11 months

Happy 11 months young lil' bub!!

 30 days to her 1st birthday...let's start the countdown babeh...

foods.

i never really understood the feelings of wanting to give the best for a child until i myself became a mother. yeah..this includes what goes into my child mouth.

i never really gave a damn about baby's food before i learnt that Maryam actually an elergic baby. i started her on solid foods at a few days before she turned 6 months and she was so good at chewing and swallowing her first food. i remembered that. i gave her the instant one.hahaha...kesian maryam. mak maryam langsung takdak ilmu tentang pemakan anak masa tu. seriously i thought why go through hassle? instant ones kan banyak! kan??? macam2 perasa pulak tu...and they look cool and delicious too...see the packaging la kan...nampak sangat best la instant foods for babies on  the counter nowadays...

until, at day 3 maryam was on the intant cereal i noticed she had red spots growing on her legs and her back. i was soooo stupid to think that she has developed demam campak.so my mak and also our BS quickly went to take the daun untuk mandikan dia and also we gave her some air kelapa to see betul ke tak she had chicken pox.


No she was not developing chicken pox. after a week the reddish sports didn't seem like a chicken pox at all and we went to her doctor. and BAMMM!! the doc said she is allergic to something. and he asked us what we gave her for the past 7 days....it was instant cereal..


and i was soooo angry at myself thinking how stupid i was. for not knowing the symptoms. see i know nothing about taking care of my baby at that time. and my mak and our  BS pun wasn't really sure why maryam punya badan naik merah2 cos they never experienced that before.

the worse part when she had her whole body except her face turning red. she practically looked like a baked lobster! kesian tau.... Alhamdulillah nothing bad happend. i didn't know that a baby could die by eating foods that are not suitable for them. 

and then the doctor said i had to stop giving her what i usually feed her and he taught me to give her only fruits and veggie puree instead and she had to go through treatments with the specialist too for the whole of  9 days and we had to go to the hospital everyday because of that... . i knew that i should give her puree as 1st food. but it was just too convinient to give the instant ones i guess. kan?? senang gila...ceduk,letak air, kacau, suap! sedapppp...

and from that moment i started learning about preparing baby foods from a few friends and also they invited me into the solid food group on fb which really an eye opener for me...yeah...it's the coolest thing to prepare you baby with the homemade food.

and i think being able to cook our baby the homemade foods is precious. try la dulu baru tahu betapa seronoknya tengok anak makan kan, kawan2?? ;)

anyways...i firmly believe that it is a matter of choice. if some people think that giving the instant ones are the best for their children than who are we to say it is wrong??

the same goes with me, when i chose to give Maryam foods that are cooked by me or my mak, than i really expect people to respect the choice too. and it is annoying to hear comments from the people who do not understand about the choice i made.especially if they have never gone through the jouney i went. they do not undestand that every baby is different! some babies can tolarate certain foods. some just cannot!

 examples:-  
  

 Comment 1: waaaa besemangan hang no...nanti anak besaq depa sebat jugak KFC dengan MCD     

                      hari2....buat penat ja ajaq makan elok2 ni...

Comment 2: anak pertama memang la excited nak buat macam2..mai anak no.2,3,4,...hmm...sumbat 

                      yang ready jugak nanti.

Comment 3: budak kecik2  lagi dah bagi macam2 makan...tak sakit perut ka?? boleh ka bagi  

                      labu  tu...tak elok tau...angin!

respect. as simple as that. and again every baby is unique.

and please be a parent first and learn about the baby development too if u haven't been one. then you will know how important it is for them to eat healthily at the very early stage. it it simple because they really need the nutrients from good foods for their brain to develop as well as for the health. kesian tengok anak with runny nose, always demam, batuk and so on...tengok balik apa anak makan. that is the simplest rule when your baby is sick. sebab itu saja rutin harian seorang bayi kan...makan dan tidur. selain enviroment laa...

whatever that we feed them at the early stage will have a big consequneces in their future. we don't want our children to grow up and be an adult with problems like obesity, high blood pressure, heart desease and so on..and Malaysia nowdays pun dah dapat tangga yang atas2 jugak dengan problem ni kan...semua  berpunca dari pemakanan. it all began when they were small.

