Day 3 of life - i'm coming home on Merdeka Day...

alhamdulillah, baby ahmad and i survived the night in NICU...my dear friend dahlia who is oncall today dropped by to give us breakfast...french toast and satay and nasi impit...delicious..! i had my shower and got myself ready in the mother's room...it was spacious with 4 beds (currently fully occupied) and sofa and dining table and 2 bathrooms attached...it's strictly for mothers only...i had a quick breakfast with hubby outside the room at the corridor...and went back in to NICU to see baby ahmad...

it's Merdeka Day today and we really hope that baby ahmad will be merdeka-ed from NICU today..the morning round did by the houseman and medical officer had planned for discharge today...yeay! but we needed to wait for all the discharge summary, referral letters and other documentations to be done...

it was such a long wait...we had lots of bonding time together...i dozed off a few times while waiting, when hubby went to perform the Friday prayer...

my cousin kak Ana came to see how we were doing in the NICU...but they didn't get to see baby ahmad in NICU as it's strictly for parents only...

finally we were ready to go at around 3+pm...baby ahmad is finally going home after 2 nights in the NICU...but he needs to return for blood taking for his thyroid function test and karyotyping on monday...

we reached home at around 4pm..the kids were excited to us back home again with baby ahmad...baby ahmad was so comfortable at home being surrounded by his noisy brother and sister...he was easy to take care of and breastfeeding quite well...my milk started to come in and painful engorgement occurred..i need to express my milk as well to prevent further engorgement and mastitis...

selamat hari merdeka

Day 2 of life - baby miracle

my dear hubby pushed me on a wheelchair to the NICU...baby ahmad had been shifted to a new cubicle in the semi intensive area...when we arrived, we saw him wide awake and was moving his arms and legs vigorously...my heart melt when i saw his wonderful progress, i was really touched...yesterday he was just lying and sleeping the whole day and wasn't that active...and today, look at his wonderful eyes and movements...he was so alert and responding to our voices and touches...alhamdulillah...a feeding tube was inserted into his mouth and he kept on protruding out his tongue as if he wanted to remove the nasty tube away...the nurse who was incharged of baby ahmad was so nice and she asked me to hold baby ahmad and try to breastfeed him...

baby ahmad in his bassinet

my chubby little ahmad when we first saw him on Day 2

baby ahmad was put under routine monitoring of oxygen saturation, heart monitor and the temperature probe...so we disconnected the temperature probe and i was able to cuddle baby ahmad straight away...i offered him my breast and he had difficulty to latch on as the tube was in his way...his sugar was already stabilize and the nurse said i can just pull the tube for better latch on...so we pulled the tube out and baby ahmad latched on perfectly onto my left breast and immediately started sucking and swallowing the colostrum in a perfect rhythm...subhanallah, alhamdulillah...he was a miracle...he did it spontaneously and perfectly and it did not cause any pain to my nipple at all...we caught his action on video but i didn't put them on the blog as it was very personal...

so satisfied and contented after breastfeeding

he breastfed for about 20 minutes before he unlatched himself from my breast, looking very satisfied and contented...my dear friends who are also my breastfeeding peer supporters , KK and KF came to visit me outside the NICU and i was very touched with their concerns and support...i really needed the support at that time and found comfort with their soothing words and encouragement these 2 wonderful women gave me...

we spent our time in the NICU the whole morning, holding baby ahmad close to us and breastfeeding him on demand...he still sleep most of the time though and we need to wake him up for feeding...i'll be discharged today but since baby ahmad is still in the NICU, i'm going to room in with him in the NICU so that i can breastfeed him..they will give me a foldable couch in the cubicle so that i can sleep and stretch my back at night...there's a mother's room with beds behind if i want to sleep properly but i will use that to take my bath and change later..

