5 months 3 weeks

I just have to blog about this for the sake of memory.hehe

5 months 3 weeks, Min is teething and one tooth has appeared on his lower gum, so obvious one!

Tried to take at least one photo but whenever he saw the phone he closed his mouth. When I tried to force it using my finger, he took it and attempted to suck =___='

This Saturday will be the day Min gonna taste solid food.yiiihaaaaa after 6 months living with milk, formula milk and his bath water (=.=) hahaha

now now this excited mom is confused which food to start first. Puree or porridge?hmm

Abdul Muhaimin at 5 months

He's growing definitely. Last weighing - 7.9kg, the reason no one wants to hold him longer.haha

Recognises family faces. He knows me (of course!), his atok, his nenek and wan.

Atok is his best buddy, make mommy a little jealous *pout*

He chuckles, giggles.

THis week, 5 months and 3 weeks, he finally succeeded in rolling over effortlessly.haha good boy!

Erm....he is still a good boy. Very easy to take care of, say those who took care of him before. He doesnt scream when he cries, just cranky sound, very easy to sooth, as long as you pick him up, he's the happiest baby on earth.

erm...drinks a lot also. ermmm what else eh?hhaha

Oh ya, he loves the mirror. Gosh you should see him smiling and giggling and I swear acting all shy when he saw his own reflection. Perasan hensem ek??hahaha

and one more thing, Muhaimin must go out of the house at least once everyday or he'll be super cranky at night. He will start showing attitude around 5pm because that's around the time where we usually would go jalan-jalan and he sits in the stroller.He would sit quietly observing the surrounding. And it makes it easier to make him go to lala land at night too. Baby oso need to wind up la.haha

Takpe, berbaloi beli stroller combi tu tau. sebab hari2 confirm pakai.hohoho

Aku Stress

Kepala tengah serabut ni.sebab minggu depan aku kena pergi course, kat JB for 3 days. Apsal stress? Sebab aku kena tinggal Minmin. Pastu sebab stock susu tak cukup. Aku stressssssss

Hari tu macam cantik dah stock. Tapi Allah nak uji minggu lepas aku kena minor food poisoning. Terus drop production. Production aku tak meriah. CUkup kais pagi makan pagi. Satu lagi Minmin punya selera besar. Bukan senang nak fulfill tapi aku gigih. Eh merapu. Kembali kepada food poisoning, walaupun aku tak muntah tak cirit bagai tapi production aku memang drop the next day. I have to produce at least 40oz per day to satisfy Min, tapi the day after the bad day production drop sampai 20oz je. Bila dah drop opkos aku kena pakai stock dalam fridge. I thought it's only for a day or two. Too bad, till today, the most I can produce in 30oz. Tak cukuppppppp aaaaaaaaaaa

Tadi aku keluarkan lagi stock untuk esok. The last four days ok je sebab aku kat rumah.sikit2 boleh lagi pump. Tapi esok dah start keja. Kalau rumah aku sebelah sekolah ke takpe.Ni sejam lebih drive. aaaaaa stock yang sepatutnya cukup untuk minggu depan dah jadi critical. Imagine red light flashing at the back.hahaha

Aku gelak lagi sebab nak cuba positif. Tapi aku risau. Aku berharap Allah di pihak aku. Sama ada course tu ditunda, venue tukar pegi Melaka ke atau tetiba production aku meriah.

Tolong la doakan aku.....

Ni la baby yang suka susu tu.hehehe kalau nampak botol mulut terus nganga macam anak burung =)

Letting Go My Medela Freestyle

SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!! tq buyer =)))

Heyyyaa peeps!!

Just a quick update. Since my first breastpump went kaput last month, I bought Medela Freestyle as a replacement. After giving it a try for almost a month, I finally give up and let's just say, Medela Fs and me arent meant to be together. Tak serasi orang kateeee

So I'm letting this baby go for a cheaper price. I bought it from Babyhouz.com for RM1450 but I'm letting it go for RM1200 INCLUDING POSTAGE, Malaysia onleyhhhh

Medela Freestyle Hands Free Double Electric Breast Pump latest 2013 model made in Baar Switzerland

You will get a full set EXCEPT FOR COOLER BAG AND ICE BRICK. But worry not, I'm giving 3 pieces of Autumn Ice packs for freeeeeeeeeeee!

