Bohol or Hudson at the hospital

So here we were… in Bohol! What an island!!! I mean : It is neither Palawan nor Manila. Actually I can’t help to wonder if it is really the Philippines. Bohol satisfied so many of my needs! Eco-tourism, history, natural science, food, beach, price range but also my need for organization and ethical behavior.

Our visit started with the Chocolate Hills! The chocolate hills were in itself, the main reason I wanted to make my way to Bohol. It is truly a sight unique in itself! Just over 1700 “chocolate color” hills within 50km². But we also made our way to a butterfly conservatory, the tarsier conservatory and the black compass monument. But here are some cool facts about the island of Bohol!

·         Manufacture are not allowed on the island.

·         “franchise store or restaurant” have to be locally owned

·         There is a 8pm curfew for underage children

·         There is no nightlife except for 2 dance hall open until midnight on the weekend. (If one hall is a disco, the other one must be ballroom dancing)

·         There are very strict rules about cutting threes

·         Agriculture land is equally divided between the people.

·         The crime rate is the lowest in the Philippines.

·         The Catholic and Muslim communities are at peace.

·         There has been great effort of reforestation

·         There are laws protecting the dolphins, whales, tarsier and other wildlife

·         There is a recycling program

·         In hospitals, babies must be breastfeed until the age of 6 months. There is a strong campaign against formula feeding.

Can I say: I love love love this island! Such a nice change for the chaotic Manila! There are also many beautiful mansions on the island. None of them are surrounded by gigantic walls topped with broken glass. None of them are “barricaded golden cages”.  You could argue that the rules might be a bit steep but the result is a nearly crime free, clean and friendly society.

So that was out first day in Bohol… our second day, we were supposed to spend it on the beach… But that night, as I laid down in bed with my daughter, I realized she was burning hot. I knew she hadn’t been feeling well lately, but as I took her temperature, I was shocked to find out that she was pushing well over 40 degree… after treating her all night with Tylenol, early in the morning, we made our way to the community hospital of the main island of Bohol. What we found there looked more like a market place where you would expect chickens to be roaming around. We sat in a hot room waiting for our turn. They wanted my daughter to have a dengue fever test done, but the hospital ran out of test so they sent us over to the next nearest hospital…. A private hospital…. Since according to them “we could afford it anyway”. So we jumped back in the car and headed over to the Holy Name University Medical Center… I don’t want to sound too snobbish but this hospital was a lot more “hospital-like”. We made our way to the emergency room and were seen right away (we were the only one there). The doctor decided on a full blood test (including dengue fever) and on an uti test. Hoping to avoid a catheter, they installed a urine collector first. Unfortunately it did not work… At that point, Tristan and I discuss it and decided our daughter could just go “potty” for a sample. After all, we have been doing with her “elimination communication” since she was 4 months old… at home, our daughter always goes to the potty and rarely misses… so why would it be different here. The doctor agreed, and within 30 minutes, we had our sample and no catheter! At that moment, Tristan and I both agreed, all the effort we put into elimination communication was worth it just so Hudson did not need a catheter! (that and also the fact that I use 75% less diapers)

So the tests were sent, and off we went to Jolly Bee for lunch while waiting for the results. We came back an hour later and the verdict was out! No dengue fever to worry about. Hudson has an uti. It was such a relief for us to find this out! We were really worried that it was going to be some dangerous exotic illness or even worse… that they could not tell us what was wrong. I was ready to jump on the next plane back to Manila is that was going to be the case. But in the end, somehow… and uti was the best news we could wish for.  And so we went back to the hotel, with a sleepy baby, some antibiotic and a few shopping bags.

And if you wonder… our travel insurance will be picking up the tab. They were great on the phone all day with us, walking us through the process. As for the actual cost of the private hospital…. Consultation, tests and medication for just under 25$. The most expensive part ended up being the transportation from the resort to the hospital.

And if you are wondering, as I write this, Hudson is already doing much better. Her fever is almost completely gone and her energy level is coming back. She’s been on the antibiotic for less than 24 hours but we are already noticing a big difference. 