so far, baby ahmad made a wonderful progress..he was only given RTF once today as his sugar dropped to 2.2mmol/L but he was very active at that time..maybe it was the machine failure or the expired strip...he's on full breastfeeding now and his sugar is stable ...the consultant in charged, Prof C did his round and he pointed out some of the Down Syndrome features that baby ahmad has to the medical students...he also discussed on our future plans of conception after we know the karyotyping result.. i'm trying to accept and digest the whole thing and keep on praying that Allah give us the strength to go through the whole journey with baby ahmad and make it easier for us...

sleeping time

we went up at almost 4pm as Dr S, my obstetrician wanted to check on me before discharging me...i couldn't thank her more for every steps and measures she took to ensure a safe delivery...she did a wonderful job and i was thankful for that (especially for the painless episiotomy)...a few friends came by to visit baby ahmad but we told them that baby ahmad is in NICU and suspected to have Down Syndrome..they were shocked (who wouldn't) and gave us the support  we needed...my aunt and uncle came to give their support upon hearing baby ahmad's condition...we are blessed to have these wonderful people around us...with their support and prayers, we are stronger to face the hurdles each day and baby ahmad is recovering to his optimal health...

i took my shower and changed, packed my stuffs to be transferred to NICU...alhamdulillah, this time round i felt energetic (apart from the sleepiness and tiredness after delivery) and had a quick recovery compared to my previous birth experiences...i'm already wearing my pants rather than my kain batik for quick and easy movements... so far, Allah made it easier for us...and every single moment with baby ahmad is priceless...i had a glance at other babies next to baby ahmad..some had been there for quite some time and their parents were not around...some were more sick than baby ahmad...we were very fortunate and thankful to the Almighty for giving baby ahmad a very speedy recovery from his acute condition and insya allah he will be discharged soon....

we decided to make a quick run home to get some stuffs, especially my breast pump and some clean bottles...i need to start expressing my milk as my breasts were getting engorged...dear hubby need to take his clothes as he's going to sleep in his office tonight...

had a quick dinner at home, imtiaz was crying to follow us back to the hospital...i was crying my heart out too seeing him acting that way...he missed us for being away for 3 nights now...insya allah, we'll be back tomorrow with baby ahmad...

at night, i slept on the couch given and woke up a few times to nurse baby ahmad...although it was quite uncomfortable, i survived...had my cardigan and socks on, with extra blankets and cushions to support me and make me comfortable, it wasn't a bad experience after all...i also expressed my milk, even though it wasn't much...still thick and yellowish but nutritious for baby ahmad..

as baby ahmad's sugar stabilized, his dextrostix monitoring was done every 6 hours instead of 4...he is such a miracle baby, strong and adorable...i had a feeling that we are going home tomorrow...insya allah...

Day 1 of life - not a good start

baby Ahmad was brought to the nursery for observation...his dextrostix (sugar level) was quite low 2.8mmol/l and i was asked to breastfeed him so that his sugar would go up...i tried to wake baby Ahmad up but he was not interested to breastfeed...his sucking did not sustain...i expressed my colostrum into the 1ml syringe and tried to syringe it into his mouth...some of it was swallowed but most came out from his mouth...

i'm syringing in my precious colostrum into baby ahmad's mouth

not long after that, the paeds consultant, Prof R came to review baby Ahmad...when she was done, she came into my room and explained that baby Ahmad need to be given supplementation to ensure that he would not go into further hypoglycemia... maybe he was hypo thus he had no energy to suck..he was a bit hypotonic as well (one of another feature of Down Syndrome) and the consultant said baby Ahmad needs to do the karyotyping to determine the inheritance of his Down Syndrome...i still wouldn't want to believe that my baby has Down Syndrome, because he looked like a normal baby...we need to wait for the blood test result for about 1-2 month before we can say that baby Ahmad has Down Syndrome..

i reluctantly agreed to supplement baby Ahmad with ready to feed (RTF) formula to keep him out of hypo...in the mean time, i expressed my colostrum so that i could feed him with my precious drop of goodness together with the RTF formula...

baby Ahmad was kept in the nursery under the warmer...i asked for him to room in with me but he had a bit of hypothermia (his body temperature dropped due to cold) and needed to be put under warmer...i managed to get some rest and sleep and so did my dear hubby...deep inside, i really want to hold baby Ahmad skin to skin close to me so that he got to suckle at my breast and got the warmth from my body...