FEATURES:

• Medela Freestyle hands free double electric breast pump latest 2013 model made in Baar Switzerland
• 1 - New and Original Medela Freestyle Breast Pump made in Baar Switzerland 
• 1 - Black microfiber tote bag
• 1 - Rachargeable Lithium Ion Battery 
• 1 - AC Power Cord 12V
• 4 - 150 mL (5oz) BPA-free breastmilk bottles and lids 
• 1 - Double pumping kit
• 2 - Medium (24 mm) PersonalFit™ breastshields
• 2 - Large (27 mm) PersonalFit™ breastshields
• 2 - Freestyle breastshield connector bodies
• 1 - Set of tubing

• 2 - Membranes
  1 - Hands-free accessory kit with 2 pairs of bra clip (A & B)
• Medela Freestyle manual book & information guide book
• Free 3 Pin Plug 

Alright, if you are interested but still wanna negotiate the price, I'm open for it. But dont quote too low la hoh coz this is still new, not even a month old.tee hee hee

You can email me at flyawaycandle@yahoo.com

or SMS/WHATSAPP 0128770424

Serious Buyer pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee!! 

Now I wanna go hunt for a new pump. haish sakit tangan pakai manual jewwww

My 2013 at a glance

This is a cliched post. Everyone else is doing it so I wanna too.

Soo, how's my 2013?

January

Went to Terengganu with the whole family

February

MUET Examiner for the first time.

Found out then-baby A's gender. Can you spot the bulge?tee hee hee

March

Went to Seoul, Koreaaaaaa

April

Nothing much. Grew bigger.haha

May

First Wedding Anniversary

June

Bestfriend's Wedding and a big birthday gift

July

Survived fasting month. Full yo!

August

Raya-ing in Melaka

The arrival of Abdul Muhaimin. Tsskkkk!

September

I hate confinement period. The most stressful moment in my life. Luckily I survived Woot!

October

Bintulu

November

Feeling more of myself

December

Brunei trip though no Brunei landmark photo.haha

Basically 2013 was the time I grew from a lady to a mother. Took me hours to read back all the posts in 2013. Gosh, I was a bitch, a saint, a monster, a Nurul.haha roller coaster ride that is 2013.

I expanded well too. Gained 22kg, now still waiting another 4kg to shed off effortlessly.hahaha

  to

Abdul Muhaimin is 4 month-old now

Assalamualaikum....hehe

Just a quick update. Yesterday, 24/12/13, Min hit 4 month old as a baby. 

My baby boy is growing fast *shed mommyhood tears*

Minmin - a week old. He was still looking reddish.

 Minmin, 4 months old =))) He's grown bigger than the rubber mat.haha

Minmin with Azim, a colleague's baby who was born a week earlier than Min. But Min is definitely bigger in size.hehe

At this age, Min is able to:

• recognises me as his mommy - jyeahh!
• grasp on things and pull them back. Even your face.Love his curious look.hehe
• sing - no kidding.Everytime I sang Twinkle2 Little Star, he would go 'maa,,,maa..'.First language imitation
• Can turn to the side but not flip over. wah ganas gitu bunyi flip over.macam pancake.haha
• hates lying on his back. He would cry non stop till someone picks him up.
• coo, laugh, babble to himself
• put everything he picks up into his mouth.

His food intake has increased also. If you dont direct feed your baby, you sure have this thought. How much milk is enough for my baby?hehe I always had this especially when Min was super fussy. Since a week ago, everytime after feeding he would cry or became fussy. He was taking 3.5oz by the way. So I did another calculation to estimate how much milk he needs:

Weight (lbs) x 2.5

16 x 2.5 = 40 oz

So 40oz divide by how many times he feeds in a day

40/8 = 5oz

So I tried to increase it to 5oz but he vomitted after every feeding (could be a sign of overfeeding) so I tried with 4oz. It went well.

hehehehe

He isnt fussy or cry anymore and he slept 3-4 hours at night. Before this, he woke up every 2 hours. Now mommy got extra time to sleep.

Curious at Ayah's watch.

Grow up and be a hero yea!

Exclusive Pumping is a booby trap

hahahaah so cute Booby trap.

