While I was away...

Assalamualaikum wbt..

I need to apologise as this blog was neglected for a very long time.  It may be haunted while I was away on maternity leave.. who knows? I feel that I shouldn't own a blog looking at the rate that this it is updated.. once in a blue moon that is.

I think you can guess the reason for the long hiatus. I was as busy as a bee handling a baby and an attention seeking toddler at home. At the same time trying to express to stock up my EBM for the future days that I'll be oncall as well as putting some effort to study for the up coming exam. I am really bad at multitasking and my stress level was up to the brink. There were nights that I teared up as I was just plain exhausted and depressed. 

A lot had happened since I gave birth to Hamzah. He just turned 2 months old yesterday and becoming more interactive with the surroundings. He smiles, vocalizes and he can hold his head stronger. Being a milk monster, of course he has become a big chubby baby with the weight of 6 kg. He is so heavy that I experienced back pain from carrying and rocking him all the time.

For the second baby, the challenge is totally different. Hamzah either experienced infantile colic (definition: crying for more than three hours per day, for more than three days per week, and for longer than three weeks in an infant who is well-fed and otherwise healthy) or just went through growth spurt. He just kept me baffled  with his constant crying and wailing especially at night. Worst experience: 6 hours of being cranky!! Not only was he distress, the whole family members (especially my father) went up the wall. I even second guessed  myself about my milk supply. Was he getting enough milk? I went all panicky and had to supplement him with my EBM a couple of times. Frankly, I feel that he was well fed as he was passing adequate poos and pees. 

Another possible reason is that he went through growth spurt. I read that babies who is going through this stage are usually more irritable than usual. Seriously, my mom keeps me sane. She helped me a lot in taking care of Hamzah, taking turns to hold and console him during his bouts of high pitch cries.

Alhamdulillah, he behaves rather well this week. I hope this bouts of tantrum doesn't last long... I don't know how my hubby will handle it on the days that I am away at work..

I have a lot to write especially on how Hana react with the new baby and about my deferred exam. Till next time...

Wassalam

Our new bundle of joy

Syukur Alhamdulillah

Everyone

Please meet my son

Hamzah Naqeeb Ahmad

Born on 23rd July 2013 at 0433Hr, 14th Ramadhan

at 40 weeks and 6 days

Birth weight 3.67kg

May he grow up to become a healthy boy and a good muslim

Ameen

It's okay

My dear baby boy, 

It's okay for you to come out now. Papa, Mama and Kakak Hana have been waiting to see your cute face for the last 39 weeks and 5 days. Do you know that Kakak has been kissing you every day without a miss? She surely loves you. You don't have to wait until 40 weeks to do so, though I know you and your sister are very much alike. 

Please, Mama is very anxious now. If possible, I do not want to go through cesarean section for the second time but then, I am also scared of failing to do a good job of pushing you out of the womb. Do not fret my boy, coz what's most important is both you and I are well and healthy.

I pray to Allah everyday that whatever the decision is, it is for the best. But you are most welcome to come out earlier okay. 

We'll definitely be waiting for you.

Hugs and kisses,
Mama

Final Wedding

Oh well.. these pictures were taken during my youngest brother and sister's wedding reception which was held at a hall in Putrajaya last month. Alhamdulillah, everything went smoothly. My only regret was that we the siblings were too busy handling and entertaining the guests that we did not snap that many pictures of us. So sad...

I also remembered that I had to stand and walk for hours while had to carry this 4kg of excess baggage in my belly. As a result, I was really exhausted and left with 2 sore feet and backache the next day. Anything for my loved ones..

Eida & Johan with his mom, Eva..
all the way from Sweden

Sheeq and Adilah
Thankful that the bride's dress turned out well.
I was with her picking up the material and design

Papa gave a wonderful speech.
I shed few tears listening to him..

Papa and Mommy, still going strong

My eldest sister who is also the MC
melantak with Umar, the tallest nephew in the family

Hana with Uzair, her most favourite cousin

I looked fat, right?!

Abe and Cik Sya, perfect couple indeed

Love Cik Sya ad Zahra's dresses!!

I will miss organising this kind of event in the future. The next wedding in our faimily will be in probably 10 years time when my nephew and nieces decide to tie the knot. Oh my, I guess I'll be in my 40s then. Oh nooooo..

How's you Ramadhan?

Alhamdulillah, it went well for me so far. As a pregnant lady (still) in her third trimester, fasting is not a problem at all.

