Project cupcake

I decided to learn how to bake cupcakes and yesterday was day 1 of project cupcake.. I figured it would be something fun Dia and I would do together..
Results:



Nutella cupcake with Pink vanilla frosting




Carrot cupcake with cream cheese frosting

The first cupcake was not bad but the second one, carrot cupcake needs improvement.. Hehehe




Dia decorating her cupcake

I look forward to more adventures like this with my girls hehehe

One month Sofiyya

Dear Sofie,

Happy one month my darling Sofiyya..

Exactly a month ago I was sitting down at TPH having lunch with Aunty Ciceh, Uncle Izam and your Daddy and a few hours later I held you in my arms.. We sure did not expect to plant our first kiss to you the same night.. You are sure a surprise..

So in the first month we have taken you to the pead as you had the sniffles and blocked nose, we introduced bottle feeding to you, which you took in very well and we also celebrated your nenek boy's 64th birthday..!

You have been hanging out with your nini girl in the morning and when we go out and according to her you drink a lot! She is a bit scared that you will be too full but I say ignore her ok.. Drink as much as you want!! Hehehe

You my little darling seem to like sleeping in mummy and daddy's bed! Each time I place u in your cot you make 101 noises but as soon as I move you to ours ok Tia.. Tsk tsk tsk! This does not end here as rest assured I will continue to cot train you.. Haha you also likes it if we hold and cuddle u.. Please honey bunch, please be good.. Kesiannnn your Nini Girl and Aunty if they have to hold you all the time.. You also do not like to be swaddled that much.. An opposite from your kaka as she loved it when we swaddled her dulu..

Ok afternoon nap time..! Be good Sofie.. Mummy, Daddy and Kaka Dia loves u..!

xoxo,
Mummy


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Sofie after her bath

I remember Nadia used to hate it when we gave her a bath and would cry from the moment we opened her baju, gave her bath to dressing her up.. Sofie on the other hand loves it when we bathe her! She would stay quiet and sometimes even smile during the whole routine!! Hehehe






My mummy just gave me a bath






I'm gonna pretend to sleep now






You're still here?






You didn't fall for it huh?






Love you mummy!!

Happy Anniversary hubs!

3 years since we tied the know and we have 2 beautiful girls! Happy anniversary my dear husband..






I love you more and more each day and i look forward to growing old and cranky with you.. LOL

Dia and her iPhone

Dia has inherited hubs' old iPhone and we have downloaded some videos in it for her..




























I think she is hooked on it... Don't u think so too??
(I hope I will not regret introducing the iPhone to her.. Huhu)

Why I do what I do

Breastfeeding for me personally is not an easy task.. There are days that I am very semangat and they are days where I am a lazy bum.. Which is why I pot photos of my stock or write about how much stock I have.. The intention is to remind and act as a motivation for myself.. I am my own cheerleader LOL

This afternoon I moved 120oz of EBM to the deep freezer downstairs cos I am running out of space in the freezer in our room..





My mum told me to slow down with the EBM cause takut expire then I told her, jgn eh cos mana tau kan belayar kah, apa kah.. Hehe besides with FIFO I am sure nada yg expire tu nanti.. Hehe oh and I figured when I go back to work, hormones go back to normal and BM production decreases, I don't have the extra pressure of making sure I make extra on a daily basis.. All I need to do is breakeven in order to replenish what Sofie takes in and maintain the number of stock I already have..

Routines

I think we have developed a routine now, Nadia, Sofiyya and I..

We wake up, laze about for a bit.. I then give Dia her shower, dresses her up ad tie her hair up.. When that is done I then give Sofie her bath.. Now that we are beginning to make the transition I will then pass Sofie so she can hang out downstairs with Nini Girl and Aunty Mar.. Now that Sofie is downstairs I will have my ME time!! Around about lunch time I will then have lunch, feed Dia her lunch and then go upstairs an get ready for our afternoon nap. Nap time is around 1-4.. Around about 5 I give Sofie a bath and when we are done with Sofie, its Kaka's turn.. So yeaaaahhhhhh........

Speaking of transition, alhamdulillah Sofie is accepting bottle feeding well.. and lets hope that it will keep up that way.. in terms of EBM stock, I have 260Oz in stock and have started the FIFO method instead of just putting aside some EBM after each session.. My freezer is beginning to fill up so i might need to get another freezer or move some to the deep freezer downstairs.. The second being the preferred choice and I am sure my mum agrees.. haha Aim is to stock up on EBM as much as I can.. Alhamdulillah another 10oz and that should exceed the maximum stock i had when i had Dia.. hehe

27 months

Dear Dia,

Happy 27 months my darling daughter..