La turista

I knew it was going to happen! I just knew it! But when? That was the question! Well on the fourth day, out of nowhere… not just me! But Tristan too! Spent an evening (and a night) running for the washroom! Ah… yes…. The dreaded turista! The funny thing is that before coming to the Philippines, I had never been afflicted of this ailment. I have traveled many times to the Caribbeans, even Mexico… but never had to face the washroom paralyzing, humbling and tantalizing stomach bug! I remember the first time I had it… On my first trip to the Philippines! I seriously thought I was dying! I got so sick… so dehydrated… and off course I was “Oh-so-ashamed” (I was after all visiting my now-husband’s family). This time, I came prepared. I had a suitcase dedicated to medicine! In expectation of the trip, I raided Shoppers Drug Mart! I intended to declare war on the Turista! And so I did! As I sat on the toilet for hours, I drowned myself in Gatorade while popping Pepto bismol tablets. Once more I felt like I was dying, but this time I intended to beat it! 24-36 hours is it’s normal course… unless aggressively treated! And that is what I did. I spent the entire night up… 2 am came, it was time to go to the airport for our flight to Bohol….  The drive to the airport… just over one hour. (oh-oh…. How can I stay away from the washroom that long????) I seriously considered putting on one of Hudson’s cloth diaper… you know… just as an extra precaution… But in the end, I made it to the airport (so did Tristan by the way). In all this, I kept thinking: “as long as baby is fine… we will be fine….” Little did I know……

We hopped on the plane and by then… less than 12 hours after my stomach turned upside down, I was “fine”. I was even able to enjoy the flight without having to keep my eyes on the “occupied” washroom sign! I was able to enjoy a guided tour on Bohol… in a car… without access to the washroom… \

I did it! I beat la turista!    

A serie of unfortunate events!

Well.... who knew taking a holiday with a baby could end up being so... hum... what's the word... so... "interesting". Poor Hudson! Kawaiso Hudson! The next few posts can all be grouped together as "A serie of unfortunate event".

If there is one thing I learned from my family trip to Bohol and Cebu is:

 " You don't realize how far from home you are until you need a doctor for your sick child"

La turista

Bohol or Hudson at the hospital

Alcona Kew WhiteBeach Resort or Hudson at the beach

Catherine goes intosurvival mode

Cebu or how to run out of diapers in a day

Back in Manila, at the hospital again

SM Megamall

Day 3 was... well... you know! It's Manila... so yeah... Day 3 was shopping day! But let's go back to the start... We got up later than usual since Hudson decided it was "daytime" from 2 am to 5 am. We got ready and went out for lunch at a very fancy Chinese restaurant with Tristan's Aunts and Uncles. We had dim sum. It was good... But here is my pet peeve! So. It is 47 degree outside. Yes, I know that is warm. Yet, I froze all day! I actually was shivering and wished I had a jacket. That is because here in the Philippines people have an obsession with AC. It's like there is only was setting! Freezing! So as I tried to enjoy my "warm" meal, I ended up downing hot tea just to stop myself from shivering. I wished this restaurant was an exception but it is actually the norm. Now, off course I am thankful for the AC (I mean who really wants to do anything when it's 47 degree) but does it have to be so darn cold people!!!??? So then we headed out to Greenhills for some "fake" goods shopping (I write Fake in quotation mark, because it is not actually fake. Most of it is legitimate product that did not meet the brand's standard, such as grade B and C merchandise.) I almost bought a pair of Toms but they didn't have my size in the color I wanted. 

After Greenhills we headed out to SM Magamall. I have to say: I love SM (Giant department store... kind of like a very nice looking Walmart with staff that calls you mam.) We bought lots of things for the baby (including more flats because I definitively did not pack enough in my suitcase). 

Am I the only one who thinks these pillow are funny!