Well, my previous pregnancy, I was in labour on 3rd Ramadhan, 5 days post date and gave birth the next day to a baby girl who was all covered with thick meconium. Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah,  she was born well and healthy. I am not particularly sure this time around though. I don't think labour is imminent and my gut feeling says that this pregnancy will continue on to approach at least the expected date of delivery. In a way, I guess my boy is doing me a favour by allowing me to fast and having lesser days to qadha later on.

Both me and my gynae have come to an agreement to induce labour by EDD, which will be next Thursday. We definitely do not want a meconium baby again. Honestly, I don't mind going under the knife (or scalpel) for the 2nd time. Wallahualam.

Anyways, I am on medical leave until delivery, only God knows when it is. I normally wake up late due to sleepless nights. I plan on what to cook or bake for iftar and sahur; so far everything has been homecooked, Alhamdulillah.

Well, the month of Ramadhan is not only about fasting for 12 hours but also the month that teaches us to be patient, to improve our faith, to forgive, to appreciate what we have and to feel for the unfortunates. My Allah accept our ibadah, direct us to the right path and make us a better Muslim. Ameen,

My prayer also goes out to my sister and her husband who have to endure 20 hours of fasting. I am sure it is not easy for them. May Allah grant them patience and perseverance in going through this month.

Have a blessed Ramadhan everyone.

Fashion sense and trend

This lady is really giving me a lot of headache.. fashion wise that is.

I cannot dictate what she needs to wear for the day. She'll say no to all the girly pinky clothes, na-ah to dresses and tak nak to the cute shoes. An argument or a bargain on what to wear every day is a common thing. Pening I tell you! 

Her latest obsession now is her yellow aeroplane t-shirt which she picked up herself when we entered Poney paired with shorts and Nike sports shoes. What I noticed is that she still loves to wear her whimsigirl baju kurung to the mosque and fancy dresses to events. Should I be thankful that she is somehow retained some of her feminine side?

She is one happy girl in this attire

I am hoping that her boyish choices is not a permanent thing.

Struggled to get her into this!

Counting days

My baby has finally reaches term, that is 37 completed weeks. Yes, he is now ready to come out and see the world!! Dr Idora said that the head is already in place which means that I should anticipate to experience contraction, show or my water break anytime now. ( tapi tolong lah jangan banjir in my own clinic in front of the patient, that will be so memalukan okeh!)

Alhamdulillah he is not as heavy as his big sister with estimated weight of 3kg. So hopefully it will be easier for me to push.. right? Did I tell you that I am scared to bits as this will be my first time trying for vaginal delivery. My gut feeling says that these 2 siblings are very much alike and will wait till the very last before coming out to see me. 

I am at my wits end already. Back pain and leg cramps are my constant complains. Luckily, I do not have any new stretch mark or swollen ankle. For that, I am grateful. 

I am now spending my day time at work until the expected date of delivery though my gynae did offer for an earlier medical leave. Yup, I so much contemplate to take up that offer if this son of mine still decided to stay in her mama's womb by next week.

Recent wedding reception

1 month to go

I have finally entered 9 months of pregnancy.

I noticed that this time around, I don't like to dress up and looked all made up. I also can count how many pictures of pregnant me was snapped. I am not in the mood to look pretty.

Some people commented that my belly looked huge but others said the tummy appeared rather small. My baby boy is definitely lighter than his big sister nevertheless he is expected to reach 3kg at term.

My sister in law recently complemented that I nampak kurus but my nurses said I looked berisi. I actually put on 13kg to date and I still have 30 days to go to delivery! 

Kim Kardashian has safely delivered at 36 weeks, owhh.. and we supposed to have the same EDD.. so tak aci..

At this juncture, I can barely breath or sleep. My back hurt and my two feet sored. I so want to beranak now!

You are most welcome!

For dinner tonight, I made separate dishes for every single member in the family. The only people who were sharing was me and my boy inside my belly.

Hubby requested for no carbohydrate as he is trying to shed off some weight. So I made 'easy peasy super juicy' roasted chicken thigh and salad. The chicken was put in the oven without removing the skin to avoid it from becoming dry. So I just simply sprinkle some salt and black pepper on the chicken thigh together with a bit of butter and sweet soy sauce. The chicken was roasted for 1 hour at 200 degrees Celsius and it was ready to be served.

For our little diva, she requested for rice and prawn. So my hubby tapau some rice, while I cooked stir fry prawn and mixed vegetables.

As for moi, I need to top up some DHA for my boy's brain development. I hate powdered milk or taking any form of tablets. Thus, I made salmon, marinated in soy sauce, a squeeze of lemon, small amount of garlic and a dash of OVOO. I sealed it in an aluminium foil and oven baked for 15 minutes.

