Excited..

Hubby called a few hours ago before boarding his flight back from Jeddah for his R&R. I have been keeping mum about his Ayah's return, but when I mentioned airport while conversing with Hubs, he suspected something and demanded to speak to his Ayah. And Ayah told Daniel that he's coming home, and the boy immediately got so thrilled, his voice went up a few notches. And he said that he was so excited that Ayah is coming home. Syahdu hati Mummy.. kesian, anak rindu sangat dengan Ayah dia... Huhu... looking forward to almost 3 weeks of quality family time!Yay!

Progress

Last Saturday was Parent-Teacher Meeting at Daniel's school. Went there to meet with his teacher to discuss his progress this year and what he has learnt in school.

As he is only 4 years old, there was no exam yet. Only five and six year old kids have examinations at the school. His progress was basically determined on how well has he mastered the social and life skills, how well he follows instructions, do'a recitations, introductions to science, maths, geology (wow!), history, biology, zoology, botany, solar system, islamic studies and arabic language among other things. He was also judged from his interactions with friends, attitude towards school work and other activities including crafts, writing, coloring and many more.

His teacher's comments:

1) Smart
2) Loves physical activities rather than writing
3) Short span of focus
4) Very mature for his age
5) Loves being praised when he did anything right
6) Matured vocabulary and expressions
7) Good communication skills and loves to talk and tell stories
8) Out spoken
9) Demands that his friends be quiet during learning time
10) Good attitude towards his friends
11) Cries easily when somebody accidentally hurt him while playing a.k.a manja sangat..
12) Very sensitive
13) Good at maths
14) Good manners
15) Kurang makan and kurang ke toilet

Now, how do we tackle his short span of focus problem eh? Kalau tengok TV or main PS tu boleh pulak concentrate....Hai lah anakku....

Aidil Adha 1431H

Since Hubby was not around, (tahun ni both raya were celebrated apart...huhu sedihnya!!) and my parents-in-law are also doing their Hajj, we went back to my parents house for Aidil Adha. Not so much of a celebration, but at least my siblings were all there, and as usual we got our doses of nasi himpits, lemangs and rendangs. We did a bit of qurban this year, so we got a lot of 'daging qurban', hence the sup tulang, nasi daging, daging kicap, daging bakar etc etc heheh!

I went to see the process of qurban at my parents' house's surau. There were 12 cows altogether for this year's qurban, and all 12 were 'down' before Zuhur prayers. I brought the 2 boys along to watch.

Me: (Trying to wake Daniel up that morning) Daniel, wake up. Mummy want to see cows. Do you want to follow? (And I went straight into the bathroom)

Daniel: Mummy!!!!

Me: Yes?

Daniel: SELAMAT HARI RAYA MUMMY!!

Me: (Surprised that he even remembered) Selamat Hari Raya, sayang...

During the qurban process, he asked a lot of questions, and I tried to explain in the simplest way on why we slaughtered the cow, the process, why the cows' body shook on their few last breaths etc.. And before we went back, he waved goodbye to the cows and said, "Bye bye cow!!!"

Later that afternoon, while I was coaching him with a little bit of pre-school maths..

Daniel: Mummy! Today kan hari raya?

Me: Yup. Today is hari raya...

Daniel: Then, why are we not going anywhere?

Me: (Terdiam kejap...ehehe...) OK lah...Let's go hari raya to Wawan's house. Go and ask Nenek to get ready to go to Wawan's house.

Daniel: Yay!!!

* Wawan is my sister's mum-in-law :)

I should be happy but...

I'm feeling a tad sad. Just received Hub's call from Muzdalifah a while ago. Tonight he'll be moving in to Arafah, insyaAllah.. I am truly happy for him because he has been invited by The Almighty as His guest in a way that we have never thought of. But at the same time, I am sad because I couldn't be there with him, performing the fifth pillar of Islam together as husband and wife.

I pray that all will be well, and may Allah grant him with Haji Mabrur... Ameen...And may He invites me to be His guest some time soon so that I can perform Hajj with Hubby. And may all Hubby's prayers there be granted by Allah SWT... Ameen....

