136 - Finally. An Update

Assalamualaikum.

Yes. It has been months since my last update. I have been busy. With never-ending workload and growing family, I have problem finding time to blog.

I miss blogging. I really do. It used to be my medium to vent and rant.

But, right now. I will try to find time. 

So, what's new?

Family. Inas has already started pre-school early this year. We did not plan to send her to pre-school as early as 3 years and 4 months but we had no choice. According to the year of birth, Inas is considered as 4 years old so the nursery can only accommodate up to 3 years old and when you are 4, off to pre-school which is practically next door. So yeah.

But at least, when we talked to the Manager of the school, she didn't highlight anything about exams or anything like that. She just mentioned about how they would teach the kids how to hold the pencil correctly, colouring, making shapes and the most important part, reciting the Al Quran.

Alhamdulillah, after our first meeting with Inas' teacher, she has been a wonderful student. Can improve in certain aspects but we are not presurring her at all because she's been doing so well if compared to us. When we were 4, we did not know how to recite after Azan's doa, Al Fatihah and zikirs. 

Jinan is now 1 year and 3 months. And she has been amazing daughter and little sister. She is truly someone with full of love. For a one year old, I think Jinan is compassionate and very understanding. She rarely acting up when the sister is throwing tantrum. I feel like she understands me.

May Allah bless that little soul.

I wish I could blog more but I am off for my lunch break.

I will be back, insyaAllah.

135 - Number 2

Assalamualaikum.

Wow. Just wow *dusting off dirt, spiderwebs*

Hello everyone. 

Am not going to start this entry on how I've been busy with work or busy with my two kids. Yes, TWO. Can you believe that? I have two kids now.

I think I might as well share my labour story.

During my 37th weeks, on my way back from Kuantan, I felt pain at my tummy area. Since I have no experience in contraction pain before I thought this must be it. Just imagine, we just entered the highway. I was so close asking my husband to turn around. I rather tahan sakit kat rumah rather than sakit dalam perjalanan. But after 15 minutes of excruciating pain, it suddenly gone.

On Monday, I decided to take the day off as advised by fellow colleagues. On Tuesday, I went to work as usual. Later that evening, I went to see my Gynae. She said that I was already 1cm dilated but was not in labour yet. So she asked me whether do I want to take medical leave but I said "not yet" because I have not handover my work yet.

On Wednesday, I went to work like usual. Told my boss that I might need to went off early because I can give birth anytime soon. Of course she was not happy but what to do right.

On Thursday, I went to work slightly late because I felt a little bit of contraction. But as soon as I got to the office, my boss asked me to go back. So, I just handover everything to her. After lunch, I went home.

During my 38th weeks checkup, I was still not in labour stage yet. Jadi, balik rumah macam biasa.

On the night of 29th December, when I was getting ready for bed, I felt another contraction. I though it's going to be the usual contraction pain that I've been experiencing so I totally ignore it. Then, it was getting frequent and at one point, it was quite impossible for me to sleep. I ended watching tv the whole night, timing my contraction.

At 6am, there was a bloody show. Time to go the hospital. Woke my husband up and told him "It's time". After Subuh, we sent Inas to my aunt's place and off we went to the hospital. But decided to stop for breakfast first. Though the nasi lemak was nice but I could not enjoy my meal at all. 

Once at the hospital, the nurse checked and I was only 2cm dilated. Punya sakit tapi baru bukak 2cm. So we have to wait. At about 12pm, I was wheeled to the labour room. At that time, I was already 4cm dilated. Since they need to speed up the process, they broke my water bag.

We waited until 6pm. In between that, they keep on checking and I was still 4cm and no progress at all. At about 6.15, the doctor said we need to do csect as I cannot wait any longer. 

They prepared everything and by 7pm, I was brought in to the OT. 

At 7.25, my baby came out. She looked exactly like Inas. 

I am so blessed.

Now, my baby girl, Jinan Maisara is 5 months old. Such a healthy and happy baby.

