Young & Dangerous

Dis cheeky little girl is getting naughtier by da day. Pix was taken somewhere around last week when I fetch her up from nursery (usually her abah will pick her but dear hubby got company dinner on dat day).

Half way back home; seriously I dunno how she can squirmed her way & escaped from her carseat’s seat belt & tried to scoot over to my side while I was driving. I had to pull over in fear she would fall over from her car seat.

I tried to belt her again but she struggled to escapes herself. Surprisingly she is VERY STRONG (or maybe I’m afraid dat if I forced too hard I’m gonna hurt her. *wink*). And she got a very loud voice too. Whenever i tried to lie her down, she screamed at da top of her lung as if I was canning her! In da end I just had to let her sit.

Look how happy she is dat she can sit & watch me drive. I know its dangerous but what choice do I have? It’s either hold her & drive or let her sit. I did belt her leg though. Luckily she’s OK with dat.

I was driving at grandma’s speed limit & not once over 40km/hr. All drivers behind me overtake & gave me ‘da look’ as if saying “Ur car got fuel or not?? Drive sooo slow!!”. Yeah, like I care. Stare all u want. ;)

Mind you dis is not da first time & I really doubt its gonna be da last. Eryna has a very flexible body. She can definitely work her way out no matter how tight we belt her. I think da only solution is to either buy a new/better car seat (dunno whether dis can help or not) or master da art of driving with one hand. Yes, I'm thankful for auto-transmission car. ;)

Eryna & PakSu's Story

This is Eryna's PakSu. :)

Eryna's quite attach to her PakSu which is not surprising since my lil brother has been living with us for da last 6-7 months? Until he got a job offer with Taiko & now currently residing at Rangkasbitung, Indonesia.

A few days after Paksu's departure, Eryna keep going into PakSu's room mumbling "babak, babak". We assumed dat it means PakSu. When she saw dat da room's empty she would turn to us with a confuse face asking, "babak?"..

PakSu, do know dat you are dearly miss. :) Come back soon ya!

Me & Eryna

There are a few similarity between me & Eryna. Dunno whether dis is a good news or a bad news. ;)

1. I noticed dat; Eryna who used to be a tummy sleeper, lately has changed her sleeping style to match mine. We started to sleep side ways & along da way ended lying on our back with 1 hand above our head.

2. We also have da same sleeping habit. Eryna finds it soothing playing with people's lips before going to sleep. Testified also by adik2 at her nursery. Dat was me years back. Well, even now, when I'm having a troubled night, I would also do da same (poor dear hubby. :))

3. We have da same way of smiling? I didn't realize dis at first until a few friends told me so. How can dat be? Browsing thru old photos, I have to admit dat we do. When we smile, our eyes would close a little with mouth wide open dat we are almost grinning! Quoting from my friend; "Eryna ni senyum mcm iklan colgate, sama la mcm maknye..".

Well, what do u think? Can you spot da difference??

Mothers, take good care of urself.

Health is really really crucial to everybody. Much more so to a mother. Much much much more so to a BF mother. Learned it da hard way, I did. *sigh*. I was infected with a really bad fever + flu + cough for da past week. My whole body aches with a really painful back. Even my sore throat; I can barely drink any water.

Since my pregnancy term (or even before dat) & since Eryna’s around we did really cut-off any night activities. No more night movies, less outside dinner, etc, etc. Dat is probably why with 11-straight-hrs of night traveling, improper meal (Eid is really an excuse for people not to cook lunch or dinner), cold weather, nursing Eryna, less fluid intake, my body cant take its toll.

After 4yrs of panadol-free, on da 5^th day of Eid I had to broke it. My head really aches; it feels like there’s a ticking bomb inside ready to expode. In da last 5days, I was prescribed with 2 different antibiotics (da first one gave me an allergy), 5 types of flu med, 2 types of cough med, a jab to reduce my allergy & running nose & an-antibiotic-like-med for my sore throat. Got 2days MC since da latest antibiotic is a bit on da higher dose, da doctor advised me to get a full rest. As I’m typing this, my fever finally cool down but unfortunately my flu & cough still continues.

People been advising me to take extra supplement & ironically I do have all those vitamins in-house. Juz dat it’s there for decoration only. “Makan bile ingat je”. But now I finally realize dat I need all those vitamins to boost up my immune system, to maintain a good stamina & to have enough nutrition for both me & Eryna. Not to mention a balance diet & healthy life-style which is equally important as well. I don’t take veggies & barely follow the food pyramid , rarely take any intake of fruits & rarely exercised which leads me to opt for supplements & da need to change my life-style.

Da past week had been hard for me, Eryna & dear hubby. I was trying to avoid Eryna in fear she would also get infected. Except; of course; during nursing time or sleep time. Thanks to dear hubby for taking care of both me & Eryna. He even cooked dinner to ensure dat I get a proper meal. It reminds me dat I’ve once overheard my mom’s dua for her healthiness, her childrens’s healthiness, her husband & her families, in dat exact order. And I thought to my self; “Eh mak tk dahulukan anak2 pun?”..(Maafkan Elia mak kerana berburuk sangka.).. How true it is,I realize now. We as mother need to take care of our health first so dat we can take care of others.

Neways, it’s time to discipline myself & take control of my health. No more skip meals/supplement, fruits is a must-have at home, drink plenty of fluids, it’s high-time to include veggies to my daily-meal & will try to exercise as frequent as conveniently possible.

