Wordless Wednesday

Short getaway

Last weekend my little family and I went for a quick weekend getaway at Marriott Hotel and Spa Putrajaya.

 

It was actually a free gift voucher I received as the main prize for my school's hi-tea lucky draw session. Alhamdulillah, it was my luck. So off we went and stayed there for the weekend. The voucher entitled us to a 2 day 1 night stay inclusive of breakfast for two.

 

It was just a short stay but it was definitely a looked forward escapade for us to just relax and of course to let Luqman have fun in the pool!

Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Clearly Luqman did not like being in the float still and as it turned out he loves the tub more than the pool haha

The breakfast was scrumptious and I love the array of food provided. No pictures though. 

Managed to catch up with a good friend, Fatin in Alamanda. And also visited another dear friend, Durra who had just given birth. Another one joining the bandwagon of motherhood alhamdulillah :)

Looking forward to upcoming getaways!

Trial Week

The past five working days were totally exhausting (to me, at least). We've started sending Luqman to his Wan's house every morning now. The trial week so far was okay, despite the fact that our daily routine now changes 360 degrees and my day starts as early as 4 am.

Alhamdulillah, Luqman seems okay now with his Wan and my MIL, after the first day itself, seems to get a hang of everything. My only concern is that Luqman refuses to drink his milk when being fed by his Wan. The first 3 days saw a waste of EBM as they had to be discarded everytime MIL warmed each bottle only to be rejected by Luqman. The frustration was unbearable, honestly. Luckily, the past days I was invigilating PMR at a school nearby my MIL's house so I managed to go back home during breaks and breastfeed him and at times, put him to sleep, too.

I am now consoled, knowing that Luqman will be in good hands. I mean, yes, there's nothing to worry about since it's his own Wan taking care of him but you know how a mother's feelings are, kan? I will not lie that I had my reservations before. I was thinking a lot of things like will Luqman cry once he realises it's not his Nanny that's taking care of him; or will he throw tantrums (oh yes, he's an expert in that!) when he feels uncomfortable with his new routine in the unfamiliar arms; what if he refuses to eat; and etc

But, Luqman surprises me I almost cried. He was okay when his Wan bathed him, he was his usual self when he had his meals and he actually managed to sleep when his Wan dodoi kan him (which is quite a struggle on Wan's side since he refuses to drink his milk). Alhamdulillah, syukur! I applaud my MIL for being strong and persistent to make everything alright. Taking care of a baby is not an easy task especially at her age, but alhamdulillah, everything's eased.

And, to make everything even better, my sister will start her break next week, which means she will be at my MIL's house to help her out. Alhamdulillah, I can never be grateful. Indeed, it's perfect how Allah has planned everything nicely.

And I am just relieved that I won't be the one to drop Luqman off at his Wan's every day. I know I would cry a bucket even if it's passed 20 days :)

 

Swimming experience

Luqman had his first swimming experience during the last Raya. He was about 8 months at that time. No professional was hired, it was just us being his coaches ;)

I initially wanted to let him swim earlier but you know lah, my mum, "He is still so small, cannottttt" not knowing that it is perfectly okay for babies as early as a few weeks to swim. They have what is called the swimming and diving reflex. But it's okay, we adhered and decided to wait till he was at least 7 months.

So when we went for a raya holiday in Malacca, we decided to give Luqman a taste of the pool.

He hated the arm floats

He was okay in water but we dared not let him go underwater yet.

It was Luqman's dad I was quite worried for hehe

We're thinking that we should have gotten the round waist float instead because the bulky arms sort of limited his movements. Will get them later for his next swimming session.

Looking forward to more swimming sessions ya, little boy?

Mecca in two weeks

Yesterday, my family held a kenduri tahlil and doa selamat in conjunction with my parents' departure to the Holy Land in two weeks' time. Alhamdulillah, it went well, many came and it was, at one point an emotional gathering of families, relatives and close friends. I have never seen Ayah shed so much tears yesterday.

