Sniffly Aydin

Aydin is not feeling well. He caught a flu last night and was in a bad mood the whole day. His nose is stuffy and his body tempreature is slightly warm. He is sleeping now and we hope he is ok tomorrow. Mommy is on leave tomorrow and Daddy got some stuff to close out tomorrow at work..arghh. Tuesday is off ...first day of puasa. Talking about puasa..we have a new sungkai partner this year..it will be less sunyi this time with him around, wonder if he will wake up for sahurs. I think Mommy and Daddy is a bit too excited abt his baju melayu and accidentally bought 4 pasang errks. Nda cukup kain lagi tu and we have to buy an extra half a meter...apalah.

To all Muslim He-Boy readers out there..Selamat Puasa :)

Shhh...

Tired from the hospital appoinment this morning..thank god we got in early.

"Though jurists have unanimously agreed that a pregnant or a suckling woman who apprehends harms to her embryo or her new-born child is allowed to abstain from fasting, they have disagreed as to whether she must make up for the fast days she missed later, or feed one poor person for each day she missed or both. Ibn `Umar and Ibn `Abbas maintain that she is to feed poor people equal in number to the fast days she missed. The majority of scholars are of the view that she must make up for the fast days she missed. Others yet hold that she is to do both. It seems to me that only feeding the poor is enough on its own for a woman who is constantly either pregnant or suckling, so that she has not got an opportunity to make up for the fast days she missed. So it may be the case that a woman is pregnant this year and a suckling mother the next and pregnant again the following year, and so on. She is therefore unable to make up for the fast days on which she refrained from fasting. So if she is commanded to make up for those days, she will have to fast for several years incessantly, which is definitely going to be difficult, and Allah does not want His servants to suffer hardships." - Islam Online

Confusing steer online... it really is hard to figure out which scholars are right and really know what Allah's will is. I'm googling to see if there is anything in the Quran which can help.

Here goes:

Like most other injunctions of Islam those relating to fasting were revealed gradually. In the beginning the Prophet had instructed the Muslims to fast three days in every month, though this was not obligatory. When the injunction in the present verse was later revealed in 2 A.H., a degree of relaxation was introduced: it was stipulated that those who did not fast despite their capacity to endure it were obliged to feed one poor person as an expiation for each day of obligatory fasting missed (see verse 184). Another injunction was revealed later (see verse 185) and here the relaxation in respect of able-bodied persons was revoked. However, for the sick, the traveler, the pregnant, the breast-feeding women and the aged who could not endure fasting, the relaxation was retained.
(See Bukhari, `Tafsir al-Qur'an', 25; Tirmidhi, 'Sawm', 21; Nasa'i, `Siyam', 51, 62, 64; Ibn Majah, `Siyam', 12; Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 3, p. 104; vol. 4, pp. 347 and 418; vol. 5, p. 29 - Ed.) - IslamiCity

Better...

From ‘The Quran Miracles’:


Allah said in the holy quran : " The mothers shall give suck to their offspring for two whole years, if the father desires to complete the term" ( SURAH ABAQARAH:233)

Allah's Messenger (my peace be upon him) said "You must nurse your baby even with your tears." as he recommended Asmaa Bent AbI Bakr (may God be pleased with him) to nurse her baby at the breast.

Feeding Aydin

I'm always amazed at how much food little Aydin can put away at each meal. This week I've noticed that he's eating more. I measure his intake by counting how many cubes of various buburs I defrost for his munchies (this way I only need to cook once a week or so... freezing batches in ice cube trays, great tip from my Annabel Karmel book).

We went from one to two and now 3 cubes! And his milk intake has not decreased in any way. He's still drinking around 20 ounces of milk while I am at the office. Which means that my pumping routine is still fixed to match that 20 ounces. I remember Mama saying that my milk will decrease now that he is eating. Research online finds that milk intake is pretty much the same with the food being a complement to a primary milk diet in the first 2-3 years. Looks like my pump will be my bestest friend for quite a while yet.

I'm a bit nervous about Puasa. I've heard both stories of moms who fast and pump without any problems as well as those whose milk abruptly stopped while fasting. I sincerely hope I am the first type. The idea of stopping breastfeeding is very upsetting for me. The Quran does mention that a mother should try for the first 2 years, so I hope to do that. If my supply does drop, I'll probably not fast this year... insyallah this won't be necessary. I'll go research tips on what to do to try fast and breastfeed successfully. And that will be in another post.

Painful discovery

Aydin refused to eat his mum mum during lunch and we soon discovered it was due to his red sore toungue. We decided to bring him to panaga tonight and alhamdulilah it turns out to be nothing big. This boy probably just discovered his tongue and bite em`. It must hurt now to chew and swallow..ishk ishk ishk. Well...poor din din will have to live with it for the next few days and hopefully he will learn something from this hehe...an important discovery..but a painful one indeed!

