關於 they keep me thinking that we almost had it all ，我們在網路上蒐集到這些相關的討論、資訊與評價

HI HI TO ALL MY HAPPY ‘TAP” FAMILYYYY ❣️❣️❣️

I haven’t written to you all for such a long time and I do apologize so much for this. I don’t know how TIME FLIES the way it does!

I wanted to share some thoughts on this very momentous and memorable DAY in my life.. I am strolling into the BIG 6 ❤️ today!!! My BRAIN IS EMPTY!!

All I can think of is HOW GRATEFUL I am to the Universe, and to all of YOU, to my LOVING FAMILY, my INCREDIBLE FRIENDS… all this life has brought to me.. that our Planet is so beautiful and there is so much to be thankful and OPEN to.

After 60 years, chasing so many things, experiencing the excitement, ups and downs of almost all of life, months, weeks, days, minutes, seconds… and I realize, all I really desire and want, is a SIMPLE SMILE, WARMTH, UNDERSTANDING, A Heartwarming HUG, A phone call, or now, text to say HI… A Healthy and strong Body, LOTS & LOTS of LAUGHTER, CONNECTION, COMMUNICATION, LOVE, LOVE & LOVE. No matter what circumstances we run into, Rain, Thunder, Protests, Covid, it is absolutely possible to realize that ALL THINGS MUST PASS, and through the most difficult or most ravishing times, we can find comfort in holding the hands of those loving people around us. I know there is still so much more to learn while we are so BLESSED to be a VALUED GUEST on this Earth for such a fleeting moment. I feel I must keep on learning and evolving to be the BEST person I can be.

I realize that when we are born, we need so much love, feeding, nurturing, understanding, and a lot of HELP! When we get old, we need so much love, feeding, tolerance, patience, understanding, and a lot of HELP! There is no difference in the VALUE of each end of the stick. Just what we can do in between that will make ALL the difference and we all have a CHOICE in how we want to write our own, unique, wonderful, heartfelt STORY.

LIFE can be, and IS SO VERY BEAUTIFUL. The Beauty I used to understand doesn’t hold any meaning for me anymore.. The BEAUTY I HOLD TRUE is the LOVE & BEAUTY inside of ME and all the surroundings of the amazing Mother Nature. Each of us, is handcrafted so very intricately, to have all the same physical features, yet not a single one of us is a duplicate of another. We all have a brain to think, yet every single one of us does not think like any other. We ALL have a PATH, yet every one of our paths is different from each other. But we are ALL meticulously woven together, our lives, our actions are all intertwined. Every action we take, affects another. Every tree, every flower, mountain, sea, sky, clouds, animals, and all beloved creatures. We are the unique creatures, blessed with thinking, speaking & doing. I feel I must do everything I can to HONOR this special GIFT from Mother Nature. Beauty is DEEP & ROOTED & everywhere we look. I’m going to embrace everything PapaGOD & the Universe has given me.

I’m SO GRATEFUL for making it this far, in GOOD HEALTH, GOOD SPIRITS, GOOD MIND & BODY. Every day is a SURPRISE to me. Every moment is truly a BLESSING and ever so sacred. I will continue to live each BLESSED day with an open heart, open mind, and open SPIRIT. I will live each day as HIGH as I can go, no matter how low I feel. I will enjoy growing old GRACEFULLY, and make a conscious effort to do and BE the BEST I can be EACH SINGLE DAY, CHERISH & take care of it like a RARE and Beautiful JEWEL, which LIFE & our EARTH IS.

Today I spend with my LOVING FAMILY & MY FRIENDS. Well.. one loving Family is missing and in Mainland, now resting, but working VERY HARD! I’m so proud of Lam because we are so happy that he gets to SHARE his music with a WHOLE NEW GENERATION of wonderful, talented singers. It’s a GREAT BLESSING to sing with these enthusiastic Artists who can make a great difference in the world with their bellowing voices. I watch every episode with great anticipation and I hope you will too! All the Artists create their own Magic with each song & emotions!

I also would like to share with you my real and Authentic physical & Spiritual SELF!!! I just want to BE TOTALLY and ALL OF what is TRULY ME! I hope you all can accept me as I AM, white hair with my cutey wrinkles! Lam really enjoys it cos now I can keep him COMPANY & look like TWINS! I don’t know where my WHOLE self will go from here.. but I’m really going to look forward to all the natural progressions my mind and body will be taking.. just like Mother Nature.. she accepts all that comes to her and embraces it all…just as it is!

