Baby Food Shopping!

Aydein sweetheart,

Time goes by really fast and before I knew it, you will turn 6 months tomorrow. I am so proud to have you sweetheart, and watching you grow before my eyes is one of the best gifts God has ever given me. And yes, I am still very much in love with you. :)


Did you know that I have been doing a lot of readings since the last few weeks? Hehe yes baby. I read a lot when you were in my tummy, and I still read a lot now that you're out – all because I was so nervous at the thought of starting your solids in the next few days. But now that I'm all equipped with all the necessary information necessary to it, I feel much, much better now and can't wait to start on your solids! Just look at all the baby foods and cutleries I just bought for you the last few days back!


They look pretty delicious, don't they? That is why you were so eager to grab hold of it when I held it in front of you. I guess you knew that I was shopping for your food, huh? :) Smart boy.


Papa is very particular about your food ingredients, though. Notice that your food has no added sugar in it. Sorry boy, until you're at least 1 year old, no sweets for you.


I first planned to give you home-made food by mashing all different types of fruits and veges instead of this canned food. But I got so excited looking at the baby food that I had to take some and give them a try lah! Heehee.

I know I know. You'd prefer the ones made with love at home than the ones in cans, so as soon as you finish all of them, I promise it will be only home-made fruits and veges and porridge for you after this okay, sayang? :)

Until then, I look forward to feeding you with your very first spoon soon! :) Are you getting excited by the minute already, baby? I hope you are, because I definitely am! ;)


hugs & kisses,
Mama.

The Delicious Vampire & The Scrumptious Werewolf

If you have yet to watch this movie, I'm telling you. You need to go to GSC or TGV and buy yourself a seat NOW!

Some may not understand the whole buzz of this whole Twilight thing but me being a sucker for romance movies, I simply cannot resist! Hot hot hot. Love love LOVE! :D

It was so good that I stopped munching on the popcorn because the crunchiness sound that came out from it was too annoyingly distracting! I had my eyes transfixed on the movie screen the whole time and all I could hear was the beating of my heart everytime Edward came into scene. (mr husband, sorry ye :P) Oh and I had butterflies in my tummy and held my breath everytime Edward and Bella got "warm & cozy" too! :P You know, there's just something about them tau. It's how he whispers to her. It's how he looks at her. It's how he cares so much about her. Sighssss. My heart melted. :) :) :) Yeah well, what can I do. Gua jiwang karat ah beb :D

The funny thing is, I was holding on tight to my husband during this one suspense part of the movie, when suddenly a lady audience from the cinema tripped on the stairs and landed right in front of me! I let out quite a shriek and everybody turned to look at me! Malu ok! Haha. My brother who was sitting in front of me, turned around to tease me and said, "kenape, ingat serigala ke?" Hahaha. Bertuah punya budakkkk! :P

Anyway, if I were to rate, on the scale of 1 – 10, I would give it a 9 lah hehe. 9 because, at the end of the movie, I don't understand why Edward told Bella that he needed at least 3 years before he can finally make her his vampire? Another thing that I don't understand is that I thought Jacob said the treaty between the vampires and werewolves would break should any of them bite a human? The thing is, vampires have bitten a few humans now, haven't they? So why isn't the treaty broken yet?

But really, whatever it is, they're both very good actor & actress and I applaud Bella for pulling off the "dont-kill-him-ohno-im-going-crazy" look at the "vampires council"! Sighs. Definitely a movie worth every penny spent. and I cant wait for the next saga next year! fyi, i purposely avoid reading the book just so I can enjoy the movie heee :D (You know books will always be better than the movie, just like Harry Potter)

But after watching the movie, I now have conflicting emotions about something – Delicious Edward or Scrumptious Jacob? You tell me! :P

Soy or Milk Based Formula?

You see, I have always felt guilty about introducing formula to Aydein since the very first time. However, since my milk supply dropped dramatically after I returned to work, I had no choice but to supplement him with formula.


I know a friend of mine who started formula with her son ever since he was a newborn. And she was proud of me for not giving up on breastfeeding and advised me to continue it for as long as I can. She also told me something that is plastered in my mind to this very day. She said, "Bagus la you still breastfeed your son. Macam my son, formula dari baby, dia jadik buas sikit,"

I hear this quite a lot about formula-fed babies. But how true is this?

