Tip 235: Chiropractic can create life

Chiropractic, known for its spinal manipulative theraphy would usually stand for sustaining life, but in our case, it did contribute towards creation of life. I have never been a believer of spending money when there is no need for it. Yet, we were trying for our second child for more than 4 months. Tomomi suggested chiropractic may help since there could be an amazing amount of change to her body since her last pregnancy. There is certainly no harm to adjust any misalignments, so we tried for just 2 separate treatments by 2 different chiropractor. After a month, the conception of our second child was successful.

Chiropractic in recent days have gained recognition as an alternative medicine and even are approved by insurers for claims by its insured. There are more chiropractic regulatory boards set up in advanced countries such as USA, Canada and Australia and more patients who believe in its preventive treatment powers.

We are still early believers. I just spent SGD100 for one treatment and had another free trial treatment. Could it be coincidence or proof that just after 2 treatments on my wife, the educated hand technique can make right any misalignment that is causing interference to the nervous system. The idea behind it, is that the flow of our nervous system can be constricted by bones that are out of alighnment which can put pressure on the nerves that go to every organ and system in our body. Most of us have terrible posture, or slouching on a couch can aggravate our spine. This bad positioning pinches nerves, squeezes our internal organs, and creates tension. Adding to that are injuries, like falls or sporting injuries. Our reproductive organs among others, may be in a less than optimal position to function smoothly. With chiropractic care, the misaligned pelvis may be addressed or can even be prevented, making it possible for the woman to achieve a healthy conception. Receiving chiropractic care prior to conception promotes a more regular menstrual cycle (improving the chance of conception) and optimal uterine function. A Doctor of Chiropractic aligns the vertebrae and pelvis through gentle adjustments to the spine without any drug interventions, relieving the pressure on the nerves and allowing one hundred percent of the nerve energy to reach the tissues it serves.

This doesn't mean that women who are not in perfect alignment cannot get pregnant! They do every day, but if you're having problems with conception, consulting a chiropractor may help you. Many of us carry our tension in our shoulders, for example and this translates throughout our bodies. Stress, in general, is not helpful for conception because, as stress leads to increased release of cortisol. A study was published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research by Dr. Madeline Behrendt that examined 15 women who were attempting to become pregnant. Fourteen of the women became pregnant spontaneously following the start of chiropractic adjustments.

There is a chiropractic technique called the "Webster technique" that specifically addresses the position of the baby in the pelvis and optimizing that position for a successful vaginal delivery. Chiropractors do not adjust the baby, per se, but rather by adjusting the mother's alignment and working on relaxing the pelvis, babies can move into the correct position on their own. With the high caesarean rate in the United States, helping women and their babies to be ideally positioned for delivery is important. Equally important is post natal chiropractic care that helps the mother to relieve the stresses put on the body by the rapid growth of the baby. As her belly gets bigger, the woman's center of gravity changes. The growth is so quick that it is often difficult for the low back and pelvis to adjust to this change. As her baby grows, her musculoskeletal system must adjust accordingly to accommodate the growing uterus and prepare for delivery. Many pregnant women experience low back pain, hip pain, and pubic symphysis. I hope this short blogpost gives you a glimpse of the possibilities of chiropractice.














(Photos show Haruka playing lantern with her neighbour during the Mid-Autumn festival and with her church friends in water play at the Science Centre Singapore).

Tip 234: Never pay credit card fees

The credit card market in countries like Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore is getting competitive. New foreign banks entering the market is putting intense pressure to incumbent established banks to participate in various incentive giving, contests and constantly motivating their customers to spend.

I had always requested for my credit card annual fees or late fees to be waived and been successful. I have realized there is no exception. No matter what reasons the officers give when they persuade me to pay the charges, they would willingly waive it when they know that I would not accept the fees whatsoever. If I have a good track record of spending, the credit company would relent to absorb any fees if I say I would cancel the cards.

For my Malaysian credit cards, upon knowing that the government is imposing an annual service tax of RM50 in 2010, I cancelled most of my cards and only maintained my Citibank credit card. I told the bank that I would cancel it if they would not absorb the fee. Initially, they would give excuses that the fee is charged by the government and they could not absorb it. When they knew they would lose a customer, RM50 seems like a reasonable amount to pay to keep the customer. So I continued using the card since there is no fee involved, but only rewards gained from using it.

