Good Friends + Good Conversations =Great Times!

Happy Friday all.. I am so relived that the weekend is finally here! Next week will be a busy week with our Board Meeting coming up but lets leave it at that..

We went out for a dinner gathering last night with Anjai's fren.. It was his birthday and i have to say we really enjoyed ourselves.. (well in case you guys dont know this, I love social gatherings like this). So here are some pictures taken by Anjai and also stolen from his FB hehe

Mulut panuh pun sampat kan posing!

This is my cousin on my dad's side, Alai..

the nikonfreek-ers! hehe

ani kes kenyang and semua menyandar hehe

and this too! hehe I like this pic!! but can u spot someone trying to enter the frame there? haha

And the birthday boy with the cake! Epiday to you Gbob!

I look forward to tomorrow night's gathering over at Boo's Place too.. hehe Hopefully Anjai will bring his camera this time and we all don't have to rely on Fakhrin's iPhone for pictures! har har

Sipping..

my first cup of red raspberry tea.. I was expecting the tea to taste different but not bad lah.. But then I suppose i Should let it sit longer.. hehe I was very happy and excited to find out last week that my friend managed to get my tea for me, despite the fact that the shop was not actually a shop, it was a warehouse. And the fact that the warehouse was located at god knows where in Singapore. Tapi handal jua my fren ani, she managed to find the place.. hehe Thanks HL!

What i am not that happy about is that the bag that i wanted (not the LV as they LV people still haven't produced one for me) was not available in Singapore, or in Dubai.. Apparently it will only be available in Singapore in March! Frust saya eh! I suppose i should find another alternative to feed my thirst, for now..

no room for failure

I know i was suppose to blog yesterday but was preoccupied with resting and buming about.. *tee hee* So happy 36 weeks baby! which means i am in my 9th month already hehe How ready am i? I think at this stage i am ready as ever! My itch is still around and the Doctor gave me some sleeping pills to help me sleep at night, although i am trying not to use it.. Kesian, krg baby pun ikut sleepy.. hehe

After some deliberation, I decided to bring along the Breast Pump to the Hospital with me. With the BP around i will be able to pump and provide milk to baby even if baby doesn't know how to latch yet.. hehe I think i also mentioned his a few post ago that i will also bring Fenugreek supplements to ensure that milk production is well underway.. As you can see, i am not giving myself any room for failure in terms of milk production.. Keeping positive as much as possible and insyallah it will happen.. hehe

We had a series of activities last weekend, starting off with HP-Rock birthday celebration over at Boo's place on Friday, sleep over at the in-laws on Saturday (our niece Alya mikin lampuh but unfortunately no pic.. will post some up next week, insyallah) and then dinner at Excapade with Anjai's friends on Sunday.. I am uber excited for this weekend too hehe

Here is a picture of Anjai and I taken by his fren Ichinose last Sunday evening..

And another photo from the recent shoot with Hitamputeh Crew! hehe

Wish List

As requested by HP-Rock, i have placed a 'wish list' of things that you can buy baby... Although most of the items are already taken up by some people! haha I honestly don't know apa lagi since we bought most of the things on our 'to buy' list already (sorry for being such a good shopper! haha)

Oh yeah, for friends who really want to get something for me, i would really really like to have LV Neverfull Damier Graphite.. They haven't came up with the women's collection yet but maybe one of you can email the people in LV for me.. Thanks!!! *tee hee*

oh and both HP-Rock and Anjai wants a PS3...

back to working mode

After 2 days of Medical Certificate, i am back at work! I have to admit, I was very tempted to extend my leave another day so that i have a longer weekend but guilt got over me and decided to come to work after all.. I have a million and one things to do and i have to get started on my handover notes! I'll look at it this way, the sooner i get my handover notes done, the sooner i can go on leave.. hehe And at least when if i do go in an early delivery, I have nothing to worry about.. well work related anyways.. hehe

A quick shout out to HP_Rock! Happy birthday Joe!

So back to work!! and have a great Friday all!

Hormones..

I just went through 24 hours of DRAMA! What drama? Well you guys can ask me if you wanna know, as i feel uber tired to write about it here and it still boils my blood when i think about it. But the conclusion of the matter is that alhamdulilah baby is ok, in tip top condition. And it took 3 CTGs to convince me that baby is ok.. Oh also the professionalism of the doctor in Tutong Gyne Clinic disappoints me! 

I am very thankful for he great support system around me, Anjai especially, for listening to me talk crap, cry my eyes out, comfort me when i am down, feed me when i am hungry or when i forget to eat and bla bla bla.. Thank you E13 for answering whatever questions i have and not to mention translating watever medical terms that they throw at me better and also listening to me talk my crap.. And My aunt who was kind enough to also answer my questions and be my escort and comfort me along the way!! Astah! mcm menang Emmy awards tah pulang! haha Please excuse the hormonal pregnant lady..