Received one email from a reader asking about exclusive pumping (waves excitedly :p ). I'm not an expert and is still very new in this but I love sharing. Hope this can help as many as possible.

If you choose to become an Eping mom, you have to bear this in mind: Pumping is harder than direct feeding. It's a booby trap because many thought it's the other way round. It takes a lot of commitment and patient and motivation and encouragement. But we are moms right??? We rock the world with our hands.

If you cannot directly feed your baby, you have to decide whether pumping is the best option for you. There shouldnt be 'I'll try' attitude because most likely half way you will give up. You have to have 'I MUST' attitude to be one. For me, I didnt decide to become an EP mom initially. I started pumping without even knowing this group of moms exist. I started out of my common sense that Muhaimin needs the milk. He was fed formula first before my liquid gold, and till today I couldnt erase the guilt I feel in my heart. I've said it and repeated it million times in my head that formula milk is still a form of rezeki but the guilt just wont go away. I hope with Allah's help, I can at least do this till Min reaches 6 months milestone.

That's why, a week into 4 months, I'm still pumping, 6-8 times per day. I still try to directly feed Min once in a while ut he still couldnt latch properly. I hope miracle will happen one day and he can latch like an expert.hehe 

Back to booby trap, pumping is so much harder than direct feeding. Because pumping isnt the same as direct feeding, the stimulation to the breast is also different. I know a mom who feeds her baby directly and she could get up to 10oz in one pumping session. For me, it depends. Sometimes I could get 7-9oz which is super rare hahaha but the usual one is around 4-5 oz. It's not much but enough to keep my baby's tummy happy. and the fact that he gained 1kg every month proves that he received enough milk. Alhamdulillah.

If you decide to be a pumping mom, avoid the word 'try' at all because you'll lose the motivation in the end and say 'i've tried but failed'.

Remember this, pumping means an endless cycle of pumping, storing, heating, feeding, cleaning, sterilizing. You have to follow strictly the pumping schedule to ensure good supply. And if you plan to travel, be prepared to carry extra bags - cooler bag, baby bag, thermos, thermal bag and if possible warmer. I did and sometimes it became soooo stressful. Trust me. I've travelled by plane and on road and so many preparations including mental preparation  needed to be done. You have to have contingency plan if suddenly you are out of hot water to warm the milk and the baby is screaming. and what if suddenly the journey took longer than your ice packs can hold on.Even my mom was stressed looking at what I had to do.hahahahaha



Cooler bag, and beloved warmer. Ran out of hot water while in Brunei. Gigih tak mak? At Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Mosque. Orang pandang pon mak dah tak peduli.hohoho


 Since the twin girls dont receive natural stimulation from the baby, you have to be extremely careful about your emotion, your food, your health because all these affect the production. I've had few periods of being so stressed that my production plummeted drastically. I took the wrong food, boom! down to 3oz from 5oz. I got sick twice and the result, Min had to be fed formula coz at that time I was down to 1-2oz per pumping session.

BUT!!!

Tho very tiring, it is also very extremely super duper rewarding. To see Muhaimin burped, smiled and gained weight consistently, is the best reward ever.

And this is something new that I just learned 3 weeks ago when Min was down with fever, cough and flu.

Did you know, when a baby under 1-year-old catches cough and flu, there's no medicine for that other than the mom's milk? Adala ubat but it is not advisable to give to a such young age. The baby needs to develop his own immune system to fight the virus with the help of mommy;s milk. At first I didnt believe this. I went to two different doctors, a paeditrician and a doctor from a government clinic. Both told me the same thing. Both doctors didnt prescribe any medicine except for fever and told me to continue breastfeeding Minmin.



MasyaAllah, the power of mommy's milk =)

Again, I need to stress how hard it is to be an EP mom but IT IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE.It takes a lot of commitment and support be it internal and external. Talk to your husband and make sure you receive an endless support from him. Because you will be surprised with the many people who will kill your spirit and will tell you that you will FAIL. I get this even from doctors. Be strong and know you are fighting to give the best for your baby. God will reward you plenty =)

It's rewarding, both seen and unseen. Good luck Mommies!

p/s I still hope Min will latch properly one day. Pray for me ya!

Soft Structured Baby Carrier - Boba Carrier

Hola peeps!

