Hariz Zahhar

Hariz Zahhar @ Hari (as Umar called him) was born @ 3.17pm on our 9th anniversary, 26th May 2010. He came into this world at 40W4D, such a long wait.

Weight: 2.98kg
Length: 48.5cm
HC: 33cm

Here's the little guy



Kakak bonding with Hariz



Bonding with Hariz, Umar's style



It was such a big relief seeing both kids bonding naturally with their little brother. Zara was quite relaxed having the new guy around at home as she is big enough to understand the notion of having another brother way ahead of the delivery. I was more worried of Umar. Rightly so, he had a fever just a couple of days after we took Hariz home and demanded extra attention from us all. The first 3 weeks were very challenging for both Shazli and I as we tried to accommodate him as much as we could. He was acting very difficult for the first 3 weeks of Hariz's presence. He would throw tantrum on the slightest things and almost inconsolable afterward. I know he was adjusting to having Hariz around but it was no fun at all especially since I was still recovering physically at that time.

Allah is Great! Alhamdulillah I had quite a speedy recovery and was able to do light chores around the house by the 5th day. Hariz nurses a lot but this time around I was more relaxed having gone through the same experience with Umar where both had the tendency to nurse almost 24-7 for the first 3 weeks.

BTW, we planned to come out of the hospital on the next day after the delivery but the pediatrician had not given Hariz the clear since he had not pee yet. She suggested that Hariz to be given formula to help him to pee sooner. But I refused as I'm determined to exclusively breastfeed him and I see there is no reason to give him formula yet. Well, the reason he hadn't pee was because I had very little colostrum at that time. Unlike some women who started to leak during pregnancy, I had never had that privilege. I was glad I stood to my ground as he did his no #1 several hours after that.

The first 2 days at home was filled with worry as Hariz didn't pee that much. When he did, there were some 'blood' on his nappy. At first, I thought it was due to my pregnancy hormone that was still in his system but thanks to Mr Google I found out that the brick dust (as it is often referred to) was actually urate crystal and often seen in baby boys. Most often present in breastfed babies and could probably be a sign of dehydration. Spot on since my milk didn't come in yet at that time, so he had very little 'water' which causes a high concentration of urine and the formation of the crystal. My milk came in on the 3rd day postpartum and the crystal finally cleared on the 7th day when the milk was well established.