Pregnancy

Pregnancy Journey : and the adventure shall begin

“The moment a child is born, the mother is also born”

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First time I held him in my arms

14 December 2016, sekitar jam 3 pagi, saya merasa mules dengan interval 20menit, tapi saat itu karena udah keseringan braxton hicks (kontraksi palsu) dari beberapa hari lalu, jadi saya cuekin saja. Jam 4 pagi, kontraksi mulai jadi lebih cepat dengan interval per 6 menit. Saya coba buat jalan2 dan main gym ball untuk make sure ini beneran kontraksi, dan hasilnya jam 5 pagi kontraksi jadi per 5 mnt. Dokter Ferdhy (obgyn saya) akhirnya reply Whatsapp saya dan suruh ke RS. Jam 7 sampai di RS untuk CTG, akhrnya kontraksi jadi per 3 menit dan bidan bilang udah bukaan 2. Saat itu dokter bilang untuk terus observasi sampe jam11 untuk dicek sendiri. Dari jam 8-11, saya jalan bolak balik hall lantai bersalin demi bukaan cepat, tapi who knows bukaan cuma naik ke 3 tipis tapi kontraksi makin hebat per 2 menit. Akhirnya buka kamar karena udah ga dikasih pulang, takut pecah ketuban. Kalau katanya tanda-tanda siap melahirkan itu harus bloody show (pendarahan), di saya ngga ada tanda itu sama sekali, Cuma ada lendir seperti ingus, konsistensinya kayak jelly, warna hijau kekuningan.

Jam 3.30 sore, setelah jongkok bangun 80 kali, jalan mondar mandir hall RS, dicek CTG lagi dan cek dalam, bukaan masih tetap stay di 3 tipis, kepala baby bahkan belum masuk panggul. saya sudah makin lemes dan CTG menunjukkan baby stress karena kurang cairan. Akhirnya saya minta option untuk pakai epidural karena khawatir nanti ngga kuat ngeden kalo udah bukaan 10. Mulai dari bukaan awal sampai jam 4 sore saya sendirian di ruang observasi, orangtua saya nunggu diluar. Suami saya masih di kantor karena saya piker toh masih belum naik bukaannya, jadi tunggu saja sampai pulang kantor.

Jam 6 sore, bukaan masih sama, dokter-suami-ortu saya diskusi untuk pakai epidural karena mereka masih ragu terhadap efek sampingnya. akhirnya diputuskan untuk tunggu sampai jam 9 malam, kalau sampai ga nambah bukaan, dan kepala baby masih jauh dari panggul, pilihannya antara epidural dengan resiko kalau kepala masih belum masuk panggul berakhir di csect atau langsung csect. Dokter tetap semangatin saya untuk berusaha yang terbaik untuk normal dan sama sekali ga mengarahkan untuk csect karena beliau tahu dari awal saya mau lahir normal. Disini kenapa saya pilih Dokter Ferdhy karena beliau menghormati keputusan saya tapi sekaligus memantau kondisi medis ibu dan bayi. Kalau dari cerita teman-teman saya yang ditangani sama beberapa dokter terkenal di RS itu, mereka pasti sudah disuruh buat csect.

Jam 9 malam, cek dalam, ga ada perubahan, kondisi saya menurun, baby makin stress. Akhirnya saya putuskan untuk pakai epidural dengan resiko adanya kemungkinan csect pada akhirnya. Akhrinya jam 10 malam, dokter anestesi dating, epidural dipasang, dengan dosis untuk per 4 jam. Saat itu saya juga diberi suntikan oksitosin supaya kontraksi tetap berlanjut. Suami nunggu di kamar rawat dan saya di kamar bersalin sendiri. Epidural itu dimasukin obat melalui kateter di tulang belakang dekat tulang ekor, hampir mirip dengan suntikan anestesi untuk csect, bedanya Cuma di ruas tulang keberapa yang disuntik. Sakit ngga? Well, kalau sudah ngerasain sakitnya kontraksi, ditusuk jarumnya ga akan berasa 😀 Lalu kenapa saya ngga pakai ILA saja? Nah, pertimbangannya ILA itu cuma bertahan 6 jam, kalau setelah 6 jam ternyata bukaan belom siap ya sudah langsung csect. Kalau epidural, karena sistemnya kateter seperti infus, jadi obat bisa ditambah dosisnya. FYI, both ILA dan epidural TIDAK MENGHILANGKAN rasa sakit, tapi hanya MENGURANGI. Jadi kita masih bisa merasakan sakitnya, kaki pun ngga kebas, jadi saya masih bisa miring-miring, balik badan, angkat pantat dan lainnya, tetapi area kemaluan totally mati rasa.

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Setelah dipasang epidural

Jam 12.30 pagi saya merasa kontraksi hebat yang ternyata efek epidural habis. Saya minta tambahan dosis. Bidan akhirnya tambahin lagi dan dikasi tau selanjutnya tambah dosis baru boleh di jam 4 pagi. Status bukaan masih tetep 3 dan kepala baby masih belum masuk panggul. Sekitar jam 2 pagi, kembali kontraksi hebat, ternyata dosis epidural habis dan sedihnya kepala baby masih jauh diatas dengan pembukaan masih di 3. Tambahan dosis cuma dikasih setengah sama bidan yang akhirnya jam 3 pagi, saya udah teriak-teriak karena sakitnya ga tahan. Epidural ditambah lagi sisanya tapi belum bereaksi. Pas dicek ternyata sudah pembukaan 10, no wonder saya kesakitan banget dan tetap kepala baby belum masuk panggul, which is red alert. Dokter pun ditelpon dan ternyata sudah on the way ke RS.

Jam 3.30 pagi ketuban pecah, sudah hijau, suami diminta tanda tangan surat persetujuan csect karena denyut jantung bayi melemah, tensi saya naik jadi 140an. Pas lagi siap2 mau didorong ke ruang operasi, dokter masuk dan langsung cek dalam. Surprisingly, dokter bilang : ness, kpala baby udah dibawah nih, kamu kuat ngeden? 😑 Saya jawab : bisa dok. Saya cuma minta saya ngga mau anak saya di vakum atau diforcept. Yang ada di pikiran saya, 25 jam saya nunggu, this is the time, the last battle demi si baby. Dengan sisa-sisa tenaga saya yakin saya bisa. Sialnya, dosis epidural tiba-tiba muncul dan saya ga bisa rasain kontraksi. Thanks God kaki baby tiap kontraksi selalu nendang diafragma saya sampe saya sesak nafas. Jadi itu patokan saya. Bayangin ngeden, dengan sesek nafas.

Jam4.20 pagi, dengan 4 set ngeden berbekal ilmu dari senam hamil di RS carolus, baby Samuel lahir dengan bersih, nangis kenceng, gendut, sehat. Saya ga berhenti nangis dan suruh suami ikutin si baby. Sadly bad service dari RS, pagi itu ga ada dokter anak yang standby untuk cek anak saya, sampe hari kedua baru dicek. Jadi saat itu Dokter Ferdhy mondar mandir urus baby saya dan kerjain jahitan saya. Bahkan yang suntik vaksin hep B saja suster bayi. Tapi saya dipaksa charge bill untuk kehadiran dokter anak di hari anak saya lahir 😑 ya sudah lah, toh saya lahiran disini cuma karena berpegangan sama obgyn saya Dr Ferdhy S Suwandinata yang super baik kayak malaikat dan bener-bener dedicated ke pasiennya.