Everything was ready in an hour and did it all alone at almost 9 months of pregnancy without any maid to help me with the cleaning or prepping! (Pat on the back)..

What really made my day is that my hubby complemented my cooking, saying that my roasted chicken tasted way better than Kenny Rogers or Nandos. My very picky eater Hana ate at least 10 mouthful and cheerfully said "Sedapnya nasi... Mama yang masak." Wink wink..And I am sure my boy also enjoyed the fresh salmon as much as I did. Sorry no pictures as we ate like carnivores!

Okay, I am resting while waiting for my hubby to finish doing the laundry. He suppose to massage my feet :p

Longest wait

Last weekend was my appointment to see Dr Idora. I normally choose weekday afternoon but this time around the appointment was set on a weekend. First reason was for my hubby to come along, see the baby live telecast from the scan machine and of course secondly is to save my cuti rehat. 

Waiting time of 2 hours is quite normal as Dr Idora normally spent 15 to 20 minutes per patient but this time around we had to wait for 3 hours +++ just to see Dr Idora. Bored to the max, we went to the cafeteria and the musolla just to kill the time. Hana was agitated as there was no play area. I don't have an Ipad to keep her entertained like some parents do and not planning to buy one either. All in all she was on her best behavior through out! Kudos kakak Hana!

Alhamdulillah, my pregnancy is entering 32 weeks. My baby boy is weighing 1.7kg and happily kicking inside my tummy. Looking at the growth chart, he will most likely weigh >3kg by 38 weeks. Next appointment will be in 3 weeks time and definitely on a weekday!

The best part is... I have one final call to go before I can hibernate in paeds clinic. Yippee!

Love one another please..

From Surah al-Hujurat (49:13).. O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).

Girls night out

I went out tonight with few girlfriends cum ex colleagues to Publika on this rare public holiday when I am not oncall.

One of my friends is doing well as a paediatrician in private hospital in Puchong and another friend makes a lot of money in aesthetics. My boss is also leaving to pursue private practice and my senior is also quitting and becoming a lecturer. It seemed that I am left alone working in a government hospital. I have my own plans as well and that has to wait until I pass my exam.

Anyway, we had a great night with good food at BIG particularly the roasted chicken which was yummy and juicy and great company to top it off. Of course, one of the heated topic of discussion was politics and we all unanimously agree on which party to vote for this coming general election.

Hope to see them again soon..

Round and heavy

I am now in my 3rd trimester. Yes, back pain and muscle cramps are still very much of a problem. However, this time around, I am not as swollen and big as a watermelon. I could recall my last pregnancy whereby I was really edematous since the 2nd trimester and couldn't even fit into a one size bigger Crocs! I am quite happy now that I can still slipped into my size 5 flats. 

My younger siblings reception will be held next month, and I am now eyeing on few high heels sandal to wear to the wedding. The theme colour is champagne brown and I don't have any shoes of that colour. Yippee.. another valid reason to shop!

Alhamdulillah, baby H (yes, we already have a name for our little boy) is growing healthily and weighed approximately 915 grams at 27 weeks. Based on the last 3D photo that Dr Idora printed out, I think baby H looks exactly like his Papa.. or at least he has his Papa's nose! He is also happily moving, kicking and grazing inside my womb just like his kakak. So far, I've started to feel epigastric discomfort as the uterus is getting bigger. 

Kakak Hana is really being an adorable big sister. Again, thank Allah she did not demonstrate any no signs of sibling rivalry. She kisses my tummy and understand whenever I forbid her from jumping near me takut kena baby dalam perut. She however was curious seeing my elder sister breastfeeding her newborn baby Uwais and said that she wants to minum my milk when she grows up ?! I feel sorry for her and felt a pang of guilt as my breastfeeding journey with Hana was cut short. Hopefully, this time around I'll have abundant milk supply so that Baby H can share a wee bit of my milk with his big sister..

Fun filled wedding

We attended a good colleague cum friend's wedding last night held at Tropicana Golf Resort, Petaling Jaya. Chee Hoe is a very nice, kind hearted person and we are all lucky to have met this guy. He finally got married to the love of his life, Jun Ai, a very cute lady whom I think matched each other well. 

We had great time meeting other ex colleagues, Chiam, Shikin and Dr Wong. I terribly miss all of them particularly Chiam as she was my best mate back in her Sg Buloh days. Of course we already put a plan for a weekend getaway sometime in June, before I deliver my 2nd one. 

