Put, Put

Sometimes when we carry Sihuai, Siyuan would ask that we put her down on his lap while he sits on the couch.
And yes, he can be very possessive about his sister. When other kids or strangers started looking at her when we went out, he would crowd round her protectively. Once, he even told his maternal grandmother that Sihuai was MINE, MINE when she pretended to carry Sihuai away.

Sihuai, Tough It Out

Well, we didn't celebrate Sihuai's first month birthday since that was when Siyuan went to the hospital. We've entered the phase when Sihuai would progressively get gas problems. However, because she seems to control her feeding better (ie she doesn't overfeed like Siyuan who even stored milk in his mouth), the problem was less extreme.
Her maternal grandmother, who was visiting, also remarked that Sihuai cried less often.

It was also easier to deal with the crying bouts associated with her stomach discomfort as we knew what it was about. It was incredibly frustrating when Siyuan had it becos nothing we tried worked and the crying made me feel angry and bewildered. This time, it was simple: Sihuai, you just have to tough it out.
Of course, we burped her,cycled her legs and massaged her belly to help.

There's of course a cycle also to her behavior. After she pooed, she would have a good day, and then as the shit builds up, her farts would get incredibly smelly and the stomach uncomfortable. She seem to be doing a 4 days cycle between poo. Siyuan once went 10 days before pooing. That's normal, our maternal nurse in Melbourne had told us. Breastfed babies can go up to two weeks without pooing.

Finger Chewing

Since coming back from the hospital, Siyuan has dropped most of his fingers chewing habit. It had started with his thumb and escalated to him putting his whole hand in it. We suspected he was doing it because he was bored. Maybe he thinks finger chewing would lead him back to the hospital.

Oh, for the next couple of days after he was back, he was incredibly fascinated by his toys. He's well now, but seemed to have passed the bug to me and Lux. Children!

Siyuan and the hospital

So he's sick, the A&E doctor said to me. I nodded and started to tell him about Siyuan's high temperature.
Oh, he's vomiting, the doctor said. I looked down, and the remains of Siyuan's dinner was all over both of us. While I looked on in stunned silence, the doctor quickly took wipes out for us to clean (must be a common occurence!).

That began Siyuan's three days stay at the hospital. By the time we were admitted to his room, his temperature was at 41 degrees and he was lame as a duck. What started as a simple flu had escalated. While normally we would have kept him at home, the swine flu and the presence of Sihuai had our doctor advising us to bring him to the hospital.

We were put in the infectious ward for children, and shared a six-bed room with a kid that's probably about 10 years old. With just three of us and two huge air-cons bellowing away, it was a pretty cold night. Siyuan kept me warm as we shared the couch. He refused to sleep on his bed alone.

By the next day, his temperature had come down. Blood and a nasal swipe tests didn't reveal anything unpleasant lurking other than a normal flu bug, but the doctors wanted to be sure. So we stayed a third day. The doctors were concerned because of Siyuan's chronic coughing. (pollution and dirt in HK)

By the third day, Siyuan was bored out of his ears, and was happily pulling levers and wheels on his bed. We played hide and seek. At lunchtime, he would loiter near the door waiting for his food. We weren't allowed to wander around becos it was the infectious ward.

IF the experience of staying in a private hospital proved underwhelming in HK, the stay at Pamala, a public hospital showed why many still praised HK for having a first-class healthcare service. The care was professional and good. The furniture was older and the queues longer (45 minutes to collect his medication), but the doctors and nurses clearly knew what they were doing. The nurses showed excellent care as well as give us good advice.

The cost of seeing an A&E doctor and the three days stay? HK$200, or about S$40 or A$30. That's inclusive of the tests and chest X-ray they did. AMAZING.