silver!

today, 27th March 2012, my precious Babycakes turns 6 months young! alhamdulillah. i couldn't believe that my sweet little Babycakes is already 6 months. gosh time flies really fast, it feels like i just gave birth to her yesterday! the memories of carrying her in my belly and the moments of delivery is still fresh in my mind. she has been with us, cherishing our lives and giving us endless joy and happiness for the past 6 months and it has been the most magical 6 months of my life. but of course we did hit a few bumps here and there with us being first time parents but it sure was the highlight of our lives. she is one precious bundle of joy, one who loves to smile a cheeky smile. she loves to smile at strangers that strangers would come up to her and ask to carry and hold her. as much as i am flattered with their admiration but sometimes i feel it is not appropriate to let a total stranger to hold her. what if those people have some kind of illness or when was the last time they washed their hands? ughhh.
6 months is a huge milestone, for me at least. Babycakes can now start feeding on solids but i intend to start this weekend so that i can monitor her closely, take our own sweet time to enjoy the first moments of eating solids and also to monitor her bowel movement. we already bought her high chair from IKEA and i just have to buy the cushion pad so that she will be comfortable in it. we also bought her feeding utensils from IKEA, the green froggy set of four-bib, spoon, sippy cup and bowl. they are cute and they are really cheap. the high chair has been assembled last weekend and i put her in it to give it a try. i even put the bib on her and put the bowl, cup and spoon on the tray. she loves playing with it and i took some pictures. too bad i can't post pictures here anymore. can i upload from photobucket though?
Babycakes turning 6 months is an achievement for me too for i have been successfully breastfeeding her for the past 6 months so this means i now have my 'silver boobies' yeayy! this calls for a celebration, don't you agree? it was hard in the beginning where i suffered from every new mom's nightmare-cracked nipples, bleeding nipples, sore nipples, engorgement, bad latching and all that comes with it but we managed to pull it through and we made it this far. i can never be so proud of myself for being able to breastfeed this long and i plan to continue for as long as i can. besides, milk is still a baby's number 1 source of nutrition before the age 1. yes i pump regularly. i carry my pump with me to the courts and i've pumped in the parking lots, at petrol stations and also near tasik Shah Alam. i've also pumped in the court's surau. i am taking Pil ASI to ensure a steady supply but frankly i don't see any significant increase but at least it helps to maintain my supply i guess. i also take fenugreek seeds regularly, almost everyday. i seep about 1stp of seeds in a mug of hot water and let it seep and drink the water together with the seeds, whole, when it is cooled. it tastes yucky and till today i still hate the taste but i'd do anything to maintain my supply. now i smell like fenugreek and it's not really a pleasant smell. how on earth did people describe its smell like maple syrup? maple syrup smells sweet, don't they? i also drink tons of water, i heard Gatorade helps so i drink Gatorade every other day, i never skip any meals, i drink tons of water, i drink Horlicks, i drink organic soya bean milk and i still take my prenatal vitamins. it is all about demand and supply and i will supply my milk to my baby for as long as i can.
tonight hubby and i plan to have a mini celebration of our own. i asked hubby to buy Babycakes a slice of cake for her for me. haha. or a couple of cupcakes sound nice too. it's a celebration of Babycakes' 6 months birthday and also a celebration for me for getting to breastfeed this far. yeay!

