Haziqa's progress: 9 months

At 8 months 3 weeks, Haziqa has started to stand and lift her hands up. Although still wobbly and not stable, she has started to take her first few steps at 9 months. No sign of her first tooth yet.

Tricia is 3. Haziqa is 8 months.

I find it more and more difficult these days to find time to update my blog. So quick summary.

We went to Legoland Malaysia twice, just one month apart. Weekend 10-12 October and last weekend 8-9 November. The first time I just wanted a getaway. But Tricia had so much fun, she asked to go again every single night after we came back so we went again on her birthday weekend.

That said... on 10 November 2014, Batrisyia Hana is THREE!!! Oh how time flies.

Hubby and his guy siblings are opening a shop in Seremban 3 selling stationeries, handphone accessories, photocopy services and many more. I foresee very little weekend time together after this.

And while we were leaving the shop yesterday, Haziqa fell head first onto the pathway. My heart broke into pieces to see she scraped her forehead. Although her injuries are limited, I cried when I was comforting her. T_T Oh she's 8 months today. ^_^ My darling little baby. Been standing up with support for 2 weeks or so already.

I am down with flu and cough now actually. Got it from the kids last week and it got so bad up to the point that I slept whole day last Thursday, got 2 days MC for Thursday Friday, went to work for a bit on Friday, and again down with fever Friday night. When was the last time I fell this sick? Can't recall. Good then, I guess.

Haziqa 6m: Crawling phase

Before I missed this update out, here's a quick one. Haziqa has started her crawling pose for a few weeks now... to my surprise actually, coz I just told hubby I thought she would be starting all these muscle exercises later since she is quite clingy. She definitely likes to prove people (who look down on her) wrong.

6 months also marked the day I could open her ASB account, which I did. On top of that, I had also opened a Tabung Haji account for both my daughters and registered them for Hajj. Their turn would be in year 2075. 

Tricia 2y9m

1) Left hubby and the kids in the car while I went to pray at a petrol station. When I was done, hubby looked like he was searching for something. He kept asking where were his glasses. I thought he meant sunglasses because he was wearing his daily glasses that time. When he couldn't find it, he asked Tricia... "mane specs papa?". Innocently, she pointed to his eyes. "Tu!" Wahahahaha. It WAS what he was looking for. It was so funny. 

2) Hubby has never been the one to scold Tricia but whenever Tricia hurt his feelings, he would give her silent treatment. There had been a couple of occasions where I had to teach Tricia to pujuk her papa by saying sorry and hugging him. Sometimes I nearly cried when she tried so hard but hubby still ignored her. However, recently, the table turned. Hubby was tickling Tricia even though she kept telling him no. When he wouldn't stop, Tricia gave HIM the silent treatment. I was so shocked. Her papa was begging her to say something... and kept laughing nervously... trying to break her silence. After awhile, he said sorry to her. Only then she stopped her silent treatment. OMG! I really couldn't believe it.
3) That same day in the car, Tricia suddenly made a statement that shocked me. "Mummy tu, asyik cium adik je." What????? Though I knew the statement is true, I just didn't expect it to come from her, at this age! So I said... but you never let me kiss you. Come here. She came to the back... but was quite a distance from me. I asked her to come closer to kiss her cheeks but she INSTRUCTED me to kiss her head. When I kissed once... she asked me for more. "Lagi... Lagi... Lagi..." Errr, why suddenly mummy kene bully?

4) It is known and expected that mummy will always bring her milk powder and can produce her milk on demand. When I told her, "susu takde". She looked at me and said "buat la". =_=

5) Took leave last Monday to scout for kindergarten. Went to see 3 schools. Hubby brought Tricia and I to the last one we went to. While talking to the teacher, Tricia said "papa... taknak sekolah nih". Err... quite surprised to hear her voice out her preference. The last school is nice... very elite but less "kindy".
The one we (Tricia and I) like is unfortunately quite far from the house. No transportation available. Unsuccessful to persuade Aleep's (Tricia's cousin) parents to move him to the same school, hubby told me to just go ahead if that is what I really wanted. He will work something out. I am really touched by hubby's gesture. So I guess we have picked a kindy already! Tricia is excited to start her session soon coz she's been telling everyone, "mummy bawak Tica pegi school". ^_^

Toilet training Tricia

I have been "slightly" peer-pressured into toilet training Tricia. Moreover, I wanted to send her to kindergarten soon and most kindergarten would require the child to be toilet trained. I can't depend on the maid to do it especially now that we were left with one, instead of two, to look after the kids. Since this weekend and next weekend would be a long 3-day weekend for me... I felt that maybe I should just give it a try. 

Day 1: Despite telling her many times to tell me when she needs to pee, she kept having "accidents" and peed in my room, the kitchen, the living room. She only told me after the accident happened. Whenever I scolded her for not peeing in the toilet, she cried and promised me to pee in the toilet the next time but then accidents happened again. 

The first two times was probably my fault. I didn't bring her to the toilet often enough. But the third time, I just brought her to the toilet 10 mins before. I didn't have the heart to scold her so many times so when she took her nap at 7pm, I told her to put on her pampers again. Enough training for one day.

I know my friends told me that I can't do it on weekends only. The training must continue during weekdays. But given the circumstances, it is not possible. I would stick to my weekends routine... until she is more in control of her bladder. 

Who knows parenting can be sooo difficult. =p

Haziqa's first solid food

Last Friday, at 5 months 5 days, I fed Haziqa with banana puree with breast milk added to it. She looked excited to eat her first ever solid food. Why I started relatively early? She just looked too excited whenever she saw me eating. I searched online and found that we could introduce solid food as young as 4 months. Just introduce one solid at a time so I chose banana as it doesn't require "cooking". Just cut the banana into small pieces, mash it, add breast milk and done! Anddd She loved it. She even cried a little when I was too slow to feed her. I didn't give a lot though. Let's start small first. Gave a bigger portion to her yesterday. And so far she hasn't poo yet. I hope it didn't upset her young stomach. 

IUD

Last month I called to make an appointment to see my gynae to put in IUD. Since my gynae is very bz, I only managed to secure an appointment after raya. Silly me I didn't write down the appointment date and went the week before. Woke up super early that Saturday only to find out I got the wrong date!