Crazy bunch, including the groom in the middle!

The click

Can't actually believe this guy is a dad

Hana was a good girl that night

Mastermind

It seemed that when members of my family are getting married, I will definitely directly involved. I love doing all this planning stuff but it seemed very difficult lately due to my increasing belly size, my aches and pain, study, work and oncall and etc..

Thank god, my new inexperienced maid has arrived so at least I don't have to bother about laundry thingy. My partner in crime cum my elder sister has just recently delivered a cute baby boy so now I'm left alone with this job. 

I get calls from the future bride about which card to order, nak rent or tempah her wedding dress, order for doorgift and macam macam lagi. I also went to accompany my brother and his future wife to hunt for their attire to wear during the reception. Not that I grumble, I am more than happy to do it for my loved ones, but I'm feeling very2 tired these days. 

Next in the list is to order for Hana's custom made dress and to discuss with my brother/family accountant about the budget for the hall decoration. I need to settle all these by this weekend and put my focus back to my study.

Aches and pain

I'm having very frequent muscle cramps these days. It felt like gnawing pain, rasa exactly like lactic acid build up, affecting my right hamstring and  gluteal muscles in particular. They tend to get worse at noon and evening which can last from seconds to few minutes. 

I started doing the premature duck walk, not because of my heavy tummy but because of this very troubling muscle and back ache. Of course it is an occupational hazard! I blamed it on prolonged standing and walking in neonatal unit as well as going back and fro to the labour room and operating theatre. Once I even ran to the OT due to an emergency case, praying to god that I did not get any sprain or strain then.

I feel bad enough for bullying my friends during office hours by staying put in the ward and let them be the hero and save the newborn babies. Excuse me my kawan2, now my new bffs are my selipar jepun be it at home or the hospital, calcium lactate, obimin and ameltz yoko yoko!!

Could it be asthma?

with her 2nd cousins

Hana unfortunately suffering from eczema and mild allergic rhinitis. 

My latest worry is that she has been having daily nocturnal and daytime chesty cough for the last 3 months since her last upper respiratory tract infection. She doesn't have any fever and never wheeze. I would auscultate her lungs on and off and definitely there was no added sound to suggest chest infection or asthma. There was no TB contact either and none of our maids has been coughing or appears thin. Hana's appetite also seemed to be improving off late. 

Could it be that she is having bronchial asthma? This is surely not a clear cut case which makes me scratch my kepala of what medicine to prescribe to my own daughter. I never have faith in cough mixture especially mucolytics.

So finally this mommy doctor decided to give Hana a trial of montelukast in which she has been happily (literally! coz the granules tasted sweet) taking this medication for the last 1 week. So far, I have not seen any positive change in her cough. She even woke up last night, batuk really badly and vomit soon after.

My plan is to wait another week for singulair to have its effect. My next action is a trial of antibiotic to fight off atypical pneumonia. If it doesn't work, I would probably need to start her on inhaler. I'll try to avoid doing chest xray for now. 

Just hope that this expensive drug works!

Boy meets world

It is official. I am expecting a he! I was kinda expecting this news as this current pregnancy is like a whole new experience for me. Bad hyperemesis during my 1st trimester and I noticed that I don't feel like dressing up or put any make up on. Suffice with just baby powder on my face and I am good to go. Soooo unlike my previous pregnancy where I wanted to look all made up and pretty.

So far, my appetite is too good that my previous gynae was a bit worried with me having excessive weight gain. I have to curb a little bit on my cravings for sweet stuffs.

I have decided to return to my previous gynae, that is Dr Idora in Pantai Hospital, Kuala Lumpur. Well, waiting time has always been long with her and I think mostly attributed to her attention to details. Each patient will spend 30 minutes in her room so I don't think her patients mind waiting too long. Today, I had a scan and it feels like a detail ultrasound to me. She showed me the foetus's brain from cerebellum to the ventricles, the eyes and the nose and presence of palate. The baby's lungs and diaphragm, the 4 chambers of the heart including the ascending and descending aorta, the spine, bladder and kidneys, the umbilical arteries and vein as well as the limbs and all the feet and hand. Siap calculate the phalanges satu2 lagi. She is very good when it comes to USG that I don't feel the need to detail scan with a sonographist after this. This time the baby's position allowed us to see both his testes so clearly. Alhamdulillah...

Well, it looks like we can't recycle kakak Hana's baju la macam ni. Hmm.. which means that I have a reason to go for another round of shopping, yeayyy, clap clap!! Not to forget, to start scouting for a boy's name! Gasp! That will be difficult. I wish I can just call my boy Ali je but I know my hubby will disagree. He sure want a longer name.

