Zara, Umar and Hariz

Hariz is 4 months

2010-10-08T12:17:00.002+08:00

Hari ni hari terakhir Syawal. Thought I want to update on Raya but cerita dah basi daaa. The co I'm currently working for has just completed the re-org exercise. God! Berapa kali mau re-org daa? Everytime there was a re-org, we had to be relocated. Berpindah randah mcm Nomad. This is the 5th time over 3 years. Boring .. boing .. boing ..

Well, enough of office stuff. This is just a quick update on Hariz development so far. The little guy is 4 months+ already. As usual, we took him to his monthly checkup and the Paed gave him his 1st pneumococcal vaccine. It is actual optional but since the insurance is paying for it, we might as well give it to him. And for the 1st time, he cried a little but the Dr. quickly picked him up and soothed him. Alhamdulillah he didn't develop a fever after that.

At 4 months:
Weight: 7.47kg
Length: 62.2cm
HC: 42.7cm

The Dr was very pleased with his growth.

Development wise, Hariz's neck is strong. I don't have to support his neck anymore when carrying him around. He can sit a little but his body still inclines forward.

His milk intake at the daycare has improved slightly. He is now drinking about 12-15oz there. Great news that is! hehehe Other than that, we've started giving Umar some of my milk as well. He takes about 6-7oz a day. If we were to make this into a routine, then I need to pump at least 22oz a day. Gosh! I'm only pumping about 18oz these days. Yesterday, I took a look and reorganised the EBM in our freezer. It just hit me that most of them were pumped last July, which means they will expire by end of this month. Dang! I didn't up my stock for the last 2 months because Hariz was refusing the bottle before and only drank a little. So, I only gave him fresh EBM and didn't regulate the ones in the freezer. Now a huge bulk of them will soon expire and I would only be left with about 30 bottles. In need of a new strategy. I need to get that chest freezer real soon, though God knows where we gonna put it! The house is already cramped! Need to pump more. Need to pump more!

Kid with MS Paint! Part 6

2010-09-13T18:20:00.008+08:00

Last part for today.

Her Girl Series. Love them as well. Beautiful colours.

1. the little girl with big glasses and a pink hair band

2. the fairys body

3. fairy head and body
Really cute! Do I spot a belly button there?

4. untitled
This is saved without any title but supposingly a fairy wing. She said she learn to draw it from youtube. Kids these days!

Well, enough for now. Where are my raya photos already?

Kid with MS Paint! Part 5

2010-09-13T18:13:00.007+08:00

These are drawings with some feeling attached to them. Well, just enjoy!

1. bloodes of red color

2. i love you
I love the simplicity :)

3. chonteng (bahasa)
Bored maybe?

4. AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH...
Do I spot anger in there?

Kid with MS Paint! Part 4

2010-09-13T17:59:00.007+08:00

Today is the 4th of Raya. I want to blog about that but maybe later since I have lots of drawings to post coz lets just admit it, I love them!!

These are the random drawings we found. There are little stories behind each picture according to her.

1. the blue beery tree in the hot sun......its going too live not the son the tree

2. the tea pot magnets too the magnet thing.

3. desert

4. the wadding stars when day get married and have 6 childs and then 1 day there is a hunter star hwo wanted 2 childs out of the star family.!!

5. a giant leg in a giant closed toe sandal! (break a leg)

Kid with MS Paint! Part 3

2010-08-31T10:35:00.013+08:00

It is independence day today. I woke up early and the kids are still sleeping. With a bit of time at hand, I decided to clear our PC HDD by transferring all our photos to an external HDD. Shazli did housecleaning of his laptop too and here are some of the pictures we found on his VIAO.

These were drawn in June 2009 but we only saw them today.

The ribbon series

1. ribbon mix up color with blue and red.

2. ribbon mix up color with blue,purple,green,pink.

3. ribbons all about differt colours like pink with wi,th pocodots,blue,dark blue,green,yellow,purple,gray

The Animal series

1. gopets

2. ghost cat

3. the little light brown puppy

4. the secret mystery dog.

5. THE FLYING INVISEBLE CAT
ps: Can you spot the cat? He is wearing a blue collar and big yellow bell :)

6. T A A T P I A G (the animals and the plant in a garden.)

The title of each drawing was given by her. Nice :)

Random post of the day

2010-08-30T15:53:00.011+08:00

Nampaknya hari ni mmg tak berapa produktif di kantor. Ramai rakan2 kerja cuti panjang sebabkan cuti Nuzul Quran jumaat lepas bersambung hingga cuti Kemerdekaan esok hari. Rakan2 di UK juga sedang bercuti bank (Bank holiday). Sementara rakan2 di US masih di buai mimpi indah.

So, just some random pics taken quite recently to kill the time (tipu sbb actually kerja banyakkkk).

Oh Well ... bak kata Nora Danish, Kita Enjoy!!!! (the pics I mean ... bukan enjoy tuang hokay!)

Kanak-kanak ceria sebab terlepas dari penjara rumah. Sibuk bermain di taman di bawah rumah. Zara forever with her books.

Kanak-kanak bertambah ceria sebab dapat bermain permainan percuma di Jusco. Jarang-jarang dapat bersantai di shopping complex.

Model kanak2 perempuan Fisher Price. Sungguh bergaya bersama pom-pom dan posing ala-ala bontot terjongket.

Model kanak2 lelaki Fisher Price tampil lebih ganas dengan posing di atas lantai. Thomas tetap di hati, baju & tangan. Dan juga di kaki!

Last but not least, Umar having a blast with Thomas at Toys R Us. We had to peel him off the table as it was almost berbuka time.

Oppsss ... one more. Life isn't complete without a little bit of fun ... at someone elses expense of course. And this time around ... Hariz is our victim :)

(Shazli was annoyed as always)

Milk in a bottle

2010-08-30T14:39:00.006+08:00

I've blogged a couple of times before on Hariz refusal to bottle-feed. A week before work, I sent him to his daycare to get him used to his new environment. The 1st three days was quite nerve wrecking as he continued to refuse the bottle. The teachers there had to squeeze the teat to make sure he took some milk in. By the 3rd day he was already showing signs of dehydration. He didn't wet his nappy for the longest of time and when he did, the brick dust came back.

In desperation, we bought a lot of teats and bottles and experimented with them all. And mind you, they aren't cheap! We have Avent, Nuk, First Years BreastFlow, MAM, Farlin, and the list goes on! A colleague at work gave me her brown MAM teats and a feeder cup too. She has more luck with them with her daughter.

We practically bought all the well known teats in the market that are suppose to ease transition between breastfeeding to bottlefeeding but with little to none outcome.

We had a bit of success with Tommee Tippee since the bottle was shaped such that it was rather soft in the middle and you can squeeze the bottle to get a little milk out. By the 2nd week he took about 9oz of breast milk while I was at work. I was devastated. Last Wednesday, after his routine checkup, we went to the hospital pharmacy and bought a yellow rubber-like pigeon teat on a whim. It costs RM5. Though at the back of my mind, I knew it wasn't going to make much of a difference. But, it did!!! The next day, the teacher at the daycare was happy to inform us that Hariz took 12oz of milk that day and he managed to latch and suck the bottle on his own!

And here is the winner :)

This is soooo Hariz! Always caught me a little of guard. Dalam banyak2 puting, puting murah ni yang dia suka!!! Hahahahaha ... I'm close to tears already. Nothing special with the teat except that it is thin and rather soft compared to the rest. Now, let's hope this miracle teat works more wonders. I'm now hoping he will take more milk at the daycare.

Hariz is 3 months

2010-08-30T13:49:00.006+08:00

Time really flies and Hariz is already 3 months old. No longer a newborn is he.
We took him for his 3 months checkup last Wednesday where Dr Sofiah gave him his 2nd dose of 3-in-1 jab (DTP, Polio & Hib). Like the previous 2 injections, he didn't cry a bit, much to my amazement (again)! Muka selamba habis. Masa checkup tu, Doktor tried making an eye contact with him but he kept on looking away, scanning the room instead. I was kinda worried at first knowing that that is one of the characteristics of an autistic (autism) child (shy of eye contact) but dismissed it later when he was more than happy to look into my brown sepet eyes for hours (ececece ...). I suppose he was more interested to look at the Dr. room than her face (sorry Dr. ... maybe next time ;))

At 3 months:
Weight: 6.68kg
Length: 60.4cm
HC: 41cm

Unlike Umar who was a chatterbox at this age, Hariz is the opposite. He is calm and collected but would burst into laughter when you least expect it. He still loves to play with his fingers but now would hold them high in front of him and gaze at them before bringing them to his mouth for a bit of tasting. Yes, he is developing a habit of thumb (fingers and hands) sucking. It annoys me especially when he tends to dribble a lot but I suppose it is one of his many ways of exploring his little world. I remember Zara had that habit too until it created a small dent on her fingernail from too much sucking.

Other than laughing out loud, Hariz has perfected his first rollover @ 3 months 3 days. Well done Hariz! It was again very unexpected. He didn't show much sign that he is ready to make a roll until he did! His neck is quite strong now and he could lift his head for a bit when put on his tummy. His head still wobbles though.

He has just recovered from a fever today. Alhamdulillah. Allah is Great. So overall, it has been quite a busy month for the little guy!

Oh Dear!

2010-08-13T14:29:00.004+08:00

In my last entry, I mentioned about Hariz having milk preference and would reject the bottle if he didn't like the milk. I was wrong ... well partially at least. He actually rejects the bottle and not the milk. I have not had a single success to bottle-fed him since. I've tried giving freshly express milk and that didn't work well too. He plays with the teat for awhile by rolling it in his mouth and later push it out with his tongue. Oh Dear!

What actually went wrong? I think I followed the manual to the T. Do not introduce the bottle too soon to avoid nipple confusion it says and I did just that. Hariz had his first taste of the bottle when he was 1 month old. As I remember it, he had problem latching on to it initially but quickly drink the milk once he did. After that, I gave him the bottle once every one to two weeks. No problem too. But now, as I am just about to start to work again, things started going downhill. Obviously it wasn't the case of nipple confusion. He is not confused all right. He just prefers direct feeding. Oh Dear!

I plan to start sending Hariz to the daycare starting next week although I'm not due for work for another 10 days. This is to ease the transition from mummy to the daycare. He'll be there for half a day for the 1st two days following with 2 full days on Wednesday and Thursday and I'll be taking care of him again on Friday. Well, that's the plan anyway. This is also to give my body some time to adjust to day pumping. Besides, I'm not ready yet for work. Some shopping is needed to get some office clothing as I'm suffering from wardrobe malfunction right now. My pre-pregnancy clothes are looking very tired already and I don't want to go to work in my pregnancy wear. Lucky thing our company is very relax about office attire, and jeans and t-shirts are more than suffice. So, I plan to do some shopping when Hariz is in the daycare. We've tried shopping with him before and I didn't manage to get anything really.