After that, Abby went to see her gynae and her gynae told her to wait for her period before installing hers (mainly coz she never went through normal delivery before). I got discouraged (since I haven't gotten my period yet due to breast-feeding) so I was contemplating not going for my appointment. My mom caught wind of it and forced me to go anyway. After consulting my friend, Dr G, I decided to go. However, we (my mom and I) woke up late that day so I went for the afternoon session. My mom took the number for me at 11.30am and we got the 3rd last number for the day. Arrived there at 3.30pm and only managed to see my Dr at 5.45pm. Kesian Dr saye ramai patient. When I entered the room, she joked "I heard you are pregnant". *jaw drop* ahahaha.

Anyway, my Dr said okay to put in my IUD. Yeayyy. Finally. Been trying to get it installed since my post-natal check up. But since I delivered via C-sec this time, Dr advised me to wait 3 months for the wound to be completely healed as she fear the thing would stick to my wound. Now I can testify to it. To install is not painful... it is just a bit uncomfortable. I just didn't expect that much blood after the procedure. However, I also think the procedure "induced" my period because the day after installation, I had a very bad pain at my lower back. And my breast milk supply was also affected. It was significantly less this whole week, which according to my friend could also be affected by period. Hope it recovers soon...

Haziqa dah sunat

After 3 attempts, we finally managed to send Haziqa for circumcision today. A week to 5 months, at 4m3w Haziqa dah sunat at Kilinik Sariah by Dr Sariah herself. She didn't cry but let out a "eeeekkk" a bit to tell me something was happening. Alhamdulillah all went well.

Love doesn't come easy

Hubby and I have always agreed that LOVE requires hard work. It doesn't come easy. 7 years of courtship before marriage had definitely thought us that. We had our fair share of ups and downs but Alhamdulillah, we got through the storms and kept running back to each other. But this post is not about spousal love... I want to talk about family bonds.

Growing up, I was not too close to my grandparents. I don't remember both grandmothers... and both grandfathers were too far away to be visiting me often. Today, looking at how close Tricia is to her grandparents, I feel happy for her. But her closeness doesn't come for free. I don't mean financially, though both sides of the family provided her with plenty, but I am referring to time and energy.

Let's face the fact... Tricia is not easy to look after. She is a bundle of energy that is very Very, I mean, VERY active. She's also nocturnal, like her father, which is the opposite of me. So when her father is out, and it is past mid-night, I would normally go to sleep so she either had to force herself to sleep (which is highly unlikely), entertain herself or disturb other people. Whenever we are in Bangi, she normally would have to mind her own business but when there's other people around, she would most definitely choose the last option. I am lucky to have family around to help me with her. When in Nilai, sometimes my SIL abby would take her in, sometimes my parents-in-law do. When in KL, either my mom or my brother would take on that job.

Mind you, my mom is 64 this year and my in-laws both are in their late-50s. They are strong for their age and are capable to take care of Tricia BUT they are not that young anymore. Having to keep up of that bundle of energy is definitely not easy. But they do it anyway and I am sure out of love. They sacrifice their time and energy to entertain this little stubborn being because she doesn't want to go to sleep. 

Is it all a waste? Is it worth it? Because of time and effort put in by them in raising her, she is, unsurprisingly, close to all 3 of her grandparents. She knows her routine to go to Atuk's and Wan's house during the day and during weekends or holidays, she now knows how to demand to visit tokma and cacik. She loves all of them dearly and it is because they effort they put in to raise her. It is not free. Love is not free. Love is hard work.
Thank you everyone, who loves her dearly and help us in taking care of her. We value your effort tremendously. Kiss kiss.

What did I tell you yesterday =_=

Both in a day +_+

TransAsia Airways plane crashes in typhoon-hit Taiwan, 47 dead

TAIPEI: A domestic TransAsia Airways plane crashed on landing on an island off the west coast of typhoon-hit Taiwan on Wednesday, killing 47 people, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said.

Contact lost with Air Algerie plane carrying 116 people from Burkina Faso
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Authorities have lost contact with an Air Algerie flight en route from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso to Algiers with 110 passengers on board, Algeria's APS state news agency and a Spanish airline company said on Thursday.

Make that 3

US teenager who was circling globe in plane dies in crash

PETALING JAYA: American teenager Haris Suleman (pic), who attempted to circle the globe in a single-engine aircraft in 30 days and made a pit stop in Malaysia, has died in a crash.

Fox News reported that the plane flown by the 17-year-old crashed into the Pacific Ocean shortly after taking off from Pago Pago in American Samoa on Wednesday.

Sad year indeed

I feel like death is staring us at our faces. Less than 5 months since the disappearance of MH 370, which until today we still have no clue what happened to it, we were shocked by another devastating news: MH 17 was shot down. It was believed that it was shot down by pro-Russia separatist rebels near the Ukraine-Russia border. Images of victims bodies filled the social media. It is indeed a sad year for Malaysia.

At the same time, during this holy month of Ramadhan, we were bombarded by pictures and news of the war that is currently going on in Gaza between Hamas and the Israelis. The number of death toll of the Palestinians, which were mainly civilians and children, was just UNACCEPTABLE. Currently more than 500 and counting. I have never felt so "close" to a war zone before, as I am today, thanks to the technology of, again, the social media. Can't anyone do something to help? Can't anyone intervene for the better? Read this morning that US army is preparing to send troops into Gaza. Oh my... that is only going to make it worse. Not better. What is happening to the world? Where is the humanity?

Last weekend, after so so long, hubby and I managed to find a time to watch a movie together and since hubby watched most movies shown in the cinemas already, we chose a movie he hadn't watched, recommended by some of my friends, titled The Fault in Our Stars. The movie was supposed to be comedy/romantic/drama but it was actually about living, suffering and death. It was alright, except it made me cry so much, especially now that it hit so close to home. 

I feel helpless... Nothing much I can do to change the world. But I hope the small contributions I make here and there do make beneficial changes to the people around me. Let's spread some love, people. Love.

Haziqa 4 months. Tricia 2y 8m

How time flies. I didn't realised Tricia is 2y 8m already.

