Mrs Fabulous.

Salam,

I don't know why I was so attracted to the campaign above. So, I tried my hands on The Parent Pop Quiz by Drypers. The result says that I'm "Mrs Fabulous".

What does it mean with Mrs Fabulous? Well, here's what it says:
"You've got style, that's what all your friends say. Even when baby plays with her food and you get it all over your face, even when you're all wet and soapy from baby splashing you during bath time, even when you're sweaty from running around the park chasing after your bundle of joy, you must make it look So good."

My reaction?
Thank you Drypers for the compliment. (let me be smug this time.hehe). I love the title of Mrs Fabulous and I hope that my kids can see me that way too.

Why don't you try the quiz and find out "What kind of parent are you?".

I'm a mother.

Salam,

I can't really share other things except for a quick update today since I have to proofread something. So, I would like to share something interesting that I found in FB. If you are also a mother, please share your thoughts about the photos.

Ladies: Please be more careful!!!

Salam,

If you've been reading the latest news you'll definitely know about ladies being the victims of robbers. That's why we need to be more careful when we go out. It's better not to go out alone especially at night. But sometimes I know that some women find it hard to get a friend to accompany them. Maybe we can equip ourselves with some secret weapons like pepper spray or a baseball bat in our car.

Here's the latest news:
 Click HERE for the link of the news

I always make sure I can get someone to accompany me to go to any shopping mall especially when I bring out my kids. Maybe I'm lucky to have brothers that want to accompany me when they are free especially when my hubby is out of town. I also try to avoid going out at night since I hate driving at night. When I was a teenager, my father gave me a penknife and an alarm for the protection. He also asked me to have a baseball bat in my car. I myself think it's better for all women to learn any martial art. At least we can learn on how to defend ourselves. Of course, before we go out, we must pray for safety even when we only want to go out to the nearest place.

A pair of new shoes or a storybook.

Salam,

Today is Hafizah's 5'tth birthday. When she was asked what she wants as her birthday present this year, she simply told us, "I only want a pair of new shoes or a storybook, Mama". Simple? Yup, she is not so demanding and she understands that we had a new addition in our family and the budget is quite tight now. Not that we can't afford to buy what she wants but we can't really spend lavishly.

Thus, this evening, my hubby is going to bring Fathini & Hafizah out in order to buy her present. As long as she can choose something that can make her happy, we'll be happy to buy it for her. Normally my daughters don't really think about toys as we don't teach them to be spoiled with toys. They prefer to have more books and as Hafizah is quite good at reading now, she would love to have her hands on more books.

What kind of presents do you normally buy for your kids? Do you always ask them or you just buy the presents? 

 The lastest photo of Hafizah and me. (taken the day before I gave birth to Husna)

Promosi Bloggers Sunlight (BM entry)

Salam,

Saya menerima e-mail ini dan tengah membuat pertimbangan samada nak menerima atau tidak tawaran ini. Nak tanya sesiapa yang baca entri ni, Patutkah saya terima?:

Hai J

 

Saya Era dan saya menghubungi anda bagi pihak Sunlight, jenama pencuci pinggan terkemuka di Malaysia. Anda telah dikenalpasti sebagai salah seorang Mummy Bloggers yang menepati ciri-ciri bloggers yang kami ingin bekerjasama dengan bagi kempen Sunlight yang terkini.

 

Melalui kempen ini, kami akan memberikan anda produk pencuci pinggan Sunlight bagi digunakan dalam masa setahun, selain beberapa barangan bagi kegunaan dapur yang lain. Kami juga akan memberikan anda hadiah untuk dikongsi bersama pembaca blog anda melalui peraduan Sunlight.

 

Sekiranya pihak anda berminat, diharap anda dapat membalas emel ini dengan segera dan menyertakan nombor telefon anda supaya saya dapat menghubungi anda bagi perbincangan lanjut.

 

Saya boleh dihubungi di ..........

 

Terima kasih.