i did not suffer from any complications post delivery, there was no pain probably due to the bolus dose of epidural, the hemorrhoid was not much of problem and my lochia (bleeding) was minimal... except that i was tired and sleepy...i had good lunch and good rest...baby Ahmad was still put under observation in the nursery and was fed with RTF formula 3 hourly...he was out of hypo already, alhamdulillah...but i still couldn't room in with him as he needed the warmer to keep him warm...

at around 3pm+ i asked hubby to get baby Ahmad for me to breastfeed him...but dear hubby told me that baby Ahmad had episodes of desaturation (the oxygen level dropped) to below 90%, the lowest being 80-85% which was not good for him...he had no cyanosis (bluish lips/face) though but the nurses were worried of his unstable condition...so they called the code pink doctor to review...we went to the nursery to be with baby ahmad...i stroked his cheek and kissed his forehead and only Allah knew how i felt at that time...tears kept coming down my cheek, i was feeling very scared if anything happen to my baby...my heart kept on praying for baby ahmad's good health...please let him be out of any danger...

Dr S came and informed us that baby ahmad's oxygen saturation waxed and waned but he looked comfortable and not in respiratory distress...so she encouraged me to keep on breastfeeding him and if his sucking wasn't that good and he still has hypoglycemia, it's better for him to be admitted to the NICU (neonatal ICU) for further monitoring...

we brought baby ahmad to  my room and i tried to breastfeed him...his sucking did not sustain and he slept most of the time...i continued expressing my colostrum and fed him with the syringe...the whole troop came at around 4.30pm, the kids were very excited to meet their little brother...we broke the news regarding baby ahmad's condition and i couldn't help from being teary...all of us were shocked with the news but we continued pray and hope that baby ahmad will be in good health...

imitiaz is so excited seeing baby ahmad

baby ahmad stayed with us for about an hour before he was taken back to the nursery for monitoring...just before maghrib, the kids wanted to see baby ahmad in the nursery so off they went...then dear hubby came back telling us that baby ahmad had oxygen desaturation again and the nurses had informed the code pink doctor to review...Dr R came and informed us that baby ahmad would be better off if monitored in the NICU...so we agreed for his admission to the NICU...after maghrib, we went down to send baby ahmad to NICU...

baby ahmad was brought down to the NICU

baby ahmad was put in his cubicle in the convalescent area, i was given a consent form for baby ahmad to be given formula feeding (which i reluctantly signed).. they were preparing for blood taking procedure on baby ahmad...we heard him scream when they took his romper off (such a high pitched voice)...i was asked to express some milk for baby ahmad...so i took a few syringes and managed to express about 7 ml of colostrum for him (which obviously not enough for 1 feed..he needed about  25 ml of milk per feeding, given every 3 hours)...we left our baby ahmad in the NICU for the night...me and hubby went back to our room feeling helpless...

i took my shower after that and i cried and cried in the bathroom...i felt that i'm the weakest, tiniest creature on earth and i couldn't withstand the stress that I'm having right now...but i needed to stay strong for the sake of baby ahmad and for all of us...i kept on praying for that, no matter what happen to baby ahmad i need to be strong and i need to be there with him when he needs me...i couldn't stop crying that my dear hubby hugged me to console me...nothing could describe our feelings at that time and no words can be uttered to comfort us at that particular moment...we remained silent but kept on holding and hugging each other...i slept that night while holding and smelling baby ahmad's romper that he wore earlier on today...

i received a call from a dear friend KN asking how am i coping and i really appreciate that...another friend KK whatsapp me earlier...those were the few that knew about baby ahmad's condition...few of my friends visited me earlier during the day but we were not ready to tell them regarding baby ahmad's condition...

i slept and woke up at around 4.30am to express some colostrum for baby ahmad...managed to express about 5ml...that was better than nothing...hubby went down to send the precious liquid to NICU...then i continued to sleep until at around 7am...

i took my shower, had my breakfast and got ready to visit baby ahmad in the NICU...hopefully, it's going to be a better day for him and for us...ya Allah, please make it easier for us today and many days to come...ameen..