Anyways, I've called Pn Imah, Salsabiila Daycare owner to explain my problem with Hariz. She was very supportive and that eases off some of my worries. She recommended brown NUK teats that resemble the mother's nipple. She has also assured me if all things failed, Hariz will be given the milk via a syringe. So, yesterday, we bought more teats of different brands - MAM, Avent, NUK and Pigeon peristaltic teats. I even bought a spoon feeder which is normally used to wean a baby from the bottle. It is actually a normal feeding bottle with a spoon attached to it. There is a hole on the handle that allows for slow flow of milk from the bottle to the spoon. Yesterday was a disaster. Hariz rejected all the teats and feeding him with the spoon was just plain awkward. Most of the milk went to his shirt instead. Oh Dear!

I'm in tatters already! I'm desperate to fix this. Attempts made for the last 3 days weren't successful and nor are we making any progress. Yet. I need to relax and take this as a challenge instead of a problem. Maybe we need to resort to other ways of feeding him other than the conventional way of bottle feeding. Unfortunately, creativity is not my strongest attribute! Oh Dear!

Umar is 3

2010-08-10T13:15:00.005+08:00

Umar turns 3 years old last Saturday, 7th August. A day after Zara's birthday. Happy Birthday Umar! Mummy loves you lots.

Physically, Umar is still small. To tell the truth, I'm overly worried of his stature. I'm vertically challenged myself and I'm worried that he will too. What will that do to his self confidence someday? Does he has to work extra hard to prove himself when he is older? Will the kids pick on him at school? Kids can be really mean and say awful stuff to their peers. Will my boy have a hard time coping with them? Will his height (or the lack of it) destroys his self esteem? I'm praying hard that his body will catchup with his age soon. Real soon!

Other than that, he is such a joy to have. Each day I look forward to see that cheeky smile. He is also a good teaser. Though his vocabs are relatively small but he could string some words he knows to form a short sentence. He is still crazy over Thomas and don't think the Thomas frenzy will die down anytime soon. His cousins bought him Thomas & Friends tank engine for his birthday and he squealed in delight over the sight of the box! Such a lovely gesture! Thanks cousins!

We went back to Kuantan last weekend and had a small birthday celebration for Zara, Umar and Solehah (the kids cousin who turned 12 last week). The kids had fun of course living a carefree live and not being confined to our small apartment all the time. Freedom outdoor is something that we can't afford to give to our kids living in the big city. Pathetic really! Hopefully that will change once we move out.

Anyways, some photos as usual.

Zara with her cousins.

yabba dabba doo!

2010-08-10T10:20:00.005+08:00

At last, dengan segala penat jerih. Dengan segala titik peluh, bersengkang mata. Target is reached :)

My last bottle that completes the set

The whole set

I've started pumping on the 19th June 2010 and what started as 1.5 oz of milk has now reached 350 oz packed into 100 storage bags with about 3.5 oz each. My freezer box is now full and I have stopped pumping for nearly 5 days now! I know I shouldn't stop but I'm running out of storage space already. Earlier, I was contemplating on getting a separate chest freezer to store the milk. From what I read, the milk can last up to 6 months in a deep freezer. That sounds so good!! However, we hit our first snag with EBM. Apparently, Hariz is not too fond of them. For the last 2.5 months, I occasionally give Hariz the taste of EBM from the bottle just to prepare him for nursery. He had had 5 bottles given to him so far - 3 bottles were freshly expressed and stored in the fridge and the remaining 2 came from the freezer (thawed and warm). Each time, he struggled to latch on to the bottle. When he did, he didn't complain much when the milk is freshly expressed and would quietly down them all. However, he refused to drink the milk that came from the freezer. One bottle was filled with a month old milk and has a distinct vinegar-like smell while the other was only 5 days old but has a yellow oily substance forming the top layer (I think this is fat). He refused to drink both. He would play and roll the teat around his mouth and pushed it out with his tongue. I'm perplexed!

I hope this preference is only temporary and will short lived once he is sent to the daycare. I did a little experiment to determine when exactly the lipase enzyme starts to break down the milk by placing a small amount in the fridge. It took about 6 days for the sour smell to form. Ok! If worse comes to worst, I probably have to provide only freshly expressed milk to the daycare. But what am I to do with 350 oz breast milk in my freezer?

Zara is 8

2010-08-06T14:49:00.007+08:00

Zara turns 8 today. Happy birthday dear! Mummy loves you lots.
We will celebrate Zara's and Umar's birthday @ wan's home this weekend, insya Allah.

Last week, I've changed Umar's dektop wallpaper just for fun knowing that he'll be jumping up and down with excitement once he saw it.

Zara saw the new wallpaper and quickly asked me how to do it. Within minutes, she'd changed her wallpaper with pictures that she'd gotten from the internet over and over again. Then she settled for this:

This is soooo Zara. Very girlish. I also found some drawings she made earlier using MS Paint.

Cat

This is saved as Happy Time!

Little Girl Playing and Singing

One of her many Girl in the hot sun series. This one is with E.T. hahaha

But of course, it's not complete without her putting some emotions on display.
This scribble was saved as This is the Worstes Day of My Life (oh dear!)

Hariz is 2 months

2010-07-28T14:05:00.007+08:00

Hariz is now 2 months old. We took him to his monthly checkup last Monday. He had his triple jab - 1st DTP, Polio & Hib and we were somewhat surprised that he didn't wail or cry. He was a little feverish the day after, which is common after the jab but luckily it went away after lunch.

At 2 months:
Weight: 5.8kg
Length: 59cm
HC: 39.8cm

He still spends most of his time sleeping and would wake up every 2-3 hours for feeding. I think he has settled down pretty much at night. He normally fells asleep at 10p.m. and would only wakes up to nurse 2-3 times before dozing off again.

Development wise, other than cooing and smiling, he could lift his head for a while though his head still wobbles. He could also put his hands together and play with them. His legs are getting stronger too. When put to stand, they can pretty much support his weight.

Checkout his michelin-to-be hands
Zara calls him strong-man :) just like Umar when he was a baby.

Through new set of eyes!

2010-07-27T15:43:00.006+08:00

Some weeks ago I noticed Zara strained her eyes every time she's watching the TV. When asked whether she can see from a distance, she hesitated and replied that the brightness from the TV is hurting her eyes. Hmmm ... I suspected she has developed short-sightedness and we've decided to take her for an eye check.

Note to self: when taking a child for an eye check, it is best to bring them in the morning when the eyes are still fresh and alert. We took Zara to see the optometrist after school and the result wasn't accurate because she was already tired and couldn't focus much during the eye test. So, we had to come again in the morning.

Zara during the tests

The optometrist is really sweet :)

The tests confirmed that she is rabun and needed glasses. Her power for both eyes are 50/75. So she is slightly short sighted but she has also developed astigmatism in her left eye of 100. Sigh! Thanks to too much computer games & TV!

Her new look with glasses on. So serabai after school. She complained that the boys said she looks like nenek kebayan ..... hahahaha

Hariz - 1 month update

2010-07-15T17:07:00.004+08:00

Just a quick update on Hariz. We took him for his 1-month jab on the 28th June 2010.

At 1 month:
Weight: 4.57kg
Length: 55cm
HC: 37.5cm

He can smile and coo these days much to our delight! But don't expect him to flash a smile that easily. Bila perut dah kenyang, nappy dah bersih, tidur dah cukup diagah-agah baru dia tersenyum comel ... Kalau tak, buatlah muka lawak macam Mr Bean pun, gerenti dia buat muka seposen.

One thing that I noticed about Hariz, he likes to look around a lot since the day he was born. He'll twist and turn his head to observe his surroundings through that slanting eyes.

Every now and then he is put on his tummy so that he can exercise his neck muscle. So far, he hasn't manage to lift his head yet but could twist it from left to right and vice versa. Unlike Umar who used to love sleeping on his tummy when he was a baby, Hariz despised it. I could never get him to sleep in that position. Even when he is awake, he'll make so much noise and screamed bloody murder when he is on his tummy.

Breastpumps review

2010-07-13T13:06:00.009+08:00

So, I've just started pumping again at home and soon enough at work too :( (the thought of leaving Hariz is rather unbearable, though I still have 1.5 months to go!)

Pumping at home and work are somewhat different. Obviously if you pump at home, you have the privacy and the time in the world to get down to it. The minus side is you might not be able to pump a lot of milk since you are nursing your little one at the same time. This could fool you into thinking that you have a low milk supply when you don't. And if you have a clingy baby that likes to nurse all the time, pumping and storing your milk is probably the last thing on your mind. At work, depending on the nature of your work, you might not have plenty of breaks nor an adequate mother's room to pump. All these could factor in when finding a suitable pump as choosing the right one is very subjective and circumstantial.

I personally had had different experiences with 4 common pumps in the market. Err.. kena letak disclaimer ke? This is my personal experience only based on my wants and needs and the circumstances I'm in right now.

1) Avent ISIS Uno

I bought this pump when I went to the UK for my training. I couldn't resist getting one as it was selling for GBP19.99 (~RM140) at Boots. It's a manual pump and receives rave reviews from it's users. Unfortunately, this pump is not meant for some lazy a** like me. After several attempts, I gave up as I couldn't be bothered to master the technique nor can I get a single letdown. Quite tiring too. So, back into the box it went. However, some plus points - it is kind to the pocket, very portable so you can pump anywhere and gives good hand exercise :)

2) Medele Mini-E

I got this pump from my sister and she swore by it. It is a single electric pump which you can operate via batteries or an electrical socket. Somehow, the suction of this pump didn't do it for me. I only manage to get a single letdown when engorged and yet couldn't empty the breasts totally. When running on batteries, the suction was rather slow and weak! It is also quite time consuming as you can only pump one side at a time. So, into the box it went too. Some plus points - it is affordable, quite portable though you need batteries or a power supply to operate and not much effort requires to express.

3) Spectra 3

I bought this pump when I had Umar and was using it for almost a year. The price tag that came with it was also reasonable and probably among the cheapest double electric pumps available in the market. Plus points - adjustable suction level, double pumping (save time) and on a good day, I could get 2 letdowns within 30 minutes and empties the breasts well. However, the pump is rather bulky and you need a power socket to run it as it doesn't run on batteries. Not so mobile after all. Another minus point is that the suction is monotonous and rather painful if used for too long probably because I always set it to maximum.

4) Medela Freestyle

The mother of all pumps :)
Though I only use it for less than a month, I already fell head over heels with FS. It is small thus making it very portable. It comes with a nice digital display which tells you how long you have been pumping. Other than that, it has some additional features like a memory button which mimics your previous pumping experience, adjustable suction type and level, etc. You could also used it hands-free and some mothers actually pump while driving! There are just so many plus side to this pump - it comes with a built-in rechargeable battery that could last for 1 week but you could also run it using the normal power socket. This is the ultimate mobile pump definitely!

FS comes with 9 suction levels, with 9th being the strongest. So far, I only used between level 3-4. The suction cups (breast shields) are soft and comfy though they have the tendency to stick to your boobs and you need to peel them off gently after use.

