Work and Pump

Everyday I pump 3 times at work. Once at 10.30am, once at 1.30 and once at 3.30. Before I send Adam to his babysitter I breastfeed him (around 7.30-8am) and I feed him immediately after fetching him (around 5 – 5.30pm, yes I leave as soon as the bell rings). At the babysitter’s place he has 3 feeding sessions about the same time I pump.

Usually each pumping session I get about 3-4oz. This seemed very little compared to other moms who can get 10-12oz per pumping session. But to me it was sufficient seeing that my baby only drinks as much as I pump, he won’t eat more than 4 oz. I use the popular Avent Isis manual pump which is efficient enough. It takes me about 15-20mins to pump + pack. In between pumping sessions I just pack all pumps parts in a sealed bag and throw it in the fridge. Breast milk has antibacterial properties. This saves me from wasting time on washing and sterilizing each time I pump. I read this useful tip from a great website on pumping – www.workandpump.com.

I’m still at the trial and error state in getting to smoothly run my pumping routine. It’s not as easy as I imagined it would be. I found that pumping sessions can be a bit messy because I tend to leak from the other breast while pumping. Recently I bought the Medela milk collection shells which are terrific at collecting the milk and saving my clothes from getting wet. I take a little burp cloth with me to wipe away any stray drops. Nowadays it feels like pumping is my fulltime job. Lately I found that it is getting increasingly difficult to maintain the same amount of pumping yield. For the past few days even if I pump until my hands and breasts are starting to hurt I still fall short of 3oz. I’m a professional pumper who sucks at her job, literally! This is really stressing me out. I’m my baby’s only source of food! I’m trying to figure out ways to increase production.

My Avent pump is comfortable to use and gentle on the breast. During my maternity leave I could get as much as 5 oz using that pump, in a short time. This makes pumping sessions enjoyable. However somehow at work it gets harder. Plus pumping as much as 3 times a day using a manual pump is a strain on my hand – especially the wrist. Especially with the low output, it’s really disheartening to continue pumping. I’m thinking about getting an electric/battery operated pump. I’m hoping it’ll help empty my breast better and thus increase production plus my hands could use a break. I’ve done some reading on electric pumps and I’m leaning towards Medela Swing. It seems to be getting good feedback. I considered getting the Medela Pump-In-Style but it’s too bulky. Even with the simple Avent I find that I’m carrying a lot more stuff with me in the morning. I’d like a pump that is compact, use batteries, silent and very efficient. A double pump would be helpful too. But obviously a double pump would not be so compact. Does anybody have a better pump to suggest? Pls do. I’ve ruled out Spectra – no batteries so can’t use because I’ve no electricity in the room I use for pumping. Avent Uno/Duo is another consideration but I’m attracted to Medela’s 2-phase expression because sometimes it’s difficult to get letdown. Avent Uno/Duo users, what say you?

At the end of the day I wash all pumping equipments and sterilize using sterilizing tablets. In the morning everything is dry so I can pack them in the bag. I’m contemplating waking up earlier to add another pumping session in the morning to my schedule – to make up for the lack of pumping output. But that also means that my pump will have to be washed and get all wet again. Can you just pack a wet pump? How do other moms do it? Maybe if I have a second pump I can leave the wet one at home.

I have some freezer stash at home that I collected during maternity leave. However I’m careful about using them. I try to send to the babysitter whatever I can pump the day before. The reason is this; Let’s say my baby normally drinks 30oz per day – EBM + direct nursing. Breast milk is produced according to demand. So my body has adjusted itself and produces 30oz a day. Say for example I missed a few pumping sessions and my milk supply goes down a little to 28oz per day. To compensate for this I send extra 2oz from my freezer stock everyday. This would be a bad use of my freezer stash. My baby would be drinking the same amount per day i.e. 30 oz but I’m telling my body to produce only 28oz. In the end my milk supply will never increase and my freezer stash would eventually run out. You can read more about this in the website I suggested earlier.

Now I’m thinking about ways to increase my supply. Does anybody have any useful tips?

It sure is challenging being a breastfeeding, working mom. I’m starting to understand why some people may choose to switch or supplement with formula. You need to be fully committed. If I didn’t learn about breastfeeding and pumping and wasn’t so determined about it I could’ve quit as well. Imagine, your breasts are essentially never fully yours again. Every couple of hours you need to feed the baby. While this is actually time for you to bond and is very enjoyable, it’s also very time consuming and is not what you’re used to (before you have a baby). Even when you’re away from the baby you must continue “feeding” – by pumping to maintain your supply. During the weekends when I go out I must also think of ways to maintain supply. If the baby is with me I need to find ways to feed him in public or if I choose to bottle feed him EBM I still need to pump - again to maintain supply. Normally I just breastfeed him because it’s much more convenient. If I use EBM, it’s not as simple as bringing a bottle. You’ve also got to pack ice packs in a cooler for the EBM, hot water in a thermos etc. And then there’s washing + sterilize blablabla. My breasts are uncomfortably bigger, and constantly change in size. My bras keep changing size so much during pregnancy and nursing that now none of the bras actually fit me well.

It does get easier with time and practice though. I hope soon enough I’ll figure out the best ways to keep everything running smoothly. The important thing for me to remember is that it CAN be done. If so many other moms can do it, why can’t I.

Adam, I promise I’ll do my very best to keep giving you breast milk until you are 2. It is not easy but for you I’ll do absolutely everything. Love you sooo much! Muahs!

Adam’s Daddy – I love you too la…hehe.

Adam menyondol !

Akhirnya dapat capture video Adam monyondol! Usually adam sondol in the semiconcious state - tgh nak bgn tido. but this one he was trying to get to me. Daddy saje put him on his tummy and told him - ok, go to Mommy yourself. Terus laju jer dia sondol terus sampai kat Mommy! i immediately got the camera and Daddy letak Adam lagi sekali. Within few second dia sampai kat Mommy. Yay! Cayalah Adam! Big milestone for you! If you listen carefully you could hear at the end of the video Adam berbunyi kepenatan...hehe..cute jer.

The third time try soh dia sondol lagi dia berjaya gak sampai, tapi slow-mo je..dah penat sgt..cian dia...hehe..Mommy ni mcm military la train Adam - Daddy kate...hehe..takdelah Adam, you can crawl anytime at your own pace. Mommy just terexcited sgt tgk Adam sondol - cute!

Sigh..my baby is growing up so fast..

Breastfeeding Adam

When I was pregnant I did a lot of reading on breastfeeding. I was really determined to exclusively breastfeed my baby no matter what comes my way. Masa tgh pregnant mmg tak sabar sgt nak breastfeed Adam. Now that he’s here…I found that breastfeeding is more rewarding than I imagined it would be. But not without a few obstacles.

After I gave birth to Adam, immediately I dpt breastfeed him for the first time. A nurse was there to “help” me latch him, but unfortunately all she did was pinch my ni**le and shoved it in his mouth. Sakit! But Adam pandai suck as though he’s done it before. Afterwards they let me keep Adam in my hospital room for rooming in. I fed him whenever he looked hungry but masa tu my positioning still a bit awkward.

Adam's first breastfeeding session in the labour room

Lps dah balik rumah, within the first week tu I had sore ni**les. Sampai bleeding. I tried ice, applied milk, lanolin cream, corrected his latch and positioning etc. Lama2 it got better and dah tak sakit lagi. I read that it’s common to get breast engorgement when your milk starts to come in. Fortunately I didn’t have that problem, maybe because Adam was feeding frequently.