38 weeks + 5 days - the labor day

so, Dr S came by after maghrib prayer to check on me...i thought i was having a regular contraction before, now it seized...so, another VE done and it was still the same... so the plan was to wait for regular moderate contraction tonight or if not she will try to stretch and swipe me tomorrow morning and ARM me and later for piton induction...

i got some rest and watched whatever was on TV and fell asleep at around 10...i was awaken by a contraction pain at the suprapubic area which radiated to my lower back at around 11 pm...it came regularly now at around 3 minutes apart and each lasted about few seconds...and sometimes i couldn't feel any pain...so i had to bear the pain which came on and off and kept on timing my contraction...i didn't want to inform the nurse early because i wanted to be sure that this was not a false labor and to give time for my os to progress to active labor...so, i didn't manage to have a peaceful sleep..

at around 2am, i woke my husband up and asked him to tell the nurse that i was having a regular contraction...they came in to do a CTG on me which lasted for about 40 minutes then called the doctor on call to review me...i was reviewed by a nice colleague at around 3.20 am and found that i was already 4 cm dilated and she did ARM on me (broke my water) and then the nurse gave me ravin enema to make me poo in between the regular contraction which was very unpleasant...

off to labor room

i was brought down to the labor room and parked ourselves in room 9..the midwives in charge were very nice...i was put on drip and strapped to the CTG machine..they arranged the epidural for me but in the meanwhile i had to endure the pain...i felt that the baby's head was just there and was about to come out but i pressed my legs together not allowing it to come out because no matter what, i wanted my epidural first! i was cursing the anesthetist for coming in late and i was having 4:10 contraction...i couldn't see at what time he finally came down and found out he was actually someone we knew, Dr E...anyhow, he did his job well and gave me a bolus dose of medication and it worked wonders on me...no more pain, and i couldn't even feel the tightening of the contraction pain...Dr E stayed for a while to see on my condition..

a smiley face after the wonderful effect of epidural

a few minutes later, we heard that the baby's heart wasn't beating as it supposed to be at 120-160 bpm...it was very, very slow...our baby was very bradycardic, i saw on the CTG it was down to 70bpm...the midwife came in asked me to turn to the left lateral position and the baby's heartbeat improved...Dr E was still there as he was afraid that i might need a Caesarean section due to fetal distress and he needed to top up the medication...not long after that, our baby became bradycardic again, and the midwife checked on my os and i was only 5cm dilated...they called my obstetrician, Dr S and she came immediately looking very worried on my progress...we were worried as well, afraid of anything sinister might happen to our baby...she asked me whether if i feel the urge to push and said none..this time round the epidural did not give me any sensation at all but i can still move my legs though...

Dr S checked on my os opening again and to her surprise within minutes i was already fully dilated...she asked me to push the baby out as the condition was not favorable for us to wait any longer...if needed, she would use the Kiwi vacuum to pull my baby out...i still couldn't feel the urge to push like my 2 other deliveries which i felt the urge to push when i was already fully dilated....so the midwife helped me to time the contraction and guided me when to push...i pushed hard enough and heard Dr S telling me that i was progressing well and the head descended as expected...and Dr S made an episiotomy snip (which i saw while i was pushing, even though i didn't want to have an episiotomy) and after a few push the head finally came out..and the final push for the shoulder and body to come out at 5.46am and there he was, our little baby was put on my chest, vigorous and cried soon after...alhamdulillah...

few minutes later the placenta was out and i was stitched by Dr S...my baby laid comfortably on my chest, looking exhausted as well but he was wide awake...1/2 hour later he was taken for anthropometric measurement and was cleaned, he weighed 3.1kg...when Dr S finally finished stitching me up, the midwife called her to see our baby...she later came back to us, telling us that there were few abnormal features noted on our baby that were suggestive of Down Syndrome...i tried to absorb what she had just said, i was in denial but tried to stay calm..suddenly, all the complications of Down Syndrome gushed into my mind and i was trying to imagine our life in the future but simply couldn't...i asked myself repeatedly why us..? are we strong enough to be tested in such a way..? but i couldn't find the answer...