And then one day, I saw soy-based formula of the same brand in the market. So during Aydein's last doctor visit, I asked her the difference between the two of them; which formula is better for babies to strive stronger and healthier. The doctor said both formulas are at par. Both provide complete nourishment and the only difference is the source of protein ; one comes from animal, the other one comes from vegetable.

So wanting only the best for my son, I decided to try to change his formula to soy-based formula after consulting his doctor. Why go for animal based when there's alternative vege based formula right?


My little precious did not quite fancy the taste very much at first. He would push the bottle teat with his tongue to the side, then bite playfully at it, and eventually push it out of his mouth. However, over time, he got accustomed to the taste, and finished every 4 to 5 ozs prepared for him.

Until one day, I was informed that giving soy-based formula to male infants would flood their bloodstream with female hormones that could cause feminization in males when he reaches puberty later. Senang cakap besa nanti dia prone to become "lembut" la you know.

There are researches that I found that do support this fact, but then again, how true is this research? If it is true that soy-fed male infants would turn to be a "softy" in the future, then why didn't Aydein's paeds say anything about it?

I don't want to take the risk though, but what do you think? Should I continue or discontinue the soy-based formula? Can anyone support the fact above?

Ps : I thought I noticed a change in Aydein after he started taking the soy-based formula , though – no, he has not turned into a softy, mind you (hehe) but he is just not as chubby and montel as before! :(

-- * update * --

I received a few responds regarding this, and after a lot of thoughts, considerations and researches, I have made up my mind. Aydein sweetheart? Time to switch your milk back to your former formula! :)

Thanks all for all your inputs! Aydein would love to switch back to his former milk ; he never really liked the soy based formula anyway, so thank you ALL again for your inputs! :D

Ruzanna, I thought I saw your comment in my FB but I dont know what happened, it dissappeared.

Eid Mubarak!

(click on picture for larger view)

From the Little Family ; Aien, Thara & Aydein.

What You Can Do, I Can Do Too (Part 2)

Dear Diary,

Remember I told you the many many things I could already do at 3 months from the previous entry I posted.. about 2 months ago?

Well guess what? At 5 1/2 months now, I amazed myself again when I made a good flip and rollover my tummy over and over again, everytime mama puts me on my back! Heehee. I didn't know rolling would be so much fun! And you know, everytime I make a good flip, mama would clap clap clap and say yeaaaaay, so I would return her enthusiasm with my BIGGEST GRIN to thank her! :D


I am so proud of myself you know! And I think mama and papa are proud of me too because I heard mama squeal in delight and saw papa grinned to the sides of his ears when I surprised them with my super flip! Heeee.

Oh oh, and did I tell you that I can now say ma-ma too? :D Papa kept telling me, "say papa, boy. paaaa-paaaa?" I want so much to please him, but err, not so soon lah papa. One step at a time lah. Besides, i'm mama's little precious, remember? Hee :D

Anyway, in case you don't already know, I'm all good and recovered from the bad, bad diarrhea now, all thanks to your well wishes. And last week, I went to see my doctor for a checkup. And you know, I would have liked her even more if she doesn't always use the bad, bad needle to poke me everytime I see her.


It really hurt you know. And eventhough I tried my mighty best to be all cool and macho, the bad, bad needle got the best of me and I had to let out a cry. But mama was quick to comfort me so I was all smiley again after just a brief second. Besides that, the doctor said I'm growing very well! I now weigh 7.63kgs and am 65cm long. :D

I can now curl myself up and touch my toes too! It's just a matter of time until those cute little toes of mine go into my mouth, so watch out mama! Hehe.


Oh and I also find everything very yummy lah nowadays! That is why, whenever mama or papa gives me anything for me to hold, it would usually of course, end up in my mouth. Heehee.


Oh and look, my teeth are getting even more obvious from the last post I shared with you a couple of months back too! I absolutely love my teeth! It makes mama go crazy everytime I grit them together whenever she nurses me. Heeeheee.

Oh well I cant wait to tell you what I can do next! Until the next milestone from me!

Love love,
Aydein

Busy Busy Mama

Mummies, darlings, friends, stalkers, & readers,

I am oh SO extremely sorry I have left this blog woefully abandoned these past couple of days. I haven't had time to update! I have honestly been loaded with work! And more work!

I have got so much to tell, though. And that's coming right up as soon as I got the time okay!