In Singapore, the government does not impose any fees and I have more than a dozen cards with various shopping outlets. AMEX Krisflyer told me that they would be able to waive my annual fees, but not the SGD60 administration fee for converting my points to air mileage every month. The eloquent officer explained that the fees are imposed by the airline company and that this card was the only card that allows me to earn mileage instantly upon spending and that the fees are justified. I spoke with her for 20 minutes but did not want to accept her reasoning and maintained that I would cancel the card considering it is more expensive to maintain this card compared to my other cards. The officer did not want to agree to offer me the waiver either. I told her it has taken too much time and I had to hang up the phone. Later, I checked my statement and the fee was waived. I am probably the only customer in Singapore who did not pay my administration fee and still get to use its benefits.

It may seem unreasonable to ask for so much. Yet, by knowing that you have the bargaining power, then it is pointless to be paying fees when you can avoid it. The opposite can be true in Japan. Rules and law cannot be bend for the customer. When I was beginning to complain about my annual fees, the bank was quick to cancel my card when I was late to pay even once. This would not have happened in any of the other countries above.

(Photos show Haruka acting as a sheep for the nativity play. She was so bold that she was playing with the baby doll in front of everyone on stage).

Tip 233: Learn new languages, be global

The call to be global is starting to be stronger. Companies need to expand profits to different markets and not depend on their existing strong markets due to increased risk of volatility in markets. Even countries with strong cultural and language traditions are going to change. Can they? Yes! Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten Japan is one of them. The mandate is clear. Employees not proficient in English in 2 years will be fired.

This trend will certainly be followed by other courageous and ambitious CEOs, as well as forward looking world leaders. First, the need to master English, then Chinese, then a third language if not more. Rakuten CEO's reason is simple. In 10 years, the market will be very different and we need to be prepared.

The CEO walks the talk. In a press conference to Japanese reporters, instead of using Japanese, he used English even when its unnecessary. It takes a leader to courageously own up to his shortcomings and be ridiculed for falling short of perfection, so that those under his care will be willing to follow. Same goes for daddies. Are we walking the talk?

I am starting to see the need to learn as many languages as possible. One does not require to be proficient in all languages, but to be brave to utter the first few words confidently and clearly. Only fear need to be conquered. Imperfect pronounciation and poor vocabulary can be corrected through practice and love of the culture and language.

Parents often discuss about whether to send their children to study in a schools that use another language as its medium of instruction. For instance, for Malaysian parents, should they send their children to a Chinese school when the parents themselves are not proficient in the language.

By walking the talk, parents need to make efforts to learn languages together with their children. It can be fun when we show interest in a new language and tackle the difficulties together. It does not matter if our kids are much smarter than us in learning the new language. It is fine if they could master the vocabulary faster. What matters is that we maintain the global outlook like Hiroshi Mikitani and hopefully set tough goals for ourselves to improve. It is fine to falter and look silly in our newly acquired accent, but we should try and work hard at improving ourselves as global citizens of this world.

(Photos show Haruka at her first Christmas stage show singing a few Christmas carols in Japanese and English at the International Japanese Church of Singapore IJCS. The day before she sang at Orchard Road, Singapore in front of the Mandarin Gallery for 30 minutes from 7pm).

Tip 232: Time patience when feeding

It used to be much easier to motivate Haruka when she was just 1 year old. No need for arguing, or shouting, or various schemes and persuasions. Yet, this is part of growing up and spending time with our kids. Mummy is tired after cooking and she has a limit of patience and time in feeding Haruka. After feeding her for a while, mummy decides that Haruka may have had enough as Haruka said she does not want to eat anymore. Usually, Haruka would then play or get ready for bed and not have any more food when she tells her mum she is full. This time, I thought I would take over and do a bit of motivating and coaxing her to eat. To my joy, Haruka finished the whole bowl of dinner including the vegetables and meat which she seldom eat. She probably has never finished eating a whole bowl. So what does it take to feed a child who is close to 3 years old to completion? Time and lots of patience. There is no other way. Besides the quality time spent, there is quantity time that needs to be spent which is so important to monitor the growth of your child. A little more time can do wonders to your kid.