On 30th May 2011, we welcomed your baby sister, Sofiyya and you became Kaka Dia.. On most parts you have been a good kaka helping me get her diapers, nappy wipes.. But on some occasions you refused to share with Sofie.. We understand that you might feel a bit reluctant to share things but you have outgrown some of the things so what's the point of keeping it to yourself? Wouldn't it be better to let your Adik use it?

What I have noticed lately is that eversince you got your ears pierced, you are becoming more girly!! You now insist that I tie you hair up; in pony tails, two pony tails, braids.. You now also insist on picking out your own clothes each day.. I love that you are becoming more girly..!! I hope you and Sofie will share many moments other sisters have like painting each other's nails, playing make up and dress up.. This also means that mummy will need to put up with you.. I must learn how to braid corn rows LOL

On the minus side, you also have shown us your rebellious side.. When you know that we are upset you pretend like you don't hear us.. We of course find this very annoying..!! Please lah darling, please be good and listen to mummy and daddy..

Ok be a good little darling and kaka now.. Mummy, Daddy and Sofie loves you heaps!!

xoxo,
Mummy

Sofie seems develop a bad habit of wanting to sleep with me and refusing to sleep in her cot! As a result I had another sleepless night in my efforts to try and cot train her.. This morning I thought her newfound habit happens in the evening only but seems like it happens during the day too cause tadi same case also.. Huhu so last night I decided that today I will make sure sofie sleeps in her cot..! Hopefully she will and it extends sampai malam.. Cos its kinda hard to get comfortable with 2 adults, a toddler and 1 baby in a king size bed..

I did my morning expressing routine and I only got 4.5oz!! Half compared to what I normally get which is 9-10oz!! Huhuhu hopefully it's due to lack of rest and sleep and not a slump in my production huhuhu

Stock check this morning: 193oz!


This is how I arrange my flat frozen EBM



I then store them in batches of 40oz



And then place them in respective drawers..

This way I know which EBM or batch is first and it will be easier for me to practice the 'first in, first out' method..

4 down, 11 weeks to go

I just realized that I have been on maternity leave for 4 weeks now.. Hoho 11 weeks till I go back to work which also means 11 weeks to build up my stock.. I have steadily expressing twice or thrice daily and getting an average of 14-18oz per day but in the past 2 days I managed to get 14oz only.. I don't know if production is reducing or Little Sofiyya is now taking in more milk.. I sure hope it's the latter cos she is now awake more often then last week and hence feeding more.. I am thankful tho, thankful cause that's 14oz extra.. Hehe

Sofiyya still has the sniffles and I am hoping with all the BM she is taking she will get better soon.. Nadia on the other hand has developed a cough so I am hoping she gets better soon and sofiyya will not catch whatever kaka is having..

We finally experienced taking both kids out to BSB last sat.. What we did was have Nadia sit in front in her car seat and Sofiyya and I sat at the back.. It is not exactly the most ideal and safest way to travel but it's the best we can do for the moment and it works.. Unless of course we buy another car hahaha



Sofiyya asleep in her car seat

Hubs is back at work which leaves me to manage both kids alone.. I am still trying to figure it out like giving Sofiyya a bath, Nadia a shower, nap time for both, meals for Nadia, expressing time and shower time for me!! It's all trial and error and hopefully we will get the hang of it soon.. LOL




Alhamdulillah Sofiyya is officially registered!! Hehe




Kaka and Adik this morning




Kaka karit, inda suruh Adik sit in her baby bouncer despite the fact that she has outgrown it a long time ago.. Haha




This is super cute and funny!! Hubs, Nadia and Sofiyya during the afternoon nap!! LOL

Sleepless nights..

..is what I had for the past 3 nights.. Normally Sofiyya would just stay up and look around but for the past 3 nights she has been restless and cries the whole night.. Huhu she has the sniffles (menjangkit from Kaka we believe).. We took her to the pead on Sat and because she is only 14 days old, we can't give her any medication.. We can only clear her nose with saline drops and nasal aspirator.. In addition to the blocked nose she also has 'kembung perut' so answer to that is infacol! I do hope she gets better and we can go back to getting enough rest.. Huhu

I have been steadily expressing 2-3 times daily and alhamdulillah stock check this morning shows that I have 138.5oz..! We will go back to bottle training once Sofiyya is better..


