Monday, May 31, 2010

Miri Getaway

Took a quick break and went to Miri to play Golf and do some shopping with the Birds and Neneks Beribi. It was a great and fun trip..great golf..great seafood..great rooms..nore importantly the kids are having a great time together..well most of the time at least. Dalila apparently was quite moody the whole afternoon we arrived looking for his daddy while Aydin threw a big tantrum after being taken away from the breakfast buffet and thus refused to go down the pool in the morning..but other than that.its all good! Thanks again to Neneks Beribi for everything : )

Watching Disney channel

Great seafood...or whats left of it..


Aunty Bet...more than 20 years experience of baby sitting but seems having some problem to control little Speedy Gonzales hehe!
Smiley face..baru bangun

Hang Aydin..

Its 9:30pm and still no dinner face

Rare scene...Aydin still blur bangun tidur : )

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Thoughts on a Breast Milk Bank

Today’s article in the Brunei Times of the abandoned baby girl in RIPAS urgently needing breast milk to have a chance at survival tore at my heart. I understand that this is also a plea for the mother to come forward and claim her child with the hope that she feels some kind of responsibility to her baby. But then she did choose to abandon this child, so the chances of her materialising to care for her sick baby are, unfortunately, slim.

In other countries like the US, Canada and Austrailia, there are institutions like the National Breast Milk Bank. Their website reads; “The National Milk Bank (NMB) is a nationwide organization that collects donated human milk, ensures milk safety and quality and makes it available for infants in need. We strive to make quality human breast milk available to all premature and critically-ill babies. Our goal is to provide an opportunity for all qualified donors across the United States to donated their milk by making the donor process convenient and confidential.” We could and should do this here in Brunei. Has this ever been identified as a priority?

There are a number of breastfeeding mothers in Brunei who feel strongly about the importance of making that commitment to their children. Breastfeeding is mentioned in the Quran; which obligates us to feed our children at the breast for 2 years. As a working mother, I had to express milk at the office and in doing so came to know a lot of mothers who express regularly and sometimes in large volumes.
Expressed breast milk has a limited storage life when it has not been pasteurised. There are periods when a mother will ‘over-produce’ and inevitably have to dispose of the milk that has gone sour. It is these women who should also be appealed to, in order to donate some milk for this baby. And all other infants in need.

When voicing this concern, the biggest objection has been the issues of preventing ‘kesusuan’. Worries about ‘kesusuan’ or ‘Radā’ in this case are unfounded. Wikipedia defines Rada as a technical term from Islamic Jurisprudence meaning ‘the suckling which produces the legal impediment to marriage of foster-kinship’. In my reading, for a child to become a wet nurse’s foster child, the child would have to suckle at her breast at least 5 times. With expressed breast milk, there is no suckling and by extension no foster kinship. I would be interested in the view of the Ministry of Religious Affairs to clarify on this issue.

In any case, an appeal should be made for donated breast milk for this baby girl. If I was still able to ‘produce’, donate and save a life, I would.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Big Boss


First mommy`s Ipad then Daddy`s chair..


Happy Bday Neneks!





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May is aspecial month as its both Nenek Laki Beribi and Neneks Lumut Bday!