A hot morning

It's a rather hot morning here in Manchester so I've discarded my typical vest + bodysuit combo and am just wearing one layer of clothing. For example, here I am in a collared vest.

By the way, for some reason, though I wear Pampers, I'm wetting my clothes... everything appears to be fitted in correctly so am unsure what's up. I'm currently onto my third set of clothes for the day. (it's 2pm)

Hello and goodbye

Yesterday, we said good bye to Ma Ma, who left for Kuala Lumpur, and hello to Grand-Ah Yee and her family who are visiting from Wollongong, Australia. They arrived in Liverpool after travelling around Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Jogo bonito

It's Carnaval time! Here I'm doing the samba while wearing a Brazil emblazoned romper from Grand-Ah Yee, who lives in Dusserldorf, Germany. I only wear this for a short time as minutes after changing into it and having my picture taken, I wet it all (and in the process of changing into new clothes, also Dad's hand, the changer, my face, and the nearby cupboard).

It's been a week

I've been out of the womb for slightly past a week now. Yeh Yeh is now on the way back to Malaysia. Tie Poh (Grand-Poe Poe) and Ah Sok Adrian are already in PJ; Uncle Eugene picked them up from KLIA, which I hope to one day land in myself.

But that's perhaps jumping the gun. So far, my week's been quite good, doing what babies do: crying, feeding, moving, getting cleaned. I've already outgrown some newborn-sized bodysuits as I'm quite lengthy.

Also, in the earlier pictures, my eyes tend to be closed. Hmm, perhaps there's not much excitement in Manchester. But I've slowly warmed to the idea of Manchester - or specifically Swinton - as home and am now opening my eyes a bit more. So here are some photos Unc Adrian took of me yesterday.

Some photos with family

Birthday party

Hi! My birth was on 19 June 2006. To be even more precise, 11:07am. Mum and I were in the delivery unit from then until later in the afternoon due to a shortage of rooms and beds at the hospital. Then we went to a shared room in the post-natal ward (4 mums to a room, each separated by curtains). Around 6:30pm, a single room was available so we moved there.

My big family then came over to celebrate my birth! Kong Kong, Poe Poe, Yeh Yeh, Ma Ma, Ah Sok (Uncle Adrian), Ku Cheh (Auntie Michelle), Tie Ma were all there. Here are some pictures from the party!

The birth of Dan

Daniel Tan Zi Shuong was born in Hope Hospital, Salford, at 11:07am on 19 June 2006. After Thierry Henry scored for France vs South Korea (Park Ji Sung was to equalise later), we went to Hope Hospital where we were from around 9-ish pm. Hui Jeen was hooked up to an epidural by the consultant anesthesist Doc Rogers, and was for the most part taken care of by Hally, the midwife. When Hally's shift ended in the morning, Tracy, another midwife, and Christina, a student midwife, took over.

Pushing started around 9am. And finally (after the true meaning of "labour" sunk in), at 1107am, Daniel exited from the womb and into the world we know and experience. Perhaps not as safe and comfy as the womb, but maybe not too bad a place... and for many, a happier place just because of Daniel's entrance.

At Chinatown after leaving delivery unit

Here we are after leaving the delivery unit. We picked up a cake - more precisely, my birthday cake (a Chinese style cream cake - somewhat like the M'sian Angel cakes). According to the shopgirls, it's good for 2-3 days. Hmm... I guess the family could eat it and get another if my birth day is later.

Stroll into delivery unit (thinking Mum has a really high pain threshold... it's just a false alarm)

An update

We thought today was the day! We went to the hospital, checked in, saw a midwife (Tracey), and checked out after she determined mum wasn't in labour (mistook mere tightenings for contractions). I'm supposedly in an occiput posterior (OP) position which isn't all that excellent (but which is ok) so Mum's moving about trying to get me to change position.

After checking out, went to Chinatown downtown to buy char siew (bbq pork), siew yok (roast pork) and siew ngap (roast duck). Also picked up a birthday cake from Wong Wong Bakery. Came back, everyone had a nap. Dad went with Tai Poh (Greatgrandmother) and Uncle Adrian to Costco. Then Dad, Yeh Yeh, and Unc Adrian defeated some young Salford kids in football (7-6) with Dad scoring the winner, a fluke, his only contribution. (My prospects for sporting glory and riches don't look too promising.)

Tomorrow Auntie Michie arrives in town!

Party to be postponed?

For those of you planning on dropping by for my birthday party, which was scheduled for today, it appears that it may have to be postponed due to my birthday being postponed. It's still early in the morning though, so who knows... it may still be on! No indication yet, however.

And being Malaysian, I guess it's inevitable that I'd be tardy.

My birthday's coming!

My birthday is estimated to fall on June 15. And you're all invited for the party, though you probably don't know me too well yet - that's no excuse since, to be frank, neither do my parents.

Just to prove I'm not an abstract entity