I wonder if I can remotely understand the meaning of life by now? I want to TAP (THINK ACTPOSITVE) at all times making others HAPPY & be HAPPY to see others HAPPY! I understand there is NO RIGHT or WRONG in any of our actions whether positive or negative, but only the divine consequences of those actions we choose. I feel we are BLESSED to be here with a DIVINE PURPOSE which is to help ourselves & each other. To preserve and maintain this amazing PLANET & EARTH. To evolve ourselves, & each generation, so they can pass the baton and also evolve the Earth! I also feel we are definitely NOT ALONE! NEVER! We are always in the SOOTHING, EMBRACING arms of the Divine Source Universe, and when we feel we don’t know where to turn, PapaGOD is ALWAYS there for us, ready to give us whatever we want in the deepest of our hearts with the utmost sincerity. Everything we receive is in its Divine Timing, and Divine Perfection.

With that.. HAPPYNESS & GREAT HEALTH TO ALL OF YOU FOREVER AND ALWAYS and LOVE YOURSELF as well as LOVE ALL THOSE and EVERYTHING AROUND YOU! BELIEVE ME.. ALL WE HAVE and NEED IS LOVE!!!!

MUAH MUAH MUAH with 60 YEARS OF BLESSINGS! YEHHHHHH!!!!
ALL MY LOVE!! SALLY!!!

PS. I had a great wonderful party with best of FRIENDS TONITE❣️❣️ Came home and took some selfies to shock all of U❣️❣️ My HAPPY DECADE HAPPY 6💜 GIRL (⁉️) look❣️❣️ CHEERS EVERYONE❣️❣️❣️🌹🌹🧚🏽‍♀️🧚🏽‍♀️🧚🏽‍♀️

HI HI 快樂的 “TAP” 大家庭 ❣️❣️

已經很久沒有給大家寫信了，對此我深表歉意。不知道時間怎麼就這樣過去了!

我想在生命中這個非常重要和難忘的日子和大家分享一些想法和感觸 —— 今天我悠然邁入了以6字開頭的歲月!! ❤️ 大腦一片空白!!

我所能想到的是對上天，對你們每一位，對親愛的家人，對不可思議的朋友們 —— 對生命所贈與我的這一切 —— 所懷有的深深感激。我們所生活的星球如此美麗，實在有太多太多需要去感謝、感激，去敞開心扉擁抱。

60年過去了，我也曾經追逐過很多，在每月每週每日每分每秒中，經歷了生命可能賦予的幾乎所有激動和起落，而如今我意識到，自己真正渴望和想要的，只是一個簡單的微笑，溫暖，理解，一個暖心的擁抱，一通電話，或者現在更流行的，問好的一條短信.. 一個健康強壯的身體，很多很多笑聲，連結，交流，愛，愛，以及，愛。無論我們遇到怎樣的狀況 —— 下雨、雷電、抗議、疫情，一直要謹記於心的是，無論如何，這一切終將過去；在最困難或最開心的時刻，我們都能握住身邊人的手，並從中找到最大的安慰或共鳴。能得此幸運，在如此短暫的一剎，來到地球做她的尊貴旅客，我知道還有太多東西需要學習，感覺自己必須不斷學習成長，才能成為最好的自己。

我也意識到，出生的時候，我們需要很多愛，需要被餵食物，需要關懷、滋養、理解，需要很多幫助！變老後，我們也需要很多愛，需要被餵食物，需要寬容、耐心、理解，需要很多幫助！人生兩端的價值，並沒有任何分別。只有在中間段，我們能選擇如何去書寫屬於自己的，獨特的，精彩的，發自內心的故事；而也正是在中間段所做的選擇，決定了我們會有怎樣的人生。

生活可以，也確實是非常美麗的。我曾經所理解的美，對於現時的我而言，已經沒有了當初的意義。現在，我所抱持的真正的美，是內心的愛與美，以及令人驚嘆的大自然所賦予的，環繞著我們的一切。每個人都好似複雜精緻的手工藝品，雖然有著相同的身體特徵，但沒有一個人是另一個人的複製品。我們都有大腦可以思考，但每個人和其他人想的都不同。我們都有要走的人生之路，但每個人的道路各不相同。然而，大家又被如此精心地連結在一起，彼此的生活和行為交織在一起。我們採取的每一個行動，都不可避免地影響著他人，甚至影響著每一棵樹，每一朵花；影響著山、海、天空、雲朵、動物，和所有其他可愛生靈。我們是獨一無二的存在，有福氣擁有思考、講話和行動的能力。所以我感覺自己必須盡所能去致敬和珍視這份來自自然的特殊禮物。美深深根植於我們目光所及的每處。我將擁抱上天和世界贈與我的一切。