My lanolin cream

At some point I had another problem lak. Hyperactive letdown. Bila milk starts to flow in tu, terlaju sgt sampai baby tersedak2. Adam akan let go and milk will flow out like Niagara falls. Lama2 Adam jadi frust, sian dia. Tapi nowadays alhamdulillah, Adam pandai control. Dia suck laju2 and dpt contain all the milk without letting go of the latch. Takpayah minum sampai ½ jam-1 hour lagi. Within 10-15 mins he can empty the breast. Terrer la anak Mummy minum skarang…

Awal2 dulu ada gak problem with my arms. Lenguh sgt sampai takleh lift up. Walaupun Adam ringan. Tapi dah pegang lama2 esp time breastfeed mmg tak cukup endurance gak. My hubby tolong urut then lama2 ok dah. Thank you sayang..i bought a nursing pillow – from MyBrestfriend- which really helps. My arms pun dah banyak muscle dah skang..hehe

Adam, Mummy and My Brestfriend

Masa I start to practice pumping breastmilk pulak, langsung takde milk kluar. Panic jadinye. Salah beli pump ke? Salah guna pump ke? Milk sikit sgt ke? Mcmana nak gi keje ni? After many attempts barula dpt itu pun sikit dlm 1oz camtu je. Bila dah byk kali barula boleh increase to about 3oz. Later I read a good website on pumping – workandpump.com- barula I understand why. I was pumping when I was still fully breastfeeding Adam, that means I tak bagi Adam botol lagi masa ni. So my milk supply has adapted to cater for his daily needs. Supply according to demand la. But when I start pumping I was basically asking my body to produce extra milk. That’s why susah nak pump byk. Once I start giving him bottles, masa time dia minum botol tu I pump, so bolehla dpt byk sket.

I’m lucky families and friends bukan jenis yg condem breastfeeding. I heard mcm2 stories about moms yg terpaksa resort to formula sbb pressure from their momla, MIL la, makcik2la. Cakap tak cukupla etc, so kene supplement. My husband and my family semuanya supportive of breastfeeding, alhamdulillah.

To me breastfeeding is one of the miracles of life. The intimacy I feel every time I hold my baby close to me is unbelievable. I could really feel the bond between mother and child strengthening. I feel needed. I feel loved. Aaaa…tak cukup words la nak explain. It really is amazing. To all breastfeeding mothers or mommys-to-be who are contemplating whether or not they should try formula, pls, keep on breastfeeding. It’s the best gift you can give – to both your baby and yourself.

Akikah Adam

Ni entry tertangguh on Akikah. Akikah Adam was held kat rumah Opah and Atuk Adam kat Bagan Dato. Wah..mcm org kenduri kawen pun ade. Bertuahler Adam, cucu first le kan..

Ni first time Adam jalan jauh. Adam good boy sgt. Adam tak nangis2. Adam tido je dlm carseat. Syarat as usual Daddy has to drive above 80km/hr =) Daddy kata kat highway Adam naikkan standard jadi 100km/hr pulak. Kalau bawah drpd tu automatic Adam bukak mata besar2 pastu mula ler ek-ek nak mintak Daddy laju. This is also first time Adam jumpa Onyang and Toknyang. Onyang suka layan Adam berckp. Adam stare je muka Onyang. Adam sukala tu org layan dia membebel yer? Toknyang suka tgk Adam tido meniarap. Nampaknye Adam dah tarik attention semua org ni just dgn buat muka seposen yg cute tu. Everyone loved playing with you, you know. And you love having ppl around you.

Kitorg sembelih kambing sekor jer. Jadiler tu. Kang 2 ekor sape lak nak mkn. Toknyang Adam yg sembelih sendiri. Daddy Adam pegang kepala kambing sampai berdarah2 muka Daddy..hehe..Lauk2 semua masak sendiri. Mmg respect la. Mommy cuma tolong-tolong Opah je kat dapur. Kalau Mommy kat KL mmg jgn harapler nak merasa kenduri masak sendiri ni. Letih gak tu. Mommy yg tak biasa kot. Mlm je terus pengsan tido. Opah Adam relek je.

Siap ade pasang khemah kat dpn. Siap ade bunga telur. Siap ade pulut kuning. Siap ade buai berhias. Siap ade sound system. Siap ade marhaban. You lucky boy, org menikah pun tak meriah sampai camni tau..

Mula2 ada org mengaji, marhaban. Adam pun mendengar je. Org2 marhaban ni ialah geng2 Atuk Adam. Atuk Adamla vocalist utama diorg. Lps tu acara potong rambut Adam. Sikit je potong, nampak tobek sketla. Lps tu Adam pun masuk buai. Adam nampak tak selesa dlm buai tu. Adam boring kot. Dah angkat kluar baru Adam senyap and tgk2 sekeliling. Muka Adam mcm curious sgt tgk what’s going on. Lps tu acara mkn2. Sedap tau lauk kambing akikah Adam ni. Lembut je dan tak berbau.Opah buat masak dalca.

Bila petang, semua org dah balik, Daddy shave kepala Adam! Uwaaa! Mommy yg risau tgk sbb Mommy sayang rambut Adam tu halus lembut jer. Tapi Mommy tgk bila dah habis shave rupanya muka Adam ni sesuaila rambut botak. Bukan botak licinla, botak Mawi. Cute jer muka Adam.

Muka Daddy kene darah

Theme colour hijau

Adam dlm buaian

Adam's first day

Yesterday was the first day I send Adam to his babysitter. I’m still on leave but I saje try hantar dulu for a couple of days. In the morning when I left him, he wasn’t asleep, he just smiled at me happily as I left. I felt so sad, sedihnya hantar anak utk org lain jaga. Oh God how I wish I could quit my job and take care of my baby myself. I rase nak meraung je bila dah tinggalkan Adam kat situ. I miss him so much…wah..teruknya perasaan rindu kat anak..How do other ppl do it? I don’t know how I’m going to cope with this. I just hope Adam copes better than I do.

I masuk office to settle some things but all I do all day is obsess about my baby. I keep calling the babysitter, asking how he’s doing. At one point babysitter tu tanya I, “Adik risau ye dik?”. Yes very much. I haven’t been separated from my baby at all since birth. I cuma pernah pegi kedai mamak for breakfast with my husband, skejap je. Itu pun I dok teringat-ingat Adam.

I think Adam was ok at the babysitter's house, except for one small incident. I'd rather not elaborate otherwise i'll obsess about it all day today too. But like my husband said to me, i've got too high an expectation. Eh, it's my son, of course i have expectation :) but i know i need to be realistic and reasonable too. Of course org lain jaga takkan sama dgn kite sendiri jaga. I hope she takes good care of my son, the best she can.

Petang tu when we pick him, dia elok senyap jer. Happy as usual like nothing happened. Ayesha (btul ke eja nama dia kak fifah) hugged and kissed him. She’s my cousin’s daughter – the babysitter takes care of my cousin’s 2 daughters too. How sweet, Adam has friends now. Back at home, Adam keep asking to be breastfed so many times, I think he missed Mommy (or I hoped he does ..hehe).

Today he’s at the babysitter’s house again and Mommy’s at home, alone.

Adam, I miss you sooo much…

Adam @ 2 months

Adam at Wildan's Akikah

Happy 2 month Birthday Adam!!

He turned 2 months on the 5th. I’m a horrible mother! I totally forgot until hubby pointed it out to me the next day. I’ve totally lost track of dates nowadays. Sorry Adam!

At 2 months Adam has developed new habits and skills. It’s amazing to watch him grow everyday.

- He can smile! He’s smiled before but now he smiles for a reason. He smiles whenever he’s happy, when we talk to him, make a funny face. Seronok sgt tgk dia senyum2..geram!
- He loves it when people talk to him. Kalau siapa rajin layan bercakap2 dgn dia, he stares back intently listening to what we say to him.

- Adam can talk his own language! I’ve a video of him “talking”. I’ll upload it asap.

- Adam suka tido meniarap. Tibe2 je dia develop this habit. Dia ikut both his Pak Ngahs from both sides. Kalau tido terlentang sekejap dah bgn balik. Tapi kalau tido meniarap lena dia tido. At first I takut nak bagi dia tido meniarap takut dia tersembam muka. Tapi now I’m not so worried sbb dia pandai angkat2 kepala pusing kiri kanan to find his own comfortable position. But I only allow this for daytime naps la. Mlm2 elok pulak dia tido telentang on our bed.

