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...

Psychological Effects Through Breastfeeding

i was very glad that i attended a talk on Psychological Effects Through Breastfeeding at the Nurturing Concepts Sdn Bhd yesterday, delivered by Dr Umi Adzlin (a psychiatrist) and Dr Zubaidah Jamil Osman (a psychologist)... it is a different kind of a breastfeeding talk...it does not touch the practical aspects of breastfeeding but rather something other than just providing the very best nutrition for our babies...

it opened my eyes and my mind that breastfeeding our babies is more than the nutritional part... breastfeeding makes all the maternal good hormones to function and make the mother feels good...breastfeeding mothers are less likely to suffer from postpartum depression and more likely to have good relationship with their children and raise happy children with better EQ...

breastfeeding your babies is proven to provide the best protection for your babies and it gives a lots of benefits to the mother as well...fathers also can play an active role in breastfeeding...on a whole, it promote a healthy relationship among family members ...

MILCC scholarship

i have been very busy with my psychiatric posting with challenging events during my daycall that left me feeling down and low mood for a few days...i was totally mentally and physically exhausted and i let my emotion drifted on its own until last Thursday when i received some good news that lifted up my spirit again...

my application for the Monetary Investment for Lactation Consultant Certification (MILCC) was approved and i was awarded with full scholarship for the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examination (IBLCE) 2010...! and to date, i was informed that i am the first recipient from Malaysia to received the scholarship, alhamdulillah...

i will take the exam in Malaysia with a few other candidates in July 2010...there are lots to study and i will make sure that i fulfill my dream to become a Lactation Consultant that is recognized worldwide and to help mothers out there to breastfeed their babies successfully...

insya Allah, i will do my best to make Malaysia proud....

my 200th post - prevention is better than cure...

yeay! it's my 200th post....i've been posting in this blog since 2007...glad to have my wonderful readers and thank you for reading the posts and sharing your thoughts with me...

so, back to the topic...the 2nd wave of H1N1 outbreak is back raging in Malaysia...to date, 2 deaths have been reported since the outbreak is back...that should raise our awareness to take good care of ourselves to prevent the H1N1 outbreak within our community...

personal hygiene and cleanliness are still the 1st measures to be taken by everybody seriously....by implementing such actions, the risk of transmission can be minimized...if you are having influenza-like-illness (ILI), it is advisable for you to seek medical attention to get healthcare professional opinions regarding your illness...stay at home until you are cured in order to prevent the viral spread to others...

for those who are high-risk of contracting H1N1, it is advisable to get H1N1 vaccinations..in Malaysia, they are not free..they come at a cost...talk to your healthcare provider regarding this if you are interested....

for us, we decided to vaccinate the whole family...being a healthcare professional is one of the high-risk individuals and we are not risking the life of our loved ones for it...my dear husband runs the H1N1 lab and handles the specimens, me myself work in an environment full with sick people, our children are at risks and my mother who is a diabetic is also at risk...

lastly, don't forget to pray... we've tried all sort of efforts to stop the transmission of one of the deadly virus, but He is the one who knows what is best for us...so, never stop praying for a good health...

Campaign for 90 days maternity leave

recently, the National Union of Bank Employeed (NUBE) has launched the "Our 90 Days for Mums - 1 MIllion Signature Campaign" at their headquarters in conjunction with thte International Women's Day... NUBE aims to gather the signatures in support of a memorandum to increase the 60 days paid maternity leave to 90 days - an act that would bring Malaysia up to par with the International Labour Organisation’s Convention 183 on Maternity Protection.
Other countries in the region - Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia already has 90 days for maternity leave.....