i don't know how long my baby will be able to continue eating healthily. yes, they grow up eating fast foods and junks too. but all i know is the way we eat when we were small has the biggest impact when we became an adult. just teach the our children to eat good foods.God will, they will blossom into healthier adult.

what our parents fed us when we were small was beyond our control. YES they fed us with sugar and salt in our baby foods. simply because they were not aware of the facts. but they didn't have all the infomations back then. but, we are the generations with all the informations just at one click away... google tengok tentang baby foods...we will get a lot of info why we should only give the best while they are still young. 


i'm not planning to keep the sugar & salt away from my child's foods forever...but i know that the important to keep these two ingredients at least before she  turns 2 years old. until she reaches the appropriate age then she can have the adult foods. so please don't make comment as if i am torturing my little baby pulak....anoyying ok!

i just don'y want her to grow up being a picky eater or wanting to eat certain foods only. or hates vegetables...berapa ramai kanak2 membesar tak nak makan sayur dan buah?? ramai kot. and i just don't want her to be one. 

for me, every parent have their own way in raising a child. that part we should really respect and don't say or question why. and act as if we have the best way compared to the other parents. that is just rude.

at the age of 10 months++ now, my baby seems to be enjoying all kind of tastes and i am so happy to see that. when i think back, kesian kalau kita restrict makanan anak to only certain foods saja padahal ada pelbagai jenis yang boleh dimakan. cuma mentality kita saja yang menghalang.

and no, i am not a perfect parent . sometimes telepas jugak biskut2 and adult foods masuk mulut dia and i am ok with that. as long as i know what goes into her little mouth. ;)

 i still have sooo many things that i need to learn and read and ask the right people. when i fisrt got pregnant, i didn't reeally bother to learn about taking care of a baby. i thought i would come naturally. i was wrong! i shoud have equipped myself with knowledge first and the rest will come naturally. that is my personal opinion.

and my lil' girl is turning 1 real soon..sooo excited because after that she can eat new kinds of foods pulak...and the best part after a child is turning one is that  the milk is the supplimentary and the foods will become the main....so, yeayyy to that!!!

kalau jalan2, beg Maryam memang banyak stok makanan. ;)

thermost yang banyak berjasa!

celebrating the 2nd year as Husband And Wife.

Today it is our BIG DAY!!

excited......

LESS WORD on Wednesday

1st timer: wajah2 seorang anak yang pertama kali naik troli.

Pumkin Lover : macam2 resepi dah try so far~

Eating out : she eats whenever we eat.

 

yougurt: mommy needs to be more adventures with this. pi balik dok buat smooties saja. boring~

gambaq raya kami

official family photo on the first day of the Eid 2012.

FINALLY.... we have proper family raya photo this year... *lega semacam* yeah, i felt relieved to have this picture to commemorate our first raya as parents to the lil' one. hehehe... 

i really wanted to have a photo session. a quick one since Maryam is the type of person who is not at ease with strangers. so i really malas to go through the drama with her crying and all. so it was very important for me to choose a professional photog to do this. cewahh...hahaha...but ok la, we had this session done within 30 minutes lebeh kurang.

We had our family foto taken at the Star East Wedding Gallery. i didn't know that the wedding gallery nearby our place had  a promo for raya. i found out about it through a very good friend amy. she and her whole family also had a session there earlier on the same day ( raya pertama). and she posted on her fb that she was having family photo taken there. so i msg her asking about the place and price and the next thing i knew we were there already. that evening of raya sebelum kami tukaq baju.hahahah...

i had my make up done there too and it cost me rm60 only for a simple do. best jugak...and i went to beraya later with that make up afterwards. hehee...tahan pulak tu sampai ke malam...produk apa la amoi tu pakai...

anyway, look at my Maryam..she was all chearful looking kan? and look at the mom and dad lak...kejung! hahahah... actually it was quite a challenge to get this shot ok. they had to
make a lot of noise and put a some toys to attract her..bepeluh okay i menunggu bila laaa nak ok nih...hahhah..yang bapak Maryam asyik2 pejam mata...aduh...letih!

throughout the process Maryam was not in her best mood. she was hungry and grumpy...sian kat dia...

she refused to look at the camera

i think i am quite happy with the outcome because i was so desperate nak ada gambaq cos we didn't have any foto di pagi hari raya tu...sebab was busy with a lot of things. biasa la hari raya kan...plus, i really want to make this as a must event every raya starting now. every raya must go and take picture somewhere... 

who know, this raya bertiga, next raya berempat? hahaha....