Till then.

#128 - Selamat Hari Raya

Assalamualaikum.

Selamat hari raya and maaf zahir dan batin, everyone! Hope everyone had a good raya celebration with your loved ones. Minta maaf lah kalau ada readers yang menanti entry baru di blog ini.

Obviously, I have been busy. I was practically swarmed with work and was exceptionally busy the week before raya. Orang lain sibuk pikir kuih raya and whatever not, aku dok pikir bilalah semua kerja nie nak habis. I rather finish or complete all the important things before going off for my one week break so that my manager won’t call and bug me (but she did on the third day of raya)

Anyway, we went back to Kuantan and Pekan for our raya celebration as this year is my husband’s turn. We off to Kuantan on Saturday morning and the journey took us about 6 and half hours. Gila. Normally it would take us 3 hours max to reach my in laws. Sakit satu badan.

Celebrating raya in Pekan means chaos on raya morning. Nak berebut toilet, nak pakai iron, nak bersalam raya, nak photoshoot family photo. Serious! This time around, ada pulak yang akan jerit “Selfie” at random times and semua pakat berlari nak masuk frame. Kelakar tapi seronok.

And one person that truly enjoyed herself was my Twinkle. Had a great time playing with the cousins and collecting duit raya. She was quite unsure why people keep giving her small, colourful packets but once she understood the concept, she would go and collect the duit raya herself.

Alhamdulillah, I have been given another opportunity to be with my loved ones on this special day. Look forward to more celebrations in the future.

#127 - If You Happy

Assalamualaikum.

Has it been that long since my last entry? Wow!

For the last couple of weeks, my life has been upside down with a lot of things happening around me. And on top of that, I have a cheeky little toddler that demand attention every moment possible. Twinkle is now 1 year and 7 months. She is more active and talkative now. 

Currently, she is in "ee i ee i o" phase. Which means, she'll be asking for iPad and my phone every now and then to watch "Old McDonald Had A Farm". Initially, I don't want to expose her too much to gadget but I must say it does come in handy when I need to do house chores or while we are out for dinner. We've downloaded flash card app too so whenever we are out of WIFI coverage, at least she would have other things to do and learn. So far, she has picked up a few words on flash card like "apple", "bear" "pink" and "banana".

When we are at home with her, we try not let her totally depend on gadgets so we play with her and make up some activities. So far, I only managed to do "If you happy and you know it". We come up with different instruction every time like "if you happy, you kiss Baba" "if you happy, you hug Mama". You know along that line. Yes, I need more engaging activities and need to research more.

Anyway, work has been "fun". Haha. Don't worry, I am still enjoying whatever am doing right now.Things are little bit harder now so time to step up on my game.

Oklah, it's time. Till my next entry.

#111 - Travelling with Inas

Assalamualaikum.

The picture above was taken at one of the attractions at Kalbarri National Park. The view at Kalbarri was breathtaking and made the 2 hours journey worth it.

Before I blog more about the attractions in Perth and Adelaide, let me share my experience travelling with a baby/toddler. When En. Suami mentioned we would be going for a holiday in Ausralia a few months back, the first thing that came to mind was, how am I supposed to travel with a baby.

Part One: Packing The Essentials.

I love to travel but I despise packing. It took so much of my energy and time. Sometimes, it took me more than a week to plan what to wear and pack. Imagine, now I have to pack for a baby too. Not helping when Inas does not have that much of long sleeve tops. We are living in Malaysia for heaven sake.

After rummaging the whole wardrobe and came up with a decent number of outfits, I called it a day. Told En. Suami, we can always do laundry over there or better still, just get new one. End of story.

Prior to the trip, I did a lot of research and reading on travelling with a baby to prepare myself for the holiday. I came up with a checklist for Inas and me so I won't be leaving out any important stuffs.

I must say the checklist is a huge help. 

