Adam's 1st hospital stay - part 1

That weekend went balik kampong Muar. During the night Adam woke up at around 2 and started playing/talking and langsung tak tido sampaila the next day. Then the next day we went back home around noon and masa dlm car he started to become really cranky. Tapi dia mcm takleh gak nak tido. After that dah sampai rumah pun menangis2 je. Come nighttime his crying worsen sampai meraung2. Tak berhenti2 for soo many hours. I felt really sorry for him…Something was seriously wrong, that’s what I thought.

We checked his temperature, he had a little fever, but not that high. We tried everything to put him to sleep so he can rest, but tak dpt jugak. We even tried mandikan dia (masa tu dah tgh mlm kol 12 kot) just to calm him down, and it did…sbb dia kan suka mandi…masuk bath tub dia pun berhenti nangis sekejap…tapi once kluar je bath tub…start meraung balik…I totally ran out of ideas how to calm him down…sedih sgt tgk dia..Tgh2 mlm tu gak we took him to A&E at a hospital in Bangi. Doc said demam biasa je….Lps balik rumah dia still meraung2..My in laws kasi so many petua to calm him down-baca ayat Quran kat air kasi dia…sapu minyak etc…kesian diorg pun tak tido that night because they were so worried about Adam..I think all the petua even though still didn’t manage to calm him down, but they managed to calm me down instead…hehe..because of their sincerity..tq so much..saaayang diorg…hehe..

About 5 am baru Adam tido…and the next day Adam tido most of the day..i thought he was getting better..

Monday we went to his paed for his monthly jab..We told her what happened. Immediately she ordered a blood test for Adam. After the test terus she told us he actually has a bad bacterial infection and must be warded straight away. I was a little alarmed but also relieved…because I know he’ll get good medical care here…

Tq so much Dr Kumari…muahs!

Alhamdulillah...

Adam dah discharged from hospital...he looks so much better...

Wearing Adam

After the shoes came another project – making my own wrap.

Just as an intro, a wrap is a type of baby carrier similar to sling, Mei-Tais, Baby Bjorn and the like. A wrap in essence is just a simple piece of cloth which you can manipulate in many ways to wear your baby close to you. You can read about the advantages online. I was really attracted to a particular type/brand of wrap which is – Moby Wrap – which uses a very comfy stretchable material. I tried searching for this wrap in Malaysia, everywhere including online shops. I even went as far as suggesting to the moderator to be included in some online shops. But to no avail, as yet.

Recently I came across this website that taught you how to make a NO-SEW wrap. (pls visit www.mamatoto.org). Really, it didn’t occur to me it would be so simple. Unfortunately I found out that it’s very difficult to obtain the right material for the wrap (in Malaysia). Normal fabric stores here like Kamdar only sell familiar fabrics that you use to make baju kurung/langsir and the like. No selection of nice stretchy cotton – t-shirt like – material at all. So in the end I selected the best fabric I could find, which turned out wasn’t really good enough.

Adam - was initially happy/excited being in the wrap

backview (that's me gawking at Ikea cute fabrics)

Adam stayed happily in the carrier for quite some time…and then lepas tu he got either bored or uncomfortable, I’m not sure. Terus dia nak keluar. There’s a possibility he was just unfamiliar with the method (carried in a wrap). It seems like the material is a bit too thick/warm and a little rough for his skin. But it does have some stretch and it was comfortable for me to wear. I could’ve gone for hours wearing Adam with the wrap; I could hardly feel his weight.

p/s: Does anyone know where I can buy nice stretchable cotton?

A friend of mine is trying to buy a Moby Wrap for me off Ebay..but has to be from international sellers. Susah sikitla…

I wish I’d found out sooner about baby wearing. My baby loves to be carried and I would love to carry him frequently too but the problem is my arms cannot handle it for long periods of time. Of course in our culture people always say jangan angkat-angkat anak…nanti dia nak di angkat je all the time. Although I respect this, for me I don’t really believe in this, but this is just my opinionla. For me if the baby is given the love and attention when he needs it, he will be less insecure and more confident to be independent. It is the “ignored” babies that will become either attention seekers or less independent because of their feeling of insecurity inculcated by being left by themselves all the time. This is merely my own inexperienced view; pls do not feel insulted if you do not share the same belief. I’m positive that all mothers want the best for their children.

A good website for baby wearing is – www.thebabywearer.com. I found their link through www.muslimparenting.com (which is also another good website).

Just wondering, are there other mothers/fathers out there who wear their babies a lot too? Or would like to learn to wear their babies? I got the idea of forming a baby wearing group from the website I mentioned and I thought it would be great to share the many different techniques of baby wearing and experiences. Plus we can make it a baby wearing + breastfeeding support group. Pls tell me if you’re interested.

more booties

Another pair of booties for Adam. I made them using old baby clothes that has been passed on 3 generations and not exactly in wearable condition anymore.

i love the stripes

Adam loves them too =)

p/s: my cousin wants to lend me her sewing machine! i'm so excited! can't wait to pick it up...

mommy's booties project

Lately I’ve been craving to do some DIY craft projects…I stumbled across the pattern to make cloth shoes for babies. Oh the shoes are so cute! The tutorials are for sewing with a sewing machine. I tried to borrow my mom’s but turned out her machine was broken. But by this time I was already itching to make the shoes already. I have the colour combinations/patterns in my head and I couldn’t get them out in time to get myself a sewing machine! In the end I decided I might as well hand stitch the shoes myself.

here's the top

here's the heel

half finished shoe

Adam's first 100% handmade shoes

I didn’t even have the time to go to a fabric store to get some decent fabric to make the shoes. So I improvised with recycled fabrics – read: old clothes that need throwing out. The top of the above shoes are made from my old pants that have holes all over. I also use the elastic from the same pants. Babies shoes are so small that they require very small sized fabric. You can make them from practically any scraps you have lying around the house. It took me about 3 hours to make the first shoe (just one not a pair, ok). The second one took 2.5hr. Ok, it’s rather time consuming. It must be so much easier/faster using a sewing machine though. But with hand-sewing the project is very much portable and can be made quietly while my baby naps / while watching tv. I tried the shoes on Adam and they fit perfectly!

