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...

Parents-Teachers Meet Little Caliphs Bandar Seri Putra

last saturday, we went to the parents-teachers meet of Little Caliphs Bandar Seri Putra to see our little darling's school performance and achievements...

from my observation, Jihan had made such an improvement since she started going to kindergarten..being a busy working mother of 2, it is not easy for me to give my utmost attention to her and to coach her by myself...that's why we decided to send her to kindergarten at the age of 3 and a half year old because we were aware of our limitations as parents...alhamdulillah, sending her to the Little Caliphs program, an English- Islamic Integrated education was a correct choice...Jihan was able to grasp and digest the materials well...though she seldom tells us what she learned at school ( even when we asked her many, many times), she unconsciously shows her intelligent and talent when she is doing play role as a teacher herself...sometimes, she reads aloud her books and she loves to improvise her readings and making her own story...

during the last semester, she received good comment from the teachers, although she was quite playful and talkative...and this time round, her teacher told us that in term of achievement, she is actually far ahead from most her friends...she reads both malay and english well...and her iqra' also has improved..she is currently going to book 6...her achievement during this ramadhan, being able to fast fully, has become an example to other students as well..she is able to solat and recite the readings in solat well too...alhamdulillah..even though she is naughty and sometimes stubborn, she performs well in school...

i believe, the teachers and the parents complement each other in our children's education...and choosing the right method in early education is also essential as a core for our children's foundation...

we pray that our children will continue to pave their way to success, insya allah...

iftar with the unfortunate orphans

yesterday, we were invited to break fast with a few unfortunate orphans from Darul Izzah Bangi and Kajang area at Dewan MPKJ Kajang..the event was organized by Susuibu.com, Nurturing Concepts, Sdn Bhd, Sands Consulting Sdn Bhd and MPKJ....

i was glad that we were given this opportunity to do some good deeds in Ramadhan and to contribute some duit raya to the unfortunate children...i took this opportunity to teach Jihan to be grateful to Allah for what He has gives us and how fortunate we are to still have our parents with us...

Imtiaz, as usual kept on running around the big hall and it was quite difficult for us to enjoy our meals :( nevertheless, we had good meals of kambing bakar, satay, white rice and delicious lauk and kuih...

Imtiaz also helped me to distribute the duit raya packets to the kids while Jihan and papa ate their meals...

alhamdulillah, until today, Jihan has fast fully since day 1 of ramadhan...she is such a strong girl...we are very proud of her...

i hope we can continue to help the poor, the less fortunate and the needy as much as we can...and i hope to instill this good value in our children from now on and hopefully they'll grow up to be good muslims, insya allah...

Jihan's Ramadhan Journey - day 10 today

alhamdulillah...we are entering the 10th ramadhan today and i'm very proud of my girl who has been fasting fully for 10 days all these while!! congratulations, dear...at first, i thought it was going to be quite hard for her...after she went through her first few days with a bit of crankiness towards the end of the day, now she is more calm and more patient waiting for iftar...

as usual, her appetite has always been big since the first day of ramadhan...she has been requesting me to buy murtabak almost everyday...luckily, that's everybody's favourite too...at the end of the day, it was us who finished it for her...

and my little boy, Imtiaz is not bad too...he will have his iftar with us and likes nasi kerabu or any other couloured rice very much!...he wakes up for sahur and enjoys his meal very much...and during the day, he somehow eats a little less than usual..fasting as well, huh..?

alhamdulillah, we are enjoying ramadhan very much...and insya allah, we'll sail through the rest of ramadhan in barakah....

Jihan's first attempt fasting...

alhamdulillah, my little girl is getting more mature....yesterday, she fast the whole day and broke her fast together with us...she was so excited to break her fast with us and demanded a Chicky Meal from KFC....

it was easy to wake her up for sahur and she had a proper meal during sahur....later, she went to school in the morning and many of the children in the school also fast....she told us that she mostly read books rather than playing with her friends in order to conserve her energy....when she came back, she slept for an hour before going for Iqra' class...

i called her a few times asking her whether she is still fasting or not and i was very proud of her achievement....

when i came back, she was so excited looking at the kuihs and some dishes that i brought home for iftar....and when the time for iftar was almost there, she sat at the table and kept on looking at the clock....

and when it was time, she put almost everything on her plate and drank a whole glass of fruit juice to quench her thirst...

alhamdulillah, she made it on the first day...and today, she was very eager to fast for the whole month...and when i called her just now, she is still fasting...

congratulations Jihan...we are so proud of you..!

