Haikal's 1st Vacation

Can't wait to fly again. KL was good, and the fact that I didn't have to worry about packing his bottles and formula was a pure bliss LOL

Overall everything went great, except that he refused to sit in the stroller and carried by everyone else except me. So it was either Ummi or let him loose.

Shopping experience was superb I must say. The 1st and the last time I'd been to KL was in 2009, and we only stayed for less than 48 hours there. We hadn't discovered much and thought KL was boring. But this time with 6 full days to go around we had a taste of every major shopping mall in KL, and I want to go there again! InsyaAllah mudahan dimurahkan rezeki :)















Reminder to self, get all the pictures printed out and album-ized!

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It's Getting More Exciting. Everyday!

We discovered that Haikal now has learned to follow instructions. Or maybe just words & the actions associated with them. Whatever they are, I'm truly proud of my baby! This afternoon, we were leaving the car and Abu Haikal told him to get his shoes in the footrest, and he immediately looked at the footrest (at the shoes!) and picked them up and passed them to his abi! Oh and he'd now put up his hands whenever we say some prayers (even just Bismillah). Alhamdulillah! The first and the only thing that we want for Haikal is for him to be a very very very good muslim, and we believe that will make him good in everything else!

Oh and he is now standing on his own. Yay! الحمدلله! And honestly, I didn't want to be worried if he hadn't started doing that because I knew that he would eventually get to reach all those milestones. No pressure baby, and don't be bothered by those who keep on asking when you're going to start walking, because there's no such thing as babies cannot walk, kan? Wa Iya Zubillah! In fact I'm secretly hoping that you'll only start walking when we are back from our vacation in Dec ;p

Anyway, here's wishing every muslim reader (if I still have any) Ma'al Hijrah. May Allah bless us with His Nuur as well as His blessings, aameen!

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The best kind of barter trade!

Haikal is ONE!

Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. After a year of a lot of firsts and fun and a lot of hair-pulling moments, we survived baby!

Happy one year old my little caliph. We love you. Words are not enough to express how grateful we are for having you. May you grow up healthily, sempurna iman & menjadi mu'min yang sejati dunia akhirat aameen!


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Soon-To-Be-One

Haikal is few more days shy of his 1st birthday and my baby boy hasn't been very well. We had to take him to the doctor this morning since the temperature wouldn't subside even after giving him some paracetamol. Though sick, he has been in a very good mood alhamdulillah.

Dr Chhan said it was nothing to worry about as he didn't see any redness in the throat. He sent us home with Salbutamol expectorant and some sort of multivitamins, which was great since I've been thinking of getting from the Guardian but couldn't decide which to get. We had a quick breakfast at Cengkih Restaurant after that, and came home to some instamagnets I ordered few weeks ago from StickyGram.

In the afternoon we went to Bandar again for the second time today since Abu Haikal was having an appointment for brace-tightening. You know, as much as I 'dislike' my job, I'm glad that we only work half-day most of the time. Abu Haikal also works morning shift all the time so most of our afternoons are free and filled with nap & tea activities.

Now, 4 more days to go baby! I've been having fun getting free printables online and making banners and all sorts of deco stuff, and I can hardly wait for Friday! InsyaAllah, hopefully everything will go smoothly aameen!

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10 More Days

And my baby boy will turn one! Seriously, it feels like it was only yesterday since I first held you in my arms (well, no S actually cos you were so small that I could hold you with just one arm). I miss your baby smell, which is now officially no longer there, unless I kiss you right after you've had your shower.

Oh boy! As much as I enjoy seeing you growing up, I am truly nervous. Being a mother means I'm shouldering numerous responsibilities, and I want to make sure I carry out all the duties perfectly, especially in ensuring that you grow up as a true muslim. And speaking of that I am grateful that you now know how to prostrate whenever we say 'Allahu Akbar' masyaAllah Alhamdulillah.