Haziqa at 3m3w: Tokma was complaining that she had not started turning. Tokma said Tricia turned before I went back to work. Honestly, hubby and I both couldn't remember that detail but I'm not worried at all. But Haziqa apparently understood Tokma's concern because as soon as she put her down, Haziqa straight away turned! Wow. Last night, at 4m 2d, I put her on the floor while she was strengthening her muscle holding her head up while lying down on her front, I was playing my phone beside her. Before I noticed it, she was not at her previous spot, which means she turned twice i.e. managed to roll herself to a new spot already. Proud of you, sayang.

Tricia: I'm sorry I couldn't find more time to document your progress at this stage, honey. And I am also sorry I couldn't find more time to teach you new skills, which I am quite worried about currently. While I haven't toilet trained her and she hasn't learn her ABCs and colours and speaking English, she is currently developing her conversational skills.

1) Mama ina testing her whether she can take Haziqa home with her

Mama ina: Tica, mama nak bawak balik adik, boleh?

Tica: Boleh.

(Papa asked mama ina to ask Tricia if mama ina could bring back her papa too.)

Mama ina: Mama nak bawak papa balik boleh?

Tica: Hmm... *pause* boleh TAPIIIIIIIII jaga elok2 tau. =_=

2) Couldn't find her milk bottle

Papa: Tica, mane botol susu?

Tica: Takde.

Papa: Mane tica letak? Cari laa betul2.

Tica: Tak tau. Takde.

Papa: Kakak letak mane?

Tica: Ade dalam kerete papa kot. 

(It wasn't in her father's car but now she knows it is a possibility.)

3) Went to 7Eleven with papa and bought bread and biscuits

Papa: Tica, papa nak roti.

Tica: Nanti tunggu sampai rumah eh papa.

Papa: Papa nak biskut.

Tica: Nanti tunggu sampai rumah eh papa.

4) While out in the car and she wanted milk.
Tica: Mummy, nak issue (susu/milk)
Me: Susu takde.
Tica: Buat lah.
Amboih. Demanding. She expects I always bring her milk powder with me anywhere we go.

Breastfeeding while working and Ramadhan

I started introducing formula milk to Haziqa a week to 3 months old. Reason being, I didn't make enough stock during my maternity leave. What little stock I kept frozen during my leave, I didn't dare give it to my baby. To me it smelled bad... like rotten fish. I threw most of them away. When I told my colleagues about it during pumping session at work, they scolded me because apparently, the milk was supposed to smell like that. Eww, how would I know. And no one in the family had frozen milk that long before so I didn't have any reference at home. I had been bugging my bff Haslin and SIL Abby a lot on the tiniest issues on breast-feeding and I didn't want to disturb them any further so I just couldn't be bothered to stress myself out about it anymore. 

Don't get me wrong. I am super thankful for the fully breast-feeding journey for nearly 3 months... It was all I wanted since I couldn't do the same for Tricia. But I was ready to introduce formula to Haziqa. Initially I felt a tiny bit of guilt but then I looked at Tricia and a bigger guilt surfaced so I said to myself, formula milk is not that bad. Yes, mother's milk is the best but Tricia grew up with formula milk and grew up fine. Heck, I was fed formula milk and I grew up fine. Was only worried Haziqa wouldn't want my milk after she started tasting formula milk though but Alhamdulillah, she didn't have a problem with us switching between the two. 

At work, each floor is provided with a nursery room for nursing mothers to pump. How convenient! I love my company for providing this facility for us. I tried to pump as frequent as I could. 3 - 4 times a day without fail. 9am-12pm-3pm-6pm. However, pumping doesn't produce as much milk as I hoped. Whatever I brought back was not enough to feed Haziqa for the next day so the maid usually had to top up one or two times formula milk a day.

Worried my milk would become less and eventually stopped too soon, I took a supplement I found online. It's some kind of capsuled oil contained what was supposed to be HabbatusSauda. Quite scared to take it as it has no certification from Malaysia's government. It is an Indonesian product but it says 100% natural. Had to just rely on that fact for assurance. I actually tried it a week before I started working and surprise surprise, it actually work. Not to my benefit that time though. I didn't pump in the wee hours of the morning as I was too lazy, as usual, and my left breast started to get engorged. I even had fever with it i.e. mastitis. Pumping and feeding was painful and my mom feared that there would be infection asked me to stop breastfeeding, fearing it would affect my baby. I then asked around and the advises I received were complete opposite. They say I need to continue breastfeeding to drain the supposedly blocked milk duct. Confused, I went online and read on babycentre that I should not stop breastfeeding and I happily obliged. =D

Stopped talking the pill until a week after I started working when Ramadhan started. Nursing mothers are allowed to not fast if they fear it would affect their milk supply. I initially thought it won't be applicable to me anymore since I introduced formula milk already... it was not like I was fully breastfeeding. My baby won't go hungry just because I didn't produce enough milk. I had no reason to not fast, or so I thought. Just 4 days into Ramadhan, I didn't wake up for sahur. My supply during fasting was already lesser than normal days if I didn't take the supplement and not eating sahur would make it worse, right? So I freaked out and not fast that day. Missed another day a few days after. What I was scared of was not just the stock for the next day but in the longer run... I am worried that my milk would dry up too soon, before I am ready to wean off completely. So there goes my 2 days of Ramadhan fasting. I felt like an immature kid making that decision but I cherish bf-ing so much that I would not want to risk it. As the month progresses, I am better at it now. Managed to fast a day without waking up for Sahur and for the rest of the days, I have been waking up for sahur with the help of Abby and my hubby of course.

Currently, my production is about 1oz every hour and I hope to bring back AT LEAST 12oz home everyday. It is not enough but that is the best so far. Hope my supply will increase a little after fasting month, with the help of the supplement, insyaAllah. I still try to pump as frequent as possible at work as I am still hoping Haziqa would only need minimal formula milk, if at all. 

Tricia as a big sister

Hello Hello. Abandoned the blog for a wee bit too long. Now that I have started working, and it is Ramadhan and I have moved back to Nilai with the in-laws, I just find myself always tired. With the travelling back-and-fourth and my working hours, I have very little time to spend with my beloved husband and babies. Gotta cherish what is left of my day.

