I Am Not Alone

Though I've yet to feel the tiny kicks and hiccups, I know you are inside of me tumbling and swimming around, safe and sound. Though my back and butt hurt when I sit or stand too long, though I have to wake up once or twice in the middle of the night to pee, though I've slowly started to waddle like a penguin (wearing a black & white outfit combo doesn't help either), though my tummy itches every now and then, though my lower abdomen hurts like hell every time I sneeze and cough (every.single.time that I have to hold my tummy to ease the pressure), though my calves look like I have purplish-blue spiders crawling on them, though I can't stretch properly every time I wake up because when I do, I can feel a muscle pull coming especially at my calves, though I get emotional for the little things (pity your Daddy for being the victim, and occasionally your sister), I am truly blessed to be going through this journey, again. They say each pregnancy is different and I must agree, even though so far there isn't much difference as compared to when I was pregnant with your sister. The gynae said because my body has gone through this process before, the body tends to be a bit more sensitive.

Alhamdulillah the last check up went well but you were too shy to show me whether you are a princess or a prince. You know Mummy is an impatient person so of course you decided to test that and make Mummy wait for another month till your next check up. I know. Oh well, as long as you are fine and healthy and growing accordingly inside there, Mummy's happy. But please be kind to Mummy ya? Let's make this journey easy for both of us, shall we? We are, after all, a team, right?

Merah Merah Delima

Honestly I haven't been eating anything 'special' for this pregnancy. By 'special' I meant specific foods or drinks that is supposed to be good for pregnant mothers and the fetus. When I was pregnant with Irene, at least I drank Anmum Materna religiously but this time, I don't feel like gulping down a cup of chocolate milk. One time I received a sample from this one brand (for the life of me, I forgot the name!) but I just find it very revolting. I would gag when I take a sip because it tasted like fish oil or cod liver oil. It's so yucky I couldn't drink it. So Hubby bought Dumil Mama, chocolate flavour and asked me to try. I tried a few times in my 1st trimester and maybe at that time due to the bad all-day sickness, I  refused to drink it. I still have half a packet left so I better finish it up. 

Anyway, I saw and read articles on how good pomegranates are in general and also for pregnant mothers. So i thought, OK this is something that I can eat and won't mind eating. There are also a lot of pomegranate juice (jus buah delima) and pomegranate essence (pati buah delima) in the market. But if you can have the real stuff, raw and in its original form, that would be even better, right? God knows how 'pure' those juices and essences are. I am pretty sure they add some kind of preservatives, sweeteners and food coloring. So my hunt for pomegranate(s) began.

There is a fruit shop cum cafe near my office and they sell pomegranates, among others. The price? RM9.90 per piece. Per piece!! And the fruit isn't as big as my palm too! I decided not to buy because I think it's a bit too expensive.

Yesterday I went to MBG fruit stall and they sold pomegranates at RM3.19 per 100g. I chose one piece and it came to RM10.50. It is the one on the right, with the sticker on. It is slightly bigger than my palm, definitely much bigger than the one I saw at the shop near my office. Hubby also found a pomegranate at a kedai runcit in Ampang and he bought it for RM7 per piece. It's the one on the left. It's the same size as the one I bought. But so much cheaper.

I brought the one I bought to office today and decided to cut it open. The skin is redder than the one hubby bought and the top part is open but I am not sure if it is any indication about the ripeness or juiciness of the fruit. The tiny bits are red, plump and juicy. I spent about 10 minutes getting them all out from the skin into a container.

I got a small container full of glistening red little rubies. They are plump, juicy and sweet. Worth my RM10.50. :D I will compare with the other one when I opened it. I am munching on these little red rubies as we speak and I feel healthy already lol.

Here are some links I found on the goodness of pomegranates:

http://health.mylaunchpad.com.my/diet-nutrition/article/articleid/422318/khasiat-buah-delima

https://www.facebook.com/notes/wwwmumdreamscommy/khasiat-buah-delima-untuk-ibu-ibu-mengandung/625090107533406

http://manfaattumbuhanbuah.blogspot.com/2013/08/manfaat-dan-khasiat-buah-delima-untuk.html

The All-Day Sickness

Alhamdulillah I haven't really been craving for anything unusual so far, and hopefully not ever. Now that my all-day sickness and nauseous (seriously why the heck do they call it morning sickness when it's practically all-day??) has subsided (I still throw up every once in a while but it's is not as bad as before), I can now start eating properly and not feel like I've been poisoned. I mean seriously, the nauseous and vomitting was so bad. I can't eat anything basically. Even a simple, mild meal like oats, Koko Krunch or plain crackers with milo for breakfast. Within an hour or less, I would start running to  the toilet to throw up. I drank some plain water and hey what do you know, I will throw up plain water too! And when there's nothing left in my poor tummy, I will still throw up, only this time, it's stomach acid. It's yellowish in colour, tasted bitter and sour and horrible. I ate lunch, of course I throw up lunch, be it nasi campur, soup noodles or buns. 

