Never thought we would be parents.. the thought was so distant, too abstract a concept, a little fear and lots of procrastination - just another year, maybe next year, maybe soon. perhaps later..
We enjoyed going on holidays, both of us have the irresistible yearning for adventure. We have backpacked from the smoldering Indonesian volcanoes of Mount Bromo, seen the acidic crater lakes of Mount Ijen, saw the setting sun over the ocean at Bali, we trekked the Himalayan trails of Ghorepani in Nepal, stood in awe at the majestic Potala palace in Tibet, crossed the frozen tundras by qing-zhang railway, explored the ancient pyramids of the pharoahs in Egypt, sailed the silent nile river by twilight, driven the entire length of New Zealand...etc. The list goes on. Years happily passed in a blink of an eye.
But reality awaits. Time waits for no one and the time came when we decide we ought to start our family.
One essential tip which would help couples trying a child would be for the mother to take folic acid to the tune of 400mcg or 800mcg per day, probably with a multi-vitamin & mineral.
For fathers I would seriously encourage supplementing with the amino acid L-Carnitine in addition to Zinc supplements.
Coupled with use of fertility urine strips which show the best window periods for higher chances of conception.
I bought all these and most of the items hereafter from US Amazon and get them shipped all the way to Singapore via Singpost's Vpost service. There are many cases where they are actually cheaper than buying retail here in Singapore, even after accounting for shipping, or you simply get a lot more for the same price. I can go on and on about the tragic state of retail in Singapore, the sky high rents, the unscrupulous distributors and retailers who would not blink about ripping off customers but that's another story.
After a year of anxious waiting we finally received the good news at KK at 6 weeks. The timing was incredible because we were on the verge of seeking professional medical help there for perhaps assisted conception.
We did try the retail pregnancy urine sticks bought from Guardian & Watsons but perhaps due to the early timing (at 4 weeks) or the strips relative lower sensitivity, we didn't get a confirmation.
It so happened that the appointment we had with KK was 2 weeks later for evaluation on our assisted conception options. We requested the doctor for a pregnancy test and presto! We were the happiest people on earth. The doctor was pleasantly surprised as well and glad to have such a happy ending to our case.
We initially chose KK hospital because we assumed that the historically famous specialist hospital would probably be the best place but subsequently turned out not so, which we would explain later...
And hence began our journey!
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