- Dah pandai merangkak…errr…menyondol, actually. At daytime he naps on one of those firm slippery tilam kekabu yg besar. Dia pun menyondol2 la kedepan bukan main jauh lagi. No kidding! Kire lebih semeterla dia boleh sondol. Dia sondol sampai la dia reach the edge of the mattress and onto the carpet. I pun tarikla dia balik dok tgh mattress tu. I’m trying to get a video of this sondol action tapi tak dpt lagi. He moves slowly and silently. Tau2 je dah sampai carpet.

- Dah suka mandi. Esp if I mandikan him while singing or talking to him. Dia pun berkocak2la dlm air tu dgn muka happy while looking at me.

- He’s very well behaved! Seriously, taking care of him is so easy. Alhamdulillah. Of course he has his bad days sometimes, but most of the time mmg baik je dia. Takde meraung2 out of the blue. Jarang nak dgr suara dia menangis2. Senang nak bawak travel. How did we get so lucky? Alhamdulillahh….and thank you Adam, tak pernah susahkan Mummy and Daddy..

Oklah tu je I can think of for now. My maternity leave pun dah nak habis. I’m feeling the blueees now. Sedih betul nak tinggalkan Adam…uwaaa..i can’t watch him 24-7 anymore.

Update coming up on Adam’s Akikah.

Adam tido meniarap

Adam tersengguk-sengguk tido

ala siannye dia..ngantuk sgt..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrcP7YcElZM

Bottlefeeding Adam

Ever since we moved back to our house Adam’s been adapting really well. He’s much less moody, and seemed to be more relaxed. He loves sleeping in our bed. In the beginning we tried letting him sleep in his own cot but he hates being alone by himself. As soon as I put him in the middle between the two of us, immediately he becomes relaxed and fall asleep on his own. So takde lagila sesi angkat berat, joget2, nyanyi2, and passing baton for Mommy and Daddy mlm2. Whenever it’s feeding time, I’ll hear him stirring so I’ll just breastfeed him lying down and then we’ll both drift back off to sleep. Adam pun pandai bila lapar je buat bunyi then terus pusing kepala n badan mengadap Mommy, dah ready nak minum. He doesn’t mind bathing too, nowadays. Dia senyap je tak nangis2 dah.

The only trouble I’m having is trying to give him a bottle. I’m trying to train him to feed from a bottle because I’m going back to work soon. I started by giving him one bottle a day and increase it to two, three bottled expressed breast milk a day, during the daytime so that he’ll get used to it by the time I get to work. The problem is, he knows the real thing is right there! I would sit down holding him in my arms. He would make that cute little suckling noise telling me he’s hungry. He’d be smiling, expecting to be fed soon. I put the bottle in his mouth and then…uwaaaaa!!! He would look at me dgn muka confused, why is Mommy shoving this rubbery thing in my mouth! I stop and then try again, but as soon as he saw the bottle coming towards him he start to scream, and pushed the bottle with both his hands and his tongue. Tapi I think he’s still hungry sbb bila dia calm down dia make that suckling noise again and sometimes dia hisap jari or my clothes. After a few attempts dapatla jugak dia minum dlm 1-2oz. Lps tu dia tanak langsung dah. I pun pujuk2 dia then dia tido. Sometimes dia moody terus until the next feeding…sian Adam..

Tapi if his daddy feed him, bila he comes home for lunch, elok pulak laju je dia habis satu bottle. Itupun I need to jauh sikit from his view. If he sees me, mula la dia jeling je. I hope nanti bila babysitter dia yg bagi bottle bolehla dia minum habis mcm bila Daddy bagi. Kalau tak sian anak Mummy lapar..

I’m trying to look at it in the positive way. Him refusing the bottle when I feed him means that he knows me already and definitely prefers me than the bottle. He loves me =) But it breaks my heart to see him eating less because he refuse to feed from a bottle. Fortunately ptg/mlm dia compensate balik dgn minum byk2 frequently.

Adam, Mummy’s really sorry. I wish I could breastfeed you fulltime. But Mummy has to go to work…I’m so sorry….I promise i'll breastfeed you all night and weekends ok sayang..as many times as you wish!

Our family =)

Adam's first bottlefeeding session with Daddy

Adam's 1 month check up

On Monday Adam had his first check up. In the morning we woke up early to get ready. Agak kelam kabut jugak sbb yelah this is our first family “outing”. This is also Adam’s first time in his carseat. Masa mula2 masuk dlm carrier tu, dia menangis meraung2. Risau gak dgr rase nak angkat kuar je dia. But we want him to get used to the carseat for his safety so terpaksa biar dia nangis. Alhamdulillah sekejap je Adam nangis2, lepas the car dah start jalan..dia jadi syok pulak duduk dalam carseat tu. Senyap je sambil mata melilau tgk keliling. Tapi yang kelakarnya bila kereta stop kat traffic light ke, Adam tak suka and mula buat muka sedih. Bila kereta jalan balik, dia pun happy balik. Lama2 dia khayal sampai tertido dlm tu..hehe..Adam..Adam…

Sampai hospital we went to Dr Kumari’s clinic. Adam ukur berat. Guess how much he weighs now? 4 kg! tak sangka Adam dah besar. Dr Kumari ckp very good weightgain, pls continue breastfeeding. Lepas tu Dr examined him and gave him his jab. Kesian Adam, kene inject dekat kaki. Menjerit2 dia..

We asked Dr Kumari about rashes since Adam had some rashes on his face and body. She said rashes Adam biasa2 je, no need for special cream or anything, Cuma letak baby lotion je. Adam ada jugak putih2 kat lidah. She examined his tongue and she said that’s only because of milk. All we need to do is mix a pinch of baking powder with water and wipe his tongue with a clean cloth. Basically she said Adam looks healthy, alhamdulillah. She gave us colic drops and ubat demam in case Adam develops fever because of the jab. Most likely he won’t need it.

Lps habis check up, we went to Jusco for lunch. Mummy yg over excited sgt sbb lama giler dah tak keluar rumah. Dgn selambenye mkn Pizza Hut! Huhu…bestnye…nyum2..

Beza betul keluar rumah time berdua and kluar bertiga. Kene prepare awal, kene bawak beg Adam, carseat Adam, stroller Adam. Kene cari selit masa/cari tmpt nak breastfeed Adam. Tapi….best gile la jalan bawak Adam. Mummy and Daddy tak abis2 snap pictures. He’s so well behaved! Alhamdulillah..macam ni selalu la kite kuar jalan2 kan Adam…

Adam happy dalam Maxicosi dia

Adam nangis lps kene jab..sian dia..

Adam and Daddy @ Pizza Hut

Adam @ 4 weeks

Skejap je Adam dah 4 weeks old. Next week dia ade appointment dgn doktor. Adam dah semakin tembam skarang..activity utama Adam tido..biasanya dia tido mcm biasa je..telentang..tapi kadang2 ada posisi2 lain yg lebih menarik..meh kite tgk fashion2 tido Adam..

Yang ni aksi tido paling weird so far. Tido duduk. Adam masa ni tgh moody. I tried holding him in different positions to calm him down. Tgh i pegang dia duduk mcm ni, tibe2 je dia lelap :)

Tgk tu bukan main sedap dia tido

ni pulak dia tido mengereng. pandai je dia pusing badan dia

Ini favourite position dia. Telangkup esp atas badan Mummy or Daddy

Yang ni bukan aksi tido tapi aksi Adam kene mandi. Meraung2 mcmla kene dera..isk3..sian dia tak suka mandi...hehe..

Adam headbanging

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbaDd7VLKZY

3 weeks update

The thing that surprises me the most about motherhood is the love I feel for my baby. To anyone who is contemplating whether it’s too soon for them to have a baby, my advise is, just do it..it’s never too soon! Seronok tau ada baby ni…taktau nak describe..

Characteristics of baby Adam masa baru lahir;
-Banyak rambut, halus, and ada sideburn panjang mcm Daddy
-Kuku gelas mcm Daddy
-Skin kadang2 gelap/merah esp bila dia nak nangis and kadang2 putih bila dia calm
-Muka ada org ckp mcm Daddy, ada org ckp mcm Mummy
-Kecik je dia…2.7kg
-To me dia cute sgt!