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No pediatrician. So, my obgyn had to take care of my newborn baby first

Bener kata orang-orang, kalau lahiran normal itu enaknya bisa langsung seger. 1 jam setelah lahiran, saya haus dan lapar BANGET, sampe habis 2 botol aqua, 1 botol pocari sweat, dan nasi gudeg (ini emaknya emang nggragas). Setelah 1 jam itu, baby saya ditempelin lagi ke saya untuk IMD, yang karena ga ada siapapun yang lahiran normal pagi itu, saya bisa puas 2 jam IMD sama Samuel. Pagi itu adalah pagi terbaik dalam hidup saya yang ga akan saya lupakan sampai detik saya mati.

Pesan saya buat yang mau melahirkan, ikuti mother instinct kalian. Saya ada pindah dokter 4 kali, bahkan di usia kandungan saya yang ke 7 bulan, saya masih sama dokter lain, tapi saat itu saya sudah rasa kalau hati saya bilang anak saya harus dilahirkan dengan bantuan Dokter Ferdhy. Dan ternyata instinct saya ga salah. Buat yang nanya sakit ga melahirkan, buat saya yang lebih sakit kontraksinya. Mau melahirkan normal atau csect, semua pasti sakit, namanya juga keluarin anak manusia dari badan.

Saya berterimakasih banget sama Dokter Ferdhy karena ditengah sikon yang mungkin dokter lain udah suruh csect saja biar cepat dan gampang, beliau masih punya faith dan semangatin saya untuk lahir normal. Selama hamil (bahkan sampe sekarang anak saya sudah umur satu tahun), saya bisa whatsapp-an terus sama beliau, orangnya super helpful dan baik banget. Sekian cerita saya. Apapun cara lahirnya, csect atau normal, a mother is a mother dan semua cerita pasti unik dan memorable. Happy parenting!

Pregnancy

Pregnancy Journey : 38 weeks of roller coaster

It’s been a year since I gave birth to my son, I haven’t had time to write, blogging, and take care of myself. It’s been a year of rollercoaster, learning to be a new mother, parenthood, and everything else. But now that I feel more confident and I can manage my time as a full-time mom, I am ready to share more about the past few months – pregnancy, newborn, food strike, etc.

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Kehamilan saya bisa dikategorikan easy and fun, ga banyak drama. Saya baru tau saya hamil saat usia kandungan 7 minggu. It’s a surprise for both my husband and I. We did try to conceive tapi bukan yang tipe ngoyo, sampai kita decided mau hamil nanti aja tahun depan deh. Setelah liburan dari Jepang, saya emang berasa meriang terus, tapi saat itu saya pikir karena memang kerjaan/aktivitas saya lagi gila banget, pulang kerumah jam10 malam, berangkat jam5 pagi, jam6 pagi yoga, jam8 pagi udah mulai kerja. Suatu hari om saya meninggal dan saya harus datang ke rumah duka, iseng adik saya bilang, ‘coba test pack gih, kalo lo hamil kan ga boleh ke rumah duka.’ Saat itu ga ada perasaan apa-apa, lha wong saya haid aja ga teratur kok dari kecil. Pas ditest, loh kok ada garis samar dua biji. Ah ga mungkin ah. Test lagi pake alat kedua, loh kok ada garis lagi. Test lagi pake alat ketiga, loh kok ada lagi. Terus kasih tau hubby, reaksinya ya datar aja, ga ada kayak di film-film, loncat-loncat, nangis terharu, dipeluk. Nope. Doi emang mukanya expression-less, kalo ada tsunami juga mungkin dia tetep datar 😅

TRIMESTER SATU

Dokter pertama yang saya datangi, Dr Handaya, obgyn senior yang jadi andalan mami saya semasa saya diperut mami. Ternyata sudah hamil 7 minggu. Kaget yes. Tapi oh ya sudah, masih deg-degan karena segala kemungkinan bisa terjadi kan. Hari-hari besoknya ga ada perubahan di aktivitas saya, yoga tetap jalan, kerjaan wara wiri pake high heels. Sama sekali ga ada drama morning sickness, yang ada cuma malem berasa mual tapi standard. Ngidam pun ga aneh-aneh, cuma pengen makan mie dan telor ceplok tiap hari. Sampai suatu hari saya flek jadi setiap hari. Akhirnya dokter kasih utrogestan, obat penguat kandungan, sehari sekali. Demi anak, akhirnya saya memutuskan resign untuk menghindari hal-hal yang tidak diinginkan. Saya dan suami sempat pengen NiPT (Noninvasive prenatal testing). Test ini berguna untuk mengetahui apakah ada kelainan down syndrome dan kelainan kromosom pada bayi. Saat itu dr Handaya bilang,’bisa aja sih kalo mau, nanti bloodnya dikirim ke california, hasilnya 2mingguan. Tapi kalo udah tau terus mau apa? Mau digugurin kalo kelainan?’ . Amit-amit jabang bayi *ketok meja*. Ya sudah akhirnya diputuskan ga NiPT, banyak doa aja.

Hari-hari sebagai ibu hamil anak pertama dimulai. Bosen ga? Banget. Biasanya rame banyak temen-temen kantor, biasanya sibuk urus kerjaan, sekarang dirumah sendirian sepi. Aktivitas saya normal ga ada keluhan apapun, kecuali jadi cepet ngantuk aja. Saya masih bebersih rumah sendiri karena ga ada helper dirumah, masih nyetir sendiri, masak dan lainnya.

TRIMESTER DUA

Masuk trimester dua, sekitar week 14, yang tadinya ga mual, jadi mual parah. Saya jadi mual lihat sayuran, maunya daging-dagingan. Saya jadi cuma sukanya makanan tradisional kayak ketoprak, gado-gado, garang asem dll. Di week 12, kaki saya bengkak kayak kaki gajah. Bukan karena kebanyakan jalan, tapi karena pembuluh vena saya kecil dan semasa hamil kan volume darah jadi meningkat drastis. Dokter takut ada darah tinggi atau lainnya, jadilah test darah sampai berkali-kali, thank God hasilnya semua normal.

Nah, di trimester 2 ini saya akhirnya pindah obgyn karena tiap kali tanya-tanya ke dr handaya dijawab cepet-cepet terus karena banyak pasien. Namanya kita new parents kan banyak banget ya masih bingung ini itu. Terus dokternya telat terus dan antrinya lama banget. Akhirnya yang tadinya sreg jadi ga sreg, diputuskan pindah ke dr Irham Suheimi di bunda menteng. Ini perjuangan banget, saya berangkat dari rumah saya di tangerang jam 5 pagi, sampai bunda jam 6 pagi berebut nomer antrian. Sudah gitu masih nunggu dokternya yang seringnya telat jam10-11 baru ada. Jadi setiap check up bisa makan waktu 6-7 jam untuk commute, antri, konsultasi. Lelah hayati.

Dikarenakan kaki saya yang bengkak kayak kaki gajah, jadilah pupus harapan buat babymoon. Jadi kalo kecapean, kaki tangan saya langsung bengkak parah. Muka juga bengkak. Tapi sayanya ga ngerasa sakit apapun. Wong bahkan saya masih bisa muterin kebun raya bogor 💪🏻

GENDER REVEAL

Di week 16, saya iseng ikut check up barengan sama temen saya yang hamilnya barengan. Kata temen saya, obgyn dia ganteng kayak marcellino lefrandt, kan katanya kalo lagi hamil harus lihat yang cakep-cakep kan (emak2 lagi hamil emang kadang centil 🤣). Dokternya lulusan jerman, namanya Dr Ferdhy S Suwandinata. Pas dicek dokternya bilang, ‘belom keliatan nih gendernya, tapi ini kayaknya cowo sih’. Jreng! Saya sih ga ada preference ya mau gender apa karena anak pertama, tapi ortu dan suami pengennya anak cowo.