For me, the best part when pumping with FS is that I could get multiple letdowns easily! On average, I would get somewhere between 3-4 letdowns within 20 minutes. It has a dual-phase expression which mimics the baby's suctions. The initial phase is to stimulate letdowns which then follows by the expression phase to express the milk out. More letdowns = more milk and I would buy this pump for this single reason alone.

So far I can't think of a single minus point other than the price tag that comes with it but it is worth every single cent.

Well, those are the 4 pumps that I've used. For now, I'm very happy with FS but I read some reviews that said Medela PISA has better suctions compared to Medela FS. I suppose I won't find out about it myself since my poket sudah bocor. For now, I'll stick with my Freestyle :)

Got Milk?

2010-07-07T16:29:00.018+08:00

Found this quote

Breast milk is better than any udder milk :)

and thought it is kinda cute.

Like most working moms who exclusively breastfeed their babies, I need to express my milk at work. This time around, I thought I should start early. As mentioned earlier, with Zara there was no real need to pump since I was not working until she was about 14 months. So, she has her milk direct from the source. With Umar, I started to pump 3 weeks postpartum partly to release engorgement as well as building my freezer stash in preparation for work. I didn't set any target when I started expressing and just thought that I'll pump and save as much as I could. At the end of my maternity leave, I only managed to build a small stash of EBM (expressed breast milk) which I thought was adequate at that time. Later I regretted not having built a bigger stock. When Umar was about 8 months old, I had to go for a 10-day training abroad. Due to my insufficient frozen EBM, we had to supplement him with formula during my trip. On my return, my supply dwindled due to lack of pumping as the training schedule was packed. Umar on the other hand, was getting used to having formula that sometimes he rejected nursing but we continued breastfeeding and just barely survived the 1 year mark.

This time around, I don't plan to make the same mistake. I want to fully breastfeed Hariz until he is 2. Currently on the 2nd month of my 3-month maternity leave, I have started to pump again. My target is to have at least 10 days supply in my freezer for emergencies. From previous experience, I've learned that there will be days when the milk production suddenly drops, there will be times when I won't be able to pump as often due to trainings, outstations, emergencies, et cetera. With enough supply in the freezer, I'll be more relaxed should the occasion arise.

At first, I wanted to continue to pump using my good old Spectra3 breastpump. I've used it for a year whilst breastfeeding Umar and later lent it to my sister but according to her the suction was not as good as before and it was time to send it for service and fix. She in turned bought a Medela PISA and loved the pump so much until she heard of Medela Freestyle. The retail price for FS is RM2k++. Quite a hefty price for such a small pump. It took me several months to decide to go for FS. I bought mine online from Ajasu at http://www.mybreastpumpshop.com and her price is among the cheapest I've found in Malaysia.

Here's how the pump looks like. It is small and can fit in the palm of your hand easily.

The Medela Softfit funnels are kind to the breasts. Below is my 2nd attempt with the pump. Just a mere 1.2oz in 10 minutes. However, don't be discouraged with the small supply. I've learned that when you just started pumping, it will take awhile for you to get used to the pump and in time your production will increase. Trust me :) Practice makes perfect.

I've decided to continue using TechniIce to transfer the milk from the office to home later. Like before, I bought some and placed them into our freezer box as a precaution should there be power cuts at home. In theory (and tested by me!), my milk can last about 8-10 hours with TechniIce. You don't want to loose your milk due to a power failure at home, so take precaution!

For first time use, cut to size. Then immerse the techniIce sheets into warm water and scrunch them with your hands. The cells will absorb water and swell. Then place them in the freezer and they're ready for use.

Last but not least, this time I use Autumnz Milk Storage Bag to store my milk. Previously, I've used Avent milk liner but there were several unfortunate occasions that the edge of the bag leaked and I've lost some of my precious milk. Then, I've switched to Playtex milk liner which in my mind is so much stronger and stuck with it for almost a year. I normally bought the liners at Babyland SS2 but when I went to get the liners the other day, they no longer sell them. Instead I saw Autumnz bag and decided to give it a try.

It comes with a zip lock which is handy as I don't have to use a rubber band to tie it up like the liners. However, by God when the milk is frozen, it is bulky and takes quite a space in the freezer. Though the bag can take up to 7 oz of milk, store a small amount (enough for 1 feed) for better usage. Once the milk is thawed, it cannot be refreeze again. I've packed 3.5oz per bag.

Since my freezer box is small, I almost give up on it and wanted to switch back to Playtex until I found a tip. It is best to lay them flat when freezing so that they can stack up nicely in the freezer and consume less space :) Wallaa ...

And my stash last week for a bit of motivation. Almost reach half of my target.

Review on breast pumps in my next entry especially for Nik. Sabar yer Nik.

Breastfeeding the babies ..

2010-07-01T15:52:00.006+08:00

Guys, read with caution! Nasty breastfeeding story.
Gals, read on ..

For the 2nd time, my pumping session has started after 3 weeks postpartum. I didn't pump with Zara as I was SAHM at that time until she was about 14 months old. With Umar, I stopped when he was about 13 months. With both Zara and Umar, my targets were only to breastfeed both until they were 1 year old and alhamdulillah we achieved that.

For Hariz, I hope to breastfeed him until he is 2 years old. Insya Allah. The journey is still long and I pray that Allah will give me strength to persevere. From my experience, breastfeeding is not easy. When I had Zara, I was not prepared and very naive. Thus, it made me feel very incompetent and inadequate. Unlike some mommies who had colostrum leakage during pregnancy, I didn't. I've never seen a single drop of milk throughout my pregnancies. My milk only came in at 4th or 5th day postpartum. After delivery, I waited and waited in vain for the milk to come in but nothing. I hand expressed, I pumped yet I got nothing. However, I continued to put Zara to the breasts. Her strong suction at trying to get the milk accompanied by improper latching caused my nips to sore and break. Very painful! Every time I put her to my breast, I would winced and my toes curled in. I dreaded each time I had to breastfeed her. On the 3rd day at the hospital (yet with no milk visible!) the nurse advised that we supplemented Zara with formula and reluctantly we agreed. She didn't take much of the milk and would only sucked a little and fall asleep. With that, I decided to stop the formula since she wasn't interested and no reason at all to force her to supplement.

Once we were home, I googled and read that after delivery the breasts started to make colostrum in tiny amount that most of the time it is impossible for mummies to see them but babies could still reach them by their natural sucking. The colostrum are either translucent or thick yellow. I wished I had taken the time to learn about breastfeeding prior to labor. I always thought that breastfeeding was a natural choice for babies (I still do!) and thus when the time comes, I should be able to breastfeed her naturally. Big mistake (well at least to me!). With proper latching (please google for Dr Newman for video on correct latching), breastfeeding was more bearable. At the time, it was still painful since the nips were still sore, broke and bled a little. I've applied the nipple cream to help them heal but what really works for me was applying the breastmilk to the nips before and after each feeding. So, the first 3 weeks of nursing Zara was really a painful experience riddled with self doubt and guilt. No wonder some moms just give up on it.

With Umar, I was more relaxed. Although I had a c-section at about 37 weeks, Umar latched on like a pro when put to the breast. Yet my nips were still sore for the first 2 weeks from the vigorous sucking. So, there were still wincing and toes curling moments! This time around, my milk came in on the 3rd day. What I'd observed the nips were hard and tough during pregnancy. After 1-2 weeks of nursing, they became softer and more flexible. After that, the soreness will go away.

3rd time around, I already knew what was coming. No colostrum seen. Vigorous sucking then soreness sets in. My milk came on the 3rd day followed by very painful engorgement which only went away 2 days later. So, the first 2 weeks were tough and somewhat painful until the milk was well established. After that, we passed the test :)

This is my early breastfeeding experiences having nursed 3 babies. But bear in mind all mothers are different and thus went through breastfeeding differently. All I can say is, if you have decided to breastfeed your baby, there will be obstacles but do persevere as you will find that it is very rewarding. I'm always eager to go for my babies checkups especially when they were weighed in. I'll have a huge smile on my face each time I see them getting heavier and heavier knowing that the hard work really pays off :)

Hahaha .. entry ni sepatutnya nak cerita pasal pengalaman pam mengepam. Well, my pumping experience next.

Hariz Zahhar

2010-07-01T15:48:00.007+08:00

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.

Birth Story

2010-07-01T15:41:00.003+08:00

It has been more than a month now but better late than never. The baby is so attached to me (my boobies!!) that it is almost impossible to find time to blog.
Well, here it goes .....

I've started having mild contractions on the morning of 24th May 2010. It felt more like diarhoea but weird enough because the pain actually started from my bump and crept slowly to the waist. I had to rush to the toilet several times that morning and have read that it is normal to have diarrhoea at early onset of labor. It is described as nature's way to empty the bowel prior to labor. But nevertheless I was rather confused between real labor pain or just a normal diarrhoea.

After sending Zara to school and Umar to his nursery, we went to have our brunch @ Jaring and headed for Midvalley. The idea is to induce labor naturally by lots and lots of walking -- by that I meant window shopping :) Shazli was looking for Thomas Turntable for Umar to add to his Thomas & Friends collection. So, we went to Midvalley and The Gardens to look for a good bargain. On and off the contractions came and went. We managed to get the turntable at Jusco and Shazli bought Percy and Harold at Isetan and Metrojaya. I also bought Umar's Chicco highchair at Metrojaya, at long last (as we were hunting for one since Umar was 6 months old!). We also managed to grab some story books for Zara. She has became quite a book worm of late. We ate a late lunch at Tony Romas where I had the famour Rib Eye and Shazli went for a Fish & Chips. Verdict : the food was just ok to me. Don't know why people fuss so much over it! I also had air longan at the Petaling Street longan stall in MV. Masa ronda2 tu Shazli sempat buat lawak bodoh. Kalau bersalin kat MV agak2 boleh dapat shopping free for life tak? Hahaha ... Ingat ni macam Airlines ke? Tapi kot dpt parking free for life pun dah ok tu ... :P Then it was time to fetch the kids home. Umar loves his toys and Zara was happy with the books that we got her!

Due to my diligent 6 hour walk, I couldn't sleep that night. The contractions came every 10 minutes starting from midnight until about 6 a.m. The pain was still mild and bearable. Walking around the house when the contractions came really helped and so did long breathing in and out. I was hoping for the contractions to progress but at about 6a.m. they became irregular and further apart which later started to fade away slowly.

Anyways, I had a scheduled checkup with Dr Siti that morning. After sending both kids to their schools, we went straight to SJMC. The queue was long as usual. My contractions were still there on and off but not as painful as last night. There were 2 pregnant ladies that I regularly see there each week. One was scheduled for a C-Sect on the 31st May and the other was the next day. Punyalah kepochi makcik ni .. eavesdropping their conversations with the nurses. Then it was our turn. Dr Siti did a VE again this time and she said I was already about 3.5cm dilated. She gave me 2 options - she could admit me straight to the labouring ward or I could go home and wait until the contractions became more regular i.e. 5 minutes apart. Since our house is just 10 minutes away from the hospital, I opted to go home. I hate being in the hospital for too long and knowing how slow my cervix dilated with Zara, I'd rather be at home rather than being confined to a hospital bed.

