We’re Back!

Apologies for such a long absence. I was busy with exams, but I’m happy to report that I’m finally FREE! No more exams, EVER! What a relief. The past week or so has been hard, as I’ve had to leave Aisya with her nanny a lot more than usual, while I try to get my studying done. I’ve been feeling so guilty about not spending time with her, but now I have all the time in the world!

Aisya’s 8 months old now, and she can now crawl. We can’t turn our back on her for a minute! Put her down on the floor, turn away and look back, and she’s already halfway across the room.

She’s also teething – a little white bud is already popping out from her gums! I introduced her to teething biscuits a while back and she seems to love them. I started off with Baby Bites (in the orange box – rice flavour, I think?) but I’m not sure whether the Heinz Rusks are better.

Solid foods are going well. I’m on a mission to diversify Aisya’s menu. So far we’ve established that she loves potatoes, and chicken + rice porridge. I want to introduce more veggies and fruits into her diet. I’ve been experimenting with mashed up fruits – bananas, apples and grapes. Yes, grapes! I just peeled off the skin (which I know is supposed to be the healthiest part, but takut karang payah to swallow) and mashed it up into a pulp and fed it to her.

Apparently, at 8 months old, it’s ok to start introducing a bit of spices into baby food. Carrots can be cooked with a bit of basil and garlic, and chicken with garlic and pepper… apparently, mashed apples with a bit of cinnamon taste good too. I find this whole new world of homemade baby food so fascinating! Hehe. I’m going to experiment with a few new recipes, so we’ll see how that works out. I want to introduce Aisya to soft cooked pasta, but masak sama apa ah? Haven’t figured that out yet.

Breastfeeding is also going well, Alhamdulillah. I’m a little worried that Aisya only feeds around 5 times a day. I read somewhere that she should be getting at least 6 feeds, but she seems happy and gaining weight so I’m trying not to worry about it too much.

Anyways, that’s pretty much a round-up of what Aisya is up to these days. She’s gotten so big already, and we figure it’s time for some ‘big girl’ purchases like a high-chair (dulu we just fed her in her Bumbo, but it’d be nice to have her sit at the table while we eat), a car-seat (a front facing one kalau ada!) and a walker too.

Haven’t taken too many pictures of Aisya lately, not because we’ve been malas but because she never sits still long enough for us to take her picture! But they’re all up on my FB in any case

Random

This post is totally non-baby related, but just needed to get a few things off my chest.

Firstly, how sucky it is to be unappreciated! I was stressing out about work-related stuff, and was venting after a particularly bad day. But, on second thought, I decided to delete that paragraph because venting about it doesn’t really change much.

Secondy, the list of LV bags to buy just keeps getting longer and longer. Currently on my list are the Damier Neverfull (I held out on getting a Neverfull because I was waiting for the Damier version to come out in Singapore), the Galliera (still undecided whether I should get it in the Monogram Canvas or the Damier Azur), the new Multicolore Insolite Wallets (just coz they’re cute!) and the Epi Pont Neuf GM (I don’t normally go for hard, structured bags but I just love this one). Actually kan, I’m really liking a lot of Epi bags! The Alma comes in a goooooooorgeous Cassis colour and even the Vivienne Long in Red looks kinda cute!

I’ve decided that I’ll get the wallet and one other bag on my list when I go to Singapore at the end of the month (OK, maybe I’ll get the wallet and two other bags). Hehe. We’ll see!

Aisya’s Days Out

Apologies for neglecting this blog! I have some free time now that I’ve officially finished my course, and am just waiting for exams to start in a few weeks time. I’m feeling rather wistful about it – I’ve gotten so used to seeing the same faces every day for 4 whole years, and now everyone will be moving on to other things. Sigh!

Anyways. Aisya has had a pretty busy week too. Last Saturday, we took her to a family function to celebrate a birthday. Unfortunately, she fell asleep in the car so when we arrived at our destination, she was still sleepy and extremely grumpy. Not the best mood to socialise!

On Friday, I took her out to another family function, this time making sure she was well fed and well rested. Aisya was on her best behaviour and seemed to enjoy being the center of attention. The same night, we took her out to I-Lotus to celebrate her Usu’s birthday. Again, she was on her best behaviour and seemed to love being out. We took her out again last night, but the food took ages to arrive and we were at the restaurant way too long, so Aisya was extremely cranky towards the end of the night. Balik rumah, tarus tidur!

All part of our efforts to get Aisya used to going out When she was younger, she was extremely pemilih and we think it’s because she just wasn’t used to being around so many people. Nowadays she’s only pemilih when she’s hungry or sleepy, so we have to make sure that Aisya naps and feeds before going out anywhere.

Ooh. We’ve decided that we need a much better camera because Aisya’s getting so good at posing for pictures! Hehe. Pandai smile on cue and everything! Torn between getting a camcorder or an SLR. Even more undecided after finding out that a few of the newer SLR’s have video capabilities! Hmmm…

Milestones

I am thiis close to handing in my last piece of coursework EVER, and I’m so excited that I decided to take a break and blog

Back when Aisya was just born, I used to check Babycenter every week to see what new milestones I should expect. After a while I realised that babies really do just grow at their own pace, so I shouldn’t rely too much on what Babycenter tells me.