TRIMESTER TIGA

Obgyn saya sampai usia kandungan 7 bulan itu 2 orang, Dr Irham Suheimi dan Dr Ferdhy. Cerita drama obgyn sudah saya post ya sebelumnya. Akhirnya fixed di week 28, saya tetapkan obgyn saya untuk lahiran Dr Ferdhy. Oh ya, di usia kandungan week 20 saya USG 4D karena week 18-20 ini paling bagus untuk lihat seluruh organ vital karena badan baby belum tertutup lemak, kulit masih transparant. Di week 28-30 boleh USG 4D lagi tapi ini lebih buat lihat bentuk muka, jari-jari etc. Di usia kandungan 7 bulan ini juga disarankan buat cek darah untuk peluang kena diabetes gestational. Thank God, walau dibatas atas, saya aman.

Senam hamil itu penting. Saya berencana buat lahiran normal dari awal sebelum hamil. Jadi penting dong buat tau cara ngeden. Saya pilih ikut senam hamil di RS Carolus Summarecon, karena yang saya tau RS itu pro normal dan pro ASIX. Kelasnya seminggu sekali, 6x pertemuan kena biaya IDR 350,000 (tahun 2016). Saya memutuskan ikut di week 32, karena teknik ngeden baru diajarkan setelah week 36, sebelum-sebelumnya mah cuma diajarkan teknik nafas untuk mengalirkan oksigen ke baby, teknik stretching, pijat ASI buat bapak-bapaknya. Nah, bagusnya disini, suami-suami diminta ikutan 15 menit terakhir. Jadi suami-suami ikut belajar pijat untuk merangsang ASI, bagaimana bantu istrinya kalau kakinya bengkak, bagaimana nafas istrinya pas ngeden, intinya suami diikutsertakan. Karena yang hamil kan berdua, masa istri doang yang berusaha kan. Mana udah hamil gede kan jalan udah kayak penguin. Saran saya, mau lahiran normal atau csect, ikut deh senam hamil, penting loh buat belajar stretching biar kaki ga bengkak/kram, belajar pijat ASI, belajar buat atur napas kalau babynya ga gerak didalam perut, dsb.

CLOSURE

Saya lahiran di week 38, 4 days. Kontraksi cinta yang ditunggu-tunggu ga datang-datang, padahal saya udah super aktif, jalan di mall bisa seharian, masih nyetir sendiri, turun naek tangga, ngepel jongkok, jongkok berdiri. Nah, buat yang kontraksinya ga datang-datang, satu tips yang saya lakukan dan mungkin bisa berhasil di mommies, saya minum air rebusan kayu manis. Resepnya : 2 batang kayu manis direbus dengan 2 gelas, jadi 1 gelas. Diminum sehari sekali. Saya minum 2x dan langsung kontraksi. Tapi ini pro kontra ya, ada yang setuju ada yang ngga.

Terakhir, enjoy your pregnancy, it won’t last long. Nikmatin masa-masa bangun siang, bisa leyeh-leyeh, bisa makan tenang, karena once baby lahir, you’ll miss your me-time. But trust me, it’s all worth it ☺️

Cheers,Ness

Pregnancy

Pregnancy Journey : OB/GYN Shopping

Hello again readers!

In this post, I will let you know all the OB/GYN I have visited, how do I feel about them, how much is the fee and the pros/cons. Since this would be most beneficial for Indonesian readers, I will write in Bahasa Indonesia.

Memilih OB/GYN tentunya jadi salah satu crucial decision saat kita memasuki kehamilan. Honestly, saya udah went through more than 5 OB/GYN kayaknya karena saya punya riwayat Lymphoma Non-Hodgkin dan period cycle saya yang ga menentu. Berbagai macam faktor mulai dari harga, senioritas, review-review pasien lama, sampai ke masalah waiting time di klinik pun pasti jadi pertimbangan. So, let me introduce them, one by one ya. ^.^

  1. Dr. Stephen V. Mandang SpOG (Siloam Hositals)
    (http://www.siloamhospitals.com/doctors/profile/drstephenvmandangspog.html)

    Saya visit dokter ini waktu sebelum married untuk pre-marital check up dan pernah sekali lagi di lain waktu karena haid saya stop untuk 4 bulan lebih.

    Kesan : Dokternya tenang, super friendly, keliatan banget smartnya, matanya tajam, dan yang paling penting GA MATRE (bukan tipe dokter jualan obat). Waktu itu saya minta rekomendasi untuk pre-marital check up, Dok cuma centang beberapa dan I was quite surprised kalo check Toxoplasma ga dimasukin ke dalam check listnya. Dok bilang, di Indo toxo termasuk rare case dan he didn’t think it’s necessary. Untuk haid saya yang lagi ‘macet’, Dok ga kasi obat apapun karena dia bilang it’s just a matter of hormones and stress level.

    Price : IDR 550k -ish just for consultation fee (Tahun 2015, siloam kebon jeruk. Rada lupa pastinya berapa)

    PROS :
    – GA MATRE, bukan tipe jualan obat.
    – Detail banget ceknya, Dok ini once of some doctors yg explained ke saya kalau rahim saya tipe retro (terbalik)
    – Sabar. Kayaknya I spent more than 30mins disitu, saya bawel banget nanya ini itu dan si dok dengan sabar menjawab semuanya
    – Menenangkan. Kan ada tuh tipe dokter yang bawaannya udah bikin panik, jadi pasien bikin panik. Kalo sama Dok Stephen berasa calm aja. He knows what to do.

    CONS :
    – Dok praktek di Siloam, which I don’t favor the hospital due to family history with its unprofessionalism

  2. Dr Ong Tjandra MMPd SpOG (K)
    ( Klinik Sehati : Ruko Voronez, Jl. Raya Kelapa Puan Blok CA 24 No.16-17 Gading Serpong, Tangerang, Banten 15810)

    Saya visit Dok Ong di klinik Sehati, Klinik pribadinya yang berlokasi di Gading Serpong. Saya visit sekitar Desember 2016 karena direkomendasikan teman saya yang udah visit lebih dari 10 OB/GYN dan baru Dok Ong yang menemukan masalah PCOS di dalam rahimnya. Saat itu saya mau mulai program hamil dan berhubung Dok ini super amat sangat jago karena spesialisasinya juga di Onkologi (Saya ada riwayat cancer), jadi saya mau tanya-tanya ke expertnya is it safe or not to conceive. Dalam kunjungan itu, Dok Ong minta saya untuk melakukan PET/CT Scan lagi, untuk make sure semua sel kanker saya sudah dalam posisi dormant, intinya whether I am clean or not to conceive a baby. Dok merujuk ke MRCCC untuk saya do PET/CT Scan.

    Kesan : Dok Ong ini termasuk dalam aliran natural, I didn’t say he’s into Eastern Medical Practice, but he believes that your health depends on what you eat. Dok menyarankan saya untuk kurangi makan daging and try to be a vegetarian (which I did at that time before I got pregnant). Dok Ong termasuk dokter senior yang matanya sangat detail dan ‘awas’ untuk bisa lihat adanya kelainan atau ngga. Oh, and he’s also one of the OB/GYN who tells me kalo rahim saya retro juga.

    Price : IDR 550k for consultation fee and USG

    PROS :
    – He’s a genius and a senior doctor
    – VERY VERY low profile. Dok cuma pake sendal selop and kemeja pendek. Kalo ngga tau itu Dok, maybe udah looks like my grandpa
    – He goes with natural remedy not a medicine hardcore
    – Dok juga praktek di RS Betsaida Summarecon Serpong dan RS Carolus Summarecon Serpong

    CONS :
    – ngantrinya LUAMA banget. You need to book an appointment with him at least 2-3 months in advance, itupun bisa jadi baru dapet jadwalnya malem around 10-11pm ish. Karena during the day, Dok sibuk dengan operasi and the blah blah. Nah, considering waktu tunggu yg ga masuk akal ini, so I decided not to see him anymore. Saya ngga sesabar itu buat booking dan waiting selama itu.