so the short femur and humerus during the antenatal check up did signify an abnormality which we thought it could be nothing significant...our baby was referred immediately to code pink (the neonatal doctor oncall) for assessment....hubby recited azan to our baby's ear and he was so quiet and calm listening to the beautiful azan...

our little precious few minutes after birth

while waiting for the doctor to review, i unwrapped and held my baby on my chest and tried to breastfeed him but he wasn't interested to suck..i expressed my colostrum and put it at his lips for him to lick...i looked at his face, well it was a bit dysmorphic but all newborns would look like that due to some edema after birth...he had a single palmar crease on his left hand (similar like me), his ears were a bit low set, there was a thick neck pad and some features on his eyes as well.....but what i saw in front of me was my most beautiful baby that He created for us... i knew that my dear hubby was shocked as well and he repeatedly told me no matter what happen next, we'll take care of our baby, love him unconditionally...

the code pink doctor, Dr G arrived and checked on our baby...he came by and told us that our baby had some soft features of Down Syndrome..otherwise, he couldn't hear any heart sound abnormality, our baby's sucking reflex was good and he had already passed motion...our baby would need a blood test to confirm the karyotyping and a pediatric consultant would review our baby once in the ward and plan the necessary...i did not drop a tear when he told us that...i didn't dare to look at my dear hubby's reaction...i wasn't so sure how to react at that time...what is going to happen to us next..?

i was rather exhausted after the delivery...i was feeling sleepy but tried to keep myself awake while holding my baby skin to skin with me...had a cup of milo while waiting for another review by Dr S but that didn't boost my energy up...

i was kept in the labor room until about 9.30 am before we were wheeled out to the ward...everything was fine, bleeding was not much and i was put on IV pitocin for 6 hours after the delivery to make sure my uterus contracted and no excessive bleeding occurred...

it was a quick labor, with some hype drama and an unexpected outcome...we are praying for the best for our little baby, which for now we are calling him baby Ahmad...may Allah give us the strength to go through the path that He had destined for us, the strength for us to care for this special gift He gave us...i'm trying to be positive now but i do not know how will i become tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and later...for us, baby Ahmad's condition will only be confirmed once the karyotyping is done...there is still time to pray and hope for baby Ahmad's good health, maybe he is a normal baby after all....

baby ahmad

38 weeks + 4 days- it's almost time (6.30pm)

Ok, I admit it I was so full after eating 2 bowls of mee kari and 1 plate of nasi ayam at Pak uda's house last night... I slept well until at around 5 am... I started to have backache with mild contraction pain at my lower abdomen... It was irregular but it disturbed my sleep..

Then at 6, I woke up and went to pee and found that I already had show...got myself ready, had some breakfast, whatsapp my BFF, dahlia on my progress and called my obstetrician, Dr S to tell her my condition.. It was a wet morning with heavy rain, and off we went to the hospital...

Arrived at around 9.15 am, oh, it was a male doctor at the admission centre who's going to examine me... Whatsapp dahlia again told her that I'm here and hope that she would be here to examine me.. Meanwhile, got my CTG done and it was reactive... And dahlia arrived soon after... She did a VE on me, the os opening was only 1cm with 1 cm thickness.. So she called Dr S informing my condition and decided for my admission to the ward (since it's quite far for me to go home)..

So, here I am blogging from the ward, waiting for a more regular contraction... My repeat VE at around 3 pm just now was still the same.. Now I'm having a more regular contraction, 2 in every 15 minutes of mild to moderate intensity... Dear hubby was here all along, occasionally went off to do his work at the basement..

Dr S will come at 8 to review me.. I'm praying for a smooth and safe delivery, insya Allah

38 weeks + 3 days- os still closed

So I managed to pack my hospital bag last night and got them ready in my bedroom.. Woke up early today (even though i'm already on leave) to go for my antenatal check up..