That night the pain was more intense but still about 7-8 minutes apart. I was pacing the house looking for some comfort . Walking and breathing really helped me to ride each contraction. It was getting harder and harder. I was already feeeling very sleepy since I had not slept for more than 48 hours. Each small movement would trigger a contraction. Lying down was painful. Sitting was uncomfortable. Occasionally I forced myself to sleep but to be awaken rudely by the next contraction. This went on and on until the next morning.

After sending the kids to their school, we went straight to the labor ward. The nurse that greeted us that morning was very nice & gentle. She sent me to a labor room where I was asked to change to their hospital gown (darn ugly!). I was asked to get on the hospital bed and a quick checkup confirmed that I was about 5-6cm dilated. Bloody 'ell! Sakit dekat 24 jam tapi bukak baru separuh!

Around 10-ish am, the doctor came but I was still about 6cm. She broke the waterbag to speed things up. She had offered me pethidine & ethonox gas but at that time I was fine and the pain was still manageable, so I declined. The thing that frustrated m the most was not being able to walk around coz that really helped with the contractions. I was hooked up to a machine to monitor the contractions and the baby's heart rate thus was confined to the bed. Nak kencing pun kena pakai bed pan. Tapi mmg confused sbb tak tau whether air ketuban ke yg keluar atau urine. But I forced myself to pee to empty the bladder. This supposingly helped the cervix to dilate too.

And what was Shazli doing the whole while? He was in the room with me. Baca paper (katam berapa kali ntah), took some photos (argghhh menyampah!), monitor the contractions and still entertaining his clients on his phone. But I was ok with that since there was not much he can do either. He hardly went out of the room even for ciggies.

At about 2-ish pm, the doctor came again to check on me. My contractions were still far apart and I was about 8cm dilated. She told me that she wanted to give me the ummppph to speed things up .. by that, she meant she wanted to induce me. (On hindsight, I somewhat regreted not saying no to that!) I quickly asked for pethidine as I knew what was coming my way! So, the nurse put me on a drip and injected the pain killer on my right bum. It didnt take long for the effect to come!!! The contractions came like big waves, one after another hitting me really hard and not given me much time to breath and relax. And pethidine really sucks! It made me really drowsy! Lalok, high and my mind was disorinted. Masa ni mmg payah nak fokus on riding the contractions. But the gas did wonders! Ada sekali tu masa one of the contractions came and I was holding for my dear life (ececeh ... exagerate sungguh) breathing heavily using the gas mask, Shazli nak rampas mask tu dari I. Rasa nak hempuk ajer. (Lepas dah bersalin, dia ckp mask tu senget & dia nak betulkan ... ceh! Mmg layak di siku!!).

Not long after that the nurse checked on me again and acted surprised Eh! eh! dah bukak habis dah nih! She asked me to try to practice pushing. Tapi mmg hazab nak push sbb I takde feeling nak meneran. Masa ni nurse makin ramai dalam bilik tu. Semuanya dok suruh I push with each contraction.... Then the doctor came. Everybody was shouting, cheering for me to push harder. Serious payah. Dah ler disorinted, mamai, sakit & takde feel nak meneran. I wasnt focussing on pushing the baby out but more on how to cope with the pain. Breathing pun salah. Berapa kali tah Shazli komplen sbb masa teran tu instead of holding my breathe dan teran, I asyik breathing in out, in out. Eh! Ingat senang ke nak teran when u didnt have the urge. I was in a complete mess! Mujur the doctor quickly decided to vacuum the baby out. I had an episiotomy cut (quite a long cut till the back!) and within minutes the baby was out at around 3.17pm and placed on my tummy all bloodied and slightly bluish. My baby!

As soon as he was out, the pain went away! Lega! Well, that wasnt accurate actually. There was still some contractions that followed to push the placenta out but they were mild compared to the real ones. I was a bit worried coz I didnt hear the baby crying but it wasnt long that the nurse took him and cleared his airway and we heard him screaming (very loudly!!).

Will upload some photos of the little guy when I have the time. They are still in our camera and I haven't managed to transfer them over.

Umar - 2 years 10 months and 3 weeks

2010-05-20T12:14:00.011+08:00

This entry was drafted a couple of months ago but I stopped half way. Time to pick it up else it will never see the light of day. Just some update on Umar :)

Umar is almost 3 now.

Still his cheeky self and always imitating Zara much to her annoyance. Look at the photos below as proof. Mana kakak tak marah, dah copy tu satu hal, over pulak tu :)

He is always ready with his smile :)
His speech has somewhat improved these days. He could make up a sentence with 3-4 words together but still very pelat.

These below have become his indulgence. Never failed to bore him with Thomas and Friends. He even remembered all the tank engines names and numbers and would happily sing the theme song while playing with them.

When it comes to trains, Thomas and Friends in particular, he could spend hours and hours playing happily with the tank engines. He knows how to switch on my iPod Touch and use youtube to watch Thomas & Friends videos online.

39W2D -- 5 days to D day!

2010-05-17T16:04:00.003+08:00

I'm still pregnant! And by the look of it, very likely I will go pass my due date this Saturday - 22nd May 2010. Not much has changed since I last blog. Braxton Hicks are more regular now but not that apparent. I'll get 1 or 2 mild contractions in a day and they all seems to go away as far as they came. Playing the waiting game is tough for me simply because I have no patience.

Natural Birth
I had Zara naturally but Umar came out via c-sect due to Placenta Praevia (where the placenta attached itself near the cervix opening). Nearing the finishing line, it is typical I suppose to start reflecting on previous experiences and trying hard to relive them to find any similarities. Since there is no complication so far (touch wood!), we'll be trying for a normal birth and thus I'm trying really hard to remember how Zara came into this world 8 years ago. Gosh! That was tough on the brain actually and probably a waste of time since I've learned so far that each pregnancy and birth are unique and different from each other. Guess, I'll just have to brave it when the time comes. At least this time around, I know what's coming my way.

Epidural or not to Epidural? Induction?
It is best to keep my options open. My plan is to see how much I progress without it. With Zara, the progress from 2cm to 10cm was so slow that it drained all the energy out of me. At one point I was actually begging them for epidural. I was in labor from 1am and only gave birth at 7.46pm! I was also induced to speed up the dilation process thus making it more difficult to cope with the pain intensity.

Caesarian?
Wasn't that bad either. It was rather anti-climax after carrying Umar for 9 months and to have to end it on the operating table. Well, it was a planned c-section after all. But one thing good about a planned c-section is that u can plan ahead! A true melancholic like me rejoiced at that since I was in control and were able to decide when to handover work related stuff, when to go into maternity leave, when to have Umar and where to send Zara while I was in the hospital, etc. Everything was well planned :) No surprises there ...

So, here I am. Still pregnant and playing the waiting game. From previous experiences, I've learned that the best thing to do is to keep all options open to avoid any disappointments in case things didn't go as you want them to be. With lower expectation, equip with more knowledge and a good doctor is good enough for now. We'll just have to embrace it. A few months from now, I'll probably would have forgotten about it all. Insya Allah.

My next appointment is tomorrow. Lets just wait what the good doctor has to say. Till then I'll continue playing the waiting game. And I intend to win ;)

38W5D Let the countdown begin

2010-05-13T10:40:00.004+08:00

God! This week is tough.
I've already started working from home until delivery and I'm so glad for that. Fatigue hits me hard again! It feels like I'm back into 1st trimester with morning sickness, heartburn, fatigue ... and the list goes on!

The baby is very active and it is quite funny to see my tummy moving like an earthquake. Sometimes we can see his knee or elbow poking out. Not much room in there already. Soon ... Soon ...

I had an appointment with Dr Siti last Tuesday and she did a VE. My cervix has started to dilate a little, about 1.5cm. She said it could take up to 2 weeks before I go into labor. But of course, I can go anytime already. Hopefully not this weekend since she will be away on a holiday. SJMC only has 2 muslim lady doctors and the one on standby this weekend is a guy.

Baby & Mummy Stuff Checklist
1. Newborn clothing - Done. Thanks ever so much to my sister for the hand-me-down!
2. Newborn Diapers - Done. Sis, you're a star!
3. Toiletries - to share with Umar.
4. Towels - Done.
5. Minyak Yuyi & stuff - Done
6. Barut baby - Done. Got them from my mom but don't think we'll be using them.
7. Barut Mummy - Not Yet. I plan to buy a strap-on binder normally used for abdomen post-surgery. Malas nak pakai bengkung tali2.
8. Set bersalin NR - Done.
9. Breastpump - Done.
10. Etc. Pening tak tau nak beli apa lagi.

I think I got most of the items covered. If not, Shazli could always rush out and get me things later. The only 2 things I've not sorted out are bidan tukang urut & MangkukTingkat order during confinement. Thanks to Nik for suggesting MT to me. I've received their menu berpantang and they look quite good - they'd better be at RM10 per meal. Since I'll be on my own during confinement, it is best to source out on food so that Shazli can focus on more important stuff like looking after Zara & Umar. As for tukang urut, I got a contact number of a bidan from a friend. Actually, I never went for urut before so, I don't know whether I really need one post delivery. So, I'm still thinking about it.

Dilemma
I'm having a mixed feeling already. Part of me wants to go into early maternity leave but the other part resists. As mentioned earlier, I'm constantly tired and work is probably the last thing I want to think of right now - thus the urge to take early leave. However, I'd like to spend as much time with the baby as I could once he is out. Thus the dilemma.

38W2D

2010-05-10T13:20:00.003+08:00

Muahahahahahahahahahaha .... Kita gelak dulu! Yes this post is indeed long overdue!
Thanks to a couple of friends who reminded me how 'active' my blog has been with the last post dated almost 8 months ago! Rajin giler meng-update!

Pregnancy
Well, it is no longer news that I'm currently expecting another baby. In fact, I'm almost reaching the finishing line already with less than 2 weeks to D day. It annoys me actually that I'm less prepared (physical & mental) for this baby than the other two. I think at the back of my mind, I sorta expect that it is going to be a hard long labor just like the one I had with Zara. Not that I wish for one though!

So, for the next 1.5 weeks to go I will try to enjoy whatever left of the pregnancy. Very likely this will be my last considering the age factor (of Shazli yer .... bukan saya sbb saya muda lagi ... hehehe), it is time to focus on raising the kids.

New Home
Rumah baru dah lama dapat CF dan kunci tapi we have not started the renovation work. Things are progressing very slow there and we've decided to move year end instead. With my current condition, I don't really have the time or energy to think about the house anymore.

Kids
Zara is now in Standard 2. Despite her demure (read lembik) appearance, she is actually more like me. Cranky & impatience! She is doing rather well at school. Well, not top of her class of course but rather ok overall. Her weakest subject is BM as she hardly converses or reads Bahasa and I suppose I didn't encourage her enough to do that either.