Cheers!

Mommy Dalila`s bday

Just realized that i snap some pics on Dalie`s bday. Pls remember to ask for the soft copies this weekend.

Cheers

Pakistanore Outfit

I think my topi haji its a bit too big daddy!

Almost there

Getting more and more stable sitting up by himself

I am back!

Its been a while since i last updated this blog and this is for many many good reasons. Partly because we are busy at Lumut attending Tahlil for Aydin`s late great grandpa, partly also because no internet connection in Lumut ( i lied as we do have a bit of connection if i log on from the kitchen..Aunty Siah Espeed hehe) and partly also because Daddy is busy watching the Olympics hehe.

Anyway our little Din din is getting chubbier and more expressive and vocal these days. He smile a lot more now and can really eat. So far his favourite is mommy`s special recipe: apple, sweet potato and chicken..a tasty weird combo mommy dug out from that Anna something baby food book. He is also getting faster at crawling on the bed making it very dangerous to leave him alone even for 3 seconds. Despite his bulkiness ..he still managed to stick up his butt high as a mean to go forward further and at the rate he is going we think that he will be crawling in the next month or two..boy oh boy this will be fun!

Buu..Buu..Buu..thats the sound now he makes if he is upset or if a stranger picks him up. Stranger in his books are quite defined...anyone he dont see more than 2 days are strangers..making our weekend grandparents visits a little bit more challenging : ). On top of that he got really upset if we wave goodbye to go to work..a heartbreaking moment for mommy and mixed feeligs for daddy. One side of me is sad that he is sad but on the other hand happy as he understands what sad is and more importantly shows he knows who we are...can only be good for his developments.

There is actually a lot more to this...but will leave it as it is and will let the pictures do the talking..cheers!

M&B ( Mommies and Babies)

Uncle Haris

Separation Anxiety

Usually when I head off to work, Aydin laughs and wriggles in excitement when I wave and call ‘Bye bye, Sayang!’ Not today….


Today Zul and I waved to him from the car and I saw his lips turn down and the tears roll down his cheek. He started to wail piteously as we reversed out of the driveway. It made me want to cry too. I just wanted to jump out of the car and hold him so badly… but I made Zul drive away anyways. He has to get used to it, I know… but its so hard.

Evil MSG

From MSN Lifestyle:

Hidden MSG
Think you are avoiding monosodium glutamate, or MSG as it is popularly known, by shunning cheap Chinese food? Not a chance. MSG can be found in a list of foods as long as your arm and is hard to spot because it is often given a different name. MSG is a widely used flavour enhancer which is thought to work as a stimulant, but has also been linked to damage to brain cells, eye problems, headaches, fatigue and depression. The simple way to avoid it is always read labels and try to eat as much fresh produce as possible

Time to throw out the MSG, I never used this in my own cooking or allow it when my maid cooks. Hope others realise its not as harmless as it seems.

Din Din 2: Injection 0

Congrats to our little He-boy for not crying for his 6 months injection at Panaga hospital this afternoon. Our little Din din is now 7.8kg and 68 cm long. I think for him being taken out from his bath tub is probably more painful than the injection. Alhamdulilah he is all ok and the nurse was quite happy with his development. Tonight for some reason he is in this lovey dovey mood as he cant stop staring at us with his cheeky smiles and "i love you mom and dad" look. I am not sure if its the pumpkin, the banana or the injection but he looked so sweet and adorable! Bumped into a friend this afternoon at the hospital and he commented that Aydin macam kacukan..told him yeah macam bapanya...hehehe and he didnt seemed to agree..hehe ah well!

The nurse advised us to give more greens now as it will help to prevent any constipation. Next week we will slowly introduce him to chicken and fish..hope he is not allergic to any of those...

Till then..cheers!

Injections later

Today Aydin goes for his 6 months injection, I hope he is a strong boy like last time with barely a twinge. Insyallah

On the food update, so far, we now will accept mashed banana and mashed pumpkin. By next week I’ll start mixing flavours and doing things like sweet potato and spinach. Nice healthy things with enough variety so that hopefully he doesn’t become a fussy eater like I was when I was little.

My mom said I used to cry in restaurants when there wasn’t any chicken or rice. And I didn’t do veggies till I was in the UK. I’d pick them out of everything, every tiny green crunchy thing in nasi goreng, I’d pick it out. So here’s to hoping my strategy works.