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BM production

I am having trouble feeding Sofiyya..! She sleeps, sleeps, sleeps and no matter what we do, tickle her in her face, chin, belly, feet, she just continue on sleeping.. Oh and when her Kaka is napping or calls it a night baru ia bangun.. I am so sleepy but having a 2 yr old, it does not actually give me time to rest.. *yawn*





This was my produce early this morning.. And syukur alhamdulillah I so far managed to express 47oz in the past 7days.. I must start bottle training Sofiyya soon..




My grandma has not been feeling well lately and not as active as she use to be so We took Sofiyya to see her Atuk this morning.. I got teary eyed when I handed Sofiyya to her and thank god that even if she is unable to 'jaga' me during my pregnancy and after but I am thankful that she is able to see, hold and kiss sofiyya...

Detz: Syukur Alhamduillah, I thank god that my BM is here.. I believe that kalau niat tani tulus and ikhlas, insyallah akan di permudahkan perjalanan.. And mudahan jua production remains at at this level cos I es scared of the size of them pills.. huhuhu

7th day

So we finally decided on a name.. From now on you can call LB, Nadia's baby sister, Sofiyya.. Her full name is Nur Imaan Sofiyya Muhammad Zainurin..

On other news last Saturday we were advised by the visiting nurse to take Sofiyya to the outpatient department as she had signs of jaundice.. So off we went in the afternoon.. Dr told us to go for a blood test and this of course scares me..!



Sofiyya's left hand..




The samples..

Results came out the same afternoon and blood test indicates that bilirubin level is on the high side at 227.. Dr gave us 2 options which was to admit her to the pead ward or to go home and continue to sunbathe and breastfeed Sofiyya.. We of course picked option 2..

We kept up with the breastfeeding and sunbathing.. The breastfeeding was challenging.. Not because my BM is not here but rather because Sofiyya refuses to wake up..!! Grrrr!! She had another blood test today and alhamdulillah the bilirubin level has decreased to 206...

Zng zng zng

That is the sound of my FS make when I am expressing.. A sound I have not heard in the past 8(?) months.. I intended to express once daily but my Bs were engorged so decided to do a second session yesterday.. Alhamdulillah 11oz the whole day yesterday.. And this morning session I managed to produce 6oz in 12.5minutes!! *woot woot* I intend to store at 2oz each so I will need to stock up on my EBM bags.. I have placed an order and hopefully it will arrive soon.. Hehe



My frozen EBM stock so far and looking forward to build this stock up.. Hehe

we also gave Adik her first experience of bottle feeding while I was being massaged yesterday and according to my mum, she took it on very well.. Alhamdulillah..

While cleaning out our freezer (and making way for new EBMs), hubs saw this! It was EBM from
September 2010!! Which of course we have to dispose as it has exceeded the expiry period..



Here is a picture of kaka being swaddled..! Mau tia jua after seeing Adik kena badung hahaha





Pretending to sleep

Kaka and Adik

Most of the questions we received from family and friends is how well is Dia accepting the new addition? Well we are very happy and proud to say that she is taking her new role as Kaka very well..

The first night we came home she couldn't stop calling out to Adik.. Kissing and touching Adik.. She refused to sleep that night and we had to force her to sleep..

That night Adik did not sleep well and was fussy as she had some amniotic fluid still in her and was trying to get it out.. For the first time ever my mum slept in our room and helped us soothe Adik and let me have some rest.. I still feel kinda guilty for that and forever grateful.. Alhamdulillah adik is better now..

Funny thing that night Dia was woken up by Adik's cries and she didn't say anything or complained.. She looked at us trying to soothe Adik, lie back down in bed, close her ears and went back to sleep.. Berakal anak mummy eh!





Just woke up!





Taking a closer look




Morning kiss..!

How am I coping with having to care for 2 kids and not one? There are good and bad days.. Dia at times would whine and cry her heart for no apparent reason.. Only conclusion is that she is trying to seek attention from us.. I continue to pray to god for continued strength and courage to get through the days.. And also pray to god for patience, lots and lots of it..

Next on the agenda..