  3. Dr Handaya SpOG
    (Klinik pribadinya di Jl. Citarum No. 2, Cideng)

    Dokter ini adalah dok kandungan mama saya waktu hamil saya. I called him Dukun Bayi. He is a very famous and reputable OB/GYN senior di dunia ginekolog. Saya visit Dok Handaya untuk pertama kalinya waktu make sure whether I am pregnant or not, di kliniknya yang di Citarum. Even though Dok mungkin udah hampir seumur Opa saya, tapi Dok masih tegap gagah, ga ada tremor, seger banget.

    Dok ini agak unik. He still uses the old USG Machine loh tapi mungkin karena Dok udah bantu ribuan baby untuk lahir kayaknya semua udah diluar kepala. Salah satu yang lucu, He measures a fetus weight cuma pake jengkalan tangannya, dan amazingly he could tell nanti pas lahir beratnya berapa dan selalu bener! Moreover, Dok Handaya juga termasuk aliran lahiran PRO-normal hardcore dan anti obat-obatan ga jelas. Saya visit ke Dok Handaya sampai usia kehamilan 20 minggu, dan during that time saya ada tanya mengenai apa perlu saya USG 4D, simpan cordblood, sampai test NIPT (untuk tau kelainan syndrome-syndrome tertentu). Ini jawaban om Dok :
    – USG 4D : ini ga ada kelainan, semua sehat ngapain buang duit buat liat ampe detail.
    – Cordblood : boleh aja simpen, tapi di Indo itu medicalnya belum sanggup untuk apply kalo amit2 mau beneran dipake, jadi minimal harus di spore, dan biayanya itu itungan M, coba deh tanya sama si provider.
    – NIPT : terus kalo udah tau ada kelainan, mau digugurin? Saya cek semua sehat kok.

    LOL. His responses made me laugh, karena emang iya masuk akal sih. Dok ini ga tipe matre. Dok ini very reputable karena doi ngajar juga di UI, so banyak dokter-dokter muda sekarang yang sebenernya murid si Dok. BUT if I tell you how much do I pay him for a consultation and USG, you might not believe me karena ga sebanding dengan kejeniusan dan kepopuleran doi. Oh btw, I quit seeing him not because I have problems with him, tapi karena Dok cuma bisa perform lahiran di RS Medistra dimana itu RS umum and saya mau lahiran di RSIA.

    Kesan : Dok nya nyablak banget. Try to ask him panjang bayinya berapa etc, doi pasti cuma jawab ‘tenang aja cukup’. Atau coba tanya tentang mitos ini itu, pasti nanti diomelin haha. Dok anti banget sama obat-obatan dan vitamin ga jelas. Dok cuma kasih vitamin Folavit di trim 1 dan begitu masuk trim 2 jadi folamil genio dan cal95. that’s it. Ada pantangan makan? NOPE. Eat everything tapi try to avoid seafood dari laut jawa dan raw food. OH OH, he’s also one of the OB/GYNS yang tells me kalo rahim saya retro.

    Price : IDR 500k for consultation fee and USG (So freaking cheap!)

    PROS :
    – Doi Dok Senior yang udah perform more than 28 years ago so he knows thousands of cases.
    – PRO-NORMAL (lahiran) hardcore. Bayi sungsang aja bisa dilahirin normal sama doi
    – Ga matre dan ga jualan obat

    CONS :
    – Kliniknya udah old banget, malahan banyak yang kesana udah oma-oma ^.^’
    – He can tell details to you, tapi he could be quite stern. Mungkin karena he knows what he does dan sometimes kita bumil suka over paranoid LOL
    – Dok cuma bisa perform lahiran di RS Medistra (which is itu RS umum, if you’re like me yang lebih comfortable di RSIA, mungkin you might find this as an issue)

  4. Dr Irham Suheimi SpOG
    (http://www.morulaivf.co.id/id/doctor/dr-irham-suheimi-spog)

    Setelah dari Dr Handaya, saya dan hubby memutuskan untuk ke Dr Irham Suheimi di RSIA Bunda. Why? Merely because hubby, in-laws sama my parents maunya saya lahiran di RSIA Bunda, karena mereka dulu melahirkan di Bunda. Siapa sih yang ngga kenal RSIA Bunda Menteng, RS-nya artis dan yang terkenal waktu tunggunya bisa bikin pantat rata.

    So, Why did I choose him? Sebenernya awalnya mau milih Prof Dr Joso, tapi karena om dok baru praktek sore dan baca-baca dari blog orang kalo waiting timenya bisa sampe jam 11 malam, dadah goodbye deh. Besides, I live in Tangerang dan RSIA Bunda ada di Menteng, well you can imagine. So among any other OB/GYN I chose Dr Irham.

    Kesan : Dok nya super friendly, begitu masuk disambut dengan senyum hangat dan ceria, walaupun itu pasti udah begadang berapa malem hahaha. Suaranya menenangkan dan he looks smart. During some visitation, kadang doknya suka terburu-buru, mungkin mengingat antrian pasiennya yang mengular ya. He gave me his cellphone number so you can whatsapp him anytime, tapi slow response ya sis.

    Price : IDR 585k consultation fee and USG (RSIA Bunda)

    PROS :
    – Dok ini terkenal banget sama tangannya yang dingin dan kerjanya rapih (in case you need stitches kan)
    – Kalem dan friendly jadi kita ga panik
    – Humoris. Tiap kali visit selalu becanda-becanda terus.

    CONS :
    – He’s so famous, so Dok hampir selalu ada tindakan, jadi expect penambahan waktu tunggu 1-2jam. Tiap visit saya selalu datang paling pagi jam 5.30 am demi dapet no antrian nomer 1, dan berakhir baru ketemu dokter jam 10-11ish haha. Oh, mereka ga akan kasi tau dari awal kalau dokter ada tindakan, so biasanya setelah pantat kebas nunggu 3 jam, pas kita tanya ke suster baru deh mereka kasi tau kalo dokter lagi tindakan. Mana kursinya ga bersahabat buat pantat bumil -.-
    – I think the cons lebih ke RSnya yah. Entah karena udah terkenal atau gimana, but suster-susternya agak songong as if they want to say : u need us, we dont need you.
    – Waktu perjalanan dan waktu tunggu akhirnya membuat saya memutuskan untuk quit seeing him, karena takut in case of emergency, it’d be too late.

  5. Dr. med. Ferdhy Suryadi Suwandinata, SpOG(K-FER)
    (Praktek di RSIA Family dan RSIA Grand Family)
    (http://www.antotehe.ga/2015/05/dr-med-ferdhy-suryadi-suwandinata-spog.html)

    Nah, ini dia Dokter ganteng, lucu, super bae, ramah, reachable yang akhirnya saya putuskan untuk jadi dokter yang bantu unyil keluar dari rahim saya. Awalnya saya di-introduce ke Dok Ferdhy lewat temen saya yang sukses IVF setelah 3 tahun penantian dan jackpot dapet triplets. Doi ini dokter lulusan jerman yang juga merupakan tangan kanannya Dokter Ong Tjandra. Dok Ferdhy terkenal banget dengan tangan dinginnya (mulai dari IVF, inseminasi sampai operasi laparoskopi yang njelimet itu).