My weight has increased to 58.8 kg, my urine and blood pressure was normal.. Baby's growth was satisfactory , the femur length at around 33 weeks.. Dr S did a vaginal examination and it was quite stinging... My cervical os was still closed and thick... So I won't be delivering little baby soon.. Since the amniotic fluid index was normal (around 10), the plan now is now to wait for spontaneous labor... My next check up will be on 6/9, but if I don't go into labor I will need a quick assessment next Monday to check for fetal growth and movement..

We got unifi now at home.. They installed it just now.. So far so good, both the internet speed and the tv..My parents and my sister started their puasa 6... I got home at around 12, and ate the leftover spaghetti..

Just got back from my second round beraya at Enstek.. Tonight, all of us went to have dinner of delicious mee kari and nasi ayam at Pak uda's house and now I'm extremely full... Jihan loved the mee kari while imtiaz chose to have the nasi ayam..

I still feel some sort of stinging sensation at my cervix especially with the Braxton hicks...apart from that, no regular contraction yet or other signs of labor..well, time to doze off..

38 weeks + 2 days- still waiting

Ok, I'm trying out blogging from my good ol' iPhone today..I thought it's cool..

So, I made mushroom soup for breakfast. Got the kids up for breakfast and off we went to midvalley megamall for a stroll (and window +/- shopping) and lunch at the kids' favorite place TGIF..

I had a regular CBTL ice blended coffee double chocolate (such a heaven), couldn't resist the smell of rotiboy and ended up buying 3 Mexican buns...

At home, some of my sister's friends came over...we had mee Bandung and spaghetti bolognese again today...

Still no signs of labour yet.. I need to start packing my hospital bag and get them ready in the car.. Tomorrow will be my antenatal check up and we'll see from there what's best for me and the baby...

38 weeks + 1 day - the countdown begins

i'm at full term now, 38 weeks today...i should be ready anytime now as the baby might say hello soon...there's still no sign of labour yet...

today, my close families and neighbors are coming for raya...imtiaz is getting a car bed, passed down from his abang ikmal...i prepared spaghetti bolognese and swedish meatballs for them...my sister made mee bandung and thai beef salad....

we had fun entertaining the guests...the kids had fun too...they were exhausted by the end of the day...

i still need to clear off some stuffs in the room...but i'm so tired now...probably i'll do a stuff or two in a short while...

week 37- selamat hari raya aidilfitri

alhamdulillah, i managed to complete the 29 days of fasting this year even though i did not manage to do much of terawikh prayer...this year, we cooked nasi impit with lodeh, rendang and kuah kacang...imtiaz loves the hot rendang very much and jihan loves almost everything...

our small family wore a combination of black and orange outfit this year...the kids were very excited to go back to kampung...sadly we did not follow them this year as we were anticipating any emergency event should i go into early labour...

they went off after our raya photoshoot and seeking forgiveness from each other...it was a sad moment from me to be away from my little rascals for about 3-4 days...i'm sure they will enjoy themselves and behave well...

soon after they left, me and dear hubby went to my aunt's house in bandar tun razak and we had nasi tomato, nasi impit with rending and lodeh as well...then we went home, i had a good nap after watching some good stuff on tv while hubby helped to clean the house (sorting out unwanted stuffs and making our room ready for the arrival of our baby)....

the next day, my dear friend dahlia invited us for hari raya breakfast at her house and we had nasi lemak for a change and arabic meatballs (kabob)...then, we were off to midvalley megamall for some shopping...i bought a crocs sandal and few socks for my confinement and hubby bought some new shirts...

we continued arranging the furniture and stuffs at home in the newly renovated area...throwing all the unwanted stuffs and vacuuming the house as well...dear hubby had been very helpful to do all the heavy jobs, while i tried my best to help him to sort out the stuffs and did some light works...

