Pregnancy Report Week 38- Back Again

I haven't been blogging for the past few days because I have been sick. It has been because of a combination of things- one of which is the haze which our kind, considerate neighbors in Sumatra send our way every August. This has lead to some respiratory problems. It could be that I am allergic to something in the smoke. One thing I know is that I don't like breathing it, even though here in Taiping it is nowhere near as dense as in KL.

The other thing is exhaustion. I haven't been sleeping well because of worry and anxiety over Trien's pregnancy, and that has taken a toll on me. When I go to school in the morning I feel like I am still asleep, and feel the same way all day.

Mr. Wong took me to see a doctor, one of his friends he plays squash with. Dr. Prem Kumar is in his early sixties, but looking at him you would swear that he is at least twenty years younger. Mr. Wong says he plays squash like he was twenty years younger too. His office is in a little old Kampung building in Pokok Assam, across from the post office. He took my blood pressure, which was normal. Last time it was taken, it was high- 150/90. Again, from stress.

So he checked me out, and looked at my throat. After he did, he said it was in bad shape, and asked me if I smoked. I don't, at least not voluntarily. Living in Malaysia during The Haze is like smoking six packs of cigarettes a day, except you have no idea what kind of toxic substances you are inhaling.

He gave me some cough medicine, vitamin C, antibiotics, and I guess some acetaminophen- the standard stuff.

I took it, as the doctor ordered, and felt like I was in a coma for the first day, and semi-conscious the second. The third day I was just walking around in a fog, and went to teach class.

I know I have to try to relax more, and get some more rest.

As for the baby, we are still waiting. Trien keeps having false labor pains. That's kind of hard, because after a while, it becomes like the boy who cried wolf. Of course it's not her fault. Her body is just getting ready for the big day.

Every day brings the big event a little closer. Every day the waiting gets harder.