write it down

1) nura is sleeping by herself now. we started 2 weeks ago... chot n i moved to the other room n gave her ours. easier since she only needed to adjust being left alone. in the beginning, pure torture!!! chot n i were feeling bad, letting her wail n when she whimper, rasa sangat kasihan. i experienced some major seperation enxiety... chot??... u have to ask him.

now, she sleeps at 7 pm... n wakes up 4 food at around midnight n another at 6 am. when will she sleep through the night... i soooo dunno... but hoping it's soon. and since she doesn't get food every 3 hours at night, she doesn't poop... so chot's sleep is rarely interrupted.

naps are a different story. naps are not in any kind of schedule... am still working on that. but i make sure she gets 3 naps of about 45 minutes or longer. she is happy throughout the day compared to before when she was only getting 2 naps of 30 minutes.

2) we started her on rice cereal. play eating. some days she'll be into eating but usually hates it. she'll do her "let me out of here" routine after spoon # 4...

3) rash... darn... rash. her's is lingering n may not be from using aveeno. her's will be coming n going until she grows out of it, or so the doctor said.

4) still not flipping.

5) oh, am quite bothered by strangers using "he" instead of "she". and some would ask 'is it a boy or a girl??"... lady, she's wearing a pink snow cap!!! ok... very very light pink. so, i'm on a mission to girly-fy my little nura.

i'm using olive oil for her scalp. helps with the dryness n insyaallah, she'll grow more hair so i can put bows and clips and brush it. oh, how i love to brush little girls' hair.

6) winter. we're so ready for the season to end. it snowed again today n chot is not looking forward to clear the driveway. he's talking of moving to texas... n dubai... n australia.

7) oh, also chot is asking for another baby. waaaaa???... whaccatalkinbout lewis...

nura being "manja" to her ayah...

"help... i've fallen and i can't get up"...

"noh ho ho... noh ho ho..."

happpiiee...

clueless mommy

some women are born to be moms, some are not and then there's the clueless. i'm one of them.

some moms take charge, think forward and then there's those that's always a few steps behind. all i can say is, i should have read more on ways to take care of a baby BEFORE the baby came. instead, i'm winging it, only refering to my baby book when i'm stumped.

i know i'm making nura confuse with her nap n sleep schedule. i totally don't remember how it was last week... all is a blur really. last weekend, i told myself i have to figure a schedule for her and stick to it coz the "baby will tell me if she's tired routine" can only go so far. and have her learn to fall to sleep on her own. and stop sharing a room with her...

i'm reluctant to travel, afraid i'd mess up her routine n having her out of her usual element. last time we were in peoria, she refuse to sleep in the pack n play. ended up sleeping in between chot n me. but want her to be versatile too since we use to travel a lot before... see clueless...

well... anyways, have a funny pic of her but i can't go get the memory card...

some of my fav pics of nura at 4 to 5 months, plus other stories

if ur in my facebook circle of friends, u've definately seen these pics. double duty keeping both my blog n facebook as current as possible....

@%$&*@#... RATS... I PUSHED THE WRONG BUTTON N IS LEFT WITH ONLY THE ABOVE 2 LINES... RATS...

WELL... JUST PICS OF NURA... NO OTHER STORIES...

baby nura will be 5 months tomorrow

so very true, babies grow so fast. she used to be sooo tiny and as of yesterday, she weights 16lbs 4 oz!!! and 24 1/2 inches. found a site that teaches mommies to wear their babies using any piece of cloth readily available around the house. chot offered one of his kain pelikat (alamak, how to spell??) to be cut into one big flat piece. first attempt was iffy looking but nura's butt and weight anchored her in place n she fell asleep. i'd show u guys the pics but all has a view of my huge ass... ummm ass... the pics really reaaallly look atrocious. hmmm... i'll post the least offending, don't get nauseous ok people.



anywhoo... i was advised to get fall/ winter clothing for next year (i mean this year) that's on clearance... save money that way. i am to look for 18 month sized clothing n i think she's set. But the dread i felt, 18 months??... i'm not ready!!!... too soon to be buying big girl clothes...



nura n her milk. she loves her milk too much that she still wakes up in the middle of the night to feed. which is ok, i don't mind... i get thirsty in the middle of the night too. so she takes from me and she poops for chot without fail. and we tried giving her diluted rice cereal twice so far... wanted to start on a daily basis so she can cultivate the ability to eat from a spoon but can't find the time. And maybe when we start her on solid, she won't need her middle of the night feeding.