Perkembangan baby Adam after 3 weeks;
-At around 1-2 weeks dia dah suka angkat kepala lama2, mcm kuat je leher..i wish I could put the video here
-Banyak menyusu every 2 hours approximately, dah tembam sikit
-Suka burp ngan Daddy. Actually bukan dia burp pun, dia syok tido kat Daddy’s chest
-Alhamdulillah tak meragam
-Pandai mengerengkan badan sendiri bila tido
-Tak suka mandi, time ni lah kalau nak dgr suara dia meraung
-Badan ikut temperature Mummy. Tak boleh sejuk2. That’s why dia tak suka mandi kot
-Masa breastfeeding suka tutup muka dgn tgn
-Suka kuarkan tgn dari bedung
-Byk expression muka. Senyum, masam, muncung, ketawa..even tgh tido pun.
-Tak heran pun kalau kite lambat tukar pampers dia. Tapi kalau lambat feed dia bila dia lapar…siapla…
-Lebih berjaga mlm daripada siang

As for myself, my recovery is going well, I think. The whole “toilet issue” I was worried about takla seteruk yg I sangkakan. My auntie who is a nurse told me the doctor did a good job with the stitches and I’m healing well. Sakit/sleep deprivation ada la but tgk muka Adam sejuk je rasa.. I hate berpantang though, it’s the only part of having a baby that I really hate. Makan sayur pun tak boleh..buah pun tak boleh..mana nak dpt energy. Mandi tak boleh cuci rambut, my hair stinks! I wish I’d gotten dry shampoo like Along. In the first week I used pilis, param, barut etc..My body stank of yucky herbs and my clothes had yellow stains all over. I sweat all the time sbb sentiasa kene pakai barut, stoking, selimut. I had to ikat my hair high and stick a paku in my hair. The paku tercocok kepala I a few times, nasib baik tak kene baby. I feel like I’m being punished for having a baby.Hmm..mcm2 la…with my hormones lagi yg cause me to cry uncontrollably..maybe tu yg dipanggil baby blues..

BUT, having Adam is definitely worth everything, no contest.

Selalunya Adam tido jer..

Kadang2 je bangun buka mata mcm ni..

Adam senyum tgh burp ngan Daddy

Adam and Mummy

The Birth Story

Today marks the one week birthday and the supposed due date of my son.

Thursday, 4 October 2007

I noticed some spotting before Zuhur and Asar prayer. I called Dr Fauziah’s clinic for consultation. She asked if I was fasting. I said yes, so she told me to come to the labour rooms after breaking fast to have a check up to make sure everything’s ok. After Maghrib I almost didn’t go to the hospital because I was already tired and wanted to go to sleep. But my husband and my sister both insisted I go and that I might deliver tonight. I takde perasaan mcm nak beranak pun lg. Anyway my husband convinced me to go, dia kata ala sekejap je check, then kite balik.

Baru masuk nak check

CTG Machine

We reached the hospital around 9 pm. I was monitored with the CTG machine and a nurse checked my dilation. She said I was 1.5 cm dialated and to my surprise, she also told me the CTG results showed that I was already having contractions. She called my doctor. She came back in and told me I was to be warded straight away. So I tanya nurse,

I kene stay for observation la ye?

Takla, nanti kita masuk ubat..then you terus stay sampai beranak la nanti..

Oh my God.

She got me into the blue robe and that’s when reality sank in. This is it. I thought I would have some sort of instinctive feeling that would tell me the time has come. But no, the moment came sneaking on me. I started to panic. Nasib baik dear Hubby was there to calm me down.

The nurse gave me an “injection” up the butt to clear my bowels. At 12am, she inserted the vagina tablets to increase the contraction intensity.

Friday, 5 October 2007

The contraction pains came at around 1 am. They feel like period cramps, but they get more and more painful. Masa ni the nurses asked me to sleep tapi dah susah because of the pain. My husband lagi kesian, he stayed by my side sepanjang mlm, duduk atas kerusi je. The whole night I was put on the CTG machine. Benci betul, that thing terlalu ketat on my tummy, tambah contraction lagi, dahla takleh pusing kiri kanan takleh bangun..kene baring telentang which really hurts my lower back and makes the baby push even more on my ribs.

Hubby sleeping on the chair

At around 8.30am, Dr Fauziah came in to check on me. I was only 3 cm dialated after inserting the tablets 8 hours ago. She punctured my water bag. Oh my God, it was SO PAINFUL! Felt like the process lasted forever. I heard her keep saying “Sorry Darling, Sorry Darling”. I saw her taking out a looong stick – mcm lidi, and cucuk kat dlm tu! After that, bushhh!!! Kluar air melambak..

After that the contraction pain intensified. She said maybe it’s ok to take epidural because my dilation was taking so long. If I were to take it, it had to be done when I’m 3-4 cm dialated. I was thinking, 1.5cm increase pun ambik masa 8 hours, when will we reach 10 cm full dilation? Since it looks like this was going to be a very long labour I decided to take epidural. Turned out, best decision I ever made. Around 10 am, the anesthetist Dr Ooi came in to put the big needle in. Process was painful, but was nothing compared to the contractions I was feeling every 2 minutes. After that, no more cramps! I was also put on a drip to increase my contractions.

My dilation progressed really slowly. My gynea had to leave in the afternoon for a meeting, sbb dah lmbt sgt I tak beranak2 jugak. Another gynea, Dr Ariza replaced her. At around 4.30 pm, Dr Ariza came to check on me. I was only 5 cm dialated. She told me, let’s give it some more time. In 2 hours, if the dilation doesn’t increase up to 7-8 cm, we will need to proceed to c-section. The baby’s heartbeat has been steady before but it has started to increase. What?? C-Section?? I wasn’t ready for this!! Everything else was going well; my contractions dah kuat sgt tapi doctor pun taktau nape I tak dilate lagi. She told me nasib baik I amik epidural otherwise mmg dah tak mampu punya nak endure the long labour. The next 2 hours was excruciating for me. I was so scared and exhausted. My husband kept encouraging me.

To kak Fifah, at this point I thought of your advice about being prepared for emergency c-sect. Unfortunately, I remained blissfully ignorant despite your wise advice, sbb mmg tanak sgt operate.

Around 6.45 pm, a nurse came to do the VE. My dilation was 6 cm. Not good enough. Nurse said, takpe, kita buka dulu, lps ni kita check lagi for the last time before doctor dtg. Sedih betul masa ni,nampaknya mcm takde harapan je. Mmg tawakkal ajelah…

Close to 8 pm, lps buka puasa, a nurse came in. she checked me and…tara!! I was fully dialated! I don’t know how I went from 6cm to 10cm in about 1 hour. Mmg kuasa Allah..Alhamdulillah…

Dr Ariza was immediately called. I was put in position for pushing. Masa ni I dah letih dan mengantuk sgt2, and my body was shaking uncontrollably. But I was so happy because it was finally time. So I pushed and pushed with encouragements from my husband, 2 nurses and Dr Ariza. In about 15 minutes, Adam came into the world. Screaming. They put him on my tummy and I saw him for the first time. Comelnye anak Mummy…

After almost 24 hours of labour, at 8.26pm 5 October 2007, I became the proud mother of baby Adam Mikhael.

Adam kene suck


Adam ukur berat

Welcome to the World, Adam!

Alhamdulillah..

Syukur pd Allah..semuanya dah selamat..

Baby Adam dah dilahirkan pada 5 October 2007, dgn berat 2.74 kg.

Our lives have changed in ways I could never have imagined.

Internet connection is poor unfortunately. Stay tuned for the birthstory, coming up as soon as I could find the time (and signal!).

38th week update

Last week during check up Dr Fauziah asked me to induce because she thought I might be diabetic. I was so nervous suddenly feeling like I’m not ready yet. Terus ajak my husband beli barang, made plans for a big dinner etc. Story about this dah diceritakan oleh my husband at the other blog.