Dalam semua gambaq, i guess this one i look like i just had botox...serious...pelik gila muka i dalam ni... overedited rasanya ni...

all the pictures will be hung at our crib later...i actually had a few pictures framed by them as well.. nice jugak.

an over excited mom

My baby is turning 1 year in about 2 months time. and being a person who loves to attend makan2 events i think i would love to throw my baby her very FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY! InsyaAllah. if everything goes well, we might have her birthday celebration not on November but December la instead. because i would be glued to exam papers doing my usual routine, marking, keying in marks, and all the headaches with my students's affair  la. Zaman la ni i think budak2 exam, pensyarah yang big headaches! hui.. and because of that i don't think i could focus doing the planning or arranging things related to party.. i think December is good time to have a party and ada school holidays some more, so boleh la sepupu2 and kawan2 seangkatan Maryam datang her birthday party sebab mak2 cuti kan. ;)

Back to the story. i am now almost confirmed with the birthday theme and i think i could slowly plan the party kot. remember it took us (the ex-brides) years to plan our wedding kan?? now i am planning for my baby's party pulak...the feeling is...overwhelming kot? hahhaha... biasa lah...bab2 anak ni memang mak2 yang selalu over the top kan...

And for the record NO... i am not throwing a big party. i actually planned to have a very small celebration. just the three of us. Maryam + Mommy + Daddy. i thought of going somewhere for a short trip this end of year but thinking back, i think it would be nice to share our happiness by having at  least a small gathering of children and mothers, eat, chat, camwhore, eat lagi and stuff like that... it doesn't have to be a big party. Cos i really don't have any intention to spend like mad over Maryam's birthday celebration.

Anyways, i have a few themes in mind to begin with. at first i couldn't really decide. i wish i could just ask Maryam what she would like for her birthday celebration. hahaha...

We had ( i mean i had 4 favorite theme of my own that i always saved in my memory.) ok fine, these are basically what i wished for if i were a kid! LOL. 

* Strawberry short cake theme

* Mickey mouse or Baby Minnie theme

* Snow white and the 7 dwarfs theme

 * Rainbow theme

i wish i had the creativity and the budget to realize everything that i wish to have for my girl la..seriously.. i have all the creative imaginations but i am just not as creative to do it all on my own. silap2 jadi benda lain lak..but when i think carefully again, i want to take the effort to do the planning and see how it turns like. and i hope when Maryam grows up she would look at the pictures of her first birthday and happy la... that's the most important thing for me. and i just want everybody to enjoy together with us. pheww....to plan for something enjoying is a challenge nih!

i just hope that i won't get carried away as if i am planning for my own birthday pulak. yang tu haru tu..hahahha...kids should be allowed to be kids. and YES i would let Maryam eat her birthday cake by ignoring the sugar content and such... well, once in a while, no harm kan~ let the kid enjoy.

Anyway, i am just wondering could somebody custom made this flags for me in Penang? i mean i 'd like to have flags with HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARYAM wordings. but i just don't have the idea where can i get it. NO i am not DIYing ok. cos, i'm just horrible at it. hahaha... where hah???

okay what is the theme??? well, should i say here? i still have 2 months and maybe i might change...who knows... ;p

so far, the rainbow theme fascinates me. i mean, i love to see colors during this kind of party. we'll wee how lahh~  wish me good luck! LOL.

all pictures credit to hostess with the mostess site.

Maryam & her sleep pattern

Having a growing  up infant can be a little bit challenging for a first time mom like me. i am not gonna say that for the past almost 10 months of taking care of my child has been all beautiful journey. i love my baby too much but, hell no to the waking up like 2-3 times at nite is a beautiful moment... yeah..my baby still wakes up at least 2 times at nite for her milk time. and NO, not because she is not enough fed. she eats 3 normal meals a day, and frequent snacking in between. still she would be waking  up at nite wanting  for milk. i think it is normal. she is just a baby... ;)

i just envy those mothers who said that their babies from the first day has no problem with sleeping all nite. i'm like,... whattt??? bestnya~ my baby from her first day at home until she turned 3 months ++ would only sleep during the day and spent the whole nite "burning  the  midnite oild" hahahaa... 

as she gets older she switched her sleeping time gradually to nite but i guess her sleep patterns only stable ( i mean, when i could finally adjust to her style) after she turned 7 months. that explains why i am fat! cos i would be munching away at the wee hours. hahahah...