Parents of previous generations would resort to threats or leaving their kids hungry for the night if the kids do not attempt to finish their meals. Kids need a little push at every task including finishing their meals. If the parents have a little time to spare, providing incentives, some stories and explanations to the importance of each food item could propel the child to eat more or dispel any fears towards certain food items in the meals. It helps if the meal is colourful, well decorated and tasty, but if it is not, then it requires more skill on the feeder. Haruka does not like food with textures that are too hard or if the vegetables are not cut into small pieces. So when daddy spends time cutting them or hiding them in between other yummy food that Haruka likes, then she would not notice the mixture of food items. Mummy could have made more efforts to blend certain food items using a blender, but that even would not guarantee that the child would reject the whole meal if the quantity of certain items are too obvious. Hence, the role of the feeder cannot be understated. I would give different persuasions at each small spoonful of food. Sometimes, I preach about the importance of vegetables that can make Haruka looking pretty and strong. She would take one bite. Then, the next round, I will tell her the importance of getting energy for meeting her friends at play. If I run out of sermons, then I will hold a sweet in my hand. Haruka would usually not eat those candy, but keep it in her storage or her bag. (She has learnt this habit from her dad to save for the future or later for admiration of her collection). I would delay giving the incentive as long as I can and try to feed her as many times till she loses interest. Then, I patiently motivate her till the bowl is empty. It is certainly hard work. It may even be deemed as spoiling your kid by giving too much attention. Will they no longer eat if these tactics and incentives are not used in the future? What if daddy or mummy has no time to spare? I was complaining this trait of my mum when I was seeing my mum feeding the kid she was babysitting. I felt my mum need not spoil those children and treat them like prince and princess. Now I understand. I do it myself. I have faith that one day Haruka will develop the joy of eating after she starts finishing her bowls of food. Parenting and love takes tme.














It takes time to inculcate new habits like how the parent polar bear would teach its baby to swim and catch its own fish. Hopefully, after a while, the child will catch these lessons. We can only love and have faith in its power. The time spent will not be wasted. It stands for something, if not just for the name of love. Even if the bowl of food ends up still full and not attempted, despite all the effort in coaxing and persuading.

Yet, still persuade, tell stories, preach and amuse to feed the child. Keep it up. Do not give up. Love no matter what.

(Photos show Haruka at the photo studio posing at the camera. The camera man complimented that she posed very naturally and required the least time for good photo shoots. When she sat down, her eyes was shut instantly. It was a long day and more photos can be seen in the previous blog.).

Tip 231: Keep mother's legs warm

Check out another blog I write: http://lifenewcreation.blogspot.sg to find about taking charge of your health and pursuing longer life span.


I got this tip from a Japanese mid-wife when we were in Tokyo prior to Haruka's birth 3 years ago. Tomomi had always wanted natural birth delivery without the use of epidural. Her reasons being that the baby that is delivered without the use of epidural will be more alert of its surroundings. I am a testament of this when I saw Haruka's eyes wide open looking around the delivery room upon her opening her eyes for the firs time. However, the baby's direction inside the womb can affect delivery. If the baby's head is not headed towards the bottom of the womb when nearing the delivery date, a C-section surgery may be performed instead. Also, Tomomi did not want her delivery to be at a Japanese hospital since doctors there were less likely to listen to the preferences of the mother on delivery and her preference was that the delivery be conducted at a certified midwife's place. Three years ago, Haruka was in the opposite direction when she was around 5-7 months in the womb. We were worried then, but the midwife was confident. She asked us to just let nature takes its course. But she said we can do certain things to motivate the baby in the womb to turn to the opposite direction. We listened in disbelief initially, but tried it anyway. In the next visit after 1 month of trying the tip, Haruka turned to the favorable position!