alhamdulillah, we were very grateful that another aunt in enstek invited us over to her house and we had soto/mee soto... so, our raya was not that dull at all, we still went out to visit nearby relatives and friends...although it was nice to spend time just the two of us, i really missed my children very much...i called them at least twice a day and it seemed that they really had fun in kampung...i also spent some time reading a book, baby magic by sue cox...

imtiaz had his haircut back in kampung and it was such a drama...he was scared of getting his haircut so   getting it done was after lots of negotiation...

just before they arrived home, me and dear hubby made our way to ikea to buy a study table for jihan and a chest drawer for imtiaz to put his clothes...had breakfast at ikea and later lunch at the apartment...back at home, hubby reassemble the stuffs that we bought at ikea and when the kids arrived, they (especially jihan) were excited to see her study table ready and some of the stuffs (especially their books) had been arranged nicely in our library...

dear hubby took his annual leave until thursday, so we brought the kids to ikea again the next day to buy some stuffs, but mainly to spend some time with the kids...they had fun pushing the kids trolley around and later had an ice cream treat each...

overall, it was a tiring hari raya for me but i really enjoyed myself (although i really missed my children when they were away)...our room was still in a mess but quite manageable now...we disassemble the baby cot as i'm sure that we are not going to use it when the baby arrives...i also washed the baby carseat's cover and my breast pump bag...

till today, no sign the baby is coming out yet..he is moving very active and comfortably sits in my womb...

week 36- last week of ramadhan and acute hemorrhoid attack!

i got my second acute hemorrhoid attack during this pregnancy and it was no fun...! it's due to the effect of the enlarging uterus...despite the pain, i managed to continue fasting and settled some of the chores (like delivering the kek lapis)...i took paracetamol, increased the hemorrhoid medication, put some ice on it and sprayed some remedy on it to reduce the pain  and it was difficult for me to move around...

i got to meet my blogger friend, kak No that weekend while delivering the kek lapis to my customers...i ordered a yummy chocolate brownies from her and it was heaven...

on top of my acute hemorrhoid attack, i also suffered from gastroesophageal reflux, and i tend to vomit after sahur everything that i ate  during sahur...it was a very unpleasant feeling...however, i was still able to fast without feeling hungry that much...

my weight has dropped a little during this fasting month, but little baby was active and moving vigorously....hubby and i attended my antenatal follow up and on growth scan the femur length measurement was not of much different from the last visit..we did a detailed growth scan of the other long bones, they were growing well except for the isolated short femur and humerus which were still at around 32 weeks...otherwise, there were no other abnormalities seen...since it will be hari raya next week, my follow up will be in 2 weeks time and we are aiming for delivery if the baby is not growing as expected...

it's the last week of ramadhan and i'm tried to do my best to do as much as good deeds as possible..so far, alhamdulillah i was able to fast fully...the renovation was almost completed except for a few minor things and there were lots of cleaning up to do...

dear hubby and i went for iftar at TGIF in Alamanda in the middle of the week...i had lamb chops and onion soup and i like it so much...there were so many people in Alamanda...luckily we booked at TGIF and ordered at around 5.30 pm and got our meals just in time for iftar..

we had a big family iftar 2 days before hari raya...my nearby aunts and uncles and cousins came and we had a feast of middle east and western food with some authentic negeri sembilan dish as well  ...my sister cooked and arabic rice and i cooked my creamy chicken and mushroom pasta..my mum cooked rebung with prawn ...jihan also helped to cook the dishes as well as she cut the prunes for the moroccan chicken..

2 days before raya and we got very busy preparing for it...cleaning the house, cooking rendang and other delicacies for hari raya and i was extremely tired...the kids were excited helping out as well...hoping and praying for a happy hari raya this year and hope that i won;t go into labour on the hari raya day : ) please Allah give me the chance to eat the traditional delicacies and let my family enjoy their hari raya first before the arrival of the little ones...

week 35- happy breastfeeding week 2012

it's the world breastfeeding week 2012...many exciting activities around but this year i only managed to attend 1 due to my ill-health...anyhow, we got better each day and imtiaz seemed to improve much after the antibiotics...

