Solid experience

As you probably already know, Luqman has started his solid food. It's been three days now (it's sad that I had to miss this!), and so far he is still not accepting the banana puree fed haha (expected!). Am applying the 4-day rule before moving on to the next menu.

What would be it? Any suggestions? I can't seem to decide yet.

Anyway, below are pictures of Luqman during his feeding taken by my sister :)


Before eating - his usual happy self :)



The first taste of banana puree


"Errrkk!! I want my milk!!" haha

It's ok baby. We'll try again okay?

Just like old times

Sunday was both a frustrating and exciting day for me. Was supposed to meet up with Diana (a high school friend) together with Ina and Hidah, but didn't get to as I was stuck in a traffic jam heading to The Curve and she had to leave just as we were about to park because her daughter started to throw tantrums.

As much as I understood her situation, I can't help but feel really frustrated because we'd planned this for weeks and we haven't met since her wedding - almost a year ago!

Anyway, I still got to meet my other two good buddies who stayed (long enough)! Thanks girls!

We had the greatest time catching up (although not for long) at the Chocolate Lounge - I needed to de-stress with some chocolate lovin'! Just like old times :)

The 3 of us + 1

What I ordered - Belgian Waffle with Choc Ice-cream
Chocolate overdosed :)
Hubby scraping off every bit of chocolate

Cute!

And of course, another family portrait :)

breast or bottle?

In 5 days, it will mark the 6th month that I am breastfeeding Luqman. Looking back, I would never have thought that I would ace this. Alhamdulillah, He has given me the rizkh to nurse my son and he is growing healthily. Alhamdulillah, too, that Luqman doesn't seem to have problems with bottle-feeding during the time I am at work.

Both methods of feeding go well with him, and they both have their pros and cons.

Generally, breastfeeding (bf) mothers will agree when I say bf is very convenient. It really is. The milk is available whenever the baby is hungry and no preparation is needed. Night feedings are as simple as scooping your baby and settling comfortably in whatever position you wish to nurse him/her. An outing will not be a hassle as there would be no preparation for bottles, expressed breast milk (ebm) and warmer.

With breastfeeding, I take pride in being able to take care of my baby by giving him what he needs most - his milk. The baby becomes part of us and the physical closeness is very strong. I love it that I can notice every little roll of his fat and feel so proud.

Bf makes me feel confident and it is evident in the way I carry myself as a bf mum. I am not shy to talk about it and let them know how I truly support bf. It also has turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy.



As a breastfeeding mum, it makes me be more careful about what I eat and drink as what I consume will be transmitted to my baby. This way, too, I get to maintain a balanced diet :) In case you forget, bf also helps a woman to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight (it did to me) - what a physical advantage!

Although bf can be confining, I'd like to take that as one of the challenges with a solution - patience. It teaches me to be persistent and resistant to any negativity that might break my determination in bf.

As for bottle-feeding, it definitely gives me mobility and I don't have to worry much when I leave him for work. If I am too tired to bf, bottle-feeding relieves me and it gives my husband and other family members to bond with my baby.



Of course, bottle-feeding using EBM requires a careful handling from thawing, warming, and cleaning the bottles. To me, this type of nursing is more difficult as it requires time and it is a nuisance making bottles. Besides, some babies face nipple confusion that once they're bottle-fed, they refuse to feed directly.

However, as a working mum, I can't avoid bottle-feeding. It helps me to still breastfeed using my EBM for the feedings that I will miss. Bottle-feeding also helps mothers whose babies refuse to direct feed and still continue bf. Wonderful isn't it?

Breastfeeding does not mean that babies drink directly from the mother only. Babies drinking from the bottle filled with their mothers' EBM are also called bf. So, in praise of breast and bottle, babies can thrive on either one of them.

My baby thrives on my milk :) And be proud that your baby thrives on yours too.

Breastfeeding is in vogue :)

*pictures from google*

psyched for solid

Bought this today :

5 more days to go until Luqman starts his solid!

Mode : Psyched!!

get well soon munchkin!

Alhamdulillah, my nephew was discharged from the hospital today.

He was admitted yesterday morning after having a fit due to his on and off high fever. Visited him at night after hubby returned from work.

It's every parent's nightmare. I can only imagine both my in-laws' feeling at that moment. Listening to their recount made me shudder, God forbid! They even thought they'd lost him on the way to the hospital as Adam stopped responding and he was quiet *sobs*

Get well soon munchkin. Luqman's waiting to play with you.

We love you!

low BP

I went to the doctor today to get myself checked. I didn't plan on not going to work today, but somehow this morning I felt really really tired that I decided to just rest at home.

And surprise surprise! Doctor said that my blood pressure is low, which explains my recurring condition. It's been 2 weeks I have been feeling exhausted, that sometimes I fell asleep before Luqman.

