ohhh.... baby ku masuk byou in

just got discharged this afternoon.... this marks the second time he's been admitted...

however this time.... this time was a whole other experience....

just want to say alhamdulillah...sayang dah discharged...but you still have a lot of recuperating to do sayang...

rajin2 makan ubat ye...even if i have to ' berperang ' with you every 8 hrs to do so...

tup tap tup tap dah 6 weeks...

Ww18 ~ wW24...
tup tap tup tap dh 6 weeks...dh 2 kali dpt gaji (we get paid twice a month)....hmmm and how do i find working life?
well lets just say dpd 6 weeks tu adalah dlm 2~3 hari je yg saya blh terasa 'I like my job'..that's only what 2.38 % of the time.... but as my mom says...that's what you call ' working life'...At least ada jugak kan days when i like it...tak de 100% hate my job...

It's just that now weekends seem so far away...and when they come they seem to be over in a flash...
So far baru blk Kajang...what about Kulim...almost every  week... we've only spent the weekend at home twice kot sejak pindah Penang ni...so you do the math...

About work...well I'm attached to the QA department in charge of incoming quality control... I've got one colleague who keeps telling me ' Your job is the easiest in the QA dept'....and at first I just brushed it aside...but he keeps repeating the same thing saying his job is really demanding what with dealing with customers and so on. I'd just like to say here that..yes I know your job is demanding and maybe a bit tricky...but who's to say mine isn't... semua og punya keje ada part senang ada part susah kan....

I remember the first few weeks we started work... the kohais who happened to start work the same time we did were all grumbling as was I... I would sometimes come home thinking 'jd PT (technician) kan best...kerja 4 hari cuti 3 hari...kerja 3 hari cuti 4 hari...but then can i live with their wages? and yes kerja PT ni bukannya senang sgt...lenguh kaki wey.... yg duk kt blanking lak mau sakit tgn duk but keja unstick2 tu... No..no...no..evry job ada pros and cons dia...So  what I have to do now is just get used to the idea that there's no easy job... jd suri rumah pun susah people.... been there done that... dh lh masa tu tak de anak lg... bila dah ada baby lg mencabar jdnya..

I find the most challenging aspects of my job being the management of my subordinates, making on the spot decisions and writting emails... writing emails...alah kacang je...ye tak... ye kot... but from my standpoint... the 'over think' side of me comes into play...and a simple email becomes something so burdeoning... am I using the right tone of voice so as to not kecikkan hati the customer? am i devulging any company trade secrets?... the list goes on...

But enough about work.. what about my family life?
Well Harith just turned 4 months... finally learned to meniarap when he was 3months 19 days old..after much grunting, failing and tears... we finally got to witness it the 3rd time..( the first n second time my MIL yg jd saksi..kitorg tgh keje...oh sedey..tp apakan daya)

Harith ni mahal sgt senyumanya...a very serious baby.he spends most of his time observing with dahi berkerut and bibir terjueh....hahahah...

And he's finally found his hands..but he can't grab anything yet...and dh pandai isap jari if he doesn't get his milk fast enough...

Oh ya...remember the the things isaid i wanted to avoid...let's just say i've kinda failed everything...
- nk avoid formula milk... Harith kluar2 dh kena sumbat formula...start umur dia 1 n 1/2 months dh campur breastmilk and formula milk...
- nk avoid pakai puting....huh this one pun fail after much coercian from my mommy...tp Harith bukan baby  yg nk sgt kt puting..he only takes it masa nak tdo...tu pun not all the time
- nk kurangkan pki diapers...nk pakai  cloth diapers..Harith br ada satu..that one because of the tight purse strings...insyaAllah nanti mama belikan lg ye..
- the only one that's left is tak pki buai or endoi..this one pun dah goyang dah.... my mom dh lama cucuk2...but last weekend i put Harith in the endoi at my MIL's house...oh my ...senang nya nk bg dia tdo..
I know2... I shouldn't use it as a shortcut...but susah sgt nk bg dia tdo...evry night is a struggle..and I end exhausted even b4 I leave for work... so yes I forfeit... weekend ni nk pi pinjam my SIL's endoi...let's see how it goes... I really need the sleep...