Physically, she is still tiny though almost reaching my shoulder (well, I'm vertically challenged myself) with tiny frame weighing just about 22kg. Her addiction for computer games is driving me crazy though. She is allowed to use the PC on weekends only and that is all she does all weekends! I know I need to get her into outdoor activities but have not managed to peel her off the PC yet *sigh*

As for Umar, he is also his tiny self. Almost 3 years old soon. He is cheeky and playful and loves Thomas the train so much. He is still struggling to talk but I thought it is kinda cute when he does. He knows colors, counting and recognises some alphabets already much to my delight. For now, he is still the baby of the family.

Well, enough for now as I'm getting lazy again. Hahahahaha

Raya 2009 -- Post 1

2009-10-16T11:11:00.003+08:00

I suppose it is not too late to post about Raya Aidil Fitri 2009.
As usual, 1st Raya was celebrated moderately in our family. The theme for this year was sky blue but since shopping was left to the very last minute, we didn't stick to the theme religiously. Kita sempoi ...

I managed to cook a batch of beef rendang on the eve of Raya - thanks umie for the recipe, it was superb! I was amazed with the outcome even though no kerisik was added. We also had nasi impit and nasik lemak for breakfast.

Umar was eager to put on his baju melayu and refused to take them off later that day! Zara looked really sweet as ever in her baju kurung.

Umar is almost 2

2009-07-03T12:47:00.003+08:00

Umar is at a odd age. Still a baby but not quite anymore. Not yet a toddler either. I always feel slightly awkward with this in-between phase. When does one considers a toddler and no longer a baby?

Physically, he is strong despite his small self. He enjoys playing it rough with daddy. He particularly loves kicking the balls around the house and always have something to laugh about.

However, he is yet to speak. Aiya .. that part you have to give it to my kids. Memang lambat cakap. Zara started to talk when she was 2 years+ and I suspect Umar is a late bloomer too. But at least he is good at letting us know what he wants. He would pull our hands and get us into the kitchen if he is hungry or thirsty. He pulls us to the bathroom when he is wet. He pulls us to the living room and shake his body when he wants to play. Well, he can actually says several words already. Little words like 'No', 'dada' translate daddy, 'mam' for mamam, u-uk for poo, etc. So, I'm quite happy with his progress.

He is still into vacuum cleaners though. He is so fascinated by it. Each day he would get us to take the vacuum cleaner out and he'll happily clean the whole house, room to room. Well, you know what they say Cleanliness is next to Godliness!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-07-03T12:42:00.004+08:00

Shazli reminded me to scan the card made by Zara. While at it, I might as well post it here :

The front cover :

Don't forget the cake ... of course!

The wordings (such a copycat!):

A kid and MS Paint! part 2

2009-07-03T12:20:00.012+08:00

Some of the other paintings done with MS Paint. Real cute stuff!

Zara used to spend a lot of time playing games in Club Penguins. That has somewhat influence this paint :

She called this one 'Drees' :

Saved as 'Girl in the hot sun' (Good one Zara!) :

Another 'Girl in the hot sun' series :

Zara's idea of a 'Horse' :

Her idea of a 'House' :

I L.O.V.E U :

This is somewhat titled 'Walet' :

Another impression from her favorite game, Club Penguin .. 'Puffle' :

And last but not least 'Mermaid' :

Well as I said, she really loves to draw!

A kid and MS Paint!

2009-07-03T12:11:00.004+08:00

I was rummaging through hundreds of folders in our PC when I bumped into this story :

If only friendship is that easy! But maybe it is. We just made it hard. Not for a 6 years old though!

Home Sweet Home

2009-07-03T11:37:00.006+08:00

Our new home is ready with CF. Hooray! And yet we are still waiting for the keys to the house. Boohoo .. Apparently, the bank's lawyer is still waiting for 'Transfer of Consent' document from the Majlis Perbandaran before making full payment to the developer. So near, yet so far.

I think I've finally decided to move there. Well, I still have a little bit of doubt. Well, not really a doubt but hesitation as we haven't found a good school for Zara. Since I'm pretty happy with the school she goes now, which happens to be one of the top schools in Selangor, it would be tough to find a match near our new home. A good friend has just given me a list of schools near the housing area but I'm still undecided.

Good school but living in a cramped apartment vs Less good school but living in a bigger space?

The new nest outside view :

The new nest inside view :

The new nest living hall :

Tingkap Oh Tingkap, kenapa engkau banyak sangat???

Sands of Time

2009-07-03T11:06:00.005+08:00

Kids are innocent. They're not scared to show their affection and demonstrate their love in public.

I love you too, Zara!

But then came the destroyer ...

These photos were from our Redang trip back in March'09. We didn't go snorkeling as Umar had a high fever. Such a pretty place ... such soft white sand ... such memories ...

New customised Phone!

2009-05-28T20:45:00.004+08:00

Mummy's :

Zara's :)

Mummy lost to Zara, hands down! Her phone has more gadgets than mine :P

Princess Story

2009-05-26T21:22:00.003+08:00

Written By : Alisha Zahra, 7 years old.

Mother's Day

2009-05-26T21:12:00.004+08:00

This post is long overdue. Just a week before Mother's Day, Zara was making a big fuss about it. She told me that she had a card made specially for me at school - most likely from her Art Class. She then carefully hid it in her room so that I couldn't take a peek before the day. Since, not a day gone by without her reminding me about her special card. Come Saturday, she woke up early just to give me the card. Really sweet stuff.

Then 10 minutes later, came Umar the destroyer and scribbled all over it!!!

Simple and care free ..

2009-05-08T14:59:00.008+08:00

Zara really likes to draw. I used to send her to the Art Class every Friday after school. But now that she's attending KAFA, we have to abandon the class. I thought she's going to get upset but she was actually happy with it. Zara doesn't like formal training when it comes to her drawing. Too restricting maybe. She just enjoys drawing what ever comes to mind. When asked what she plans to be when she grows up, she persistently told me that she wants to be an art teacher.

Some of Zara's drawings again :

My girl is growing up ...

2009-05-08T14:36:00.005+08:00

I had a fight with Zara several nights ago. Can't really recall why but it ended up with her running into her room and crying her heart out. Found her drawing the next morning (siap nak lari rumah lagi tu ...) :

And this is pasted on her door :

Boy! I'm sooo not looking forward to her teenage years!

Art Attack!

2009-04-06T23:56:00.004+08:00

Yes .. it has been ages! It's been tough for me to find some time to write but I'm making some effort tonite. Zara is now in Standard One and attending the morning sessions. She has to be at her school by 7.35am and I've been chauffeuring her to school for the last 3 months (and maybe the next several years to come!) . I now find myself waking up at 5.45am every Tuesday just to make sure she doesn't miss her Tasmek class early in the morning before formal schooling starts. And the fact that I'm sooo not a morning person ... really add to the challenge but so far we're managing ok with some help from Shazli of course!

Nothing much to write tonight since it is late. Just some pictures from Zara's collection.

Melaka Bandar Bersejarah

2008-12-16T22:36:00.004+08:00

KALAU ROBOH KOTA MELAKA
PAPAN DI JAWA HAMBA DIRIKAN
KALAU SUNGGUH BAGAI DIKATA
NYAWA DAN BADAN HAMBA SERAHKAN

Life's a Beach

2008-12-13T01:18:00.005+08:00

Last Raya (Eidul Fitri) we went back to Kuantan, Pahang and manage to squeeze a bit of time at the beach. Wan's & Ki's house is 5 minutes away from the open sea and the view is calming. The sky is blue and water is crystal.
Zara and Umar had a great time playing with the sand and splashing in the water. It's good to see them so happy and content just by being kids. Away from the city. Away from computer games. Away from the Internet. Away from cartoon programs. Away from the TV. Nothing else but sand, sea and clear blue sky. What a way to spend your evening!

Been so long!

2008-10-31T13:00:00.002+08:00

The last entry I made was in August. Since then, I got hooked on Facebook. It amazes me that some of my friends still manage to add regular entries in their blogs whilst they are on Facebook. How did they manage their time? Please ... I need a crash course on time management then!

Well, this photo was taken on the first day of Eidul Fitri and Zara was posing with Adik (as always). Raya was fun as we spent a whole week at Kuantan! My ever rajin sister managed to organise a BBQ session on our last night there. And the house was really really loud with so many kids around.

Umar was slightly timid than usual. He is not used to having so many people trying to carry him. He was busy looking at all new faces with attentive eyes.

Samurai Warrior

2008-08-17T01:04:00.002+08:00

Umar san!

Umar has a coconut tree! With his chinese look, Umar looks more like the old chinese warrior that often had a long pony tail and balding forehead.

Truth be told, Umar's hair is getting long and almost touches his eyes. I've been meaning to cut them but always forget. So, next best thing is to tie them up and I thought he looks rather cute with it. Daddy didn't approve of course!

Sailormoon

2008-08-16T09:54:00.003+08:00

We went to SK Taman Megah yesterday to confirm Zara's place there for Standard 1, next year. The school is actually rather small and it doesn't even have a field for the kids to play. But it is a good school and a lot of parents recommended it to us. I'm praying that she'll fit in nicely and make lots and lots of new friends and enjoy her time there. And of course, learn a thing or two while doing that! Maybe 5As for UPSR perhaps? I can dream, can I? Hahaha ... But the truth is we just want her to be happy. Let's just hope we made the right choice.

Can't wait to see her in her pinafore. ahhhhh .. my little angel is growing up. Soon she'll spread her wings and fly away from home *sigh* (and we can have her room, get the home office I've always dream off, can have the TV to myself .. not bad actually) ok ok .. let's not get too carried away.

Umar is a big boy!

2008-08-16T09:47:00.003+08:00

Umar can walk! And he is enjoying it as well. He still crawls most of the time but he is more confident to take that baby steps now. His body sways a bit as he learns to balance himself on that chubby two feet. But he can walk!!! Well done Umar!

Umar's Bday @ home

2008-08-16T09:32:00.003+08:00

I almost flipped when I saw Umar's birthday cake!
Actually, I was busy that day (well, I'm always busy everyday but I was extra busy that particular day). Shazli and I decided sometime back that we will not celebrate Umar's birthday because he is still small and he wouldn't be able to understand nor enjoy it. But after getting Zara a good hefty 3kg birthday cake, we thought ... well, maybe we can celebrate a bit at home (to tone down the guilt I supposed). And on that day, I was particularly busy and only came home about 8+pm. And Shazli bought the cake! And I saw it! And I almost flipped! Kesian Umar. But of course he didn't mind at all and went straight and dig a huge chunk of chocolate with his chubby fingers.

I learned an old lesson today. Don't let appearance fools you, because the cake was actually really yummy. Well, I learned 2 lessons actually. And never ask daddy to get the cake alone but he can pay for it, of course ;)

Sports Day 4th August

2008-08-09T15:26:00.002+08:00

Last weekend, Zara's preschool organised a Sports Day event. She was in the Mousedeer team where I was assigned as the Contingent Leader. All mummies and daddies gathered several weekends to pull out handmade costumes for the kids for the perbarisan.