School's been hectic. This week's a winner. I have been coming home like I'm working a 9-5 job every single day. And I am Luqman deprived. Time spent with him is less this week that I feel really bad.

Doctor said that my body is too tired. And I need to eat properly. I admit, this week my eating schedule has gone a little haywire which is why.

And I thought I would be spared from low BP because during my pregnancy, I was clear.

Mum says that's how it is. Once you're a mum and you have a little kid to look after, you will never get enough rest. There are just so many things to handle that most of the time, your own priorities get a back seat.

I don't know why, but the way she said those words touched me.

Anyway, it's time for me to freshen up, eat right, and probably start taking my functional beverage again - a supplement which I have stopped taking for a month (much to husband's dismay hehe)

Hear ye! Hear ye!

I am now the S/U Peperiksaan. The previous S/U was granted her transfer out of her expectation, so as one who is familiar with SAPS (and also the JU), I am, hands down, the most apt candidate to fill in the vacancy.

My feelings of this new appointment? One, I already saw this coming, so no surprise there. Two, I don't know what to feel, really. But I am a little sad knowing that I have lost a dedicated colleague whom I had such good chemistry with in carrying out exam-related stuffs.

I really hope that I'd be able to carry out this huge responsibility properly, with utmost patience and that everything will be eased.

Because now, at this very moment, I feel like going out of my mind dealing with the SAPS system, which is delaying every bit of my work. And this is not the first time *sigh*

Double celebration

It was my baby sister's birthday yesterday. In a blink of an eye, she turned 20 (already??!!!).

We celebrated her big two-owh at her favourite, Tony Romas. This time, it was at Cineleisure, Damansara. The three of us met them at The Royale Bintang Damansara (they spent a night there) and off we went together to that night's venue.



Anyway, during dinner, it was just us and those ribs :)







Poor birthday girl, her Blackberry was pick-pocketed on her special day. I guess it wasn't meant to be. We hope you love the presents!



Much love!

We also thought it would be great to celebrate Father's Day, too, so last night's dinner was somewhat special - a double celebration.



We hope you love the gift and the DIY card :)



Happy Father's Day to my baby's daddy too!

To the two important men in my life :

"For your acceptance of the struggle of raising a child, for the times when your life was spared, for the times when our interests are prioritized, and for the times when you never fail to smile, THANK YOU. It is easy for a father to have children, but it is not easy for them to have a real father. And the two of you definitely are one. Love always"

And the rest of the night after that was spent on Luqman, who else :)



Show off those muscles, lil' boy!

Kelly in the house!

Luqman was behaving unexceptionally cranky yesterday. He slept less, he wanted to be held most of the time and he refused to properly drink.

He wasn't having a fever - his body temperature's fine. But his stomach was a little bloated - but that's even settled as he farted much.

Handling this sudden change of behaviour and routine was, to me, very tiring and emotionally challenging.

Husband said it could be due to a change of place (we are sleeping over at my in-laws' house for the weekend) or it could be one of that changing month's phase.

Whatever it is, I was very much affected that I actually broke down. I cried because I was worried and mostly, the exhaustion got the best of me.

I told my husband that I am not that strong after all. No matter how many times I told myself to get myself together, be patient and be strong, yesterday was one of the many instances whereby I let myself be overwhelmed with such circumstance.

He nodded, hugged me and rubbed my back in assurance.

Then unexpectantly, he started singing:

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stand a little taller....."

(together with the dance routine)

And the rest was history.

Love, thanks for never failing to make me smile and be my super super rock all the time. That singing of yours might not be the best I've heard and your dancing definitely needs much practice, but that cute gesture definitely wiped away all worries and sadness.

Just don't do it again, will you?

surprise surprise!

This item arrived yesterday which definitely surprised me;

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Yep! You got it right - an upright chest deep freezer!

No wonder my husband kept on calling me to ask what time I'll be home from yesterday's outing - turned out there's a delivery!

And then it all came back to me - the phone call to confirm our home address the night before; his sms that read "ada orang nak hantar barang you" (which I had no idea but didn't care to probe him further) when asked why he called - it made perfect sense!

I have always wanted a deep freezer to store my EBM (expressed breast milk) since the current one has limited storage. I am sharing it with other frozen food which to me isn't appropriate and not properly organized. Poor family members who sometimes have to limit their buying of frozen food due to the space my EBM took up.

So, we had been scouting around, looking for best buys but hadn't really agreed on one because so many things got in the way that I said this can wait.

However, day by day, the current freezer has no more space and I got worried.

And yesterday, the solution arrived. I cannot be more thankful. Touched too, by such romantic gesture :) I am surprised, alright!