the tale of Pinky Polly

I made a pinky promise that I will write about Pinky Polly so this is a story of Pinky Polly (hereinafter referred to as PP). Penat ok nak type Pinky Polly banyak2 kali. I wanted Babycakes to have a particular soft toy/item that she can carry around everywhere, one that she can get attached to, one that she can never leave home without, one that will be her comfort thingy. That particular toy/item has got to be big enough for Babycakes to cuddle but small enough to stuff inside my handbag. Along came PP. She came into our lives when Babycakes was about 2months young. PP is a soft little doll with a pink suit and a matching pink cap. She has a picture of a strawberry on her pink suit. She measures about 20cm and she is light weight. She comes with a yellow link that can be attached to stroller but I removed it because I want her in all her soft glory self. She’s small, she’s compact and she can be easily stuffed inside my handbag. She fits all criteria that I wanted and it’s a bonus that she’s pink! A soft shade of cotton candy pink.
Where does she come from? She was bought at Early Learning Centre (ELC), KLCC after I have finished my confinement. Toys at ELC are very expensive but during my visit then, they were having a sale, yeay! I couldn’t leave the shop without buying something for Babycakes so as I browsed around, I saw PP sitting near the cashier and guess what, she was on sale! Guess how much PP costs? A freaking RM55. No kidding. A puny little thing like that costs a whopping 55bucks?? You gotta be kidding me! I might as well but some ‘real toy’! but hey, PP was on 70% discount! I asked the cashier if the discount only applies with a purchase of RM50 and above or so (you know the deal) but she said no. After calculating (or rather guessing) how much she costs in the end, I bought PP. You do the math if you wanna know her price. Trust me, if she was not on sale, I wouldn’t even consider buying her.
So from then on, PP became Babycakes’ good friend. However, PP has her fair share of stories too. She was left behind not once but twice. Once was at Hokkaido seafood restaurant, and another was at Tesco Kepong.
The first incident, PP was in the stroller and hubby carried the stroller and put in the car. Somehow rather along the way I had a feeling about PP so I asked hubby “PP ada kan?” He replied, “Ada dalam stroller.” I asked, “Sure ada? Tak jatuh ke apa?” hubby then stopped the car by the road and checked on PP and true enough, PP was NOT in the stroller. So we went back to the restaurant and when hubby asked the waiters about PP, they said she was at the cashier. Phew~
The second incident, I was pushing Babycakes in her stroller and she was happily playing with PP. We were at the toiletries aisle and hubby noticed PP on the floor. Hubby picked her up and gave it to Babycakes. I told hubby to go and pay the groceries first and we will follow suit. I then strolled along the aisles, went to the clothes aisles and even grabbed one set of pyjamas. I handed over the pyjamas to hubby who was paying and then I went out and went to the magazine shop. I browsed some magazines and then hubby called and said that he’s going to send the stuffs to the car. As I was about to push Babycakes up the walkalator, I peeped inside her stroller and lo and behold! PP was nowhere in sight! I checked underneath her body but PP was not there. I panicked. I quickly went down again and called hubby and said, “PP takde!” I tolf hubby that I’m gonna look for PP so my first stop was the magazine shop. I asked the salesgirls, “Ada nampak anak patung kecik kaler pink tak?” they said No. I then went in Tesco and searched high and lo for PP. I tracked down the aisles that I went to earlier and in my mind, I was worried what if somebody picked her up and throw her away? What if some kids pick her up? Oh gosh. And then to my relief, there she was, laying face down near the toiletries aisle. I was relieved! I asked Babycakes, “Why did you throw PP away? Kesian PP!” she just smiled a cheeky smile and continued eating her fingers and slobbering her face with saliva. I did not give PP to Babycakes, instead I put her in my handbag. The next day, I sprayed Febreeze and hung her out in the sun.
So there you go. If PP was lost for the third time *touchwood* I’m not gonna replace her unless and until ELC has another sale AND she’s sold at 70% discount.
Btw I can no longer upload pictures as I’ve exceeded the quota limit booo! How do I increase the storage?

the pink bunny is here!

i finally received my pink bunny today from Dumex simply by joining the Dumex Mama Club. however the bunny does not come as easy as i thought. i am saying this because i joined the club way before Babycakes was born. that was last year. that was way before September 2011. apparently they did not receive my information or details and i have actually forgotten about it until i stumbled upon their fb page and queried about it. after several queries and emails to Dumex, i finally received the 'coveted' pink bunny. the courier service called me yesterday to ask me when can they post the pink bunny because apparently their first attempt was unsuccessful. they sent to my parents' house which is the mailing address but no one was at home. or rather my mum did not hear when they came. thankfully they called and informed me about it so i asked them to send to my office instead.

so there you go. this is the pink bunny that i've been waiting for.

it's cute, it's soft and it's pink, yeay! i can't wait to give it to Babycakes. pink bunny will be good friends with Pinky Polly. i think i should come up with a name for the pink bunny too. any suggestions? who is Pinky Polly, you may ask? i'll write about Pinky Polly in another post. pinky promise!

just sharing

my favourite sites that are baby/parenting related include, among others are:

• Babycenter
• Babble
• Shine from Yahoo
• Parenthots

there also various sites and pages on facebook specially dedicated to parenting and baby/kid related posts. being a contest junkie, i am always on the lookout for contests and now that i have my little Babycakes, i am always on the lookout for contests for babies too. when i was confinement, i won a RM50 Giant voucher from a Huggies sms contest. i will write about this in another post.

recently i took part in Parenthots where all i need to do is share my personal experience regarding babies, kids, parenting and the like. it can be anything so i simply submitted one and hey, my entry was published online. the title of my short post is Shopping Smart For Baby.

i'm not sure if my entry will be the best entry of the month but i remain hopeful. i could get a RM20 Giant voucher which can be used to buy Babycakes' toiletries. but if it is not chosen as the best of the month, it's ok. sharing is, after all, caring, right?

we won a diaper!

