Working Mommy

I have always admire mommies who work hard at the office, even harder at home. I was raised by a working mom and was surrounded with many when I'm at work. 

It is not an alien subject, this working at office vs. staying at home mom. I was even exposed to the idea of bringing work to home (working from home - many of which was relying on Shaklee business) - of which is a nice idea but I'm not ready to give it all up (yet, maybe)

It's been almost one month since I left Amni at my aunt's helper care. We decided that it is better to leave Amni there first... And re-think about our Taska strategy. We have build a pretty decent routine...

5.00 - 7.30

Wake up to nurse. (Almost all the time, I went back to sleep cause I nurse her lying down... This needs improvement)

Getting ready

Prepare Amni's milk and pumping stuffs for office

- 4 bottles of milk with one packet of chilled one from last night pump session. We started with 3 oz for a week or so, then solid 4 oz each feeding. Starting tomorrow - she's getting 5 oz per feeding InsyaAllah and I have to up my pumping sessions! Come onnnn!

- a bag of ice packs for the milk I get to pump at the office

- a bag of pumping units and bottles

7.30 - 6.30 

Melawati - Gombak - LRT Putra - KLCC

Try to get at least a decent 3 sessions of 15-20 mins pumping session

Go back at earliest opportunity

6.30 - 8.00

KLCC - LRT Putra - Gombak - Melawati

Won't pass dinner offer by MakTam. Thank you MakTam :)

8.00 - 5.00

Put Amni to sleep. Pump at least one more time (usually around 9 pm) 

Tido and nurse when Amni's up (once or twice)

Pheewww!

Exciting, huh? I have wondered if I would have the opportunity to care for own kid. That kind of thought came especially when people ask when I'm going to have one - of which I don't have the answer to kan... Now, I have one. I'm gonna care for her as best as I could. InsyaAllah...

Happy 2 Months Princess

It's 19 Oct, we are at Day 62 today.

Time really flies when you're busy having fun. And I was so over kain batik, and super ready to welcome pants into my daily wardrobe! 

We went to see our doctors on day 44, the last day of pantang. All are OK with Amni and I (minus the blood pressure thing - I was so happy with the weight loss and all, but that has not help YET)

My daily conversation revolves a lot on breastfeeding, breastmilk, breast pump and anything in between. Alien subjects to me before! 

Mommyhood

After 6 years of just Zukry and I, the induced labor ends at 3.30 pm on Wednesday 19 Aug 2015 with the arrival of a beautiful baby girl.

We are now parents to the cutest baby girl named Nur Amni. 

Nur - Cahaya (also match her father's name that starts with Nor)

Amni - Ketenanganku (also short enough to be called)

I need to be forward thinking and make more plans, visuals more things. I don't have any idea what Mommyhood would be like but at this very moment I can say that it's the total opposite of pregnant state. 

On Mommy side:

1. What to wear

- kill the pregnant look. Almost always looking not-pregnant because of my already loose tops and dresses. Huhu...

- now I look like someone who doesn't even care how she looks. And trust me, I care! Teeny in kain batik is not a pretty sight. Which also means I don't have a decent pantang picture. Oh well...

2. What to eat

- eat whatever I feel like eating. Durian, Teh Ais, Lychee, nasi lemak almost everyday! Pheeewwww

- bland. Nasi, Ikan, green vege. Lunch and dinner. Water and for some reason, Horlicks to help wash them all down! Sabar Teeny, sket je lagi. 

 

3. How much sleep

- when I was pregnant, I get to sleep super early, wake up early (I'm a morning person)

- as expected but still need adjustment - now; I sleep early, get up after 2-3 hours, nurse and dodoi baby, repeat cycle. Hehe...

About taking care of Amni - there were all NEW and I was at Level -1, not even at 0!  Alhamdulillah we survived the first month, she's now 5 weeks ;)

Ready or Not, here She comes!

I thought the check up we had last Saturday would be our second last... And I was so sure about it until the doctor started to bring us through labor journey immediately... I was meeting an ex-colleague when my name was called, so I was late! Huhuhu. I guess, because of that she had the time to go thru my readings before I entered... And they weren't pretty enough.

- Weight has increased tremendously after only ONE freaking week!!! I hit my absolute heaviest.

- Blood pressure reading was borderline. We just had breakfast. Lontong with telur and sambal sotong for me and the baby! But still... Towards the end of pregnancy, this reading gets more crucial especially on what sort of labour I'll be facing.

So, we were first briefed about elective c-sect. To which I wasn't really surprised but still NOT ready to have labour talk. I was speechless, I asked for 'let's check the baby's condition and talk later...'

Onto the bed, this time with vaginal test! The baby alhamdulillah is healthy and well inside, estimated to be at 3.6 kg. As for the other test, apparently according to the report (which I can't really read) said that cx soft, 2 cm <- I should be ready...