Ok I forgot to take better photos of the shoes on him but ni pun okla kan..

The shoes might be a little (a lot?) lopsided here and there and the sewing goes like waves instead of straight lines but…they’re made with LOVE and PASSION! Just for you, Adam..

I’m working on another pair. Will blog about it later.

Adam demam

Last week Adam demam…cian dia…panas sgt badan dia..dgn runny nose lagi..

tgkla sememeh je anak Mommy ni...

We took him to the clinic..Doktor kasi punyala byk ubat…ubat demam,selsema,batuk,ubat sapu,antibiotik....

Moody je Adam sepanjang dia sakit...yelah he can’t breathe..he must be uncomfortable…

doc tgh check adam..

tido kat Daddy..dgn damp cloth to take the heat off..

His fever is gone but his nose still blocked and he’s lost his voice. Sian dia..whenever I sing/read him a story he wants to sing/talk along with me as usual tapi suara tak keluar…Cuma bunyi ark erk erk..cian Adam…

I hope you get better soon sayang….

Adam @ 5 months

He can grab things more confidently with his hands. With the sole purpose of putting them in his mouth, of course. Toys, clothes, seatbelt, my hair, Daddy’s ear. Yg klaka tu bila dia tgh geram he will grab sambil buat bunyi “Aaauumm!!” pastu masuk mulut. Mcm tiger la Adam ni…hehe..

eii geram la ball ni tau...

He can roll from back to tummy to back again to tummy again etc. He does it more and more often now. When he’s frustrated he’ll roll and move his body even more, angkat2 bontot mcm nak merangkak..

He is such a morning person. He wakes up early (even on weekends!). He wakes up with a smile. He loves his morning bath. He kicks around happily spilling water everywhere. All the while he would be talking loudly. When I get him dressed he’ll be so excited and happy, moving his hands and feet until susah nak pakaikan baju. Then when I leave him to get myself dressed for work, he would just play by himself, talking again blabla bla…roll himself around on the mattress. He doesn’t complain/cry at all although both of us are busy getting ready. In the morning is the best time to take his photos because he’s always in his best mood.

Dia pandai angkat kening sebelah. Anak The Rock ke ni?

What????

He laughs for no specific reason at all. Visit Daddy’s blog for a video of Adam laughing while having a nappy change.

Dia suka mencakar2! Sakit lak tu mcm ade claw…but his “claw”so cute…ala mcm meow nak tajamkan kuku…dia cakar2 Mommy and Daddy’s hands/skins….adoiii….dah potong kuku dia pun tajam jugak…habis his own face pun bercalar2 kadang tu…Sometimes dia cakar sambil cubit… aww..sakit jugak…hehe..eiii si kenit ni..

He’s fond of chomping on not only his hands but also his own feet. Sometimes when he can’t pull it close enough to his mouth dia akan membebel in frustration. Too many people are saying it’s because dia nak dpt adik?? Tolooooongggg….

how come no one ever told me feet taste so yummy

He loves “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” ! I started singing it to him since in confinement when I was training him to bottle feed – just to try to soothe him while he was struggling to accept the bottle. Nowadays any time of the day, the song would cheer him up. It’s so funny to watch him immediately transform from crying – to smiling and singing along with me! I know you might be thinking, mana baby boleh sing kan? I swear he does, though! The tone of his voice terus change…from high pitch screaming so soft melodic cute voice..haha…so whenever he’s bored, moody etc…I have my very portable toy for him – my voice! This seems to work when I’m the one singing it though, org lain tak berape menjadik. I have a horrible singing voice, I have no idea why he’s so keen on listening to me. The only problem is I find myself singing the song 17465363 times a day!

He has curious eyes. A lot of people have commented on it. Some say “Mata dia cerdik”. Some say “Adam ni mcm trying to tell me somethingla with his eyes”. Wisdom in the eyes? Mommy doesn’t have enough wisdom to figure out what message you’re conveying with those eyes la sayang..

curious eyes

He loves fabrics! When we go to a clothes/fabric shop, Daddy sometimes let him play with the fabrics and it would make him soo happy! He’d be giddy with excitement like a kid in a candy store!

syoknye main kain ni Mommy..

Happy 5 months birthday, Adam..You make Mommy and Daddy fall in love with you everyday!

Trip to the beach

Last weekend we went for a spontaneous vacation to Teluk Cempedak, Kuantan.

Adam’s first beach holiday! Yay!

We thought maybe…he would try the pool?

Are you ready honey?


Nooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I’d rather just chill by the side of the pool, ok Mommy…


Pls Daddy don’t ever put me in the awful cold water ever again, ok…

Maybe we try the beach then, Adam?

Yesss….I want! I want!

Hmm…it’s so breezy…it’s so comfy…hmm…zzzzz…..

Hyatt Resort itself was wonderful. It’s the only hotel I’ve been where they clean your room twice in a day. The food was great…yumm….

We had the most relaxing foot reflexology session by the beach.

All in all…we had a great holiday…

Now..back to KL?

Noo!!!