banyak sebab asam pedas melaka selalunya pekat so air asam jawa tu dah cukup. Lagi satu, cili tu kena tumis lama, biar betul-betul masak macam nak buat sambal. Ok selamat mencuba!

Pregnancy and Delivery

Adam's EDD was 30 Aug 2008. Even after walking every inch of IKEA, Curve and KLCC on 31st Aug, there was still no sign of labour. As I have mentioned in my last post before the delivery, Dr Aziz asked me to come for induction on the night of 1st Sept should nothing happen in between. Based on his last scan, the baby was already quite big and if we wait further, the baby might grown to 4kg and that might cause problem.

So there I was in the Labour Room on midnight of 1st Sep. The nurse helped to induce me and was asked to sleep. I couldn't really sleep. The contraction was not that bad but as my husband bunked in with me it was not that comfortable. Morning came and the contraction was still bearable. Dr Aziz came and checked but he said there was no opening yet. By noon, the contraction was a little stronger but it was still bearable. I would say I have experienced something more painful than that. When Dr Aziz came in again at noon, there was still no progress so he recommended for emergency cesarean. He said we could still wait if I want to but he said there is a possibility the baby's heart rate will drop by the evening. So his advise was to have it in the afternoon when both the baby's and my heart rate were still okay.

I agreed to it and by 3.00pm I was pushed to the OT. My hubby was not allowed to go in as it was not a scheduled cesarean. The anesthetist performed local anesthetic and was kind enough to hold my hand throughout the procedure. He was like a narrator telling me what my gynea was doing. At 3.38pm I heard Adam cried for the first time. After the nurses cleaned him, I hold him for the first time. Frankly, I couldn't describe how I felt at that time. There was this 3.74kg baby in my hands with his eyes roaming around the room. I just stared at him not knowing how to react.

When Dr Aziz came to see me later, he told me that Adam's head was still floating and not engaged yet. He said for the my next pregnancy, we will have to check the pelvic opening to know if it is big enough or not. I could not really digest what he said then.

Recently when hubby said he is ready for another child, Dr Aziz's words lingered back. Here are the questions I had and the answers I get when I did my little research to understand the situation.

Q: Why was I induced after only 2 days late? I heard others waited for as long as 2 weeks prior to being induced.
I put on a lot of weight during my pregnancy. It was beyond the normal average. Though Dr Aziz did scan to gauge the size of the baby, it might not be accurate. By scanning, he could only estimate the weight of the baby. As we are aware, baby grows exponentially in the final few weeks of pregnancy. If we were to wait for a week, Adam could have grown to 4kg and huge baby not only makes it hard to deliver normally, there are many risks associated with post term pregnancy.

Q: So why was there no progress when I have been induced?
There are 2 possibilities. First is Adam is not ready yet as it was only 2 days after EDD. Only 5% babies are delivered on EDD. 95% are delivered 2 weeks before or 2 weeks after the EDD. Secondly, there is a possibility that my pelvic opening is not big enough for Adam to pass through. The size of the opening has nothing to do with one's body frame.

Q: So why didn't my Doctor checked the size of my pelvic opening before he induce me?
I was told that doctors are taught to check the size of the opening using their bare hands. That sounds scary right? Other than that, they could either X-Ray the pelvic bone or do an MRI if you are already pregnant. MRI is expensive! I was told by my sister that in a government hospital in Indonesia, it already costs RM800 what more in a private hospital in Malaysia. The cheaper option is X-Ray but of course it has to be done prior to your pregnancy.

So now, before I am pregnant again, I have to see a gyne to x-ray my pelvic bone. If it is found that the opening is small, I could opt for elective cesarean that would be much cheaper than the emergency cesarean I had before. If it is found the opening is big enough, should the next child(ren) decided to stay longer in the womb, we could wait until they are really ready and have normal delivery.

The reason I had to do the research and all is because we decided to go to a nearer gynea and hospital this time around. As much as I love Dr Aziz and his team, it's not an option as they are too far. It was okay before as there were only hubby and me and I stayed at my father's condo in my last few months of pregnancy. With Adam around, and he might be in school by the time we will have our second child, we have to make a realistic choice and find a good gynea in Shah Alam instead.

P/s: My apologies if I mixed up the jargons and medical term. I am not a medical professional and this entry is explained by what I understand of the situation. Your feedback is most welcome :)

Christian the lion

Have you seen this video? I don't know why I kept thinking about the lion as I drove to work this morning. The first time I saw it, I cried. But now, whenever I watch this video, I'll smile instead. It makes me feel happy. It's really amazing to see the bond between Christian the lion and the two men who raised him. It makes me feel that there's still hope for world peace :) Even a lion could appreciate the kindness he received from the two men so why can't we human care and appreciate others more? Read here for the full story.