Kathy, you'll be dearly missed....

i woke in the wee hours of the morning yesterday and automatically my hand reached my Iphone to check for new incoming emails....an email from Pushpa from Paraguay caught my eyes and when i read her email, i was shocked and saddened by the news that Kathy passed away peacefully in her sleep the night before...i got to know these fantastic women during the Train the Trainers for Peer Counselor Program in January recently...

i was very much glad to have the opportunity to know dear Kathy personally during the training...she was such a great La Leche League International leader, who have touched our hearts during the training....she was such a passionate person, full of determination and high spirit and i really adore her very much....though it was only a short moment, but the bonds we made seemed to be that we've known each other for quite some time...her passing is such a big loss to the breastfeeding movement and we are going to miss her very much....

Kathy dear, may your soul rest in peace...we'll carry your spirit and spread your breastfeeding spirits here in Malaysia....with love....

cloth diapering

ya i know i already missed the boat long time ago...! parents had started cloth diapering their babies and toddlers many years ago to save money and protecting the environment but i only started trying just recently...

i have been using disposable diapers since Jihan was born...not really interested in cloth diapering because i thought it was quite expensive for a piece of cloth diaper, but actually in long term run, you will actually save a lot on costs...another aspect that made me a bit reluctant to try it at first was the hassle and fussiness (and laziness) to wash the cloth diapers..although at that time i had maid to do it for me...

anyhow, i really adore the way it looks on baby's bum...they look colourful, cute and nicely snugged the baby's bum...

so, why did i start using cloth diapers recently on Imtiaz..? firstly, out of sudden, Imtiaz had itchiness of his bum...not really sure of what it is...it didn't look like a nappy rash or fungal infection but he kept scratching his bum especially after we took of his disposable diapers to change or for bath...he kept on scratching until it left scratching marks on his bum...we applied all sorts of cream and ointment and it didn't work...

so i discussed the matter with Mr Hubby and a few of my friends who had experiences with cloth diapers and decided to try...so i bought 7 pieces of bamboo type of cloth diapers for a start and started using it on Imtiaz...we roughly know when Imtiaz poo-poos everyday, so at that time we put him on disposable diapers (we still have 3 jumbo packs of disposable diapers)... but accidents happened, a few times he poo-ed in his cloth diapers and now i'm an expert at washing soiled diapers ; )

so, my review after 2 weeks of trial, i'm happy with it and it saves my pocket too...in the mean time we are still trying to finish the stacks of disposable diapers...Imtiaz's bum is already back to normal..no more scratching...plus he looks adorable in his cloth diapers...

we are still going to use disposable diapers especially travelling outstation...so far we are well to do with only 7 pieces of cloth diapers as he only uses 3-4 pieces per day...probably i'm going to buy a few more pieces (make it 10-12 pieces - what do you think..?)...

Jihan's Sports Day...

the Little Caliphs Grand Sports Day was held recently (2 weeks ago to be exact) at the UKM Stadium Bangi...for the first time this year, 5 Little Caliphs Pre Schools collaborated in a grand event...Jihan was so excited to participate in the events...last year, she was a little timid and was quite overwhelmed with the audiences and other participants and she ended up sobbing especially during the marching event...but after that she participated in all her events...

this year, my little girl was very brave and really enjoyed herself with her friends...poor me didn't get to watch her competitive spirit because i was accompanying Imtiaz in the car for his nap....

although the weather was extremely hot and sunny, the children were very high on energy...the parents were also very supportive with high spirits as well...we wore purple outfits to show our supports to Little Caliphs Bandar Seri Putra (LCBSP)...

even though LCBSP finished 4th, the children enjoyed themselves to the maximum...by the end of the day, we were all very tired and exhausted....some pictures for you to enjoy!