To add to my misery, I am very sensitive towards smells, especially cooking smells. Heck, I can't even stand the smell of coffee when my colleagues made them! To make matters worst, below my office is a row of pubs, a Thai restaurant, a Chinese coffee shop and at the end of the block is Soul'ed Out Cafe. My office is situated on the 1st floor so the smells from the cooking below would come up and made me even more nauseous. I even resorted to refraining myself from drinking a lot of water because I just don't want to go to the toilet as it will make me gag, and most of the time throw up, not so much from the smell of the toilet but the cooking below.

On better days, I would throw up maybe 2-3x a day but on some really bad days, I even threw up 5-6x a day. So can you imagine how 'meh' I felt? Sometimes the gagging and the retching was so bad that tears and sweat all came out. Sigh. I kept telling myself, "Please be over" "Please let this be a short period" "Please be kind today" "Please no throwing up today" and kept reminding myself that I am carrying another life inside me and the end product at the end of the pregnancy will be worth it, Insyallah. That's what's everyone has been telling me too but if you have been throwing up like a bulimic, no amount of words could calm you down. 

Sometimes when I threw up at home, Babycakes would come to the toilet and ask me, about a thousand times, "Mummy, putah (muntah) ke?" On one hand I felt aww such a thoughtful little girl I have but on the other hand, I feel like screaming because how the heck am I supposed to answer when I feel like my whole intestine and guts are pouring out? *exaggeration added* She would also come to the toilet and patted my butt or my thigh to calm me. So sweet, right? I also asked her to rub some nutmeg balm on my back and on my forehead, which she would be ever so willing to do. 

During the weeks that I felt like death, I just want to lie down everytime I go home so I would tell Babycakes "Mummy nak rehat ok? Jangan kacau Mummy. Irene duduk diam2 ok?" Who am I kidding? How can you expect a 2 1/2 year old to sit quietly? It's like telling a cat not to eat the fish in front of it. -_- So to keep her 'occupied' I asked her to do these instead.

 It's a win-win situation.

She's happy she gets to play with the lotion and rub it all over my feet and legs and I'm happy to get a free foot and leg massage and also get to lie down for a few minutes. And what happens if I fell asleep and left her on her own? These.

She opened my handbag and took out my make-up bag and started applying the make-up on her face.

  

Peace Mummy! -_- Nak marah ada, geram sudah semestinya! Tapi kelakar pun iye jugak.  Habis my eye shadows, my compact powder and my lip balms kena korek. And there were traces of it on the bedsheet and her clothes and pants. Pandai pulak buat peace kat Mummy kan! Sigh, my pride and joy.

Keep The Memories In A Book

My husband has been into taking pictures this past year or so. He bought a decent camera for our trip to Sydney last year and has never stopped clicking since. It is not a huge, bulky DSLR camera that costs thousands of ringgit but a decent enough camera that is not too big and bulky yet takes nice and quality photos. He would take pictures of everything from ash trays to leaves, a half full glass to his fat wife chomping down on foods like a greedy person. So unflattering. But the memory cards of the camera is 90% filled with pictures of none other than his precious little girl. So what better way to preserve the pictures if not in photobooks? Why let the pictures sit in your hard drive? It may go kaput or the memory may get lost if something happens to your pc or if your hard disk is stolen. Since hubby is so into taking pictures, I am the one who would compile the pictures and turn them into beautiful photobooks. Thankfully photobooks are made affordable now with so many companies having promotions and deals on the deals websites. I am always on the lookout of good photobook deals. I don't think I would spend hundreds just on a photobook. To date, we have 15 photobooks and the number will definitely grow.

These are our very first photobooks. Pictures of our akad nikah, malam berinai; reception at Prince Hotel and reception at Pusat Komuniti Bukit Damansara. Hubby created these photo albums. We didn't or rather haven't made  our engagement day photobook yet. Must remember to make one so that I can see how "thin" I was back then. -_-

 

This album is an album of beautiful, fond memories of my first pregnancy right up to Babycakes' first few months of life. So precious, this album.

 These are softcovers albums with pictures of us going places and doing stuffs.

 

 These are hard cover albums. 

These are our raya albums. Actually I have another raya album for raya in 2011 when I was pregnant with Babycakes but I have misplaced the album. It's small in size and the pictures weren't really of good quality. The photobook wasn't really nice too. And there's another album of our Singapore trip back in June 2011. I am thinking of re-doing the albums.

 

These three albums are the latest to add to our collection. They are quite small in size, 8" x 6". 