 

Celik Momz: Bengkel yang menarik. (BM entry)

Salam,

Saya ternampak bengkel yang menarik ni di FB. Malangnya saya tengah dalam berpantang. Jadi tak dapatla nak menghadiri bengkel yang menarik ni. Kepada kawan-kawan yang lain, kalau berminat, bolehla mendaftarkan diri. Banyak ilmu yang akan diperolehi dari bengkel ni nanti. Kalau ada yang pergi, bolehla kongsikan ilmu tu ye. 

Jaundice: The nightmare for the newborn babies.

Salam,

According to Wikipedia:
Neonatal jaundice or Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is a yellowing of the skin and other tissues of a newborn infant. A bilirubin level of more than 85 umol/l (5 mg/dL) manifests clinical jaundice in neonates whereas in adults a level of 34 umol/l (2 mg/dL) would look icteric. In newborns jaundice is detected by blanching the skin with digital pressure so that it reveals underlying skin and subcutaneous tissue. Jaundice newborns have an apparent icteric sclera, and yellowing of the face, extending down onto the chest.

I reckon most of you are familiar with this condition. In my own family, we had a bad experience dealing with Jaundice as my younger brother (just one year younger than me) was infected with serious jaundice when he was small. His brain had been infected when he was brought to the hospital. The doctors predicted that he wouldn't be able to walk, talk or even perform any physical activities. However he defied all the odds and now he can work, ride a motorbike and doesn't depend on anybody to survive. He only has the flaws in his speech and maybe he's quite slow in learning.

Both of my elder daughters also had jaundice but they were never admitted. We were asked to observe and repeatedly asked to bring them to the nearest clinic to check the birilubin level. So, last Friday (another weekend in the same hospital), we had to bring Husna to be warded. She was put under the phototherapy  treatment. I had to be with her in the ward since she only drinks breast milk. She couldn't sleep well under the bright light. Her eyes were covered with the eye pads and she could only wear the diaper. At night, she woke up every hour and by morning, I felt so exhausted and sleepy. We spent 2 days and 2 nights in the Neonatal Ward before Husna was discharged due to the huge drop of birilubin level.

In the ward, I met another mom who was there few hours before we arrived. Her baby had jaundice since she was born and they never really had the chance to go back home after the delivery. Her baby's condition was more severe and she had another issue with her blood. I was thankful that Husna's condition was still bearable and she only had the phototherapy treatment. The other baby had to be given some other treatments and she had to stay in the hospital a bit longer than Husna.

In the hospital, Phototherapy is the treatment that they always use to help reduce the severity of Jaundice. In the traditional treatments, there are several ways that people use to reduce it. Some use Chinese Medicine, Goat's or Horse's milk, Aloe Vera or Coconut's Water. But the most effective (but it takes longer) way is just to keep breastfeeding the baby every 2 hours or so. I believe Allah has given us the most effective tool for us to nurse our own flesh and blood.

Here are 2 photos of Husna:

On Friday 15th June (before we went to the clinic and found out that she had a high level of jaundice)

On 17th June (taken before she was discharged and also right after they switch off the phototherapy)

P/S: I spent 3 consecutive weekends in the hospital. I'm praying hard that this weekends I can spend it at home with the others. Plus this Friday is Hafizah's birthday. So, we might do something special at home.

Berpantang separuh-separuh. (BM entry)

Salam,

Hari ini dah masuk 4 hari saya berpantang selepas melahirkan Husna. Nia (member blogger) ada tanya saya ikut yang mana masa berpantang ni. Jadi nak kongsikan sedikit kalau-kalau orang lain nak ikut cara berpantang separuh-separuh ni. hehe

Kenapa separuh-separuh? Saya masih percaya pada ubat-ubat dan cara tradisional yang diwarisi dari orang tua. Tapi pada masa yang sama, saya pun selalu baca juga artikel-artikel dalam perubatan moden. Jadi saya cuba gabungkan kedua-duanya.