I had a chat with some of the new moms at the office yesterday and we agreed that there are some things that we all went through that nearly caused us to meltdown. Among them:

1. Threatening to take our babies and asuh them. This may have been acceptable in the old old old days but now with smaller families and because of how we feel, we could never give away our babies.
2. Threatening to feed our babies inappropriate food. One friend said someone tried to give her 2 month old peanut butter and sikoi (watermelon). The first is a major allergenic and the second prime to upset immature digestive systems. She (the mother) burst into tears. Samboi is equally frightening – I don’t eat the stuff myself, it ruins the kidneys. Imagine what it would do to a baby. Always leave the feeding to Mommy in the early years.
3. Take away our babies from us when we are sleeping. I remember waking up without Aydin being where I left him. Turned out my dad was worried about the menyusu-melimpang position saying it was dangerous. But I did freak out, where's my baby! Another colleague was saying that as much as possible she didnt want her baby to sleep in other rooms or with other people. As the mother she felt that her baby should be closest to her. Which I think is natural.

Basically I think it boils down to nowadays modern moms are much better informed and well read on how to take care of their babies. And tend to be much more protective of their children, myself included. So leave all decisions to Mommy really. And we can avoid Mommy Meltdowns. Cheers

Susu Ibu

Since its Breastfeeding Week, I thought I’d just shove in my 2 cents…

Aydin, I am proud to say, has been exclusively breastfed for most of his very young life. He only had Enfalac when my milk came in rather late, which is a typical but stressful effect of my emergency C-Section. I am grateful to my family who were very supportive, sourcing internet articles which suggested solutions and buying me pumps, herbs, young papaya and special greens.

I remember being hurt when asked, inda banyak susu mu? I know no one meant anything by it but it felt like someone was poking at an open wound with a big stick. I wanted to meet Aydin’s needs so badly.

The turnaround came, I think, with Fenugreek. This wonder herb can be found at GNC and Nature’s Farm. It has a long reputation for stimulating breast milk production and can apparently be found in curries.

Also, I invested in a double pump which I now cannot live without. It follows me everywhere and even let me over-produce to the extent that my freezer is full of breastmilk storage bags. I probably have about one month’s supply in there. The double pump is supposed to trick your brain into producing higher levels of prolactin by thinking you have twins suckling at the same time. The suction is hospital grade and very strong and lets me express up to 5-9 ounces in one go, depending on when Aydin’s last feed was. I highly recommend the Avent IQ Duo, very much worth the $499 (on sale) I spent on it at Mothercare.

Lately, Aydin’s appetite has been phenomenal taking in up to 20 ounces while I am at work. So I’ve had to start looking at other ways to increase breast milk supply. New solutions I’ve tried include:

Malta – a malt based drink that has done wonders for one of my colleagues. When we pump together at the office I cant help but feel a bit jealous of the full 9 ounce bottle she fills with ease. It did work for me but I find it unbearably sweet and I don’t do gassy drinks… makes me bloat like anything.
Coconut juice – I haven’t noticed any effects from this yet, having only just had one can yesterday. Will let you know if this works for me.
Alfalfa tablets – I think this has been working, giving me about half an ounce or more extra than usual. Found it recommended on most websites about breast milk supply.

Why does a mommy do all this? Well, I love it. I love it when Aydin’s curled around me and he looks up at me and smiles while he nurses. I love it when he holds on to my hand or strokes my face and coos. It makes everything worthwhile.

50mm in action

New trick

mommy checks in

Its a nice quiet Saturday in Seria. We did Aydin's first breakfast of banana and breastmilk. He had quite a bit which is always a good sign. He even did well with the second round of mashed potato with breast milk this afternoon. I think tomorrow we'll continue with the bananamilk brekkie and do a carrot lunch. Hope he likes the carrot. Hehe

We had the Beribi neneks over last night as they went to Azhan's Berbedak with us. Aydin looked thrilled to have the extra company and showed off his developing motor skills passing Grandma's green bracelet from hand to hand, my clever little boy.

A lot of people asked where the baby was last night. It was pretty late and past his bedtime for one thing. He was also pretty moody yesterday, methinks he is still very much into the 'stranger danger' mode which is natural for his age. He's much happier being with a few people he knows well and has thrown many a tantrum when too much attention is showered on him by so many. Child development experts say this is normal and babies will grow out of this. Babies when they are very young become distressed when they are overstimulated and will calm down when they are in a quiet corner with a loved one. His Nenek Lumut knows this well after calming him in quiet corridors at the hospital.

This is why I've decided not to bring him to large gatherings, why stress the little guy out? It also wrings at my heart when he's inconsolable. Happy baby = Happy mommy. Anyways he has a lifetime ahead of him of going to functions, he can take it easy for now.

Love my little guy