    Let me tell you my story… Up until I was 28 weeks pregnant, saya masih pegang 2  OB/GYN : Dr Irham Suheimi dan Dr Ferdhy Suwandinata. Why?
    1. The whole family masih insists saya untuk lahiran di RSIA Bunda, BUT hati dan insting saya maunya lahiran sama Dr Ferdhy. Ada chemistry dan rasa peaceful yang saya dapat dengan Dr Ferdhy, even though both doctors are seriously geniuses and super kind.
    2. Karena lokasi saya di Tangerang, it’d be easier for me to reach Dr Ferdhy di PIK daripada di Menteng, in case of emergency (dan terbukti akhirnya, wait a minute, I will tell you.)

    Sekitar awal October 2016, saya ada visit RSIA Grand Family with my parents, dan honestly judging from its price compared dengan hygiene-fasilitas, harga itu OVERRATED banget! So my parents tetep insisted untuk saya lahiran di RSIA Bunda. Until there came an emergency situation.

    It was Tuesday morning, usia kandungan saya masuk 32 weeks. Biasanya unyil aktif heboh ga berenti mulai dari 6pm sampe subuh, tapi di hari itu mulai dari jam3 sore hari sebelumnya saya sama sekali ga merasakan gerakan apapun dari unyil sampai jam 10 pagi besokannya. Panik donk! I tried to call RSIA Bunda untuk ketemu Dr Irham, tapi ga bisa karena appointment harus minimal 2 minggu sebelumnya. I tried to call Dr Handaya, tapi katanya saya baru bisa ketemu dengan nunggu jam prakteknya nanti malam. Ditengah kebingungan itu sembari siap-siap mau ke Dr Stephen Mandang di Siloam Karawaci, saya whatsapp Dr Ferdhy. Dok akhirnya replied pas saya baru jalan dari rumah dan bilang kalau Dok yang akan ke serpong supaya saya lebih dekat dan suruh saya untuk ke klinik Dr Ong saja supaya Dok bs bantuk cek. I was like, seriously?? Btw, he knew loh kalo saya bakal lahiran bukan sama doi tapi sama dok Irham, but still diluar jam prakteknya, Dok mau bantu untuk cek unyil yang mamanya ini udah nangis-nangis heboh. So…….. I told my hubby,’ Aku akan lahiran sama Dok Ferdhy, no matter what your parents and my parents said. This is a cue from God and universe.’ Coba deh, mana ada sih dokter yang bela-belain drive all the way dari Pluit buat periksa yang bukan pasiennya, mana turned out dia ada operasi juga di Betsaida Serpong pas itu.

    Kesan : I’ve never found Dokter yang super humble dan baik banget kayak gini. Guess what, saya USG 4D dengan doi hanya bayar IDR 200k di kliniknya. Yes, you heard me right. Itu USG lengkap 4D loh untuk liat organ vital. Saya USG 4D 2x karena doi bilang usia kandungan 18-22 week paling pas untuk cek organ vital (selebihnya uda ketutup fat), dan usia kandungan diatas 28 week untuk cek muka.

    Price : IDR 500k ( Klinik Sehati) dan IDR 200k (Klinik Dharma Husada). I will update the price di RSIA Grand Family nanti.

    PROS :
    – Genius dan matanya tajem. Di week 16, Dok uda bilang kalo unyil is a boy. Di week 22, Dr Irham bilang unyil was a girl. unyil emang bandel banget, 6x usg dia selalu nutup pahanya. Daaaaaannn… terbukti Dr Irham merevisi kalo unyil ternyata is a boy. Sampe di week 32, juga dari USG 4D terlihat testisnya unyil
    – Kalem dan humoris. Dr Irham bilang kalo unyil lehernya kelilit tali puser, yang turned out setelah diliat sama Dr Ferdhy, tali pusernya cuma ngalung, not even sampe ke tengkuknya unyil
    – easy to contact and reachable. You know what, lagi malem takbiran jam 12 malem aja doi reply whatsapp saya pas saya panik karena kaki bengkak kayak kaki gajah. (waktu itu baru 1x cek ke doi)
    – genuinely kind hearted. You read my story.
    – ga matre dan anti obat-obatan
    – he looks like marcelino lefrandt, in short he’s so good looking. LOL. Oh well, this is a bonus. :p

    CONS :
    – I don’t have any cons on him except that he could only perform lahiran di RSIA grand family or family yang overpriced.

Jadi, demikianlah hasil review saya dari OB/GYN shopping selama ini. Main rule saya adalah saya ga mau dokter matre dan jualan obat. Dan berhubung saya niatnya mau lahiran normal, I looked up for those yang emang Pro-Normal. Semua dokter yang yang saya elaborate di atas itu dokter-dokter terkenal, pinter banget dan all of them are reputable. Some circumstances dan chemistry yang bikin saya decided untuk settle dengan Dr Ferdhy Suwandinata (despite the fact of RSIA Grand Fam). Mungkin ini kali ya yang namanya pilih dokter itu cocok-cocokan. I hope my post helps you out. Good luck with your pregnancy!

Here is a sneak peak of my little munchkin :

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my little munchkin, 32 weeks 

p.s : please do PM me, should you have any question that I could help you out.

Love,

Vness

 

 

Pregnancy

Pregnancy Journey : Trying to Conceive

Hello everyone!

It took me so long to get back to blogging my recent life events. For the past months, LOTS of things have happened : got a new job in a socialite billionaires’ circle (but sadly I had to quit due to my pregnancy), traveled to Japan (I will write my story, tips and itinerary of Japan in  different posts) and the biggest of all is GETTING PREGNANT!

Well, I guess it all started in February 2016 when the in-laws and my parents started to urge me not to postpone getting pregnant. Honestly, personally, I wanted to postpone getting a baby for another year. For God’s sake, I still have many places to travel to and also I just got a VERY VERY interesting job in a billionaires’ and government’s circle, AND crying baby was the last thing in my mind. To put it short, I WASN’T READY. Yet as everyone knows, in Chinese family, it would become a problem if you’re married and no sign of babies. Me and my hubby are the first child in our families, and he is the first and only son in his family, so the tale about passing on the family lineage is considered their first priority after us getting married. Hence, we started to give in to their requests and trying to conceive.

Here are some of our efforts that we thought most of it were ridiculous :p

  1. Ovutest Scope 
    A friend of mine suggested me to monitor my ovulation cycle with this thing. LOL. Seriously, at first it’s kinda fun to put your saliva on its tiny lens by licking it by the time you woke up and then to look at it closely, just like you use a microscope. Yet sooner, I felt so silly to use this stuff EVERYDAY just to make sure that my eggs are ready, I’m fertile and lets have sex. So, I think I only used this thing for a week. However, some of my friends succeed in getting pregnant with the help of this ovulation tracker mini microscope 😛
  2. Traditional Chinese Medicine
    My mother-in-law believes that I didn’t consume enough Chinese Herbs throughout my 28 years life, so she gave me lots and lots of Chinese medicine to me to strengthen my uterus. Do not ask me how does it taste. It tastes and smells so frickin’ horrible that I would vomit every time I smelled it if I didn’t consider the expensive price.This supplement is believed to be the extract of black chicken to boost women’s fertility and treat gynecological problems. Yes, all black, in and out (bones, meat, skin), except for its white feather. It is also believed that you just need to drink it once or twice the second day after your period ends and that’s it, you’ll get pregnant. The name is Bai Feng Wan (白凤丸). You have to dilute the pill in hot boiled water and drink it. FYI, the pill is the size of tennis-table ball, black-brown colored and covered in a wax shell. I had this once and I ended up giving the rest of the pills to my friend.

