Dhani Goes To School!

It's March.

Wow.. Time flies so fast huh? In my mind i have written this super long blogpost about Dhani going to playschool. i thought i have written it and published it. But when i go to the Blogger homepage and saw that my last post was actually dated last November, i came to a realization that "Man, you are not a blogger anymore!"

Anyway, yes, my baby Dhani is a playschooler!

Initially my husband and i did not plan to send Dhani to school. He's barely 3 for God's sake!

But my SIL has to go back to Kuching for like, almost every month and we can't leave Dhani with my 97 years-young Grandma and 70-plus years young aunt at home (both live with us) so we thought why not just send Dhani to playschool together with Afif.

In December we started telling him wonderful stories about school - about the fancy toys they have, about the wonderful teachers he'd meet and about the fun friends he'd make. Hearing all these and seeing that Afif loves going to school, he got so excited to go to school himself. Everyday telling us "Adik nak pergi sekolah!" He even didn't wanna take his school uniform off when we first asked him to try it on.

First Week

So on 3rd January 2018, the school life of Dhani Nur Iman began.

We woke up bright, early and excited. The boys ate their breakfast obediently and skipped off the ground into the car and off to school. We dropped Afif at his class on the ground floor first. Holding Dhani's hand, we made our way up to the first floor to the playschool class.

 First day of school!

 Senyum paksa ke Dik?

Upon reaching the door, i saw his face changed. His smile vanished and he hid behind me.

"Oh God, don't let him cry. Please don't cry.." i remember praying in my head.

i smiled encouragingly at him and said things like "Oooo look at the class! Ada toys!"

A friendly, smiley teacher then greeted us and took Dhani's hand and distracted him with oooh and ahhh and "What is your name?" and "Cantiknya beg".

And just like that, without looking back at me, his first day of school began. i followed him behind walls (dengan sedikit menyorok-nyorok) and looked at him through a glass window. He sat down at a table with a couple of boys and started playing blocks.

Yes! No crying! No looking back!

i went out the school and went for a date with my husband.

At 3pm we picked the kids up from school. Afif is okay with scool already so nothing to report la. But Dhani told us that he cried at school.

2nd day no drama at school drop-off.

3rd day no drama at school drop-off.

But fourth day he started crying at the school door. Same goes for the fifth and sixth day.

*insert emoji menangis sambil ketawa disini*

Anyway.. Lepas tu okay la. Takda drama depan pintu sekolah dah. But for the rest of January when they pick me up at the LRT in the evening, Dhani would report "Adik nanges kat sekolah sebab Mama takde.." *pastu teresak-esak..talk about a drama king*

Then miraculously in February when i asked "Adik buat apa kat sekolah hari ni?" he would say "Adik tak nanges kat sekolah!"

Alhamdulillah. Yay!

Dhani at School

He loves going to school. Everyday he would be singing nursery rhymes that they sing at school. His favorite teacher is Teacher Marwan (lately it changed to Teacher Amy). When asked about friends' names he would say "nama dia kawan" (-___-). Every Thursday the teachers would bring the playschoolers to a playground and naturally it's the day Dhani most look forward to. On Fridays they do food-related activities (there were cookies making, pizza baking, smoothie making..) and those are his favorites too.

 Yayyy pizza!

Choc rice krispies cookies!

Teachers reported to me that Dhani kuat makan. BAHAHAHAHA. Tak lama lepas sampai sekolah dia mesti pergi kat one of the teachers, one hand rubbing his belly and he would say "saya lapar.. Nak makan biskut!" and when asked kat rumah tak makan ke? He would say "Tak!" padahal dah makan telur separuh masak/french toast/cereal with milk/waffle/etc sebelum ke sekolah. Bertuah punya budak! For that reason i always pack some food for his school snack.

Recently he also started to speak in English. His usuals are "Mama.. Where are you?", "Mama what is that?" "Mama, it's a pink car! (pointing to his toy car)"

One night we were preparing for bedtime.. Out of nowhere, he took his pillow with 4 owls on it, he pointed a finger to the furthest owl and say "Mama.. Ni teacher Zuzu. Pastu ni (the furthest owl to the left) teacher Siti. Ni (two owls in the middle) teacher Marwan dengan ni teacher Amy!" i was so touched and i asked "Adik sayang ke teacher?" to which he replied "Betul. Adik sayang sume teacher.."

MY BABY IS ALL GROWN UP HE LOVES HIS TEACHERS AND SOON HE'LL LEAVE ME FOR COLLEGE!

*uncontrollable sobs*

Anyway, that's Dhani for you.

On a totally non-school related note, Dhani talks a lot, MashaAllah. He is at the stage where he asks questions, loads of sometimes questions that maked you go "Whattttt?"

Like he would ask over and over again "Mama kenapa mama achooo?" "Mama masak apa?" "Daddy pergi mana?" to which i replied "Daddy jumpa kawan" and he would ask back "Napa jumpa kawan?"(about 50 times in a minute).. Sometimes he would ask "Sapa beli baju/mainan/cawan/kuih/pinggan ni?" another 39 times.It's all new to me as before this Afif didn't talk this much (with his hearing loss and everything..) so sometimes i'm so amused with his questions but other times i'll be like "Kan mama dah cakap Mama yang beli baju niiii". Even Afif get annoyed with Dhani potpet potpet. Haha. But i'm so thankful. Dr. Basha (Afif's speech therapist) said that Dhani's speech and language is advance compared to peers his age, perhaps to the way we talk to Afif. Or maybe it's just because of the fact that each kids are different.

Penat main pon potpet potpet

Afif telling him to shut up "Adik diam la.. Dengar tu ada azan Allahu Akbar!"