Some Southeast Asian countries even provide breastfeeding and child care protection. For example a mother in Singapore gets up to 12 months leave to breastfeed and care for her newborn. In Cambodia, companies are obliged to grant a new mother a 30-minute break twice daily to breastfeed her child. Those with more than 100 women workers have to provide nursing rooms and day care centers, with the cost of childcare borne by the company. Indonesian employers meanwhile are required to provide a suitable place for breastfeeding mothers to nurse their children during work hours.

based on my personal experiences, it is not easy to make people to understand the nature and the needs of breastfeeding for our own babies....to implement such a policy as mentioned above in Malaysia, we are still lagging behind and with more awareness and education of the benefits in breastfeeding for both mother and child, there is a pressing need to amend the relevant provision in the Employment Act 1955. The 60-day paid maternity leave is simply not enough for most Malaysian women.

for us, this is the time for recovery from physical, emotional and mental stress after delivery...taking care of a newborn baby is not an easy job....the new environment for a new mother, they simply need time for adjustment and recovery...going back to work is another mental and emotional stress for the new mothers and they need adequate time to prepare themselves mentally, physically and emotionally for it....

the collection of signatures in supporting this petition ends on 6th June 2010.... it will be submitted together with a a Memorandum to the Honourable Prime Minister of Malaysia and a copy to the 221 Members of Parliament as the voice of 1Malaysian citizen urging for the amendments...

lets make a change towards a better quality of postnatal care and breastfeeding practice in Malaysia...

show your supports by clicking the link below and participate...!

http://www.nube.org.my/pd/petitionE.aspx

happy 1st birthday Imtiaz

finally, Imtiaz turns 1....he's such a handsome, macho boy now....we had a wonderful birthday party inviting family and friends at our lovely home...Imtiaz was dressed in a casual way - a shirt and pair of jeans...he was so excited playing with the balloons, eating all the delicacies that were spread on the table and was so amazed looking at his homemade Winnie the Pooh birthday cake...!!

the day before that, my cousin celebrated her4x birthday...so we had a double birthday party...i made her a chocolate mud cake with a letter R as her initial on her cake...

Imtiaz now has 4 teeth - 2 upper incisors and 2 lower incisors....he is about to stand on his own without holding onto furnitures and is more creative and intelligent from day to day... i still fully breastfeeding him, alhamdulillah and he is stronger and smarter each day...

he got wonderful birthday presents, thanking our relatives and friends for them....

he was so tired by the end of the day and retired early to bed...Jihan too was enjoying herself and was so excited opening Imtiaz's presents....she said, "imtiaz, let's share the presents ya..!"

happy 59th birthday

it was my father's birthday last sunday, his 59th....alhamdulillah, he is still well, active and healthy at this age, after 3 years pensioned....we had a little celebration at home and later had a lunch out - a feast of nasi baryani....

i made a special chocolate mud cake...the kids were excited having to blow the candle and cutting the cake...

we pray that you have a wonderful year ahead and have a healthy life and may Allah bless you always...

loves, mak, along, angah, asrul, jihan & imtiaz....

Jihan at 4 1/2 year old

recently, i introduced Jihan to an interactive website on learning to read with phonics method Starfall.com .... i found it very interesting and i managed to get my girl to read....she is so fascinated with the animation and the interactive activities....

i also bought a set of the Read Easy Phonics books... she is a fast learner....i will make her read the book first then reward her with the computer session on the website....

i make and attempt to facilitate her to read everyday....but it is not easy for me who is always busy...for me, a short session is better than none...how i wish i could spend more time to coach my children on my own but that is impossible right now...

i'm very glad she's making a very good progress and hopefully she will continue progressing from time to time...

11 months old Imtiaz

yeay! it's less than a month to a BIG 1!!!...how time flies...my little boy is now a BIG, macho boy! we are planing to throw him a birthday party soon...Jihan is so excited to have a birthday party...she's the one who is busy deciding what cake should i make for his little brother....

so, let's see Imtiaz's milestones at 11 months:

• the upper incisor is coming into picture...looks like it's gonna be a big one...
• he loves to crawl like a Spiderman, sparing his knee on the floor....
• he understands the word "ball", "kakak", "atok", "wan"...
• he'll say "mama" when he wants to breastfeed...
• he likes waking up kakak early morning by biting on kakak's hands or feet and by giving a hard pat on kakak's tummy...
• cruising onto furniture very well...
• wave bye- bye and clap his hands very well...
• he is able to eat his biscuits on his own (before tossing it again and again on the floor)

i still fully breastfeeding him (bravo!) and he loves food very much....

so far, he is in good health and we always pray he will always be...

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...