    If you’re in Indonesia, you can buy it from www.mandjur.co.id 

    bai-feng-wan-_pak-fung-pills_-isi-1.png

  3. Japanese Amulets (Omamori)
    We went to Japan for two weeks from end of March-early April 2016. By this time, we haven’t taken getting pregnant into our serious thoughts. We did try a couple of recommendation yet we were at the state of nothing-to-lose. When we were in Japan, I’d always wanted to have some Japanese Lucky Charms for souvenirs since everyone said that it is a must. So, when we visited some famous temples there, I bought the amulets just for fun, merely because the pouches were cute. I bought one in Asakusa temple for 500 yen (I forgot the exact price) and the other one from a random temple in Arashiyama Bamboo Grooves in Kyoto. There are LOTS of amulets with different specific purpose, I picked ones for family and marriage. Hubby bought one too for his Actuary Exam :POmamori grew to be popular under both Shintoism (神道) and Buddhism (仏教 “bukkyou”) in Japan. Priests thought putting the power and strength of the gods into small pocket-sized blessings/prayers would keep people safe and motivated. Initially, their main purpose was to keep away evil spirits, and to protect patrons from bad experiences. Over time, they developed hundreds of kinds of omamori. The main rule is NEVER ever open the omamori and take it everywhere with you (but I keep it somewhere in my wardrobe :P)

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    These are the Omamori that I bought
  4. Sarubobo Doll

Another tale from Japan is Sarubobo Doll. Sarubobo means ‘monkey baby’. You can find this cute-but-strange doll in Takayama Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Originally, these dolls are made by grandmothers to be given to their grandchildren as an omen of good fortune in life. It is also believed to help women with an easy childbirth.

We visited Takayama during our Japan holiday and we were soooooooo in love with the town (I gotta blog my Japan holiday soon). Back to sarubobo, it is a red human-shaped doll, faceless, and comes in many colors and sizes. The seller said that a different color has different meaning, but since I didn’t understand what he talked about, I just bought the red one. Initially, I just bought one as a souvenir for my best friend who was pregnant and to wish her a safe delivery, yet I was wondering when can I visit this place again in the future, so I also bought one for myself. It’s cute and weird anyway. ^^

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My Sarubobo Doll

Well, those were our ‘attempts’ to get pregnant, which were not even considered an attempt.

Long story short, it was April 19th 2016, the day when my uncle passed away. I had to go to the funeral house with my sister since my parents got dengue fever. That night, my sister told me to get a pregnancy test, out of the blue. There is a belief that if you’re pregnant, you can’t visit a funeral house, leave alone seeing the corpse, since it’s believed that the dead might ‘take’ your baby to their realm or the dead will haunt you throughout your pregnancy. Sounds scary, huh?

That night, my sister kept  bugging me to get a pregnancy test, if I didn’t get pregnant then we’d go to the funeral house. Hence, I took the test right after I got home from work. The test pack show that I am pregnant. No kidding. For a few minutes, I was shocked. I wasn’t thrilled yet. I was so freaking scared. Why? Because for the past few weeks since I came back from Japan, I went out frequently with my friends to drink. I drank too much alcohol almost every weekend since I thought there won’t be any more all-you-can-drink day once I got pregnant. Moreover, I was forcing myself to go on a diet by having a daily hardcore yoga since I was overweight at that time and I wanted to be in an ideal shape before I get pregnant. Not to forget, my new job required me to run here and there with high heels all day long. I was so scared that there might be something wrong with the fetus inside me because of the alcohol and my extreme activities. I told my husband about my pregnancy and unlike any other couple, he was so calm and asked me to visit an obgyn at the soonest.

The next day, I tried another two pregnancy tests and it showed two stripes which means : I am still pregnant. I visited the obgyn that evening, and guess what, I was 4 weeks pregnant. Holycow! I was thrilled, yes of course. But I was more anxious now that I have been pregnant all those time and I did abuse my fetus unintentionally.

Anyhow, there goes my story to get pregnant. Did we try? Yes we did, even though we took it for fun and lightly. When we were in Japan, we  didn’t even think to try making a baby. LOL. I am a travel junkie so I spent every minute enjoying all foods, trips, scenery, and every detail I could get. I ate LOTS and LOTS of fresh sashimi, drank bottles of sake, and always on the run to catch the trains.

We would say that we got lucky. As everyone knows that there are TONS of rules to follow when you try to get pregnant such as avoid alcohol, have sex in certain styles, monitor the ovulation cycle, get plenty of rest, stop eating raw food and blah blah. If I took a look back at all my ‘attempts’, I did bend all those rules.

So, what I meant to say is, no matter how hard you try to get pregnant or avoid pregnancy, if mother universe let you get knocked up, you will. I didn’t mean to say that you should not follow those common rules, it’s just maybe, MAYBE, you need to let thing go as it is and just enjoy the flow. I understand the burden of longing for a child, I have some friends who have tried EVERYTHING (from insemination, Traditional Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, you name it) and still can’t get pregnant. It breaks my heart to see them trying with no result while there are others who have a one-night-stand and boom, they got pregnant.

I consider this whole thing about pregnancy as a mystery. I’ve always been a well-planned person except for my pregnancy. I would convince myself that perhaps God trusts me that I am ready to be a parent. To be honest, deep in my heart, there was a tiny bit annoyance, because of this pregnancy I need to put my baby’s needs first and I need to let my planned vacation go, not to forget lots of other things such as career, hangover nights, ideal-shaped body, junk foods etc. BUT again, by the time you get pregnant, it means that you are taking a SERIOUS responsibility for the rest of your life. You will grow a human inside your body and raise him/her to be a decent human being. That’s A LOT to take.

Pregnancy is not a get away to have a baby so you can play barbie/ken with him/her. Your undivided focus and plans are now for your child. It takes a life-time commitment not just a 40-weeks commitment. As for me, my unplanned pregnancy has led me to a new person, less of me, more of my baby.

For those of you who are trying to conceive, best of luck! Please do remember, your peaceful mind is a must and do enjoy the process. It does take a lot of efforts for some people but after all, I guess fate brings you to it. Whatever will be, will be!

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p.s : you can PM me should you want me to share the details of my story

Love,

Vness

 

 

 

 

 

 

Life Story

All is good

It’s been months of struggles, from marriage drama to growing my business. Everyday feels like another problem and obstacle to solve, but I can’t even figure it out. Every day tempted me to give up and to just quit all plans and dreams. I cannot see any way out. Then there is this one song, sang at my pre-marriage course and it made me cried my heart out. How I have been struggling alone, leaving my God out, using my own strength. I feel ashamed of myself. I used to have a strong faith that God will help me through anything. This song reminds me that God is still there, He has planned all the goods I cannot see.

The song is in Bahasa Indonesia

Smua Baik

Dari semula, tlah Kau tetapkan
hidupku dalam tanganMu
dalam rencanaMu, Tuhan
Rencana indah, tlah Kau siapkan
bagi masa depanku yang penuh harapan

Smua baik, smua baik
apa yang tlah Kau perbuat didalam hidupku
Smua baik, sungguh teramat baik
Kau jadikan hidupku berarti

Maybe I cannot see what is standing in front of me. I am afraid to overcome my future. One thing I am sure, God has planned a beautiful future for me.

Ness

Life Story

12 Hal Bodoh yang gw Percaya

One of the inspiring article I’ve ever read.