Harith ` 3mths ++ with Abah...

baby blues....

tak tahulah kenapa.... masa the first few weeks after Harith's birth start rasa this empty feeling... rindu rasa ada benda dlm perut... rindu rasa dia kick2... rindu rasa dia get stuck under my right ribcage... and now as more and more of my family members batchmates baik yang ppktj and mrsmkt, and friends from all over start tayang gambar baby bump or pics of their newborn ... perasaan yang dah lama tertimbus tu dtg balik...

tu all my family members, seniors, and friends yang nak bersalin tu... savour this short beautiful period... as for me... tak sabar nak get no 2... tp must wait jgk kot...kasi stabil family econ dulu...hihi... bg chance kat Harith manja puas2 hihi..

Harith's 3rd Jab on the 1st of March

On the first of March.... Harith turned 28 days... it was a Tuesday and we headed to the recently opened Klinik Kesihatan since it was really near....less than 10 minutes away by car....

first they asked me to strip harith down...all his clothes..even his diapers...and Harith was weighed... we've been weighing him at home but obviously mesti lah lari kan dgn reading kat klinik...next the nurse gave him back to me to dress..and they proceeded to measure his head circumference and  his length...

all about harith's growth:
weight : 2.62kg -> 3.3kg
head circumference : 31cm -> 33cm
length: 46cm -> 52cm

next they took blood from his heel to check his jaundice count... again...(he cried so loud that later when i went to get the test results some one approached my mum and asked yang ni ke yang nangis tadi)...kuat sungguh..

 and next they checked my weight and took my blood to check my hb level and took my bp... my weight has gone back down to pre-pregnancy weight ( - 6.3kg) but not down to my pre-marriage weight (was that too much to hope for? i guess so) so i'm still overweight (urghhhh)... and the nurse didn't say anything about my bp and hb test..so i guess normal je kot

after all the results came we went to consult the medical officer....
harith is yellow zone baby...meaning he wasn't gaining enough weight..his target weight was 3.6kg and he was 300g... well at least bukan zon merah kan... diorg suruh feed you more lah Harith......more more more... at that time you were taking about 90ml 8 times a day...tak termasuk your BF sessions......so nampaknya kena up lagi lah kan... now at day 45 you are taking 120ml still 8 times a day excluding BF sessions..

and his TSB (reading for jaundice) was 5.6 mg/dl...Alhamdulillah.... dah tak jaundice dah anak mama... for ur information kalau full term babies < 12.0mg/dl dah normal but for Harith yang preterm it has to be < 7.0 mg/dl....

and then we got the green light for you to get your second dose of Hepatitis B immunzation...next up is your DPT scheduled on the 5th of April...

Harith was sleeping when the nurse jabbed him....meraung lah kan... tp keluar je dr bilik tu...dia terus enyap and when i looked at him again dia dah tdo balik...haha....

Harith on day 30... @ ±3.3kg... 2 days after the 2nd Hep B jab

a little trick my mum taught me....

you know how costly babies are...well here's a little trick my mum taught me...just to save a few pennies...

some people might regard the use of cotton balls unnecessary...well i deem them necessary especially when giving a bath to little Harith...i use them to wipe his little face...paying attention to the eyes and the areas around his ears and so on....

well a packet of pre-balled ( tak tau nak describe cam ne...tapi cotton yang dlm bebola tu) as far as i know costs about RM 6.90...not much huh...

 well...this is what we do.... we buy the cotton wool which also costs RM 6.90...and ball them up ourselves... you see that container behind the roll of cotton wool...well i got 4 containers worth of cotton balls from that one roll... i'm guessing it's 4 times more than what you get for 1 packet of pre-balled cotton..

Sebulan bersama Harith....

Harith sayang ....you are 1 month old and so far this is what i know....