Overall Zara's team came out second but lost big time for the perbarisan (much to my disappointment). Some mommies noticed that we were the only team that made the kids gears from head to toe ourselves. And I thought they looked really cute. Other teams appeared to have bought them instead - shortcut! Well, I suppose I'm a sore loser. The kids had great fun though. They didn't care who won or lose. Mommies and daddies on the other hand were willing to fight to the death! Take futsal for example ... but I wouldn't even dare to go there ...

Zara's Bday @ daycare

2008-08-09T15:15:00.002+08:00

Zara insisted to celebrate her birthday at her daycare with her friends. Several months before the big day, she persistently requested for a Strawberry Shortcake (the cartoon character) cake. King's confectionery did quite a good job with it I must say though it was rather pricey. But as long as she's happy .....

I haven't given her birthday present yet! In fact, I'm not quite sure what to get her. Shazli gave her a ping pong set and a pair of walkie talkies.

Umar's 1st Birthday!

2008-08-07T00:48:00.003+08:00

Umar is one year old today!
We'll probably have a low key celebration at home tonight. I've been extra busy lately at the office and didn't have the time to make a proper preparation for the kids birthdays. Everything was done in a rush and very last minute. I ordered a birthday cake for Zara last Sunday but had to get Shazli to send it to Zara's daycare as I had to rush to the office for a morning meeting. I didn't get to see the cake nor the photos yet!

Umar will not celebrate his at the daycare since he is still small and wouldn't be able to understand all the fuss yet. So, we might celebrate a bit tonight hopefully.

Happy Birthday Umar!

Happy Birthday Zara!

2008-08-06T00:29:00.003+08:00

Today is Zara's 6th Birthday! She'll be celebrating it with her friends at the daycare. Unlike last year, I didn't manage to get her birthday presents yet and has promised her to get them by this weekend (hopefully!). So, she is cool about that. However I managed to squeeze some time to get her party packs and birthday cake ready. Well, actually she helped me with the party packs.

Happy Birthday Zara!

Mariposa ... and fairy

2008-07-12T06:56:00.002+08:00

Zara is almost 6 years old now. Currently, she is very much into butterflies and fairies ... thanks to Mariposa! She has been bugging and nagging us to get her the butterfly wings for months up to a point where I couldn't stand the nagging anymore and started to nag Shazli in return. Finally this week, her wish came true and she was all smiles. She pretends she is a fairy and would casts her wand to Umar (always the willing victim!) "Abracadabra" and turn him to a frog! And Umar being Umar would smile and laugh hysterically.

Umar is 11 Months

2008-07-12T06:17:00.003+08:00

As they say, time flies when you're having fun and its hard to believe that Umar is almost a year old. He is such a happy baby and a sociable person. Always ready to flash that winning smile. It amazes me that a lot of people seems to have mistaken him for a girl. Does he really look like a she?

Umar is a big boy now. He has 6 teeth. He could sit on his own and just about a week ago, could stand up without having to hold on to anything. His legs are getting stronger and they're now able to support his weight. He is still learning to balance himself and has attempted a couple of steps forward. Other than that, Umar would clap his hands whenever he is pleased or excited. He could also wave his hands to say bye-bye.

Unfortunately, his flu is not getting any better. Just a couple of weeks ago, I had to work from home for a week to look after him. His flu got worse that week and we took him to see the doctor. He was wheezing slightly and we were so worried that he might caught pneumonia. Alhamdulillah, he didn't and his lungs were clear but nevertheless the doctor had to put him on antibiotics due to his nose, ear and throat infections. Yes, it was indeed hard to watch him being miserable. His nose was so sore and red. His eyes watery and his skin has developed eczema. He is better this week but the flu never seems to go away. I'm planning to get him on pneumococcal vaccination when he is a year old and will discuss with the doctor whether we could give him a flu jab at his tender age.

Farewell - Langkawi

2008-06-23T16:19:00.003+08:00

This ends the trip to Langkawi. Bye bye Langkawi. We sure miss you and I know of a six year old who cried because she had to say good bye. We hope that we'll get to walk on your beach again someday...

Langkawi 12

2008-06-23T16:12:00.003+08:00

These days, Zara loves to express her feelings on paper and I can read her thoughts from her drawings. Happy, anger, fear, jealousy, sadness ... it was easy to see.

And this is what she thought of Langkawi.

Langkawi 11

2008-06-23T16:04:00.003+08:00

At other times, Zara and Umar were busy playing at the balcony. I often caught Zara feeding and counting the fish. Umar on the hand would crawl around and under the chairs. He was very much intrigued with the new surrounding and exploring his little world.

Langkawi 10

2008-06-23T15:35:00.001+08:00

Langkawi is very green. The rain forest is beautiful. These photos were taken in front of our chalet while we were waiting for our ride.

Langkawi 9

2008-06-23T15:20:00.002+08:00

Shazli rented a Vios there for 2 nights and they thrown in a tiny driver and he was vicious on the road. hahaha The car was very feminine I would say and rather nice though I was having problem doing the side parking. But of course, I'm loving my Kelisa and with the fuel price increase and the rising costs of goods ... Kelisa is the smarter choice for the pocket.

Langkawi 8

2008-06-23T14:20:00.004+08:00

A trip anywhere with Zara is never complete without her 2 and 4-legged friends. She has always have a soft spot for animals. This small donkey farm is right next to Berjaya Resort and pulled over to give Zara the chance to caress the animals.

Monkeys are also aplenty there and you can spot them quite easily by the road sides. There are also cows and buffalos and of course Langkawi's famous creature - Lang or eagle.

Langkawi 7

2008-06-23T13:59:00.002+08:00

Next visit was Langkawi Cable Car. It was a pretty scary experience for me. Though Umar and Zara probably didn't agree with that. However, it was worth going up there as the scenery was breathtaking. We didn't get to cross the famous suspension bridge though as Zara was throwing tantrum and wanted to go down and play some more at the beach.

Langkawi 6

2008-06-23T13:22:00.002+08:00

The following day, we went to Langkawi Underwater World at Pantai Cenang. Unfortunately, I didn't take too much photos for fearing that the flash would disturb the creatures. These are the few that we took. Just you look at Umar trying to kick the picket fence. (He was wearing England jersey which I bought for GBP7.45 in London - what a bargain!)

We purposely went there around 3pm which was feeding time for penguins. Zara had the time of her life watching the penguins and they were really beautiful creatures. The rockhopper penguins were really cute with their yellow long bushy eyebrows!

Compared to Aquaria KLCC, I think Langkawi Water World is not as modern nor bigger but it has its own charms. The penguins were such a hit and I personally enjoyed my time there.

Langkawi 5

2008-06-23T13:09:00.002+08:00

Some more photos of the kids playing in the water.
Zara was pleased with her sand castle.

Langkawi 4

2008-06-23T12:52:00.002+08:00

Zara was having fun at the beach in her pink swimwear. At the end of the day, we were having a hard time to get her off the beach.

Langkawi 3

2008-06-21T18:35:00.002+08:00

It was Umar's first time at the beach. At first he was a little unsure and put on a worried face when we put him down on the sand. Then, he started to play with the sand and got too familiar with them that he decided to eat them! Mummy came to the rescue and daddy quickly took Umar into the water where he had more fun...

Langkawi 2

2008-06-21T17:31:00.003+08:00

We stayed at Berjaya on a water chalet built on stilts and the view was priceless. The small balcony was facing the open sea and the sky was really beautiful. It was hard to stay awake at night when the sound of the waves lulled us to sleep. The place is really nice and quiet.

Langkawi 1

2008-06-21T16:55:00.002+08:00

We went there on AirAsia though it wasn't particularly cheap and they didn't even give priority to those with small kids to board first. Ok ok .. No frills .. I got it but some considerations would have gone a long way. But it wasn't that bad really. The plane was new and clean though the seats are a little bit cramped closed together. Even a short legged creature like me felt like being squeezed into a sardine can.

It was Umar's first holiday and his first travel on a plane. He was restless and can't sit still throughout the journey. Zara was getting all excited and had chosen a window seat. The ride was a bit bumpy but that didn't dampen her spirit. She read all the pamphlets and magazines on board and tried everything her hands can reach and can't stop smiling. Really uluuuu but of course very endearing to me as she was so looking forward to this holiday and had been counting days to her school holidays. However, half way through the journey she was fast asleep. Maybe the excitement was too much for her tiny figure and was tiring her off.

Intro - Langkawi

2008-06-20T23:37:00.006+08:00

I meant to write earlier on my trip to Langkawi but never had the chance to sit down long enough to write and browse all the 1000+ photos we took.

So, hopefully I get to do that tonite.

Sure, a lot of people went there for different reasons but mostly for its historical sites and duty free shops. But I just went there to have a good rest away from Kuala Lumpur. We spent most of our time there just gazing at the open sea and beautiful sceneries. And counting stars at night - something that you can't do at the city. I can't remember the last time I saw so many stars and different constellations. It was really romantic there especially at night! Even an unromantic person like me thought so.

It is definitely a place to relax. Everything moves in a slow pace compared to crazy KL. And the sight of the rain forest is calming. Boy, I wish I'm in Langkawi now!

Kazen!

2008-06-20T23:23:00.003+08:00

These photos were taken last month when Effi came for a visit. Now that they are bigger, they noticed each other and there were some interaction going on. The thing about Umar is, he has a really high interest on human faces and likes to look at their facial expression and sometimes he would get all excited and starts to touch them. Effi was not spared from Umar's little experiment. He must have thought Effi's cheek super smooth! :)

Kitty Cat

2008-06-20T23:05:00.005+08:00

This is currently Zara's favorite PJ. We bought it at FOC if I'm not mistaken and she is so loving it because it has cats printed all over it. The funny thing was, the first night she wore it we discovered it can glow in the dark too. And she thought that was super cool!

Daddy bought Zara her first badminton rackets too. She was so pleased because she had been asking for one for ages and now she got two of them. But of course she said she'll keep one for Umar so he can play with it when he is older. And Zara is very much like me ... kaki bangku! She can't even hit the shuttlecock much to her frustration. After several days, she lost interest and the rackets are now history!

down, down .. up .. down, down ..

2008-05-30T23:20:00.004+08:00

Umar is now about 9 months and 3 weeks old. He is busy perfecting his pull ups as well as going down. Umar can also sit on his own now. He is still leaning forward slightly when he sits but it is a huge improvement compared to last month. Whenever the TV is on, he will crawl quickly to the TV and pull himself to stand in front of the telly and blocks everybody's view. Nice one Umar!

Guess ...?

2008-05-30T23:11:00.005+08:00

Could you guess which Kids TV program is this? One of Zara's favorite of course! Blue, Magenta and Steve ... Blue's Clues it is. Zara's drawings are getting better these days.