However, we did leave behind the stroller. One, Inas does not really like to seat in a stroller. Two, with all the luggage and my MIL's wheelchair, I don't think it would fit into our rented van.

Part Two: Entertainment

Unfortunately for me, Inas is not really into toys. She will only be interested with a toy for 10 minutes and that's it. Then, she would go and find something else to amuse her. But we do pack her new toy, just in case. 

During our flight, instead of playing with her new toy, she insisted of walking down the aisle and socializing with everyone. Though I'm a bit worried she would disturb others but at least, better than screaming her lung out.

But, I was really thankful when En. Suami decided to downloaded Ya Hanana on our iPad as it did come in handy every single time. When she was being a bit clingy, refuse to seat in her car seat or even sleep. Put Ya Hanana on, tadaa!

Part Three: Change of Weather

When we reached Perth, we took another 5 hours journey to Geraldton. And that 10 hours journey finally take its toll on Inas. She started to develop fever and cold on the second day. Being such a darling, she never cries. Only being a little bit clingy.

Her fever was on and off during our stay in Geraldton. But when in Perth, her temperature went slightly higher. That was when I got really panic and keep on blaming myself. To make things worse, I don't have any medication with me except for vicks. I did everything I can to lower down the temperature. Alhamdulillah. On our last day in Perth, she was no longer has fever and looked so much better.

Lesson learned. Must always prepare medicine. 

Overall, it has been a wonderful holiday trip. Besides the little hiccup, Inas did really enjoy the extra quality time with the grandmother, cousins and of course her beloved parents.

#109 - Experience West to South

This is a scheduled post.

By the time you reading this, I am already on my way to our family little vacation. This will be our first time flying with a baby in tow and first overseas holiday for Inas. My MIL, Aunt, Brother in Law and Nephews will be joining us for this trip too.

We will be heading to these 2 places;

 Perth

Adelaide

I am quite excited as I always wanted to go to Perth. Wanted to come here for our honeymoon but we went to Bali instead. We will be spending 6 nights in Perth then off to Adelaide for 4 nights.

This trip will be a birthday treat for Inas (yes, she still too young to understand this but let the parents enjoy this trip and pretend this is her birthday gift) and delayed celebration of our 2^nd Wedding Anniversary.

Please pray everything will be smooth and according to plan. Please pray for our safety.

See you guys back on the 21^st October!

#108 - Twinkle is One

Assalamualaikum.

Our little princess.

Our little bundle of joy.

Our little shining star.

Is One today.

Can't believe how time flies so fast. I wish I could stop the time for a while so I can stare at my Inas a little longer. 

Inas has been a wonderful, amazing and healthy baby. Alhamdulillah. I could never ask for more.

Our little girl is a charmer. She smiles to people around her, would attempt to talk to anyone who is friendly to her, loves to socialize. 

Grow well my little hafizah. I pray nothing but the best for you. Always strive to be the best that you can be. Don't you worry. Mama and Baba will always have your back.

Happy birthday, Inas Hanani.

#103 - Snippets of the Week Part 8

Assalamualaikum.

Has been a while, isn't it?

I'm not truly busy with work. It just that my writing mojo has totally disappeared. I wanted to write something but I could not figure out a subject to talk about. Since I have a lot on my mind right now, I think it's about time for another round of snippets of the week/month. 

Here goes;

1) Inas, my beautiful daughter will turn one next month. Wow, time flies so damn fast. Inas can stand on her own and already took a few steps. Such an active baby girl and eats a lot. She even know how to blow her nose and it was the cutest thing I've ever seen. A kepochi baby I might add. I wonder where did she get that from. And I don't have any plans for her first birthday yet.

2) Work has been okay until earlier this week when my manager express his unsatisfactory towards his work performance which resulted to him resigning. Although I understand where he is coming from but it's a pity, really. I do learn a lot from him. On the other hand, I was given a new project to work on from my boss. Something I haven't done before.