我很感激人生走到了這裡，健康，精神，頭腦和身體都很好。每一天對我來說都是驚喜。每一刻都是充滿祝福和神聖的。我將繼續以開放的心靈、開放的思想和開放的精神去過好每一天。我會盡力去把每天過到最好，儘管有時候也會感覺低落。我將享受優雅地變老，有意識地努力在每天做到自己的最好，也成為最好的自己，珍惜和照顧匆匆而過的每日，好似它們是稀有又美麗的珠寶；而其實，生命和地球也的確如此。

今天我會和我愛的家人們和朋友們一起度過。對的，一位有愛家人不在這裡，他在內地，現在有空休息一下，但一直都在非常努力地工作! 我為Lam 感到驕傲，因為大家都非常開心他有機會同新一代如此出色、才華橫溢的年輕歌手們分享他的音樂。與這些富有激情的藝術家們一起唱歌是一種巨大的幸福；年輕一代的歌聲將給這個世界帶來改變。每一期節目我都有充滿期待地觀看，希望你們也會看！所有的藝術家們都在用每首歌和感情創造著自己的魔法！

我也想和你們分享真實的自我——外在與內在，容貌及心靈!!! 我只想做完完全全的，真正的自己！希望你們能夠接受這樣的我，白頭髮，和可愛的皺紋! Lam 很喜歡我這樣，因為現在我可以和他作伴，我們看上去像雙胞胎! 我不知道我的整個自我會從這裡走向何方，但對接下來身心將會經歷的所有自然旅程，我真心期待… 就好像大自然一樣，她接受並擁抱一切如它們本初的樣子！

我好奇自己現在是否可以算作大概開始理解人生的意義呢？我想做TAP (THINK ACTPOSITVE)，隨時通過正面積極的思考和行動為他人帶去開心，而看到他人開心也會令我感到開心！我明白我們的任何行為，無論是積極或是消極的，都無關對錯；只是，不可避免的，選擇的行為都會帶來相應的結果。我感覺帶著神聖的目的來到這裡是一份福祉，而這個目的就是助人助己，是保護和維繫這個不可思議的星球，是持續進化發展自己和每一代人，這樣他們就可以繼續把進化地球的接力棒傳遞下去! 我也感覺到我們絕對不是孤獨的！從來都不是！我們一直都被上天撫慰著，擁抱在臂膀中。當感覺不知道如何走下去，上天總會在我們身邊，以最大的誠意給予我們內心深處最渴望的所有。我們得到的一切都有它神聖的時間表，都遵循著神聖的完美安排。

以上… 祝愿大家永遠幸福開心健康，愛自己，愛周圍的所有人，愛周圍的一切！相信我… 我們所擁有的和需要的一切，就是愛!!!!

MUAH MUAH MUAH with 60 YEARS OF BLESSINGS! YEHHHHH!!!!
ALL MY LOVE!! SALLY!!!

PS. 今晚我和最好的朋友們開了最棒的Party ❣️❣️❣️ 回到家後拍了幾張自拍，肯定會驚到你們 ❣️❣️❣️ 我的快樂第6個10年 💜 GIRL (⁉️) look❣️❣️❣️ 大家乾杯 ❣️❣️❣️🌹🌹🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻‍♀️🧚🏻‍♀️

【Lesson #5 - Don’t compete just for the sake of competing】

All is fair in love and war, or so they say. Oftentimes founders will move heaven and earth just to find out what their competitors are doing and how they can get a leg up--sometimes to the point where they lose sight of WHY they've started the business in the first place. In my chat with Chris Xue, Co-founder/COO of Novelship (AW#16), he reveals how in his quest to build Asia's leading online marketplace for limited edition sneakers and streetwear, he became blindsided by an over-optimization on squashing competition, while stressing why in hindsight a customer focus will ALWAYS trump a competitor focus.

***

Beating out your competitors is an almost primal instinct. It’s also a topic that investors always ask about—”how are you different from xyz? How will you compete against them? What makes you the winning horse?”

Certainly, a lot of that emphasis had misguided our own efforts in the past. After relaunching our platform two years ago, we had an almost infatuation-like obsession with outflanking our enemy, tracking their every move, poaching key accounts, and outbidding them in ads, at least up until COVID came around.

The logical thing to do was go into hibernation. Who would want to buy hype sneakers in the midst of an economic downturn. Staying open would’ve meant higher burn, decreased runway, and less ammunition to fight against competitors when the economy recovers. All of our peers closed shop; even our investors encouraged us to shut down for a few months.

It was certainly compelling, but then we started thinking about our customers, and the thousands of sellers that depend on our platform to support their livelihood, whether it’s terms of paying bills, covering tuition, or supporting their own families. Upon that revelation, we applied to become an essential business and was eventually given a license to continue operating.