Anyway, proper blood test revealed that I wasn’t diabetic afterall. Tiba2 after knowing that rase disappointed pulak…heh..tak dpt jumpa Adam…

We contemplated getting induced on Friday so that my brother can see Adam before going back to Germany on Sunday. But looking at my father’s condition plus my mother going to Umrah, susah sikitla kalau I bersalin. My husband will be the only one taking care of both my father and I. Sorang kat Damansara, sorang kat Ampang Puteri. Pengsan la Daddy…So we decided to let Adam decide when he wants to come out =)

Last Saturday I had a bloody show, I think. I’m still not sure what it was. Colour mcm pink2 sikit, very little. Tapi there’s no pain or cramps yet as of today. My tummy pun still “high”. Maksudnya Adam blom engage lagi. Bila Adam nak engage ni..

On Saturday my mom went for Umrah. On Sunday my brother balik Germany. Adam still tak bagi signal untuk keluar….jadi, kita tunggu sajelah…heheh..The best timing would be after this coming weekend because my brother Ali studying in Perak would be coming home for Raya holidays already, alhamdulillah. So he can look after my father while my husband take care of me (play with Adam!).

I’m now at my 38th week. Tomorrow I have a check up with Dr Fauziah again. Judging from the last check up, Dr Fauziah ni nampak mcm nak suruh I bersalin cepat jer..Maybe because she won’t be around during Raya, my due date. Tunggu la skejap ye doctor, weekend ni I beranak, mcmana..ok? I plan to ask for MC for the rest of this week because I dah tak larat nak pergi kerja plus someone needs to be at the hospital during daytime to look after my father. Harap2 Dr Fauziah berbaik hatila nak bagi I MC…

Barang2 for baby and for myself dah pun ready. So sekarang tinggal nak menghitung hari jelah…Bila agaknya Adam nak keluar ye….

Come out and play, Adam dear. Mummy’s waiting for you =)

Atuk Adam

Atuk Adam semakin hari semakin tenat. Yesterday dia masuk HDU. Story of his illness is too long for me to elaborate here.

I know he’s really happy and excited to see his first grandchild. Semoga Allah sembuhkan semua panyakit2 Abah dan panjangkan umur Abah…

Adam, kluar cepat2 jumpa Atuk, ok..

To anybody yg kebetulan singgah kat blog ni, pls pray for his health…

Third trimester complaints

So it’s true after all that second trimester is the honeymoon period. Compared to third trimester, 2nd trimester feels like a pleasant memory.

Apekah symptom2 third trimester? Whenever my husband asks me, are you ok, sakit kat mana? I don’t really know what to reply because it hurts everywhere!

My head aches. My neck aches. My shoulders ache. My hands ache. My back aches. My waist aches. My butt aches. My thighs ache. My knees ache. My betis ache. My feet ache. Even my belly aches.

Bila nak bernafas, mengah2 mcm tak cukup oxygen. Berapa besar size bra I dah tukar pun still rase mcm bra tu menjerut2 my chest. Berdiri lama2 takleh, duduk lama2 pun takleh. Jalan lama2 lagila takleh. Malam2 susah nak tido, pusing kiri pusing kanan dan nak berpusing2 tu pun sakit, because baby pun dah sempit inside my tummy. Siang hari jadi mengantuk, tapi takde time utk nap.

All activities yg simple utk org biasa seems to require so much energy. I’m constantly exhausted but I just have to push myself. I think sbb my tummy looks so small org ingat tak berat aku angkat badan ni. Kene jugak pergi keje, kene pegi sana pegi sini angkat itu ini. Kalau dulu tak luak langsung buat bende2 biasa ni but now, my body gets so tired so easily.

Kesian my husband yg constantly have to listen and help me with all my complaints. Thank you so much, sayang..Pls bear with me for a few more weeks..

Oh no, I’m being such a drama queen. Today is a particularly miserable day so please forgive my rantings.

Apa2pun, I’m still so grateful because very very soon, I can hopefully hold my dear Adam in my arms :)

36 weeks check up

Just got back from my 36th week check up.

Dr Fauziah gave me the admission form. So anytime now whenever Adam decides to make his grand entrance we can go straight to Emergency. This check up was really brief. Doc scanned my tummy, reported that Adam’s weight now is 2.3 – 2.4 kg. She said weight is low tapi oklah as soon as minimum 2.5 kg time deliver nanti. Soon as he heard it my husband terus buat muka sedih..down giler dia..Sian Daddy kan Adam. Nanti Mummy mkn byk2 lagi, ok. I didn’t gain any weight myself.

Yg kelakarnya, prescription doctor for me this time;

1. Go shopping. Actually she said more walking but my husband punya conclusion is more shopping and doctor pun senyum je in agreement. Hehe..

2. More s*x. This one not my husband punya own conclusion, ok. She actually said it would help to soften the vagina and ease labour..hehe..

Well, I’m not complaining!

8 month - 35 weeks check up

Yesterday we went for my check up. This time there was such a loooong queue at the clinic sampaikan my husband yg sgt penyabar itu pun dah bangun gi tanya nurse what’s going on, why aren’t we seeing the doctor yet although our appointment was supposed to be at 10am.

Finally our turn came. As I walked in the door, Dr Fauziah terus ckp, ‘Eh, yg ni kecik sgt pulak perut dia. Tapi you dah dekat nak deliver dah ni kan….”. Then when she scans my belly, she told us Adam is healthy, the amniotic fluid is enough, baby’s head is positioned down where it’s supposed to be. So even though Adam’s size is a bit small, everything else is fine, so there’s no need to worry. Adam now weighs 2.2 kg, so he gained about 0.4 kg compared to last month. Mummy gained 2 kg compared to last month. Doc ckp I rase baby you ni mungkin lahir tak sampai 3 kg. My husband is disappointed because dia nak Adam montel…Sibukla dia buat plans to feed me even MORE FOOD…adoi laki aku ni….hehe..

We asked doc a few things. On episiotomy, she said it’s often practiced for first babies. Second one, not so much. On epidural pulak, I asked what is her opinion. She said, it’s up to you but she advised me to look at the situation. Kalau time I am admitted to the hospital tu I am already 5-6 cm dialated, tak perlulah. Kalau I am induced, or kalau my labour pain starts early ( i.e. 1-2 cm dialated pun dah sakit, labour process would take looong hours) it’s best to take the epidural. Sbb if not then after 12 – 24 hours you dah takde energy nak push. Tapi kalau you tahan sakit, cepat dilate and labour process mcm short, tak perlulah amik epidural. On the side effects pulak, she said medically takde side effects yg teruk but some ppl have the opinion that it will cause back pain. But in her opinion back pain tu could be caused by other things like your posture, too much bending during confinement, etc. sbb org yg tak ambik epidural pun ada yg have back pain. So kesimpulannya I think I will take her advise la. Tgk keadaan mcmana when I’m in labour nanti…..(tak sabarnya!). My husband tanya pasal sunatkan baby. She said lagi bagus buat time baby, senang nak jaga and baby will recover very quickly. But my husband still nak Adam rasa thrill bersunat time besar sikit…which I don’t understand ape yg thrillnye? Mungkin seronok kot awek2 dtg visit…hehe..Oklah, part ni I leave to you la ye Daddy..

Lps our check up ade representative from a cord blood bank approached us. We’ve been thinking about this and we think it might be a good idea to bank Adam's cord blood. Lps dgr her explanation, we’re more convinced we should do it. Basically cord blood ni bila kite letak anywhere in the body, it can transform into any type of tissues. Contohnya, bila org diabetic nak kene buang part of his kaki ke, the tissues can be replaced by cord blood. Letak kat jantung dia jadi tissue jantung. Byk penyakit boleh guna cord blood ni. Any member of the family can use it, provided that they’re a match. For adik2 Adam and Mummy and Daddy, the match normally is 100%. For extended families, ada 50-70% chance of a match. Since my family esp my father byk history of illnesses mcm kencing manis, cancer etc, mungkin cord blood ni byk gunanya in the future..Bayaran nak keep the blood pun taklah semahal yg kitorg sangka…alhamdulillah.

Lps ni my appointments at the hospital every week. Next Monday ada appointment lagi. I love coming for check ups because I can see Adam active on the scanner. You know the feeling when the holidays/vacation is approaching, you’re so excited that even when you’re at work you feel like your “soul” dah pegi to that vacation place? That’s how I feel right now with 5 weeks to go till my due date. Malas dah nak pi keje!

