The one about her teeth

Hannah B now has 4 teeth. 2 at the bottom, which came out about a month ago. The first upper one came out almost 2 weeks ago, and I realised she had another one last weekend.

Favourite activity now is biting. Biting during feeding, or when anyone offers a hand. Now that she has started crawling, she'd actually crawl up to people and bite them on the knee.

Last weekend, while in PD, she was made to sleep early. Unhappy with the early bedtime, she tried to get me to pick her up for more playtime. I played asleep. Unwilling to give up, she started making cute noises, talked to her self and when that didn't work, she nuzzled my face, planting wet sloppy kisses and hitting my nose. when that didn't work, she bit my arm. ouch! Her last resort was wailing, prompting her nenek to pick her up.... spoilt little cucu she is...

Hannah B turns 10 months

a few days late, but here's a pic of  my 10 month old lil princess.

10 month updates:
1. more talkative and friendly. like really friendly! she tries to communicate with everyone. And she's much more approachable too. She will now allow other people besides her mummy or nenek B to carry her around, especially when you have food or want to go outside the house. Hannahku is such an outdoorsy person.

2. Her vocal skills are much improved. Louder and more sounds. her favourites are the growlig sound which she makes when she's angry, or excited or trying to get someone's attention. She also likes saying bababa or aba, aba (which annoys her dad who wants to be called 'Ayah' ...hehehe.

3. She finally said 'mama' but just once . We were in the car, driving back from Shah Alam after visiting her Grandpi Jos. She was in her car seat, and was trying to get my attention to pick her up. She raised her arms and sid 'mama' with this pitiful look on her voice, so comical. When I asked for a repeat, she went bak to her usual bababa sounds.... still waiting to hear that word again til now.

4.Her first 2 teeth are finally out and fully visible. Ouwwwch, she bites hard. Am trying to reduce numbers and length of direct feeding as it hurts when she bites down. These days she loves teething on fabric. especially towels and mummy's tudung.

5. She can crawl now. Not much, maybe around 10 steps before she gets tired, but the first time it happened was amazing. She's been trying for a few weeks so when it actually happened, I was caught by surprise. She raised her bum, and slowly her wobbly legs raised and moved. Then she gave a self-satisfied grin as if saying, I did it!

6. Her temperament is much better. Such a happy, smiley baby. And very curious. She observes and notices everything now. Newest skill, reaching into mummy's handbag for the Iphone and unzipping handbags. She also knows how ta take the house keys from the coffee table now.

7. She can easily get to a standing position now, favourite spot is by the bad where she'll lift herself up and just stand there waiting for someone to carry her up the bed.

8. She understands when people say no. but I don't think she understands what it means. She'll just look at you and smile and if you repeat no, no,no then she'll start moving her head up and down while laughing.

9. She eats a lot but doesn't drink much milk these days. Yesterday, Opah said, she only drank once. But she finished 2 containers of potato and chicken porridge.  I mostly home cook her meals but occasionally she eats cerelac. Alhamdulillah, Hannah B isn't a picky eater. She eats everything, but has started this new habit of picking food out from her mouth, examining and picking at it for a while before putting it back in her mouth! yucks, I know but I think she's just learning about different tastes and textures of food.

10. I started her on formula 2 weeks ago, but she doesn't seem to like it much. Alhamdulillah, while not as plentiful as it used to be,  I still have sufficient milk supply for Hannah. Formula was introduced more as a Plan B thing, just in case I have to be away form home for training or outstation work. We gave her AnMum, which she drinks (not in big quantities) but gives her side effect of redness on the skin and itchiness. The doctor suspects lactose intolerance and recommends a soy-based formula. Im trying her with S-26 first. If the same thing happens, I'm switching her to Isomil.

11. She loves swimming, loves water and now loves watching the water from the shower. ( I suspect she'll be one of those kids that love running around in the rain...just like her mummy ;)

12. Obsessed with her reflection in the mirror. Almost always work to calm her down from a crying fit. Just carry her to the nearest big mirror and ask her to smile, she will. Then she'll try to talk and touch 'the other Hannah'

13. She has shown sensitivity towards emotions. She'll stop crying if I pretend to cry, give me a look as if to say dont cry mommy... but then she'll return to playing with her toys. She's also shown signs of jealousy and can give the 'look' if she feels threatened by someone or something.