Unsuspectingly, buyers also continued buying, if not more. With no other platform running, Novelship became top of mind for customers. Growth accelerated, placing us miles ahead of our competitors.

Don’t get me wrong—competitors are important. It helps keep you sharp and innovative, and also proves that there’s demand for your product/service. But don’t compete just for the sake of competing. It blinds you, and keeps you from truly listening to and understanding what your customers want.

It’s ok to be aware of what your competitors are doing, but don’t let that be the sole driver in your decision making. It’s more important to understand how the competitors’ moves ultimately add value to the users, then you can sensibly determine whether or not to go down that path.

Applications for AW#22 are now open to founders targeting SEA, AI/IoT, or Blockchain/Defi -> https://bit.ly/2LOzhYU

My sister, Michelle-Ann Iking's 3% chance of conceiving naturally was a success! Here's her story:

(My apologies as I've been overwhelmed with personal matters. I've only managed to get to my desk. So finally got around posting this).

This is the story behind my sister's pregnancy struggle and how she shared her journey over her Facebook page.

Because some may have not caught her LIVE session chat with me (https://www.facebook.com/daphneiking/videos/687743128744960/) , or read her lengthy post (as it's a private page);
she's allowed me to copy and paste it over my wall, in case you need to know more about her thought process on how AND why she focused on the 3% success probability. Read on.

-------------------------------------------

Posted 10th May 2020.
FB Credit: Michelle-Ann Iking

A week ago today I celebrated becoming a mother to our second, long awaited child.

Please forgive this mother's LONG (self-indulgent) post, journalling what this significant milestone has meant for her personally, for her own fallible memory's sake as well as maybe to share one day with her son.

If all you were wondering was whether I had delivered and if mum and bub are OK, please be assured the whole KkLM family are thriving tremendously, and continue scrolling right along your Newsfeed 😁.

OUR 3% MIRACLE

All babies are miracles... and none more so than our precious Kiaen Aaryan (pronounced KEY-n AR-yen), whose name derives from Sanskrit origins meaning:

Grace of God
Spiritual
Kind
Benevolent

...words espousing the gratitude Kishore and I feel for Kiaen's arrival as our "3% miracle".

He was conceived, naturally, after 3 years of Kishore and I hoping, praying and 'endeavoring'... and only couples for whom the objective switches from pure recreation to (elusive) procreation will understand how this is less fun than it sounds ...

3 years during which time we had consensus from 3 different doctors that we, particularly I (with my advancing age etc etc) had only a 3% chance of natural conception and that our best hope for a sibling for our firstborn, Lara Anoushka, was via IVF.

Lara herself was an 'intervention baby', being one of the 20% of babies successfully conceived through the less intrusive IUI process, after a year and a half of trying naturally and already being told then my age was a debilitating factor.

We had tried another round of IUI for her sibling in 2017 when Lara was a year old. And that time we fell into the ranks of the 80% of would-be parents for whom it would be an exercise in futility... who would go home, comfort each other as best they could, while individually masking their own personal disappointment... hoping for the best, 'the next time around'...

So the improbability ratio of 97% against natural conception of our second baby, as concurred by the combined opinion of 3 medical professionals, was a very real, very daunting figure for us to have to mentally deal with.

Deep, DEEP, down in my heart however, though I had many a day of doubt... I kept a core kernel of faith that somehow, I would again experience the privilege of pregnancy, and again, have a chance at childbirth.

And so, the optimist in me would tell myself, "Well, there have to be people who fall in the 3% bucket... why shouldn't WE be part of the 3%?"

Those who know me well, understand my belief in the Law of Attraction, the philosophy of focusing your mind only on what you want to attract, not on what you don't want, and so even as Kishore and I prepared to go into significant personal debt to attempt IVF in the 2nd half of 2019, I marshalled a last ditch effort to hone in on that 3% chance of natural conception... through research coming across fertility supplements that I ordered from the US and sent to a friend in Singapore to redirect to me because the supplier would not deliver to Malaysia.

I made us as a couple take the supplements in the 3 month 'priming period' in the lead up to the IVF procedure - preconditioning our bodies for optimum results, if you will.

At the same time, I had invested in a sophisticated fertility monitor, with probes and digital sensors for daily tracking of saliva and other unmentionable fluid samples, designed to pinpoint with chemical accuracy my state of fertility on any given day.

(UPDATE: For those interested - I obtained the supplements and Ovacue Fertility Monitor from https://www.fairhavenhealth.com/. Though I had my supplies delivered to a friend in Singapore, and redirected to me here since the US site does not deliver to Malaysia, there are local distributors for these products, you will just have to research the trustworthiness of the vendors yourself...)