3) En. Suami already started work at the new place earlier this month. He seems happier at the new place. Which is good for him. With this company and his line of work, he would need to travel almost every month. So far, he has travelled to Terengganu and will be going to Langkawi next week. First night without him, I cried like a baby. I wondered what's going to happen if he needs to travel for more than 1 night.

4) Had a discussion with my good friends about how I am trying to be better a Muslimah especially in terms of my dressing and hijab styling. I have a long way to go but I'm taking one small step at a time. May Allah ease this journey for me.

Till my next entry. 

#95 - Happy Baba's Day

Yesterday, the world celebrated Father’s Day. Though there are still debates going around about how we can’t celebrate Father’s Day (or any other Days for that matter), I have my own stand.

I lost my father at the tender age of 14. Up until now, there’s a huge hole inside my heart every time I think about my late father.  I feel that I didn’t spend enough time with him; I didn’t get to treat him with my own salary, and of course, the fact that he was not around to give me away.

Growing up without him was tough. Not helping when he used to spoil me. I had a very huge standard when it comes to type of man I want to marry. I want that person to be like my Abah.

Alhamdulillah.  I married that person.

He has been a wonderful husband.  Now, an amazing father to our Little Star.

Recently, during our car ride from doctor’s appointment he told that “I hope I always know how to make Inas laugh”.

I almost cried when he said this and I told him, “You will always know how to make her laugh and smile. You are her Baba and her hero”

Happy Father’s Day, Sayang. 

Please continue finding ways to make our girl smile and laugh.

Please continue to be our own Superhero.

#93 - New Work

It has a been a week since I started on my new job. How do I find it so far? 

To tell you the truth, it was a bit slow as compared to my previous jobs. But, it's understandable since they are quite new in the department. Colleagues are okay. 

Probably the main issue with the new place is the building's common toilet. Apparently, those who are confused with their identity also use that toilet. And they looked at me as I was the one who entered the wrong toilet. Urgh! I don't feel comfortable at all. And the toilet's door is open for everyone to see. No privacy at all.

On another note, I've been sending Inas to En. Suami's aunt. But, I guess it's a temporary arrangement until we find a place for her. Place i.e nursery. Kesian but there's nothing we can do about it. I'm looking for a place that is baby friendly and near to home. For some reason, I found it almost impossible.

Oklah, need to go back to work.

Till then.

#88 - Hit The Road

I love traveling. I love planning my itinerary; places I wanna visit, things I wanna buy, food I wanna eat. You know, all that jazz. But, yes, there's but. There's one thing that I hate about traveling and that is packing.

I can be very complicated when it comes to packing. There are so many things to consider. Now, not only I have to pack for myself, I have to pack for Inas as well. Thank God, En. Suami packs his own bag. Phew.

We went back to Kuantan last two weeks. It was Inas first road trip and my first road trip with a baby. Being the complicated me, I packed everything one day before the traveling day. I went through each and every routine to help me to pack. It was quite easy to do it that way so I won't forget any essentials. 

For example, our morning starts with a morning bath. What do we need for bathing time? Shower gel, shampoo. After that, what do need to get ready? Lotion, massage oil, talcum etc. I also have a traveling packing list (got it at Babycenter.com) that helps me in case I miss any other essentials. 

Since Inas does not have a suitcase (YET!), she is using mine for the time being. Here's what and how I organize everything in the bag.

1) 1 bag of 24 diapers. However, not a fan of Mamypoko. Still prefers Drypers.

2) What's inside the floral bag; Inas' toiletries. 

3) What's inside the box: Socks, mitten and hairbands.

4) Pillow and blanket

5) Enough clothes.

Things that are not packed in the bag;

1) Bottles

2) Mosquito net.

We are going back to Kuantan tomorrow morning as we are holding Inas's aqiqah ceremony on Saturday. That means I have to pack again. It's going to be less tricky this time around as we already bought the toiletries set in Kuantan.

Now, where can I get a funky suitcase that won't cost a bomb?