Muhammad Yusuf Firdaus

In about two weeks His Little Highness II will be 6 months, InsyaAllah...I still owe him write-ups about my pregnancy with him, minus his Ayah. Have to get it done soon, else they might fade, judging from my state of mind which forgets things easily nowadays...Dah meningkat usia la katakan..hehe...

His weight during my check up last Saturday at KPJ Specialist was 7.945 kg.. I am still breast feeding him (no formula), but have recently introduced some solids into his diet as recommended by his paed to solve his colic issue. So far I have given him rice cereals, rusks and orange juice, and so far he has been eating well and from the looks of it, he is digesting well. Let's hope this continues, and he would not face digestion problem like his brother. Yes, Daniel's digestion problems only improved after he was 3 years old. Kesian Daniel..

So far his growth has always exceeded the normal chart. And his progress was on par with the paed's expectations.. Alhamdulillah... He has rolled over, could interact with people, has recognised me, his brother, my parents, my sister and my brother. I guess we would have to see whether he recognises his Ayah when he returns for his R&R next month, InsyaAllah.. And by recognition, I meant that if one of us offered our hands to pick him up, he would excitedly extend both his arms towards us hihi... He laughs at his brother's antics, smiles and cooed when we speak to him..He loves his toys, but he could amuse himself with his feet for long minutes..heheh.. He loves to suck everything; his fingers, his knuckles, other people's fingers, his toys, his feet, our shoulders, our clothes, his muslin, our lips, our cheeks...you name it... haha... But he doesn't really like to drink expressed breast milk in the bottle. He would just toy with the bottle's teat using his tongue. Direct from Mummy is better, eh baby?

I am expecting his teeth to grow soon, because he has shown signs like wanting to chew something every time, sticking out his tongue, but luckily no drools.. hehe..He also seems uneasy at times, and for the past week, he would cry if I don't hold or carry him around. Sakit pinggang den.. And I could hardly do any house chores or any other work. But, I am not complaining.... Baby, I'm yours...

Oh, and I love the smell of his mouth... wangiiiii... hehe....

My good friend..

Wow lama sungguh tak update blog.. Banyak cerita tapi was busy managing life with the two boys, and penyakit M was the main contributing factor too heheh...

Anywaaaaayyy....

Me: Eh! Who gave you the bread (cream roll)?

Daniel: Alia..

Me: Why Alia gave you the bread?

Daniel: Because Alia likes me..

Me:Huh?

Daniel: Alia is my good friend. Alia gives me sausage, kuih.. Kita makan sama-sama....

Me: Oooo....

What are you good at?

On the way home from school the other day.......

Daniel (from his car seat at the back of the car): Mummy!

Me: Yes?

D: Eating is what I do best.

Me: Oh really???

D: Shopping is what Mummy do best.

Me: Huh? Apa dia? (I thought I heard wrongly)

D: Shopping is what Mummy do best! (with an emphasize in the word 'shopping')

Maka Mummy pun tergelak besar sorang-sorang kat depan....wakakakaka......

Conflicting ideas..

Yusuf Firdaus is currently fully breast-fed. I am trying my best to prolong this as long as possible since I failed to do so with Daniel Hafiz last time. Since Firdaus was born in a 'baby-friendly' hospital, I got many information about breastfeeding from the brochures and breastfeeding consultants there. And I read a lot about breastfeeding before Firdaus was born. It was like a new experience all over again although I did breastfeed Daniel for about 2 months last time.

I read from the brochures that the breast milk contains enough food and water for babies from birth up to 6 months. One consultant told me that I do not need to give plain water or any other water to Firdaus until he is 6 months old. Very well.. I have followed the advice.

Today I found out that a friend's baby was warded at a hospital because of oral thrush. I googled about this on the internet, and walla! I read that we should give babies plain water after each breastfeeding / formula feeding session. And all these past almost 3 months, I have given my little angel nothing but breast milk! Well, maybe squirts of plain or zam-zam water every now and then. But definitely not after each BF session!

