Chinese New Year Blues

First Attack – 16 February 2007 (Friday)
We left Bandar Utama for Penang at around 7:30 pm, and reached Penang almost 12 midnight. The traffic was jammed for the first half of the journey. It took us about 1 hour to reach Bukit Beruntung, which is normally about half an hour away on off-peak season. Jordan was ok until about 9:30 pm. After that, I had to release him from the car seat in front to sit with me at the back. He didn’t finish his milk. He managed to sleep in my arms later.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the whole family – parent-in-laws, sister-in-law Li San, sister-in-law Huey Pin, her hubby Danny and baby Jeffrey. We went to bed around 1 am++. We couldn’t sleep. Jordan didn’t want to sleep in his playpen as well. We were attacked by mosquitoes. Seng Chor got the worst attack. He woke up with almost 100 mosquito bites on his left arm, face and legs! Seriously, he had about 50 over bites on the same area near his left elbow. I got attacked on the face and neck. Jordan had about 7 bites on his face and ears. There were a few on his hands and legs too. The worst night was not over yet, at least for Jordan.

Second Attack – 17 February 2007 (Saturday)
My sister-in-law Li San sprayed insecticide in the evening. But still the mosquitoes prevail. Jordan and I got attack more this time. Probably the mosquitoes had too much of Seng Chor’s blood the previous night. Few more spots appeared on Jordan. Both of us didn’t sleep well. The mosquitoes disturbed him and woke him up in the middle of the night. He slept on the bed with us eventually, but not after twisting and turning all over to fend off the mosquitoes. I endured the same fate.

Third Attack – 18 February 2007 (Sunday)
First Day of Chinese New Year
No insecticide. So, the mosquitoes continued to feast on Jordan and I most of the time. I felt more bites on my neck.

Fourth Attack – 19 February 2007 (Monday)
2nd Day of Chinese New Year
This time, my father-in-law sprayed insecticide in the evening. Nevertheless, Jordan and I suffered the same fate as the previous night, though seemed less intensive.

Fifth and Worst Attack – 20 February 2007 (Tuesday)
We were out the whole day. So, we didn’t spray any insecticide. It was a terrible night. Again, Jordan and I were the main target. Jordan suffered the most. He woke up with about 17 bites on his face and ears! In total, probably close to 30 bites including those on the first few nights.

Sixth and Last Night – 21 February 2007 (Wednesday)
Lesson learned. We remembered to spray – Seng Chor did the spraying. I think no mosquito in sight but Jordan was still restless.

22 February 2007
Result of the attack - Jordan had fever. Seng Chor and my father-in-law took him to the doctor. He was given 4 types of medicine – fever, cough/phlegm, cold and cream for the bites.

After his fever subsided, we left Penang around 2 pm, and arrived home at about 7 pm.

Today
Jordan whined the whole day. He still had fever in the morning. He wanted me to carry him most of the time and didn’t want me to be out of his sight. Seng Chor went back to work. So, I had to endure his whining the whole day. Sigh! Thankfully, he slept for about 1 hour plus in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon (3 – 4 pm). I managed to do some washing and blogging during that time. I thank God for giving me the patience to take care of him. I always wonder – I can’t even handle one kid, how can I manage another one? I still wonder…