 We ended our shopping trip with mango shakes and Bibimka (my favorite). And here too I will open a parentheses... No matter how fancy the Chinese restaurant food is... I always end up liking the Filipino style restaurant much better! You seriously need to try a Bibimka if you haven't yet! A mix between a coconut sponge cake with cheese and butter. Baked in a banana leaf! So yummy! This pretty much sums up our day... Shopping-Cold-Eating... a far cry from Hidden Valley... but it had to be done. And the mango shake and bibimka made it worth it!!! lol

Never was a Valley so well named as Hidden Valley!

Today was our first real adventure! And what a day we had! Amidst the rain forecast (it is raining season after all) we drove 1 hour south of Manila to the town of Alaminos Batangas.

On our way there, we saw Banana farms, Coconut farms and we even saw a monkey road kill! Was I ever glad to be wearing a good bras! As I had found out in my first trip to the Philippines. When riding in car outside of the city of Manila, you often feel like you are sitting in an old wooden roller coaster! Even though it was suppose to be just about an hour away. It took us close to 2 hours to find Hidden Valley. Because Hidden Valley truly is hidden! 

We had to stop and ask our way around multiple times. We also stopped for some white corn. I will open a funny parentheses here... Everything is sweeter in the Philippines (mango... pineapple... avocado...)  Well... not corn! Our good old Peaches n' cream corn back home is so much sweeter. White corn is actually pretty tasteless.

So we finally found Hidden Valley. Because it is an actual hot spring resort, we registered for a day pass (about 50$ per person). The pass is good for a whole day and includes your lunch and dinner at the restaurant. Since it was already lunch time, we headed straight to eat! It was a buffet style Filipinos food buffet. Everything was delicious. There was also live music going from table to table. We got serenaded by a great rendition of Justin Beaver's Baby Baby. Hudson LOVED it and spent her whole time listening to the music.

As soon as we were done lunch, Tristan, Hudson and I headed out on a hike to the Hidden water fall. It took us about 35 minutes on a bamboo bridge path to reach the waterfall deep in the valley. Although the fall in itself is not the most amazing sight. The actual hike was great! We saw lots of different lizard and heard really cool bird signing. 

 

After visiting the fall, we headed back to the hot spring area and swam for the whole afternoon. I will let the pictures talk for themself!    

The long way to Manila

 

Here we are! In Manila! We made it... with an 8 months old! 18 hours on a plane, 3 countries, 3 airports, long car rides... 27 hours in total! 

 

We left home early to be dropped off to the airport. Check in was a breeze. Our carseat was packed in the original box and we were way under baggage allowance. We had no problem getting through security with the extra baby food. 

Our first flight to Tokyo was right on time. We had good seat with lots of leg room. Unfortunately for us, the seat belt sign was lit most of the way. Hudson did not seem to approve of it and 3 hours into the flight, Hudson had a huge melt down. She was angry and screaming at the top pf her lung. It lasted a while.... a very very long while.... 

 

She eventually settled and slept a little. I would like to take this time and mention the landing! It was the most amazing landing I had ever experienced! We did not even feel the touch down! Tristan and I were both amazed at that! By far the smoothed ride ever! 

We arrived in Tokyo at 3 am (our time) and quickly went to met up with Ayumi! We had just a few minutes to spare. Just enough time to take a picture and rush to our connecting flight! The second half of our trip was with ANA. I love ANA! The service on this airline is amazing! Hudson even got her own meal, and toys and bassinet. My limited kanji knowledge was enough to "know" that Hudson had yam and yogurt. She really seamed to enjoy Japanese baby food! As for me, I enjoyed watching her sleep in the bassinet while enjoying a complementary Asahi beer.

We arrived in Manila without a hitch. To our surprise, they are finally using the new airport! It is so much better this way! Lots of room to move! Tito and Juanita picked us up and off we went! Overall, the whole trip was a success! We finally got to the house at 1130am (our time). We went straight to bed. Hudson did not seem to be bothered by the time difference. She seemed however confused as to why it was so dark. But the good sport that she is... she accepted to sleep (at least a little)... and was up at 630 for business as usual!!! 

First day in Manila.....rain. Because of it the weather is a lot cooler than expected! Which is great! Actually, it is cooler here than it had been lately back home with the heat wave.