Did i mention that my baby has a very very VERY sensitive auditory sense?? yeah...bunyi sikit pon boleh terjaga. bunyi cicak pon dia jaga. lagi la kalau bunyi TV. sikit pon dah jaga. aduiii....i think she got that from me. i am a person who would be wide awake if i hear something during my sleep. i am alert to any sound even if i'm in a deep sleep. now, Maryam seems to "inherit" that as well. hahaha...

there are times when i consider the lucky times or unlucky times associating to her sleep pattern.

a) Lucky Times

Okay, these are the  most relaxing and happy times when she would wake up at nite to drink her milk and then fall into sleep after she is full. and i could continue with my sleep or whatever things that i need to do while the baby is sleeping. Usually i would sleep or be doing some office works or house chores. (kemas mengemas time pukul 1-2 pagi oi)

Also considered as lucky times because she would only wake up 1 or 2 times only and then back to sleep. legaa...

b) Unlucky times

The most painful things i would say. when she wakes up asking for milk and then starts to crawl and climb around the house and explore everything she feels like to. usually starts at 1 am until around 4-5 am!! and just imagine u have to go to work too the next morning...goshhh.... i have to say that she still does this at least once or twice a month until now. painful~

 there was one occasion when my husband and i had to take Maryam out and drove the car at 3AM just to get her sleep because we ran out of ideas on how to put her to sleep. and it worked!! masuk keta start enjin, jalan tak sampai 2 minit dia pengsan...

Unlucky time number 2 pulak usually occurs almost ever morning when i get up to take my bath and get ready to work and there she is with her eyes wide open going around the house, again! pheww.... usually if my husband is around he would be looking out for Maryam until i finish my bath and dia pulak ambik turn mandi  and get ready for work.

that is IF my husband is around (remember he still has not gotten his tranfer yet). 

but the usual days where only Maryam and i sahaja bedua. imagine that! nak mandi pon sambil bukak pintu tau.sambil menjerit-jerit "Maryam!Maryam! what are you doing??? MARYAMMMM" haaa boleh bayang??

i am not gonna say i am a perfect mom. i have never lost my temper. It is impossible. i did lose my temper and scold my poor baby. and trust me. i would regret that later BIG TIME. and cry later because i scold my baby... kesian kat dia...tak pasai2 mak dia menjerit kat dia.

i guess being away from the husband really takes its toll on me. it is  hard to handle the baby all by myself. and when u are tired after a long day at work all u wish for when u reach home is to rest. but when the unlucky times happens, it is hard not to lose the temper. 

Nowadays, i spend most of my nite at my mother's place and i have to ask my mak's help if i really really has to sleep to take over jaga Maryam at nite. Besalah sangat bila menyusahkan mak sendiri but what to do?

i am an indipendent person. i tak biasa duduk rumah mak i lama2 macam ni since i started working right after finishing my studies... cos i am more comfortable to have my own life or my own place. but since my husband is not with us and i think i could not handle Maryam alone at nite, so i tepaksa tumpang mak i and my rented house now we bayar every month but jarang balik. MEMBAZIR but i guess this is the sacrifice we have to make for some time. at least until my husband and i leave together again. i really hope for that to happen soon. but none of us know when exactly the time. hukhukhuk.... 

as for Maryam sleeping pattern i don't know when will she be sleeping all through the nite like other infants. but i am wondering, betul ka some babies at Maryam's age tidur tak  bangun2 sampai siang???

but one thing for sure, seeing my baby in her sleep is a beautiful and priceless moment. it's the moment when my heart melts and feeling like kissing her without stopping! and usually i would take that opportunity to say sorry i scolded her (with my eyes all teary) and say Mommy Loves You Maryam.... mmmmuahh! a big kiss on her face~