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8th & 9th Month Developments

Before Mum went for Hajj, she started singing to Tufeil this "Pak Cekup" song while tentatively grasping her hands into a fist much like Twinkle Twinkle Lil Star but just a little tighter close. And Tufeil was delighted to follow each time!



To that effect, i just remembered that i could teach him other hand movements! So i started singing When You're Happy and you know you CLAP your hands. After about 2 weeks, he can clap his hands on cue.



Actually even in his 8th month, his Aunty Titi (Ash) taught him Hi 5 and he could do it but i just forgot to reinforce it to him. Now that i restarted it with him, he remembered.



He can almost Salam now. But we need to take his hands first before he will kiss it. But then again, he's always after "biting" or "licking" our hands and face. So maybe nothing new. But the word association should be new to him.



I'm teaching him Hello and Bye Bye wave now. Hmmm wont do each n everytime but when he does its more like... flapping the whole arms... like he always do when excited! minus the leg kicking tho. LOL Oh well... its ok.



Oh and a week ago at Breeks. He was in his high chair and suddenly he took hold of his bottle of water with both hands and put it in his mouth!! When i tried lifting his hands higher to tilt the bottle, he would release his own grasp. and let me fed him the water. Cheh.



It was really the first time he put anything other than his own fingers in his mouth! Oh he wants things in his mouth alright but usually but lunging straight to the thing like our thighs or knees or toes or even the floor so he would seem like prostrating! haha



And then yesterday Mummy just taught him to hold the biscuit, put into his mouth and bite. at night, he did just that when given another piece! Weeehooo.. But he soon lost interest in it and started throwing in on the floor as he would do w any other toy in hand.



Other than that, i actually feel guilty of not teaching him much of anything. Not too much reading. Not too much object identifying. So far only lights and Fan even then just the ones in Mummy's room, and motorcycle cos they are always zipping thru the street by our room window.



Hmmm I have no idea what else to teach him. Of course there are so many things like flash-carding, cleaning up etc... but im too lazy! Sorry, Darling! Hmmm one thing at a time, aye?

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Tufeil's First Hosp A&E Visit.

Friday, 22nd Jan 09 (9 3/4months old)


That was the day we decided to send Tufeil to the hospital.


I had noticed that he started coughing from Mon / Tues when Syifaa' was sick too.


Wed, i woke up to get dressed to work because i had a RecClub Thank You lunch with the French CEO they were going for Pagi Sore esp for me the only Muslim in the committee. But after much thought, i think i didnt wanna risk it. Esp cos mummy was not feeling quite well also though she told me she was ok.


So instead, we went for Bfast at McDonalds, and i walked to Baby Bear. (Ok this feels like De javu, i think i've written about this alr but what the heck...) He was given Zyrtec drop, nose drop, the runny nose oral drops and a white liquid for his cough n phlegm. Each time i hafta employ Mummy's help to administer the drugs as i can't bring myself to hold him tightly amidst his strong struggles. I'm weak in that sense.

Thank you to Mummy for skipped classes for Tufeil.


Tufeil being hugged and sponged at the same time. Temp was 38.8


The next day i went to work - everybody was asking me how's Tufeil. Esp my RecClub chairman cos the CEO was asking, "where's the girl who had to eat Halal?" haha. Anyways, she told me very knowledgably what to do when your child has a fever of above 38.5

Sponge him for 10min only with tap water.

Stop if he starts shivering bcos his quick movements will generate heat and bring up the fever even higher

U can give him paracetamol. Monitor for 30min if still not down, can give Neurofen. Give paracetamol 6hourly, and the latter 4 hourly.



I told my mum about the tap water. Cos we gave him ICE water. but promptly felt guilty after that. My intention was just to share the info that i received. But Im afraid i might have sounded... SMUG and offensive. Sorry mummy!


Then Fri came. Mum's not cooking so i brought my parents to eat at Breeks cos i really wanted the dessert there. Unfortunately, Tufeil missed a dose for the silliest reason being i wanted to wait till his bedtime and his last one was at 2pm. his temp went up to 39.


Mummy insisted we went to KK, after all i didnt hafta fork out real money, just pay thru the CDA account. But its the long wait that i minded and also because i think that he'll be alright with the next dose. just hafta be more frequent. But i relented more bcos i felt guilty for the above episode and wanted to acknowledge her grandmaternal (? hehe) instinct too.


Tufeil with his Q no


Waiting for the Doc.