Right now, Aisya has just discovered that she can make noises and attract attention, so she is constantly ‘talking’. It’s so cute because sometimes she’ll look you right in the eye and the expression on her face is so earnest, as if she’s making perfect sense and she expects us to understand!

Lately, she has begun to cry to get attention. And she knows how to ‘fake cry’ too! First she’ll make a crying face, but no crying sounds. When inda kena layan with that, she’ll make the crying sounds but without tears. And when atu pun inda kena layan, she will go all out with the crying sounds and the tears. Mind you, she will stop crying every few seconds to see if her crying has the desired effect. Bila belum, she will continue crying. Hehe.

Anyways! Alhamdulillah my supply seems to be slowly going back up. Funnily enough, I get a lot more out of my manual Avent pump than I do out of my PISA! I have no idea why that is, all I know is that I’m getting a full 3oz extra using the manual pump. So, in the spirit of sticking with what works (and because ngalih tangan mempump), I’m thinking of getting the Avent Isis IQ Uno. I don’t know anyone who’s ever tried it though, so I’m curious to know just how good it is.

Aisya’s First Bandage

Aisya's Injured Finger

We had a bit of a scare this morning when our amah told us that she had accidentally cut Aisya’s finger while trimming her fingernails. The cut wouldn’t stop bleeding, even after 15 minutes, so we brought her to the clinic to have it properly looked at. We went to Dr Chann’s clinic in Kiarong, and found out that the doctor had just left and the clinic was closing! So we rushed to another clinic in Gadong. And the whole time, I was holding Aisya in one arm and had my other hand on Aisya’s finger, trying to stop the bleeding. It didn’t help that Aisya was getting really annoyed at me, because she was trying to play with the buttons on my shirt and I wouldn’t let her.

Eventually we got to see the doctor, and although a sizeable chunk of Aisya’s finger had been cut, she assured us everything was ok, prescribed some antiseptic for the wound and antibiotics, and told us to keep the finger dry and bandaged. The challenge now is to keep the bandage dry, because Aisya insists on putting the bandage in her mouth, and has actually pulled it off quite a few times!

Supply Issues

I’ve been a lazy Mummy, because I haven’t been expressing regularly and I prefer to feed Aisya directly. Before I knew it, my stock of EBM in the fridge was totally abis! I’ve been expressing to replenish my stock, but I just haven’t been getting much. I don’t know if it’s because of my pump or if I’m actually experiencing low supply.

I have a feeling it’s to do with my pump pulang, because I know Aisya has been getting enough when she feeds from me directly, so I’ve replaced my pump parts. But just in case my supply is actually low, I’ve started taking fenugreek again. From what I’ve read, some mummies have also tried More Milk Plus and Milkmaid Tea. I’m hesitant to try More Milk Plus because I read ada alcohol in it, so I have started looking for Milkmaid Tea. Hopefully I will start getting more EBM -  normally I can get anywhere from 4 to 6oz, but lately kan dapat 3oz pun payah!

I’ve read somewhere, though, that supply naturally decreases at 6 months. I’m not sure how true this is, and if this can be the reason why I haven’t been getting as much as I have. Although it could just be a simple case of supply and demand – Aisya goes longer between feeds now, so she’s feeding a bit less hence I’m producing less. Sigh.

7 Months!

I came home from work last night, at around 10.30pm, and Aisya was still awake, watching TV with her Daddy. I swear, that girl thinks she’s a grown up already. Hehe.

She loves staying up late (her earliest bed time is 9.30pm) but she makes up for it by waking up late in the morning and taking at least 2 naps during the day. I used to think this was normal for babies, until my aunts told me that selalunya their kids would be asleep by 8pm at the latest! Oh well. Can’t force Aisya to sleep when she doesn’t feel like it.

Also, just recently, Aisya has learned how to sit. So now she must sit any chance she gets. Even lapas mandi, when I’m trying to put her clothes on pun she insists on sitting! And if you’re wondering how she ‘insists’, she’ll do this thing where she pulls her head and her feet up in the air, sorta like a half sit-up. That means she wants to sit, and if we ignore her, she’ll make sure she makes enough noise for us to notice

Oh yeah! Aisya is 7 months old today! It’s amazing how quickly they grow up ah?

Hello World!

Aisya’s asleep so I have time for a quick post. I haven’t been able to spend as much time as I’d like with her this week, because I’ve been busy with classes and working at night. Luckily, I’m totally free today so I’m planning on just staying home.

When I first got pregnant, I remember thinking that the timing just wasn’t right. I had always planned on having a baby after uni, once I’ve already started working. But oh well, we can only plan and in the end, Allah has a bigger plan for all of us. And I suppose having a baby when I did has really become a blessing in disguise. Because I’m still in uni, I’m only away from Aisya around 3 or 4 hours max. I love that I’m able to spend so much time with her, and it certainly helps with BF!

I really do admire all the mums who work full-time and continue to BF their babies, because I realise now how much effort it would take. Having said that, I will definitely want to continue to BF my babies even when I’m working full-time. Kan di apa tia breastpump mahal-mahal atu, right? Hehe. I think DH was shocked when I first told him how much the breastpump would cost, but hey, if inda payah bali formula, then its worth it kan?

OK, I hear Aisya waking up. These days I have to be very careful because sometimes when she wakes up, she’ll just crawl over the pillows so mesti laju-laju go to her before she does!