weekend getaway- kuantan

an ad hoc plan to have a short weekend getaway in kuantan in early January and this time we headed to swiss garden resort and spa....the kids were excited as usual, even us were so excited to have good feast of food there....

the kids had so much fun in the sun at the swimming pool...Jihan got tanned and her body was like a chocolate eclair....half tanned and half normal skin colour, following the shape of her swimming suit...Imtiaz continued his excitement in the bathtub in our room as well....it was hard to get him out of there....

we had good food as usual....the "must-do" list on our feast - Ana Ikan Bakar Petai, satar and keropok lekor at Kuala Kemaman... we also had lunch at Pantai Batu Hitam and a mamak style dinner at Taj Point...

Imtiaz had a change of his usual food...no more porridge but he had ikan bakar, satar, roti canai and roti naan, and omellete for breakfast....

before heading back to KL, my dear friend Dilla invited us to her house for lunch and we had an array of delicious kampung-style food - ikan patin, kerabu umbut and sambal udang....wow!!! that was the best meal ever we had during this trip...! thanks buddy....

our next stop...? hmmm....we'll let you know later..

The Marmet Technique

i say, all breastfeeding mothers need to know this technique on how to manually express your breastmilk with your hands....it's simple, easily available and for sure you won't forget to bring your hands with you....having a breastpump is an advantage but not a must for breastfeeding mums...i have a friend, Dr Ning, who successfully hand-express her breastmilk when she was breastfeeding without any assistance from the breastpump at all...!! Bravo!

it is very easy to learn...only 5 steps to follow..even if you have a very good and efficient breastpump, i recommend you to learn this technique as well...who knows, one day you really need it to do it manually...

Train The Trainers for Peer Counselors Program

i was very honoured to become one of the 19 wonder women in this pioneer program... the first of its kind in Malaysia was made possible by the efforts of The Nurturing Concepts Sdn Bhd and it was funded by UNICEF and strongly supported by WABA (World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action)... the 6 days training was conducted by the experts from The La Leche League International (LLLI), Kathy Baker and Pushpa Panadam...

our aim is to form a network of a Mother to Mother Support Group in breastfeeding in Malaysia...the training is provided to the pioneer participants so that we are able to train our Malaysian Peer Counselors (PC) based on the syllabus from the LLLI, specifically tailored to our local settings...the PCs will then reach all women out there in promoting breastfeeding and supporting breastfeeding mothers to increase the number of breastfeeding mothers in Malaysia...according to the National Health Morbidity Survey 2006 (NHMS), reported a high proportion of Malaysian mothers initiating breastfeeding but the practice of exclusive breastfeeding for four to six months was low (14.5%)...

the sessions were held in a leisurely manner, even though the schedules were quite packed, we managed to come out with brilliant ideas to make it work...Shida and Suraya even brought their 2 months old baby to the workshop as they need their mummies breastmilk frequently..not forgetting Linda who brought along her almost 2 year old girl who is still breastfeeding to the course...others (Suria, Yatie, Shikin, Farah, Faridah, Zatul and myself) were pumping our breastmilk for our children who were left at home...

we had lovely times together, sharing our experiences, tears and joys of motherhood and that made us all connectedat heart....Kathy and Pushpa were fantastic ladies and i was very much enlightened with their experiences with breastfeeding mothers.... and i was very glad meeting these enthusiastic and powerful women and breastfeeding mothers (except for jess, she is still single ; D) and we have the same mission here aiming towards success...

so, we are ready to get move on with it and bringing the best in you, fantastic moms out there and your little ones, as they deserve the very best from us - our very own breastmilk...

Imtiaz- 10 months old...

imtiaz was upset and angry when Jihan took away his toys

how time flies....my little boy is already 10 months old...he is still an avid breastfeeder and on top of that, he eats almost everything that is given to him... he still drinks 4.5oz x 2 bottles everyday when i'm at work and nurses avidly throughout the night...he weighs slightly more than 8kg and most of the time is wearing a 1 year old clothings, though at times we put on his old tight-fitting clothings on him and he looked like The Higglytown Heroes....

he's a master in commando crawling...lifted his chest and straightened his both arms occasionally but put it back down and proceed with commando crawling....steadily sits on his own and able to pull to stand on his own too....he is very stable nowadays and started cruising onto the furnitures...and each day, he becomes very good at climbing stairs too..now in the process of getting down from the stairs....

his favourite toys..? ball...he loves playing football with his papa....will chase the ball, catch it and throw it away....cannot resist water...he'll jump into the swimming pool or his small bath tub or even the bathroom if the door is left opened...

he loves climbing up my body when i lie down...and put his head on my chest...he is very upset when Jihan takes away his toys and loves to pull the sister's hair....

it's less than 2 month till his first birthday...can't wait for it and we are going to have a birthday party...! yeay!

a short PD breakaway

thanks to lovely cousin, Ana for inviting us for an overnight stay at Sri Pena Port Dickson, a few days before New Year....me and hubby went there right after work...the kids went earlier with their grandparents...

we arrived at almost Maghrib...the clans had already started barbequieng and my little boy had already asleep...Jihan said, Imtiaz was really exhausted after playing in the pool...and the aroma of the barbeque chicken and satay were really fantastic!!

had a wonderful potluck dinner and barbeque....! and had a good night sleep too....

the next day, me and hubby rushed back to work, leaving the kids to stay a bit longer with their grandparents...

even though it's a short one, the kids had so much fun in the pool....and we plan to have fun like this more often next time....

Happy New Year 2010!

yes, it's new year...! meaning that, a more blasting year ahead...! ok, what is going to happen in 2010...?

• Imtiaz will turn 1
• Jihan will turn 5
• our marriage is growing stronger entering its 6th year
• both me and hubby are entering the 3rd decade of life
• i'll be sitting for the IBCLE in July, insya allah
• starting on my research by doing its proposal and stuffs
• planning to have a good vacation with the kids
• probably an intimate holiday with dear hubby
• to improve on myself - be the best Muslim, the best wife, the best Mom, the best of everything
• to save more money
• to shed off a few more kg of my weight and keep myself slim and trim - meaning that cut down on the unnecessary calories and hit the gym more often
• to continue breastfeeding Imtiaz until he is 2 years old

i had a good year in 2009...we were blessed with our gorgeous prince, Ahmad Imtiaz Iman...both of us passed our 1st part exam of our Masters programme, so, it's going to be another 3 years to complete...lots of good memories and events happened in 2009 but there were always some potholes that needed to be improved...

my hope, 2010 is going to be another good year...may Allah bless our good intentions and deeds and reward us with Jannah...