Tulisan Krisnanda

a journey a journey

12 hal bodoh yang dulu gw percaya dalam perjalanan kekristenan gw. Beberapa masih susah dihilangkan dari prinsip hidup gw karena sudah tinggal di otak gw selama bertahun-tahun. Beberapa hal bodoh ini mungkin juga nantinya terbukti tidak bodoh since I have high probability to be wrong again. Who knows? But for now, I think they are stupid. Dan maaf kalau banyak kata2 keras (moron contohnya) di tulisan ini. It just tells me how moron I could be. :p

 1. Kalau orang Kristen  pasti harus healthy, wealthy, and happy dan sukses di market place

Ini jualan paling laku di mimbar gereja. Ditambah bumbu-bumbu iman dan menjadi berkat. Kalau emang konsep ini benar, kedua belas muridnya Yesus atau Paulus mungkin tidak qualified untuk jadi orang Kristen. Paulus punya sakit yang ga hilang-hilang dan terdampar di perahu. Healthy mananya? Petrus meninggal dengan disalib terbalik. Happy mananya? Yesus perlu mancing dulu buat dapeting uang…

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Life Story

The Traveler’s Diary : Derawan Island, Borneo

So, 2014 has been a year of travelling for me. I went to Surabaya, Derawan Island (Borneo), Belitung Island, Bangka Island (Sumatra), Bali (again) and Makassar (Sulawesi). Yes, I went all over the main islands in Indonesia, except Papua (soon baby, soon). Each and every island has its own beauty and ofcourse, wonderful beaches! I love beach, though being in a tropical country means the sunburn effect would be worse than ever.

Lets start the story of 4 days/3 nights at Derawan Island, Borneo.

1-4 May 2014

Day 1

We departed from Soekarno-Hatta International Airports in the morning around 9 am. It’s best to depart as early as possible, since we have to catch the ferry boat before 1 pm. Our flight went for a 45 minutes transit in Balikpapan, then we continue the flight to Tarakan airport.

Derawan can be reached by 2 routes :

1. Road Route : means you have to go to Berau, instead of Tarakan, and continue the trip to Derawan using offroad vehicle. We didin’t choose this, since it will take around 2 hours trip on BUMPY road.

2. Sea Route : means you have to go to Tarakan Island, go straight to the harbour and continue the trip to Derawan using speedboat for 3 hours. We chose this option since it’s the ocean that we’re after, no? However, as we go against the tide, the trip was REALLY bumpy. I knocked by head hear and there. But hey, that’s part of the fun!

derawan at boat

Around 4 pm, we arrived at Mirroliz pelangi cottage. It’s a floating cottage, on the water. No, we didn’t go to the harbour since they actually have no official harbour. Almost every cottage here has their own ‘harbour’. The cottage wasn’t really good. I am a hygiene freak so personally I wouldn’t recommend this if you are somewhat similar to me. But this place is okay, some of the rooms are provided with Air-con, and trust me, you really need Air-con if you don’t want to get soaked at your sleep. There is no wind AT ALL during the night.

Mirroliz Pelangi

We didn’t start our activity today since we need to gather our energy for the second day. There were some warung /restaurants there, but I wouldn’t recommend this since they will cost you a very expensive price (especially if you’re foreigners). Our travel agent arranged all-u-can-eat meal from breakfast to dinner, so we just enjoyed what they have prepared for us.

I am a foodie, and I wasn’t impressed at all with the seafood and food from Derawan. Most of them were tasteless and chewy. The villagers are somewhat living a modern lifestyle so they don’t really have their authenticity anymore. Avoid instant noodle (Indomie) there, we paid IDR 15,000 for an instant noodle there. The price was 3 times more expensive that the one in Jakarta. However, have as many coconut water as you can! The coconut was gigantic and cost for only IDR 10,000!!! We had like 4-5 coconuts per day (much better than having a pocari sweat that costs IDR 10,000 per bottle).

the village derawan

DAY 2

This day was when the actual fun begin! Our trip today consists of Maratua Island and Kakaban Island. My advice for the day : leave your non-waterproof items back in the cottage, bring your underwater camera / go pro / waterproof photography thing, bottles of water, tubes of sunblocks.

MARATUA ISLAND

Maratua Island is located in the Derawan Archipelago off the north coast of East Kalimantan. It is a large tropical island partially encircling a massive lagoon on one end and fringed with sheer rocky walls and coral reefs along the other end. This island is belong to Indonesian, HOWEVER, due to this corrupted government, there are rumors that this island has been sold to the Malaysian. God knows the truth, but the fact is the only resort here is managed by Malaysian and you have to pay an entrance ticket if you want to visit the island through their resort.

Our speedboat was anchored near the beach there and we jumped on to the water with our snorkeling gear attached. The only word came out from my mouth was : WOW!

I can’t stop to say over and over again about how beautiful is this. The scenery is closer to the image of the famous Maldives.

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All around us was white smooth sands brushing our feet and our eyes were spoiled with the crystal clear turquoise water. Trust me, when you land your feet here, there was nothing you want to do except jump into the water as stay there as long as possible.

We stayed here for around 2 hours since the grey clouds were coming and we need to catch the weather to explore Kakaban Island, the Jellyfish island.

KAKABAN ISLAND

It took around only 15 minutes to go from Maratua to Kakaban. The most distinctive feature of this island is the huge brackish water lake in the middle of the island, in the local dialect Kakaban means “hug” as the island hugs the lake from the surrounding seawater. In the middle of this island is a mangrove-fringed lake, slightly above sea level, where thousands of non-stinging jellyfish live making it interesting for diving. The lake is at most 17 metres (56 ft) deep with poor visibility and is 10 minutes walk from the beach. Kakaban was probably uplifted during the Holocene and sea water was trapped turning the area and formed a landlocked marine lake. The water is now a mixture of salt water and sweet water from the rain.

To reach the lake, we have to go over hundreds of stairs, through the jungle. Don’t worry, they built wooden stairs so it’s easy to follow and believe me, the lake view and jellyfishes you’re about to meet, is worth to go for. Remember, there is no restaurant or warung here, since nobody is living here, so bring enough of water bottle to keep you hydrated.

This is how the lake looks like.. All you have to do is wear your snorkel gear and jump from that platform.

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kakaban 001

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kakaban 2 001

kakaban 2

It’s VERY difficult to take pictures in the water, so I could only managed to ‘catch’ one jellyfish and took it with me for a picture taking. In reality, there are thousands of jellyfish there as you swim around. Don’t worry, they are sting-less. And cute!

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We spent 2 hours here and our travel agent had prepared our lunchbox here, so we climbed back the stiars and took a place nearby the welcome gate to have our lunch with beautiful sea view of Kakaban Island. During this time, the sea water level would be very low so the boat cannot pick us up to the beach. So we have to reach the boat by walking through the sea corals which are very sharp. I slipped when I was about to climb the boat ladder so I had my knee terribly injured and bleeding. Add it with the salty sea water, and yes, perfect.

Next destination was to snorkel around the steep wall of Kakaban Island where thousands of  various kind of colorful fishes, nemo, barracuda, etc. I didn’t manage to get pictures here since my underwater camera broke down (note to self, not to bring a cheap camera for a priceless journey). At this point, I was mesmerized by the beauty of this islands, everything was beyond my imagination. I have never seen nature could be this wonderful. Not to spend more time inside the boat, I climbed to the top of the boat and decided to spend the rest of my journey by sitting on the top of the boat. What did I get?  a 360 degree scenery!

Yes it’s scary with the bumpy boat across the tides.

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The sunburn was pretty bad!

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We spent around 2 more hours snorkeling and went straight back to our cottage immediately. We were extremely exhausted, yet VERY HAPPY!

Due to circumstances, we were moved to another cottage named “PENGINAPAN REZA”. It was actually a good thing since we got a brand new water cottage with air-con and our cottage was located at the very front of the area. During the night, we sat down on the balcony and when we looked up, thousands of sparkling stars were shining. A night scenery that I never got to see when I was in the city.It was priceless, how the dark night could be very peaceful. I would recommend this for you who look for a good budget water cottage.

This is the kind of view we had from our new cottage.