14. She loves songs and cartoons. And can recognise familiar songs. If she's feeding and I play a familiar song, she'll stop for a while, peek at the iphone/tablet and then continue feeding, eyes on the screen.

15. Clingy and wants to be carried around all the time. but once you're carrying her, she'll toss and turn everywhere. Hannah B is a very active and lasak baby. I have no idea where she gets that from. mummy is such a couch potato...

I daydream of ...a family portrait

Eyes of grace photog, Zubye takes beautiful pictures of children and babies. some of her photos that are personal favourites include these:


For me, Zubye's photos are equivalent to the talent of Daniel Zain who does awesome wedding shots.

Taking photos of children is not easy. I cant even take nice shots of my Hannah B, let alone of other kids. But there's just something about Zubye's style. I've been admiring her work since my days of pregnancy. During those super bad bouts of morning(and night!) sickness, gazing at her photos had that calming effect for me, as if reassuring that it'll be all right and all this will be worth it once the baby arrives. So, naturally, now that Hannah B is approaching 1 years old, I'd really like Zubye to capture her on film.

I just need to think of some ideas for this shoot...theme...location...ideas anyone?

pictures worth a thousand kisses

 I'm probably the only mother on earth whose Iphone is full (literally!, I have nothing but Hannah B pics on my phone) with baby pics. Since I need to take new pics of her, I finally transferred it away. YeaY another 16GB available for more Hannah B pics :).

Here's a short compilation of her pics on her birthdays from 5m to 9 m. She's turning 10m in a few days. So fast time flies. I didnt have time to document her day to day developments...sob sob.

the montelicious bambam

listening enraptured by Uncle Ehsan's BERSIH 2.0 tale, the hairband looks more like a bandanna. Future social justice fighter perhaps?

Hannah B at 5 months 

look mommy, I can roll over!

awaiting her first solid food meal

Hannah B at 6 months

mommy's little bookworm

teething. everything goes into the mouth

reading the book that mommy got her from Big Bad Wolf  with Uncle Aiman

Hannah B turns 7m!

loves her toys, learning to grasp and grip, but still quite clumsy

 

practising brushing your teeth, honey bunny?  teething solution

Hannah B at 8 months

Hannah with her ayah, loving the rosey scarf

showing her busyuk face. so cute for a while, but I'm praying she stops soon

Hannah B is 9 months old :)

I daydream of ....a spa session

One of my all time loves are spa sessions. Be it facials, massages, scrubs... or whatever, I love body pampering. A chunk of my monthly salary goes to these kind of treatments. Its probably one of the things I missed most since being a wife and mother. I just have no time for it anymore, also the fact that funds to be spent on such 'frivolous' activities are very limited, much more important stuff that are needed (specifically home and baby needs).

For months people have been going on about milkadeal, groupon and other online shopping deals, so I joined a few weeks ago and purchased my first deal last week. A 2 hour massage and scrub session at Poise Organic Wellness Centre.  When will I use it? still unsure, cant wait tho. This body of mine is in deep need of some pampering :)

I daydream of.....a holiday

Its September and we havent gone a holiday yet this year. For someone who loves travelling, 9 months is way too long to go on without a holiday. Well, there were some minitrips through out the year...Kuantan, Cameron Highlands, Cherating but that doesnt count coz it was more like a family outing. I want a holiday of just me, the husband and baby Hannah...

Factors that are hindering this include no money (lots of house debt, I never realised moving into our own home would be so costly), no time (the husband's working commitments are really driving me crazy, too much time away, and too short a notice so we cant plan things in near future) and mostly the fear of 'can we actually travel and enjoy the trip when the baby is tagging along??????'

A friend of mine just returned from an island holiday and she took along her 5 months old baby. well, if she can do it, whats stopping us right??? If I leave this to the husband, we'll never go anyway, so it's all up to me to make this happen. Just need a place thats local (hannah B has no passport, her mommy's one expired in june :P), cheap (again, we're broke) and not too far as we can only take a few days off work. I dont like going on holidays during weekends as I hate thetraffic jams, and the crowds and things tend to be so much more expensive.

That'll limit us to a few choices which include...

1) Penang...( i would love to try staying at the Hard Rock Hotel, and the food itself is worth the 5 hour journey)

2) Melaka...( its only 2 hours away, good food and we can go visit Mel :) and nice place for photo opportunities)

3) Cameron Highlands... (I love the weather, and I love fresh roses)

4) errr... I'm out of options

Hannah B is 7 months

entry that is 3 weeks overdue. what can I do, lately I've been really caught up with work, home and family matters. Much needs to be done to improve my time management skills.


