The Original Juice

Today is Nisa's turn to play host.


Fara came with all her 3 children since she's maid-less at the moment. And Sue came with her hero and me with my prince =)


Taking cab, i was the first to reach her place and was given a private tour of her lovely house. Cheyyyybah!


Photo taking session! (I bet Fara has better ones but this is what i managed to take.)

From left: Siddiq (Sue's), Tufeil (Mine of course!) and Uzair (Fara's)

Tufeil LOVES to suck on the carrier's button!

He's got a fantastic view of Singapore and was lulled to sleep.

Mummy and baby reached home safely. Yet another achievement for us! Yay!

Next Outing: SWIMMING!??! ... Wana... we're waiting for you babe.

4 months old now!


Is it the 3rd one already?


His Jab took less than 10min cos we got an appointment in the crazy early. But because we wanted to see the doctor regarding the rough and broken skin all over his body and especially on his neck.

We doubt its sensitivity from the diaper as we have been using the same brand, Mamypoko, from 1st month.


I bought SebaMed's Special Healing Cream for this and his bottom as well. While his bottom showed some improvements, his knees didnt but if anything, the tummy area spread(ed?)!

This is how the Honest Tag works:

Tell your readers 10 honest things about you that they may or may not know but are true. Tag 10 pple and be sure to let them know they've been tagged! Don't forget to link back to the blogger who tagged you.

So Nisa, this is for you.

1. I weigh 56kg. Altho i've lost 12kg after pregnancy, it is nowhere near ideal weight yet.
2. I am 152cm short. Do the maths and find out my BMI :P
3. I'm feeling overused and underpaid as well as under-recognised in current employment. Looking for something in insurance line dealing with static data. There are some interesting positions available out there.
4. If i hadn't quit over 2 yrs ago, i would have graduated with Bachelor in Maths & Econs this very month! Damn it!
5. I HAD a birthmark on my right "cheek". Its gone now haha
6. I have a rebellious, naughty streak deep down inside of me but it hasnt come out yet. (Thank God. Keep the faith.)
7. My ambition, when i was in primary school, was to be a cashier! I LOVE punching in those numbers!
8. I am No 3. (This is a coded msg.)
9. I wash my baby's bum with right hand. LOL.

Last but certainly not the least....

10. I didnt cut my wrist with a broken glass leaning against the coffee table like i wrote here. But actually Zubair's GF in Pak slit those veins with a razor blade. No questions will be entertained.

I'm going to tag... Wana and Fara. Can't leave u a msg thru multiply here from the office, so hope u guys read this and post!

Syifaa': Ep! No Fingers in mouth!

$2 per ride.

I checked out Maternity Exchange... They have a lot of nursing top options, even long sleeved one. Now that i've bought a pair of "sleeves", i can wear short sleeved with it. Another alternative is a cardigan with a sleeveless dress.

Its rental rate is 4pcs @ $129 thereabout. Rental period is 4 weeks and u can rent up to 2 items at a time. There were several that i liked but somehow i hesitated. And Tufeil was also cranky, so i made my excuses.

In the end, i decided NOT to waste my money since i've just bought 2 nursing tops from Perfect Mum. (The gal was so nice, she suggested to send back to the tailor to put on long sleeves at only $5 for both!) And bcos, the only time i'd really need to wear a nursing top is at weekends when i go out w Tufeil which is like prolly 8days a month, out of which, i also have many other "normal" clothes option.

And to think that the week leading to that day, i was almost hyperventilating with excitement waiting to have a look-see.

Tufeil was already asleep. We took the chance to have tea and Choc ice blended and MONSTER Cookie at Starbucks. Z's treat too. $15?


The best part of all was shopping at John Little. I have $100 shopping voucher from our D&D lucky draw. The deeper you went in, the more things you see... OUtside was just cosmetics and toiletries which i was sooo not interested. Then i saw bags and shoes. I picked 2 and a pair respectively. After that was the GLORIOUS Baby section!!! hahahah its really just normal but i had FREE money to spend was the nicest thought of all!

So from this section, i bought:

1. 2boxes of Avent Breasts pads (3pairs) @ $20 each
2. A Colourful Flexible teether toy $12
3. Teats for my Avent Cups but realised that i need the white screw top which i cldnt find.
4. Life Buoy refill hand wash

Moreover, NTUC members get a further $5 discount for every $40. The kind sales assistant even calculated and separated my bill to $55 each so i could enjoy $10 off on top of my $100 voucher. I paid just $25 extra for my purchases.