Realised I didn't record Haziqa weight since birth coz unfortunately, we don't have the same record book for her like Tricia because we went to a different Paed for her jabs. 

Birth weight: 3.19kg

1 month: 3.77kg 

2 months: 4.7kg

3 months: 5.6kg
4 months: 6.2kg

I actually intended to record Tricia's journey as a big sister but I just didn't have the time to update it here. I kept "writing" the stories in my head but never got to type them down. Forgot most of them already so must quickly type down whatever stories I still remember.

On Haziqa's second day, Tricia came over and slept with us in the hospital. One time, I went to the toilet and left a hungry Haziqa crying with her father. Tricia panicked as to why her little baby sister was crying. When her papa told her that her adik was hungry, she ran all over the room looking for milk bottle and gave it to her papa. She said she couldn't find adik's bottle so she gave hers. It was so touching seeing a 2-year-old cares so much for another human being.

As time goes by, she observed that adik is breastfed. She saw how I put on the nipple shield to feed her adik and sometimes watched me pumped my milk into the bottles. She would quietly steal my nipple shield when I was not looking (because I would go berserk if I caught her did it) and put it on her own body. She was not too sure where exactly that thing goes so she simply stick it all over her body... even on her belly button. LOL.

There was so many heart-warming stories between Tricia and Haziqa. Although she acted out (in order to fight back our attention on her and I fought with her a lot because of that), she loves her sister dearly and never had bad intention towards her little sister. Some are undoubtedly dangerous moves but I believed it was done out of love.

One time, we went out for dinner with the big family. While serving us, I noticed the waitress was looking intently at Haziqa. I wondered why was she looking at my baby like she never saw a baby before... only to found out she was looking at Tricia's hand feeding Haziqa peanuts! So slick that elder sister... She was facing the table, not looking at Haziqa but her hands was pushing the peanuts into Haziqa's mouth. I think she didn't want her adik to be left out because everyone else was eating it and no one was feeding her little sister. 

During confinement, she stayed in Nilai during the day and when she came back at night, the first thing she would do was look for her adik and went to kiss her. Not me... Adik first. She would sometimes pick up adik's mosquito net and tried to hit adik with it. Not to hurt her... but to play with her. Was quite scary that time as you had to always watch her. But now, I don't see that behaviour anymore. She started playing differently as adik could respond to her already. So she would show adik upin ipin played on our phones or simply just talk to adik and adik would "talk" back and smile at her big sister.

In the morning, when I left Haziqa's side to shower or eat my Sahur, I would sometimes find  Tricia hugging Haziqa and even made Haziqa her pillow and sleep on her tummy. Haha. Tokma said "adik memang best buat bantal sebab die debuk debuk". And amazingly, most of the time, Haziqa was not bothered by it. Can't wait for Haziqa to grow up and be Tricia's playmate.

Hyatt Regency Kuantan (9-11 May 2014)

After confinement was over, first thing that crossed our minds was HOLIDAY! Understandably, I was bored being "confined" at home and hubby was concerned with my state of mind. Haha. Actually, he was also out of his mind accompanying me at home with the baby. So we all needed the holiday. Only at 53 days, Haziqa made her first "long-distance" journey to Kuantan. (The pink patch near my body in the picture below was not my boob. That was Haziqa's mittens.)

Hubby was supposed to have a site-visit that Friday but luckily it got cancelled. After Friday prayers, we had late lunch at Jalan Bellamy and went straight to Kuantan. Arrived around 6.30ish. The place was quite packed as there was, I suspect, a VVIP wedding that night. (We "convoyed" with a car labelled 'Ketua Hakim Negara' with a patrol car to the hotel and we could see there was a wedding going on in the hall.) However, when I arrived at the reception, there was only 1 person in front of me and even then it took the receptionist forever to attend to me. (I was anxious especially since there was a little baby in the car, who might scream for me.)

When we finally arrived at the room, I was happy again. It was nice to be in a nice hotel room. Haha. My vocabulary is getting worse.

We freshen up for a bit and hubby was already excited to go to the beach.

By then, I was already hungry. The buffet dinner, though reasonable priced around RM88++, sounded quite expensive to us. Didn't think we were going to eat RM200 worth of food for two that night. I saw a lot of lights on the other side and asked hubby to walk over to see whether they sell cheap food over there. Turned out, the place was quite lively. There were more than just food; Starbucks, McD, KFC, food stalls, people selling stuff by the roadside, a blowout castle and bumper cars. So while I bought my nasi goreng USA, Tricia was having a blast driving her own car.

Breakfast was not included but we didn't wake up early enough to find breakfast on our own anyway. Luckily hubby bought a lot of stuff before we arrived so we had bread for breakfast and went out to have ikan patin masak tempoyak for lunch somewhere in town.

Then it was time to relax by the beach. Hubby played his Empire Defense 2 game on his phone. Tricia played with the sand. I read a story book while the baby was sleeping and fed her when she was up. It was a good, relaxing break. Around 3pm or so, I went up with the baby first as she couldn't stand the heat. Not long later, hubby and Tricia followed suit.

When I reached the room, I realised I dropped my nipple shield. I am still very dependent on it until today. Try to let her suck naturally but the old problem was still there. My left nipple felt sore and she couldn't latch on the right one. So we rushed out to the mall to buy a new pair. Bought a new pair from anakku but found out later that it was different than the one I was used to. Hmm. Not happy. It didn't stick on very well, probably because of the shape, which was very round, unlike a natural breast. 

Had early dinner before went back to the hotel. At the hotel, I went back to place we hung out in the afternoon and lucky me, I found my nipple shield on the sand. Should have gone there first before heading out to the mall. LOL. Hubby hang around by the beach with Tricia for awhile and then we settled down early that night around 10pm. That was very early for our family's standard. Haha. 

Checked out the next day and ikan patin lunch again, this time in Temerloh. Detoured to Bukit Tinggi for tea before heading back home.