We stayed in. We worked on getting Hudson back on her regular schedule. (food, nursing, nap) So far it seem to work. Most of the day was spent with people visiting. Both side of the family came for lunch and an informal meet and greet.

OMG

I am having a serious case of OMG! OMG 8 months already! Seriously???? My little Tuna is not so tiny anymore!!! She moves around, she pulls herself up. And she knows what she wants! On that subject... she wants 3 things... Mommy. Mommy and Mommy. And swimming too. But swimming with mommy. I desperately need a double of myself just so I can go to the washroom and shower.

So as I said, it's not always all about mommy! It also often all about swimming! We are talking 2-3 hours everyday (sometimes even more). She loves water! And I love that she loves water! I somehow dread our summer trip just because we wont have access to a pool on a daily basis. And no pool time = a grumpy baby who will not be tired enough to sleep.

And that brings me to my next subject!!! Sleeping! Ha! Sleeping what's that! Can someone please reassure me! She will sleep one day right? And to think that I thought all baby sleep through the night at around 6 weeks. I was a fool. We are still up many many many many times a night... with an early get up time between 4 am and 630 am. As much as she loves water and swimming, she hates bed and sleeping. I swear she breaks up in hives when she sees her bed! (ok that might be slightly exaggerated, but you get the picture)

Oh but I love her so much! She is such a happy content baby! She gives lots of snuggles and she laugh tons.

Now just to keep everyone up to date, there are a few exciting event coming up in our life :-) This is my last post before I start my new serie of On the road posts.  Next week, we are leaving for Asia! There will be a few pre-trip post such as "what to pack for baby".

Then we are off to the Philippines and Japan. Yeah! When we come back, I will be starting my PHD. Then in early October (yes on the same weekend) I will be flying to France for 2 days to give a conference at the university of Loraine and will be back in time for my mom's wedding! Crazy! I know! And then off course, later that month we will be celebrating Hudson's first year and Halloween! Ouf! I'm already tired just thinking about it!!!!

 

Senbazuru for Hudson Part II

Hudson with Ayumi's bird.

I announced a few weeks back that we were going to Asia! And indeed we are! This will be extremely exciting for all of us. Hudson will get to meet her great-grandmother and many of her great-aunts, great-uncles and cousins. She will also get to spend some times with her grand-parents and aunt. The second part of the trip will be very different. My husband, my daughter and I will be flying over to Japan for a two weeks holiday (finally our honey moon) .

It will be my fourth time in Japan and the second time for my husband. I am so excited to be able to bring him to all the cool places (mostly restaurants) I have discovered through all my travel there. We will be staying with Ayumi for a week and then we are of to FTO (Osaka) for a week!

I am so thrilled to be bringing my daughter there! Through out the pregnancy, I use to bribe her in staying put with the likes of "I can't wait for you to come out so I can show you Osaka"

But more importantly, during this trip, we will be making our way to Hiroshima to deposit the 1000 paper cranes folded following my MC at the Children Peace Memorial. (We are keeping Ayumi's bird and the 1000 birds I folded during the pregnancy wishing for a healthy Hudson. When she is older, she can decide if she wants to bring them there).

Hudson with the birds that will be going to Hiroshima

Now who's up for a little anecdote? As some of you might be aware, the monument in Hiroshima was built in memory of Sadako (you can click on the link for the full story). Well I just recently found out that Sadako died on October 25th (yes! that was Hudson's due date) after spending 8 months fighting leukemia. It is during that time she folded her paper cranes. It hits close to home, as I remember spending my whole pregnancy (roughly 7-8 months) folding my paper cranes hoping with all my heart that Hudson would make it to term and be healthy. Sadako's prayer were not answered, but mine were. And it is with a very heavy heart that I will be going to her monument, to surrender the birds.

Off course, you will be able to follow all of our On the road adventure as I will up date through this blog. Also, don't forget to "like" my facebook page, to make sure you don't miss a beat.