Hannah's achievements lately has been amazing, well to me at least. Some of the jawdropping skills that she likes to show off now include:


* being so talkative and expressive. Its mostly TATATA or DADADA or BABABA and a series of yelps, shrieks and growls but with different intonations, speed and length. I seriously believe she's trying to talk to me sometimes :)


* she dah pandai merajuk. Pushing away or refusing to acknowledge people when they greet her (these days she cannot pretend that she doesnt know people are calling her because I know she recognises her name)


* my headstrong girl can say no now, well not verbally but she shows her dissapproval or frustration very verbally ( paling muka, keraskan badan, throwing stuff, and the most annpying way....crying)


* her rolling over has now become her main mode of transportation, even if something is quite far, if she really wants it, she'll find a way to get it, even if it means she'll have to golek, gostan for quite a few minutes. But when she's in her lazybaby mood, she'll just give up, dramatically rest her head on the floor/bed and give her pitiful face expecting someone to come to her rescue. (Mak says we shouldnt entertain this as some people say that when a baby is so used to being helped, she'll grow up expecting the same ...old wives tale or true story? there is some logic to it I guess.


* She has what her uncle esan calls two distinctive smiles.First, the naughty smile which is an indication that she's gonna do something mischievous or she's trying to test us to see how far will we entertain her antics and secondly, the sweet smile ( the kinda smile that melts butter, that makes you go ooooh aaaahh, which makes you think of all things sweet and cute) which is usually given when she wants you to carry her, or she wants something from you and mostly given when she realises that mommy or ayah is here to come take her home.


*latest skill that I realised 2 days ago was she has learnt how to play with her tongue. A very geli geli skill that I do not appreciate. She's moved on from just sucking and licking things, now she actually likes sticking her tongue out. When i tell her to stop, she'll pull it out further or start giggling. (my daughter has a long tongue, for some reason, it makes me all geli when she does that. 


I wanted to write a bit about her eating habits since she started on solids but I'll keep that for another entry. Now, if I could finally locate where the Iphone pics are...

Baby developments..Hannah B is 6 months

This entry is 2 weeks late. Been busy,busy, busy. Tak sempat nak update. so lets recap what has my lil preciousness been up to lately...

Hannah B is on solids. Her first food was mashed bananas, given when she was 5m 3w old. I know optimally we should wait til 6 months, but she's a growing baby and she has shown all the signs that she's ready for food. Oh, she loves bananas. The first bite, she was sangat tak sabar, excited sangat nak suapkan. Her first reaction was a mixture of ticklish glee and shock (as in, OMG, what is this weird texture in my mouth that tastes so good). Then she wanted more and more. Her first feeding she finished a third of a banana, which i mashed and added some breastmilk.

We later on tried carrots (she likes), papaya (dont like at all!), sweet potato (loves!), pear (loves). Last week, i tried feeding her a combo of blended cooked rice/carrot/spinach. She likes it, but wont eat that much, maybe the blended texture is not to her liking. I also started her on Farley's Rusk biscuits as it was recommended by her babysitter and its much more convenient when we go outside. (she finished a whole biscuit on the first try! when we broke fast at Noli's house)

The downside to baby starting solids is the poopoop. its all hard and stinky! and there have been a few 'accidents' of tertembus. Hey, before you start judging me on cheapskate mommy using cheapo diapers, those accidents happened when she was in Mami Pokos okay. Its just that being a fully breastfed baby, her 'disposals' were always ona regular basis, not keras and not that stinky. I noticed that since she's been on solids, her disposals are hard to predict, not as often and way more stinkier. Well, thank god, the husband usually takes care of poopoop time :)