Till then.

#87 - Lullaby

One of the "perks" of getting a newborn is you are less attached to your bed. You are more concerned on putting your baby to sleep and hope she would at least sleep 3 hours straight.

During the first few weeks, Inas would consistently wake up every 2 hours. But she was easier to put to sleep. Nowadays, she's a little tricky and demanding. Most of the times, it would take us more than 2 hours to put her to sleep. But at least, she would sleep through the night. Thank goodness for that.

Inas doesn't like to sleep in her cot. It's either on a comforter, couch, on us or on our bed. Walaupun macam kesian tapi as long as she would sleep, tak kisahlah kat mana-mana pun dia nak tidur.

There are also times when she refused to sleep. Melawan mata kata orang. That's when it's getting frustrated. Especially when both of us are really sleepy. But, I guess it just part and parcel of parenting.

Till then.

#84 - Of Name

I tweeted, "Finding a name for your children is even harder than finding a pair of wedding shoes #truestory"

Why I said that? It took me 3 days and 5 malls to find the perfect wedding shoes and months to decide on a name for our unborn child.

We had a list of possible names but none actually stuck in our head. 

We wanted something Arabic, nothing too common or too modern. A name that is easy to pronoun.

We scoured the whole of internet. 

Until one day, a day before our baby was born, we were watching some show on tv when En. Suami out of sudden suggested "Hawani" (I believe it's from Adam & Hawa hype) but I said no because I have a friend of the same name.

Then, we were toying with some names. Added a few more names in the list. In the end, no choice was made.

After I gave birth, everyone was asking what's the baby's name. We just told them, no decision yet. We showed the list to both of our mothers to get their opinions. Both of them like one name in our list. Which was also the name that we both like. 

So, once we have confirmed the spelling (in Arabic) and meaning, we finally decided the name for our Little Star.

On 15th of October, we officially registered her name; Inas Hanani. 

#82 - Yellow

Little Star was admitted to hospital late last night because of jaundice and it was a heartbreaking moment for both of us.

My mother and I went to the hospital in the afternoon for a follow up check up. The Paed said she looked a bit yellowish and so he took blood sample from Little Star. He informed that the hospital will call us later that night to inform the result.

The agony of waiting.

I tried not to think so much on that and try to stay positive. But the moment we received the call, I was weak for a while there. 

I tried to calm myself down by reciting surahs and zikir. 

I know jaundice is normal for baby. Especially Little Star is a premature baby, so we have to pay more attention to that.

My dear princess, cepat-cepat sihat ye sayang. 

I love you my dearest.

#81 - The Arrival

God has a greater plan for me after all.

It started off with a simple breakfast with my mother in law while watching K-Drama on KBS channel. Then, since Mama planned to go out for lunch later, I continued watching other dramas as well instead of preparing ingredients for lunch.

Around 3pm, En. Suami got back from work and we got ready to go for our monthly check up. 

We were quite early so we managed to beat after work crowd. By 5, we were already in the doctor's room.

But, I was welcomed with concern yet worrisome tone from my Gynae. She said, the protein level in my urine is very high. She then checked my blood pressure and scanned the baby.

After scanning, she announced that I have to be admitted and she would do the c-sect that night. 

Imagine, my feeling.

There were no time to think twice or second opinion. I was admitted right away.

En. Suami made some calls to our family members informing my latest development. By that time, I could not think. I have mixed feelings. 

The surgery started around 8pm and took about 45 minutes. I was glad that En. Suami was with me throughout the process. I could never ask for better partner for this. He was calm and comforting, reciting surahs for me. Alhamdulillah.

At 8.36pm on 10th October 2012, we welcomed our beautiful daughter; our Little Star.

Yes, I wish I could give birth naturally and whatevernot. But, I feel it's for our own good. And I believe, Allah has better plan for us.

Welcome to the world my beautiful princess. Mama and Baba loves you endlessly.