Is it me or the movie channel on astro is showing pregnant movies like Juno and Knocked Up? haha Well everytime i watch the delivery scene i tear up! talk about hormonal huh? haha 

Nesting

I have the urge to clean and organise everything! I didn't think of it much at first cos i thought I am in my normal 'planner' mode where i plan everything and making sure that when the time comes for deliver for me, all will be in order and inda payah panic or berabut.. Then a friend made a comment that i might be nesting. As I said I didn't think much of it until i started to do the same thing around the office.. I started spring cleaning my desk and sorting things out and even started to tell/teach my colleague how to file stuff and also reminding her do sort things out! As soon as i got home i grabbed my book and googled it and i now believe that I AM going through Nesting!

It is defined as 'an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world.' It says that its quite normal for a woman to feel like so as it is a primal instinct for our kind however expecting mothers should sit down and relax as some say that its a sign that labor is near. Hence better to save up the energy for the battle to come.. hehe After reading this i thought i better slow down but i just kept on coming up with more things to do!!

Last night, I packed away my maternity baju kurungs as I now find that i can longer fit in them, despite most of them being recently altered!! And I also packed Anjai's clothes in case i go into labor, despite the fact that he says there is no need to pack his clothes as he is more than capable doing it himself and that the most important thing is stuff for me and baby.

I have also been sleep deprived lately esp last nite when i didn't fall asleep until about 3am! My itch has been keeping me up and it has now gone to not only my tummy area but my arm and legs! I have been using Bio-oil as recommended by Huaida and also cream but which reduces the itch but ada jua masih lah.. I can't help but think that this is god's way of training me for the future feeding in the middle of the night and also sleep deprivation once i come back to work! hehe Talk about taking the positive out of the negative kan? haha So now i wander when will god train Anjai for the sleepless? hahaha

Oh BTW (not that this info is any good to you but sajaa.. LOL) I have gone up 2 sizes now! My other maternity pants were size 12 and when i went out to buy another one yesterday, i needed to get size 16!! TWO sizes up in a span of how many weeks!!! yikes!

Ready or not, here i come!

Baby has now reached 35 weeks and according to my aunt, i can deliver at any time now as she did with her second son. I don't know if she told me to scare me or banar2 but when she checked baby's position, it has descended but has not locked itself in the position yet.. And of course after listening to comments like that, we have made preparations for birth at anytime.. I believe Anjai is placing baby box and Mummy's bag in the car as we speak.. hehe

Some friends and family have asked me if i am ready or not for labor and as my title goes, Ready or not, here the baby comes.. haha We have no doubt prepared myself in terms of things to bring and items for baby's use when at home but mentally? I am nervous, scared and excited, all at the same time.. haha but Apa nya org, Tawakal and pray for the best.

Boss is back and the whole morning has been spent in discussion with him.. And as usual, his meeting overseas means that more things for us to do in the office.. *YIKES!* But insyallah, i will be able to complete the tasks before i leave.. Or at least get the stuff going before i go so that i my colleague can continue on saja..

Oh also i have spoken to my boss re my leave, and i think i will take a couple of days before my EDD and extend my leave after 56 days so i can spend more time with baby.. Seems like i have his support on this *yeay* so will be writing in formally to him soon. hehe (Should i just come back to work after Shopaholic's wedding since its 5-7 June?)

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

Morning peeps and happy Friday to all!!! Its been an okay week with boss not around but was still on-call basis as he likes to call me at ask this and that.. Lets now enjoy the weekend and not think about next week..

I went for another appointment at MCH Tutong last wednesday. Nothing out of the ordinary except, although this has happened the last time i was there, they counted me one week ahead than what i have been counting. i.e. in my calculations, i am in week 34 and according to thier calculations, i am in week 35! The last time it happened i thought, 'ok maybe nurse ani salah kira kali' then this happened again and i am like 'whaaa'. So i was talking to Anjai about this and he was saying lurus kali the nurses cos if we count back from the EDD (as per ultrasound which is 25 March 2009), i have about 5 weeks left or 39 days left to be exact. I am so confused with all the calculations so I think I'll just stick with my normal countdown i.e. I am in week 34 now and be prepared for an early delivery.