Soft Launch-Susuibu.com International Lactation Conference 2010

i am very proud to announce that for the first time ever, Malaysia is going to organize its very own International Lactation Conference, scheduled on 5th - 7th October 2010, which will be held at Kolej Universiti Islam Selangor (KUIS), Bandar Seri Putra... this is made possible with the hard work, efforts and determinations of the breastfeeding mothers at The Nurturing Concepts Sdn Bhd (NCSB) and Susuibu.com...renowned speakers in the lactation field such as Dr Jack Newman, Sue Cox and Diana West are expected to share their expertise with us at this auspicious event...

i attended the soft launch of this event recently, held at NCSB Seri Kembangan...our Deputy Minister of Health, Datuk Rosnah Shirlin Abdul Rashid Shirlin, officiated the event...i managed to have a casual talk with her and i was very glad that she fully supported the program and very much determined in breastfeeding his 4 months old baby as well....

so, for those who are interested to attend this conference, hurry to book your seat now! more informations at the website

see you there!

14 months old Little Dino!

yeay, my little dinosaur is currently 14 months + and glad to say that he is more stable at walking...! he started to walk soon after his first birthday in his wobbly gait, but with practice he is a Pro now...he even dare to climb up the sofa or table, but all these episodes were not without any accidents...

1 major accident that he had was about 2 weeks ago...he was already very sleepy but wanted to play and walk about in the room...suddenly he tripped and hi mouth hit hard on the floor....there went his very loud cry and along with it, blood was drooling from his lower lips...2 pieces of tissue were drenched with blood, and we used towel after that to soak the flowing blood...his cry was so loud and i was quite panic ( i hate blood ; { )

we didn't put ice as he was struggling not to let us wipe his mouth...and his face was smudge with blood...to calm him down, i started to nurse him and his cry subsided...he slept well and woke up the next morning with a swollen lip...

he is still fully breastfeeding, active and healthy and also very naughty and cheeky...he is due for his 3rd dose of pnuemococcal vaccine and varicella vaccine soon...

Happy 6th Anniversary...

coincides with the MBfPC training, we celebrated our 6th anniversary...it was lovely that we got this golden opportunity to reminisce our sweet memories in Kuantan....we started to get really close and got to know each other well about 8 months before we tied our knot....and we spent a year after married living together and surely that make Kuantan our favourite spot always...

so, after the training, we spent a night at Swiss Garden Resort and Spa, to unwind and relax...a short one but a quality one...we are planning for another east coast treat in Kuala Terengganu at the end of May, and you have to stay put for the story...

Jihan got to splash in the pool, unfortunately for Imtiaz, he was too sleepy to join his sister but somehow managed to had a good splash at the bathtub...

we pray that our marriage will always be blessed by Allah and i am very much grateful for having Dr Asrul as my husband, my soul, my warrior, my partner, my best friend...my life is so meaningful with his love, presence and support, no matter what i do....and our life is more colourful with the presence of our little monsters who keep our world spinning, but our love towards them is endless...may Allah gives us strength to walk through our journey together, keep us together, no matter what happened... thank you Allah for this great life, great journey, with my loved ones....

MBfPC East Coast Region Training

yeah, it has been a while since i last updated this blog...i have loads to share and now i don't know where to start first...

let me first start with my experiences in the Malaysian Breastfeeding Peer Counselor (MBfPC) Training for the East Coast region, held at Leenai's Homestay, Kuantan from 30th April till 2nd may 2010...i was one of the Peer Counselor Program Administrator (PCPA) along with Kak Kamariah, Yatie, Kak Jasmine, Kak Ning and Linda, who were in charged for the East Coast training...and i brought along my little monster, Imtiaz with me, while my dear hubby and Jihan only came on Friday night to join us...lucky me, Imtiaz's behaviour was acceptable and i was able to perform my tasks without much disturbances...

i met wonderful mothers with full dedications and determinations attending this training with the aim of supporting breastfeeding mothers out there....it was a wonderful experience sharing our thoughts and breastfeeding journeys, learning from each other and creating a whole new network of MBfPC of the East Coast region...

the unique thing about this training, we had male participants too they were Mr Sazli (Kak Kamariah's husband) and my dear hubby as well...surprisingly, these 2 participants scored highest marks in the pre and post test assessments..! [they have to perform that well for being the husbands of breastfeeding advocates ; ) ]

indeed, i enjoyed myself in the training and the kids too, they made lots of new friends as well....even though it was quite tiring, but the experiences is more than worth it...as PCPAs, we hope that the guidance and the knowledge that we shared with the participants will be disseminated to other mothers out there....sharing is caring and we want to nurture a better future for our children, as only breastmilk is able to provide the very best nutrient for them...