Untuk perubatan tradisional, saya masih beli set bersalin yang ada set ubat periuk untuk mandian, ubat2 herba dan teh herba. Terima kasih pada Ummi Hanie, saya beli set bersalin HPA je kali ini. Sebelum ini saya pernah cuba set bersalin yang lain. Tapi saya tak dapat menghabiskan semua ubat2 yang ada di dalam set tu jadi saya rasa agak membazir. Saya juga ada beli set bengkung dan tungku herba semasa berkunjung ke expo di KLCC. Sekarang set bengkung tu saya pakai di siang hari kerana ada satu lagi bengkung dari HPA yang saya pakai di malam hari. Tungku herba tu pula saya amalkan sebelum mandi pagi. Segar rasa badan bila dapat bertungku sikit-sikit.

Dari segi perubatan moden, saya masih meneruskan pengambilan vitamin Obimin yang telah dibekalkan sejak mengandung. Saya juga ada mengambil vitamin Kalsium & Magnesium tambahan kerana semasa mengandung saya selalu mengalami kekejangan otot kaki, gusi berdarah dan cepat letih. Dari segi pemakanan, saya percaya pada pemakanan seimbang. Walaupun orang-orang tua melarang ibu-ibu berpantang memakan sayur-sayuran dan buah-buahan semasa berpantang, saya tidak dapat mengikut nasihat tersebut. Jadi, saya pastikan saya makan beberapa jenis sayuran yang biasa saya makan kecuali sayuran yang boleh menyebabkan angin. Buah-buahan pula saya makan seperti epal dan pear.

Setakat ini memang beginilah cara saya berpantang. Sebenarnya sejak dari anak pertama lagi, arwah ma (ibu) saya pun jenis yang tidak terlalu mengikut cara tradisional. Arwah selalu menasihatkan saya supaya makan dalam kuantiti yang sederhana dan bepada-pada. Walaupun hampir setiap hari saya pernah dihidangkan dengan ikan bakar, lada hitam yang ditumbuk dan nasi putih, kadang-kadang saya akan diberikan sedikit sup sayur untuk mengelakkan sembelit. Jadi atas dasar itulah, saya percaya cara ini memang terbaik untuk saya.

Macamamana dengan yang lain-lain? Anda semua sudah tentu ada cara tersendiri juga kan?

17-hours-episode of the labour.

Salam,

Yesterday I promised to share the experience that I had when I delivered my third baby. I hope I can finish typing the whole story in this entry today even though I'm feeling a little bit sleepy due to the lack of sleep last night. Well...the normal expected routine of a newborn still can't tell the difference between day and night also has happened to Husna.

As I shared before, the water broke by 8 p.m. My MIL & FIL sent me to UMDC (PPUM) as soon as they finished praying. My MIL brought me to the Labour Room on LEVEL 3 but she was not allowed to accompany me inside. So, she had to wait outside for about 2 hours before she found out that I couldn't deliver the baby yet and had to be kept in the ante-natal ward for observation until I could feel the regular and intense contractions. By 11 p.m., my MIL came to the ante-natal ward and I asked her to go back first as I didn't think that I would deliver any sooner. She asked me to call her the next day and told her about the doctor's decision for the next day.

Throughout the night, I tried to get as much sleep as I could. However it was quite impossible since I felt the contractions every 10-20 minutes. The irregular contractions and also the regular check-up from the nurses in the ward made me so uncomfortable and restless. Each hour and each time I had the contractions, I prayed hard to let it be the real contractions. I kept praying and saying "Allahu" as my abah thought me and sometimes I said the other prayers as well. By 7 a.m., the MO on duty came and decided that I had waited too long before the delivery. He was afraid that the baby might be infected if we just waited. Thus, I had to be induced and he told the nurses to send me to the labour room in Level 3 after I had some breakfast. I ate some bread and drank a little bit of Milo in order to give some strength because the doctor warned that it was going to be long before I could eat another meal after that.

In the labor room, they prepared the room and some nurses, medical students and doctors came in the room at the different time. I was placed in labour room 8. There were about 15 labor rooms with some HDU (high dependent unit) rooms for the caesarean cases. One medical student tried to poke a needle on my left hand but then she decided to change to my right hand when she saw a recent needle wound. She failed during the first trial maybe because she was so nervous. Another doctor came and taught her how to do it properly. Some other nurses came to put on the CTG and also to measure my BP. They also checked my temperature to make sure that I didn't have any fever.

