The New Quest

Everywhere I go, I see people wearing their babies nowadays. Although I am considering to wear Adeena, I can't help to feel that it's also important to get a stroller for her. I mean, I've got to be fair kan? Her abang has his own 'ride', takkan his sister doesn't have her own! ;p

But the thing about strollers is, the good ones can cost quite a bomb. And if you've read this post, you'd know that I've got my eyes only for Maclaren strollers. In fact, I've got my eyes on this particular one..

Brown & pink combo! Who would say no to that?! So you can imagine my joy when my brother in law called to inform that Littlewhiz.com was putting up a sale for Maclaren Quest 2012 strollers, and what would normally sell at RM1299, was only selling at RM799! Crazy cheap, right! Of course we had to check it out. We'd be crazy not to!

But as soon as we reach there, I was a tad bit disappointed because the color that I wanted was not available. All of the colors were a bit too boyish for Adeena, so after doing a bit of thinking, we thought, if we can't have a girly girl color, might as well get the same color as her brother's. Comel jugak adik beradik pakai stroller sama kaler kan. :P So Black/Champagne it is. :)

The "champagne" color is a wee bit different from the old Quest though. It's somehow a little.. browner. Checkout the picture below. The new Quest is the one on the right.

Hehe can you spot the difference? :P

Oh and the best thing about this new Quest that I absolutely love as compared to the old Quest, is the fact that we can recline the seat till about 180°. It's perfect for newborns because they can lie flat and you don't have to worry about them being uncomfortable and such. So practical kan! This way, Adeena can use the stroller from now until.. Well, until she's too big for strollers lah! :P

So what are other features of the new Maclaren Quest Sport 2012 that's different from the old one? Let's have a look at them!

The recliner.

The new Quest's recliner is placed at the back of the seat, as opposed to the old one which is placed at the side of the seat. This way, reclining is made so much easier as all you have to do is press the 2 "knobs" and pull the seat to the level that you want.

The handles.

The new Quest's handle is the one on the right. Notice that the new design no longer has the "stripes", and replaced with one straight line instead. Honestly, I'd prefer the old design, but the problem with the old design is that the "stripes" has the tendency to tear, so, I get why the engineers decided to change it.

The legs rester.

Checkout the new Quest on the right. See how the legs rester can be adjusted? Isn't it just loveeee? :D I just like the idea that our kids can stretch their legs whenever they sit for too long and feel like stretching out a bit. More comfortable this way!

The wheels.

As you  can see, the new wheels are almost all back, except for one silver lining circling the wheels, as compared to the old one that has chrome on the wheels. I personally like the new wheels because it's simpler & more stylish to me. :)

Now what about Adeena? Does she like her new ride? I think she does, because she was very well behaved when we put her in the stroller on an outing last week. A bit too excited, even! :P

See? Macam nak terbang dah pon ada :P Oh wait, look who just decided to join the Maclaren family recently?

Ooh it's abang long Wildan! :D Sorry, as I mentioned before, we family are just biased like that when it comes strollers! No Stokke, no Bugaboo, no Phil & Teds, just Maclaren! ;)

Kate Meets Autumnz

Hey Kate,

Thanks for being an awesome companion whenever I'm out and about. You're really something that I hold close to my heart.. literally!



I know you've been lonely just sitting there, watching me do my work while I'm at the office, so I got you a friend! Kate, meet Autumnz. Your new bestfriend.



Isn't she adorably chic? :) :) :) No I'm not saying that she's more chic than you, but I've always loved polka dots, you know that! :) :) :)

Just to let you know though, you and her will be spending a whole lot of time together after this! In the car, in the office, in the mall.., basically anywhere and everywhere I go without Adeena with me!



Kate, you must know by now that it is my routine to pump 4 times (3 times when time doesn't permit) at the office.




Since my office doesn't have a fridge, it is Autumnz's responsibility now to keep my milk cold & fresh until I get home. You know, just like how you keep my phone & purse safe from the naughty eyes.



It's a tough job since she'll have to carry 4 ice packs + 4 bottles full of milk and making sure she keeps all of them cold until I get home, so be sure to be nice to her, unless you want to lose all your 'chic-ness' and carry all those in you pulak lah. ;p

Anyway, she's going to be with us for another 2 years or so, so umm, unless you can miraculously turn into a cooler bag like she is, I think you're pretty much stuck with her, whether you like it or not lah. Hehehe. I love you, Kate. You know that! <3

The Milkmaid Mama

Darling Adeena,

Mama's going back to work tomorrow! I know neither you nor I are ready for this, but we both know it was going to happen sooner or later kan baby :( I'm sorry I will not be there to give you easy access to your fresh milk whenever you want them, but I hope the milk that I've stored for you for the past 2 months is enough to keep you filled whenever you need them!