Thank you so much, love, for your understanding and support. InsyaAllah with a proper storage place, I will be more semangat in my breastfeeding journey and I pray that Allah will grant me sufficient 'golden liquid'! Amin!

yesterday

Another outing with the usual suspects :)

mum's or MAM's?

My husband and I have been very firm of our decision on not to feed Luqman with any soothers or pacifiers. Until recently.

As he grows, Luqman noticeably drinks more. When I am off to work, I have increased the amount of milk (from 3oz to 3.5oz) for him to drink. I don't want to increase too much as I do not want him to feel bloated and I prefer frequent drinking rather than higher intake for every feed. But mum has been complaining that once he finishes his milk, he started crying - as if he is not satisfied. In many instances, his mouth moves like he is sucking even when the teat has been pulled out. Sometimes, mum has to hold him like she's breastfeeding him so that his mouth is placed at her breast (for him to sort of like suck the nipple) to sooth him/to put him to sleep.

When he is with me, his feeding session now stretches longer. The problem is, I know he is not drinking towards the end; more like he is nibbling the nipple because it makes him go to sleep and it soothes him. If I try to pull it out, he starts to get agitated up to a point where he will cry like I have never seen him before. So, I just let him suck the nipple until he stops - which normally could last until an hour. While I don't really mind, I cannot deny that it is very tiring. A lot of my things got put on hold as I either go to sleep right after or I am just too tired to do anything afterwards.

It could be due to growth spurt but I'd like to have an alternative - a solution especially during the times in need.

A soother instantly came to mind.

I actually bought one (it's from MAM, just like his bottle) a week ago but I am still undecided. For one, I fear that Luqman will be dependant on it too much that his feeding gets affected. So every time I fight the temptation and the soother is nicely kept, still. However, if the aforementioned problems occur, I am even more tempted to feed him the soother but not brave enough to let him try.

I have talked and surveyed from friends who had their child fed with soothers/pacifiers. I seem to get equal pros and cons which add on to our existing dilemma.

A friend asked me back : Do you really need to? I guess I do because I'd like both Luqman and myself (and my mum) to relax once in a while and like I said, especially during needy times (i.e a trip to the mall or anywhere when he is bound to suck longer and once being pulled off, he is awake and couldn't get back to sleep - a soother MIGHT help).

So, what say you?

hair fall

I have been experiencing a very terrible hair fall for the past month.

In fact, it started ever since Luqman has mastered the skill of bubbling (fact or fiction?) - only this time it has gotten worse. My hair fall is so terrible that it has become unmanageable and is such a nuisance I feel like going bald.

The elders say that once your baby starts to bubble, the mother will experience hair fall. It did to me, but I'd like to think that it's just pure coincidence. The fact is, it has got to do with hormones.

I got myself a haircut but the hair fall still persists. So, pasrah je lah. But I got tired of daily cleaning of the floor as it is such an eye-sore to see strands of hair everywhere. The fact that my bedroom tiles are white does not help at all.

I hate the time when I wake up - segumpal rambut di bantal. I hate it when I pull off my scrunchy - segumpal rambut juga gugur! And especially when I wash my hair - a sight which is just not pretty. If I were to collect all those strands, I would have come up with a wig of my own. I definitely can feel my hair is thinning *sob sob*

So! I decided to get myself the zinc supplement which was suggested by my friend yesterday (finally!).

It is the Bio Zinc Blackmores Dietary Supplement.

I didn't know which one to get since my friend told me any zinc supplement will do (she's a doctor so I hold on to her words!) and insyaAllah will not affect my baby upon consuming, so I grabbed the aforementioned bottle mainly because of its familiar name and its cheap price compared to the others :)

It contains 90 pills so it will last up to 3 months (it's a once-a-day-dose). It's only my second day so I can't really tell whether or not it works. I will definitely review it later on.

In the meantime, Blackmores, work your wonders! InsyaAllah :)

IKEA trip

IKEA - at the mention of its name is sufficient to make me go berserk. A trip there will always force me to at least grab something - even if it's just their tiny pencils (which are free by the way). My point is, I lovelovelove IKEA.

The trip there yesterday resulted in an exhaustion of mind. I was mentally imagining how this set of furniture would look in our living room, how that wardrobe would definitely look good in our bedroom, or how EVERYTHING would be a good buy for our new abode soon. I talked non-stop, suggesting ideas of decorations to my mum and siblings that they just let me be. At one point, I could have jumped in joy had it not been for the conscience that's stopping me. Every single thing is just so tempting!

I.just.can't.wait.

I am pretty sure my husband will end up with a headache once we go there together next time :)

Anyway, some pictures taken yesterday on our siblings day out (plus mum and Luqman of course)

Luqman with his lifetime babysitter

My boy

The three of us