I can never be grateful enough that their time has finally arrived to be Allah's guests, to perform this obligatory pilgrimage; one of the Pillars of Islam. Alhamdulillah! Honestly, them leaving has impacted me in so many ways I can never explain. I once read and been told, that performing the Hajj is a jihad on its own. Anything can happen there and they need all the strength to perform the best, insyaAllah.

The most common question asked when told that my parents are leaving for Mecca is "Who will take care of Luqman?"

My MIL has been so generous and kind enough to take a month's leave just to care for Luqman. Alhamdulillah! Initially, I wanted to apply for a month's leave but I believe that Allah has planned everything nicely for us. So my husband and I are hoping for the best and that Luqman will be just fine.

We have so many things to prepare and we need to manage our time as this will be the first time that we're sending Luqman off to another place. I will finally be able to feel what it's like sending off your son to a babysitter early in the morning and pick him up later in the evening, preparing his stuffs and food the day prior for the whole week, etc. Phew, seems like a lot of work! We even plan to send him off for training a week before my parents' departure just to let my MIL get a hang of his routine and for Luqman to be comfortable with her. This is also to let my mum rest.

InsyaAllah, I pray that Allah will ease everything. I pray that my parents will be able to perform their Hajj smoothly, dengan kusyuk, they have good health and utmost patience. And most importantly, that they will be granted Haji Mabrur, amin!

Semoga selamat pergi dan selamat sampai.

The eyes of a boy

Everytime I watch my son sleeping, it's either I feel like crying or it puts a smile on my face. Sometimes both. That heavy breathing knowing he is deep in his slumber and the innocence that shines from his face overwhelm me at times.

There were times when I had to slap myself to make believe that yes, that's my son I'm adoring. Our offspring. Wow. Alhamdulillah!

8 months is a period not long enough but I have learned to be the best of a mum to my son. He has taught me a lot about patience and sacrifice that they have instantly become second nature. It's not easy, but knowing that it's for his and your own good, you don't seem to care anymore.

It scares me all the time that I will not be able to give my utmost best, that I might one day fail. This is huge, raising a child that is. It's a clean sheet given to you and the next step is up to you to make it a beautiful one. And what better time to start when they are still very young. Huge responsibility, right?

Being a mom, too, has changed my perspective on a lot of things. Alhamdulillah, I am able to improve myself on a few things. Still a long way to go, but I am going to try to further improve myself in and out.

Life is never smooth sailing but having a child makes it even more worthwhile. It reminds you of the the things that you do every single day.

And it all makes it even more meaningful by just looking into the eyes of a boy :)

The end of Ramadhan

Syawal is approaching very soon. I'm feeling as excited as I am sad that Ramadhan is leaving in less than 2 days. Is this a well-spent Ramadhan than before? Well, I certainly hope so and I make du'a constantly that Allah will accept my prayers, my deeds and my fasting.

I remember during ramadhan last year, I was 4 months pregnant. Thankfully I was very fit to fast and I only skipped a day of fasting due to fever. I managed to perform the terawih at the nearby surau despite the swollen feet and my legs' refusal to stand for a longer time during prayer.

This year, I am fasting as a breastfeeding mum. The experience is way different but equally challenging. I had my worries but alhamdulillah I am fit to fast. Though exhausting, I praised Allah for the strength He has given me to go through every single day and the rezeki He showered my son for the sufficient milk produced. There were days when I thought of breaking my fast, but alhamdulillah I managed not to. Tapi memang sayur at the end of the day :) Managed to perform the terawih this year, too, at home with my companion, Luqman by my side. If he's behaving, I'll just let him play on his own while I tried to finish my prayer. If not, most of the time I'll start praying after I have put him to sleep or I'll stop after the 4 rakaat and feed him or just play with him for awhile and then continue. Either way works for us but there are also days when I'd join him into slumberland due to fatigue :)

And as of today, I have never skipped my fasting yet. If God permits, this year will be the first year ever that I will score full of a month's fasting (!). However, I am still wondering too if my menstrual cycle decides to play hide and seek this month by appearing really late which got me into a worrying state but I shoved that idea even before I could dwell into it hehe I guess it's because I'm eating less plus I am breastfeeding, so the hormones are just giddy :)

InsyaAllah, with just less than 48 hours away until Ramadhan is leaving, let us all strive harder. And let the first day of Syawal be a day of true content!