Our no was called quite quickly, actually. in say... 30min - 40min max. His first temp in the ear was 37.2 bcos we put on that cold pack. But while waiting for the actual doc, T managed to remove it himself and another check was 38 thereabouts. The doc asked what meds we've given him and prescribed a slightly different one. But said that since his fever had been for 4 days, she wanted to get a blood test done. Needless to say, Tufeil screamed the hosp down when drawing his blood from his finger and when given panadol.

The killer part is waiting for the blood test result which took us another hour. It was plain restlessness!! At least it was only midnight and not in the dead of the night as i originally planned. When at last our name was called, doc said its just viral infection. Errr... is this the one where antibiotic is needed or... not? can't remember but none was given anyways.


Over the weekend, Tufeil had much disturbed sleep. He would wake every 30min or so to cough. Sometimes he would fall back to sleep, other times i hafta nurse him back but quite a few times he looked as if he would choke!! I can imagine his suffering! I mean who likes to swallow back down phlegm?!?! and there's a feeling like as if there's something stuck in ur throat and it just wont come out or like u accidentally ate chilli. I totally HATE that!

Mon came and mum reported that Tufeil totally REFUSED eBM in bottle. not a single sip. NOTHING. ZILCH. ZERO. NADA. He would take some plain water and some peach. At home, i didnt bother pumping for 4th bottle but fed him straight. Ahhh bliss!


He would eat biscuits but totally refused everything else. At first we thought its cos he doesnt have an appetite. But i tot it wld b strange when he refused peach also at times. So i tried to feed him by hand and it worked! He must be frightened of spoons and syringes now!


Anyway, Mum raised a concern than maybe its because of the canned fruits we've been giving him that makes his cough worse. I disagreed for the following reasons:
  1. Tufeil has taken them since he was 6months old with no effects
  2. I bought the ones in NATURAL juice
  3. and the can says they have no preservatives no artificial nothing.


>But i do agree that his lingering phlegm is quite disconcerting. So that's y i was glad when the next day Syifaa' had another high fever, Mummy brought Tufeil to see the GP too. Mum said he looked at the meds we were given and shook his head. This time around he gave antibiotics and to lay off them peaches.



Half day and one dose later, Alhamdulillah, he seems A LOT better. Cough is still there but not too much. He had a slightly better sleep prolly waking up only every hour or 1.5hr (and this is quite normal too!) as opposed to .5 hr.



I pray that it'll all clear up soon! So he can start drinking my eBM otherwise... i'll just hafta sell them! Ahahahah

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New Template


I'm digging my new template. Suddenly I'm into purple. I'm wearing purple RIGHT NOW!
I love the:
  1. White background
  2. Purple design with Handphone and Computer pictures which is what i'm sooo into right now! (Just bought a new pc!!!!! Eyeing a new hp next)
  3. Big Bubble to show how many comments. Not that many pple drop comments, but still!
  4. Purple footnote at the end of each entry to indicate post date n time as well as labels. Clearly distincting the next entry.

Just two things i tot they could improve and if somebody can help me adjust these??

  1. TOO BIG FONTS on right hand column
  2. Hidden Blogger taskbar! I've already checked the layout and i picked the colour already but it wont come out! I think its in the script?

Help?!

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Perth 09 Day 10 - GOING HOME!! BOOHOO


Thurs, 24th Dec 09 (almost 9months old)

We're going home!!!

I so dont wanna forget this lovely house.. So... PHOTOS!!


Standing from the main door that opens up to the formal dining and TV area on the right.


Immediately left after the Main Door is the study room.
There's no door to this room

Next door on the left is the Masterbedroom.
The Bed where Tufeil fell from. See the wooden bedside table?


View from the bed to bathroom and walk-in wardrobe!!!!


Back down the hall.


On the right is the kitchen - you can see the island there and it leads to the garage.


Informal dining area, sitting area then straight ahead is the TV Room.


The Conservatory is just opp the dining table on the right which leads to the mini garden and also swimming pool.

While on the left is the mini corridor towards the other bedrooms.





TV Room with two sofa beds which will make for a good guest room if not for the window facing in.

Ok now for the Bedrooms section


Sneak Peak


The Girl's Room.


Built-in Wardrobe on the left


The Utility Room is what i believed its called.


This is where Tufeil had his baths!


And Syifaa' having fun watching the front loader washing machine spinned.



The bathroom and toilet. Always separated.


Boy Room No 1. I believe this is Taufiq's?


Aqil's Room.


The Garage!

Our luggages have given birth to another couple of bags! So the trunk of the car certainly can't fit them all so much so that it spilt over to the passengers area.



Very Cramped!



My leg room was invaded by Tufeil's pushchair.


Our Noodles (Swimming float) made a rainbow at the back.


There's another luggage under Syifaa's leg.


There you go. All of them bags.

Our flight was due at 3pm. But we had to return the rented car by 10am!!! We woke up at 7am and left the house at 9.30am. From there, we took the taxi bus to the airport.

AUD45.




Just outside the departure.


It was chaotic transferring the luggages!



Esp when you hafta RENT a trolley!!??

at 4 Aussie Dollars!


The check-in counters.


We arrived 11.30am. Only at 12nn we could start checking in and although we were the 3rd in line, it took us a good hour to get thru. Cos we requested bassinet, then changed from 2 in front 2 behind to 1 in front (me only + Baby) and 3 behind.



So.. what else? SHOPPING! Er... i didnt stay around though like Ly did for an hour possibly at the bookstore. I went to the nursing room, the cafe to get myself a donut cos it was lunch time but they were saving their tummies for in flight meal.

Nice spacious nursing roomS.

I hafta stress on the plural cause they are plenty!


At Changi airport, proper nursing rooms are only available at T3 as far as i know. Even then just 1 room per floor! Cheh.

Hmmm an attempt to capture the airport's atmosphere.


The depature gate is rather inconscpicuous.


Set there amongst cafes and shops. Heh. Funny.

I was disappointed that we didnt get to see the shops in the transit area! By the time we cleared customs and what not, it was 10m before take off! And to think i was bored hanging around outside... i should have gone in first! Bah!


The return journey was unbearable too. I regretted my decision to sit on my own bcos now nobody to help me if i need an extra hand! Altho the rest are just behind, they are buckled to their seats and glued to the TV.



Like during the outbound flight, i dumped my plate on Abg Fai's table so i have space to move around to reach the bassinet. This time round, i brought it to the kitchen myself which is just in front of me but for Business class. one hand on bassinet, the other arm stretched in front to the stewardess.


I drank sooooo much prior to the flight 1.2l that i desperately needed to use the loo. I asked Ly for help but she still had her plate on her table. I waited awhile but no sign of them clearing the trays yet... I got to the point when i was so frustrated i brought Tufeil to the toilet with me. Thank god he knows how to stand and he there he stood with my arms or the side of my arms supporting him. Anything goes, Desperado!


I decided NOT to change his diaper cos i know he would struggle when put lying down on the changing table and just the traditional disposables and not the pull-ups, im not confident i could keep him safe from falling off.



Soon after, he slept. for 2 hours. just like the previous flight. But the thing that got to me was i cldnt sleep for as long. I dont know. Ok i know why.. cos i kept anticipating he would wake up anytime that i cldnt nod off myself! Worse was i was scared to move to use the entertainment system lest he'd wake up that i found myself staring into space in boring nothingness.


At this point, i promised myself NOT to bring any children below 2yo w me to travel. Not only u'd waste money on the plane ticket when they wont appreciate much less remember the holiday, u'd also not be able to use the in flight entertainment they have! BLARGH!


MISHAP ONE: Tufeil's bum felt wet. My nursing top felt wet. ARGHHHH serve me right for not changing him! It got flooded!

MISHAP TWO: Tufeil's stroller did not follow us in the plane. Got left abandoned in Perth! Took us close to an hour to look for the stroller, to report bla bla bla.

MISHAP THREE: Cos we took so long at the Lost Baggage counter, our ride was also lost from our sight. We were looking out for a sign "Tufeil & Syifaa'" to no avail. AFter numerous calls to and fro.... we found out that...



Apparently, his signage was miniscule and he was tucked at the corner and he was.... poorly dressed. Not at all like a cab driver. NOt even a sch bus driver. More like.... vege seller at the wet market. !!??



Our trolley full of luggage and our $5 discounted ride. LOL *Wink at Ash*


It was close to midnight by the time we pulled up at home. I quickly got changed and settled Tufeil in to sleep and caught up with mummy and ayah whom we havent seen for slightly more than a month!! We chatted till 4am!! we did. =D Got so many stories from both our adventures.



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Overall anecdotes:




1. T's skin immediately dried and got irritated from the moment we reached Perth esp at elbows, back of his thighs a bit on tummy, back and face - oh his precious cheeks! and a head full of cradle cap! Bought VASELINE moisturising cream and it helped. in 12hours after we reached S'pore, it all cleared up! Sooooo sensitive skin, he has!




2. There were more established routine during our holiday then the time we're at home. It's like... we went out all day, come home at 8 or 9pm, quickly shower, change, read a book, suckle to sleep. Wake up at about 7 or 8am, bfast go out and cycle goes again... I have no energy to maintain this in S'pore with work and everything.




3. OMG i spent soooo terribly much! Much too much. Close to AUD200 on Tufeil's clothes alone!! and some, i dont even like in the end. and 1 was a size too small though wearable. *pull hair* Told u i have problem about Window shopping.




4. We didnt get to swim. at all! BOOHOOHOO... we didnt get around to filtering the pool properly. and to think i brought 2 of Tufeil's swimming suits, LOTSA swimming diapers and LY even brought Syifaa's float and everything.


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Perth Day 09 - AIC Mosque, Midland

23rd Dec 09, (almost 9 months old)

Just chilling at home in the TV Room.


Hmmm Today is almost the exact itinerary with Day 2. Cool weather. Midland Shopping Center. Dinner @ Mesepotamia Kebab.


Except that we headed to a Fresh Supplies factory, listed in the Halal Booklet that we have. Unfortunately, it was strictly Business 2 Business business that no direct consumer can buy from. We were imagining Chocolates by the dozens like they have in Margaret River CHocolate Factory - which we didnt go for the simple reason that its not Halal certified.


Also, we visited the mosque next to the Australian Islamic College. It's not at nice as At-Taqwa - a bit old and just slightly run down. But it warmed my heart to see an taxi drivers and the likes filling the Saff (prayer row) during Zohr prayer. Its unfortunate that it was school holidays for i would have liked to see the International Muslim students.


Pictures are in Ly's phone which she have yet to upload. So forget it.

The Portion is sooooo huge I was starting to puke at the end of the meal.

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Tufeil's First Cough

Was on Child Card Leave yesterday.

Tufeil was cranky the previous night waking up every half an hour with a badly blocked nose. He has also started coughing. Also because my mum didn't feel well at the end of yesterday too.

Since i was already up that morning, we straight away got dressed and after a McDonald's Bfast, went to Baby Bear.

I walked allll the way, about 10min, while T slept away, lulled by the movement. Was 3rd person. Thank God! We got him nebulized. I dont know how to hold him tightly when struggle ensued... so one of the "more experienced" nurses aka motherly figure much like my mummy helped to hold him while i held and kissed his hands trying to soothe him. He was SCREAMING and KICKING like being held prisoner or something.

$75 payable by CDA fund. Thank God for that too.

Later in the afternoon, suddenly fever came. 38.8!! Gave him meds, and sponged him. I tried to nurse him to sleep but he won't have it. cried and cried. So mummy just cradle held him while sponging at the same time. She did for like 1.5h when she passed back to me i cld barely last an hour! PLUS i dont know how to sponge him while holding him. Just left the cold towel on his forehead.

Some 5hours later, his fever was still no better. So we gave him another dose with a mind to go to the hospital if it still didnt go down in another 2hours or what.

I sent him to sleep at 9.30pm. I went to sleep 10.30pm. Next time i woke, it was 2.30am already! Wow he slept for 5 hours!! Without the aid of nose drop too. Alhamdulillah!! He slept on for another 3hours straight. His fever got much lower but is still just a tad higher than normal.

Sadly, his phlegm is very bad. His coughing. His whimpering also has changed his voice.

I pray it wont be long now. Ya Allah, please heal my son, you are the Curer.

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IQRA' Suspended.

I told my one and only group of students left that I cannot teach for the mo.

Our last session saw Tufeil tearing my frail Iqra' book to tatters, tipped the glass of water and got everybody's books wet.... He got very cranky and restless after being on my lap for a short time and absolutely CANNOT be left on the floor. I had to resort to carrying him while standing and peering over my student's book.

I feel that this is no way to teach. This is unfair to my students who cldn't concentrate and to try to be heard by a similarly distracted teacher. Nope. Not fair at all.

The deal-sealer is the fact that the maid is gone now and my parents are rather busy on Saturdays to help with entertaining T.

I feel sad doing this to my good students esp because their mother has decided to re-join the group. And i've always had preference to teaching adults.

PLUS, my mom said that i should just expose T to the Qur'an reading culture ie include him in the class. Even my student agreed w me mum when i related this to her. Yeah sure i'd like to. but read my 2nd paragraph again. The babe gets CRANKY!

When mum discovered i've suspended the class... she said, after a thoughtful pause, "Ok lah, After Chinese New Year (Feb), i will make sure I'm at home Saturday mornings. I'll push back all my appointments to the afternoon or Sundays. Or.. if i have to, then i will bring T out with me."

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! Thank you, Mummy!

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Perth Day 08 - Raebun Farm & Kewdale

Tuesday, 22nd Dec 09 (Almost 9 months!)


Ok... HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

But day started with yet another tragedy. The iron did not work. ie how to go out with ruffled scarf?!?! That's MURDER! After more investigating, turned out actually the electricity tripped. We spent some time to find the switch and then we tried the other iron and it ripped kak Ly's tudung raw! LOL. "No wonder the iron was stowed away high up in the wardrobe" we deduced.


So The 3 of them went out to the nearest Woolworth to get a new one. Well they took a good 2 hours SHOPPING while ME the BIRTHDAY GIRL was stuck and locked at home practically GROUNDED! BOOHOOHOO. Ok, at least she brought back a present for me. haha


So at 2pm, we headed to Raeburn farm somewhere in Armadale.


Entrance to the... Barn?



Which is a General store really, selling the fruits produced as well as onions, ice cream, sweets, and even ... souvenirs! LOL

Syifaa' with new boots!



It was a hard trek pushing the stroller on dirt road!



The Greens would be rather soothing ... if not for the HOT HOT weather!




I dont know how Kak Ly always manages to get a great shot of Tufeil's smile.




Tangkap Filem Hindustan!
Feeling like in a Hindi movie.





Their Production Line.

Granted, its only the packing part of the line. I would have loved to see how they pluck all those fruits over the dont-know-how-many-acres-of land!! How many manpower is needed, i wonder.


After that, we were bidding time for our 8 o'clock dinner invitation at Ly's ex colleague's house in Kewdale. So what to do? SHOPPING time! Armadale Shopping City


With the holidays drawing close to the end, i brought 4 chilli cheese dogs from Pretzos and stuffed meself with 2 of them. I'm afraid i shall miss them terribly in S'pore =(


I tried Peach Bomba freeze at The Coffee Club while feeding Tufeil his late lunch. Disappointing to say the least. at AUD 4.90 too! Bah! But the crew was nice. Well, whoever cooed at my baby are nice people. Period. LOL!


It was dark when we reached her house. and Cool too! But we remained indoors for the duration. Dinner was grilled chicken. We tried to be polite by finishing the rice served to us which was TRIPLE our usual portion! *faint*


Malay Muslim community there is quite small and close-knit though they live quite far away. There are meet up picnics and social gatherings a plenty. We felt right at home with them. The children finally warmed up to each other...

But its very diff to get a very good picture of them all!



So shall include two shots.


The Ladies. Snapped by one of the guys. Humph! BLUR!!


It was really sad going home at 10.15pm that night. Because Syifaa' and Maya were so happy playing. They said goodbye and goodbye so many times and waving frantically at each other. Tufeil... Well... Tufeil just didnt know any better. Yet. Thank God. It would break my heart, otherwise.

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What Tufeil's Been Up To This Year.

9months old

Fri 8th Jan 10,


The 11 Best Friends Gathering.




Tufeil observing Shauqy's shoe while Iman watched on
(Before that they were chasing after the same ball. Hmmm)




Much later, Tufeil exploring a box of blocks. NICE! I NEED TO GET HIM SOME TOO!


There were a group baby photo... but from other cameras. donno if its uploaded yet?
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We have the carseat in the house. to aid with nail clipping!
He wriggles ever so much!
We visited the library recently and he was all crawling and climbing!



To the Supermarket with Nenek and Atok.


First time in the trolley!


Shortly after, he cried. Ayah thinks its bcos he got shocked after a static reaction from Ayah. but after 5mins or so we put him back in and was ok.


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Now... More Sleeping Moments!


Trying to find a nice position to nurse


He's often shaking his leg, usually in a 30 degree position with tummy down. When i put him properly on his side, he will rustle about to be on his tummy without unlatching. tsk tsk tsk!

Sprawl eagled. This means deep sleep. But higher chances of jerking awake!



He now prefers to sleep with pillow!
Dont know where that comes about cos i never gave him one.

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