Parent Craft Class 2

Lagi satu delayed entry.

Last Saturday (1st Sept) we went for another parentcraft class. This time the topic is Bathing the baby, Breastfeeding and Orientation to labour room.

So kali ni adelah nurse tu bawak 2 dolls yg bersaiz baby. Dia tunjukkan cara2 mandikan baby. Mula dgn cuci muka, pastu rambut, pastu badan baby. Complete with how to hold him correctly. My husband took a video of the session. I’m so nervous because nak pegang newborn baby pun I takut, inikan pulak nak mandikan dia! Org ckp, anak sendiri you’ll naturally know what to do…hai..i hope they’re right!

On breastfeeding pulak, the info was quite useful. I’m very happy with the hospital punya baby friendly policy. Zaman dulu2 takde awareness mcm ni. Tu yg ramai sumbat formula milk je. Alhamdulillah, now I can get plenty of help at this hospital to learn proper breastfeeding.

Finally diorg bawak the class pegi to the labour room. Wah mmg excited gile nak pegi! When we got there, I saw one of the rooms still had blood splattering everywhere! Here’s a pic of a labour room, but a clean one la.

Kat tepi tingkap tu nampak tak ada flat surface kat situ? That’s where they’ll place the baby once he’s delivered. Nurse kata they will “suck” the baby. I assume it means they clear out all the blood/mucus around the baby kot? And then after that baru they hand over the baby to the father / mother to initiate breastfeeding (while the doctor stitch her up!).

Kat belakang bed to pulak nampak kan ada wayar2 berselirat n mcm ada meter? That’s the gas. One of the painkiller la. So kalau nak amik gas, sedut dari situ. Belah satu lagi katil tu pulak, ada tiang mcm tmpt sangkut drip tu kan? That’s where they’ll place the epidural punya drip, if you choose / need to take it. Ada jugak tmpt letak kaki dan bar utk mother pegang time nak push (rupanya agak menakutkan) but takde pic pulak. This labour room is for normal delivery, kalau cesearean bukan kat this room, they’ll take you to operation theater.

One more highlight to our class that day, another couple (who attended the class last week) was missing. The nurse told us, she just delivered! In fact, she delivered while we were in class, learning how to bathe the baby! While we had the labour room tour, I saw two names on the board – mothers who gave birth that day- and the second name was her! So agak2nye the blood we saw in the labour room tu her blood ler kot..hehe.

Nurse tu pun dgn baik hati brought us to visit her. Masuk2 je dlm bilik dia, first thing she said to us was “ I ada satu bende je nak bgtau u all, ambikla epidural!!” hahaha…mmg sakit agaknye bersalin ni..hehe. But she looked healthy and energetic even though she just gave birth a couple of hours ago. She was only 36 weeks. Alamak, I’m 35 weeks today, so….wah..dah dekat sgt ni. I’m so excited!

Pak Ngah Adam balik

Lama dah nak buat entry ni, tapi internet slow sgt..

My brother dah balik! Here’s a pic of him arriving at the airport. Dia bukan bawak ape sgt..yg kotak2 besar atas trolley tu is Adam’s stroller!

terkejut tgk his hair so short

Ni dia Maxicosi child carrier / carseat yg my brother beli kan.

Comel kan?

Ni pulak the Zapp stroller utk bila Adam dah besar sikit. Ignore the structure yg agak senget. My sister and I yg tried to unfold it, tapi tak cukup skill.

lambat lagi Adam boleh pakai ni..

The Zapp stroller punya frame can be used with the Maxicosi. So bila dah pasang rupa dia jadi mcm ni. We’ll keep it this way for Adam until he’s old enough to use the Zapp seater.

nampak cool tak? ada built in sunroof jugak kat belakang tu..

Ptg tu pulak Adam’s cot arrived! So my husband apelagi excitedla. He and my brother pun terus assemble the cot.

Daddy tak sabar sgt nak pasang cot Adam sampai baju ofis tu tak sempat tukar

Ni lah rupa cot tu lps dah siap pasang

Waaa..byk dah ready ni. Bila Adam nak jumpa Mummy?

To my brother, welcome home!

parentcraft class and baby shopping

Last weekend banyak buat preparation for Adam’s arrival. On Saturday we went to the hospital for the Parentcraft class. The topic was labour and post natal care. Masa citer pasal labour tu for the first time rasa seriau jugak tgk the pics as the nurse explained the three stages of labour, esp bila part episiotomy, aww! The nurse said it’s rather common for the doctors in this hospital to perform episiotomy to avoid natural tear which might be worse. I felt fine upon hearing that but afterwards I read a completely different view on episiotomy on the babycentre weekly update. They say episiotomy is no longer practiced frequently because it cause even worse tearing (lebih kurang mcm kain yg terkoyak sikit, lebih mudah nak koyakkan lagi) and difficult/long recovery. Must remember to discuss this with Dr Fauziah.

Tapi kalau nak compare rasa takut and rasa excited tu, rasanya rasa excited nak jumpa Adam tu melebih2 sampai kalau boleh secepat mungkin nak go into labour so that I can meet my baby..hehe..tapi takpe, Adam stay dulu in Mummy’s tummy until you’re ready to come out, ok..

Alhamdulillah the hospital is pro-breastfeeding. Lps je deliver, nurse akan pass the baby to Daddy utk azan/iqamat, then pass to Mummy immediately to initiate breastfeeding. Formula is absolutely forbidden unless betul2 problem. I heard some hospitals won’t allow breastfeeding within an hour after delivery or rooming in.

On Sunday we went to Alamanda and Jusco to get the rest of Adam’s stuff. Bought his cot, my husband has been eyeing this one for a long time. Unfortunately they don’t have the colour we want in stock so they’re ordering one for us, we’ll probably get it next week. Beli jugak his bath tub and bath net, nail clippers, hair comb dan bende2 lain to complete our “Baby’s list”. Tapi ada jugak terbeli unnecessary items mcm rubber duckie thermometer for his bath (so cute!) and “Baby On Board” sticker to put in the car. We also bought some stuff to complete the “Mummy’s list”. Alhamdulillah most things dah settle. Lepas ni I don’t know if I’ll have the energy to go shopping anymore. Now skejap je jalan pun dah mula mengah2, sakit perut, lenguh, dizzy dan mcm2 lagilah. Kesian my hubby kene layan baby besar tempayan ni…huhu. I don’t want to miss out on the shopping though sbb seronok tgk barang2 baby ni esp dgn Daddy Adam. Nanti dah sarat sgt cik abg tu kene shopping sorang2 pulak..Anyway still ada very few things to buy. Harap2 laratla makyong ni jalan nanti...

My brother aka Pak Ngah Adam yang nak balik Malaysia soon dah belikan Adam’s stroller! Sgt cool stroller tu, ok! Cepat2 la balik..Semua org dah tertanya2 bila la Imi nak sampai ni…huhu..

7th month check up

Last week we went for my 7 month check up. This time tak dpt jumpa Dr Fauziah sbb she was on leave. Tak boleh postpone lagi because I was approaching 8 months already. Jumpa doctor locum Datin Dr Mimin (?).

My husband took some pictures during the check up.

Ni la screen besar untuk doktor2 dan bapak2 budak.

Me on the bed and you can see the smaller screen on my left

Doc Mimin pun confirmkan lagi it’s a boy. She accidentally saw it while scanning me. She said Adam now weighs 1.8 kg. Alhamdulillah 1 kg weight gain from our last check up. I myself gained 2.5 kg compared to last month. Phew lega! With my recent food intake I was expecting 4-5 kg weight gain. My husband pun tersenyum lebar konon2 bangga sebagai my dietician..cit..Everything looks ok during the scan. Doc ckp Adam’s head position dia kat bawah rupanye. She tried to capture a scan of Adam’s face tapi tak dpt because he was so active! Tgn dia bergerak2 masuk mulutla and tumbuk2 mcm tgh kickboxing! So cute! Daddy ckp mungkin Adam nak jadi boxer kot?