she got a major rash attack that started about 2 weeks ago. we thought we'd try a better/ pricier lotion and to our horror... red patchy, bumpy and painful looking rash appeared. DARN IT!!! gorgeous skin ruined!!! i was saying sorry to her to no end. anyways, i was told to use certain creams n in 3 to 4 days rash will go away but n.o.p.e... her's stayed n even got worse. so we took her to her doctor. moral of the story, if it's not broken... don't fix it.



what else... she's still not flipping on her tummy on her own. since she hates tummy time, we kindda neglected it. her back is strong and she can raise her head up when on her tummy n push her torso up too. we help her roll over so she knows there is that option n think we'd let her decide when the time is right for herself. although, there is the possibility of bypassing flipping n crawling all together.



ok then, baby nura is up n her diaper's smelly. then, i'll attempt to carry her on my back so i can do laundry. oh... here's the website... give it a try, wear your baby... whip out that kain batik that u never use or that alas meja n have fun with it...

too busy for words

ok... maybe a few words. some of our most recent pictures... after all, most of you guys (if not all) really want pics to see anyways. i know i go around people's site looking for pictures.

oh... and happy new year and selamat hari raya haji... and selamat la semuanya.

gowd

she made me eat my words...

acted out last night... screamed her lungs out for being put in her crib... i gave in at 3 in the morning...

torture...

well tq nura for a memorable 4 month old "present", u really shouldn't have... now, please behave...

morning

i've been feeling extraordinarily tired and constantly hungry. i was sure i'd lost a few lbs from feeling so drained this past week but my weight miraculously stayed put. i do feel lighter or maybe what i felt was lightheaded-ness : )...


nura will be 4 months old tomorrow. chot's co-worker said, as babies reach these milestones, they'll act up a bit. so, i was hoping that is the case with nura. she refuses to take her naps in her crib, preferring ( eerrrmm demanding...) to be held instead. but alhamdulillah, she still wants to sleep in her crib at night.


she shocked us this morning by making a 90 degree turn in her sleep. i should have taken a picture... anyways...


this is still a bit surreal for me. having a baby and her growing so fast. felt like no time at all and she's already 4 months old. or maybe i'm slow... coz as i am just getting use to, easing into having a newborn, she's suddenly 4!!!...


but i love it, this motherhood thing, i think... (yeah, like a have a choice now...) no... i love it, i love her... my yummy baby.

i have pictures from trips we took to Omaha to visit ellie and peoria for a birthday party. go to myphotoalbum ya...

dreaming of blogging

it's been so long since i've written anything, not that i don't want to but caring for a little one is a fulltime job. chot is a good dad... is a pro at changing diapers.

nura??... well nura is bigger and healthy. what's funny about her is that she is very vocal now... she'd "sing" very loudly when she's pooping half of the time. other times, she'd grunt... but sometimes she's give us silent stinkers, out of nowhere we'd hear "proop... proop... proop" from her butt.

she's better at sucking her own fingers... she'd drench her hands with saliva and half her face would be wet. and she spits and make bubbles. she's also getting good at grasping things and attempting to put stuff in her mouth.

her back is stronger and she can lift her head without much trouble. when we put her in her boppy pillow, she'd instantly want to push herself up, using her elbows and crunching her tummy.

oh yeah... she LOVES to jump... legs are definately getting stronger.

alamak, she's awake...

anyways, i find myself hating my 3 month pregnant looking tummy... kept saying to myself that i need to start on pilates but saying and actually doing are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

ammm... want to blog more but i have to stop... i end with a pic of nura... bundling up to go out.

Nura is 3 months old

a sweet milestone. she smiles, coos and laughs (currently, only chot can make her laugh)...

she's aware of her surroundings... so much so, she won't stay put when i feed her in an unfamiliar place. also, would want to see who's talking... pulling and tugging...

she's about static weight gain wise. height... i'm not sure.

it's confirm... nura has a unibrow. hmmm... what can i do... but it's a cute unibrow!!!... hahaha

i have more to say, just can't remember what about... and i have recent photos... still in the camera.

but i have these to share... nura's range of expressions

HER ANGRY FACE

HER SMILEY FACE

HER SURPRISED FACE

HER WORRIED FACE

HER THINKING FACE... HMMM... POOPING FACE ALSO BOLEH...