Hannah B had her first tumble from the bed last week :(. People have said that it is unenvitable, gonna happen sooner or later but when it did, my heart literally stopped. As part of her sleep training, we usually put her on the bed (she sleeps with us) after enough playtime n hugs and on a full tummy, so she learns to sleep by herself. It'll usually be as follows:
Phase 1: first 5 minutes - playing with her toys
Phase 2: next 5 minutes - she realises that she's alone, she'll reach out for her parents and upon realising that we're not by her side, she'll start crying.
Phase 3: next 10-45 mintes - the crying will get louder, stronger and more heartbreaking (we'' check on her every 5 minutes but its very important that she doesnt realise that we're there or she'll think its a game and start cry-acting.
Phase 4:after 45 minutes - she'll fall asleep. I notice that the days where she falls asleep this way, she'll have a deep peaceful uninterrupted sleep and will wake up with a smile the next morning :) ( i love her morning smile)

so, on that fateful night,  during Phase 3, I checked on her as usual, she was crying her lungs out, demanding attention the way she always does. But now that she's got her rolling over skills perfected, she had moved from the spot where i laid her. I went back out and continued watching TV with the husband. I noticed a different tone in crying but husband said, dont worry. Call it motherly instinct but I decided to check on her. Imagine my surprise when the bed was empty and the pillow fortress we made around the bed had broken. No baby, but the sounds of loud wailing. The lil munchkin had fallen off the bed. i rushed overto see that she was lying tummy down on the floor, barely an inch away from my side table. Syukur Alhamdulillah, she was okay, no scratches or bruises. Just a shocked baby crying with her cheeks wet with tears. After a few minutes of kisses and soothing words, Hannah B was back to her smiling cheeky self. So that night, no more sleep training. She was allowed to stay up late and fall asleep as she wished. which was in her mommies arms.

I spent so much time writing on her Great Fall, I've run out of time for other developments, but in short here it is:

Rolling over- much faster and at ease. She can even do double or triple rolls consecutively.

Drinks from a cup - she loves plain H2O, but it must be sipped from a cup, no bottle, spoon or straw. But of course, most of it end up dribbling down onto her shirt.

Holding food in her fingers - Kurma, Carrots and lately during Iftar time, Cucumber. She'll try to bite into the food, maybe its soothing on her itchy gums. Failure to actually bite the food will lead to food being thrown to the floor.

Communication skills - more babbling, cooing, head nodding, lots of excited shrieks, she still loves making the deep scary Ju-on voice, smiles (i've started to recognise different types of smiles), laughter, and my favourite- the  eyes and facial expressions.

People recognition - nothing beats the feeling that your daughter recognises and adores you :)

I think that's all for now, cant wait for Raya. Cant wait for Hannah B to wear her first baju kurung :)

Baby developments (Hannah B is 5 months 2 weeks)

Hannah B can now...


(based on findings by ivillage)


By the end of month one a baby typically:

• Lifts head for short periods of time (yes)
• Moves head from side to side (yes)
• Prefers the human face to other shapes (yes)
• Makes jerky, arm movements (yes)
• Brings hands to face (yes, not sure when it started but i did notice scratchings on the face by end of month 1)
• Has strong reflex movements (yes, from birth)
• Can focus on items 8 to 12 inches away (yes)
• May turn towards familiar sounds or voices (yes, more towards 2nd month tho)
• Responds to loud sounds (not at first, due to jaundice, she slept soundly, no amount of noise could wake her)
• Blinks at bright lights (yes, day 1 at hospital, we had to sleep in darkness)

By the end of month two a baby typically:

• Smiles ( i thought she was smiling by week 1, but couldnt differentiate btw facial expression or a genuine smile)
• Tracks objects with his eyes (yes)
• Makes noises other than crying (yes, the first cooing I noticed was around day 40)
• May repeat vowel noises, such as "ah" or "ooh" (yes, the babbling to herself, so sweet)

By the end of month three a baby typically:

• Raises head and chest when put on tummy (this was done by month 2, but not for long periods of time, til now, she too lazy and doesnt prefer being on her tummy. While lying on my tummy, she now crawls to move up towards my face)
• Lifts head up 45 degrees (yes)
• Kicks and straightens legs when on back (baby loves kicking)
• Open and shuts hands (yes, the other day she held a rattle in her hand, on day 90, she held a spoon briefly)
• Pushes down with legs when placed on a hard surface (yes, making diaper changing a bit difficult, she even pushes away the water bowl!)
• Reaches for dangling objects ( not really, she more like nudges with her head)
• Grasps and shakes hand toys (yes! the rattle. but not often)
• Tracks moving objects (yes, ME!, when I move she follows with her eyes, even tilting her head sideways)
• Begins to imitate sounds (yes! the woooo sound n her daddy's warbles)
• Recognizes familiar objects and people, even at a distance (she recognizes me, not sure about others)
• Begins to develop a social smile ( aaah, such a sweet smile it is...)
• Begins to develop hand-eye coordination (hmmm not to sure what this is supposed to mean)
• Brings both hands together (yes, she does this touching fingers of both hands thing, some thing like dr evil from austin powers. anyway it looks cute. at 5 months we refer to it as the counting money gesture....mwahahahaha)
• Interested in circular and spiral patterns (she loves patterns, especially colourful floral ones on her nenek's baju kurung. oh, and she also loves gold jewellery. been caught a few times gripping her nenek or opah or mommy soo's necklace or bangles)
• Kicks legs energetically (yes, hannah has really strong kicks)
• Holds head up with control (a bit slow with this one,she gets frustrated when she cant lift her head, done more around month 4)