I had another ATT jab also. Masa injection I heard the nurse ckp to her friend, alamak tak masuk. And then she said to me “Sabar jap ye kak”. My hand mula rase sengal. Very painful and the worrying thing was the pain was continuous sampaila kitorg balik. Singgah rumah kejap and I took 2 panadols sbb dah tak tahan sgt. I dah takut kot2la nurse salah administer the jab. Few hours later alhamdulillah the pain rasa kurang after the panadol. I asked a colleague and it turns out mmg it’s supposed to be painful. For her both shots she had pain in the whole hand for a week. For me alhamdulillah the 1st jab tak sakit langsung and the 2nd only painful for a while.

Everyday my tummy gets visibly bigger. Adam pulak sentiasa bergerak2. My belly terbonjol sana sini dgn kaki dia, or tangan dia. Hmm, bila la nak labour ni. I dah tak sabar…hehe.

my sweet tooth

Lately, it looks as though my appetite has tripled. Asyik nak melantaaak je. Sikit2 lapar. I’ve developed an extremely sweet tooth. I told my husband, pls make sure I don’t eat more than necessary. Dia pun, yes, yes, I’ll help you control your diet, ok. Here’s his idea of “helping” me;

Buying me 3 huge bar of Cadbury at once. 2 for home and 1 for the office.

Buying a big tub of ice cream for our freezer.

Encouraging me to eat more each meal.

Tempting me to get Famous Amos cookies which he knows I cannot resist.

Treating me to Baskin Robbins ice cream after I ate said cookies.

Suggesting waffles with ice cream n chocolate for dessert.

In my pregnant state of mind, I just pretend to protest a little but will not resist his offers. Ahh, ignorance is bliss.

He insists that I need all the “nutrition”.

I think he’s secretly trying to get Adam to come out cute and chubby.

Either that or he’s enjoying FatMama’s curves! Haha!

When Daddy cooks

Last Friday lepas balik keje I was contemplating what to cook for dinner when suddenly out of the blue..

“Yang, biar abg masakla harini!”

Wah, what a pleasant surprise! Not only that, he also insisted I shouldn’t help and should just rest! And so mak buyong pun bersenang lenang dpn tv while Daddy bertungkus lumus memasak didapur.

My husband ni kalau masak mmg kemas la dapur tu. Selalu I dgr org komplen laki diorg kalau masak habisla dapur mcm tongkang pecah. But dia ni tak, terbalik pulak. I masak semak, dia masak clean jer..ala-ala Jamie Oliver punya kitchen la..hehe.

So menunya :

Ayam kicap black pepper

Mushroom stir fry

Teringat lak zaman bercinta study kat UK dulu. At my rented house we take turns to cook but only 4 days a week (sbb 4 org share 1 rumah). So the rest of the week tu I selalu kebuluran. So kadang2 cik abg ni bwkla lauk yg dia masak (if it’s his turn to cook at his house) to the it centre, tmpt kitorg dating study to feed girlfren yg kebuluran itew…huhu..

Berbalik pada citer Naked Chef Jamie Oliver tadi, nilah hasilnya;

Sedap tau!

Adam, nanti blaja masak ngan Daddy ok…

To my favourite Chef, thank you so much! Yummy!

Tummy pics

My tummy at 6 months

My tummy at 7 months

2nd trimester complaints

I’ve just launched myself into the final trimester of pregnancy. 2nd trimester passed like a breeze, almost.

Starting from the fourth month, I lost my morning sickness from the first trimester, thank God! No more headaches, nausea and vomiting. Smells of food doesn’t disturb me anymore so I started cooking again. I got less weird dreams too.

My tummy got noticeably bigger around 5 months. With it came the exciting kicks moves from Adam and also the much less exciting back and leg pains. Pantang berdiri lama sikit, sakit kaki & sakit belakang.

Around 6 months pulak, I started getting leg cramps. I’ve never had a cramp in my life. When we were in Kundasang Sabah, it was really cold there and I had my first cramp in the middle of the night. Luckily hubby is a footballer so he didn’t panic like I did and knew exactly what to do. I screamed, he jumped right up, straightened my leg and pushed the toes back. I’ve had more leg cramps since but they only last a sec and my husband is always there to fix it. Thank you sayang! Dr Fauziah told me I should wear socks to sleep and remember to take my calcium pills to avoid it.

My body got a little more uncomfortable each day. Duduk salah, diri salah, baring pun salah. Kalau baring, pusing kiri, pusing kanan. Esp bila dumdam dumdam si Adam gerak kat dalam..ada kaki dia terselit sini, tangan terselit sana. I guess space it getting tight for his growing little body. If I’m feeling uncomfortable although I can move any direction I want, I wonder how much more uncomfortable it must be in there for him.

It had started to become considerably harder for me to breathe. I’m not sure whether it’s because the baby is bigger or because I need to take in more oxygen. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the best way to handle this, does anyone know?

I haven’t had much trouble sleeping. Yet, at least. Usually at the end of the day I’m already exhausted and could easily fall asleep. But if I wake up in the middle of the night for the usual loo visits, it would take me at least an hour to fall back to sleep. During the day when at work, I selalu feel sleepy even though I had enough sleep the night before. Not sure why.

2nd trimester was the so-called honeymoon period. Hmm, I dread to think what the third trimester is going to bring! But I’m also thrilled, because we’re getting nearer and nearer to the day I get to meet Adam =)

6 months check up

This check up we get to meet Dr Fauziah again. Adam was so active dari dlm kete sampaila during the check up. Adam suka ke jumpa Dr Fauziah?

We asked some questions (Daddy made a list..typed! hehe) including the one I had about set2 bersalin/jamu. Apparently she also thinks it’s a waste of money. Oklah, dah save duit kat situ. But..err…how am I going to slim down after birth? What?? Exercise? Can’t find that word in my dictionary!!

Dr Fauziah confirmed again that our baby is a boy. This time even I could see it clearly. Last time I tak nampak langsung. Tapi when the sonogrammer and my husband dua2 dah angguk2 in agreement I pun angguk jelah!

Everything looked ok. She presented us with an unpleasant surprise, though. My blood test results came through and it turns out I don’t have vaccination against Rubella! (But suddenly I’m vaccinated against hepatitis pulak which I have no idea where I got it from). She said there’s nothing we can do to protect me from getting infected during this pregnancy. I can only get the vaccination once I give birth (to protect the next baby). Poor Adam! She said I should stay away from anybody yg ill, demam2 etc. Yg peliknya, I am CERTAIN I got the injection when I was in standard 3! Didn’t we all?? Did the nurse give me hepatitis injection instead of Rubella? She also said that if I do get infected, “it’s ok” because I’m passed the first trimester so the baby will “only” become deaf or other “minor” defects. I sat there thinking, WHAT??? I don’t want Adam to have any defect at all!! But I guess in the first trimester the defects are much much worse.

She suggested we go for parent craft classes they have at the hospital. We’re going next month, hopefully. Afterwards we went to Accidents and Emergency for TB vaccination.

Pregnancy makes time flies so quickly, somehow. Err..7 months dah boleh beranak kan? I hope I’ll have enough time to equip myself with the Mommy skills!

Shopping

How does one go about shopping for a baby? I had done some surveying on the internet and got a list of stuff we need to buy. We went to Midvalley all excited, and yet after a couple of rounds in the Jusco’s baby department, Mom’s care and Mothercare, we were still clueless on what to buy!

Which brands to choose?
Electric or manual?
0 -3 months or 3 -6 months?
Long sleeves or short sleeves?
Shorts or long pants..or..bodysuits? Does it even matter?
How many bottles?
Bottle warmer, do I need it? Can’t I just put milk bottle in hot water?
What’s a nippl* shield?
Stroller for newborn or for bigger babies?
With carseat/infant carrier or without?
Carseat with base or without (what is the base for?)?
What type of babycot? Price range is huge
What on earth is a bonnet and what is it doing the “baby’s clothes” list, shouldn’t it be part of a car?
Etc

I started reading forums on the internet about pregnancy and babies. It helps especially on deciding what stuff I really need to buy and which brands are better than others.