According to the midwife, the baby inside the womb can fill the temperature of the stomach and body. When mummy is taking cold shower, the baby can sometimes shiver in cold depending if the baby's body is touching the lining of the womb and stomach. When the baby starts to learn to move/swim inside the womb, the baby will naturally choose the most cozy position. When Haruka was still in the womb, it was spring time in Tokyo and was a little chilly. The midwife mentioned that maybe mummy's legs were not as warm as the stomach since there were more clothing covering the stomach than the legs. The baby would thus move towards the top where it was warmer. The midwife advised Tomomi to wear up to waist length socks and additional socks when going outdoors. She also advised Tomomi to take warm showers to keep the baby feeling warm. The midwife taught Tomomi a few pre-natal exercises and advised her to have a pail of warm water to soak her legs when she was feeling cold. When I told this to the Singaporean doctor who is seeing us now for our second child, he said that it was purely a natural process and those steps were not necessary. Our second daughter was also in the opposite direction between 6-7 months in the womb. The Singaporean doctor did not give any advice but just mentioned the difficulty of natural birth if the baby did not turn. The doctor mentioned that there is medical procedure to turn the baby, but usually that is not tried since there is risk involved. So, we tried the midwife tip again this time and within the next month of visit, the doctor reported that the baby's head has turned towards the bottom of the womb.















Even in the womb, babies are using their brains and instincts well. :) This is the marvel of creation. If you check with chinese medicine or other traditional doctors, they may also try a few methods such as acupuncture on the feet by burning joss sticks or other items at pressure points of the feet. I believe the intentions are the same to stimulate warmth in the feet, so the baby would notice the difference in temperature. It has worked twice for us and we will surely try it a third time if we are blessed by God again.














Have you heard of this tip of keeping the legs warm, so the baby will turn in the womb? :) Do share.














(Photos show the process involved for Haruka to wear a kimino and make up for the Shichi-Go-San studio photo taking. More photos and description of the process in the previous blogpost).

Tip 230: Shichi-Go-San Studio Photo

Shichi-Go-San simply means Seven-Five-Three and is a rite of passage celebration for children in Japan observed around November 15. The ceremony is to celebrate the growth of children into healthy, strong children since in the past around the Heian period (794-1185) , there were young children who faced various health hurdles in their growth. Girls who are three and seven years old, and boys who are three and five years old would dress up. In the past, children in Japan were only allowed to let their hair grow at age 3 years old onwards and thus this celebration to mark their age. It is customary in Japan to take studio photos and then offer prayers in a shrine, but we only resorted to a photo package of SGD240. I am sure this wonderful experience is a good addition to Haruka's childhood memories.

Haruka followed various steps in wearing a kimono, did her first make up and was treated like a princess for a day. The process started when Tomomi saw an advertisement in the weekly Japanese magazine she read. We then went to the home of the Japanese who own the wardrobe of Japanese kimono for kids to try the ones we like (and asked Haruka for her opinion as well). She tried various kimono and even Western dress. But daddy decided that we will just select a minimal photo package and not need to have too many varieties of dresses at this stage. We can have that when we later do a family package when Haruka is close to seven years old and her baby sister is past 3 years old. We decided on the photo taking date and time and waited anxiously for Haruka's "big day".















That day came and it was a very exciting day not only for us, but a few other families who waited in line for their kids at the make up queue. This Japanese business started 10 years ago and have established a good system. They were very precise in the time that we should arrive. We came a little early and had to wait for Haruka's turn to curl her hair and put the Japanese hair clips. Then, an elderly Japanese lady (obaachan) dressed Haruka up with care and praised Haruka in Japanese. I think this was a meaningful Japanse tradition. It is akin to having a relaxing soothing Indian barber hair cut for men in Singapore/Malaysia/ India. The dressing up starts with the under kimono (jubam). Then the outer kimono and little padded jacket without sleeves will be worn on top. Haruka also wore the split toed socks (tabi) and the Japanese platform sandals (zori).














After dressing up, Haruka had her first lip stick and blush on her cheeks. Then, she was ushered to the photo taking studio and the staff praised Haruka for her photogenic ability requiring very little coaxing unlike other kids her age. I think this is partly due to daddy's camera practice with her and her various experiences across the globe having people praise her for candid shots. When she was young, strangers would come up to Haruka and ask for a photo of her to be taken. The grin of Haruka on the day she tried out the different dresses and the day of actual photo taking was priceless.

Check out another blog I write: http://lifenewcreation.blogspot.sg/ to find about keeping your family healthy.














(Photos show Haruka trying out the various dresses. Photos of her make up and step by step kimono wearing process is on the next blogpost).