2011 at its end

The year is coming to an end. A wonderful, "adventure"-filled, unforgettable year. Hehehe...

Pregnancy was an interesting period of time for me (early pregnancy bleeding, pregnancy induced asthma, hypertension during the 3rd trimester, holiday in Kuching, 1st time celebrating Hari Raya Aidilfitri with my hubby's family, etc, etc, etc. Haha!), and of course, giving birth to my son was also an unforgettable experience. Yes, labor was excruciating but the moment I saw him, all gooey and covered with blood (hehe), all the hardship & pain just went away. ;)

My smiley baby boy...happy to be going home to Kedah for the long New Year's weekend. :D See you all in 2012! :)

Work-&-Pump Mama ;)

Well, I've started my journey as a "work-&-pump mama" for about a month now. Hehe...

What do I mean by "work-&-pump"? Well, it's just a term I learnt from other working mamas. Haha! It simply means, I pump out my breastmilk at work. ;)

At work, of course there are many "obstacles" in pumping as much as I want. It's a good practice to pump every few hours but it's not always achievable for me. There are days when I can pump 4 times but there are also days when I can only pump 1 or 2 times. Huhu... Well, what can I say... Work of course comes first at the office. If I don't get to pump much at the office, I'd try my best to pump a bit at home when my baby's asleep and already well fed. :)

Oh, what do I use to pump and store my breastmilk at work? Well, I have my trustworthy Medela Mini Electric pump set with my Autumnz storage set.

My Medela Mini Electric (also known as Mini-E) & Autumnz storage set - cooler bag, milk storage bottles, reusable ice packs
(image from Google search. Hehe!)

To boost my "just-enough" milk production, I've started taking supplements for about a month. It's Shaklee's Triple M breastfeeding set. Up to date, my milk production hasn't increased much but I noticed that my milk is thicker and results in my baby to be full faster (I think). I usually just manage to get about 8oz (about 240ml of breastmilk from my pumping sessions a day, which is only about twice feeding for my growing baby boy. Since I can only get two bottles a day, he has to drink formula milk as well when he's at the nanny's.

It's only been a month since I started consuming the set so for me, it's still an improvement. I will not give up so easily. Haha! So what does a Triple M set consists of?

Shaklee's Triple M Set
(images taken from Shaklee's website)

This is how I consume the set:
- Alfalfa Complex: At least 3 times a day, 2 caps each time (best taken after direct breastfeeding)
- B-Complex: Once a day, after breakfast (1 capsule)
- Energizing Soy Protein: At least twice a day, morning and night (or after direct breastfeeding)
- OsteMatrix: Once a day, after dinner or just before bed (2 capsules)
- Vita-C: Once a day, after lunch (1 capsule). I take this 2 caps a day if I have a cold.
- Vita-Lea: Once a day, after breakfast (1 capsule)

Seems a lot to consume, right? Yet, I'm ok with it as long as I can provide nutrition for my baby and myself. :) I pray that my milk production will improve but most importantly, my baby will get enough nutrition and grow healthily. :D

Another stage in life

Can't believe it's already December. The final month before the year ends.

Just over a year ago, I turned from a single woman to a married woman. A few months later, I was carrying my first child, the fruit of love between my hubby and I. :) After several months of ups and downs (pregnancy swings...hehehe), our little baby was born and we were brought into another stage in life: parenthood. And now, I'm a working mama & wife. :)

In a way, I feel complete now. I've gone through several stages of life (childhood to adulthood) and now having my own little family (which I hope will keep on growing. Hehe), I feel extremely blessed.

Oh, a few more days till I need to take my son for his 3-months-old immunization injection. ;)

1433 Hijrah

A new year, a new leaf...

I pray to be a better person, overall. May my son grow up to be a good Muslim & son. May my dear hubby always be wonderful like he is now. May all be well. Amiin. :)

Happy Birthday, my love! :)

Today's my darling hubby's 29th birthday. Yay! ;)
Many hugs & kisses for u, abg syg, from both of us (your wife & little baby boy). :D

Friday morning

Today's already Friday, which means I'll already be working soon... Soon as in this upcoming Monday! Yikes! Has it really been just over 2 months since I gave birth to my little baby boy? My maternity leave is already coming to an end? My life as a working mama is starting soon? Wow! Hehehe...