(oh no, how do I tell Adam later that my sole inspiration for raising him was the World Wide Web??)

We finally got some baby things bought but we’re still a long way to go. Tapi seronok beli barang baby ni. Geram je tgk sume cute2. Cuma taktau nak pilih jer. Nowadays kalau nak beli barang mengarut2 mesti terpikir, ish, baik pakai duit beli barang Adam!

Adam, bila nak keluar? Mummy Daddy dah over excited ni!

I need an info counter

As a first time mom I feel like there is so many things I need to know and yet so little of them I do know. To make it worse, we’re one of the earliest among our friends to get married so we practically have no one to refer to for advice.

Masa berpantang:
What is pilis and..err..param?I think it’s some sort of traditional ubat but I’m not sure.

What does a tungku looks like, when should it be used and where should I get it?
What sort of food should I eat, and what I shouldn’t?
How do I hold a newborn baby?
How do I bathe a newborn baby?
How do I feed a newborn baby?
Does the baby sleep with me or in his cot?
Won’t I accidentally hempap the baby in my sleep??
I heard husband cannot sleep with wife during pantang , is this true?
Do I need some sort of jamu and where from?Salindah?Amway?
Does the baby need a barut and where do I get it?
Do I need some sort of barut also?
What will my tummy look like once the baby comes out?
Will I need to apply some sort of cream, err..ubat2 on my tummy?
Can I watch tv and if not what will I do to kill time in that 2 months?
Where will I go for berpantang because my mom works plus she’s not the kampong/pantang kind. Example: she tried feeding me many many times with pineapple during this pregnancy!
What do I do about the whole “toilet” situation?? I heard it’s awfully painful! Honestly I’m more afraid of going to the loo after childbirth that the actual childbirth/labour itself!

All this and so much more I need to know. Tell me, is there an information counter somewhere?

Thank you!

Yesterday I tried to cook dinner but somehow tak jadi so terpaksa masak lagi sekali and sudahnya lauk tak sedap and I didn’t realise I was standing for so long. Agaknye my blood semua turun ke kaki last2 rase nak pitam. By the time my husband come home I was in terrible mood already because my legs were hurting plus tak berbaloi langsung sbb lauk tak sedap.

Adam kicked so much masa berbuka puasa and after that, as if dia tau pulak Mummy’s in really bad mood. Lately I noticed Adam suka kick time I tgh bad mood/sad. Adekah I perasan saje or mmg Adam can sense my mood, I wonder? Later after prayers Daddy pulak tolong urutkan my legs. He keep telling me sedap I masak eventhough I know tak sedap pun..hehe.

I feel so much better in the morning. Thank you to both my favourite boys =) muahs!

Miri trip

Adam,
Daddy’s gone to Miri yesterday and Mummy’s feeling blue…hehe

Before he went he told you to take care of me which I thought was sweet but ridiculous, obviously. But somehow in your own way I think you did. On the way back from the airport you started kicking me. And you keep kicking and moving so much the whole day, keeping me company. Usually when you start kicking rigorously it’s either one of two reasons; it’s food time, or prayer time. But yesterday you were active the whole day and only rested with me at night when I go to bed.

Thank you so much, my Baby, for being here when I need you =)

To my dear husband, pls come home cos I’m afraid our house will turn into sarang tikus soon without you..hehe..

My Baby is...

A BOY!!

Last Friday we had a detail scan at the hospital and we asked the sonogrammer to check the baby’s sex. First she took pictures of the baby’s face, and asked my husband if he thought Baby looked like mom or dad? Btw, they have a HUGE screen for husbands and doctors to watch the baby and teeny tiny screen for the mummies! So mummy can’t have a valid opinion on who the baby looks like, really! My husband said Baby looks like me! She agreed and straightaway she said, then this one must be a boy. She moved the sonogram to between Baby’s legs and..there it is!

So from now on, let’s call the Baby, Adam.

Don’t you just love that name?

My husband is ecstatic sbb ada geng nak main bola!

Sonogrammer also checked other parts of Adam’s little body. His kidney, brain functions, how many fingers, heart etc. I was holding my breath as she scanned each part of him because I was so nervous. But alhamdulillah, she told me everything looks fine.

My healthy little boy Adam, I love you! I hope you grow up to be just like your Daddy =)

Mengidam

Strangely, or should I say fortunately, I so far have not had any crazy cravings or ckp melayunya mengidamla kan. However, I have developed rather weird eating habits. Masa mula2 pregnant dulu, mostly food with the least smell is my choice, but this one tak weirdla, because of the nausea. Also, somehow my tongue had a slightly elevated tolerance to hot/spicy food. I read that expecting mothers should avoid spicy food in their diet but somehow makanan yg pedas2 tu yg boleh tolerate.

After a while my nausea got less and less and I developed a new habit. If given the choice I’d settle for only a particular sort of food. At lunch we’ll go to the usual kedai makcik, and I’ll always order the same thing; mee goreng. At dinnertime my husband would ask what I would like to eat tonight and my answer is always the same; bihun tomyam. I keep repeating this day after day. I got worried my baby won’t get the needed vitamins/protein etc because there was no variety at all to my diet, plus I realise how boring it is to eat the same thing day in and day out. But again come mealtime, and I just could not think of anything else appetizing. Lately, I started wanting rojak ayam from mamak repeatedly, which I never would’ve ordered before I got pregnant. There was also one phase when I wanted to eat Mcdonald’s double cheese and fries all the time, which is peculiar because my husband and I tak pernah pegi mkn Mcdonalds even since our dating days, unless mmg dah takde food lain.

Another weird thing is my pregnant appetite seems to avoid fried rice. Before this kat kedai makcik tu I would order its special “nasi goreng biasa” which is so sedap that I’ve influenced my colleagues and boss at work until diorg yg mengidam this nasi goreng. But now I never order it anymore, or any other types of fried rice from any other kedai. Usually if I’m somewhere else without access to usual mee goreng or bihun tomyam, I’ll order some other type of noodle or western food, but no rice.

Ada jugak teringin mkn other food, but these are just food that I mmg suka mkn, bukan sbb mengidam, I think, because if I don’t get them pun, no problem, takdelah menangis2 tgh mlm tak dpt aiskrim perasa durian belanda ke..things like that kan. Yg ada is just food yg mengada nak mkn.

One time I wanted durian, so a few times my husband got them for me. I ate a lot of them too before I found out pregnant ladies are not encouraged to eat durian. My gynea told me, boleh mkn, but sederhana la, maybe seulas dua? Ooops, I’ve eaten at least sebijik durian by myself in one sitting. Itu tak kire the next day makan lagi sebijik. But I heard you shouldn’t eat it because of the high temperature you get after eating durian, so my reasoning is since I was lucky that I had no problems with temperature rising, takpelah kot? (my husband said alah ayang ni ckp camtu sbb nak mkn lagila tu durian..hehe).

One time I wanted to eat Chinese food. We rarely get Chinese food here, but in the UK we used to go to this halal Chinese restaurant all the time. Tapi mcmana nak gi Sheffield ni? I remembered when I was little my father used to take us to this really good Chinese restaurant (To my brother: Imi, ingat tak kedai ni, Muhibbah ke apa nama dia, ada lift utk hantar food ke tingkat atas). I asked my dad but since his sickness his memory is rather rusty. His old self would’ve remembered the restaurant immediately together with how to get there, and with shortcuts, probably. Finally my husband took me to another restaurant, suggested by a friend.

Satu je yg blom dapat lagi…terubuk bakar..Anybody knows kat mana ada jual?

Other than these, adalah jugak teringin itu ini but takdelah yg desperate. I just want to write them down for fun in case later when my Baby grows up I could check whether his/her eating habits have any similarities with the food I eat/crave when carrying. I must say though that the amazing thing with being pregnant is that everyone around me seems to pay a lot of attention to whatever I say I want to eat. Everyone keep handing me food and trying to feed me. Sebut je apa dpt..hehe..Lucky me. Lucky you also, Baby, because you get to eat what I eat =)