Speaking of which, a friend wrote on FB that Red Raspberry Tea Leaf is supopse to help mothers during labor. And that peeps, sounds like music to my ears so I have been reading up on it. I am convinced, after reading many testimonials written by women who used it.. haha and i thought even if it doesn't work that well, what is there to lose kan? At least i made an effort to make the experience easier for both me and baby.. There! I made my peace and also i have made up my mind and i am buying it! Hopefully my friend will be able to get some for me this weekend when she is in S'pore or otherwise my Plan B is there to save me! hehe

one year ago today

I can't believe its been one full year since Anjai embraced Islam. Coincidentally he has been attending a course held by Pusat Dakwah Tutong for the past week.. The Islamic Centre is now doing a better job in educating new brothers and sisters of Islam on the religion as opposed to 30 years ago when my father embraced Islam. They give them books, teach them how to read surahs, pray properly.. It is quite educational and i take this opportunity to learn from Anjai too.. Its like a refresher course, although my course was cut short back then as i quit Ugama school when i was in primary 4! haha Gauk bah! haha Well its better late than never right? hehehe

It also means that one year ago today, Anjai and I got engaged! Oh how time flies when we are having fun.. hehe

Below is one of my fav photo taken by Hitamputeh on that day..

10.02.2008

Week 34

Morning peeps.. Happy beginning of the week to everyone.. Boss is away hence why i sound more cheerful.. hehe

Baby turns 34 weeks today which means i have about 5 weeks left.. I am both very excited and scared at the same time. Excited of course to hold him/her in my arms and kiss the baby and scared of labor (of course) and also scared of being a mother.. You have to admit that this is a huge step cos i now have to care for not only the husband which is another adult but an innocent child.. Every step we take will determine the colors that will be placed on the clean white canvas.. But as a friend said to me, we just have to tawakal and pray for the best..


Oh i forgot to mention this earlier, i have been banned from driving by not only Anjai but also my parents.. So i have been sent to work by either my brother or my dad and picked up by Anjai everyday.. Siok pulang cos i now don't have to worry about fuel, traffic jam, and tiredness but kesian the people who have to drive me around.. hehe I hope i don't get used to this.. hehe

PUPPP

So its sunday evening and i meant to write something on saturday but forgot all about it cos I have been busy doing... CHORES! haha nothing interesting pulang, just loads of laundry.. But the most interesting thing i did over the weekend was, pack the baby box!! hehe I actually thought that it is too early but after receiving much comments from ppl around me and my older brother that i might pop out early so i decided it is time.. Don't worry TC, I sterilized all baby's clothes before i packed them up in the box.. Packing the baby box was easy cause we have all the stuff sudah, but packing mummy's stuff was a bit hard.. So we went out to do some shopping and buy things like milo and toiletries..

Speaking of which, i just found out a few days ago that we are not supposed to mandi for the first 7 days after giving birth.. and my reaction to this was 'WHAAT'. Apparently if mandi, bulih naik 'uri'.. Then i tot 'okayy, tapi cemana rambut ku tu?' I dont know about others but my scalp would itch if i don't shampoo so i went out to look for dry shampoo (those shampoo that does not require you to rinse with water) but disappointed to report that there is none available in Tutong.. So the hunt continues.. If anyone know where to get these, please let me know.. 

Oh following my post before this, the medical terms for my itch is Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy (PUPPP) *thanks E13 for the info*. According to dermatology.about.com, It is a common rash where it normally occurs in first pregancies and in the third trimester.  It is harmless to mother and baby however it can get really annoying (atu banar!). It lasts for about 6 weeks and resolves within 1-2 weeks after delivery (yikes!). The cause is unknown however recent research shows that 70% of women with PUPPP give birth to boys (interestingg hehe). So i guess the itch is here to stay.. 

Huaida - Thanks for the tip on Bio-oil.. Currently using it and hopefully this will help reduce the itch *fingers crossed*

Shopaholic - I am very shocked to see the actual situation of the banjir over at your place.. Hang in there girl and hopefully flood will subside in a couple of days.. and I am very proud of you for getting on the boat.. and nya Anjai, pls kerja esok.. hahaha

Aku gatal.. Ko gatal?

Snow in London, heat strokes in Melbourne and raining season in Brunei. Signs of Global Warming? I dont know much about that topic (TC would know more) but i think these are the signs that it is actually happening. I hope the rain subside as it gets scary and scary each day.. I feel so sorry for friends who are affected by it, like Shopaholic who has been stuck in her house for the past 3 days cos the road leading to her house is flooded and now 2 of my other friends, Ejah & ~d~ who lives in Keriam is also affected. Water has gone into their house, creating an indoor pool!!! i hope they are ok and able to move their valuables to dry land on time.

So i have been experiencing A LOT of ITCH! I have tried all possible remedy to make the feeling go away but unfortunately it still persist. The itch was so bad sampai i cried!!! Last night i considered going to the emergency room to get a remedy but with the rain and stuff i thought better not. Besides i felt like this 'penyakit' is so insignificant compared to what others are facing out there. With the rain and all, and people being bitten by crocs n stuff.. oh i hope this feeling go away...

