This one’s fun. H/T to Information is Beautiful.
Most common words used in advertising for girls’ toys, and for boys’ toys:
expatriate
Living in Phnom Penh, Having a baby in Bangkok
Photo by Keith A Kelly
CHOOSING THE HOSPITAL
We work and live in Phnom Penh, and wouldn’t feel comfortable with the specialists / facilities here in case of complications during delivery. The nearest city with internationally accredited care is Bangkok, so there we went at 35 weeks 6 days gestation, the latest we’re allowed to board a Thai Airways flight (with a fit-to-fly certificate from the doc).
Most of Bangkok’s well-known private facilities have high quality patient-oriented care and great customer service. They have translators, can take care of extending visas, take the baby’s passport photo (this isn’t easy so do get this done at the hospital!), get the birth certificate officially translated and documented at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and liaise on documentations necessary to register the birth at your particular embassy etc. Many people go to Bumrungrad Hospital; read this post and follow the link to her birth story at Bumrungrad here. This hospital is located in the neighborhood of Sukhumvit where many Arab nationals live, so the third spoken language is Arabic.
The delivery packages she quoted for Bumrungrad are comparable to those at Samitivej:
- Natural birth/Water birth (3 days admission) 55,000Baht / US$1800 on exchange rate 30Baht=US$1
- Natural birth with Epidural (3days admission) 68,000 Baht / US$2267
- C-section (4days admission) 78,000Baht / US$2600
So I’d heard there is a ~90% c-section rate in private hospitals in Bangkok..? At any rate it’s high, but that’s due to a lot of other factors (including the Asian quest for luck, leading parents to schedule c-sections on the most propitious time and date for birth). [Read more…] about Living in Phnom Penh, Having a baby in Bangkok
Mom I Am
I love it! Poem is from the Mom’s Online Breastfeeding Board:
Little ones can squirm and pout,
make a fuss and scream and shout.
When hunger hits without a doubt,
Sit right down and whip it out.
I would nurse her if she cried,
I could nurse her far and wide,
Here and there or anywhere,
Up or down or on a chair.
I could nurse a teddy bear,
For this fine milk is very rare!!!
Would you nurse him on a train?
Would you nurse him on a plane?
Would you nurse him in a car?
Would you nurse him in a bar?
Yes, on a train, yes on a plane.
Yes, in a car, yes in a bar.
I would nurse him here or there.
I would nurse him anywhere!
I would nurse him in a booth,
On the stairs or near the roof.
Anywhere my boy cries out,
I pop the nummies in his mouth.
I can serve it by the ounce,
I can serve it while I bounce.
In a bottle or in a jar,
I can serve from near or far.
Cartoon: Questions expats get every day
Too true! Via John Weeks’ www.QuickDraw.me
Tales from the bump
Google is not your friend if you’re pregnant and your hair dryer fries in your hand, briefly electrocuting you. Not to worry, he’s fine (says the doc, and yep he’s looking like a boy) – I can feel those momentous first movements. It’s like tiny little gas bubble rumblings :-\ He’s not packing much of a punch yet.
We spent a week in Jom Tien, Thailand, to check out a hospital and the ob-gyn there. Loved the doc. Loved the seafood – here we’re at a fisherman’s village gorging ourselves on the fresh catch.
About four weeks ago I started looking sufficiently femme fertile where people feel my tummy is public property and they can just reach out and touch the bump. Go away. This trimester’s more interesting than the first. The little rambutan’s stretching my tummy skin like a drum, he’s growing so fast! I’m starting to waddle, I need help turning over in bed, and did you ever notice those tailbone muscles? I didn’t til they hurt all day.
Sometimes we just sit back and marvel at this little tenant taking first dibs on my blood and nutrient supply. And I just have to poke at it a little bit hehe. Keith has been very supportive and indulgent, and my go-to griping board :-)
We spent a week in Bangkok too to check out another hospital. Samitivej Hospital is rated a baby-friendly hospital by WHO and UNICEF, meaning significant breastfeeding support with limited or no bottles allowed in the nursery. The hospital doesn’t accept for distribution to new mothers any free or low-cost formula.
Do you know there’s around a 70% caesarian rate at these hospitals out here?! Parents ask for it. They want an auspicious date and time for the birth. Seems like you’d screw up your kid’s astrological alignment doing that. Anyway I LOVED the birthing suites at this one hospital which is where many foreigners who work in SE Asia beeline for to have their baby. They have dim lighting, music, birthing pools, ladders, ropes and swings, aromatherapy oils, diffusers and candles, etc. Maybe I just haven’t visited a real hospital in a long time. Sure is the first time I have an intimate engagement with a health care system from the patient side. The docs at this hospital have a 3% caesarian rate [two thumbs up!].
So we’re planning for the delivery now. Going the natural birth route was a great idea before I got pregnant. It gets lousy the more you think about how big the sperm donor is, haha, although that supposedly isn’t a contributing factor (by size he’s already 1 1/2 weeks larger than the average). Diet? Low birthweight is the way to go? Induce early? Sigh. My own concerns, like the sneeze-and-pee side effect of a shattered pelvic floor, are suddenly so much less important now. I guess the joy of parenting is about beating these silly narcissisms out of you.