And I am feeling like a failure once again for failing to know about this much earlier. It was the same feeling that I had when I signed a form at the hospital on the first day of Firdaus' birth to allow the nurses to feed him with formula milk since my breast milk was non-existent on that day but he was crying furiously out of hunger.

Duh!!! A second time mother but still clueless about many, many things.... Haiyoooo!!

Plagued..and sad...

We've been plagued with sickness lately. First, it was Yusuf Firdaus with high fever for 5 days. Then, Daniel Hafiz got the flu. And as usual, whenever my kids got sick, I would be sick too, although when I got sick, they usually didn't. Which is good, actually, because as you all know very well, taking care of sick children require extra strength and patience, which I do not have whenever I got ill.

And after almost 3 weeks, I still have the remaining of the flu and cough. Maybe the immune system has receded tremendously with the pregnancy, labour and breastfeeding. Which means, I should start taking extra supplements and vitamins. Lucky for me that Mr Hubs came home for a two-week R&R, which means extra hands and more TLC for us.

Hubby went to his new site in KSA yesterday, leaving me alone with the two angels. On the way back home from the airport, Yusuf Firdaus cried inconsolably in his carrier at the back seat of the car. Tried soothing him with the pacifier to no avail. I finally decided to park my car at the side of the highway, switched on the hazard light, went to the back seat of the car, lock the car and BF'ed him there and then. I have never done this in my entire life heheh..

And last night, I have never felt more lonely in my life. Seeing the two boys asleep, I felt loss, helpless and alone in the house. I was also anxiously waiting for Hubby's call to say that the had arrived safely at the new site. Finally fell asleep at about 2 am. He didn't manage to call, but did SMS informing that he has arrived and couldn't get through the line to call me. Alhamdulillah..

And, Yusuf Firdaus was down with fever again. Maybe it's the changing of the month, or he misses his Ayah, I do not know. He has been crying since this morning, and required cuddling every other minute. My back is aching, I didn't get the chance to prepare any meals for myself (lucky Daniel Hafiz was at school) and I felt so tired and frustrated. And there was nobody to share the workload with me. I finally broke down in tears a few hours ago. Just to release the pressure from my aching heart and tired body. Yusuf Firdaus finally fell asleep at about 9.30pm and I finally got the chance to have a proper meal for the day. Alhamdulillah...

I meant to do some paperwork but my eyes are just too tired. Perhaps I should go to bed now and rest before Yusuf Firdaus wakes up for his feeds. Guess the paperwork would have to wait for another day. They have been overdue for many days, anyway..

Well, hoping for a brighter and 'sick-less' day tomorrow, insyaAllah...amin....

Daniel Hafiz vs Yusuf Firdaus

Perbualan yang biasa didengari sekarang:

Satu:

Mummy: Saaayang Firdaus....

Daniel: Daniel Hafiz?

Mummy: Saaayang Daniel Hafiz....

Dua:

Mummy: Mmmuaaahhh (kissing Firdaus)

Daniel: Daniel nak kiss jugak..

Mummy: Mmmuaaaahh (kissing Daniel)

Tiga:

Mummy: Saayang Firdaus...

Daniel: IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!

Oh well.....

Tapi,

Mummy: (joking) Amboi! Biasa dia Firdaus ni! Asyik nangis jer! Babab dia!!!

Daniel: NO!!!! Don't babab adik. Don't marah adik....

hehe...

Muhammad Yusuf Firdaus

Went for his first month check up and Hep B (2nd dose) jab yesterday at KPJ Specialist. Current weight is 5.64kg and height is 57.5cm. Head circumference lupa nak catit... hehe..

The doc said, "In term of growth, he's doing very well. See the chart here. This is his statistic on the graph (pointing to the chart). Weight and height are both well above the normal line. Lagi sikit boleh jadi obese...hehehe"

My son took the jab with a bit or crying and stopped as soon as the needle was out of his chubby thigh. I stood about a meter from him sebab tak sanggup tengok anak kena cucuk...tsk tsk...