Gosh, I miss blogging. I miss typing nonsensical stuffs. I miss recording my life.haha

Today I would like to write a review on Boba Carrier, a carrier I was willingly invest for my baby and us.

The story started when I was googling about baby stuffs (currently my favourite thing to do during free time). Somehow I accidentally clicked on one article about baby carrier that stressed on the safety and comfort for both baby and parent. We already had one carrier at that time.

To cut it short, our then carrier was not safe or comfortable for Min. A pang of guilt for carrying Min in that all those time. Apart from that, after every session of carrying Min around with the carrier, B and I would get backache. It's not ergonomic.

My short research brought me to Boba Carrier.

Before that, mom suggested for a ring sling, also from Boba but Min is not ordinary baby. He's heavy.hahaha i dont think i can handle Min with only one shoulder. and I'm pretty sure B WILL NOT USE IT.hahaha So a SSC it is.

So here's my honest review.

1. I.LOVE.IT
2. Ergonomic. Carried Min around for 2 hours but no back pain. Min even slept the whole time.
3. Easy to assemble. I can do it alone without help. 
4. Love the design. B loves it too
5. Comfortable
6. Easy to wash
7. Quality fabric
8. Has small pockets to keep mobile phone or car keys. How convenient!
9. There's a strap at the shoulder to keep my handbag from falling down. Extra point here!
10. When it is not in use, the carrier can be folded into a small pouch. So we dont have to take it off and put it on again. Very super convenient. No picture la pulak...

The only thing I dont really like is the price la.hahaha but think positive, can use it for our next babies too. Insya Allah =))

 

Manual book with pictures!!!! I hate reading long instructions.haha

At the airport waiting for our flight. I can sit comfortably which with our first carrier, impossible to do so.

 

Another feature that I love is it has a hood that can be folded if not in use. Helps to protect the baby from sun and rain. and also when the baby is sleeping. Min was sleeping in that photo =) And also notice how my handbag is secured.hahah no need to sling it anymore.

Jalan-jalan at Bandar Hilir. Min slept the whole time =)

As comparison, this is the first carrier that we bought. We bought if for wayyyy cheaper because at that time, we thought all baby carriers are the same =__=' Membaca jambatan ilmu ye kawan-kawan.

See, see how uncomfortable Min look here. The carrier didnt really support his back and when wearing this, we had to walk like we had a ball in between our thighs.hahahahha With Boba, it wholly supports the baby so the baby's position isnt inclined backwards.

And here is the strongest reason why I bought a new carrier.

 

The first picture resembles our first carrier. And to think that Min was carried in that a few times...and he's a boy some more....ouch! So Mommy gotta do something to protect our future generation.if you know what I mean.....hahahahaah

B and I love going out, we love travelling and seeing places. That's why we need a good carrier because we dont plan to leave Min when we go around.haha at 3 months, Min has gone to many places including Brunei. Next year InsyaAllah we plan to go somewhere further but the destination has yet to be decided.

I hope this so not detailed review helps you in some ways.

Min is 7.3kg now. It is impossible to hand carry him without any carrier. Hurts my arms...boo hoo

Aku pun tak sure apa aku makan sampai Min membesar bagaikan juara.hahah he's not that chubby though, but he's tall which none B or me are.hmmmm....

post yang kelam kabut.hahaha

First Passport Photo

Hi peeps.
Min is still having the flu and still coughing but getting better.his immune system is working hard to fight the virus. A fighter this baby because he is still active and cheerful like usual.hehw
Anyway yesterday B and I went to take his passport photo at a studio. Next week my parents will fly over to fetch us to take us back to Melaka. But before that, we plan to go to Brunei as Abah wants to have his KLMJ moment there.yeay another road trip!
At the studio,the uncle there helped to.hold Min. The photographer had trouble taking a good photo because Min wiggled all the time. And he was super interested to suck his fists and when we stopped him he drooled pulakkk =____='
Many snapshots were taken but this might be the best one: with drool attached from his mouth down to his shirt. =____='
We had apologize to the uncle because the kid blazer that Min was wearing were covered with drool.hahahah

mini me

Hi, this is me carrying my mini me. 

We will fly to Bintulu later today. 

Will come home in 2 weeks. 

Once in Bintulu kehnot bloh.

Wait for me okeh!