we attended the Big Latch On event at MomsLittleOnes Seri Kembangan which later proceeded with iftar...my dear friend/sifu launched her 1st book, Hebatnya Susu Ibu, a breastfeeding book in Malay language....we had great time meeting each other and we were like a big family who shared the same passion, helping others to breastfeed...the kids were enjoying themselves and the dads were busy chatting on current issues and other stuffs...foods were nice....i really enjoyed the Muar mee bandung and dim sum by kak jasmeen...jihan loved the mee bandung as well...imtiaz ate quite a lot of kaya pau to name a few...

since jihan's cough got worsen the next day and had a slight fever, she stayed home while the 3 of us went shopping for imtiaz and hubby's baju melayu at Alamanda...imtiaz had his brunch at Burger King and later we looked around for the baju melayu...hubby got his, a pair of black baju melayu..and we couldn't find any for imtiaz...the size was either too small or too big for him...

it was a public holiday for us in Selangor that monday, so me, the kids, my mum and my sister continued hunting for baju melayu and baju kurung for the kids at Nilai 3... got 1 for imtiaz and 2 for jihan..later we went hunting for curtains for the our nearly complete renovated house....it would be ready before hari raya and they would hang it on for us...

later in the middle of the week, my sister treat us for Italian cuisines for our iftar at the Bistro Cascata Cyberview Lodge....we had special treatment by Chef Mozart and his team...the food was marvelous with lots of extras than what we ordered... and Chef Mozart granted my wish for the bread butter pudding...

i attended my antenatal follow up..got to know few days earlier that my obstetrician, Prof J broke his arm and won't be able to deliver me in late august or early september...so, my follow ups and my delivery will be attended by Dr S, a female Obstetrician who is also my friend...everything went well, except that this time we found out that the femur length did not grow much from the last antenatal visit...other parameters grew according to date, around 34-35 weeks, but the femur length was only at around 31-32 weeks, almost similar as 2 weeks ago..so Dr S decided that she would see me next week to repeat the growth scan...it might be nothing as everything was growing well before but still it was worrying for us...i really prayed hard that it would be nothing...

anyway, i had some of the kek lapis arriving and had to distribute them to my customers...my helpful dear hubby helped me to carry the box to my room for my customers to pick up... more kek lapis arriving soon this weekend and more delivery will be done...

praying for my good health and  my little baby's..alhamdulillah, imtiaz and jihan got better and they already completed their antibiotics...

week 34- good food, feeling unwell

i started to feel quite unwell since the 3rd day of ramadhan...it started off with a mild sore throat and it progressed to some sort of asthmatic cough with wheeze...the cough got worst and together with the gravid uterus it caused mild stress urinary incontinence and it was really stressful...imtiaz also had some bout of cough with mild runny nose but he was still active and playful...i would say that this might be due to the renovation dusts and also some viruses flying around and attacked us...hubby and jihan also had some cough but theirs were not as bad...

we though of having iftar outside and i booked at the Little White Cafe Bangi for a buffet iftar...we had quite a feast of dessert and main dish and it was a lovely environment...we went there 2 days in a row (the 2nd day was on my sister's treat)... i love the bread and butter pudding and the lasagna...the baklava was good as well...the kids had fun too...and imtiaz continued to cough especially when he was active running around...

i was off from work for a few days due to my bad cough and stress incontinence....imtiaz turned worst from bad...he coughed until he became breathless and was unable to talk despite giving him the inhaler and other medications...we decided to bring him to the emergency department for further treatment...he was a good boy, didn't cry or protest a bit when being examined by the MAs and nurses and doctors...later he was given a nebulizer and reviewed and did a chest x ray...imtiaz had some sort of chest infection and was treated with antibiotics...luckily he was not admitted...i also took a 5 days course of antibiotic when my cough did not get any better...later, jihan was also on antibiotic and was off school for a few days when she started to have fever and the cough turned bad....

i hope and pray that all of us will get better soon and can perform our fasting with ease...so far, the illness did not compromise our fasting, alhamdulillah...and my little baby was doing well, kicking and moving actively...