Semoga anak Mummy terus membesar dengan sihat dan menjadi anak yang soleh...ameeennn...

The journey with Muhammad Yusuf Firdaus

I wanted to document this for keepsakes, just like what I did for Muhammad Daniel Hafiz.

When we first arrived in Nottingham last year's April, I had discussed with Hubby, the plan to have a go at another baby. Kesian Daniel takde kawan.. So, we had been trying, and alhamdulillah I got pregnant in October 2009.

From the start, we have decided to keep mum about the pregnancy. I only informed my parents. Even the in-laws didn't know about the news. This time around, the tummy was a bit small during the first and second trimesters. I chose loose clothing when attending party invitations and wedding, and managed to cover the truth...hehe...

The experience while pregnant with Yusuf Firdaus differed from when I had Daniel Hafiz. And this time around, as you all have already known, Hubby was not by my side throughout the pregnancy. It WAS difficult. What with all the raging hormones, the loneliness and a 4-year old boy to manage. Many a time, I ended up by crying myself to my heart's content.

Nevertheless, Allah is Great and Most Gracious. Like the previous pregnancy, I never had morning sickness. And this time around, I wasn't bugged by leg cramps at any time of the day, especially in the mornings when I woke up, unlike the previous pregnancy. With Daniel, I got the cramps almost every other morning, and Hubby was the one who helped to ease the pain. No Hubby, no cramps... I was very thankful for this.

(to be continued)

5 years and counting..

It's our wedding anniversary today. No celebration though, as we are separated in 2 different continents... sob..sob...

However, my present for today is a 39 deg C fever...duh... Got an antibiotic jab last night to lower down the temperature. Yusuf Firdaus also cried non-stop last night because of colic and by 2.30 am, I was totally drained of energy.

Happy Anniversary, my dear Husband. 5 years maybe not that long. But I sure do hope that we'll get better together, and be blessed by Allah with more love, happiness and health so that we will be able to celebrate more anniversaries in the future.

You, my dear Husband, Daniel Hafiz and Yusuf Firdaus have all completed my life. I love you with all my heart..

Conversation with Muhammad Daniel Hafiz this morning..

We were watching the TV this morning when the 'Kami Prihatin' video clip was aired. You know, the song about abandoned babies sung by a bunch of popular Malaysian singers.

Daniel: What happened to the baby, Mummy?

Me: The babies are dead, sayang.. Kesian..

D: Why is the baby dead?

M: Some bad people who don't love the babies threw them away...

D: Why they throw away the baby? I love baby!

M: Yes, I know you love babies. But there are some bad people who don't love babies..

D: Bad people love what, Mummy?

M: (Thought for a sort while) Bad people love syaitan kut? hehe... (yes, I was out of ideas..)

Muhammad Yusuf Firdaus

We brought him for his follow up this morning at KPJ Selangor Specialist for his jaundice. Alhamdulillah the paediatrician confirmed that he is free from the sickness and he is doing very well. His weight has also increased from 3.5kg last week when he was first admitted, to 4.3kg today. That was a 0.8kg increase in a week. Well done, boy!! hehe... I was actually concerned when his weight dropped from birth time (3.75kg) to 3.5kg in a week last week, but the paed said that it was normal, since for the first few days of baby's life, he didn't feed very well yet.

Yusuf Firdaus was actually born in my 37th week of pregnancy. It was totally different when I had Daniel, because Daniel was born just short of a day from his EDD. Since my menses are very regular, my OB/GYN predicted that this time, the baby would follow suit on his EDD, but Allah knows best.

My prayer throughout this pregnancy, apart from for the baby being born safe and healthy, was that my Hubby would be here with me when I deliver the baby. Hubby booked his flight home last February, and if we follow the actual EDD, Hubby might need to extend his stay here and cancel his flight ticket back to UK. But Allah The Almighty had granted my wish, when not only He gave me a healthy and almost perfect baby, He had also sent him to me just a day after Hubby came home from UK. Alhamdulillah, I couldn't thank Him enough. Alhamdulillah....