You know sayang, you're a lucky baby. I was so determined to breastfeed you exclusively this time, I even started pumping & storing milk for you from as early as week 2 after I gave birth to you. Yeah really, no kidding! Tak percaya? Ok try looking at this photo carefully and see the difference.



See the milk on the right that's a little more yellowish? Well that my dear, is called the 'transitional milk'. From what mama read, this milk is high in protein because it's a mixture of mama's mature milk and colostrum, produced anywhere from about 2 to 5 days after birth until 10 to 14 days after birth -- that's the time when mama started pumping!

I told you I wasn't kidding! :P But before mama could get full bottles such as that, my milk storage actually began quite slow. Thanks to the tip shared by Auntie Irin who advised me to pump while direct feed, what started with 1 ounce..

.. has now flourished into a few hundred ounces!

Papa even had to get us a new fridge to store all the milk that was filling up the freezer space in our old fridge, after the breastmilk drama!

And from the looks of it, I think we may need to get a third fridge in our house eh! :P

Oh and you wouldn't believe the places I've lugged my trusty pump (and cooler bag!) to pump milk out for you -- in the malls, in the surau, in the car, even in the cinema!

Mak Long even thought I'm obsessed with pumping & breastmilk (I kinda think I am :P) because she sees me pumping almost all the time! Well, anything to keep my milk supply flowing and my baby happy & healthy lah! :)

Of course, I couldn't have done it without my brilliant Medela Swing pump though! It's small, portable and silent, I gotta thank the Medela engineers for it! It's truly a genius! :)))

And then it was time for me to get you used to the idea of drinking from the bottle for when I am not around to feed you directly. You didn't like it at first. You cried and cried, sayang. :( I guess you didn't like the strong smell & taste of the frozen milk eh baby? But after a while, you gave in and drank the milk anyway -- sampai habes! :D

Alhamdulillah, I was so happy! :) Can you imagine the waste if you wouldn't take the milk? I honestly would cry like a mad lady! Haha :P

Anyway, be a good girl and drink the milk I've stored for you from the bottles okay? I know you don't really fancy the taste as how you like the freshly squeezed/direct feed ones, but they'll keep you healthy, insyaallah! I promise, as soon as I get back from work, you'll have access to your fresh, tasty milk anytime you want ok? :)

I love you baby girl, and I pray to Allah that I get to breastfeed you for the next 22 months! :) Oh, I hear you crying. That's my cue, it's your feeding time! :) Until the next update from me again!

Hello, Nursing Wear!

You know you're taking breastfeeding seriously when you start searching for...

in Google. Well, a muslimah one, that is. The sad thing is, most websites I go that DO offer muslimah nursing wear is.. well, how should I put this.. a bit makcik-makcik somehow, if you know what I mean. Ok, let's take these for example.

Why? Whyyyyy? Isn't breastfeeding supposed to be fun and beautiful? Well I honestly won't feel beautiful in those! Let me just stress that these are some of the nicer ones. Some come with ruffles and weird looking layers, it just.. sighs.

The thing is, it doesn't  have to be this way. I know there are so many nursing wear from outside Malaysia that offers so many fashionable nursing wear that are trendy, yet still modest for us ladies to wear. Take Milk brand nursing wear, for example. They have so many beautiful nursing wear, I went a bit hysterical just looking at the beautiful tops and dresses they have in their website! These are some of my (many) favorites!

Don't they just scream beautiful? Gahhhh. If only they have a boutique in Malaysia! I could make them rich! Haha ;p

I have also checked out (and tried on) those from DNA (Dynas Nursing Attire) but they're a bit too tight for my liking. So you can imagine how happy I am when I stumble upon this website when I was browsing for nursing tops & dresses!

They might not be as stylish as those in Milk, but they're decent; definitely so much better than those makcik ones. I was going to get some of their outfit online when I came across their booth at Mid Valley Mother & Baby Expo last week. When I saw their booth, I was pretty excited! :P

You see, I like nursing wear that doesn't look like nursing wear, if you know what I mean. So when I saw these..

I immediately fell in love with them and grabbed them! :D Don't they look chic and modest? :) :) :) Super love! Now I can go to malls, trendily & comfortably! :D Most importantly, I can wear something else other than this olddd pregnant-come-nursing top of mine over and over and over again!