Just got back!

2008-05-20T02:42:00.003+08:00

There is no photo for this post unfortunately. Been more than 3 weeks since my last post here and a lot of things had happened in between. I left for cambridge on May 11th and came back yesterday. It was heartbreaking to leave the two kids especially when Umar is still nursing and Zara is very attached to me. As expected, my milk supply dropped drastically though I still pumped and dumped as much as I could to keep the flow going. Umar is on mixed feedings currently and doesn't seems to get enough milk from me *sigh* At this moment, I'm just praying that I will have enough for it to last until Umar is 1 year old.

Cambridge is a pleasant city. Small and very conservative. I suppose a huge population of the city is made up of university students and almost all businesses are there to support the student population. There is not much to see there unless of course you are interested in old buildings - colleges, museums, libraries, churches and monuments. When I was there, the temperature was quite pleasant too. Not too hot nor too cold, ranging between 16-20 celcius.

Umar didn't quite recognise me at the airport yesterday. Although he was quick to smile at me and didn't make a fuss when I carried him but he looked confused. Zara was slightly shy and warm up quickly to a big hug and small kisses.

Development wise, Zara's grammar has improved a lot. Her vocabulary has widen too. She is about 107cm in height and weighing about 18kg (still skinny). Currently, she is really into some games on Shazli's PDA and on the internet. She is teething back too much to her delight.
Umar is really a handful these days and can't seems to sit still anymore. He has taken into crawling all the time and has stopped creeping around anymore. He started to pull himself up when he was about 9 months and can now cruising around holding on to the furnitures quite confidently. Unlike Zara, he has quite a hearty appetite and getting really heavy.

creepy crawly .. part 2

2008-04-27T01:34:00.002+08:00

Shazli and I spent a lot of time at home looking after Umar. We took turn to care for him. The photos above were taken by Shazli. Umar has started crawling early this week ... I think his chickenpox had to do with that too. Umar could get on all fours since several weeks ago but didn't see the need to crawl. Well, he can get anywhere he wants by creeping on his belly. However, since he got his pox, he started to crawl. I'm guessing the pox between his legs made it really uncomfortable to creep around anymore. So, he had to improvise and boy how he crawls!

Chickenpox! again

2008-04-27T01:26:00.004+08:00

Unlike Zara, Umar had it really bad! I truly pity the lil guy. The pox were everywhere. He had loads on his head and face. The first few days was really tough on him as he was down with high fever again. He even had loads on his private part that we had put him on terry whites instead. He was so miserable and I often caught him scratching his head and rubbed it against the sofa, the floor to ease the itchiness. Poor guy!

Tepong Gomak Prince

2008-04-27T00:55:00.002+08:00

And just as I thought that things were returning to normal, Umar's daycare dropped the bomb! It happened on Thursday, 18th April 08 when I went to the kids daycare to take them home. His carer spotted the chickenpox and told me the bad news.

The photos showed how cruel daddy was with Umar. Instead of dabbing calamine lotion to the spots, he bathed him with it! Poor guy ...

Umar's new toy

2008-04-27T00:43:00.002+08:00

On the way back from SJMC, we stopped at Subang Parade to have lunch. Then, I quickly rushed to Toys r Us and bought Umar his new toy.

Hospitalised

2008-04-27T00:17:00.003+08:00

Umar had a slight fever during the week that Zara recovered from her chickenpox. What was initially a mild fever gradually got worse. By sunday (6th April 08), Umar's body was burning and we rushed him to the clinic that night. Both of us couldn't sleep because Umar's breathing was noisy and heavy. The next morning, we took him to his paed and the news wasn't good. Umar had a viral infection and his throat was swollen. Even his voice box was affected and he had lost his voice. The doctor advised us to get Umar admitted for a day so that they could monitor him and gave him nebuliser every 3 hours to help him breathe easier. And boy, how he struggled and cried everytime he was put on gas. So, all of us slept at the hospital that night. By night time, Umar was doing so much better and his breathing was almost normal.

The next morning, Umar was discharged and his condition improved. He was his happy self again. Alhamdulillah!

Topsy Turvy!

2008-04-24T23:53:00.002+08:00

It's been nearly 3 weeks now since my last post here! Too much has happened since. My two angels were doing poorly. I'll try to write more of this in the next several posts. With some photos too.

creepy crawly

2008-04-05T23:17:00.002+08:00

Daddy just bought a football 2 weeks ago and would kick it around our small home with Zara. Umar would watch them attentively and sometimes squeals in delight. But today he decided to play the game and busy chasing the ball. He is on the verge of crawling .. and you can actually see him making the attempts over and over again.

Umar is having a slight fever again this weekend. His third so far. And guess what? He has actually started teething ..! I rubbed my finger on his gum earlier today and felt the sharp incisor. No wonder he was a bit grumpy.

Eye of Malaysia! part 2

2008-04-05T14:10:00.002+08:00

We went there on a weekday and the weather was quite good. It wasn't too hot as it was about to rain .. but not quite yet. After going on eye of Malaysia, we took a stroll around the lake and hit the ice cream shop. Above, Zara posed with ice cream cone in her mouth and the big eye watching her at the background. Then as soon as we were about to go, it was drizzling. Good timing!

Eye of Malaysia!

2008-04-05T13:56:00.002+08:00

The date was 14th March 2008. My mother came to visit me and my sisters in KL. We took her to the eye of Malaysia and the children had fun! Zara was happy to fool around with Sofiya and Muhammad and they posed happily in front of the big eye! We went on the ride and ... despite all the hype .. we got bored! Well, the first 2 rounds were quite exciting when we got to watch Acu squealed like a chicken due to her gayatness. But 15 minutes felt like forever. Even the kids got bored! Ok ok .. it wasn't that bad .. but it wasn't great either. It was oklah... scenery pun oklah.

Lelong ..

2008-04-05T13:50:00.002+08:00

At 30% discount, he is really a good bargain! Now you know where we got him ... haha!

Umar is 7 months old

2008-04-05T01:29:00.002+08:00

Umar is almost 8 months old now. He can get on all fours and would rock back and forth, back and forth. I guess he is busy practicing his first crawl which I think will happen in a week or two. He hasn't started teething yet. Last visit to the hospital, he lost a bit of weight again! He is only 7.9kg despite being 8.0kg last month and 8.1kg the month before that but the doctor said not to worry as his weight and height are pretty good for his age.

mmmmm ...

2008-04-05T01:21:00.003+08:00

Several days ago Umar has found a new facial look and he wears it everyday now - pursed lips! He seems to enjoy it so much and we're loving it too as it enhanced that chubby cheeks of his. In this photo, look how eksyen he was now that he is able to stand holding on to the bed rail.

Chickenpox!

2008-04-05T00:58:00.004+08:00

The tepong gomak princess!

I received a phone call from Zara's daycare last tuesday when I was just about to have lunch at the office. Her teacher suspected she had a chickenpox. Both Shazli and I rushed home and took her to see Dr Lee. One look at the watery spots on her back, he confirmed it. She is indeed down with chickenpox. The good news is she only had a slight fever. I suppose I was more upset with the news than her as she was singing and giggling happily on our back home and I know the reason behind that - no school for a week!

Luckily at my workplace it is possible to work from home. With my line of work, all I need is a laptop and internet connection to get things done. Zara is of course busy with watching cartoons and playing internet games. The pox is quite bad really. They're everywhere - from head to sole and she has a few in her mouth and on the lips. However, she is doing rather well actually though she sometimes complain of the itchiness which she is trying really hard not to scratch. Bless her! Today the pox seems to improve and some spots are all dried up and ready to go.

So far, Umar has not caught it yet but he has a slight fever several hours earlier. Dr Lee said not to worry if it went to Umar as chickenpox is actually harmless unlike measles. According to him, it is better to have it when he is small as small kids recover really fast from it. Despite that, I'm hoping he will not catch it yet. We'll see.

Accessorized

2008-03-15T22:29:00.003+08:00

This is what happened when Zara is in the mood for dress up ... well, accessorising I supposed! Umar becomes her instant prey. But of course, Umar is always ready to oblige. Peace!

Conteng-conteng

2008-03-15T22:22:00.003+08:00

Umar was having a blast with Zara's colour pencil.

Umar had a fever

2008-03-05T20:12:00.003+08:00

The date was 24th of February 2008. Umar's body was warm to the touch. Umar was his usual self at that time. Always ready with his smile & busy playing and creeping around the house. A few hours later, his forehead was still slightly warmer than usual. So, I took his temperature and was really shocked as it was nearing 39 celcius. After a small dose of paracetamol the temperature went down. It was Umar's first fever and lasted for 3 days. We went to Dr Sanjay and was told that he had small white dots on his tonsil (probably ulcer) which probably had caused the fever. Luckily, we didn't have to put him on antibiotics.

Umar

2008-02-16T15:02:00.003+08:00

Umar is 6 months old now. I think he has lost a bit of his baby fat and his weight gain has stabilised a bit. He is very mobile and active. Yesterday, he finally crept forward much to our pleasure. Well done Umar ... Another shopping trip for mummy and daddy to get a safety gate for the kitchen and start to child-proofing the house. And we have not purchased the baby chair yet! So much shopping to do!

So, another milestone achieved at 6 months and 1 week. Thumbs up Umar.

Umar on solid

2008-02-16T14:36:00.002+08:00

Since Umar was 5 months old, I have been under tremendous pressure to give him solid food. The oppressor is non other than Umar's daddy who was quite convinced that Umar is more than ready to be fed. Ever since then, he has been constantly nagging me to start Umar on solid. But I want to wait until he is at least 6 months old. Doctor's recommendation of course and even that, mummy's milk would still be his main source of intake.

So, come Feb 7th I was more than eager to start him on solid. I can't take daddy's nagging anymore. His first menu was brown rice that was grind and later boiled and blend to fine runny porridge. After all the hard work, I can only get 1 spoonful into his mouth. Clearly he is not ready and the expression on his face tells it all. Since then, I still give him some taste of rice porridge with carrot every now and then. Today's menu was blended potato. He took a few spoonfuls but later cried a bit to show his displeasure. Daddy? ... he was flabbergasted I supposed. But, I'm planning to continue to feed him a bit of porridge and veggies and have him taste a bit of everything and patiently wait for him to show more interest to eat. As long as he is not under duress!

Zara

2008-02-16T13:57:00.007+08:00

Zara will be 6 in August and she already has a list of things she wants for her birthday. The other day, she told me that she wants to celebrate her birthday on the 7th August (hers is actually 6th Aug and Umar 7th Aug) because she wants to celebrate it with Umar. According to her, Umar will be sad if it was held on the 6th. However, there must be 2 cakes and lots of goodies for Umar's and her friends at the day care.

Overall her progress at school is encouraging. Her handwriting has improved a bit. She can do addition and subtraction quite easily. She is still slow at reciting the Quran and has just about to move to Iqra' 3. Her reading skill (bahasa and English) has improved though. This year's target is to improve her grammar. Though Zara is more comfortable speaking in english (as it is compulsory to speak english at school), her english is still manglish.