As for now, stay glued to your screen and keep on checking out for more updates from me!

Until then, xoxo! ;)

Tearfulness Over Pumping?

For those of you who are working at SME2 building in Cyberjaya, you would see me doing this everyday at work, just before Asar prayer in the surau.

I would open my small bottle cooler/warmer bag, assemble the pump accessories and the noise of the electric pump would then blare throughout the surau once I start pumping, and some heads would even turn towards me sometimes. Embarrassed? Just a little, but anything good for my son works for me lah.


The first 5-10 mins of pumping will not usually give me much since my milk supply has now dropped dramatically as mentioned in my previous entry before. But the weird thing is, just before the milk start flowing in, I would feel this sudden mixed wave of emotion washing over me, and believe it or not, I would feel all teary and confused for no reason at all. Seriously. Tetibe je rasa macam tak sedap hati, otak rasa serabut and rasa macam nak nangis lah, senang cite. But it's gone once the milk starts gushing out from my breast. This weird feeling comes just for a few seconds, and just before the milk letdown. Like, you know, lepas susu tu keluar, automatic that feeling tu hilang and I would feel lega semacam.

Pelik kan? Not really.

Having to have experienced this for quite some time now, I decided to google about it yesterday just after my pumping session and that's when I knew I am one of those many moms who are experiencing this condition called D-MER.

You see, Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex (D-MER) is a newly recognized condition affecting breastfeeding mothers that is characterized by an abrupt dysphoria (negative emotions) that occur just before milk release and continuing for not more than a few minutes/seconds. A mother with D-MER feels absolutely fine except just before her milk starts to flow. D-MER is a brief feeling, not more than 30 seconds to 2 minutes, only and always beginning before let-down. This is not postpartum depression and most of these mothers feel perfectly fine except for that pre-milk moment. A brief interval after the negative feelings appear, the milk begins to flow.

I was so relieved when I found out this website because I finally knew what was going on with me and knowing there are mothers out there who are also experiencing the same condition as I do! It describes what I have been experiencing perfectly too!

I've always guessed that it has got something to do with my hormones, hence I googled more about it and found out that this condition is related to dopamine levels. Dopamine is a hormone that plays a big part in many functions, including affecting your moods. Dopamine also helps to regulate prolactin (which is your milk-making hormone). When a baby (or a pump) latches on to the breast and stimulates your body, dopamine levels dip, allowing prolactin to rise. In women with D-MER, the dopamine levels seem to drop too low, causing negative feelings. D-MER seems to self correct however, between 3-9 months.

I understand from the website that I went that this condition is a newly recognized condition because no one could ever guessed so many women were being affected. There were not enough mothers coming forward to speak about their emotions while breastfeeding. Mothers were embarrassed and thought they were the only ones. It has been one of breastfeeding's best kept secrets, but it's time for that to end because I will be sure to pass this information on to others in the birth and breastfeeding communities.

After all, what's there to be embarrassed about? It's just hormones!

Spread The Joys of Christmas!

Hear the beautiful carol in the air, look at the kids running joyfully everywhere! Oh, it's Christmas once again!

Celebrate the true spirit of Christmas and reach out to all of our Christians friends and families around the world by wishing them "Merry Christmas!" and brighten up their day with Exabytes colorful e-Cards!

It's completely FREE so send one now! Make someone smile today. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Bad, Bad Diarrhea

Aydein sweetheart,

Did you know that you got mama and papa worried sick a few days back?

You see, one day, when I came back from work, bibik informed me that you have been poo-pooing for about 5 times while I was at work. And later that night, you poo-pooed again for another 3 times, making it 8 times altogether that you poo-pooed for that day. This was very unusual, but I thought it was maybe something that I ate the night before that caused your unusual bowel movement. So I waited for another day to see if there were any changes in your bowel movement while avoiding any spicy food.

But then you didn't get any better, baby. In fact you got worse. I was going to change your diaper after you had your last bowel movement when you flushed out water out of you yet again. That was when I knew you had diarrhea. Your bum-bum was getting very red and sore from your frequent bowel movement too and it broke mama's heart to see you in pain everytime I touched the swollen area to clean you. Bad, bad, diarrhea.

I could not bear to see you in pain any longer so I took you to see your doctor the first thing in the morning as she prescribed some medicine for you to take.