Okay, back to my medical books. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..

Maidless

It seemed that a lot of people around me are facing maid issue. Me included. 

Did I tell you that my maid of 2+ years left without any notice recently. Well, she got knocked up, luckily in a halal way and decided not to return from one of her weekends off. Well, I get so pissed since we do not have any contingency plan at all what with me being pregnant, a hectic job, in the midst of preparation for exam and having an active toddler in the house.

Alhamdulillah, my sis stays near my hospital thus I left Hana with her maid during working hours. This is definitely a temporary measure as my sis gonna pop up soon. haih.. new maid is still no where to be seen and I am getting more fidgety and heavy each day.. 

God, please help me!

Thistle PD Trip

I stayed in Thistle PD for a night last weekend. The duluxe sea view room was reasonably priced at RM290 using government rate. This 5 star hotel really reminded me of The Golden Sands Resort, Penang in terms of architecture and design. The room is clean, carries modern concept and the staffs are friendly. The pools are really huge. This hotel also provided many facilities for kids like playground and playroom, which is free for use. The private beach is clean and Hana loved every minute spent at this hotel. The weather was great and there was no rain drops at all. 

That night we ate at Pantai Ria Seafood Restaurant. Even though it was written as Chinese Muslim shop but I suspect that they don't have halal certificate. Many of the waitress were Malay donning head scarves but the restaurant do serve canned alcoholic beverages. Kira macam makan kat Chillis, Tony Romas and seangkatan. Pork free but non halal la. We ordered buttered prawn basah, salted egg chicken and chilli crab. The latter dish was not spicy and the crab did not taste fresh. Maybe because I am so use to eating mom's very fresh ketam rebus, which explained why I could not enjoy ketam masak cara lain. The prawns were tasty but still could not beat Kota Kinabalu's ones. I ordered air lime kasturi asam boi and it was yummy and refreshing. The service was fast and efficient. My hubby paid RM100+ for the whole meal which I think is quite reasonable.

Unfortunately I suffered from gastritis that night, blamed it on a cup of coffee and that particular lime juice culprit that I had earlier on. I woke up around 1am with epigastric pain. Well, I waited for 30 minutes with the hope that the pain will disappear but instead it became more intense. 24 hours clinic is about 40 minutes drive. I was advised by the hotel staff to go to Port Dickson General Hospital which was only 5km away. I decided to go alone and let hubby accompany Hana in the room. Pity my little girl as she was tired after a whole day full of activity and was just settled to a deep slumber . On my way to the hospital, I encountered a convenience store (more like mini market) just 5 minutes from the hotel brightly lit in the wee hour. Alhamdulillah, they have gaviscon and after 2 sachets, the epigastric pain SLOWLY resolve. I only manage to sleep at 5am! My hubby pesan that eventhough I suffered from gastritis like 1 to 2 times in a year, I have to bring my bekal of MMT for our holidays next time. Baiklah!

The next morning we had breakfast. The food was the usual 5 star quality but still cannot beat Hyatt. There were not many crowds, thank goodness and we enjoyed our meal peacefully. We again went to the pool as Hana was too excited to take a dip. I wanted to extend another night in PD but my hubby was against the idea. Takut my fragile tummy buat hal lagi. So, we checked out at 1pm, and off to Shah Alam. I am definitely happy with our stay this time and will definitely come back to Thistle PD for our next weekend getaway.

P/s too lazy to upload pictures..

Birthday celebration

Salam,

We are suppose to go to Singapore this week for a family holiday. Flight tickets were purchased long time ago but little did I know that time that I'll be pregnant and my health doesn't permit me to travel long distance at this moment. Well takde rezeki and  burn aje la Air Asia tickets tu. 

We've decided to celebrate my coming birthday at somewhere near and that means Port Dickson! Avillion unfortunately is fully booked, Grand Lexis is overpriced at RM800++ per room during school holidays and that leaves me with a final option of choosing Thistle PD. 

Weather forecasts that today will be cloudy / sunny but no rain. Alhamdulillah, we will be able to enjoy our time in the sun. At this hour, Hana is still asleep and I can hear my hubby snores. I'm hungry and still suffering from bad hunger pangs  that I need to eat every 4 hours! I'm sure I'll start to put on weight in no time. I feel like eating roti canai at kedai mamak near our house. Well, I'll give my hubby few more minutes before I start  waking and bugging him to teman me for breakfast.