By the end of month four a baby typically:

• May sleep about six hours at night before waking (it happens occasionally, more often than not, she'll wake at night wanting to nurse)
• Rolls over (usually stomach to back is first)(she got it a few times at month 4, but really mastered the skill after turning 5 months, now she cant stop rolling around!)
• Sits with support (yes, she loves to sit, its her favourite position)
• Lifts head up 90 degrees (still showing signs of i can but i'm too lazy to hold my head up)
• Can follow a moving object for a 180-degree arc (hmmm maybe 120 or 150 degrees)
• Babbles and amuses self with new noises( oooh, she makes so many funny weird noises)
• Responds to all colors and shades (she loves colour!)
• Explores objects with her mouth (she loves putting things in her mouth)
• Recognizes a bottle or breast (yes!, i love that over excited face, i toy with her all the time, putting it near and then taking it away. it sounds mean but i love that eager, jumpy jumpy expression that she gives :) )
• Communicates pain, fear, loneliness and discomfort through crying (she cries a lot, since birth, but now I can differentiate the different types of cries)
• Responds to a rattle or bell (yes)
• 
  

By the end of month five a baby typically:

• Pays attention to small objects (yes)
• Experiments with the concept of cause and effect (errrr...not really. I keep on telling her not to bite or she wont get any milk, but she just gives me the I know you'll give it to me anyway look, frustrating but true)
• Can see across the room(she stares into space sometimes, if thats an indication)
• Begins to use hands in a raking fashion to bring toys near (yes, and she loves raking thru my hair too! then she holds a strong grip, and starts pulling. double auwwww!!)
• Begins teething process ( itchy annoying feeling on the gums got her putting everything in her mouth, sucking hard on my fingers and face, and loads of dripping saliva)

Day 156

Hannah B can roll over! And I witnessed it first hand. Went over to her Opah's during lunch to find her playing by herself on her back on the playmat. Sangat amazed coz no way would she be doing that at home. Keep on asking to be carried. And she was in such a good mood, fresh after her bath.

And it happened. She raised her head, shuffled her body a bit and rolled over. She seemed to be struggling at first but found her balance and started playing with her rattle. It didnt last long tho. Her head bumped into the rattle and started crying, forcing me to pick her up.

Cant wait for the next amazing thing that she'll do.

The one on BERSIH 2.0

Hannah B turned 5 months on the day of the BERSIH rally. No, i'm not going to elaborate much on the rally. I think everyone pretty much knows what happened and everyone has their opinion on it.

Some friends and family had attended/participated in BERSIH and Im proud and impressed with their courage in doing so.

I have my opinions, beliefs and principles. But being a mother, and due to the nature of my job, participation was never an option. Oh, well, I'll keep on supporting in silence.

That night, sitting in the kitchen, along with the husband and Hannah B, I listened to my brother's account of what he experienced and witnessed. A part of me was thinking, damn I wish I was there (flashback to my excitement after voting in the last elections) and the other. part was thinking, what kind of Malaysia are we handing over to our children? How does a parent explain to a child what;s going on? If my daughter wanted to go, would I allow her to fight for social justice or ask her to leave it to others (like i did - sangat tak berapa bangga dengan diri sendiri at this moment)

Events like this make me realise, raising a child is much more than just feeding and clothing them. Its also about teaching them values and religion and educating them on what is right and wrong. Oh, beratnya tanggungjawab seorang ibu...

Hannah, mommy loves you, and while I'm not always right, I will always try my best to raise you right. Insya Allah, you'll grow up just fine

The one on too much of a good thing is not so good after all

Since I have conjunctivitis, and conjunctivitis being contagious, the doctor gave me medical leave of 5 days. Monday through Friday. Being a working mom, I welcome any kind of time off from work to stay at home. for spending time with my baby, for leisure, for rest, for house chores. So I was happy about it for a while, thinking of all the things I'd accomplish within those 5 precious days. The euphoria didnt last long. By day 3, I started worrying about the mountain of uncompleted tasks at work. By day 4, i got bored of being at home. By day 5, I'm praying that I recover soon coz I want to be back in the office A.S.A.P.