• Harith sayang tak suka mandi, tukar pampers dan seangkatan dengannya.... tak suka sejuk kot anak mommy ni....kdg2 mommy tak bukak ur diapers lg pun u dah nangis...mcm tau2 je org nk buat pe.... but once everything is done... you get this contented look on ur face...mcm 'haaaaaaa....dh fresh blk' punya look...
• mommy still tak reti ur signals....aik u ada bg signal ke?... mommy asyik kena  'pancut' je... don't worry ... mommy doesn't mind... i don't know how the washing machine feels though...
• kalau bab lapar...tak reti nak sabar... haaaa.... when ur hungry u will wail like sombody cubit u or something....
• which reminds me...the other day ur grandmother laughingly told me ' haaa...bg lg nama kuat (Harith=kuat)..kuat sungguh... nangis mintak susu kuat, minum kuat, tendang Wan bila lapar kuat...kuat sungguh' and i jokingly said...'haa tu lah...sok sok dpt adik kena bg nama 'sabar' lak...kasi sabar sikit tunggu susu..haha'
• Harith ni special skit...coz u make all these weird sounds that both ur Wan and me agree...we've never heard any other baby make..... sometimes bunyi cm kuda...sometimes bunyi cm kambing...saaa naaa.... tp kitorg dh phm dah...tu signal something is wrong kan....like when ur hot, or when ur diaper ada isi, or even when ur punggung dah jatuh from the bantal which is ur fav tempat tdo....
• bila Harith marah Harith jd merah...cm beet root... and it always starts kat kening...pastu satu muka merah...pastu sampai tangan kaki seme pun merah...

when Harith gets mad...dia jadi beetroot red
• Harith bnyk gila dpt nickname mainly from ur aunties...

                 - heating pad....because ur warm like a heating pad...soooo sedap pegang
                 - loaf of bread....beacause that's how u looked when u kena bedung
                 - clockwise...because when u sleep ... you always turn clockwise from ur original position
                 - awang chik.... awang because my mom says that's what they used to call little boys..kalau girls
                                         diorg panggil che mek... and chik...cause ur kecik...
                 - tomato man... cause you get red when ur mad
                 - beetroot...cause Wan says dia jd merah purple cm beetroot not merah merah like a tomato..
                 - pipi telur puyuh...coz his cheeks have grown to the size and shape of  quail eggs...one on each
                                             side..
                 - popeye....coz ever since we brought him back susah sgt nak tgk dia bukak mata..and when he
                                   finally did..it was with a tenteative peek from the right eye...and then it was the bukak
                                   mata kanan mata kiri tutup look...which my kakak says looks like popeye...so there
                                   you go...
                 - hiro kun....sbb bday dia sama ngan Ari's current professor... Prof Toda Hiroyuki...we even
                                    contemplated naming him Hiroyuki but decided against that...sbb panjaaang sangat
                                    nanti namanya....haha

• Harith bila tdo sgt lasak..and everyone says that comes from me...on day 10 you  started moving in your sleep...you moved 45 degrees clockwise from your original position...

45 degrees clockwise from origina position
• When i put you on your tummy...you will try your best to turn back...or try nak mengiring.. tak suka meniarap eh...tak boleh lah sayang...kena buat tummy time bagi your leher kuat sikit...
• Kalau kena dukung tak mau org duduk...nak kena diri...and believe me he knows when you're sitting down..sebab dia bising when you sit down...haha...pandai la momma's boy ni..

It's been an interesting 1 month... and somehow i love watching you and watching everyone fawn over you... It's interesting to see how your presence changes the people around you... My father your atuk...yang slalu serious tu sekrg cakap ada bunyi2..and it's so funny to watch... when the grandparents get home from work...sure berebut nak pegang cucu... berebut in 'subtle' way mind you... i just pass the baby to my dad and my mum wouls swoop in and take the baby from him.... kesian tak Atuk Harith..haha...

But sometimes rasa sedih...because there are all these things that i said i would try to avoid but in the end i end up doing.... i wanted to fully BF you..but now you get a mixture of both EBM and FM... i wanted you to get a schedule and fall asleep on ur own...that's not happening anytime soon...i didn't want to let you use a pacifier...but ur grandma has been pushing me to get you one and i ran out of alasan to give ur grandma..she just came home yesterday with a puting....aaaaa...