Only, sadly, cldnt get the brand of diapers and wet tissues that i want =( But Gosh it was fun. Because i truly shopped unhibittedly (is there such a word?) while T & Z did their father & Son thing. Otherwise, i would constantly worry if the stroller is in other pple's way, if my son would get bored, if he's hungry or whatever whatever.

With all those bags, we took a cab home.

22nd July 09 (almost 4 months!!)

So we went to SRi Nada Causeway POint right after work last night.

After - About to cry. hehe

$9

And to think that we paid $30 for the guy to come to our place when he was 3 weeks old. But oklah.. quite difficult to bring an infant to the barber!


Enjoy the video!

This is my fourth week at work and the first FULL week. I started mid week and subsequent two weeks, i took 1 day leave each.

But I think i'm starting to get used to eBMming at work. As it turned out, my OM allowed me to use the boss' room since he's on leave the whole of this month. Oh it's sooooooo comfortable, thank you lord! It's very near my desk and discrete too with blinds. And of course, can use electricity as compared to the unreliable batteries.


In the beginning i was very anxious. Because i dont know WHEN to pump. I heard of pple saying every two hours but they didnt say if its from each side each session! While others say, if you don't need to pump after 4hours it might mean your milk supply is decreasing.

I started out pumping first thing when i reached office. since its barely 2 hours from last feed, i'd hafta squeeze from both sides to get the quantity required.

Then Lunch time @ 1pm will generate 2 feedings or 100ml. And another 2 servings @ 5pm.

By the time i reach home about 7pm, Tufeil would be needing a feed. Mum pointed out that she thought Tufeil's not having enough when i pumped too much earlier cos he tend to feed longer. However, a BF friend said that thats not necessarily the case cos babies tend to cling longer to their mothers after separating for so long. Awwwww hehehhe

Tufeil has also almost immediately fallen into a routine. He would wake up at about 10am. Last feed around 6am before i go to work. Then he would shower and fall back to sleep. 3hours later at about 1pm is his next feed. Then at 4:30pm. After that, he would wait for me to come home for the next feed.

So effectively, that's 3 feedings worth that i hafta pump at work = 300ml.

Since i only need to cover 300ml at least, i've quite settled into a routine:

8am = 1 serving, 2pm = 2 servings. BONUS: 5pm 1 serving. or reach home to pump one side, feed on the other.

I'm lucky in that sense cos another fellow BF says her baby needs about 450ml of milk during the day when she's at work. On the other hand, Tufeil drinks more thru out the night. He doesn't sleep thru.

Everytime he started wriggling and rustling next to me, i would give BM while lying in bed. But he would promptly fall asleep not 5min later, as so do i. he would wake every 2hrs to get a 5min feed. 2am, 4am, 6am. *faint* Am i doing it wrong?


Now.. TUESDAYS are a problem. My mum attends a class at a mosque every Tuesday Morning. Yesterday was the first time she brought Tufeil with her while i go to work.

In the beginning, she told me not to feed T in the morning yet... but that she would feed him at 7am instead so that he would take the next feed at 10am once at the mosque then the next would be at home. This way she only need to prepare 1 bottle. Bcos the diff is he'd be awake and would demand milk earlier. However, i counter offered with feeding him as per normal at 6am, then if Ayah's sending us, we go out a bit later and i feed him in the car at 8:30am.

And that was what we did last night. But he pooped. And we had to change him in the car while MOVING!! TO top it all, he sprayed his stuff at us too! Lucky we didnt get too wet with tissue on hand but the upholstery looked quite damp afterwards. Lol. Dad said, "Apa ni pagi2 dah ada bomba?" hahaha

After i dropped off, he pooped again! Tufeil... Tufeil...

At the mosque, he was super cranky wanting to be carried. So the ladies at the mosque took turns to. By around 11am, as predicted by me he took to the bottle. But refused to be soothed! So Mum gave a bottle extra for him. Lucky thing Ayah picked mummy up... can't imagine how otherwise.

Actually he would have preferred to stay in stroller and rocked than being laid on the floor (i wonder if Mummy did give him his toys i prepared) but bcos they sit on the floor, it wldnt be convenient.

How should we do it next week?

The Things I'm Guilty About As a Mother:

1. When He doesnt burp
2. When i don't change his diaper more than 6hours even though he's sleeping at night (albeit intermittently)
3. Bringing him to the toilet with me
4. If i overfeed him and make him FAT
5. When i eat junk foods and give baby the fats in the milk
6. For not crazily missing and yearning for him at work
7. If i carry him wrong and disfigure any parts of the anatomy.
8. If the water's too cold or too hot
9. If the room's too hot. (No it can never be TOO Cold)
10. If the light's too bright

And the list goes on and on and on. That doesn't mean i dont continue doing them though. HA HA

How did i decide to breastfeed?