Haziqa's 2 months jab

The whole family's pediatrician is in Seremban, Klinik Pakar Kanak-Kanak Sayangku. The Dr, Dr Oo, is very good with kids and the charge is reasonable so we have stuck with him all these while. The only problem is, it is quite a long drive from Bangi/Nilai and the queue is usually quite long. Recently, a new pediatrician opened up in Bandar Baru Nilai so we decided to give it a try. When for Haziqa's 1 month jab (Hep B second dose) with this male Dr, who was soft spoken, and all was well.

Went last Tuesday for Haziqa's 2nd-month jab (first dose of DTP & Polio and Hib), and we got another male Dr, who was quite masculine, i.e. quite rough. Not that he is not good. He spoke to us with respect and I am sure just as knowledgable, but after the jab, I noticed a red and hard spot at Haziqa's leg. I got panicked.

I searched online and asked around. The answer I got was:

1) Tissue reaction

2) When the jab took place, there was muscle tension.

Initially thought I need to apply warm sponging to it. But later mom called and said I should apply cold sponging. After 2 days, the red spot got blue-r and the hard spot soften. After 3 days, it's completely gone.

Although this kind of side effect might be normal, we have never experienced this kind of side effect with Dr Oo. Guess we will be going back to Seremban after this.

On an unrelated event, ever since that jab, Haziqa has not passed motion yet. I was quite worried as she normally would passed motion at least twice a day. Again, I asked around, and apparently it is normal. My own sister-in-law experienced 7 days without poop with her child and my friend went 14 days with hers. It is now 3 days and counting. No sign of poop yet.
(she just pooped. So 3 days only. yeay)

Online shopping is a bitch

When you are trapped at home with either a lot of things to buy or nothing much to do, you... ONLINE SHOP. 

Tesco online

During confinement, I had a lot of groceries stuff to buy but the prospect of listing all those things for my husband to buy and expecting him to come back with all those stuff on time was just very slim. He might come back with the complete list, the next week, if you are lucky. So I turned to tesco online. *yeay for this facility* Up to date, since 2 months ago, I have ordered 8 times, which totaled up to RM1,840. *OH MY GOD!* *jaw drop* 

Big ticket items were mostly:

1) Fishes - Salmon block, tenggiri block, whole ikan merah etc as this was my main diet during confinement

2) Apples - again, my main snack during confinement

3) Batrisyia's milk powder - no explanation needed

4) Pampers for both Batrisyia and Haziqa

Small ticket items:

1) Vegetables 

2) Cereals

3) Milk and bread

4) Chocolates and junk food

Verdict: Necessities

Post confinement/Nursing/Baby Stuff

1) Bengkung. I bought 2 Types of them. Total of 3 (1 Lazada. 2 FB seller)

2) Maternity blouse. Total to date: 4 pieces (FB page Aqeela Autumnz)

3) Nursing bra. Total to date: 7 pieces (FB page Aqeela Autumnz)

4) Poncho: One piece. (website: Lazada) Another one on the way (website: Little Whiz)

5) EBM storage bottles (website: Lazada)

6) EBM storage plastic bags (website: Little Whiz)

7) Bottle drying rack (FB page Aqeela Autumnz)

Verdict: Necessities

Birthday present

Kak Jane, our cousin, has been flooding her instagram account with pictures of handbags and watches and other sale items in the US in conjuction with mother's day as her friend there became our proxy. I was never a handbag fan. And I am the type who wears the same watch until the end of its life. But it was flooding my instagram timeline and as I sit at home staring at both my FB and IG account while breastfeeding, I was defeated. So I bought 1 coach handbag for myself. Then 1 fossil watch for myself. My reasoning was why not buy something special for myself as a reward for... hmm... giving birth to another child? my upcoming birthday? After all, it was my money so no one would question me. 

Then I added one more item, a Michael Kors watch for my mom's birthday.

Each at RM700+

Verdict: Luxury but justified

Clothes

In a mission to look better for hubby dearest, bought some shirt, blouse, satin pyjamas and nightgown online through Sally Online Shop and Zalora. Some were okay. Most... could have live without.

Verdict: Waste of money

Baby clothes through instagram/FB seller (all paid but have not received)

FB: (Anny Firs Borong Dan Retail) Bought 4 pairs of Frozen-themed-pyjamas for Batrisyia. Pre-ordered them recently to receive them next month. Bought 3 pairs of lelong clothes 2 for Haziqa and 1 for Batrisyia. All at RM20, which I considered reasonable.

IG:
1) (IG: Sophia_babystore) Bought 3-piece-sleepsuit for Haziqa yesterday for RM 47 + RM 7 postage. (Mine is SNP 188) (p.s: I revised my order and bought both packages =p)

2) (IG: brilliantkidscouture) Bought 2 pairs of dress + leggings for my girls. (p.s: The red one was out of stock =( so I got them replace with a blue one and bought another pair because I love seeing my girls in the same outfit. Hehe.)

3) (IG: makciks_kiosk) Wanted to buy peplum baju raya for the girls but the went out-of-stock for Haziqa's so I didn't buy any. (p.s: They restocked and I got them!!! So excited for raya)

Still looking for any good bargain online.

Verdict: My babies need clothes so in between necessities and luxury.

Random number

69 - 14

= 55

Confinement on my own

Having a baby this time round is definitely a completely different experience for me compared to the last one.

1) I find confinement period after surgery much easier compared to normal birth. Apart from walking slowly, I didn't have to really keep my legs close together while walking or sitting. I could cross my legs when sitting, which was awesome and I felt more robust. However, healing takes longer. I remember my cut last time was completely healed after two weeks. This time, though not painful, I could still feel my surgery wound one month after. (Post confinement, I tried playing Just Dance on kinect and I felt fine. Now at 2 months after delivery, I don't feel pain anymore. I am just aware/conscious that the wound is there.) Just for my own reference, I completely stopped taking pain-killer 3/4 days after surgery. Last took it Thursday/Friday the week I got home.

2) Breast-feeding (bf) is a bliss. Haziqa don't have a problem latching especially with the help of beloved nipple shield and most importantly, she loves my milk unlike her sister, who preferred formula milk and rejected mine. My only problem is, she loves it too much that she is constantly breast-feeding all the time. Why is that a problem? I couldn't find time to pump and store my EBM for her later when I go back to work. But the fact that I get to bf for the whole 2 months so far is joy enough. I don't mine introducing formula milk into her diet soon if it comes to it. 