Week 33

Ola Peeps! I mentioned a few post ago that E13&14 got our baby a gift but didn't manage to take a pic with them (mana inda, dtg no prior warning bah kamu atu, i was so unprepared.. hehe) so anyways, below is the picture of the gift.. Thank you again E13 & E14!!!

To baby: You see, you are very well loved by your aunties and uncles.. I hope you appreciate it and when your aunties and uncles have babies of their own, i do hope you don't bully them.. And as for aunties and uncles who already have babies to call their own, i hope you become great friends with them like how your parents are with their parents.

Usually i would post up fetal development pic on Monday but was uber busy and stressed yesterday that i decided to postpone the post. So baby is now, 33 weeks and 1 day old! Yay! We are both quite excited and cannot wait to hold baby in our arms..

I have gained 10kgs and with the protuding belly i find finding the 'right' position to sleep quite a challenge. So on a personal level, I cant wait to sleep in the position i desire.. I also can't wait for the itch to subside. If you recall i wrote a few weeks ago about the 'itch', well the level of itchiness has increased and i have tried with all my might not to scratch and also tried diff types of lotion but masih jua pun. So last night i tried to use MIL's advise and rubbed Limau Kapas on the gatal area. Alhamdulilah, kurang lah last nite.. Lets hope this remedy will last till the end of pregnancy..

Oh here's a pic of me watching TV.. Guess where i placed the plastic cookie jar?

On my BELLY!!! hehe

I am now able to balance bowls n jars on my bellyyy hehehehe

In case you haven't read the paper or heard the news yet, my kampong has experienced 2 landslides on Sunday which means we are blocked off.. Baik jua we live next to 2 camps cos imagine if there was only 1 road leading to my kampong? We will be blocked off although that does have some merits to it, like no need to work.. hehe below are some pics taken by Anjai.. Lets hope it doesn't rain that much for the next few days cos really kesian the people who lives in that area.. They are now evacuated and have to live in government houses.

Whoa! Long post!! It shows that a lot has happened over the weekend.. Which also includes our photo shoot with Hitamputeh! The picture posted yesterday was just a sneak and we can't wait to see more.. *No pressure D! Take your time.. hehe* Both Anjai & I had a blast!!! Thanks guys! And for those who are interested to see their work, just click on our photo on the sidebar.. hehehe Again, thank you HP crew, we both really appreciate it..

Coming soon to www.hitamputeh.com

Urut Kampung

My my how time flies.. Its the already the first day in the second month of 2009 when i feel like it was just yesterday that we welcomed the new year.. The end of January means that i am closer to my EDD (Expected Due Date) which is supposed to be 25th March 2009, according to the ultrasound anyways.. 

I have been experiencing more back pains lately and also pain just above the Vejayjay area. According to E13, that pain is because my baby has begun to decend downwards and its pushing on my bone.. This is suppose to be a good thing as the baby has engaged itself into 'launch' position.. hehe However the pain has sometimes increased to an unbearable stage, to the point where it has made walking a challenge for me yet alone going up and down the stairs. After much debate between Anjai & I and also after much consulation with my SILs and Mother, we decided to give urut kampung a try. and my mum's nagging pushed me to agree jua pun..  

Lucky for me, my grandmother is gifted with this talent of urut kampung so have called her over yesterday afternoon. The experience was... not bad actually.. she started to massage my back then my front. She said that my baby has already engaged into the launch position (same verdict as the doctor) but what has made it difficult for me to move is that it was too low.. So what she did was reposition the baby.. At some points the experience was sakit but overall ok lah.. Oh i also noticed that the baby moved more after the urut.. i suppose now that my grandmother has repositioned the baby, it has more room to move.. hehe

I know the doctors and nurses, and some of you (looks over to TC) has advised against urut kampung and i will probably get in trouble for doing so, so pray to god and all your might that all will be ok for me and Baby.. Amin..

Speaking of E13, thanks for the gift Cuz.. I wanted to take a pic of u n me with the gift but since u came unannounced and i was not prepared i will have to settle with taking a pic of the item and post it up here.. Thanks again cuz.. And pls dont kill me for giving into the temptation of urut kampung.. hehehe

I have officially gained 10 Kgs! Most of my baju kurungs have begun to strain hence have to send them for altering.. Besides the strains in clothing, last nite i realised that my fingers have also bloated! Which means i need to buy a bigger ring to fit my now fatter fingers! haha I guess now is a good excuse than ever to visit the jewelers.. *waves hello and winks to Anjai*