My journey throughout this pregnancy was also different from when I had Daniel, but the story will have to wait for another entry. I am now a contented mother of two.. Alhamdulillah for all His blessings..

Day 17...

And his Ayah had had to return to UK. In fact, this was Ayah's return which we did not really do much or go anywhere... Sigh...

I have often wondered whether I would be able to take care of my two sons alone. It made me frightened at times. At the moment, I have my whole family here with me at the house, so help is ample. My parents have offered tremendous assistance, at times I feel really guilty for having them doing chores for me instead of the other way round.

We have finally registered the baby with JPN last Friday. It took so long for us to agree on the name for the baby, but finally we settled with Muhammad Yusuf Firdaus. Yup, not at all similar with Daniel's name to signify that they are siblings :-) I hope this baby will live up to his name, and most importantly, I pray that we would be able to guide him and his brother to the right paths, and in return, they would become the sons that we could count on until the end of time.

I leave you with the photos of Yusuf being treated at the KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospital for jaundice. We were all admitted there for 4 days last week :-)

Introducing the latest joy of our lives....

Born last Saturday at 12.04 am at KPJ Specialist Hospital, Shah Alam, weighing 3.75kg via normal delivery. As of now, we still haven't decided on the name yet, but when Nenek asked big brother Daniel they other day, he said his baby brother's name is "MISTER NUN" hehehe....

Photo taken yesterday, when baby was 4 days old...

"Daniel good boy, kan Mummy, kan?"

This has been a repetitious statement by my boy for the past few weeks. He would get very upset if I didn't agree, so layan je lah...

And lately, he would say, "If Mummy say no toys (while we were shopping or any other things that I forbid him to do), I don't say anything. I just keep quiet (meaning tak throw tantrums la tu). I am a good boy, kan Mummy?"

Iyer la sayang... Awak memang good boy.... Please continue to be a good boy till the end of time, ok? I love you so much!!!!

Malas nak layan....

Sometimes when I got fed up with Daniel's tantrums or whining, I would tell him, "Mummy malas la nak layan Daniel" which loosely translated as "I don't want to entertain your tantrums any more"

So yesterday while I was having my afternoon tea, I couldn't help but smile when I heard him told his cousin, Dhiya off "Dahlah...Malas nak layan Adik Dhiya!!"

Daniel's school is currently being sealed!!

My goodness! I was shocked when I saw the 'X' taped all around Daniel's school compound when I sent him there on Monday morning. Macam a scene from CSI pulak! 2 of his teachers were waiting in front of the gate and told me that the school's activities would be held at the Dewan Masyarakat near there.

Upon reaching the hall, I asked the waiting teacher what had happened. She told me that the school was sealed because a particular resident (the neighbour of the school) made a complaint to MP** that the school was noisy, some times parents parked their cars in front of his house when sending off the kids and some times the drivers honked.

I tried to call the owner of Daniel's school that day but she didn't answer, but I did saw her the next day when I sent Daniel for school. She explained to me that the neighbour kept stressing to the MP** that he is a pilot, and he needs his rest. And he couldn't rest because of the noise that the kids made during lessons. The thing is, he normally flies during the school period, and when he's back for his rest, the school normally would be over. Maybe some times the time clashes, but it was not every day. And furthermore, he's going to move out soon. So, we really do not see the point of him protesting against the school!

Anyway, the Residents' Association there is on the school's side. They will be meeting again with MP** next week to debate on the issue. Too bad I am a committee of another section's RA, so I couldn't join the meeting. I hope they could resolve the issue soon, because as of now, I am very concerned about the comfort of the kids having lessons at the hall, what with the minimal facilities there and the current heatwave. Daniel's school is not the only kindy at that section. In fact there is at least a kindy at every streets at that section. The other kindies are not facing any such problem. Maybe their neighbours are not pilots, eh? Some people.... sheeeshhh!!!!