1. Its good for baby
2. Peer pressure (everybody's doing it)
3. Cheaper

But is it really cheaper? Things i bought or needed to buy to sustain this:

1. Electric pump $100 (ok maybe non BF mummies also need a pump to help engorgement but perhaps a manual one would do?)
2. Breast Pads. I wear Madela washable ones @ $16 for 2 which last me a month?
3. Disposable Breast Pads. In case of emergency. $8 for 32pcs. Lasts 2 months i hope.
4. Lansinoh Milk Bag @ $15-18 per 25pcs. which lasts only 6 working days.
5. Cooler Bag to transport the BM. I think it was about $20.
6. Nursing tops $50 each. I know this is not necessary but i can't help it! =D
7. More diapers as breastmilk is easier to digest resulting more output. lol
8. More money for food cause i'm always so hungry!!!

I've only just unearthed Avent reusable cups from the back of my wardrobe that Z bought a long time ago. (3months actually haha) I supposed that was around $20. There are 10cups and i've switched to this one already.

At first i didn't use them cos its shape wastes a lot of space in the freezer. Now i to store it in chiller for a short time, so there should be more than enough space. BUT! I've already bought 3 packets of the plastic milkbags. Heart pain! Ok nevermind i'll reserve that for emergency purposes say the cups are not washed or all in use... or if i wanna store it in freezer. But 3 x 25pcs will take a SUPER LONG TIME To finish.

(Haha ok as i write this entry i've only just noticed i have a lot of "for emergency cases" things. Even my clothes and scarves, stationeries, shoes there are "for emergency" categories. I'm such a sicko!)

Hopefully with the Avent cups i will save a lot more. I dont dare do the maths, but is BF really cheaper after the figures above? Look quite unlikely. Formula milk is only what? $20-30 that can last a whole month. I got a lot of bottles from the gift packs. Ok some may argue that BFed babies are less likely to fall sick = save on doctor's fee... but surely not that much that often?

But of course, at the end of the day, its the Baby's health that's more important and the bonding experience. =)

Mon, 13th July 09 (3.5months old)

@ 1pm, my parents picked me up at that Aranda CC from my mother's hospital appointment at GH.

I've only had bfast at 9am and was raving hungry but we made a stop at a mosque first before heading to the KK. and even then i had to endure another 30min for the appointment before i got Mc for lunch.

Right at the door, we were both issued masks. The kind nurse tied it on for me but told me to hold the mask for baby. At first, Tufeil was quietly excited at this thing covering his face but after awhile, the fingers resume its permanent residence in his mouth. haha.

While waiting, i managed to feed him for 5min before he fell asleep. Oops This might just spell danger. True enough, when we carried him to the bed to be inspected, he cried his lungs out!! He hates to be woken up from sleep. He WAILED and WAILED and WAILED till it was diff for the doc n me to talk and to tape his toes! In my heart i was saying, "Alamak Tufeil, Ummi 'Azma just praised you for being a good boy yesterday..."

Basically, the therapist said that his club feet are no cause for worry, its quite natural for them to rise inwards but as long as they correct it on their own, its fine. But to continue with the exercise, which to be honest i didn't do cos i thought letting him stand on his feet would suffice. Apparently not. While lying on his back, i should raise his knees and push his ankles towards his thighs and stay for 10counts x 10times a day.

As for his curled toes, his right one is good already but his left is still on the lower side. So far i've met 3 different physiotherapist and this 3rd one is telling me the first method of taping the two last toes is better even though its tougher to do. PLUS must make sure no creases and blood circulation is in order.

I asked her what will happen if his toes remain like that? Indirectly asking if its ok i slack a bit and not tape it haha. She said if the condition is not corrected at 1yo or older, it will be more diff to change and more invasive therapy has to be introduced. And this will result in the toe being uncomfortable wearing shoes as it will get "stepped on".

Ok Julissa, buck up! Next appointment in 6 weeks.

So now i've started taping again at night. By right, it should be twice a day. But i feel like i can't impose more on my mother than i already have when i asked her to look after Tufeil. Altho i havent really asked, I simply can't expect her to do it after each morning bath. So its once at night for 12hrs and twice at weekend insya'Allah should help.