I spent half my entire freaking day at Thompson Medical Center today. I met mom for lunch (for the first time since i came back) at her office, then took the train to Novena, before taking a cab to TMC for my second attempt at finding myself a good gynae.
This time round, it's Dr. Lim Ah Leng, Jasmine's gynae. Actually, TMC has been my first choice all along, but K didn't like it cause it's far, plus the parking there sucked. Plus, all my friends who delivered there had male gynaes, and K prefered female ones.
Anyway, when i arrived at TMC around 2pm, there was already a long queue. There was this wealthy (or at least wealthy looking) Indonesian Chinese family there. The 3 ladies all had made up hair, LV bags and super glittery high heels. The guy wore polo tee and checked bermudas, and there was this chubby little girl, presumably one of the ladies' daughters making so much noise at the clinic. Actually, she is not little anymore, about 7-8 years old, but very very spoilt. Feel like slapping her.. = P
After registering and taking my height and weight, i waited for about 30 mins before i was told by the counter girl that i had to go for a scan before Dr. Lim would see me. The scan was to look at my baby in details to see if everything was normal. And it would cost me around $150.. I was quite reluctant to do so, and called K to discuss. First of all, we didn't understand why the normal ultrasound scan can't do this, since the consultation would include an ultrasound anyway. Second of all, i had earlier asked the counter girl about the scan for Down Syndrome's, but she told me it's too late now cause the baby is too big, and even if there is something abnormal, i won't be able to abort. So then, i asked her why there is a need for this $150 scan which is to see if baby is normal. Cause to me, whether or not the baby is normal, i can't do anything anyway.
To cut the long story short, i was unwilling to pay for the scan, but if i didn't, Dr. Lim wouldn't see me cause from his point of view, he don't have much information about me and my baby based on my New Zealand scan results, so he's not comfortable doing the consultation.
After about another hour of contemplation, calling K to discuss and then crying inside the toilet by myself because i felt so lost and confused, i finally went for the scan. The queue for the scan took me another 2 hours. By then, it was close to 5pm, and I had gotten so hungry waiting for my turn that I went downstairs for some peanut pancake and warm soyabean milk. The technician who scanned me turned out to be extremely unfriendly at first. So unlike my ultrasound technician in NZ who was so talkative and talked me through the entire scan. This one actually asked me to keep quiet and wait so she can concentrate when i kept asking her questions and making small talk. I ended up lying on my back and staring at the ceiling for at least 20 awkward minutes. The worst thing was i couldn't see the monitor at all, so i can't see what she was scanning. I could only hear the constant beeping of her monitor and feel the cold device rolling all over my tummy. But alas, after she was done with the scan, she suddenly changed into a whole different person and became very friendly. She turned the monitor to me, and showed me the different parts of my baby. She even printed out 3 images of my baby which i had selected, although that was an exception. This girl is really serious about her work man!!
I took my scan results and went back to the clinic to see Dr. Lim, who turned out to be an extremely patient man despite me being one of his last patients for the day. He explained to me the scan results, and then did an ultrasound. He told me to eat more meats and protein and cut down on sweets and carbohydrates (which sucked cause i am so into sweet stuff these days!). And to lie in bed for at least 9 hours a day even if i don't feel sleepy cause of my back ache (Horray!). He also did a blood test on me cause the one i did in NZ was apparently not good enough. Sigh, i also don't know if he is just trying to make more money, first the scan then the blood test... I walked away with my first 12 sample packets of Anmum and Enfa Mamma milk powder though, so I was quite a happy mamma.. = P I finally left the clinic around 730pm when K came to pick me up. So Dr. Lim will officially be my gynae, and TMC will be the place where Bria shall be born.. = )
This time round, it's Dr. Lim Ah Leng, Jasmine's gynae. Actually, TMC has been my first choice all along, but K didn't like it cause it's far, plus the parking there sucked. Plus, all my friends who delivered there had male gynaes, and K prefered female ones.
Anyway, when i arrived at TMC around 2pm, there was already a long queue. There was this wealthy (or at least wealthy looking) Indonesian Chinese family there. The 3 ladies all had made up hair, LV bags and super glittery high heels. The guy wore polo tee and checked bermudas, and there was this chubby little girl, presumably one of the ladies' daughters making so much noise at the clinic. Actually, she is not little anymore, about 7-8 years old, but very very spoilt. Feel like slapping her.. = P
After registering and taking my height and weight, i waited for about 30 mins before i was told by the counter girl that i had to go for a scan before Dr. Lim would see me. The scan was to look at my baby in details to see if everything was normal. And it would cost me around $150.. I was quite reluctant to do so, and called K to discuss. First of all, we didn't understand why the normal ultrasound scan can't do this, since the consultation would include an ultrasound anyway. Second of all, i had earlier asked the counter girl about the scan for Down Syndrome's, but she told me it's too late now cause the baby is too big, and even if there is something abnormal, i won't be able to abort. So then, i asked her why there is a need for this $150 scan which is to see if baby is normal. Cause to me, whether or not the baby is normal, i can't do anything anyway.
To cut the long story short, i was unwilling to pay for the scan, but if i didn't, Dr. Lim wouldn't see me cause from his point of view, he don't have much information about me and my baby based on my New Zealand scan results, so he's not comfortable doing the consultation.
After about another hour of contemplation, calling K to discuss and then crying inside the toilet by myself because i felt so lost and confused, i finally went for the scan. The queue for the scan took me another 2 hours. By then, it was close to 5pm, and I had gotten so hungry waiting for my turn that I went downstairs for some peanut pancake and warm soyabean milk. The technician who scanned me turned out to be extremely unfriendly at first. So unlike my ultrasound technician in NZ who was so talkative and talked me through the entire scan. This one actually asked me to keep quiet and wait so she can concentrate when i kept asking her questions and making small talk. I ended up lying on my back and staring at the ceiling for at least 20 awkward minutes. The worst thing was i couldn't see the monitor at all, so i can't see what she was scanning. I could only hear the constant beeping of her monitor and feel the cold device rolling all over my tummy. But alas, after she was done with the scan, she suddenly changed into a whole different person and became very friendly. She turned the monitor to me, and showed me the different parts of my baby. She even printed out 3 images of my baby which i had selected, although that was an exception. This girl is really serious about her work man!!
I took my scan results and went back to the clinic to see Dr. Lim, who turned out to be an extremely patient man despite me being one of his last patients for the day. He explained to me the scan results, and then did an ultrasound. He told me to eat more meats and protein and cut down on sweets and carbohydrates (which sucked cause i am so into sweet stuff these days!). And to lie in bed for at least 9 hours a day even if i don't feel sleepy cause of my back ache (Horray!). He also did a blood test on me cause the one i did in NZ was apparently not good enough. Sigh, i also don't know if he is just trying to make more money, first the scan then the blood test... I walked away with my first 12 sample packets of Anmum and Enfa Mamma milk powder though, so I was quite a happy mamma.. = P I finally left the clinic around 730pm when K came to pick me up. So Dr. Lim will officially be my gynae, and TMC will be the place where Bria shall be born.. = )
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