The fact that Im home alone probably played a role. Im ot sure I'd feel the same way if the husband and Lil Hannah B was with me. missing my loves so badly right now. Hoping for a wonderful weekend with them - free from conjunctivitis!

Pics from mamazadie showing how well behaved she is at her babysitter's place... Mommy misses you lil diva!

The one on conjunctivitis

The word of the month is ....Conjunctivitis.

Evil, evil word you are. First you attack my daughter, changing her from a sweet big eyed beauty who cries sometimes into a sepet sourpuss who cries all the time. Conjunctivitis, defined by me would be a monster causing babies to be cranky and cry, scratching and rubbing their eyes, making babies eyes super red and sepet and having this awful sticky discharge when they wake up. For accurate information, kindly google.

Its very heartbreaking to watch my daughter suffer from any kind of illness/disease/ discomfort, but catching the virus from her and going through the same symptoms makes it much worse for several reasons.

1 - being unable to care for her as much since she's almost recovered and I dont want to risk her being reinfected with a stronger strain. I miss the time we spend together. I hate having her beside me, but not being able to kiss and cuddle her as usual.

2 - being unable to breastfeed her as usual. I try to minimise direct breastfeeding as a way to reduce direct contact with her. Secondly, since I'm on antibiotics which contain steroids, I've been advised not to breastfeed her within 2-4 hours of consuming the meds.

3 - experiencing the pain/discomfort myself, and masya Allah sometimes the pain and swelling and itching and burning sensation is really bad (maybe I have a low pain threshold, its my first time getting an eye infection which isnt a ketumbit), Masya Allah I cant imagine how it must have been for Lil Hannah. To feel pain, without understanding what it is, or how to make it feel better or how not to make it worse or why you're feeling that pain in the first place. Poor her.Im just grateful that she's over it.

Waking up five days ago to find her eyes are clear and white and round, made me forget about my own pain for a while. We decided it would be best for her to be at the babysitter even though I was given 3 days MC by the doctor. Reasons being, if she was at home with me, no way would she allow me to be away from her and I wanted her to start getting used to being around other people again (after 4 days on continuous berkepit with dear mommy in Kelantan).

I thought I would enjoy some free time away from Hannah. Use the time to do my laundry, clean the bedroom ,organise my things, etc. Admittedly, Im not that much of an organized person, I prefer being in a state of my organized mess, where things may be not in the place where they should be, but its in a place where I know it is and a system understood by me alone. But with Hannah's birth, things got messy, and unorganised. It got to a stage where even I dont know where to look for certain things. But a few hours into my home organizing session, I couldnt continue. Something held me back. I missed her so bad. While doing laundry, I found her clothes. While cleaning the drawers, I found her toys. Traces of Hannah were everywhere. And I kept on expecting to hear her. The house seems so empty without her. I guess that's human nature, you always wish for something you dont have. I kept on thinking of the times where I wished for some alone time to do ME things....

Anyway, conjunctivitis is not all bad. Besides the much needed rest/away from work time, Hannah being unwell was also the reason husband was allowed to come home sooner. I miss him and now he's here. A feeling that is so hard to describe in words. I feel complete, relieved, relaxed, happy, content, everything lah. I hope he never has to go back to the place known as Turkmenistan.

A friend who also caught the C bug  (her mom is Hannah's babysitter and almostthe whole family caught the bug too) was trying to be positive about it saying that use this as 'penghapus dosa kecil'. If Allah bestows upon you a hardship and you accept it as His will, Insya Allah your patience in going through it will be rewarded. So, here's to a sin-free 2 weeks...hehehe. I tend to be more thankful of the good things in life when  Im sick anyway, maybe this is in a way, a reminder from Him that I've been taking Him for granted lately. Astaghfirullah....