3) I hired a stay-in confinement lady for 3 weeks, who took care of our (mine and baby) basic needs. Although quite expensive (I paid her RM2.7K for 3 whole weeks), I think it was totally worth it. She was very clean and organised. We had a schedule to follow:

morning: woken up at 8am. breakfast for me. bath for baby. I took my shower. tungku. And urut (on alternate days). Break while she cooked lunch for me. I had lunch... and she would clean up after me. That would be around 12.30pm. Then she took a break... 

evening: tea time for me. baby bath. my shower time. tungku. rest. dinner. done by 7.30pm, when she would go back to her room and left me on my own. so when my husband came back, we didn't feel like having a stranger around. We could spend our family time undisturbed.
Here's her blog: http://aisyahrawatanpantang.blogspot.com/

4) I was officially done with nifas on the 27th day of pantang. Around 40th+ days I had some showing that was like period. It was too little but it persisted of a couple of days. Around 60+ days, it appeared again. Still very little and didn't last that long.
5) Was having problem with hemorrhoids a week after I delivered and persisted for quite a while. I sucked it up for two weeks until I couldn't stand it anymore and told my mom to get me some medicine. She got me some oral tablets and the anal insertion pill. Took the insertion pill only for nearly two weeks and it was still painful. So I went to the clinic and got myself another round of medicine: anal insertion, oral pill and poop softener liquid. Since I was breast-feeding, I took the oral pill and liquid for about a week until it felt slightly better and stopped. Continued with the anal pill for a week, then stopped. At 66 days, I saw blood as I was passing motion so mom advised me to take the anal supp again. With the hot weather, I am always sweating. Now I am developing panau all over my hands and legs.
6) Missed my post-natal appointment as I didn't expect it to be too early. It was scheduled 2 weeks after my surgery, a week after I went to see my Dr to get my wound cover removed. So made another appointment at my 44th day of pantang, i.e. the last day of pantang. Dr told me we need to wait another wait before we have another baby so that the wound could heal properly and I need to wait two more months for an IUD insertion. 

Tali pusat

Both Batrisyia's and Haziqa's tali pusat came off at 10 days.

Recovering from Caesarian Section in the hospital

Amazingly I didn't feel pain right after surgery. Was told that the anesthesia would last for 24 hours which was awesome. All I need to do was lie on the bed and breastfeed my baby. However, since I hadn't had any meal since 10pm the night before, I kept asking when could I have my first meal after surgery. The nurse told me that they would give me drinks first. If I didn't throw up, then only they would give me food. I got barley to drink slightly after 12pm. Supposed to get my food around 2pm but none came. Got milo at 4pm and by then I was starving. Mom nearly bought food for me from downstairs but finally I got my porridge at 6pm. I ate greedily until I nearly throw up, which would be no good. Luckily I managed to lie back down from the sitting position, then the sensation disappear so the food went inside safely.

Since the catheter was still there, I did not have to get up to go to the toilet. Hubby went back with Tricia at 2pm to deal with my placenta. That night he came back without Tricia. That was my first night not having Tricia by my side but at least hubby was with me, not like last time when I stayed in a double room. Tricia stayed with Wan and Atok that night. When she came over the next morning, she was not in a very good mood. She didn't want to hug me anymore. So sad. 

On a brighter note, Haziqa suckled very well. She managed to breastfeed without hassle. I was so surprised and delighted. No more fighting with my child over breastfeeding. Yeay. However, latching to my right boob was quite a problem as the size was smaller. But she has no problem with the left one so she was satisfied. After a few days of latching, my left nipple became really sore every time she latched on. Thankfully, I had the nipple shield. Been using it until today as it protects my left nipple from being sore and helps with latching with my right boob.

The day after surgery, my IV line was removed but the needle was left at my hand in case of emergency. Hubby came back from lunch excitedly telling me the mother of twins next door had been walking all over the ward floor. I still hadn't left my bed that time as the catheter was still attached to me. When it was removed, I slowly stand up straight as told by kak ina, instead of bowing down, and managed to slowly walk around too. Recovery was very smooth. Alhamdulillah. 

I was served porridge through out my stay in the hospital as I needed therapeutic soft food post-surgery. Urinated 3 times and pooped 1 time before I was deemed fit to leave the hospital. Was released on Wednesday, 2 days after surgery and mom took care of me at home before my confinement lady arrived the next Tuesday.

My 2nd delivery

I thought this time that I am staying on my own with access to PC and high speed broadband, I would update my blog faster and more often. Clearly, I thought wrong. Today mark the last day of my confinement period. Hooray? Hmm, not really. Apart from the fact that my baby is growing healthily, I don't foresee myself joying over anything in particular. Food... I have been slowing introducing stuff that I couldn't/shouldn't eat in confinement and I couldn't/wouldn't just eat everything now that it is over because I am still breastfeeding and my wound, although healed, is still quite sore sometimes. Anyway, let's flasback to my 2nd delivery journey.

We checked-in into SJMC at nearly 6pm on the 16th of March, Sunday. We were told there were no single room available, which we expected. Before I could suggest we take the double room and pay double the rate, the lady called up post-natal ward and hooray, we got a single room. Room 377. I was told by my Dr that soon after we checked in, we could go out again but the nurse said they needed to shave me and I was supposed to see my anesthetist. I should have taken up the offer by the lady at a spa I went to earlier that day to wax me but I was embarrassed to let people see my private part. If I did, maybe it won't be so itchy like the after effect of shaving. Anyway, was done by 8pm and not seeing anesthetist that night so we signed the release paper and went out. Promised to be back by midnight, when my fasting began.

We went to have dinner at TGIF Subang Parade, where mummy and abang joined us. Then around 10pm, hubby decided to go all the way back to Bangi to freshen up and somehow we managed to reach the hospital back at midnight. I sneaked in that night, not knowing I should have reported back so the nurse came to check on me around 2am or so. Teehehe.

