Quickly, quickly

She's taking her nap.

Wanted to wish all a good month of fasting. I'm not sure what fasting day today is since i'm not fasting. i'm also not thinking of eid... what i am constantly thinking is of nura's milk consumption, and after she drinks, thinking... no... hoping she doesn't barf it up. her poop, her gassy tummy, her rash. if she's cold... or hot. WHY WON'T SHE SLEEP (and when she sleeps a bit longer than usual) WHY ISN'T SHE WAKING UP.

Breastfeeding is not easy. recurring problem of latching her properly. i did graduate from college and i do understand the literature on putting baby to nipple correctly. but still... WELL, at my defense, nura squirms and resists, and when i don't get her food quickly, she wails. but alhamdulillah, i think i'm getting the hang of it.

Also alhamdulillah, our hospital has wonderful lactation consultants... we go see Susan for help and she is a lifesaver. we just saw her yesterday, was worried if nura and i have yeast. nura may have a little yeast in her tummy from the rounds of antibiotics killing off all bacteria in her, including the good digestive bacteria she had/ needs.

I don't have yeast, but Susan and i have successfully concluded that i have a condition called Reynauds... a blanching of the nipple due to blood vessels contracting, leaving them white... quite painful.

AND, i've bruised my boobs when i'm expressing milk by hand, doing it too forcefully coz one shouldn't express milk like one is MILKING A COW.

So, on top of the damage i've caused my nipples from my own shortcomings, i also have this reynauds condition... BREASFEEDING IS HARD.

Anyways, KAK MIKE, MY EMAIL IS kemboja76@yahoo.com

And we went to Peoria the last weekend before fasting month started, had a good time seeing friends i haven't seen for close to 2 months. Pictures are here. Took her to the Asian grocery store whose lady owner would ask me EVERYTIME me go there before of when we will have our own baby. Sampai malas nak pi kedai dia dah. So we took nura to see her, as proof of us having one already, so she won't ask us THAT million dollar question again. she said this year is a very good year... only happens once in 60 years... not just any year of the boar but the year of the GOLDEN BOAR... very golden indeed.

BUT the main reason for posting today is to post these pictures. chot and i were playing around, trying to see nura resembles him or me most. she just doesn't look like any of us, maybe not yet. or maybe she's a mix of us making her look like none of us. or maybe she looks like her grandmother... my MIL. whatever lah. but the funny thing is the face she made... we gave up after 3 attempts : )...

what's in a name??

when nura was still in my tummy, family and friends would ask on a name for our baby. chot and i were so gung-ho on giving her a malay name, as oppose to an arabic name. we feel that giving our child a malay name is appropriate when baby is malay. and not like there's no meaning to the word/ name... not an arabic meaning but a malay meaning is a meaning nonetheless.

so classical malay names for girls are usually of flowers and for boys... i dunno... types of wood?? jept suggested a nice boy name of a type of wood. a manly name to call ur boy "Jati" right??

some other suggested names were "antoi" (my father-in-law). "antoi" is a type of flower by the way. and other non flower names like "murni" meaning "pure".

i always like the name "seri" for a girl. like m. nasir's daughter's name in the movie fenomena. "seri" means ""glow" although i think there might be other alternative meanings to the word.

and "tuah" for a boy. "tuah" means "luck".

once when we just got married, i suggested to chot that when we get a baby girl, i like to name her "comel" which means "cute". but chot shot that suggestion down, saying "comel" is the kind of name people give to their cat!!!

but when the time was finally here and baby was about to come into the world, i guess i chickened out (I chickened out since chot left the baby naming job to me). so as i always like (bordering on love for) "nura", i went with that. and that's that...

why did i chickened out?? i dunno really but most2 probably feeling like i was playing with an important issue like our child's name. i might scarred her for life by doing so. maybe, when she goes to school in malaysia, everyone might be making fun of her because of her "different" name.

and then there's the spelling of the name "nura"... and the pronunciation that chot and i went through. ideally it should be spelled "nuura" since it should be pronunced with a long "u".

oh well... i can't be too fussy on it because despite our best efford to give her a purfect name (in our eyes), people will still pronunce it the way they want. like my MIL, she kept calling nura "nOra"...

and now, as nura is spending time with us, growing and showing us her personality, we've been calling her with nicknames... i've sometimes call her "comot" = messy... due to how messy she looks after each feeding.

and chot calling her "konyot" sometimes. i don't know the word but he explained it as "bantal konyot", like a child's favorite pillow or blanket. when she's crumpled up and smelly but ultimately, well loved.

jumble womble

am multitasking. typing with one hand n holding her in place for feeding with the other.

nura is turning into a little person. before, she was more of a blob asking/ wailing for her needs to be met. hmmmm... she still wails but now she smiles when i put my face close, making small talk to hers... understanding my jokes.

bringing her home, i was full of enxiety. but things are beginning to settle into place. i want to put this down... that even when she's just a month old, i always felt like i've known her forever.

anyways... have tons of pics to share.

of nura's hospital stay. oh, by the way, she had a VCUG done last friday. her urine valve is normal and the bacteria in her urine is a one time thing.

of ellie's visit... enjoyed her and jeffrey's company. we'll return the visit insyaallah... if not soon, later : )... i'll get nura to the zoo if it's the last thing i'll ever do.... hheeeaahhh hhaaa hhaa hhaa (chanelling gargamel from "the smurfs" cartoon")

of kansas city friends coming over. it was fun... thanks for coming. jangan serik ok...

what else???...oh no, my other hand needs this typing hand...

Nura is 1 month

our nura is one month. she's taking a nap right now and hope i can finish writing this before she wakes up.

what marks this milestone??... let see, she's chubbier and weights 8 lbs and 8 ozs. last friday. i tried putting on this cute dress ellie got her but it's still a bit big.

alamak, she's awake... she wants food... ok, quickly....

she eats a lot and then barf it out soon after. but mostly, it stays down.

she's a bit impatient.

she regular... bowel movement wise.

she makes cute faces... makes cute sounds (when she's not fussy)

she smiles more now when she's full and content. laughs even... so cute...

ok... she's crying her eyes out... happy 1 month old nura, ibu and ayah loves you.