We are trying our best to provide a true islamic environment for you to grow up in, and I know it's not easy, but as I said, we'll try our very best, InsyaAllah.

Your birthday is coming soon and I've been planning a thanksgiving ceremony for that insyaAllah. There is going to be just a mini-party for us to give thanks to Allah with a du'a and share the happiness & gratitudes with our relatives & close friends. I surely can't wait for the special Friday to come!


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Happy 11 months and ... Days!

And that certainly means that this is another belated birthday post! Nope I didn't forget to write, I was just plain lazy. And nope that doesn't mean I love you my baby any less, I was just, well, lazy.

Anyway, here's wishing you my little caliph a very happy 11th 'birthday'. Less than one month to go and I'm still clueless on what to do for your 1st birthday party! No theme in mind yet, just blue, and more blue. So far the only thing that I've done for the party is buying the balloons HAHAHA (I wish I could use Emoji icons here)! Everything else is still undecided :s

Let's not get stressed out and enjoy the last day of school break yes? More open houses to attend tomorrow insyaAllah, looking forward to take Haikal around and meet everyone else. So far he's been on his best behaviour alhamdulillah, only got cranky once (I think it was past his bedtime and I didn't realize he had one) and this happened on the 1st day of Syawal and I don't think I'll ever go beraya past 9.30 pm anymore.
And here are some raya photos taken here and there. Enjoy :)

Haikal & Ummi on 1st Syawal

1st Syawal at his Nini Dagong's house. Here with Uncle Hadi enjoying the softness of the carpet LOL

At his nini uda's place on the 3rd Syawal.

Haikal with Abi and Kaka Zati at Nini Tangah's house at Kg Limau Manis

A very tired boy

And now I've just realized that we didn't take a lot of pictures this time. :s It's okay, I'll try harder tomorrow. Till I write again, I wish everyone Eid Mubaraak, taqabbalallahu minna wa minkum taqabbal ya Kareem.

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Haikal's First at Jame' Asr

Salaam Ramadhan.

How's the fasting? And the tilawah? Alhamdulillah, now we are on the 21st day of Ramadhan. Inda terasa, we are already in the last 10 days of Ramadhan. Kalau zaman baginda nabi dulu iatah waktu nya for them untuk meningkatkan amal, in search of malam Al-Qadr. Hopefully it is the same for us.

This time around, terasa jauh beza nya with last year. Sadly I have to admit that my time for ibadah is a little bit limited this year. Can't wait for the school holiday so that I can be more focused especially on the tilawah & teraweeh. DH is on leave as well so we have been planning to do the eid preparation during the days only.

Two days ago I finally took Haikal to Jame 'Asr after 11 months. It was our 4th wedding anniversary & we thought of having an iftar outing but it was quite tough to pick a place. I was thinking of the Atrium but DH thought it would be a waste ($28/head) since he didn't eat much normally during iftar. After much thinking and surfing online we decided to just go to the Jame' and have our iftar there. It was just perfect pasal kalau kan sungkai dimana-mana pun our main concern is where to do Maghrib.

We went to tapau some food from Sugarbun and reached Jame' at around 6pm. How I missed the place. We took turns to perform ablutions, and few minutes before the adzan I went to the prayer hall with Haikal. Worried at first as it was our first time, he might crawl to the door or to other jemaah or climb on me. Alhamdulillah Allah permudah kan jua, though I had to do my maghrib alone instead of joining the congregation. Haikal did crawl around but I guess since the place was very lapang and luas he got over-excited and didn't know which way to go.





Alhamdulillah, it has been 4 years. Syukran jazeelan dearest husband for all your love & care. My imam, teman tazkirah, my confidante, I love you, lillahi ta'ala, wallahi.

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A day at Istana Nurul Iman

Salaam Ramadhan.