Physically, she is tiny. All bony. So skinny. She is just about 17kg. Although she is healthy and active, I can't help but worry every time I look at her small body. She is quite a fussy eater and there is no force on this earth that could make her eat if she doesn't want to. Her current favorite food is nasi square a.k.a. nasi impit with peanut sauce. And it must come from Hj Samuri's restaurant. The old guy must be really happy if he knew he has a regular customer from KJ.

Balik kampung .. part 3

2008-02-16T13:44:00.003+08:00

Effi came back to our home town too. He is approaching 7 months and Umar has just reached 6 months. Look at them playing together but of course, most of the time they weren't aware of each other and busy aiming for the same toy to lick on. I think this is the first time I manage to capture a photo with both of them smiling happily at the camera. Umar is slightly chubby than Effi but Effi is long and slender .. just like his mummy.

Balik kampung .. part 2

2008-02-16T13:13:00.003+08:00

We went back to my home town for 3 days & 2 nights and Zara was stuck like glue to adik, her favorite cousin. Adik who is 2 years older than Zara is now in Standard two and has somewhat mature. She is slightly shy now with us. Anyway, Zara really enjoyed her time there especially the freedom and fresh air and not being confined to our small apartment block. In these photos, the two were seen walking to my brother's house which is just a stone throw away from my mother's.

Balik kampung

2008-02-16T13:00:00.002+08:00

Chinese New Year came and we took the opportunity to balik kampung on Feb 7th. These are photos of Umar posing happily with wan. If I'm not mistaken Umar is Wan's 24th grandchild and the youngest so far. But not for long because my brother is expecting his baby mid of this year. We sure are one big productive family!

Susu lagi

2008-02-01T01:13:00.001+08:00

I'm going nuts! My expressed breast milk (EBM) stock is slowly decreasing again due to my sheer laziness. Actually, I have myself to blame. Since 2 weeks ago I have cut down my pumping sessions at the office from 3 to 2 because I have lots of work to do and pumping consumes a lot of time. Each session would lasts around 30-45 minutes and I just can't spend nearly 2 hours trying to express. At first, I pumped twice at the office (10.30am & 2pm) and pumped once at home (6pm). Then after a while, I just got lazy and only pump twice a day.

Will continue some other time on this. It's nearly 1.30am and I need some sleep. zzzzzzz

Zara loves drawing

2008-02-01T00:35:00.000+08:00

Zara just can't get enough of her doodle pad. At least, I know now that my near RM70 investment 2 years ago is worth every cent. It is just so typical of her to draw a girl in a feminine dress with a huge heart shape on the blouse (reminds me of Ramlah Ram though ..) . earrings, heart shape necklace, neatly tied hair, big smile, flowery skirt, one hand holding a flower ... this sketch is just tooooo Zara! However, she doesn't like colouring just as much.

Anyway, Zara had lost 3 of her teeth to date. She lost her 2nd tooth last Monday, followed by another one tonite. Now, I'm the one who is freaking out! That is quite a lot of teeth to come off in a month. We didn't manage to get a picture of her new appearance (toothless!) as she is slightly camera shy these days.

As for Umar, he started to lift his bump two days ago and tried to pull himself forward. It won't be long now until he starts to creep around. I bought some of his feeding items today but yet to purchase a blender. Umar will start on solid in a week and I think I'm almost 70% prepared. I'm thinking that we will start him with some rice cereal. However, so far I have not found a really plain rice cereal without added sucrose, honey and everything else. If I can't find any, then obviously I'll make some for Umar. It would be handy though to have a pre-packed cereal to take to his daycare. I'll try giant, carrefour, tesco and the lot this weekend. And of course, we also need to get him a baby chair. I saw one that I like today at Babyland. The brand is MamaLove if I'm not mistaken ... a product made in China (well, what products these days weren't made there ?). The thing I like about it is because we can take off the feeding tray, adjust the height, recline the seat to certain angle and it has small wheels attached to the legs ... and also a big tray which is a must! RM299 for all of that. I thought it is quite a bargain but of course daddy wants to survey all over klang valley (like always) to compare the price. Oh well, I suppose we still have 7 days to do that.

What the .. ?

2008-01-26T18:34:00.000+08:00

This photo was taken this morning. Zara had just finished putting her artistic touch to the doodle pad. And it left me in stitches ... because for the love of God, I have no clue whatsoever to what was actually written there. As I wrote earlier, Zara can actually read rather fluently in bahasa and her teacher told me that she did rather well with spelling bees too. So, there must be a meaning to this gibberish letters. The master herself was not helpful. When asked, the only thing I got was that funny look she often gives me these days .. as if saying "you can't read?"
Somebody .. anybody? Help please!

On another note, now that she knows she is 6 years old, Zara likes to be treated like an adult .. an equal to be exact. She is, after all a big girl! Just the other day, when Shazli was about to plant a kiss on her cheek .. she quickly stepped back and exclaimed "Daddy, you cant kiss me .. I'm a big girl now!" Whooaah! And we thought we wont be hearing that so soon. A few days ago, I poured her drink into one of her old sippy cup (without the top part) and she was quick to remark "Why you put my water in this cup? I'm big already .. I want a big cup just like mummy". And of course, she has refused to take her milk from the bottle since last year as it was no longer acceptable for big girls to drink from the bottle. Due to that, we thought it was time to wean her off formula milk and to get her to drink fresh milk instead. However, I'm yet to convince her to take her veggies. *sigh*

F.L.U

2008-01-26T18:03:00.000+08:00

Umar has caught the flu bug again! The first time he had it was when he was 2 months old and lasted for nearly 2 months. He had runny nose all day long and during the night would be tossing and turning due to blocked nose. We sent him off to the doctor several times in the past but the doctor was reluctant to prescribe any medication to him due to his tender age. The doctor said not to worry as his weight gain was not affected and he was progressing well. However he did warn us that it could take a while for it to go away. He could only gave us a nose drop (made of salt & water, I think) to dilute the hingus and clear Umar's nostril but of course, it didn't work. So, for 2 long months we struggled to make him comfortable. Nearly everyday, we had to suck the hingus out so that he could breathe easily. And suddenly, the flu just disappeared. Just as I was about to breathe a sigh of relief, it came back again yesterday! I'm just hoping that it will go away real soon this time.

As much as I hate to admit it, the flu actually bothers me more than him. Despite the flu, the runny nose, the blocked nostril, the blocked tear duct (he often has this too and made worst by the flu) and the many mishap life brings, Umar is still Umar ... a happy baby. Always ready with a smile. The photos above were taken just right after I managed to dig a big pile of taik hidung out of that small nose ... what is taik idung in english? Beats me .. hahahaha

Latest on Umar

2008-01-24T00:21:00.000+08:00

I just thought that I should update Umar's latest photos. These were taken just a couple of days ago just before daddy went to Indonesia. Progress wise, Umar likes to rollover and he would roll his body to move from one end of the bed to the other end. Which reminds me, how dangerous it is to leave him unattended on our bed and on the floor. He could roll off the bed or hurt himself by knocking his head on the tiles. Umar will start on solid in two weeks time and that reminds me that I have not done my research on what to feed him for the next couple of months. Dr Sanjay reminded me to delay feeding him eggs, fish and nuts as they can cause allergies in small babies. Milk would still be his main diet and the solid are just supplements to his diet. I can see that Umar is more than ready for solid food. He is forever making munching sounds and swallow his saliva whenever he sees us eating. Sometimes he tried to grab our plates. Soon Umar .. soon!

Teething ... update

2008-01-23T23:51:00.000+08:00

Nope .. no teeth yet. Not even a single one. I guess he might not be teething just yet. Maybe Umar finds real pleasure by gnawing his chubby fingers. Well, most babies do! However, the drooling has not stopped yet and it is still bugging me. I suppose instead of complaining about it, I might just enjoy the moment and let him drool and drool to his hearts content because one day he will grow up and I might (will I really?) miss this moment someday.

Well, a few days ago, Zara asked me "Mummy, why Umar is always white (by that she meant .. fair)? But my face is always brown." I told her that Allah made him that way. But either way, both of them are really cute and that put back a shy smile on her face. Sometimes Zara's questions really put me of guard. At her age, I guess it is healthy to be very observant and to ask questions and to demand answers.

Zara had a fever

2008-01-23T23:36:00.000+08:00

Last sunday, Zara came to me and said she was not feeling well. I touched her forehead and thought it was slightly hot and checked her temperature with a thermometer. She was actually burning. Her temperature was 40.3 Celcius!! I quickly wet her forehead and stuck a cool fever to cool it off. Then I sponged her body with a wet towel. The temperature came down slightly to 39 Celcius. We were almost ready to take her to the hospital at that time but after a dose of baby paracetamol, it went down to 37.3 Celcius. Zara was chatty and playful the whole time although she looked slightly tired. That night, both of us took turn to check her temperature. Thank Allah, she was no longer feverish. However, I was slightly edgy the next morning due to lack of sleep.

To all mothers out there, do invest in a good thermometer. We bought ours at SJMC pharmacy and it is not cheap but that night I was ever grateful that I bought it. Dont rely so much on your palm to determine how hot is your child. Use a thermometer.

Weekend visitor

2008-01-15T14:37:00.000+08:00

Last weekend, my sister went out for her company annual dinner and she left Effi for several hours at our home. At first, the little fella was really in a cheerful mood and smiled at us happily but not long after that just as I was about to feed him, he had one good look at me and cried hysterically. And the crying went on and on with lots of tossing and turning. I think he finally realised that he was not in a familiar territory surrounded by unfamiliar faces. I suppose he is smart enough to recognise people and places. But after 1 hour of crying he finally gave-in to my making silly faces and noises and started to smile again. As soon as he calmed down, I managed to get these two babies to play in the cot together. Effi was busy playing with the hanging toy whilst Umar looked on and showed off his fat belly to his cousin. Nice!

BTW, we went to the hospital this morning to get Umar's last jab. The doctor was really pleased with his progress. He was rather impressed with Umar's neck control and like previous visits never failed to comment on how much fat he has on.

Umar's latest stats:
Weight : 8.11kg
Length : 62cm
HC : 43cm

His next immunisation is at 12 months and that would be the ever controversial MMR injection .. well it was quite controversial in the UK when some parents associated autism with the jab. Shazli is 110% against it and due to that we did not give it to Zara and because of that she had caught measles and went down with high fever when she was 2 years old. I had to admit herinto SJMC for 2 days for that. Me? I'm still 50-50 about it as every child I knew that had MMR did not establish any kind of sickness and I've never heard of such cases being reported in Malaysia. Well, I suppose I have 7 more months to dwell on it.

Kids & technology

2008-01-12T01:53:00.000+08:00

Last night, I left Zara and Umar in the bedroom for a while to wash the dishes. And this was what they were doing when I came back! Zara was teaching Umar how to play game on my PDA. Kids these days ...