I had set an intention - in the 3 months of pre-IVF priming, I would consume what seemed like a pharmacy's worth of supplements, and track fertility religiously... in hopes that somehow, within the 3 month priming period, we would conceive naturally and potentially save ourselves a down payment on a new property... and this was just a projection on financial costs of IVF, not even considering the physical, emotional and mental toll it involves, with no guarantee of a baby at the end of it all...

It was a continuation of an intention embedded even with my first pregnancy, where all the big ticket baby items were consciously purchased for use by a future sibling, in gender neutral colours, in hopes that sibling would be a brother "for a balanced pair", though of course any healthy child would be a welcome blessing.

It was a very conscious determination to always skew my thoughts in service of what the end objective was. For example, when 3+year old Lara would innocently express impatience at not yet having a sibling, at one point suggesting that since we were "taking too long to give her a baby brother/sister", perhaps we should just "go buy a baby from a shop", instead of getting defensive or berating the baby that she herself was, we enlisted Lara's help to pray for her sibling... so in any place of worship, or sacred ground of any kind that we passed thereon, Lara would stop, close her eyes, bow her small head and place her tiny hands together in prayer, reciting earnestly, "Please God, please give me a baby brother or baby sister."

After months and months of watching Lara do this, in the constancy of her childlike chant, Kishore started feeling the pressure of possibly disappointing Lara if her prayer was not answered. Whereas for me, Lara's recitation of her simple wish became like a strengthening mantra, our collective intention imbued with greater power with each repetition, and the goal of a sibling kept very much in the forefront of our minds (hence our calling Lara our 'project manager' in this endeavour).

And somehow in the 2nd month of that 3 month period, a positive + sign appeared on one of the home pregnancy tests I had grown accustomed to taking - my version of the lottery tickets others keep buying in hopes of hitting the jackpot, with all the cyclical anticipation and more often than not, disappointment, that entails...

This time however I was not disappointed.

With God's Grace, (hence 'Kiaen', a variation of 'Kiaan' which means 'Grace of God'), my focus on our joining the ranks of the 3% had materialised.

It seems poetic then, that Kiaen chose to make his appearance on the 3rd May, ironically the same date that his paternal great-grandfather departed this world for the next... such that in the combined words of Kishore and his father Kai Vello Suppiah,

"The 1st generation Suppiah left on 3rd May and the 4th generation Suppiah arrived on 3rd May after 41yrs...
One leaves, another comes, the legacy lives on..."

***

KIAEN AARYAN SUPPIAH'S BIRTH STORY

On Sunday 3rd May, I was 40 weeks and 5 days pregnant.

The baby was, in my mind, very UN-fashionably late past his due date of 29th April, so as much as I had willed and 'manifested' the privilege of pregnancy, to say I was keen to be done with it all was an understatement.

In the weeks leading to up to my full term, I had experienced increasingly intense Braxton-Hicks 'practice contractions' - annoying for me for the discomfort involved, stressful for Kishore who was on tenterhooks with the false alarms, on constant alert for when we would actually need to leave home for the hospital.

Having become a Hypnobirthing student and advocate from my first pregnancy with Lara, and thus being equipped with
(1) a lack of fear about childbirth in general and
(2) a basic understanding of how all the sensations I would experience fit into the big picture of my body bringing our baby closer to us,
I was less stressed - content to wait for the baby to be "fully cooked" and come out whenever he was ready... though I wouldn't have minded at all if the cooking time ended sooner, rather than later.

With Lara, I had been somewhat 'forced' into an induced labour, even though she was not yet due, and that had resulted in a 5 DAY LABOUR, a Birth Story for another post, so I was not inclined to chemically induce labour, even though I was assured that for second time mothers, it would be 'much faster and easier'...

That morning, I had a hunch *maybe* that day was the day, because in contrast to previous weeks' sensations of tightening, pressure and even spasms that were concentrated in the front of my abdomen and occasionally shot through my sides and legs, I felt period - like cramping in my lower back which I had not felt before throughout the pregnancy.

It was about 8am in the morning then, and my 'surges' were still relatively mild ('surges' being Hypnobirthing - speak for 'contractions', designed to frame them with the more positive connotations needed to counteract common language in which childbirth is presented as something that is unequivocally painful and traumatic, instead of the miraculous, powerful and natural phenomenon it actually is).

I recall (masochistically?) entertaining the thought of opting NOT to have an epidural JUST TO SEE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE...

I figured this would be the last time I would be pregnant and so it would be my 'last chance' to experience 'drug free labour' which, apart from the health benefits for baby and mother, might be *interesting* in a way that people who are curious about what getting a tattoo and skydiving and bungee jumping are like, might find these *interesting*...even knowing there will be pain and risk involved...