I am always on the lookout of good photobook deals. Most of the albums above are priced at less than RM50 per book. For example, the latest three albums were only RM25 each, exclusive of RM8 postage. The normal price was RM92.  I bought it last year when they are having a Christmas promotion. I always buy at least 2-3 books at one go especially if the price is so cheap. Sometimes when I buy, it feels like a lot but now I've ran out of vouchers but still got tons of pictures to preserve. Creating and designing the photobooks takes some time and patience too as you need to choose the pictures carefully, choose the page layout, design, background etc but the end product is worth it. Alternatively, if you are too lazy to design your own, you can always use the wizard or use pre-designed templates.

So what are you waiting for? Why keep the beautiful pictures and memories in your handphones and laptops? Turn them into books and you can always turn the pages anytime you feel like walking down memory lane.

Little Miss Chatterbox

If there is one word to describe my Babycakes, the perfect word would be Chatterbox.

This girl talks a lot, like a lot a lot! Sometimes I can't believe that a 2 1/2 year old can say such things, can ask such questions, can talk that much. I guess she must have gotten it from me. Well at least a lot of people say too. "Mummy kan lawyer, banyak cakap. Tu yang dia ikut tu." Not sure if that is a compliment or a sarcasm though.

Anyway my Babycakes can talk fluent Malay, alhamdulillah no pelat/slang whatsoever. I just need to speak English with her more so that she can master both languages. I also have to watch my word, especially when I am with her. For example, everyday when I pick her up from the nursery, I would come to a T-junction on the way home. It gets a bit hard to go out because people just never give way and worst, they never turn on their signals. So I would say "These people!! Bagila aku masuk!! Aku nak balik rumah ni!" To my surprise, not long after, Babycakes said the exact same words when we reached the T-junction. Lucky I didn't use any foul language or else habis!

Another  incident was when she asked me, "Semalam balik pukul berapa?" I was speechless. The previous night I went out with my friends and when I came back, she was already asleep with Daddy. I know she must have heard me asking hubby sometimes. But I never thought she would ask me the same! Wait till you're 20+, Mummy will ask you that same question ok?

She also has an answer to everything. One time I took her to see her grandparents i.e. my parents. We went out to dinner and then it was already 11pm. So i said to her "Irene, masuk car. Jom balik." She then said, "Irene tak nak balik. Nak masuk rumah. Irene nak rehat." Yes, she can speak in a full complete sentence, I am not kidding. I was like "What rehat? You can rehat di rumah. Balik rumah tidur!" She said "Tak nak!" And then I had to coax her by saying "Jom balik, nanti kita minum susu kokit (susu coklat)" She said "Tak nak susu kokit. Dah kenyang."

I could go on and on about her but I shall stop before I get emotional (damn pregnancy hormones!) Sigh my baby is all grown up. I love to hear her talk, what with her husky voice and all, though it can be tiring at times to answer and respond to her because she can ask the same thing over and over again. My mum always reminded me "Must always be patient with her, talk nicely with her, layan her so that she becomes more and more bijak yada3." I know she will definitely be my kawan berborak (and bertekak) later in life lol. Mummy love you so much Babycakes!

Picture taken at Fraser's Hill, November 2013

The reason why

There is a reason why I have been away from blogging for the past one month+. 

First, I was bogged down with so much work, preparing for a Trial which was supposed to be held on 27 & 28 February 2014 but was postponed to 1 & 2 April. I have been going to our KL branch office for at least twice a week for a meeting with my boss and counsel and also have lunch with them, before going back to my office in Hartamas. Trial eventually went on the 1st and 2nd April and will resume on 5 May. I also came out in the Malaysia Namban and Tamil Nesan newspapers with my boss, counsel and client on 2 April 2014. :D

Apart from busy with work, I haven't been in the best of health for the past weeks too. I wish I could just stay at home, in bed, with the curtains drawn and basically do nothing all day long. It feels like death is creeping up on me. *exaggeration added* I don't feel like I want to meet anybody, I don't feel like going to work and I just want to be on my own. However that is not possible. I have a life to live, a work to do, a boss to answer to, clients to attend to, court matters to attend to and most importantly, I have a husband and a toddler to care for. The reason for my feeling bleugh is this.

 

I am currently 14weeks pregnant with my second child and since the 1st trimester is over, I guess it's ok to update it here. I didn't update anything on FB yet though. So far only my family members and close friends know about my pregnancy. I shall wait a few weeks more before I announce on FB, if at all. I know there are people in my friend list who are struggling to conceive, who has been trying but failed and I am thinking of what is the best and most appropriate way to announce it so as not to rub it in so much into their faces. You get what I mean? I feel sorry for them for they have yet to get their rezeki from Allah and I couldn't be more thankful and happy to be pregnant for the second time but I also want to be sensitive towards others. As much as I want to share the happiness and joy, I must also think about other people.

Anyway, please pray for a smooth and complication-free pregnancy and delivery for me, will ya?

More updates in the upcoming posts, Insyaallah.