By 9.30 a.m. they started to induce me by inserting the medication through the needle. I could still talked and answered a lot of questions from the medical student and also few other doctors who kept coming in and out of the room. Every time they came, they asked almost the same questions especially regarding my previous delivery history. Most of them were amazed with the fact that I delivered my second child through breech but still normal delivery in New Zealand. All I could say was it happened so fast and one foot was already out and the doctor had no choice but to ask me pushing the baby.

The contractions started to be regular after 10.30 a.m. How did I know the time? There was a clock in front of me and I kept checking on the time as I couldn't do anything else apart from waiting and answering the non-stop questions. The medical student sometimes became so annoying when she kept writing something in her notebook every time I gave her some answers. There were times I couldn't and actually refused to answer as I was already in labour pain. By 11 a.m., they asked if I would like to be given a pain killer to ease my pain. I refused it few times before but at last I agreed as I couldn't bear it anymore. The pain from the induced process was far intense than the natural contractions I experienced before. They injected "Pethidine" at the back and warned me that I would feel sleepy but it wouldn't harm the baby.

I indeed felt so sleepy especially the last few minutes before I was asked to push the baby. I couldn't really open my eyes and it was like in a dream. I heard the doctor who was in-charged asked me not to fall asleep. I asked the medical student to give me her hand as I was so used to hold my hubby's hand before. She lent me her hand and I squeezed her right hand so hard. I didn't shout but I used the oxygen mask from time to time when I couldn't breath well. The medical student thought me how to breath properly when I forgot to take the long breath. When I could feel the baby was coming out, I tried very hard to push and kept pushing until I heard the doctor said, "very good", "keep pushing kak", "just a little bit more".

Alhamdulillah the 17-hours-episode ended by 12.04 p.m. They showed me my baby and asked me to announced the gender. I could see it was a baby girl and all I could think was "Alhamdulillah it was over".

Here is another photo of Husna and we are so glad to have her in our family. The elder sisters are also happy to have a new sibling. 

It was the real labour pain! (This is a very long entry)

Salam,

If last Friday, I had experienced Braxton Hicks before the real labour pain, 3 days ago the real labour pain came unexpectedly fast. Alhamdulillah, 2 days after I went for a last check-up at 38 weeks 2 days and also visited my friend, Edora at the same hospital, I finally delivered my own baby.

On Saturday 9th June, I went out with my brother, Rafiuddin and also my daughters, Fathini and Hafizah to watch "Madagascar 3". We went to E-curve (near The Curve, IKEA etc). I've never been there and that's why my brother brought us there. There were a lot of other people who brought their kids to watch the movie too. So, the place was quite packed. Basically we loved watching the movie and there were some unforgettable scenes with nice punch lines. I felt so happy to be able to bring my daughters out since they didn't really had any chance to go anywhere else during the school break this time.

After the movie, we had our late lunch (by 3 p.m.). We chose to eat at RASA food court since I didn't want to eat at any fast food restaurant or other posh restaurants there. I didn't expect that it was my last proper meal before I delivered my baby! I was starving and that's why I ordered a set of white rice, fried vegetables and chicken paprik. I could finish the meal on my own and even my brother was so surprised to see how much I could eat. My daughters shared a bowl of "bakso". They couldn't finish eating the noodle and I also helped myself to eat some portion of their meal. My brother just ordered a plate of fried noodle for himself.  

My last meal!

My brother, Rafiuddin a.k.a. Epit

We didn't go back home right after our meal since I had to buy some groceries. So, I asked my brother to drive to Hypermarket GIANT. We bought some essential sources to fill up in the fridge. Only by 5.30 p.m., we arrived home. It was a tiring day for me and I was glad that I cancelled our first intention to rest for a while before we wanted to go out again to I-CITY in Shah Alam. If we had gone there, I would delivered my baby in I-CITY! 

At 8 p.m. while I was surfing the internet, checking FB and e-mail account, I felt so WET. YUP! The water broke without any warning and I quickly shouted for help. I called my MIL & FIL and they were quite relax but they still changed their clothes and asked me to get ready to go to the hospital. 