Harith when he tdo baik baik...hihi

Mommy can't wait until your abah gets back and see him see you for the first time... shotaimen tu...slalu dgr suara je kan Harith...tak pun tgk muka kat skype...mana best kan...tak pe saaaat je lagi... abah balik 25hb ni...yeay yeay...

44 hari berpantang.....

hmmm... kejap je dah 44 hari berlalu sejak kelahiran 'awang chik' sorang tu.... nak dikatakan berpantang tak de lah sgt kot... my mum jaga the way her mother did for her...and after talking to my cousins it seems that dlm my mum's adik beradik yg jaga betul pantang sorang je kot... my Aunty Kamar... itu pun because dia pantang ikut her mother in law...

so how did i 'berpantang' ? basically i just stayed away from sayur2 yang 'berangin' or 'sejuk'... like timun, petola, kangkung...ada org cakap sayur berjalar seme  tak boleh... yang pasal ayam, daging seme tu... saya bantai je seme... Mak Cik Tun, my tukang urut cakap, org tak bg makan ayam tu sbb setgh org gatal...tp kalau awak tak gatak mkn je la'...and so i did.... ikan haruan? sekali pun tak makan...hahaha...maklumlah saya sgt memilih bab ikan2 ni...so in an effort to get me to eat fish...my mum proceeded to cook ikan tenggiri, ikan aji-aji, ikan bawal....nak senang ikan2 yg isinya putih la ye....白身魚....

my mum has this　theory that if you pamper yourself too much...it will take that much longer to get well... it's all up to that person... cuak jugak lah...coz i didn't really ask her dia amik cuti brapa lama... turns out my mum just took 1 day leave because harith was born a day before the chinese new year holidays would start.... so since my mum had already hinted on it.... the day i got back from hospital i stupidly tackled the baby's laundry on my home... that was only a day after harith's birth....haa..amik ko...sakit pingang after that...so my mum took over the baby's laundry and all forms of cooking...

i did everything that had to do with harith...change his diapers even gave him his baths since day 2... that first bath at home was quite a laugh...haha... i got half of the bedroom wet when i accidentally let go of the shower head when i was filling harith's tub... dah lah my mum wasn't home...klakar2...hihi.... changing diapers was a no brainer..thanks to ample practice with alauddin dulu...hihi

what about jamu? well yang ni tak try lagi...sebab harith kena jaundice... your not allowed to eat jamu, or large ammounts of spices (termasuk lada hitam - which most people tgh pantang eat a lot of) if you breastfeed...beacause it might affect the baby... masa kena  harith admit kat hosp sebab jaundice tu ada one lady nye baby kena masuk wad ...jaundice disebabkan olh jamu...the lady was shocked since her three elder children had no jaundice even though she took the same jamu... but then evry baby is different right... and so because of that... my jamu is still in the box...

barut...haa...yang ni pakai... Mak Cik Tun even asked me to buy this cream called Krim Mustajab..which is actually a ginger based cream to be applied before the putting on the barut...

banyak kena tegur masa friends and family datang jenguk harith.... even the nurses from the nearby klinik kesihatan who came for a 'lawatan di rumah' pun tegur...mana maknya? i answered...saya...''eh tak mcm org pantang pun dah jln sana sini.'....my cousins pulak ckp...'jgn dok jln sgt...nanti herot'....hahah...dunno lah...

i'm not against the traditional way of 'berpantang'...it's just i think you have to adapt to your own situation... my mom went back to work the next Monday..and harith and i had our 2 day stay in an-nur because of his jaundice... so after day 10 i was on my own...the only thing i didn't do was cook my own meals....mummy did that every morning before she left for work..and bacause i was on my own, i couldn't do some of the more tedious things like mandi daun or pakai pilis....nak mandi pun always rushing...especially if you start hearing the litlle one's cries.... hoping sgt2 that the next time i pantang i get a little more time to myself... things would be easier if hubby was around i guess...at least tak de lah mandi pun nak bekejar kan...

Harith on day 44