I couldn't sleep so well that night, knowing the fact that I would be under the knife the next morning. Was waken up by a nurse around 5.50am to prep me up. She asked whether I had been fasting since midnight, which I answered yes. I asked whether I could have a drink and the answer was no. I later went to the toilet to pass motion naturally so the nurse said no need to insert the "inducer" into my anus. Dr Siti visited me before the surgery around 8am. After that, I was given medicine for gastric, IV line was inserted into my left hand, were asked a number of standard questions before an operation and signed the release form. Standard questions include:

1) Have I ever had any other surgery prior to this one? No.

2) Any medicine I am allergic to? No.

3) Am I under any medication or vitamins? Last time taken? Obimin Plus. Last Friday.

4) Read the possible risks associated with the operation.

Then we wait, around 8.30am, I was taken to the surgery room. Hubby carried Tricia and sent me to the operating theater door at Level 1.

In the operating theater, I was parked at the waiting area for awhile. God knows how nervous I was waiting there. People were being carted in and out the operating room. Lucky, no one was screaming or looked nervous. Everyone was composed and calm. Staff looking ready and professional. It was like I was watching Grey's Anatomy, only this time I was one of the actors. Huhu. 

Just before I went in, my anesthetist came to brief me and I was told that we were going with regional anesthesia, instead of general anesthesia and the more common epidural. Reason being the needle is smaller, making for a more precise incision and with that lower risk of failure. I just agreed to it, trusting the details to the professionals. Dr Siti came over and I heard them discussing over that option and she said it is a good choice. She wondered why not many people opt for it. I guess, it's good to hear that from Dr Siti.

They sent me in around 9am and I requested that they start with the anesthesia first before putting in the catheter. I was asked to sit upright, face facing forward when they put the needle in my back. Thank God the needle insertion was not painful and everything went smoothly. When I laid down, both my hands were bounded. My left was the IV line and my right hand was tied to the BP monitor. I couldn't feel the catheter and when my Dr made the first cut, she confirmed with me that I didn't feel anything before they proceed. So my anesthesia was a success. Yeay.

During the operation, I didn't feel any pain. Only the sensation of pushing and tugging my abdomen to push the baby into the right position. At 9.11am, 17 March 2014, the baby was safely delivered, weighing 3.19kg. I heard her crying so loud when they cleaned her up and that time, all I could do was wait. I remember wondering why it took them so long to let me see the baby. She was crying all the time until they brought her to me. I remember kissing her eyes and tasted her tear. I had tear in my eye too that time. This is more emotional for me because I was awake and fresh, unlike last time when I was all tired and sleepy. I reminded the nurse to let my husband azan the baby before they do anything else to her. After that, my Dr and her team continued to stitch me up and I was held up to recuperate in the operating theater hall for about an hour before I was sent back to my room.
I was silent throughout the whole procedure, updated occasionally by my anesthetist who was the only one by my side and only answered when they called for me. I was told by Dr Siti there was no reason why the baby was in breech position. Nothing was blocking her passage and she was not that big. I guess her bambam was heavy. That's why she couldn't push it up. =p Since nothing else to do during the recuperating hour, I took a nap. At 10.30am I insisted to be sent up to my room as I couldn't wait to see my family.

The experience this time is a completely different one. In terms of pain during delivery, this one is more smooth, less painful experience. Hassle-free, stress-free option. But given a choice, would I opt for elective caesarian next time or would still try for normal delivery? I would say, I would still try for normal delivery, unless a situation like this arises.

39 weeks

Done with my final prenatal check up for this pregnancy yesterday. As expected, the baby didn't turn so we are all ready for c-sec first thing tomorrow morning. Going to check in later today and is really hoping for a single room though I doubt I would get one. 

One thing I concluded from this pregnancy is that since the baby didn't get into position, that was why I didn't experience leg cramps every time I stretched when I woke up in the morning as often as the first pregnancy. To be exact, maybe 3 times through out the whole pregnancy, when the last one it was almost every day whenever I forgot and accidentally stretch my legs. Remember mom told me maybe it was because it was still too early. Nope.. not until the very last day. Tricia was in position as early as 31 weeks so it made sense that I experienced my leg cramps through out my third trimester. So it was NOT because of my calcium level as I kept forgetting taking my supplements during THIS pregnancy. 

I am suspecting the baby is a tad too big to get into the normal position. As you might remember, the baby was already in position at 35 weeks but she changed her position a week later. I think she felt heavy and uncomfortable in that position and that's why she changed it back. Maybe she weighs a little over 3kg. Will know for sure tomorrow morning. Pray for me!

#PrayForMH370

It has been 5 whole days. Please come back. The whole world is looking for you. We are anxious waiting for updates everyday.

Weird Saturday 8 March 2014

Something utterly weird happened yesterday morning. Malaysia Airlines lost a flight to Beijing MH370 and the whole world is currently looking for the missing plane. We have been staying at home and stuck in front of the TV or our smartphones all day yesterday and today to get the latest update on the situation.

But this post is not about that. Something weird happened to me personally yesterday morning. Woke hubby up to go for check up. While he was in the shower, I was checking his phone battery level as usual when I noticed there was an unread sms. Unsuspectingly, I read the message. It said "miss u so much" "i'm in KL today. Esok I ade kat PD" From RV Min. I was shocked... and speechless... Hubby came out from the shower and the only thing I asked him was: Is Min a guy or a girl? Hubby answered "a girl. But I'm not that close to her". Then he went to brush his teeth. I took that opportunity to reply that msg. "Mcm pelik je hntr msg mcm ni to husband I. -wife cherz" (Cherz is his game name.) I sent that msg from my hubby's phone and kept quiet. Didn't even delete those msgs from his phone.

Went to the clinic to dispose my urine sample and took my blood sample for my blood test. Came down to hubby who was having breakfast with Tricia and asked him calmly. "Have u read the msgs from Min?" Hubby replied calmly too. "Dah". Me: "Kenapa msg tu pelik sgt?" Hubby: "Tah. Die salah hantar kot. Die ade bf, budak RV jugak. (RV is a name of an online gaming website.) So maybe die save nama budak2 RV dekat2" He said he was waiting for me to ask him about it. Then he laughed at me and teased me "ayg risau ehhhhhhhhh" Duhhh... If I'm not concerned, what kind of wife am I? Then he continued "syg mmg tak pernah rapat dgn die. Check laa phone log semue... Tak pernah kot call die. Kalau ckp dgn die pon, mesti ade Zam and Ana." Somehow I believed him. Because my instinct says so. Am I too trusting? Should I be more suspicious? I don't know. But I truly believed him. 