Since I have tried tattoos and skydiving (unfortunately not being able to squeeze in bungee-jumping while my life was purely my own to risk at no dependents' possible detriment) a similar curiousity about a no-epidural labour was on my mind...

In the absence of other signs of the onset of labour (like 'bloody show' or my waters breaking), I wanted to wait until the surges were coming every few minutes before we actually left the house for the hospital, not wanting to be one of those couples who rushed in too early and had interminable waits for the next stage in unfamiliar, clinical surroundings and/or were made to go home in an anti-climatic manner.

I was even calm enough through my surges to have the presence of mind to wash and blowdry my hair, knowing if I did deliver soon I would not be allowed this luxury for a while.

Around 9am I asked Kishore to prep for Lara and himself to be dressed and breakfasted so we could head to hospital soon, while I sent messages to family members on both sides informing them 'today might be the day.'

My mother, who had briefly served as a midwife before going back into general nursing and then becoming a nursing tutor, prophetically stated that if what I was experiencing was true labour, "the baby would be out by noon".

The pace in which my surges grew closer together was surprisingly quicker than I expected; and while I asked Lara to "Hurry up with breakfast" with only a tad more urgency than we normally tell her to do, little Missy being prone to dilly-dallying at meals, I probably freaked Kishore out when about 930am onwards, I had to instinctively get on my hands and knees a couple of times, eyes closed, trying to practice the Hypnobirthing breathing techniques I had revised to help along the process of my body birthing our child into the world.

I recall him saying a bit frantically as I knelt at our front door, doubled over as he waited for Lara to complete something or other, "Lara hurry up! Can't you see Mama is in so much pain and you are taking your own sweet time??!!"

SIDETRACK: Just the night before, Lara and I had watched a TV show in which a woman gave birth with the usual histrionics accompanying pop culture depictions of labour.

Lara watched the scene, transfixed.

I told her, simply and matter-of-factly, "That's what Mama has to do to get baby brother out Lara, and that's what I had to do for you also."

In most of interactions with my daughter, I have sought to equip her to face life's situations with calmness, truthful common sense, and ideally a minimum of drama.

Those who know the dramatic diva that Lara can be will know that this is a work-in-progress, but her response to me that night showed me some of my 'teachings' were sinking in:

She looked at me unfazed, "But Mama," she said. "You won't cry and scream like that lady, right? You will be BRAVE and stay calm, right?"
#nopressure.

So as we prepped to leave for the hospital I did indeed attempt to be that role model of calm for her, asking her only for her help in keeping very quiet,
"Because Mama needs to focus on bringing baby brother out and she needs quiet to concentrate...".

As we left the house at 10.11am, I texted Kishore's sister Geetha to please prep to pick up Lara from the hospital, and was grateful Kishore had the foresight to ask our gynae to prepare a letter for Geetha to show any police roadblocks between my in-laws' home in Subang Jaya and the hospital in Bangsar, this all happening under the Movement Control Order (MCO).

To Lara's credit, in the journey over to the hospital, she - probably sensing the gravity of the situation, sat very quietly in her seat at the back, and the silence was punctuated only by my occasional deep intakes of breath and some variation of my Ohmmm-like moans when the sensations were at their height.

By the time we got to Pantai Hospital at around 10.30am, my surges were strong enough I requested a wheelchair to assist me in getting to the labour ward, as I did not trust my own legs to support me... and Kishore would have to wait until Geetha had arrived to take Lara back to my in-laws' house before he himself could go up.

I slumped in the wheelchair and was wheeled up to the labour room with my eyes closed the whole time, trying to handle my surges.

I didn't even look up to see the attendant who pushed me... but did make the effort to thank him sincerely when he handed me over, with what seemed like a palpable sense of relief on his part, to the labour ward nurses.

The nurse attending me at Pantai was calm, steady and efficient. I answered some questions and changed into my labour gown while waiting for Kishore to come up, all the while managing the increasingly intense surges with my rusty Hypnobirthing breathing techniques.

By the time Kishore joined me at around 11am (I know these timings based on the timestamps of the 'WhatsApp live feed' of messages Kishore sent to his family), I was asking the nurse on duty, "How soon can I get an epidural??" thinking what crazy woman thought she could do this without drugs???!!!

The nurse checked my cervix dilation, I saw her bloodied glove indicating my mucous plug had dislodged, and she told me, "Well you are already at 7cm (which, for the uninitiated, is 70% of the way to the 10cm dilation needed for birthing), you are really doing well, if you made it this far without any drugs, if can you try and manage without it... I suspect within 2 hours or less you will deliver your baby and since it will take about that time for the anaesthesiologist to be called, epidural to be administered and kick in... it might all be for nothing... but of course the decision is completely up to you... "

So there I was, super torn, should I risk the sensations becoming worse... or risk the epidural becoming a waste?? And of course I was trying to decide this as my labour surges were coming at me stronger and stronger...