Anyone else know where to get trendy yet modest nursing wear? Do share, I'd love to know! :)

Sleeping Tub

Where do you normally put your baby to sleep in? I'm guessing most of you would either say the baby cot, or tilam lemek (soft mattress) like I usually do. Well, you'd never believe the new sleeping place that I've just discovered recently! :P

You see, my little family and I went on a short vacation last week to see my parents in Penang. It was a night drive, so my husband laid down the seats so I could sleep comfortably in the car while he drives.

I was going to put the sleeping Adeena down when I realized we didn't bring the baby car seat with us to put her in! At first, I tried laying her down beside me, but because she was swaying as the car moves, I was afraid she would be thrown off in case the car jerks. I couldn't take that risk, so my eyes wandered around for something that could hold my baby still.

And they landed on.. her bathtub! My eyes lit up at the sight of it, and without thinking further, grabbed it, put Adeena's tilam lemek to cushion it, and put the sleeping Adeena in it!

There.. Doesn't she look comfortable and snugged in it? :P Believe it or not, she slept throughout the journey except for one diaper change! :D

Man. I gotta say, I can be quite a genius sometimes! (Sometimes je lah. Most of the time, tak. :P) I mean, look. I just took baby bath tub to a whole new level! :P

Oh, and did I tell you how much I loveeee MPVs? It's soooo convenient, I can even change Adeena's diaper in it, on the go! :D

Sorry the picture's a bit blurry though. But seriously, it's super convenient, I do think all families with kids should get an MPV if they can afford it! Hmm. Then again, a caravan would be nice too, no? Husband? You reading this? ;p

2-In-1 Aqiqah

Here's a question! What is the next big thing that everybody is looking out for after a baby's arrival? Yeap, the baby's aqiqah ceremony! It's when the baby gets celebrated and the adults get to fill their tummies with free kambings! :P

That's why, 23rd February 2013 is a special day for us family. It's when Adeena turned exactly 7-day young, and became the 'hot stuff' on her very special day; her aqiqah day! :)

The day was made even more special as she got to share her aqiqah day with her newborn cousin, Wildan, who also just turned exactly 14-days young on the same day. Uhuh, it was a double celebration! Of course, the theme of the special day had to be baby blue & pink! :P

The day started early for us on that day. Since it was most afdhal for an aqiqah to be held on the baby's 7th day, right after Subuh, my husband went to get the lamb for Adeena's aqiqah. Heck, he even 'sembelih' the kambing himself on that very morning! (Yeap, that's him in orange, alright.)

As soon as he got back, I quickly bathed Adeena and got her ready. I wanted her to look her best on her big day, so I put on this super cute ballerina romper that I got a few months before she was born, a matching leggings and a headband that I bought from Lovely Lace to complete the look. Yeap, mama planned this ahead wayyy before the baby was born! :P

Just before the majlis started, I stole some time to breastfeed her so she would be full and contented during the majlis. While I was feeding her, the majlis started with marhaban recitals by the men & ladies, led by an ustaz.

And then, it was time for the bercukur ceremony. Being one of the centre of attention on that day, everybody wanted to look at her, everybody wanted to hold and kiss her. But alhamdulillah, she kept herself composed like a lady should and did not cry even once on her big day! Proud of you lah, girl! High five sket! ;)

And once the bercukur ceremony was over, it was the time all the guests were waiting for -- feast time! The guests were served with (of course) lambs, made-to-order char kuey teow, cendol, cupcakes, desserts and more!

Sadly, my biras, Haney and I, could only look as we were both still in confinement :( So since we couldn't feast ourselves like everybody else, what did we do to occupy ourselves? Took photos of us (and the babies!) of course! :P

By the way, isn't the baby cot so beautifully decorated? Believe it or not, our family did all the decorating by ourselves! :) Thanks all who helped out to make this event a wonderful one! ;)

Meanwhile, the elder brother must be feeling a wee bit left out, because believe or not, he created a scene towards the end of the ceremony! He wouldn't let go of his papa & mama and waileddd loudly when we asked him to join us in a picture and kept pressing us to go home (to our own house)!

But.. yeah, we took a picture with him in it anyway. :P I'm not sure if it was the jealousy, the crowd, or the sleepiness that caused the 'drama', but in the end, he surrended to his tiredness and slept... at a corner of the house. On my lap. -__-

Oh well, what's a majlis without a little family drama, eh boy? ;p

But other than that, all in all, it was a successful majlis, alhamdulillah. Thank you for all who came! On behalf of the family, I would like to apologize for any shortcomings during the event. We tried our best to entertain all guests, tapi biasalah, masa majlis orang ramai sangat, kadang-kadang terlepas pandang! :(

Until then, here's a family photo of the Little Family to end this longgg entry! :P

<3