Day 121 - Hannah B's first ailment

sadly, eye infection hannah B is getting worse. Last night she cried a lot and even had a slight fever. Sangat heartbreaking to see your child in such pain and discomfort. Times like this, I really wish the husband is around. To be honest, Im angry that he's not here with us (sangat negative punya statement, coz I know he's working, but I cant help the way I feel kan)

Bangun pagi tadi, she couldnt open her eyes which were encrusted with taik mata. Sedih tengok her watery, red, swollen eyes.  Thankfully she wasnt fussy in the car. Dropped her off at Opah, rushed to work. After class and some paperwork, went to pick her up to visit the doctor. Doctor confirmed that she has conjunctivitis and prescribed some oinment and eyedrops.

Visiting the clinic alone without the husband makes me very sad. IT got worse when a boy startled her and she started scream-crying (iya, she is a very crier). Later when i went to pay the bill and take the medication. she fussed a bit. Handbag jatuh, ubat pun jatuh when I tried to steady my grip on her. Nasib baik nurses and some other patient was kind enough to help. At that time, I grumbled again on how mean the Husband is for not being here for us (I fell guilty later for the negativity). Walaupun rasa sangat pathetic and pitiful at that time, later I felt such pride in myself for the ability to juggle all this. (ayat memujuk diri sendiri sebab takde orang lain yang nak pujuk/puji).

The only good thing to come out of this is doctor gave me MC so I could care for her at home today. Perasaan menjaga baby sendiri adalah sangat membahagiakan. To hold and cuddle her. To wipe her watery eyes. Playtime adalah sangat heaven. Syukur Alhamdulillah, tho she's uncomfortable, she doesnt seem to be in pain ans is very active as usual.

Besides the meds, Im also dabbing/squirting some breastmilk into her eyes. Insya Allah either method would make my daughter well again. Cepat sembuh baby, we have a busy weeekend coming!

No pics coz adalah sangat mensayukan saya untuk memandang mata merah yang sepet itu.

The day she turns 4 months

Happy 4 months old, hannah baby!!!

Somehow, she went through a growth spurt in the last couple of weeks. She's huge!!! Well, maybe not huge, but super tembam okay. Those thighs - KFC drumsticks okay! rasa cam nak ngap ngap je! 

Diapers dah move on to size M, just a few of her Mami Poko S sizes to finish off. She drinks more often these days, about 4oz on average for each feeding. 

Milk production has improved Alhamdulillah. Not sure whether is coz I'm more rajin to pump or because of the shaklee supplement that Im currently trying out.

Sadly, she contracted some eye infection from another baby at Opah's house. Poor Has a swollen red left eye. Luckily, the infection hasnt affected her happy spirits. She was an absolute darling last night. 

Some hannah facts:

- can play by herself now, for as long as 15 minutes, or as short as 15 seconds! She loves her Lamaze dragonfly, as well as the little anakku monkey with the vibrating tail. the teether works sometimes but most of the times, she just wears it like a bangle.

- she can 'talk' now. and wow what a talker she is. loud, animated and very engaging. I love how expressive her eyes get and how she leaps upwards as if trying to emphasis a certain point.

- baby has mild eczema :( . Poor her. Skin red and very dry.Especially around the face, neck inner elbow and inner knee. She loves scratching. I tried putting on mittens to discourage her but it seems she knows how to scratch with mittens or. She has also mastered the art of shrugging the mittens off. Oh, when it comes to skills like this, baby saya memang genius. She has this smug face of satisfaction when she succeeds in scratching. Sangat annoying okay but it makes me so sad to see how miserable she is when she's itchy but cant scratch herself.

- baby knows how to put her hand in her mouth. and she loves it there. and she loves nuzzling to other people, n slowly putting hands/nose/cheek in her mouth jugak. I once caught her sucking Uncle Aiman's fingers while he fell asleep in front of the tv. and i was thinking how well-behaved she is when she's with her uncle. At least she knew to put the hand down the moment mommy caught her in the act.

- she recognizes my voice now. She'll stop whatever she's doing to stare at me. If she's in a good mood, she'll give me a smile. If she's in attention-deficit mode, she'll start her Oscar winning diva cry. Which works all the time. tugs at my heartstrings, how can anyone refuse to pick her up at that sweet (annoying?) sound. hehehe

- favourite development which i realised last week (1.6.2011). She recognizes her mommy's voice, she'll turn towards me , give me a smile and raise her arms up asking me scoop her up. Such a diva! And again, how could I ever refuse...

- did I mention the weight gain? so chubby, so huggable. Sangat best sleeping with her at night. at this size where she's not so fragile. Snuggling up to her at night and waking up to her stretching and smiling ...aaaaahhh highlight of my day. :))