We’re also starting to look at baby things. Poor little guy have the most minimalist parents (maybe we’ve been working out here too long). I don’t understand why it needs a crib, a baby bathtub, baby shampoo, bibs, pacifiers etc…?
But I do notice the recent meltdowns savvied up this niche’s purchasing experience. It’s feel-good shopping on a gratuitous new scale.
An ergonomically awesome baby carrier created by a good ol’ mom-n-pop American shop? Gotta have it. Designer breast pumps and glass bottles, fashioned by professional moms using the latest evidence-based clinical specs, materials and sense? Click – BUY! And check out these adorable little haute couture ensembles for all his potty needs! I can just see the trendy little multi-cultured, fair-labor-, eco-geared, breastmilk-fed bambino being slung about the paddies in organic fitted sherpa (dip-dyed deep sultan!) and matching hand-knit sustainably harvested hemp/bamboo terry blend cover.
The more the buzzwords defy definition the better for you, your baby, the exploited 90% of the world, and the beleaguered planet.
(That narcissistic nimrod will go down fighting.)
So things are progressing quite well for us, thanks for all the emails! Hope everyone’s well! We miss you all!
frequent flier? how to not shrivel up dry in that cabin
Life is a journey, especially for expatriates. Keep the destinations coming, but traveling takes its toll with dull lifeless hair, skin and nails, after being trapped in a tiny seat with a cabinful of people literally breathing down your neck in recirculated air (especially on our 15++ hours annual leaves, uggh!). Give yourself some TLC in-flight and look glam at the arrivals gate with these quick tips for gals on the go:
DO PRE-FLIGHT
• start / keep a list of must-bring items– in purse, carry-on and checked luggage. save these lists so you don’t leave important things at your destination. it’s also a good record that can help with last-minute shopping when luggage got lost
• ask for and save samples of your fave products for travel
• take vit E or cod-liver / fish oil tablets regularly before flight for skin
• take vit C / supplements for boosting your immunity
• do a hot-oil treatment (eg warm olive oil with essential oils for your hair type) and/or use a leave-in conditioner before your flight to prevent dry hair and breakage
• a hydrating facial day before the flight (not a deep cleansing facial);
• intensify your moisturising routine
• buy foldable boxes (like the IKEA Komplement) for storing / transporting your items neatly (eg between bathroom and bed) when you get to your destination
• toiletries packed inside clear ziplocs or see-through cases have less chance of getting rifled through by security screeners (yuck)
DON’T
• wear nail polish, it chips easy then looks bad; get a buff manicure instead
• drink caffeine, alcohol, soda as they’re dehydrating
• pre-board or get on the boarding line– everyone especially in asia rushes to wait in line. let ’em all on first to minimise both your wait and cabin time.
BRING ONBOARD
For organising your things:
• a hanging toiletries bag for carry-on pampering you tote along and hang in the bathroom, and another for your entertainment (ipod, headset plug converter, notepad, pen, magazine), because there’s never enough storage space but you can always hang something– stow away if not needed
For hydration:
• water, water, water
• your favorite fragrant herbal tea blend; green and black teas are especially high in anti-oxidants and good for fighting those evil free radicals that contribute to ageing and illness!
For pampering / depuffing tired red eyes:
• eye pillows with grains inside for acupressure benefits
• eye gel or pre-moistened eye pads–ask for a glass of ice to cool it before using!
• moisturising eye drops
For keeping nails, skin, scalp and hair moisturised:
• wetwipes for oil-blotting, to moisturise, to clean dirt and make-up, as single-use masks for an in-flight facial
• hydrating mist (water-glycerin mix, hydrosol, aloe juice etc) in a spray bottle with an atomiser top, spray your face often and your hair occasionally
• rich moisturiser such as a chunk of shea or cocoa butter, mild enough for the face but for use on all skin areas prone to dryness
• vitamin E capsules, prick and use on dry lips
• to hydrate nasal passages, line with a bit of vaseline, or a nasal spray also relieves congestion
• ask the flight attendant for plain yogurt (hydrating, natural exfoliant, gentle cleanser) and/or honey (humectant, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory) and give yourself a facial in the bathroom
• those toilet-seat covers in the bathroom? excellent for blotting oil from face (unused ones)
• essential oils are indispensable (eg lavender, peppermint, rosemary): place a few drops on a tissue and breathe it in to soothe, aid in sleeping, relieve congestion and combat stale air
• aromatherapeutic oil blend gentle enough for the face– treat yourself to a hand massage after washing hands, a facial acupressure session ( on a clean face!), and afterwards as a leave-in conditioner run hands through your hair and lightly massage the scalp; essential oils of lavender, neroli, frankincense, myrrh in a camellia base oil have the added benefit of anti-ageing
• dry shampoo if you tend to get oily hair and scalp, do a dry cleanse before landing
• a good boar bristle brush to keep oils distributed down the hair shaft
(to be published in AsiaLIFE Phnom Penh in Nov 2008)
.