..after child birth, which scares and excite me is breastfeeding.. When we first had Nadia my bm did not arrive until the 4th day and my fear is that it will be the same story jut different babies.. So when the nurse handed Adik to me to breastfeed I was very eager.. Adik latched on and sucked well.. I kept on feeding her every two hours and at 2am that evening, I was delighted to see that she poo-ed..!! I did not see my BM but hubs said he saw..




Hello medela FS!!

I felt heavy yesterday and decided to start expressing.. Expressed for 13 minutes and I only managed to produce 0.5oz.. I can't lie and say I was not disappointed but I am thankful that I am producing! I just finished my session for today and managed to produce 1.5oz after 13 mins.. I intend to keep up the once per day expressing session and start to slowly build up my stock and supply..

My Bs at the moment feels very heavy and engorged so I shall be placing some cabbage leaves on my Bs later.. In terms of supplements, I so far have not taken any.. Read rave reviews on shaklee but I am scared of the size of the pills and the number of pills/drink i have to take in! I'll think of taking supplements further down the line lah.. For now I am just thankful that I am producing BM.. And I shall keep up with the Milo and expressing..


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Adik: the birth story..

Salam all and syukur alhamdulillah we welcomed a baby girl on 30th may 2011 at 7.39pm.. She weighs 3.180kg and 54cm in length..

So here's the birth story.. I had an appointment at the high risk clinic, gyne clinic, Tutong Hospital on Monday, 30th May 2011.. The normal Doctor was away on leave and I met with the stand in Dr from BSB.. She initially wanted to send me to RIPAS to be induced and the after some discussions and looking at my case note where it was written that my EDD via my 1st ultrasound was 9th June, she wanted me to wait for 1 more week and should I still have no signs of labor, she will then refer me to RIPAS for an induced labor. At this point I was not convinced with her proposed plan of action and request that I be referred to RIPAS on the same day.. Due to overcrowding at the gyne clinic in RIPAS they booked an appointment for me to see the specialist at 2pm..

(Approx 2pm) At RIPAS I saw another Filipino Dr and when she saw my case note and some discussion, she says that because the EDD via LMP and US is not that far apart we should be using the LMP date.. She did a VE and surprise surprise I was 2-3cm dilated.. Mind you I had no labor signs or contractions pain at this point.. After consultation with the specialist, they decided to admit me to the 1st stage labor room and induce me...

(Approx 3pm) At the first stage labor room, the on call Dr saw me. After doing a VE she decided it is best that they just monitor my progress and not induce me yet.. So at this point I told the hubs to go home and rest and come back later in the evening..

(Approx 5.30pm) While I was doing my walk, the nurse informed me that the Dr wanted to see me.. It was my specialist this time around and when she did a VE, I was 4cm along.. She looked at me and said 'you will give birth tonight'.. I was like 'yeah right' cause at this point I only had very mild contractions.. She broke my water and the nurses was told to monitor my progress.. Should progress be slow they were given the instructions to induce the labor..

By 6.30 pm the pain started coming and asked the hubs to make his way to RIPAS ASAP.. I was 6cm along.. He arrived around 7pm and at this point pain was getting unbearable.. Soon enough I was getting the urge to push and they were trying to decide to move me to the labor room or not.. Still can't believe we had that discussion while I was in serious, blinding labor pain!! We wanted to move but after I felt a huge pain i said heck no, Don't think I will make it if I move any further so decided to have the baby at there and then.. Curtains were drawn and at 7.39 we welcomed a new baby girl into our life..

Labor this time around was very different. Other than the almost no indication of labor and giving birth in the 1st stage labor room, I was fully aware of what was going on as I had no pain killers at all.. I wanted to have pethadine but I was to far along and I guess the nurses forgot about the gas they wanted to give me..! I was aware if every push, every stitch, when they showed Adik to me and even when I told the hubs were are not having another baby after this again..! LOL










Adik shortly after she was born











Breastfeeding Adik for the first time.. Even managed a smile after all that I went through earlier that evening..!

I was lucky this time around as there was a room available and by 9.30 that evening I was moved to my room. Since I was 'cakah' we decided there is no need for hubs to stay the night and best that he go home and look after Dia.. I didn't sleep well that night cos I think the adrenaline was still pumping in me and I kept on replaying the events.. We were so not expecting to welcome Adik that night itself.. Syukur kerna dimurahkan Dan di permudahkan perjalanan..

And thank you for your doas, prayers and well wishes.. Thank you..