I do because he has Never Not come home, albeit sometimes/always late but that is the way he functions all this while anyway. He has never treat me wrong. And being in a relationship for more than 11 years with him has taught me when he is and is not lying. And for now, I am satisfied with it. I asked him later that evening, did she replied my msg. Hubby said she did. She said sorry. Only one word "sorry". But I didn't get to see it because he deleted the msg already. Hmm. (Comforting myself that I am not upset about that) But if that was true, doesn't she owe me an explanation more than just a Sorry. Imagine I freaked out and started tossing plates towards my husband because of her wrongly sent msgs. Or even throwing my husband out. Haish.

38 weeks

Things getting more serious now. Baby is still in breach position... Her head is up and her buttocks is down. My Dr didn't recommend us doing ECV (external cephalic version) to assist the baby in changing her position but told us to just keep talking to the baby to do it herself. If she refused to budge by next Saturday (15 March 2014), we are scheduled to deliver by C-section on the 17th, Monday, at 8.30a.m. 39 weeks of pregnancy to be exact. If we wait any longer, we might have to go for emergency C-sec, instead of a scheduled one.

I have accepted the fact that I need to go under the knife this time. If she turns on time, great!!! (though I may be unprepared for normal delivery now) If she doesn't, to major operation we go. (*gulp*) So many people went through it already and we all know it is the best decision given the circumstances. It is not like it is elective surgery, right. So yeah... I believe Allah knows what is best for us.

2years 4months

2 nights ago, I was putting up our photoshoot pictures up our staircase wall. I already pasted the double sided-tape onto the pictures but haven't peeled the sticker off them yet. Tricia came over to me and insisted to help. I told her to go down and watched her TV but she refused to budge. While I was pasting one picture on the wall, she managed to find her way to peel off the sticker on another picture. By the time I looked, the picture was ready to be pasted on the wall. Wahhh, mummy's little helper!

Last night, when we reached home, as usual, we were sitting on the couch and this conversation took place:

Tica: Mummy. Nak tgk kantun (cartoon)

Me: Cartoon kene tengok tv sana. (the smaller TV)

Tica: Taknak. Nak tgk TV ni

Me: Sini cartoon dah habis. TV ni ade Monster(s Inc) je

Tica: Ok la. Tgk Monster

Me: Kesian laa papa. Papa nak tgk TV

Tica: Kesian tica

Me: =_= *flips channel to Monsters Inc*

37 weeks

I should be jumping for joy for reaching full-term today. However, last check up revealed that the baby is currently in breach position again... songsang as the Malays call it. Dr said if she doesn't change her position on time, we will have to go for Caesarian section. *cry*

Not only am I scared for the procedure, I am also a bit concern with the cost. It could go more than RM10k. Please pray for me. If that is the only choice, then I will accept the fact with a heavy heart. But for the time being, please pray that the baby turns on time. I would prefer to go for a normal vaginal delivery than a C-sec.
Next check up this weekend, I will have to do a blood test to check my hemoglobin level. Weekly check ups from now onwards.

Tanjung Jara Resort - Part 2

Am so very lazy to finish this post but I. just. have. to. The longer I postpone the post, the more irrelevant it would be. So here goes: Part 2...

The next morning, we had our breakfast at Di Atas Sungei restaurant. Thankfully breakfast was included in our bookings. Breakfast spread was good. There was a variety of selections and the quality was excellent. Halfway through our breakfast, came a group of people with kompang and "hantaran" sort of to signal the arrival/celebrate a newly-wed couple. Was told that's for the honeymoon package. Quite interesting.

We were joined by Mimi and Azmir not long after and after breakfast, we went to the beach for a walk. The beach was clean and breezy and the sand was quite soft. It was a fun morning out but since it was getting hotter and hotter, we didn't stay that long outside. Plus, the wave and the current was very strong so we couldn't swim in the water anyway. Coming back from the beach, everyone had to clean their own feet from something black and oily that looks like petrol except my husband. Don't know why petrol didn't stick to him. Maybe because he used to work at a petrol station before? Wahahaha.

We had showers and hubby and I took the opportunity to take a dip in the bathtub while Tricia was being taken care by Tokma and cacik. After that, all of us took a nap. Around 3 or so, mummy and abang went out to have lunch at Teratai Restaurant, which was by an adult pool (no kids allowed). Food price was around RM40 per plate. Hubby didn't want to wake up so he was left alone sleeping in the room.

After lunch, I woke hubby up and we went to the pool.

However, it was only for a short while because the staff kept reminding us to join the Kampung Life activity, which is on every Saturday between 5-6pm. There were quite a number of activities and the food and drinks served were delicious and most importantly FREE. There's a beruk getting coconut for you, batik paintings, apam balik, kerepok lekor, cucur udang, kopi kampung... and various games like sepak takraw, congkak, kompang and the sarawak buloh thingy. It was such a cool concept. Mimi and Azmir came back from town and was just in time to join us for the Kampung Life event. They commented, after eating the keropok lekor provided, the ones bought outside didn't taste so good anymore.

That night, we went out to have dinner at a tomyam restaurant outside. The food was substandard so so but because the shop was located by the beach side and the wind was blowing strongly, the ambiance was very refreshing and nice.

Tricia didn't have problem sleeping that night after a day full of fun activities. We took it slow on our last day there. Pic: Tricia feeding the fishes in the pond after breakfast. No hiccup during check out... only I was nearly charged for our daily breakfast, which was supposed to be included in the room package. Luckily, I checked. No issue with that. The staff waived it without hassle.

We made a quick stop at Pantai Kemasik on the way back before parting ways and leaving Terengganu with a heavy heart. One thing for sure, we are definitely coming back. One of the best resorts we have been to so far. Love it!