She also told me to stop your formula for 2 days and in replacement, she asked me to feed you with rice water..


and loads and loads of oral rehydration salt (ORS) solution instead. I was very glad though, that you were able to take the two foreign solutions into you. And I think the ORS solution was quite nice too, because you seemed to like it very much and finished the 6oz I prepared for you. :)


But even then, no milk for 2 days? Poor you. :( But it was not all that bad, was it baby? After all you still had me to feed you my own delicious milk kan! :)

Did you know though, that you are such a strong boy? Although we knew you were going through a rough time fighting with your tummy ache, you did not make a scene, whine or fuss at all. You were just your usual self, smiling and laughing away everytime we played with you. We're so proud of you, sweetheart and we thank Allah that you're now well and healthy now. :)

Oh, look at the time! Mama needs to rush to the kitchen to cook dinner now before papa gets hungry. Until then sweetheart :)

Love love,
Mama.

Do I Tell Her Off? Or Do I Not?

She's been our helper 2 weeks before I returned to work. I can still remember the first day I met her. She was in her green shirt, and black tudung, looking rather timid, like a scared kitten lost in the crowd.

Truth be told, I was nervous to meet her then too. I was nervous at the thought of some stranger looking after my son while I am away. However pushing all the negative thoughts aside, I put my faith in her and left everything in Allah's hands to care for the rest.

But she's been a good maid so far. So far, until I caught her lying to me – for a few times to be exact.

Case #1

Since she needs to sleep with the light on, I have a few times informed her to switch the pendaflour light off before she goes to sleep and use the dim light I have provided her instead to save the electricity.

Me : Bik? Kamu sudah tidur? (the sound of bed creaking – she was on the bed, getting up)
Bibik : (opened the door with that just-got-up-from-sleep look on her face) Belum buk. Lagi menggosok (ironing).
Me : (playing dumb) Oh. Kamu jangan lupa tutup lampu sblm kamu tidur ya. Pasang lampu tidur yang itu. (pointing towards the bedside lamp)
Bibik : Ya buk. Saya lagi menggosok. Belum tidur.

Right.

Case #2

The red spinach which soup is supposed to turn red, turned to black.

Me : Bik, kenape kuahnya macam ni bik?
Bibik : Ya, saya tambahkan sos tiram dikit tadi. Kurang ya?
Me : Eh tak, bik. Tak payah tambah tiram. Cuma air dan garam je.
Bibik : Oh enggak, saya belum masukkan tiramnya. Bayamnya memang merah gelap begini.
Me : Eh bik, tadikan kamu cakap kamu masukkan tiram?
Bibik : Enggak belum. Saya cuma pikir mau masukkan dikit, tapi belum lagi. Tunggu ibuk rasa dulu.
Me : (playing dumb) Hmm. Takpelah. Lain kali kalau masak bayam merah, jangan letak tiram ye bik.
Bibik : Enggak, enggak ada tiram.

Right.

Case #3

I came back from work, and saw a dark smudge on Aydein's shirt.

Me : Bik, ni ape ni eh? (pointing to the smudge at Aydein's shirt and sniffed it. It smelt like chocolate.)
Bibik : (facial expression changed) Eh, apa ya? Mungkin tiram buat masakan tadi.
Me : Tiram? (Wow, oyster that smells like chocolate! This is new; I should tell CNN!) (playing dumb) Hmm. Takpelah. Lain kali kamu cuci tangan dulu sebelum pegang Aydein ye bik.

Case #4

This happened just yesterday. Aydein poo-pooed while I was having dinner so I asked my maid to help clean him. When she returned with Aydein, he was in a new bodysuit.

Me : Eh bik, kenape kamu tukar baju Aydein? (Aydein just had his bath and the bodysuit he had on him earlier was still fresh and new)
Bibik : (facial expression changed) Itu di belakang bajunya ada poo-poonya.
Me : Oh ye ke. Tapi tadi lepas dia poo-poo, saya tengok bajunya bersih je lagi.
Bibik : Enggak lah. Ada poo-poonya. Ya ibuk boleh pergi tengok sendiri lah.
Me : (hmm? why is she getting defensive on me?) (playing dumb) Hmm. Takpelah.
(Later that night, I went down to get some drink and I saw Aydein's shirt "that's got poo-poo on it" in the dirty clothes' basket. I lifted it up, inspected it, and sure enough, it was spotless clean. It even smelt good of the clothes' softener.