Eryna's Eid Pixies

Yay it's been almost 3weeks++ since I've last visited my nearly abandoned blog. Neways, still havent got any time to narrate any raya's stories (which is quite a lot; with my bro's engagement, our BBQ treat, travelling here n there, etc, etc). Will try to pinch a time to tell it all. *wink*.

My lame excuses to as why dis blog has been decorated with spider webs lately:

Before eid : Busy preparing for a long hari raya leave (10 hari tau!! syioookkk!!). What with audit coming + all pending works (dis is why we should never ever ever delay our work!).

Eid : 10 days without internet connection.

After eid : audit + awaiting 10-days-worth-of-work.

Neway, my fames been pestering me for Eryna's pix with baju kurung... So, here it is.

With abah dearie :)

With mama (matching outfit huh? )

With Wan (FIL)

I'm-really-not-comfortable-in-dis-outfit-so-u-better-stay-away-from-me expression from Eryna

Will update more stories & more pics...weee....gotta go..I'm late!

Eryna's Update

My dear Eryna is now 8months,11days. Listing juz a few, here's some updates.

Do(s) -

1. Stand-up & 'meniti' (with support-sofa, table, chair- whatever within her reach)
2. Crawling
3. Response to 'bye-bye' (hold-up her hand but doesnt acually wave)
4. Sit (with support- should i be worried dat she cant sit without support yet? Neway, juz let her grow in her own pace rite?)
5. Pass objects from hand to hand
6. Wrestle with abah & mama to get what she wants
7. Word formation (babah - to abah; mamma - to mama; dada;tata;)
8. Mouthing objects (everything is food to dear Eryna)
9. Less midnight nursing now (feel kinda sad,miss those midnights cuddles. meaning improved sleep for both me & Eryna)

Dont(s) -

1. Pincer grasp (still holds objects with her whole palm)
2. Stand alone (always with support)
3. Sit unsupported (trying not to worry)
4. No visible sign of teeth yet (Eryna's been drooling with saliva for almost a month now. Izit a hint for teething?)
5. Still less hair (takes after me, I guess)

Eryna at 5-6 months - Learning to crawl.

Eryna at 7months - Learning to stand

Part I

Part II

p/s - wanted to upload more videos but demn it takes almost half an hour to upload even 1 !

BF & Ramadhan

Last Ramadhan, I was 6-7 months pregnant & Alhamdullilah, I managed to fast all through Ramadhan. I lost a bit of weight, in which da nurse had threatened to admit me to da hospital if my weight continued to drop but rest assure, it jumped right up when Hari Raya came along.

Dis year, instead of being pregnant InsyaAllah I will still be able to fast all thru Ramadhan since it’s been almost 17months (inclusive 9months of pregnancy) since I’ve had my period. I think it’s because I’m still BF dearie Eryna which cause a twisted jumble to my biological clock. (I’ve been told dats its normal though). Anyways, with BF & Ramadhan, 2 issues come to my mind when I think of dis. Will it affect da quality of my BM? Will it affect da supply of my BM?

Tackling these issues, I found 2 very different arguments. Some studies showed dat there are no significant differences in da major nutrients of BM during & after Ramadhan, whilst other studies showed dat some of da micronutrients can decrease significantly. Well, I am GUESSING it shouldn’t be a problem because da food dat we usually eat during Iftar and Sahur should make up for it. I’ve always remind myself dat Allah itu Maha Adil. Fasting is one of da pillar of Islam & Islam is a religion dat encompasses all aspects of life and secures guidance & light for all mankind.

And also I found a statement from Dr. Muhammad M. Abu Laylah, professor of Islamic studies and head of da English Department, faculty of languages and translation at Al-Azhar University, states: “If there is any harm to your baby if you stop breast-feeding him during the daytime or during the fasting hours, then you are allowed to break your fast and make up for what you miss of fast days whenever your circumstances allow.”

But Alhamdulillah, for da past 10days, I do think dat I’m still fit to continue fasting.

Da other issue is da supply of BM. Most of da articles I’ve read commented dat with da less intake of fluid, it will definitely affect BM supply. I’m still pumping at work but I’m banking on pumping only once or twice only since I’m fiercely dehydrated by da end of da day. But luckily I think I still have enough EBM stock to cover for whatever loss I might face during dis ramadhan.

Eryna is currently taking about 4-5 bottles of 3oz on top of her 2 meals a day. And I’m able to pump around 10-12oz per day at work, so roughly I will be stealing 3-5oz of my frozen EBM stock daily. (Vowing to replace back all da frozen EBM. Fighting! :) )

Anyhow, here’s a few tips & gladly share on how to survive BF during ramadhan:

1. Ample amount of fluids (4 - 6 litres of water, milk, fresh fruit juices)
2. A good amount of complex carbohydrates (bread, rice and macaroni)
3. Three meals Iftar, Sahur and a snack in between
4. Dates during Sahur & Iftar
5. Horlick-Dates Shakes (Super delicious!)

6. Vitamins

7. Do not overstress yourself
8. Keep a positive mind

But, do bear in mind dat BF mothers may be exempt from fasting if they feel dat their health or da baby's health would be negatively affected by da fasting. Do have da intention to fast & prove your intention by having a good & balance Sahur & observe your health during fasting. If you feel weak & you can observe dat your baby is greatly disturbed, then I might suggest for you to break fast. It really depends upon a lot of factors, how hot da weather is, how long da fasting is, how much effort you are expending everyday and these all add together in da decision whether or not to fast.

Praying for Allah’s grace for me & Eryna to survive dis Ramadhan. Ameen.