So we talked about 'induced' labour. Coming into the hospital at 8 pm Tuesday - put tablets down there. Monitor progress next morning and ready to pop! Induced but vaginal delivery. We were given time to think about it - and decided, let's try normal but induced delivery...

Right now, I'm busy trying out the natural way to induce labour. But I only got 3 days... So, while doing that; I Tawakal aje with whatever the result.

Would I be in labour before being induced? Mohon doakan kesihatan saya dan baby ye... 

*writing this down to remember what happened and I'd be happy if anyone would benefit from this too... You know, learning through experience of others.

After doctor's appointment - we went for a walking spree inside Pavillion!

Eid celebration with a pregnant belly

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir & Batin.Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah for the strength you've given me to complete fasting the whole Ramadhan... 

My baby girl been so cooperative too. She knows her mum won't have the same patience to 'ganti puasa' later! Hehehe... We had 2 appointments with the doctor during Ramadhan and Alhamdulillah all is good. Fasting helps with the blood pressure, agaknya... 

I had one minor 'almost' fainted when measuring for my Raya outfits alteration. Thank god for a bangku nearby... It was already 6.30 pm, so buka puasa wasn't an option for me. I sat down and took a few deep breaths, Alhamdulillah back on my feet again.

I bought 2 baju raya from RR at Tesco. I could fit into their XXL - so happy! A kurung modern and a dress. And the other 2, were dresses from before... One old, one new for each kampung (Lipis and Batu Pahat)

Dress from Baby's Majlis Bertandang in Dec. Perfectly altered to fit my growing belly... The shoulder and length were altered too.

Bapak helped to take our picture. In my RR kurung modern also altered... The kain was a tad too big, despite the belly. Bahu pun jatuh sket, but no longer now! :)

See, pregnant belly has so many options to bergaya nowadays... 

We decided that, an announcement on us expecting is due - perfect to go with our Raya pic and wish. We did just that and received an overwhelming respond! Glad to know plenty were patiently waiting as much as we do... 

Showing at 8 months

How's Ramadhan so far?

2 weeks and Alhamdulillah, I'm still fasting. A lot of yawning by 11.30 am, can sleep almost anywhere, hitting the sack as early as 11 pm... 

I was anxious about coming into Week 32 because according to some reference that means, I'm officially 8 months! That also means only 3 more weeks to full term (36 weeks) and about less than 2 months to the end of pregnancy journey #1. 

I finally get remarks like 'when are you due?', 'baby belly?!' which means i am finally showing. I guess the belly limit to all my dresses, jubah, blouses etc. we're up to second trimester! Huhuhu... That also means that I have less of things to wear and I tend to repeat stuffs. Oh well, as long as I'm comfortable, kan? ;)

We have also started to get more and more excited to shop for our little one. We planned a trip to IKEA last weekend to buy a baby cot. At RM299, I think it's a good bargain compared to those in Mothercare. Let's pray we get to assemble it up this weekend. We have found a good spot for it. (Usually, our IKEA stuffs were delivered and assembled by IKEA men..)

We also got a few things from the UK. I asked MakTam to buy some baby clothings when she was in London a few weeks back. A set of baby suits, towel, mittens, socks, etc. I also just booked 'Tilam Bayi Kekabu' from an Instagram entrepreneur... Handmade, hopefully it will turn up all pretty and sweet for our little one in August nnt. This one is for berpantang later, where attending the baby will be on the floor mostly...

This is how I kept myself busy these days. Thinking, planning, executing plans to get ready for the baby stuffs. Takut bercampur teruja! 

My health wise, so far OK. I get leg cramps in the middle of the night, sometimes unwarned - tiba-tiba giler. Zukry has (always) been a dear, tolong urut/ketuk my cramp betis... I do get shortness of breath too which I try to counter with a lather of Vicks. Again, at night too... 

Tomorrow is my check up. Hello Baby, Mama's gonna see you tomorrow! So, be nice - I wanna have a perfect sonogram of you :)

Updated:

Here's what I look like right now...

Definitely pregnant, kan? Hehehe... And Zukry managed to assemble the baby cot. It's ready...!

Puasa and Pregnant

How's your Ramadhan so far? It has been 5 days since we welcome the holy month, I hope you're in the pink of health and embracing the goodness that the month brings! 

It's been bearable for me. Alhamdulillah, I finished fasting on all days. But probably with a lot of:

- If I'm tired, must be because I'm pregnant

- I'm hungrier than usual, probably it's the pregnancy

- I can break my fast if I want to, should I break my fast? 

See, all these came across my mind... Ish3, temptations! 

I made a point to have at least 2 kurma for sahur, very unlike my sahur routine previous years. I would like to think that the kurma helps the process of digesting my sahur at a slower pace so that I can keep hunger pang at bay. 