I was in such a dilemma...because as a 'recovering approval junkie' there was also a silly element of approval-seeking involved, ("The nurse thinks I can do this without drugs... maybe I CAN do this without drugs... Yay me!") mixed with that element of curiosity I mentioned earlier ("What if I actually CAN do this without drugs... plenty of other women have done it all over the world since time immemorial.. no big deal, how bad can it be...??") so then I thought I would use the financial aspect to be the 'tiebreaker' in my decision making...

I asked the nurse how much an epidural would cost and when she replied "Around MYR1.5k", I still remember Kishore's incredulous face as I asked the question, i.e."Seriously babe, you are gonna think about money right now? If you need the epidural TAKE IT, don't worry about the money!!!"... and while we are not rich by any stretch of the imagination, thankfully RM1.5k is not a quantum that made me swing towards a decision to "better save the money"...

So in the end, I guess my curiosity won out, and I turned down the epidural "just to see what it would be like and if I had it in me" (in addition of course to avoiding the side effects of any drugs introduced into my and the baby's body).

My labour occuring in the time of coronavirus, it was protocol for me to have a COVID19 test done, so the medical staff could apply the necessary precautions. I had heard from a friend Sharon Ruba that the test procedure was uncomfortable, so when the nurse came with the test kit as I was starting another surge, I asked, "Please can I just finish this surge before I do the test?" as I really didn't think I could multitask tackling multiple uncomfortable sensations in one go.

The COVID19 test involved what felt like a looong, skinny cotton bud being inserted into one nostril... I definitely felt more than a tickle as it went in and up, being told to take deep breaths by the nurse. Then she asked me to "Try to swallow" and I felt it go into my nasal cavities where I didn't think anything could go any further, but was proven wrong when she asked me to swallow again and the swab was probed even deeper. Then she warned me there would be some slight discomfort as she prepared to collect a sample... but at that point all I could think about was:

(i) I really don't have much of a choice
(ii) please let this be over before my next surge kicks in
(iii) if all the people breaking the MCO rules knew what it feels like to do this test maybe they won't put themselves at risk of the need to perform one...

In full disclosure as I was transferred into the actual delivery room at some point after 11am, another nurse offered me 'laughing gas' to ostensibly take some of the edge off... I took the self-operated breathing nozzle passed to me but don't recall it making any difference to my sensations..so didn't use it much as it seemed pretty pointless.

I recall some measure of relief when I heard my gynae Dr. Paul entering the room, greeting Kishore and me, and telling us it was going well and it wouldn't be long now and he would see us again shortly.

From my previous labour with Lara I knew the midwives pretty much take you 90% of the way through the labour and when the Dr is called in you are really at the home stretch, so was very relieved to hear his voice though knowing he would leave and come back later meant it wasn't quite over yet.

I do remember realising when I had crossed the Thinning and Opening Phase of labour to the Birthing Phase, by the change in sensations... it is still amazing to me that as the Hypnobirthing book mentioned, having this knowledge I was instinctively able to switch breathing techniques for the next stage of labour .

Was my opting against epidural the right choice for me?

Overall? Yes.

Don't get me wrong.

I *almost* regretted the decision several times during active labour... especially when I felt my body being taken over by an overwhelming compulsion to push that did not seem conscious and was accompanied by involuntary gutteral moans where I literally just thought to myself, "I surrender, God do with me what you will..." (super dramatic I know but VERY real at the time...).

I think I experienced 3-4 such natural explusive reflexes (?), rhythmically pushing the baby down the birth path, one of which was accompanied by what felt like a swoosh of water coming out of a hose with a diameter the size of a golf ball... this was when I realised my water had finally broken...

The nurses kept instructing me to do different things, to keep breathing, to move to my side, then to move to the middle, to raise my feet... and when I didn't comply, Kishore (who was with me throughout both my labours) tried to help them by repeating the instructions prefaced with "Sayang..." but I basically ignored all the intructions because I felt I had no capacity to direct any part of my body to do anything and someone else would have to physically manoeuvre that body part themselves.

When I heard Dr. Paul's voice again and the flurry of commotion surrounding his presence, I knew the time was close... and when I heard the nurse say to Kishore, "Sir, these are your gloves, for when you cut the baby's cord", it was music to my ears...