Nura's First Eid

we in waterloo celebrated eid on friday oct. 12. didn't really feel like eid, until we went to peoria on saturday (peorians 1st syawal, oct. 13).

it was nice... seeing friends and enjoying the food. nura was a good baby... a bit off schedule feeding wise since she and i were out of our normal surrounding. i paid with pain of engorgement...

i love this photo of her, taken in the van on our way to peoria. all pictures are here.

Well, Selamat Hari Raya to all. forgive all of my wrongdoing.

First Immunization

She went out happy and smiling...

came home cranky, with bandages on both thighs...

so, she got her first round of shots. why do they have to use long ass needles?? they were close to an inch long... i was afraid they'll poke her bones. anyways, next immunization will be in 2 more months.

she weights 13 lbs 4 ozs... no wonder my arms are errmmm... more muscular. she's at the 95th percentile weight-wise but at 21 inches in height, she's only at 5 percent!!! my short and chubby little angel.

Nura is 2 months old

nura will be 2 months old tomorrow. she feeds every other hour and naps in between boobs, so as soon as i'm done feeding and burping and changing her diaper... it's feeding time again!! so exhausted at times, hard to breathe.

but she makes up for it with her smile, cooing and funny faces.

at 2 months, she sleeps longer at night. usually 5 hours before she asks for food or i wake her up.

her lashes are long and thick... but the eyebrows are a bit scary looking. hopefully they'll grow less of a unibrow... (I BLAME CHOT) : )...

and i think she has a dimple on her right cheek... i think...

she weights 10 lbs 8 oz or so about 2 weeks ago. and grown a bit taller.

ok... times up.

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.

update please

so, i have to keep it short and simple.

had 2 previous drafts, trying to tell the same story and still it didn't get publish.

nura went into hospital for 3 days, high fever, 100.6 F. went in last sunday, went home wedneday. they poke her for spinal fluid, many times drawing blood and stuck an i.v on her. VERY TRAUMATIC for me.

bacteria in urine. hope it's a one time thing... but doc. will follow up on a test on her urine valve.

she's fine now.

i'll have to take better pics of her.

she's gaining weight. being an inexperience mom, i freak out a bit when i realized she was developing a double chin. i thought her chin was swollen!!!... qua qua qua. but being in the hospital at that time didn't help..., i took every changes in her to be an illness.

i'll post pics from the hospital later.

Our Baby Nura

: )... so, this is our precious Nura, alhamdulillah, allah hu akhbar. Chot and i are so thankful everything went well and nura is a healthy baby and we love her very much.

she weights 6lbs 11.2 ozs at birth (what is that in kg??), i dunno how long she is but she has a head of black hair.

she was born 8 days overdue and i felt strong contractions around 3 am sunday morning August 5th. after subuh prayer and a shower, chot drove me to the hospital and i was admitted. was dialating at 3 to 4 cm and got an epidural in the first hour there. in the next hour, was dialating at 5 to 6 cm. at 12 noon, was fully dialated and nura's head was a finger's length away from crowning. the epidural was a bit strong for me because i was numb as numb can be, couldn't feel a thing... which i am not complaining.

so, they turn the epidural machine off and waited till 2:30 to have me push. i was still not feeling anything but went ahead and started pushing anyways. and at 4:43pm, nura came into the world.

chot was by my side all the way. helped me push and took photos. the doctor asked him if he wanted to cut the cord but he said no. it's scary enough being in the room for him i think, so no one insisted he do it. but he took a lot of "in the moment" pictures... admirable considering everything that's going on.

we stayed in the hospital for 2 days, going home early tuesday evening. thank you kak ellie for sharing some info with the others. the lightning got our modem, wireless router and some other computer component. we had to (reluctantly) buy new stuff... a computer too.

thank you everyone for the well wishes left in the comments section... nice to know u have people thinking of u, and wondering how ur going. i think this post satisfy all inquiries... ya???

Nura is starting to wiggle and i know soon she'll ask for milk. she's 5 days old today by the way. i've uploaded pictures of the birthing, click here. i'll try to share more stories and pictures soon insyaallah.

My niece Husna

i was waiting for new pictures of husna since forever. my sister took tons of pics BUT taking and actually sending some are two seperate, seemingly unrelated occurrences.

but i got them today!!! oh, how i missed this little bugger. Husna has more hair now, enough for cute hair clips. and she doesn't look like my mom anymore, i think. probably more like her dad.

she's learning to imitate facial expression, hence the curled up lips in the second picture.



as for me, i've dialated 1 cm on wednesday. and the doctor says if i don't go into labor by wednesday morning, i'll be induced. SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN.