baby iyad's first class at kiwanis

baby iyad signed up for the holiday program in kiwanis...this is an introduction to him on what he'll be doing every week starting january next year...the holiday program is a one to one therapy session whereas the real class will be group session with 3-4 other babies of similar developmental milestone...

baby iyad gave his full cooperation in the class and had fun in the beginning..after 20-25 minutes he became restless and tired and refused doing the exercise and made so much noise...yes, my little boy can complaint...smart baby!...

we did some exercise on the floor, on the balancing ball and some stretching exercise...he didn't like to lie in prone position for long and lift up his head...that made him tired and he was not interested to do the following exercises...

we stopped after half an hour and let him nurse for a while as a reward....overall, it was a good job iyad...we'll keep on doing it at home to strengthen your muscles especially your head and neck muscles and trunk muscles...

legoland malaysia, here we come!

as planned before, we headed south from batu pahat to nusajaya johor to legoland...the weather was quite gloomy in the morning and it was sunny and hot when we arrived at legoland at around 11 o'clock..we bought the annual pass (hoping and planning to go many times in the next one year) and the queue was quite long..with imtiaz not feeling that well and the hot weather and we got uncomfortable, there was no other way to expedite out entry, so we waited...somehow we got lucky, a friendly staff assisted us to expedite our entry..supposedly when we buy the tickets online, there's no need to queue at the ticketing line anymore...that's the purpose buying tickets online though...anyhow, we made our annual pass and rented a stroller for imtiaz and off we went exploring the theme park...

we made our stop at the driving school...the queue was quite ok and imtiaz had his chance to drive the car..he was quite slow, finding his tempo to coordinate between his legs and hands movement to control the car...jihan also managed to drive her own car and got her driving license..mama and baby iyad waited for them to finish their rides and baby dyad poo-ed during the wait..so tried to find the nearest baby-changing facility (which was actually quite far from the place we were) and found a surau and i changed him outside on the bench and breastfeed him there..by that time, it was already zohor prayer, so she had our prayer and had our lunch at the cafe nearby..

we had lasagne, sandwich, bread butter pudding a donut and 4 drinks, and it costed us RM 75...quite expensive but the food tasted good... while having our lunch, suddenly it rained very heavily outside...we got stuck inside the cafe but had to made a move since we finished our meals and other people were waiting for us to move...so with one umbrella, we strolled across to the souvenir shop...we got quite wet and waited inside the shop while waiting for the rain to stop..in the meanwhile, we did some lego shopping...

after the rain stopped, we returned the stroller, got imtiaz wrapped with papa and we made our way out at around 3 pm...we didn't stay longer to go  round the park as we were heading back home straight after that...

overall, it was a nice place for the whole family but since the weather was unpredictable and imtiaz was not feeling that well, the fun-meter didn't hit a perfect 10 that day....we hope to return to legoland soon (since we have the annual pass, 3 or more visits will make it worth it) and have more fun!

the lego that we bought at legoland

travelling down south

it was baby iyad's first time traveling across the states, from selangor, passing through negeri sembilan, melaka to batu pahat johor...his longest journey so far...we had a wedding to attend in kluang, spent 2 nights in kampung then off to legoland in nusajaya after that...

baby iyad behaved well throughout the journey...he was comfortably snugged in the wrap, sleeping, woke up for his feeding then sleep again then woke up again for a chat...

Baby iyad had successfully turned from supine to prone all by himself...his hand got stuck though under his torso and needed help to free it..good job baby! and we'll take you to legoland for that achievement..

kakak jihan and abang imtiaz also had fun playing with their 12 year old uncle, who scored 5 A in his UPSR recently...abang imtiaz had his haircut with atok sutres...he was quite ok at first apart from some bargaining not to cut his hair and later gave a big cry when the razor was near his neck and ears because he felt ticklish...he was quite uncomfortable with the hair on his neck...

we went to kluang for the wedding and my little boy was in good behavior all the way...wan and atok came back from guangzhao and attended the wedding as well...we had scrumptious sambal goreng made by nenek wat and nenek nah in kampung and fresh pucuk ubi with sambal tumis...

abang imtiaz had slight fever and flu but he was looking forward to go to legoland...hope to have some fun in legoland...

iyad's new achievement and applying for OKU card

now baby iyad has achieved another developmental milestone...he can now turn to side, just about to turn to prone position...we are very happy with his development and he loves doing that...we encouraged him to do lots of exercise as recommended by the physiotherapist and hopefully his muscle tone will strengthen and he will develop as other babies at his age...

wan and atok departed to guangzhao this morning for a 5 days trip...we are pretty sure that they will be amazed with iyad's development when they come home...

kakak jihan had been spending her school holidays by attending a science camp, the little ibnu sina camp...she really enjoyed attending the camp and excitedly told us the experiments she did at the camp everyday...

we have also applied for iyad's OKU (orang kelainan upaya) card and with that card, iyad will get lots of privileged that are given for a special child like him...

iyad together with kakak and abang followed mama to meet up with her friends to do some charity sale for Gaza fund and alhamdulillah, the sale was good and we managed to make some contribution to the Gaza fund through the islamic relief malaysia... we have some toys left available for sale and if you are interested to contribute to the fund, do contact us by leaving a comment in this post...

baby iyad loves weekends

who doesn't love weekends..? baby iyad loves it very much as everybody is around and he gets as much attention from the others too (apart from mama)..

baby iyad had recovered from his acute bronchiolitis, alhamdulillah and he is looking forward for a fun-filled weekends with his loved ones..

so, this weekend, we were quite busy as well...makngah was very busy baking for her cakes and other delicacies that are going to be sold at Rasta Flea Market...we went to visit makngah at the flea market and even though it was hot, iyad was comfortably sleeping in his wrap...then we went off to the curve where kakak and abang went to play at the yukids island...and had lunch at TGIF...

we are all looking forward to the next weekend as we are going down south for a wedding and a trip to legoland...hopefully all will go as planned...

baby iyad is down with acute bronchiolitis

still cheerful during his illness

baby iyad's cough wasn't getting any better, well, it didn't worsen that much but he developed some wheezing sound since 2 days ago..otherwise, he had only low grade fever, still active, able to nurse very well and sleep comfortably at night and during his nap...when he had his bout of cough, it was a heartache to hear that...we pitied him when he coughed like that...as if his throat was very itchy and there were lots of phlegm stucked there and he cannot expelled them out...

he didn't seem to be breathless or tachypneic, but occasionally he had some subcostal recession on his chest but it disappeared after he stopped his bout of cough...we gave him to inhale the metered dose inhaler (MDI) ventolin via aerochamber and he hates that...

we nursed him at home as we feel very much comfortable and confident about it...hopefully he will recover soon and need no admission to the A&E, as that means another trauma for my little baby iyad if blood taking is needed...

felt tired after a bout of cough

baby iyad's assessment at kiwanis

last monday was baby iyad's first assessment at kiwanis...the physiotherapists assessed baby iyad's capabilities and developmental milestones so that we can focus at which area of development that he is lacking...baby iyad gave his full cooperation (despite having cough and flu) and enjoyed the session very much...

based on the assessment done, baby iyad's fine motor and social development were very good, which was appropriate for his age...his gross motor was good as well, he was not that hypotonic, except that his head still wobble..so, we are going to help baby iyad strengthen his muscle tones and help him in other aspects as well..

baby iyad is going to start his school holiday program next month for 4 sessions (once a week)..and later will start his proper class in january insya allah...

it was tiring for him i guess, as he cried out loudly at the end of the session telling us that he's already tired and had enough and now it's time for milk :)

we also tried to do some exercise at home, he really enjoyed it and after half an hour he will scream telling us that he's already tired...

a few videos on what we've been doing at kiwanis during the assessment...

baby iyad attended kakak jihan's prize giving ceremony

this morning, baby iyad followed mama and papa to kakak jihan's prize giving ceremony at her school...kakak jihan got 2 awards this year, one for the academic excellence award and another one for  the excellent behaviour award...

we arrived at 8 am...mama and baby iyad seated near the door so that we can go out easily if baby iyad make some noise....as usual, baby iyad slept comfortably in the wrap...the aunt beside us told mama that baby iyad was a very good baby....he slept throughout the 3 hours event despite being in a quite humid hall...

baby iyad had a slight cough and runny nose, he probably got that from his kakak and abang...otherwise, he is still active and sucking well...

we had to leave abang imtiaz at home with atok...and abang imtiaz also behaved very well under atok's care...we brought home delicious nasi baryani for lunch..wan and makngah opened a booth at rasta flea market ttdi and they made good sales of makngah's delicacies...there will be another sale next weekend on 18th november, same place, same time...hopefully baby iyad will be able to join the fun too...

3 gorgeous moms and 2 adorable bubs

yesterday, baby iyad followed mama to a breastfeeding discussion held at mothers en vouge in pavilion kl in conjunction with the launching of their store in malaysia... we went there with aunt kamariah and aunt ajui and her chubby baby audi...

baby iyad participated in the discussions as well and showed some mamas there on how to wear a babe sachi ring sling...most of the time, baby iyad slept comfortably in his wrap and woke up only for his milk..when mama went to pray, aunt kamariah took over mama's place by wearing baby iyad until the program ended at around 4 pm...

we went down to the food court for some food, mama and the aunts were having yong tau foo...(yummy!)..and baby iyad had to wait for his turn for his milk...when mama was breastfeeding baby iyad, an indonesian cleaner came to clean our table, and she said to us, "mamanya makan, anaknya sedut"..meaning that, the mother eats the food and the baby just suck the food of mama's breast...we kind of like that spontaneous expression from that cleaner..it's exactly true, babies who are breastfed get to eat and taste what the mothers are eating...trust me, if you eat durian, your breast milk will taste and smell of durian...that's why a breastfed baby rarely becomes a picky eater when he starts on solid food because he already tasted the food in his mother's milk...

it was a lovely outing and we had a smooth journey to and fro on a rainy friday afternoon... alhamdulillah, the traffic was good....papa picked us up at bangi and we went home safely...

workshops on special needs child and Down Syndrome

last weekend, hubby and i (and little baby iyad of course) had the opportunity to attend a workshop on special needs children and Down Syndrome in PJ...we were glad that we attended this workshop as we got to meet and learn from the experts and exchanged stories and experiences with other parents as well...

the 1st workshop on the morning was on Managing the Emotional Impact of Special Needs on the Family by Dr Shan Narayanan...this is an important topic that we felt had really enlightened us in handling our emotions when dealing and living with baby iyad...we had a good discussion about it with the others, and we were glad that we had the opportunity to freely express our feelings and thoughts with other participants...

the 2nd workshop in the afternoon mainly focused on Down Syndrome in term of developing their skills in eating, talking and playing by a speech, language pathologist, farah alkaf... the session was very lively and fun..we watched a few video clips on this and were very amazed on how the DS children can actually developed their potential well...there were many special needs teachers, physiotherapists and occupational therapists attended the session and we got to find out about all the resources available for DS children...

baby iyad behaved very well during the workshop...he mainly slept comfortably in the wrap, occasionally woke up to chit chat with us, had his milk, then sleep again and poo... 

alhamdulillah, we gained a lot of new knowledge and experience by attending this workshop..we met new friends and they were very supportive and friendly too...insya allah, we will try to apply this new knowledge in our journey with baby iyad and also help other families out there with special needs...we are not alone in this...there are many wonderful people out there who are in the same boat as us...and there are many awesome people out there who will give their support and love to us throughout this journey, insya allah...

baby iyad's hearing assessment

we had another hospital visit yesterday, the 2nd one in this week...this time was for baby iyad's hearing assessment...the test that baby iyad had to undergo was the brainstem evoke response (BSER)...he needed to be put to sleep while a few electrodes were put on his head and sound stimulation were given ...his brainstem's response towards the sound given at different decibels were recorded to ensure he does not have any hearing impairment...

already sedated after the medication

baby iyad is quite sensitive to touch..even though he was asleep after his dose of comforting mama's milk, he wriggled when the trainee audiologist put the gel on his head and putting the electrodes on his head...as baby iyad was not fully asleep, he was given a sedative medication...

even with the medication, the trainee still had some difficulties to put the apparatus needed for the test on him, as baby iyad was very sensitive and responsive to even slight touch...the test was not run on both ears simultaneously as the probe was dislodged from his right ear...so it was done one after another, and it took quite some time to finish...after a while, baby iyad woke up and refused to settle down and woke up as he was also hungry for milk...the test was aborted at 65 decibels and poor iyad has to come for another appointment next month to repeat the test...

we went home after that and baby iyad continued to be sleepy and sedated until at around 4pm...i was tired and sedated as well and managed to get some sleep after a hefty lunch of spicy McChicken...

still very sleepy at home

baby iyad woke up and was active since then and started babbling and coo-ing with mama...