How to really love a child

I can't wait to embark on a wonderful journey (already am, in fact) in the life of my precious child.

Anticipating sticky fingers, scattered crayons, fancy artwork on the wall, dirty sweaty face, grass-stained knees, endless hugs and goofy wet kisses, scraped-up hands from falling down--aahh, such a blessing isn't it?

Love you much, little munchkin!

Good things

Like previous years, us, homies will make it a point to meet up at least once during Ramadhan. Over the years, the quorum has never been complete, but that has never stopped us from continuing this tradition.

Yesterday, we decided to meet after Isya' for a drink and a catch-up session at Pappa Rich. It was just the 5 of us with the absence of Iwani who is now residing in Miri, Hudah who is in the States, Hidah and Syikin who were away for a course, Nadia who can't seem to join and Shaf who is in Terengganu.

The time when we mommies could leave as our babies were already asleep :)

Farhana was not in the picture
Pictures by Nazliah

Though it wasn't for long, I certainly had a great time with them, just like old times. It felt good to unwind, laughed harder than I normally would, and just listening to each others' stories. Perfect.

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This morning, after Luqman woke us up at around 2-ish, and I successfully put him back to sleep, I chit-chatted with my husband while lying down. Suddenly, this feeling of warmth and giddiness came surging- I felt like we're teenagers again. You see, I realized that we hardly spend quality time together these days, or simply laze around without having to worry about our baby waking up soon. Having a baby really occupies us that we hardly have the time to ourselves.

This Ramadhan, I would be totally knocked out come Isya' and it would be such a feat to even bat an eyelid. By the time Rizal comes home from Terawih, most of the time I would already be in slumberland and he would be left alone without a companion (poor him). No matter how many times I promised not to fall asleep and wait for his return, I will always find myself waking up in the middle of the night and saw him by my side, already asleep.

So that simple mindless chat was to me, a definite luxury, and like a compensation for the times lost.

Then I was feeling unusually hungry. Sensing that we both will not go back to sleep anytime soon, he suggested that we had our pre-sahur meal together -

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The Korean Kimchi-flavoured noodle! Oh nyums!!-


while watching the Olympics :)

Priceless.

Joyful Sunday

Last weekend, together with my sis-in-law and her family, we made our way to Devflections Charity Bazaar in Titiwangsa.


Plans were made since SIL has been meaning to go to Smashing Scarves' booth a long time ago. So last Sunday was the day. Both of us had a great time, overwhelmed with variety of scarves (hehe) that we spent quite some time just there and did not go to any other booths (frankly speaking, the others weren't that interesting).

Both our babies were taken care of by our husbands so that made our shopping a lot easier!

After that, we went separate ways before meeting again at our MIL's house for iftar. We went to Shah Alam to do some raya shopping for Rizal and in the midst of that I received a call from my sister informing that our dear cousin had just given birth earlier. Since we were just in the vicinity, we decided to pay her a visit at DEMC.

Stepping foot on the 6th floor and into her suite brought back familiar feelings of that fateful day when I had given birth to Luqman. The joy, exhaustion, relief - all rolled into one.

Meet baby Sarah ;)

Baby Sarah with her 4 aunties

Then, I was informed of another great news that a dear friend, Kak Azlina had given birth just about the same time as Ika. We then rushed to Umraa in Section 13.

With the proud mum and baby boy
(Kekok sikit pegang newborn hehe)


The handsome Ali Arrazi :)

So yes, a joyful Sunday it was.