Alhamdulillah, we've now entered the second half of Ramadhan. Time flies so fast that we only have 14 more days to go now :s So far I've been doing so good with my fastings. I have to admit that it has been a challenge to breastfeed and pump and not drink, but I guess it all goes down to our niyyah & mindset. I had this one moment sometimes last week when I felt so weak early in the morning and thought I could not go on. I had to teach that morning and was going to have a meeting in Bandar when I started to feel shaky. I was thinking of breaking my fast as soon as I got home but then as I was driving back home, I thought to myself. This was why we were asked to fast. To get some taste of real hunger, real thirst. The images of those little kids in Somalia struck my head and I was ashamed of myself. I then decided to just go on no matter what and prayed for Allah to give me the strength, and He did subhanAllah! So, 15 days of fasting so far.

Fasting is also a challenge on non-working days as I'd be with Haikal most of the time and he'd nurse directly, which quickly drains all my energy. He's also been refusing his food, insisted on having whatever is on everyone's plate instead. A very common sight during iftaar would be him trying to crawl out of his high chair and reach the food on the dining table.


Anyway, I got to go to the palace yesterday for a Khatam Al-Quran ceremony in conjunction with His Majesty's 66th birthday celebration. It was quite humble of His Majesty and other members of the royal family to actually sit on the floor and joined the congregates reciting the Quran. It was my first experience attending such formal event at the palace. I had to leave home as early as 7am and the function only ended at 3+. I brought my pumping gear but couldn't find the time to pump. Well even if I could, I still wouldn't get to do it as Nana only packed the bottles & ice pack, no breastshields and the pump connectors! Oh well, at least I still managed to break-even, making 9+ oz by the time I reached home. Probably it's due to the high happy hormones after getting the souvenirs from His Majesty, which was a Quran digital pen reader :D alhamdulillah that's what I call rezeki ramadhan.





Alhamdulillah alhamdulillah alhamdulillah. I hope to be able to write one more Ramadhan post insyaAllah. And a good news, we haven't had any iftaar out so far. Been having home-cooked meals and we love it. I'm aiming to at least just have 2 iftaar sessions out, one with just Abu Haikal and Haikal, and another one with the whole family! I can't afford to have too many coz I need the $ to buy more Jovian's AviRaya ready-to-wear bajus :p

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Marhaban Ya Ramadhan

Alhamdulillah, I finally manage to find some time to quickly drop by and write something here. Another overdue birthday post for my little boy who just turned 10 months last Saturday. I wanted to write on that very day, but I was terribly saddened by the news about a heli crash that had killed 12 nation's heroes. Innalillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Roji'un. My thoughts and prayers are for the lost lives as well as the families they left behind, especially the children. I don't know any of them personally, but one of their wives was someone I knew from an audition for newscaster back in 2007. I can only pray for her to be strong for the son & the baby she's carrying.

Now that we have entered the month that is full of blessings and rewards, I wish my dearest readers Ramadhan Mubaraak and may Allah accept our 'ibadah. I've been up for some Ramadhan challenges I posed for myself, and I hope the goals will all be successfully attained by the end of this month.

As for my little caliph, welcome to Ramadhan baby. Now that you're strong enough to push yourself up to a stand and cruise around, you've been making us worry more and more with your little stunts. In just a month you've been falling and hitting the floors for quite a number of times :s We try not to restrict your movement as we believe you'll be able to walk sooner if we let you loose, but I really hope in the course of learning you will not injure yourself seriously. We've been warned that all these are normal at this age so we are trying not to be too worried. Anyway, Ramadhan is definitely more fun with you around at the dinner table joining us for iftaar :D I love you baby! I pray for your continuous health and may Allah bless us all.


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Countdown to Ramadhan

Six days to go. A lot of things have been happening in the past few days that I've just realized Ramadhan will be here very very soon. InsyaAllah.

We are quite excited as it will be Haikal's 1st Ramadhan. We have practised waking up for the sahoor, and of course Haikal joined us at the dining table too. Abu Haikal has also bought a new Quran as an advance Ramadhan gift (as requested by me :p) so yes, I'm pretty excited and can't wait to start! At the moment I'm already reading one, and currently at Juz 22, and will have to finish the whole Quran before Ramadhan. And I have 5 nights to do that. InsyaAllah. Apart from the Quran reading we have also set our targets that hopefully will be achieved. We'll try not to waste $ on Sungkai buffets at restaurants, not to waste $ on buying Raya stuff etc.

In terms of the preparation for fasting, I think and I hope I will do just fine (read: I will produce just as much as I do nowadays). I've done some fastings last week to make up for the missed days last Ramadhan and alhamdulillah, there's no significant difference in terms of the output amount. A point that I need to consider however. Last week I was attending an in-house training the whole day for 5 days, where we basically only had to sit down and listen to some lectures all the time. Hence, I was still energetic by the iftaar. The coming Ramadhan however will be different as I will have to walk around, teach, etc most of the morning, and it might have a different effect on my energy level and milk output amount. It might, it might not. May Allah make it easy for me and other breastfeeder-sisters out there ameen!

I am also concerned about the amount of milk I have in stock. While I was away last week, I was expressing only once a day, and I only covered half of Haikal's consumption for each day. By the time I reached home there wasn't any chance for me to do another session as Haikal would insist to hang on me (literally). Now the stock is slowly depleting :s Note to self, try to pump at least once a day everyday before Ramadhan just to build the stock.

And Haikal is cutting his FOUR upper teeth and TWO lower teeth at the moment! I was in awe to see them all coming out at the same time. Not fully through yet, but I can see them whites already! And now he can crawl without his tummy touching the floor (yes, no more army crawl or whatever you call it :D) and can get up to sit without any assistance. I just love the fact that he's developing at the right pace the right time, not too fast and not too slow, alhamdulillah.

I guess this is what happens when you don't write anything for a long time. InsyaAllah, I've been thinking of a writing project for this upcoming Ramadhan as an effort to keep this blog updated, not just with random silly not-so-important entries. InsyaAllah, will keep you my dear readers posted.

And here some snaps of Haikal in July.












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Another Belated Post

Happy belated 9th month birthday my baby boy! Sorry for the one-week delay but my time has been so consumed by you that I hardly find time long enough to write here.

Few days before you turned 9 months you finally managed to sit on your own! Alhamdulillah! And you've now started to enjoy playtime more than ever.

Speaking of playtime we went to your very first playdate at Soffiya's place, and boy didn't we all have fun! You enjoyed your brief dip in the pool with all the girls and I had a hard time taking you out of it. Maybe we'll wait for a few more months before you get to stay longer in the water.

We've also been taking you to the playground at the Seri Kenangan beach twice this month alone and you were scared to sit on the swing. We didn't try the slides though. Maybe next time?

Anyway, you've been having a fever for the last few days, but it was great to see you still active and happy playing around. However you've been waking up in the middle of the nights and insisted us play with you. Hopefully that will go away soon with the fever. Maybe you're cutting your upper teeth, maybe it was something else, but I just hope you will get to your best soon.

And what's a story without pictures?











Oh and I forgot to mention about your latest clinic appointment. Your weight gain wasn't that much but I'm not at all worried as I know you've been taking your food well. You played with the nurses there, showing them your muka bida and all that. I was proud of you baby!



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Haikal Goes to Hawaii

Aloha! Nope he didn't exactly go to Hawaii. It was Sofiyya's 1st birthday party and the theme was Hawaiian. I was pretty excited though finding the perfect outfits for us was quite hard. We didn't really dress up to the theme but thanks to the host who greeted us with leis and made us look Hawaiian enough LOL














Overall I had quite a good, though brief, time meeting everyone and catching up. And I love all the decos. Mini umbrellas, an ukulele, inflatable palm trees, girls with grass skirts, everything was so Hawaiians!! I was definitely reminded of Kaka Sara's luau party last year when I was heavily pregnant with Haikal :D Though we did't manage to stay long I think we both had an enjoyable afternoon. Haikal wasn't cranky at all, but of course couldn't sit still and insisted I give him food. Oh, and he screamed for the balloon too!

To Sofiyya who's turned one last Thursday, Happy Birthday to you darling girl! May you grow healthily and beautifully! I hope you (and mummy) love the boots we got for you.

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Another Month Older

Alhamdulillah! Developmental milestones checked, my little boy is progressing well, healthily. And let's have a look at his 'muka bida' that he loves to show to everyone!


LOL! So that's his 'muka bida'. I've been taking a lot of pictures of him lately since I've been on leave due to the recent miscarriage. Blessings in disguise I have to admit. My sister's wedding took place yesterday and I haven't been able to get proper rest & treatment, so now I can make use of the sick leave (2 more days) to recuperate and of course spend quality time with my chubby baby (more pictures of the chubby cheeks below)








Talking about the wedding, it went really really well, only few hitches here & there. DS looked pretty pretty pretty in her white dress at the solemnization ceremony. And the reception event that took place in the evening was simple and yet beautiful. The bride looked flawlessly exquisite in her green dress, and everyone loved the outdoor garden-themed dais.








To the newly weds, may Allah bless the union of you two in this world & the hereafter. Aim for His Jannah.

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Another Loss

You know that rule where you are not supposed to get too excited about something or else it might not happen. Anyway, I think I'm experiencing a miscarriage. I started to have some bleeding since last Sunday. An ultrasound confirmed that I was 5 weeks pregnant, which made it abit difficult to detect any heartbeat. I was admitted to the OBGYN ward but there was nothing much they (and I) could do except resting in bed, so I was discharged yesterday. However I started to experience strong cramp around my pelvis area this morning, and not long after I was passing clots of blood, fist-sized.

I've been bracing up myself for the past few days, expecting the worst and praying for the best. Innalillahi Wa Innailaihi Roji'un.


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Another Long Overdue Hello

Few weeks since I last wrote. I'm not sure if I'm still having any readers here LOL! Haikal is turning 8 months in a week time and my last post was a few days after his 7th. Still trying my best to beat the 'procrastinator' out of the already lazy me.

It's May, and we have a hectic week (or weeks) ahead of us! Dearest sister's wedding is coming up next week, which will then be followed with a cousin's. You know how weddings are in Brunei, with all those malam berjaga-jaga and stuff, we're all going to be like Zombies at work.

Anyway, today's post is intended to announce not those weddings but another great news. I'm now carrying #2! As much as we wanted to wait for Haikal to at least turn 1, we did think of having another one before we both turn 30. Alhamdulillah. And despite being pregnant now, I somehow manage to continue breastfeeding Haikal and express the same usual amount everyday. I think I'll just let him wean off naturally.

Now, though it has always been a concern among pregnant mothers whether they should continue nursing their babies, I personally think it depends solely on the mother's condition. I've read up on Kellymom and it is emphasized that breastfeeding & being pregnant shouldn't be harmful in most cases. And after seeking advice from the midwives at the clinic, who told me that it really is up to me, I'm adamant to continue breastfeeding. Anyway, I just have to. I return home on most days with engorged Bs and can't help but pump them! It is a bit weird though because (scientifically) I shouldn't be producing as much now that I have the pregnant hormones. And one more thing, I'm unsure of how far along I am in this pregnancy as I hadn't had my period back after delivery. I can't wait to get the ultrasound done to see how the bun is baking inside :)

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A Belated Birthday Post

*sobs* Haikal turned 7 months last Saturday and I missed writing a post here. I wasn't that busy. Just plain lazy.

So what's new? My boy can now officially crawl, alhamdulillah. We've been minimizing the use of the walker (only when we are in the kitchen having dinner or in the living room) and most of the time he's left on the floor venturing the bedroom and the connecting mini TV room. That means now we have to make sure he is safely kept away from all the electric points in the room.





In terms of feeding, he's been taking 9-10 oz of EBM on average while I'm at work, and I've been 'making' just enough milk to breakeven, alhamdulillah. There were days when I couldn't cover the 'losses' especially when I pump earlier than 2pm, and I'd make sure to do another session the next morning. At the moment the stock amount still stands at around 120oz, and now that I'm running out of the storage bags, I've been using the fresh EBM for his daily feeding instead of the frozen ones. I've been using Lansinoh and I love the fact that they are easier to be arranged in the freezer, so now I'm still contemplating on whether to get the same brand or go back to the cheaper Farlin.

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On Weaning & Teething

Four more days and Haikal will turn 7 months old! Whaaaaaaa...ttt?! That fast?! *sobs*

So it has been a month since I started weaning him off. Talking about weaning, he's been a good and not-so-picky eater alhamdulillah. Be it porridge with carrots, sweet potatoes, purees (apple or pear) he has so far shown no specific preference. Basically yeah he just gobbles up everything, making it easy for us.

And I'm glad now we are doing everything ourselves, as in no more ready-to-mix porridges. We bought some beras merah at the weekly market and some veggies, voila!! Nana prefers cooking them in a big portion and put them in the fridge in batches so we don't have to make them everyday. Simple, I love! At the moment Haikal's taking the porridge as his breakfast & lunch, and fruit purees ( also homemade) for his lunch.

And have I mentioned that he is cutting his first 2 teeth?? Yeay! Well I thought they were going to come out a little bit later, but here they are! I'm thankful that we didn't have to go through the scary period of teething (I heard babies can get feverish and very very cranky). And soon we shall start on freshly cut fruits instead of just the mashed ones, but that also means dental hygiene and care is going to start early for him.

So, that is all so far, and too bad I haven't managed to take a clear pictures of his two teeth! Will try to snap one and post it up on his 7th months birthday insyaAllah.


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What Arrive Today!

Mothercare was having some sale and I took the chance to grab few shirts for Haikal last week as he has outgrown most of his outfits :s I purchased them online and had them shipped to Ridhwan's mummy in Hillingdon, with a hope that whoever their next Bruneian guest is, the person wouldn't mind bringing the stuff to Brunei. Alhamdulillah, Haikal's Pa Abong was on duty to London and stopped by Hillingdon for a few days. Though his baggage was already full with stuff he was selling (M&S Cookies and some kains from Dubai) he was willing to bring Haikal's stuff back.



Thanks dearest cousin. Mudahan sentiasa dimurahkan rezeki & may the wife (pregnant with the first baby, 3 months along) sentiasa dalam lindungan Allah, and I pray for a safe delivery of the baby nanti, ameen.

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The Weaning, Bits & Pieces

10 days after he first had his solid, and I shall now say that Haikal's love for food is developing well, so well that he wants everything that we have on the table. What used to be a peaceful mealtime is now always chaotic moment as we struggle to make him sit still in his seat and not touch any food. And that of course normally ends with him wailing! Anyway, all babies do this. So most of the time, in a bid to make him sit quietly, I'd offer him bits of our food (I swore not to do this before as we wanted to teach him some healthy eating habits, and I've failed), which of course would make him a happy bunny, at least for a few minutes!

A slice of tomato

Just a lick of Umm's Split Ice cream



Red bean-filled bun



Some Lamington from Mr Baker's



A handful of Spaghetti Bolognaise



Which almost made their way through to his mouth

I had planned to introduce pasta when he hits the 7th month but sadly that has also failed. I made him mashed spaghetti with a little bit of olive oil, tomatoes & EBM, which he refused to take after the 3rd spoon. Oh well, I just hope that despite the yummy experience his taste bud has gone through he will still want to eat his rice porridge and fruit purees.

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