That time, I knew that it was a real labor pain because it wouldn't be long when the water had already burst  out. Now, I have to stop sharing what happened here because I can't sit on the chair for so long. Until next time, let me share a photo of my new bundle of joy and also a photo of myself few hours after delivery.

Name: Husna bt. Ariff

D.O.B. : 10th June 2012

Time: 12.04 p.m.

Weight: 2.8 kg

A tired face of mommy(that's me).

Finally.....it's worth waiting for.

Salam,

He was delivered after 41 weeks being in the womb. But finally he was born and the parents were so thankful for the beautiful gift. His mother had to be induced and then the doctor said had to go through caesarean surgery. He's been given a beautiful name too; Mohd Khalilullah.

NO

HE'S NOT MINE

BUT HE BELONGS TO MY FRIEND, EDORA

 I'm so happy because finally the was born. She was so worried when the baby wasn't born way past the due date. The baby is also her first child after 4 days of celebrating her first anniversary. The baby is a perfect anniversary gift for her and her hubby.

Now, I'm anxiously waiting for my turn to see my own baby.

WW: Various head covers.

Let's think again of the fashionable hijab that we wear everyday. Is it quite similar to what women from other religions wear?

Cooking experiments: Orange & Pink pancakes.

Salam,

This morning after we woke up, I decided to make some pancakes as my kids really love to eat them. Usually I make the simple pancakes using flour, an egg, milk, a pinch of salt and also a pinch of baking powder. However today, I wanted to make a twist by adding some drops of food colouring to make them look more interesting. After looking at the options of food colouring that we have, I chose the red and orange food colouring.

My daughters were so happy to help out when we were preparing the pancakes. I made one bowl of the red pancake mixture and another bowl for the orange pancake mixture. My daughters helped to stir the mixture and for each mixture we managed to make about 4 large pancakes.

The result? Well......................You have to see the photos:

Do you think those are presentable enough to enter The Masterchef Malaysia? hehe

Braxton Hicks (False labor)

Salam,

I've read about it before but never pay attention to it until.....................................................................................................................
I experienced it 2 days ago.

On Friday night, I felt a sharp pain under my tummy and also some sort of contractions. I thought that it would go away but then I couldn't sleep well that night. After 2 hours (by 5 a.m.) we decided to go to UMMC (PPUM). The doctors checked and said that it was still too early to deliver since it was opened about 2 cm.

So, they sent me to the ante-natal ward for the observation. They kept checking on me and asked if I could feel the regular contractions. I only had irregular contractions which were about every 10-15 minutes. Then, it would go away and I could do other things. Yesterday evening, my hubby asked if I could be discharged since I've waited for more than 18 hours there. The doctors decided that I had to be patient and waited for another day! I started to feel restless and bored waiting for the moment. My MIL also went to the hospital to ask about my condition. As an experienced ex-nurse (now a lecturer in a nursing college), she also asked her good friend, an obstetrician. He said that it's better to listen to the doctors advice there and maybe it was not time for me to deliver yet.

This morning, alhamdulillah the MO (medical officer) agreed to let me go home and rest. He warned that I have to be careful as it might not be long to the real labor as it can happen any time soon. I was so happy to some back home as I missed my daughters so much. I've never really been away from them. Now I know what's Braxton Hick is and for those who are also expecting, I think you should also read about this to save you from going too early to the hospital like me.

How to tell the difference between Braxton Hicks and the real labor pain:

Braxton Hicks contractions:

• are infrequent, usually happening no more than once or twice an hour, a few times a day;
• often stop if you change activity, so, walk around if you've been sitting, and vice versa;
• are usually irregular, and if they are regular they only stay that way for a short spell;
• do not last long, usually less than a minute;
• continue to be unpredictable and non-rhythmic;
• do not increase in intensity.

Compared to Braxton Hicks contractions, labour contractions are usually:

• noticeably longer;
• more regular;
• more frequent;
• more painful;
• keep on going, increasing in frequency, duration and intensity as time goes on.

 Taken from this SOURCE.