Min Diesel

Alhamdulillah, Minmin was born with thick black hair.

 

Fresh from Mommy's oven =)

 

We had been searching for people to shave his head to a baldy coz we were to chicken to do it ourselves.hahaha Apart from it being a sunnah to Muslim, I really wanted to see him bald at least once in his lifetime. Coz who knows he might decide to keep long hair for the rest of his life.hehehe

Anyhoo, since we chicken-ed out, Minmin lived with his thick black hair till a few days ago.

He was sort of cranky one late afternoon. So when Mom told me she wanted to go get a haircut at our kampung hair salon, I insisted to tag along. Just to let him breath fresh since he was confined in the house for almost a week already.

The auntie recognised me straight away because I was her regular customer before I started working. Nampak tak tak mampu gi salon mahal??hahah She was a bit surprised that I am married and brought a baby to her salon. Needless to say, she was instantly hooked to Minmin. Gewamm auntie tau!

After Mom got her haircut, the auntie came to Min and stroked his hair. THen she asked

'Kau tamau kasi komando ka?'

I was blur. Komando? Botak? oooo

So I explained to her our trouble. She let out a small laugh then said 'Aku boleh buat maa...semua baby kat sini aku buat"

So, cut story short, Min is a baldy now. As much as I love and miss his hair, I have to say he is much cuter being a baldy.hahahah

Few hours before.....

and now...

Why mommy whyyyyyyy????? hahah

And today...

 

Yo, I'm Min Diesel =)

My Exclusive Pumping Journey....so far...

Hola peeps! Today I wanna share my experience being an exclusive pumping mom. In short, EP moms are those moms who express their breast milk as they cannot directly breastfeed their babies for whatever reasons. My excuse reason? My baby is lazy to latch and is more comfortable with the bottles =__=' 

 

I've eventually stopped trying to directly feed him *my bad* but fighting with him every single time is tiring.huhu

Minmin is hitting 3 months soon *wipe tears* which means I've been pumping since then.I'm not proud to say that my baby was given formula milk few times but it was the best option I had. I was down with food poisoning, was under a lot of stress at some point which led to low milk supply. I couldnt starve him, could I?

I'm trying to stick to the routine of pumping every 3 hours - 8 times per day. The success rate depends largely on how Minmin behaves that day.hahaha and if I dont go out. Each pumping session I could get around 5-6 ounce. So 5oz x 8 times = 40oz. Minmin drinks about 35-38oz per day.Yea he has big appetite.haha

It's not easy being an EP mom. Support from the people around you is very crucial because without it, you are likely to give up. I've had many moments where 'It's okay, at least Min has tasted the milk' or 'Formula milk isnt bad, I'm the product of it too'. I had these too many times and it usually appeared when I was super tired. Luckily, I have a husband who would any day put on those cheerleader uniform complete with pompom, never tired of cheering and encouraging me to keep trying whenever the production got so low. He never blames me when we had to feed Minmin FM coz he said it's a form of rezeki too. He even reads Al Hujurat for me when I couldnt or remind me to read them after solat... tskk...I love you hubby.

People give you look when you breastfeed your baby. What more when they heard you express the milk and feed your baby. I had this even with the doctors. shesshhh. I've heard many discouraging comments about expressing the milk. For examples:

Your milk wont last long....it's not natural... 

Pumping your breast will make them unnaturally big and sagged. =___=

Buat apa susah kan diri...bagi je susu tin...

Eh cukup ke pam je?banyak ke susu?mesti tak banyak

macam-macam lagi la. At some points, I almost believed what they said but again, it's the husband who keeps me going. =)

Gambar tiada kaitan. Ayah, the poop cleaner.haha Minmin always chose the right time to poop - when Ayah was around.haha

I will try the very best to give Minmin the best as long as possible. InsyaAllah.

For all EP mom out there, dont give up. Stay positive, eat right and drink lotsa water.

Abdul Muhaimin

Servant of the protector.

Just a buttload of Min's picture recently.haha

Yeay he responds already now with smiles and giggles. yeayyyy

Watcha lookin' at?? I'm making cake here!

 

First time he could sleep without his bed or mattress.haha

 

Still need to be swaddled to sleep. Kain bedung tu dah kecik tutup sampai peha je...=__='

 

2 month jab.