Children Peace Memorial in Hiroshima

To my dear cat Ucchi

Today should have been a happy post about Hudson being 7 months. I had lot's a great things to talk about such as how she started eating food, and made a mess at a Sushi restaurant (yes, Hudson had her first maki-avocado roll). But that will have to wait. Today, instead, I would like to talk to you about Ucchi, my cat. Ucchi died last night at 11:25. Ucchi was sick. She was not eating and she was not drinking. Ucchi left us 2 weeks ago to go live with Marie. Everything was going well until two days ago when she started throwing up and stopped eating and drinking. I am heart broken. I was heart broken to see her go away. I am even more heart broken now.

A few years ago, after buying our house, Tristan and I drove down to the Human Society in Toronto wanting to pick up their two oldest cats (because no one ever wants older cats). Unfortunately on that day, they would only let us adopt one. We had to pick between Bean and Soho. We took Bean (Subachan) because not only was she older but she had already been at the facility for just over two years. But we made a promise to come back for Soho. Time passed and we forgot about it until almost a year later we got a phone call from one of the volunteer there. She asked us to come and pick up Soho (Ucchi) ASAP if we still wanted her. I thought it was really odd that we would receive this phone call. Anyway, the next day we drove the 2 hours back and forth and picked up a cat that looked nothing like the cat we had once considered. She was almost lethargic. Lifeless. We brought her home with very little expectation and gave her lots of love. It took her a LONG time to adjust. In a way, she never really fully adjusted. Yet she was the cuddliest cat I had ever met. Through out the painful miscarriage months, she never left my side. During my bedrest pregnancy, she never left my side. She was not the perfect cat but she loved us. As I sent her away with my sister, I was heart broken that we could not be the perfect family. And as I write this, I am heart broken that I cannot give her all the love she gave me in her hard time. I am afraid. I am afraid she will die alone. Because, no one deserves to die alone. Please keep her in your thoughts.

I wrote this post yesterday evening. Last night, Marie went to the emergency vet at around 11 pm. BY then it was already too late. We opted to have her be put down as oppose to let her suffer. There was nothing else that could be done. She did not die alone, She was with my sister as they euthanized her. She will be buried in our garden. We have yet to decide which plan we should plant over her.   

Will my car seat survive?

As we are getting closer to our 6 weeks trip to Asia, I am starting to find out how complicated traveling with a baby can be. I have to admit, it is very fortunate that I LOVE planning, because we could have been in for some major surprises!!! If you are planing on flying with your baby this summer make sure to read on!

Most airline company will let you gatecheck your car seat. But not Air Canada. With Air Canada you have to check in your car seat. They will gladly let you know that it is free and more convenient (yes, it does not count towards your luggage allowance). End of story, right? Sure, if you trust that you will get to your destination and be handed back your car seat on a golden plateau. But the reality is this :

You don't have to go very far into the video to see what happens to the car seat. After researching it a bit more, I found out that 1. Airline will not to responsibility for your car seat (No liability if damaged) 2. There is no guarantee that your car seat will make your flight (same as luggage) 3. In many cases, the car seat ends up being crushed by other luggage which results in visible or non-visible damage which leads to number 4. Even if your car seat comes back looking fine, there is no way to tell if it really is (hairline fracture....) in other words, checking a car seat = a crash car seat. 

And here's another bad news for you... even if you gatecheck it, there is no guarantee it will be treated fairly. Off course, most people don't care. I mean, if the seat looks ok, it's good enough... ... ...

So what to do then? Well you do have option. Some people will rent a car seat once they reach their destination (but even there do you really know where the car seat has been?) Other people will purchase a car seat upon arrival (very common if you are off to visit family). Some people will decide to buy a One-time car seat and use it for the purpose of that trip only. If you decide to do so, your best bet is to keep the car seat it the original box (as this will offer the most protection). Another option is for you to buy a seat for your baby, in which case they will be able to ride in their car seat (but beware, certain airline have restriction of which car seat).

So here it is... as for us, we are still debating which way to go. As it stands, we are looking in possibly buying a new car seat to bring and leave behind. But only time will tell us!

To find out more, visit this link for great information about flying with children