I won a packet of Baby Love Night Jumbo pack from a contest in Mami & Baby magazine for Irene yeay! I entered the contest many months back that i've forgotten about it until i received an email notifying me of my win and asking me to collect the prize.

hmpph. apa la salahnya courierkan aje? what if the winner stays in Shah Alam, Bangi or even outstation, it would be a hassle for them to go all the way to the god-forsaken place office, right? they will have to arrange for courier service themselves.

their office is at Taman Mastiara, Jalan Ipoh. they provided a map and they don't even have a signboard. in the map, they stated 'Farm Land Fresh Organics' as the landmark but their office is opposite the Farm Land Fresh Organics shop. why can't they quote 'J.Y Caterer' instead? it's right next to them and its signboard is big and clear. hmpph.

this is the diaper that we won. by we, i mean Irene and I. I entered the contest but it's for her that's why I say we. geddit? luckily i put her diaper size as M size. she can definitely fit them. If i had written NB or S size, she won't be able to wear them. so to those of you who plan on entering contests (especially like this), remember that it will take weeks or in most cases months for them to announce and notify the winner so always think ahead.

little books for my little one

it is never too early to instill good reading habit in your little one. the books or reading materials need not be expensive, as long as it has bright colours and patterns, different textures, crinkly and squeaky sounds, it can give endless hours of exploring. reading to your little one is a good way to increase her vocabulary and to improve her listening skills. you can read almost anything to her. sometimes i would show Babycakes catalogs from Giant or Tesco, sometimes i show her Dominos Pizza menu or flyers that i get stuck on my car. i would also read the newspaper to her too but she would only pay attention for a couple of minutes or so before she started to lose interest.

we have several books for her but she can't hold the books by herself yet, let alone turn the pages.

bought these books online from MyBaby Helper. managed to get some discount for buying a lot.

yup, since she can't turn the pages or hold the book, she lost interest within 3 minutes or so.

i searched online and bought a few cloth books for her from Gifts From Heaven. they sell really cheap cloth books that i ended up buying 5 cloth books for Babycakes, with each costing a mere RM12. that is very reasonable as compared to RM39.90 or more each. the good thing about the site is that they have a disclaimer telling you if the item(s) are defective or dirty or if it's a ex-manufacturer stock or if some pages are printed upside down etc. they even said that customers who are particular are not advisable to buy.

there is nothing wrong with the cloth books that i purchased, except for one, which the page is a bit senget and the tag is upside down. other than that, all is fine.


Babycakes doesn't seem to mind at all. in fact, she even reads them upside down!

i was so excited to give her the books that day but i see that she is even more excited as she grabbed the book herself when i was busy taking pictures.

the duck book has a furry cover, squeaker and its wing has a crinkly sound.

this Garanimals book even has teethers for her to chew on.

the books kept her entertained for hours, which gives me time to do other things. i guess we can skip buying Grolier book set for now. they're really expensive! there's always MPH and Popular bookstores too which sell good books at reasonable price.

lunchtime shopping

in my previous post i said that if i go to the shops, i will always get something for my baby, didn't i? today i did just that. i'm glad that i don't work near shopping malls anymore. i've worked at Jalan Pinang once and hey, KLCC and Pavilion were my playground then. i can't imagine if i am still working there. i will surely spend most of my money and lunch time at either KLCC or Pavilion. phew~ that wouldn't be good for the pocket and for the future. my current office is in Hartamas and there are many shops, restaurants, cafes, boutiques, spas etc. thankfully there is only one shop (or at least one that i know for now) that sells babies' and kids' clothing. damn. there goes my money. i love to browse and look around but i manage to control and refrain myself from buying anything for babycakes. i mean, she has tons of clothes and some she hasn't even worn yet! but then the clothes and the gowns are just too adorable to resist. so far i've only bought her 3 pairs of socks (before she was born) and today i bought her 2 pieces of panties. not bad for self-control, right? *pat on my back*

a baby girl needs panties when she wears her gowns, right? *alasan*

Fisher Price panties for only RM6. trust me if they costs more than RM6, i would not buy. i'd love to get the printed ones, they are cuter but they only have size 0-3 months.

as for myself, i bought this pair of earring from F Block for RM10. their boutique is near my office and they sell pretty and cute ear rings and hair accessories ughhh. they're so cute and so cheap i just have to buy, no? i've bought several hair bands and ear rings too before this. note to self: stay away from F Block!!

the difference

ever since being a mum and back to work, i became more selfless. everything is about the baby. everything has got to be about the baby. she is on my mind 24/7, i can never stop thinking and worrying about her especially during the day when i'm at work and she's at the nursery.
what is she doing at this very moment? did she drink her milk? did they burp her after her milk? is the milk that i send enough for the day? is she behaving well at the nursery? are they treating her well? does she have enough stimulation in between naps? oh my. the more i think the more i become anxious. anyway let's see the difference before and after i had a baby.