I'm very, VERY grateful Kiaen slid out after maybe the 4th of those involuntary pushes... the wave of RELIEF when he came out so quickly... it still boggles my mind that my mother was essentially right and as his birth time was 12.02pm, it was *only* about 1.5 hours between our arrival at the hospital and his arrival into the world.

Kiaen was placed on my chest for skin to skin bonding and remained there for a considerable time.

For our short stay in the hospital he would be with us in my maternity ward number C327... another trivially serendipitous sign for me because he was born on the 3rd (May) and our wedding anniversary is 27th (July).

I was discharged the following day 4th May at about 5.30pm, after I got an all clear on COVID19 and a paediatric surgeon did a small procedure on Kiaen to address a tongue-tie that would affect his breastfeeding latch... making the entire duration of our stay about 31 hours.

I have taken the time and effort to record all this down so that whenever life's challenges threaten to get me down I can remind myself, "Ignore the 97% failure probability, focus on the 3% success probability".

Also that the human condition is miraculous and it is such a privilege to experience it.

To our son Kiaen Aaryan, thank you for coming into our lives and choosing us as your parents.

Even though Papa and I are both zombies trying to settle into a night time feeding routine with you, I look forward to spending not only all future Mother's Days, but every day, with you and your Akka...

And last but not least, to my husband Kishore...without whom none of this would be possible - we did it sayang, I love you ❤️

Photo credit: Stayhome session with Samantha Yong Photography (http://samanthayong.com/)

Đinh Hương | LK Sống Thật Lâu Vào Để Mà Thấy - Telephone - Rolling In The Deep | Live at Chợ Gạo Bar

SỐNG THẬT LÂU VÀO ĐỂ MÀ THẤY

Sống thật lâu vào để mà thấy
Người anh từng phản bội đấy
Sẽ xinh đẹp nhường nào
Sống thật lâu vào để mà thấy
Tình yêu anh rời bỏ đấy
Sẽ khiến em ra sao
Và lúc ấy... anh ơi!
Ding da ding anh đừng rung rinh khi nhìn thấy em
Và lúc ấy anh ơi
Giờ tình yêu anh và cô ta thế nào rồi?
Ϲhẳng còn những phút giâу bên nhau
Ϲhuуện trò từ sáng tới đêm thâu
Từng dòng tin nhắn nói anh chỉ уêu riêng em
Một ngàу chẳng có ai nói cười
Ϲhẳng còn buồn nhắc đến tên người
Là ngàу anh sẽ tiếc thaу vì thiếu vắng em
[Ah 1 - 2 - 3 Let’s goooooo]

TELEPHONE
Hello, hello, baby you called I cant hear a thing
I have got no service in the club, you see, see
Wha-wha-what did you say?
Oh, you're breaking up on me
Sorry, I cannot hear you I'm kinda busy
Stop calling, stop calling
I dont wanna think any more
I left my head and my heart on the dance floor
Stop calling, stop calling
I dont wanna talk anymore
I left my head and my heart on the dance floor
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
Stop telephoning me
Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh, eh
Stop telephoning me

[RAP]
Call all you want, but there's no one home
And you're not gonna reach my telephone
Out in the club, and I'm sippin'; that bub
And you're not gonna reach my telephone
Boy, the way you blowin'; up my phone
Won't make me leave no faster
Put my coat on faster
Leave my girls no faster
I shoulda left my phone at home
'Cause this is a disaster
Callin' like a collector
Sorry, I cannot answer
- Feeling -
[CHORUS]: Stop callin’…. Stop telephonin’ meee….

ROLLING IN THE DEEP

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go 'head and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
See how I leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and its bringing me out the dark
The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love they leave me breathless
I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
And you played it to the beat
We could've had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside your hand
But you played it
You played it
You played it
We could’ve had it all…..

Đinh Hương YouTube Channel
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Family Voices Band

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Original song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw

Lyrics:
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
And you played it to the beat
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go 'head and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare
See how I leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and its bringing me out the dark
The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love they leave me breathless, I can't help feeling
We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
And you played it to the beat

Rolling In The Deep

There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go 'head and sell me out and I'll lay your ship bare

See how I leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch
And it's bringing me out the dark

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leeeave me breathless
I can't help feeling

We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
And you played it, to the beat

Baby, I have no story to be told
But I've heard one on you
And I'm gonna make your head burn

Think of me in the depths of your despair
Make a home down there
As mine sure won't be shared

The scars of your love remind me of us
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
The scars of your love, they leeeave me breathless
I can't help feeling

We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
And you played it, to the beat

We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
But you played it, with a beating

Throw your soul through every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
You'll pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow

We could have had it all
We could have had it all
It all, it all, it all

We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
And you played it to the beat

We could have had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside of your hand
But you played it
You played it
You played it
You played it to the beat