Ramadhan Al Mubarak 2010

Ahlan Ya Ramadhan Kareem....alhamdulillah, this year He gives us the opportunity to celebrate Ramadhan again...this is my 2nd year fasting with Imtiaz still fully breastfeeding...alhamdulillah...since Imtiaz is still reverse cycling, there is no worry for me to express enough breastmilk for him during the day time...although i do express them to maintain milk supply, twice a day, 2-3 oz each session....i've blogged about a few tips during ramadhan before to maintain the milk supply, here and here...

insya Allah, this Ramadhan, i'm trying my best to spend more time to do extra good deeds and ibadah (i already missed last night's tarawikh due to tiredness and Imtiaz was a bit cranky and kept on breastfeeding every single hour)...

and this year, Jihan is trying her best to fast for the first time...! she had been very excited before the Ramadhan month and kept telling us that she is 5 year old and must fast...and her Atok's friend told her if she fasts throughout the Ramadhan month, she can get money!

so this morning, it was easy to wake her up for sahur....and she ate a plate of rice and drank her favourite strawberry yogurt drink until he stomach was full....and Imtiaz joined us for sahur as well, enjoying some pasta and soup....

we should encourage our children to start fasting at the early age... there is no harm to give some kind of reward at the end of the day, at the same time educating them that fasting is obligated among healthy Muslims during Ramadhan...

i found this interesting free download fasting chart from ALIM Kids Bookshop.. perhaps this will encourage our children to fast this Ramadhan, insya Allah....

One Minute Simultaneous Breastfeeding

in conjunction with the recent World Breastfeeding Week 2010, the Mother-to-Mother Peer Support (MMPS) group held an event, the "one-minute simultaneous breastfeeding" where mothers breastfeed their babies for one minute together at the same time...

this year, mother and baby pairs who were unable to attend physically at the event were able to participate as well by joining them on 7th August 2010 at 3.30 pm...

Imtiaz and I showed our support by participating this event yesterday and we were proud to be part of 175 mother-baby pairs this year who participated in the event as well...this is our 2nd year doing the similar event...last year, we physically attended the event at Kajang...here's the post about it...

congratulations to all of us and breastfeeding rocks the world..yeay!

Happy Breastfeeding Week 2010

i hope it's not too late to wish all of you a Happy Breastfeeding Week 2010, which is celebrated every year on the 1st week of August....

the theme for this year, "Breastfeeding: Just 10 Steps- the Baby-Friendly Way"...

it is well known that research shows that the best feeding option globally is the initiation of breastfeeding within the first half hour of life, exclusive breastfeeding for a full six months and continued breastfeeding through the second year or beyond... breastfeeding improves short and long term maternal and child health thus contributing to a happy, healthy nation...

UNICEF recently noted that the reduction of child deaths from 13 million globally in 1990 to 8.8 million in 2008 is partly due to the adoption of basic health interventions such as early and exclusive breastfeeding...more and more studies have shown that implementation of the Ten Steps with continued postnatal support contributes to increased breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding at the local, national and global levels....

Recent studies have shown that with more of the Ten Steps in place, the more likely women are to achieve their breastfeeding goals... this confirms that importance for every maternity, hospital, clinic and community to strive to increase the number of steps in place, even if they cannot achieve all ten steps immediately...therefore every step counts!

*adapted from WABA WBW2010

my little Imtiaz is still fully breastfeeding..in fact, he is reverse cycling now....he refused to drink the expressed breastmilk during the day or when i'm away...so he'll wait for me to come back and get hold to my boops till he finishes his business....at night, he just won't get off me at all....

i really treasure every moment with him now...especially when he is breastfeeding and looks into my eyes and gives me his charming smile, with his hands exploring all parts of my face and upper body....this moment will soon wear off, eventually.....

he is thriving well, active and healthy...and he loves mama's milk so much!

Susuibu.Com International Lactation Conference

calling for participants for the auspicious and prestigious international lactation conference, to be held in Kolej Universiti Islam Antarabangsa, Selangor, Malaysia, on the 5th - 7th October 2010!

This conference is supported by international bodies UNICEF & World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA). The honorable patron for this event is Tun Dr. Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali. 

The conference will be exploring the wealth of knowledge, experience and understanding we have about breastfeeding as the natural way to feed and nurture our babies. We believe that if empowered, women are able to successfully breastfeed and nurture their child naturally. The main objective of this conference is to create awareness on the issues surrounding breastfeeding and provide the opportunity for Malaysians to learn from top notch professional speakers in the field of Human Lactation.