The baby however, had a totally different idea about fasting. It feels like she's getting more nutrition now that I'm fasting compared to when I was not! She's at Week 31 today and very active inside... She'd be doing somersault and move about inside! During the day and especially at night when I'm about to sleep! Sometimes, I find it difficult to get the most comfortable position for the night. 

But according to the sites I'm referring to, I should take comfort in knowing she's active and healthy. So, do your thang Baby! :)

Dah Lama Tunggu...

Although I know, everyone meant well when they said the above... I am somehow offended by the remarks.

I find, the best way to respond to the news of us finally expecting was to acknowledge how Allah rewards those with patience, doa dimakbulkan... something like that.

It hurts more to be reminded that our parents dah lama tunggu. Like we were such failures for not bringing the good news earlier. But that may be just me... It wasn't a big deal to my other half, so it may just be my pregnant hormones.

This also should be a reminder to me, to not offend anyone who has yet receive this kind of news. Don't worry sisters, Allah is great. There must be a whole lot of hikmah behind it. Sometimes, we don't / don't want to see them... Rezeki are not just in your money or no of children.

Truly, you wouldn't know what/how it feels until you're in the same situation... We are finally excited about shopping for our little one that we hoard some mothercare stuffs last weekend!

Is this fat, or?

During my first trimester, that was almost a daily question I asked to Zukry. I wasn't showing at all. Being plus size, the only thing that changed was perhaps le boobies. Hehehehe...

And it remains a question until recently, perhaps like a month back. I can't no longer pinch my 'fat'. My belly is all filled up. The bubble this TinyTeeny is in, gets bigger pushing away fats (distributing them, rather) to all the right direction. But still, according to some (families, colleagues), "Where's your pregnant belly?"

So one of the highlight from my latest check up was when I asked the doctor, "Am I not showing enough, is the size of the baby alright?"  Turned out, the baby is ALRIGHT. When we scanned, she was all over - we couldn't get a nice hanging out picture of her in my womb! (I'm collecting sonogram pics, obviously) The doctor said, it's just the build of my body. Being plus size, I guess I'm really good at hiding my tummy. I have blouses that are belly friendly... So I don't show much. Then, the tummy was just fat. Now, the fat get a human friend that is tinier version of the body owner. Hihihi...

My clothes get snuggier around the belly now. I can no longer wear my working pants, and all the maternity pants available in store were up to size XL (Mothercare sells up to size UK16, but I never tried) I'm glad I have so many dresses bought prior pregnancy, they are maternity friendly - So all is good! Alhamdulillah...

It's quite magical, being pregnant. I know I'm 5 years behind but Allah's timing is perfect! She is kicking and moving about nowadays :) till next time you guys!

There's gonna be little Teeny on the way

YOU GOT THAT RIGHT, I AM PREGNANT! 

If you haven't heard already, we are having a baby! InsyaAllah, in August 2015. Alhamdulillah... Peraturan Allah memang sempurna. I trust his plan, therefore extremely grateful for what have been given unto us, Zukry and I.

April is almost ending... and so far, my 2015 has been colourful! 

First, let me jot down a few things that I want to remember. Of course, the biggest thing that happened to us earlier in the year was to care for this pregnant lady and survive our first trimester. 

We were waiting for my period to arrive in Dec, but it didn't... The last one was a painful one because I was running for my 10 km in Penang! Immediately after the run, we were very busy planning and executing my sister's wedding plan we've looked forward for the whole year. It was already the 25th of December but it still nowhere to be seen...

I was devastated. Well, you have to know that this didn't came to us without any 'extra' effort. I was under medication, we went to see a doctor and actually do a proper follow-through unlike the first few times we tried while we were leaving apart... So, knowing that it didn't arrive immediately brought me to the conclusion that it went haywire again (my period that is)

Alas, I was determined. I was going to accept whatever the test kit was going to tell me. So, I checked. I immediately got two lines! Never in my life... Takpernah, sekali pun! I know how heartbreaking it was if it won't show that other line, THAT i don't know what to feel when I saw two! To clear my doubt, Zukry's came to the rescue (As usual. I've become very dependent on him this past year...) and confirmed that the test kit showed 2 lines! 

Before we went to the kenduri we planned to attend, I insisted on an ultrasound check to double confirm and oh well, alhamdulillah... we saw the little sac at a clinic nearby. We were barely 5 weeks long then. Now, I just ended my fifth month - going on my sixth.

InsyaAllah, doakan yang baik-baik buat kami and our little one. It has been quite a journey, we have just realized how it feels when the baby kicks. So, every night before we go to sleep - we'll talk to her and see if she would respond with a kick or perhaps, a punch. The first few months were really about looking at my body changing, now with her responding to our voices, touches - it gets more and more surreal. Sometimes, I still question what good have I done to deserve this one-of-a-kind experience... Allahuakbar!

P/S: the sister that had her wedding in Dec is also expecting. So, insyaAllah my parents are going to finally have not just one but two grandchildren... 

Till next post,

Teeny