Syawal 1431H

alhamdulillah, we had a blast aidilfitri this year...we went back to negeri sembilan and batu pahat and had great food, meeting up with relatives and enjoying ourselves travelling....the kids behaved well and had lots of fun too..

after the raya break, we went back to work and had another short break during the Malaysia Day..this time we travelled up north and had another round of great fun there...we visited relatives and friends and on the way back to KL, we stopped by at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort for a night stay...we have to come again to this place to enjoy all the fun there next time..!

something to be proud of, this year Jihan stood tall with her personal achievement of being able to fast fully during Ramadhan, alhamdulillah..she treasured the meaning of Ramadhan and Aidilfitri more this year...sharing and caring with others, especially with the less fortunate ones...

May Allah bless us all and accept our good deeds and reward us with Jannah in the hereafter

i'm having milk bleb : (

picture googled from mother-2-mother.com

alhamdulillah, to date at 18 months, Imtiaz is still breastfeeding, without any supplementation of formula milk..even though during the day,he is no more interested to drink my expressed breast milk (EBM) via bottle, cup, etc, he drinks only plain water, juices or occasionally UHT flavoured milk...but when i'm around, i am his readily available milk producer for him...

once a while, i noticed i will have to deal with nipple pain or blocked duct myself, even Imtiaz is considered as big enough to cause such problem to me...during the hari raya break, i had another episode of nipple pain, being the usual area, the right nipple...i thought it was due to improper latching or due to pulling by my aggressive little dinosaur...the pain was sharp, at every feeding, even after i corrected the position...

this morning, upon waking up, i noticed a tiny, white spot on the nipple...i'm having a milk bleb or milk blister...

A milk blister, or blocked nipple pore, is also called a bleb or nipple blister, or simply "milk under the skin." It occurs when a tiny bit of skin overgrows a milk duct opening and milk backs up behind it. A milk blister usually shows up as a painful white, clear or yellow dot on the nipple or areola, and the pain tends to be focused at that spot and just behind it. If you compress the breast so that milk is forced down the ducts, the blister will typically bulge outward. Milk blisters can be persistent and very painful during feeding, and may remain for several days or weeks and then spontaneously heal when the skin peels away from the affected area.. (from kellymom.com)

so, what i did just now, i applied moist heat to the area (i immersed my nipple in a bowl of warm water), then i apply some olive oil on a cotton ball and gently rub the area to soften the blocked pore...then i massage my nipple in the warm water and the milk started to ooze out of the bleb...alhamdulillah, milk is able to eject through that pore...and now i feel a bit better, with less pain...

the recommended treatment will be, applying the moist heat prior to feeding, then nurse the baby often or pump with hospital-grade pump, and followed by antibiotic cream if needed...alternatively if all the methods above do not work, ask your healthcare provider to use a sterile needle to open the bleb...pain relief can be used to relieve discomfort...

remember, to seek immediate treatment if any of the following occurs: fever, inflammation, swelling, any kind of discharge, abscess, etc...

2010 raya preparations

Jihan is so excited, she sleeps in her raya tudung!

alhamdulillah, towards the end of ramadhan, i am very proud of my Jihan who is still fasting fully until today...she is very excited to complete her fasting this ramadhan and very eager to celebrate eid...i am sure that this is the most meaningful ramadhan and idulfitri for her as she reaches the highest achievement in her life....

as for us, similar like years before, the preparation for idulfitri is done in moderation..this year, we are wearing purple and each of us got 1 piece each of baju kurung/baju melayu...for casual wear, the kids got 2 pieces each and a pair of shoes that is also to be used for day to day occasion...

kuih raya..? i managed to make 4 types and 2 cannisters already finished...alhamdulillah, i'm very happy that somebody will eat my kuih raya...

insya allah, we will be going back to Negeri Sembilan and Batu Pahat from 1st raya until Monday..dear hubby starts working and Monday and he'll travel back to work on Monday morning...we weill continue our journey to Muar visiting friends.. and on Malaysia Day holiday, we are going back to Sg Petani to celebrate idulfitri with my parents in-law...

wishing all my readers Eid Mubarak, Maaf Zahir batin...drive carefully and have a safe raya...