Internationally renowned speakers along with Malaysia’s own lactation experts form the exceptional list of invited guests who will present at the conference.
International Speakers for this conference will be:
Dr. Jack Newman - world renowned expert on childcare and breastfeeding, author of best selling books “Ultimate Breastfeeding Book of Answers”
Sue Cox - distinguished author, speaker and pioneer in breastfeeding support in Australia. Author of “Breastfeeding with Confidence” and “Baby Magic”
Diana West - distinguished speaker and author of best selling book "Making More Milk"
TOPICS DISCUSSED DURING THE 3 DAY CONFERENCE:
- Targeting treatment for Low Milk Production to infant and maternal management cause
- Milk production for preterm baby
- Norms for the breastfeeding baby
- What they didn't teach you about breastfeeding in your training
- Making more milk! 
- Baby magic and altering hospital breastfeeding culture
- National Health Morbidity Survey on infant feeding
- Building Peer Counselor Network in Malaysia
- Early stimulation for babies
- Strengthening the on going support for Breastfeeding
- Controversies in breastfeeding

taken from susuibu.com international lactation conference 2010 website

early bird registration extended to 15th august 2010...
10% discount for MBfPC, government bodies, susuibu.com members, students
more discounts for group registration of more than 10 people...kindly email me for more info..
for more info, log on to http://susuibu.com/siconf2010

don't miss this chance of a lifetime!

when the eye popped out...

how will you react when your eyes popped out...? scary...??!! shocked..??!!

those were the reactions that i experienced last night..for so long, i already knew that i have allergic conjunctivitis that obviously cannot be cured but can be controlled...but to date, i am not sure what are the specific allergens that cause it..let's say, it is multifactorial....i've been using a medication to control the symptoms and avoiding the allergen) poor me, cannot wear any eyeliner or mascara)..

so last night it was THE DAY it chose to happen again, but this time so intensely itchy until i couldn't open my left eye...i kept on rubbing my eye and felt like taking it out and soak it in a sterilized water so that it becomes purely clean... after almost 1 hour, it gradually stopped and i felt that the affected eye was heavy and droopy...

what i saw in the mirror was a very red eye...fine, that was expected...i look closer in the mirror...eh..? how come the nasal limbus and its conjunctiva were swollen and popping out more than my cornea? that scared me off....

so i called my friend who is training in ophthalmology asking her opinion...it was just a chemosis...she reassured me that it's going to be fine but if i'm unlucky, my conjunctiva can just pop out tomorrow morning if it decided not to subside....

so, i woke up this morning, feeling a bit gritty on the affected eye...looked into the mirror- well, it was still red but not swollen anymore..

so, i need to discipline myself not to rub my eyes vigorously again or else my eyes will popped out again...huuu.....

if you are not sure what is happening to you, please seek medical attention...even though this condition is non life-threatening, if you are not a health professional please get yourself checked by a doctor to confirm the diagnosis....

Chemosis is swelling of the tissue that lines the eyelids and surface of the eye (conjunctiva).

In general, chemosis is a nonspecific sign of eye irritation. The outer surface covering appears to have fluid in it. Often, the eye area swells so much that you can't close your eyes properly.

Chemosis is often related to an allergic response or infection.

one year older..

one year older (huu..), one year wiser (ehh..?), one year mature (hmm...), hopefully a whole lot richer (aha..!)...oh please, no gray hair nor wrinkles (hahaha!)

pardon me for not updating the blog since god-knows-when...i'm stuck doing some beneficial and non-beneficial stuffs for myself....hmmm...what are the beneficial and important stuffs that i do...? well, i celebrated my birthday, then i was busy counting the calories i take per day and find ways how to burn the extra calories (after i found out that eating good food for the past months means the clothes are tight on me), trying out new recipes that are low-fat, low calories but yummy, studying for my IBLCE...arggghh!!! yes, the IBLCE is just around the corner...and suddenly i realized that there are so much things to read..!!!

gosh, friends, please pray for me and my other colleagues (Dr Nadrah and Jess Wong) who are going to sit for the IBLCE as well...we hope we'll succeed as IBCLC to increase the awareness of breastfeeding in our society and to reach out mums out there in need of our help...

i've also updated my recipe blog with new nutritious recipes..feel free to drop by..

i pray that success will be always on my side in no matter what i do...i am thankful that i'm surrounded with lovely and fantastic people who love me so much and thank you for the support...to my beloved dinosours of my life (including papa dinosaur), you are the best thing that can possibly happen in my life...thank you for everything...

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..?)...