And those were the cases that I can recall for now. Of course there are more, but if I were to list them all here, you will never hear the end of it. Did you know, though, why I keep myself quiet for most of the time and even though I knew she was lying to my face, I still play dumb?

Because I know I am at her mercy. Because if she wants to let go of her frustration while I am away, she might lash it out to my only baby, as innocent as he may be.

But don't get me wrong, she still is a good maid and I do like her. She takes very good care of Aydein and is very patient with him (which is the most important thing). She also keeps the house clean, does the laundry & the dishes, and gets up early too (after being told of course). She just has problems being honest with me. Is she afraid of me? I don't know. Is she afraid of losing her job should she reveal the truth to me? I don't know. What I know is, I have twice told her before, that she could just be frank with me if she did anything wrong and that I would not be mad at her. (And I really wouldn't. I just need to hear the truth, that's all.) But for some reasons that I dont know, she still insists of telling me lies and that irks the heck out of me.

But thinking of all the good things she has done for us, I have tried to be discreet, hold myself back and swallowed all the lies she fed me without questioning her back. And they were just small matters anyway, so I figured I could just close one eye and let her get away. But then it hit me.

How long do I need to play dumb and let her make a fool of me? A part of me is dying to let her taste a piece of my mind – that I knew she's been lying to me all these while and that she should stop doing that and that she should just be frank with me and I will be much happier that way. But the other part of me is asking me to hold myself back, continue to stay quiet and be patient for Aydein’s sake. But for how long?

Please anyone, please tell me what to do, because honestly, I am already at my wits' end!

A Weekend With The Little Precious

For the first time after a very long time, we finally had the weekend ALL to ourselves!

No kenduris, no open houses, no GSCs/TGVs. It was just the little family (and bibik) enjoying every minute together at our cozy house!

I absolutely ADORE weekends. It's the only time where I really get to spend quality time with my little precious Aydein – something that I don't really get to do during weekdays since I returned to work.

Aydein has grown so much these past couple of months. He's getting real strong too. When I pulled him into a sitting position a few weeks back, his head lagged behind his arms and shoulders. Now, he can anticipate the direction, and his head now would follow right along with the rest of his body when being pulled! He can now grasp well and pass an object from one hand to another rather skillfully too. He has also started to talk his language, smile and laugh more often now. And did I mention that I can also now hear the occasional "ma" which would really make me glow with pride too? heee. :) Oh and his legs are getting stronger as well! This is a good thing, because he hates lying on his back.

Realizing this, we decided to surprise Aydein with a little something for his 5-month birthday. We have been keeping this little something since he was a newborn but decided to save it for later when he’s a little older in order for him to enjoy it more.

So here comes the surprise. No peeking, Aydein! Okay, on the count of three. One, two, three!

Surprise! Happy birthday, sweetheart!

look how curious he was, exploring one colorful toy to another!

Once he's had enough of the playpen exersaucer, it's papa-and-me time!


See how cheeky he is now? :)

At the end of the day, we were all so "happily tired", that we fell asleep just as immediately as we lay on our bed.

It was indeed, a beautiful weekend with the beautiful darlings I love. :)

Lulled To Sleep

Aydein is a very pampered baby.

As a newborn, he was never left to cry for a long time.
We would pick him up right away at the littlest noise he made just to convince him that everything is okay, that everything is alright. That he was not alone in this new world he has just been introduced to, and that we were always there for him, and there was nothing he should be afraid about.

And growing up, Aydein has got a little too comfortable with that very idea!

Therefore it's rather impossible to put him down and leave him to entertain himself now without having to carry him around everywhere. The moment we put him down, he would fuss and demand to be picked up and held in our warm embrace.

That's why yesterday we decided to try the Fisher Price swing to see if it could help him entertain himself. And as you might have guessed, it worked! He loved it that it even lulled him off to sleep! At first he was amazed at the sight of the hanging colorful fishes that he tugged on it and played with it for a little while. The next thing we knew, he was already in lalaland! :D



Of course, new broom sweeps clean. And soon, when he's bored of the same fishy friends swimming around him, he would be demanding to be carried around everywhere again. But until that happens, I'm off to catch on my beauty sleep because seriously, entertaining a 5-month-old can be quite exhausting okay - especially now that he's beginning to babble much and play much! Until then! ;)