BEFORE BABY
i can go to the shopping mall after work for some me time or buy some stuffs for dinner.

AFTER BABY
i have to go back straight without making any stops so that i can pick my babycakes at the nursery asap.

BEFORE BABY
i go to the shops and buy things for none other than myself (and the occasional stuffs for hubby).

AFTER BABY
if i go to the shops, i can never leave without buying a little something for my baby, be it a teeny weeny toy or a pack of socks. or a new pacifier. there must be something for her.

BEFORE BABY
i've no doubts about spending money for myself.

AFTER BABY
i hesitate to even buy a RM50 top for myself but i don't mind paying RM30 for a teething toy.

BEFORE BABY
hubby and i can go to any restaurants to eat.

AFTER BABY
hubby and i will see if the restaurants is a baby-friendly restaurant i.e not noisy, spacious enough for a stroller, there are separate sections for smoking and non-smoking, comfortable and not hot and stuffy etc.

BEFORE BABY
i can wear any kind of top when i go out.

AFTER BABY
i have to consider wearing a nursing-friendly top. i only have a few nursing tops and they are not so stylish. if i wear a baby tee, i would wear a tank top underneath. it's hot and not that comfortable but like i said, it has got to be about the baby.

BEFORE BABY
we can easily go up and down the floors at shopping mall using the escalator.

AFTER BABY
we have to wait for the elevator to get to different floors and sometimes it takes forever and it is almost always full. we then have to wait for another, which takes time. so we had to make sure which floor we want to go to so as not to waste time just by waiting for the elevator.

BEFORE BABY
i can sneeze and cough for as loud as i can.

AFTER BABY
i had to control and compress my sneeze and cough especially when the baby is sleeping.

BEFORE BABY
i couldn't care less about nose booger and ear wax except mine.

AFTER BABY
i get super excited and i feel like it's an achievement when i managed to suck out a nose booger out of her nose (with a nasal aspirator, of course). i also get super excited when i clean her ears and gosh who would have thought that someone so little can produce so much ear wax?? wow. oh i also love to see her 'high' face when i clean her ears. she would have her eyes half-closed, looking all high and feeling good when i clean her ears.

that's all i can think of at the moment. now i'm missing her like crazy especially after spending quality time with her during the long weekend. i miss golek-goleking with her in bed, in front of the tv, hear her babble away and screams at the top of her lungs (it's her new found habit), kissing her until she rimas hehe oh the list goes on and on.

damn it's only 12pm?

Project Irene part 1

when we were in Genting Highlands on New Year's day, I saw a booth making wax hand prints/figures. I wanted to have one done for my baby. however, it was cold and the thought of having to dip her little hand and little feet in the wax does not sound like a good idea at that time. besides, she might pop her little hand into her mouth. i dare not take the risk so we passed. one day i went to Toys R Us and found this kit.

i bought one and couldn't wait to do it with my baby.

it is really easy to do. the instructions are at the back of the box.

i used an egg mold in the shape of a heart to mold the dough.

you know how babies always clamp their fists right? it took me a few attempts to get it right. it was so hard to get her to open her hands to get a good print but we finally made it. it was left to air dry for a few days. i used a paper clip to write the date.

see what i mean? of course i washed her hand immediately after that.

there are two types of frames, black and white but i took white. the frame was plain so i bought some stickers from Jusco.

i decorated the frame with the stickers. luckily we have enough letters to spell her name.


there you go. my little artist showing off her first art project. she was sleepy but i made her hold the frame, thus the frown on her face. hehe. there will be many more Project Irene in the future. yeay!

oh what a year!

2011 has left us and boy was it a year all right! it was an awesome year. so much things happened and so many events took place. i can't be thankful enough. among the highlights of the year 2011 for me are:

• i married my other half on 7 January 2011 (this means we are just a few days away to our 1st wedding anniversary)
• i found out i was pregnant in February 2011
• i started work at a new firm in April 2011
• we moved in to our house in April 2011
• i gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on 27 September 2011
• i had my first (and hopefully the last) surgery on 2 December 2011

it was definitely an awesome year, alhamdulillah. of course there are bumps and trials but i am blessed to get a hubby AND a baby in the same year. i couldn't thank Allah for more. so here's to the year 2012 and hopefully it will be much more better than 2011. i look forward to being better in every aspect.

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