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From our balcony

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Sunset day 2

sunset day 1

DAY 3

The last fun day of our journey, with destinations : Sangalaki Island and Pulau Gusung.

What did we do here? Right, nothing but snorkeling and taking hundreds of pictures!

Again, as my camera broke down, I didn’t get the underwater pictures. But believe me, the underwater scenery in Sangalaki Island was incredibly awesome!!! We also went to look down for Manta Ray, but unfortunately we could only see its shadow.  There is a turtle reservation in Sangalaki Island, as we all know that turtles are now endangered species. People love to hunt them down for food or decoration.

SANGALAKI ISLAND

sangalaki

turtle reservation

My sister with a baby turtle

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Pulau Gusung 

Approximately 10 mins from Derawan, you can explore Gusung Island during low tide. This dune is one of the best spot to see the crystal clear sea water and the whitest sands over the islands.

pulau gusung

derawan

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I didn’t use any filter on any of this pictures. The real scenery were really beautiful with no editing required.

We spent 2 hours here before we head back to Derawan Island. This was considered our last day in Derawan Island since tomorrow early in the morning we have to catch a flight from Tarakan to Jakarta.

The sunset

sunset day 2

the gang 2

The sunrise on Day 4, taken from our cottage balcony

sunrise day 1

sunrise day 2

Note for travelers :

  1. Bring enough cash, there is no ATM there. I brought IDR 2 mio only for street snacks and watersports. All meals, cottage, boat, snorkel gear, flight tickets are included in the tour package I took.
  2. You can contact this person for Derawan Arrangement (boat, snorkel, dive, land arrangement, airport pick up, meals), they are very reliable and I would recommend him : Jeme – 0852 9155 5555 or Pieter 08125516 5555
  3. Bring your own underwater camera. This is a must-have item to record all your journey. Buy a good one.
  4. Do not buy souvenirs from the locals there, they have marked up the price. Do not eat any seafood or lobster or crabs there, they have increased the price at least 3 times higher.
  5. Try the squid satay sold by the street warung there.
  6. Try to have 1 or 2 nights stay at Maratua Paradise Resort
  7. If your flight was depart from Jakarta, avoid Lion Air, they are sucks. Choose Sriwijaya Air, instead.

So, that’s all my journey from Derawan Island. I will definitely go back to this Island and spend more time there. Contact me anytime for questions, I’d be glad to help.

Cheers,

Ness

Relationship

12 qualities of women that men should never let her go

Every once in a while – on very rare occasions – we meet the woman of our dreams. It’s always unexpected and almost never at a convenient point in our lives, but she appears nonetheless and changes your life forever.

The dynamics between man and woman have been gradually changing for the past few decades, but the essence of the partnership basically remains the same.

We are designed by nature in a way that allows two such opposites to join and make a whole. Finding your other half is a journey of its own – usually a grueling one at that.

If you are lucky enough to find that woman, that rare sunflower growing on a barren desert, then do right by yourself and hold on to her as tightly as you can – never, ever let her go.

Not all of us were so wise when we met the loves of our lives… and believe me when I say that we’re regretting it. If she has any combination of these 12 qualities then you should never let her go:

1. She’s smarter than you.

Every man needs a smarter woman to help him get through life in one piece. They say that behind every great man is a greater woman – they aren’t lying. Without woman, man is little more than an ego-trip.

Enter a smarter woman into his life and suddenly that ego has a purpose, a direction, and the wisdom not to screw everything up.

2. She’s beautiful.

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder – as long as you find her to be incredibly beautiful, according to your definition, then she is worth holding on to.

I feel that these days we have those that put too much emphasis on beauty and then those that are rebelling against the concept and giving little to no importance to beauty.

Beauty is something that has been reveled upon since humans had eyes; it’s not something that we should be ashamed of, but rather something we should learn to appreciate properly.

3. She’s kind and nurturing.

Good people are kind people. If she isn’t kind then she isn’t worthy of taking up a part of your life. Being a woman, being nurturing is very important as well. Some people may not want children.

In some relationships the man may be more nurturing than the woman. Nevertheless, women are born with/develop maternal instincts with age. If you wish to one day start a family then you want to be sure you found a woman who wants to be, and is suited to become, a mother.

4. She’s vivacious.

Life gets difficult from time to time. It can get boring and monotonous just as well.

Women weren’t created to entertain men – if anything, it’s probably the other way around – but having a woman who is lively, energetic and hungry for adventure will add a dynamic to our life that will only make you happier.

5. She loves you with all her heart.

This is, by far, the most important quality any woman can have. When a woman loves you she loves you with her entire soul. It’s not the same sort of love that men experience – men always were and always will be more egocentric than women.

Women, on the other hand, have the uncanny ability to devote themselves entirely to the person(s) they love. If you find a woman that truly loves you then you found the greatest gift in the universe.

6. She’s willing to make compromises.

People are stubborn – both male and female alike. We like things the way that we like them and aren’t especially open to making changes we don’t deem necessary to make. However, relationships require making compromises.

It’s just the way things have to work if you want them to work. Finding a woman who will make compromises is only half the battle, however. You’re going to have to make them just as well.

7. She feels like home.

Being in love, deeply in love, is like finding your place in the world, your home, for the first time in your life. It’s knowing that you are exactly where you ought to be and that there is nowhere in the world you’d rather be.

If you look into her eyes and see your soul reflected in them, then you’re home. Don’t ever leave.

8. She is more than happy to tell you when you’re wrong.

Every man – and I mean every man – needs a woman who will call him out on his sh*t. Guys have an uncanny ability to make poor decisions and do stupid things.

Finding a woman who will keep you on track and tell you when you’re wrong can very well make or break your life.

9. She is strong, but feminine.

All people have a slightly different taste for the women they are attracted to – but they are all a combination of strength and femininity. A strong woman is a partner every man needs.

A feminine woman is… well, a woman. The two aren’t opposites. In fact, they are often one and the same – when found in a woman that knows how to hold her ground and be proud of who she is.

10. She’s passionate.

A life filled with passion is a life worth living. But living a life of passion alone is basically impossible. Passion exists between two living things – usually, in some way or another, between two individuals.

The beauty of passion is that it’s rather contagious. It’s the world’s most revered pathogen.

11. She’s driven.

I understand that some men want women to be stay-at-home wives. I also understand that there are plenty of women who want the very same. This sort of woman isn’t for me, but clearly some people are looking for just this.

Nevertheless, you still want a woman that is driven. If she wants to stay at home, cook, clean, and take care of the children, then make sure she’s the kind of woman that wants to be the best stay-at-home mom she could possibly be. Without drive, there is no purpose.

12. She means the world to you.

Sometimes we love a person beyond imagination and we aren’t sure why. To be truthful, you don’t really need a reason. If you love her and can’t imagine your life without her, then don’t allow yourself to lose her.

If she means that much to you, then understand that she means that much to you. Too often people don’t realize what the other person means to them until they lose them. We always think that there will be another chance, that it’s possible that the two of you will one day reconnect.

Maybe. But the opposite is also true. You may have lost her forever. You may suffer for years and years because you let go of the most important thing in your life. Don’t take the risk.

(Articles courtesy : http://elitedaily.com/dating/gentlemen/12-qualities-find-woman-never-let-go/749353/)

I stumbled upon this article and find it good to be shared for a reminder for clueless men out there who may be still questioned themselves whether she is the one or not.

Cheers,

Ness

Relationship

Love isn’t practical

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From what I have learnt, love has never been easy

Fron what I have felt, love can hurt so deep

From what I have seen, love can’t always conquer everything

From everything that has been through, some people are meant to fall in love with each other, but not meant to be together.

And yet, loving you is one of the best thing ever happened to me

Ness