Oh, and the date today is just beautiful... 15th Zulhijjah 1432H (15.12.32) and 11th November 2011 (11.11.11). Too bad I did not realize today's the 15th of Zulhijjah. Otherwise, I might have fasted yesterday and today, as today is one of the recommended days to fast in Islam. In Islam, it is not a good practice to fast on Fridays only. It has to be with another day, either the day before or the day after.

I guess I've kind of not really thought about fasting since I'm breastfeeding my little baby boy. While breastfeeding, I need to take in a fair amount of fluid / water to ensure the consistency of my milk production. It is possible to fast, but in my case, I think I'll need to consume some supplements first as at the moment, my milk production can be classified as just enough for my baby's daily needs. In other words, I rarely get to collect / pump extra for my baby. That's why I have to feed my baby both my breastmilk and formula. Huhuhu... Gone is my wish to exclusively breastfeed my baby. :(

Nevertheless, I've just learnt the "art" of power pumping i.e. pump a few minutes-pause a few minutes-pump a few minutes-pause a few minutes for about 1 hour. Hehehe... I may still not get that much per session (1 - 2 oz), but at least I get to clear my milk out while baby's asleep. :) I hope I can properly pump my milk once I start working. Will need to find the time and place to do so, without disturbing my work and other people.

Breastfeeding / pumping breastmilk for baby is definitely not easy, but it's a joy and pleasure that's indescribable. For my little son's well-being, why not, right? :)

Oh, Adam Asyraf is such a little strong boy (says this proud mama. Hehehe). Hubby and I took him for his 2 months immunization injection on Wednesday evening. The little boy barely cried out. Just a little sound after the injection and he fell asleep all the way home from the clinic. Hehehe... By the way, Adam Asyraf weighs a healthy 5kg at age of 2 months! :D

Awake after reaching home from the clinic. :)

Sound asleep after a nice, long feed yesterday evening. :)

Chubby!

Well, chubby is definitely the word to describe my little baby boy. Hehehe... Adam Asyraf is 2 months old today, and growing healthily. Yay! ;)

Baby boy dozing off after a nice, good feed. Hehehe... :D

I've started sending him to the babysitter's for a few days now, half days instead of full days (i.e. from around 8.30am till 3.30pm only, instead of 7am-7pm like when I start working again next week). So far, so good. :) He seems to be happy enough at the sitter's, who's only two levels up from my house (erm, I live in a flat. Hehe). I hope he's in good hands while I'm away at work.

To be honest, hubby and I were (still are) very concerned about where to send Adam Asyraf when we're both at work. We went surveying to a number of day cares/nurseries and inquired on babysitters who advertised their services around our flat area. Taking good care of a baby, especially newborns/infants is not a responsibility many are willing to take. Our son is extremely precious (as all parents would feel about their child, right? Hehe), so of course we wanted to make sure he's in good hands when we're not there. There are many pros and cons, on both sending a child to a nursery and to a babysitter. I guess, the only thing to be done is to try and pray for things to be alright, right?

After thinking long and hard on various matters, we decided to try sending our son to the babysitter near our house. She's a grandma of two very cute little girls, and an ex-nursery and kindergarten teacher. Very friendly too. Hehehe... Only God knows what my feelings were at the moment I left him there for the first time. Well, I still do worry, and will probably always have this worrisome feeling, every time I leave him. ;)

Till today (although only a few days), all seems to be well. He looks well fed, well dressed, and in good mood when I pick him up from the sitter's. Hehehe... So, let's pray he's taken care well of at all times. Amiin. :)

At 40 days old

This photo was actually taken last week, but only managed to be posted today. Hehehe... I just love his look here. :D

The 3 of us

Our first family photo... :D


Oh, hubby and I are just over 1 year married now. :) Praying for many, many more wonderful years to come. :D

44 days

Alhamdulillah, my 44 days confinement period is ending today. How time flew. :)

However, with the end of the confinement period, I still need to take care of my food and drinks intake for a few more months, especially since I breastfeed my little baby boy. It'll be a bit of a challenge (as quite a number of menu that I do like to take are on the "watch list") but hopefully I will prevail. Hehehe... For the sake of my baby, a little sacrifice is not too much to be asked for, right? :)

I thought during my confinement period/maternity leave, it'd be easier to get some things done (i.e. blogging more frequently, reading journals, etc), but today just proves that time flies so quickly with the little one around. :) Whatever it is, I am thankful for everything. :)