Dhani if you're reading this, Mama apologizes for not writing more about you. i'm busy raising you and your brother, playing with you guys, teaching you guys and holding you guys that i barely have time for blogging. But please know that Mama loves you and i believe that you will become a smart, wonderful, and loving man.

Breastfeeding Dhani

I'm typing this while expressing milk at work. 

*insert bunyi pam Medela. Trett trett trett*

Dhani is lucky i was on leave until he was 8 month old. Dah depan mata, mmg drp lahir smpai la 8 bulan tu fully breastfed and direct feed je la. Bergayutttt je keje dier. Tu yang semangat je badan. Manja terlebih. How i love being there all the time to breastfeed him.

Sejak aku masuk keje January hari tu, kene la pam kat office untuk bekalan dia. Jadi ibu bekerja ni memang nak fully breastfeed adalah cabaran. Memula tu lebat production. First mornung session boleh dpt 8-10oz. In total sehari boleh la dapat dlm 18-20oz mengikut tahap kerajinan mengepam. Lagi2 the first few weeks tu aku tak byk keje. Sehari at least 3 kali aku bertapa kat mother's room.

Makin lama makin busy kat office. Sehari 2 kali je sempat pam. Tapi ok la lagi. Stok makin lama makin habis smpai aku pam harini cukup-cukup untuk esok. Kiranya takde frozen stok dah la. Salah sendiri la jugak malas buat stok banyak-banyak time maternity/unpaid leave.

Tapi skarang sedihnyeee lahai production. The past one week memang merudum dengan ketaranya sebab aku period. Paling nak nanges kalau pam satu ounce pon tak sampai. 

Setengah orang memang naturally big producer. Aku pulak tergolong dalam kategori work hard for it. Pernah try Shaklee kononnya milk booster but that didn't work for me. Jaga makan, regular pumping baru la banyak hasil. Based on my 3 years plus of breastfeeding my boys (Afif breastfeed sampai umur 2 tahun 3 bulan, Dhani almost 11 months dah umur dia..and counting) meh aku share sedikit sebanyak tips.

Tips Menyusu Badan Tanpa Makan Supplement Pelik-pelik

1) Makan Mesti Cukup

Tak wujud istilah diet in my years as being a mom. Asal lapar, makan. Nasik wajib 2 kali sehari at least. My meals have to have all food group; carbs, protein and fiber. Takde maknenye lah aku nak skip nasik bagai. Snacks in between meal pon wajib.

Tapi jangan lah mentekedarah terlebih dgn alasan breastfeeding. Quality is as important as quantity. I limit sugary, oily and junk food. Sehari sekali je aku benarkan diri ini minom benda manis. Kalau pagi dah minom latte memang the rest of the day air masak je lah. Snacks pon pilih yang berkhasiat ye. Fruits, biskut tawar, roti with peanut butter tu ok laa. Certain days to aku mentakedarah jugak snacks brownies by A'ai bagai haha.

Alhamdulillah berat aku maintain je la. Masih lebih berat drp zaman studi tapi dah dapat la pre-pregnancy weight tu. 

Fact: Breastfeeding burns 450-500 calories per day.

2) Air Mesti Lebih

Part ni aku selalu kantoi. Alasannya sebab busy keje lupa minom air. Haha. Hari yang aku beringat, memang bergelen minom PLAIN WATER insyaAllah lebat la production. Kalau tak, sendu je ler. How much is enough you ask? Aku pon taktau secara saintifiknya. Tapi kalau aku habiskan sebotol besar mineral water time kat opis tu, lebat la production.

i'm an avid coffee drinker. Myth has it that kalau minom kopi, susu tak banyak. i can say that it's just a myth, guys. Aku minom kopi, insyaAllah susu still ada DENGAN SYARAT banyakkan minom air masak. Kopi bersifat diuretik (menyebabkan kita lebih kerap kencing) maka kalau minom kopi, top up banyak-banyak dengan air untuk mengelakkan dehydrated & banyakkan susu.

3) Know Your Milkbooster
Milkbooster ni subjective untuk setiap orang. Among the milkboosters i heard are milk, dates, habbatussauda, pegaga, etc. In reality not all milkboosters work on all breastfeeding mama.

Contohnya aku tak berubah pon production susu kalau makan pegaga, susu, alfalfa, kacang gajus. Tapi kalau aku makan sayur pucuk manis masak lemak, lobak putih, dan air rendaman halba, baru banyak susu. Maka rajin-rajin la observe makanan/air apa yg membantu banyakkan susu uols.

4) Regular Pumping/Direct Feed
Ni memang tak dinafikan. i'm sure you have read in the gazillions of breastfeeding articles; in order to have SUPPLY, you have to have DEMAND. Kalau kat rumah tu selalulah breastfeed anak. i have no problem in this area because both my boys adalah penyonyot tegar. 

Untuk ibu-ibu bekerja, nak tak nak kene luangkan masa mengepam. i know it could be hard to find time. Dengan dateline projek, meeting, outstation, kursus bagai.. It's a sacrifice you have to make. i know moms who expresses milk even in class when attending a course and in meeting rooms. And i personally have had an experience of pumping in a bus during a 1-week geological fieldtrip. Pernah jugak pam dalam tandas masa gi workshop sebab tak jumpa surau/mother's room. Yes it is tedious but the satisfaction of knowing your baby gets the goodness of a mother's milk makes it worth it.

5) Jangan Stress

i find the more you're stressed out about not producing enough for your child, the less your body makes milk. Maka jangan stress. Cuba yang terbaik. Amalkan segala yang boleh untuk banyakkan susu. Kalau takde/tak cukup susu ibu, there's always ibu susuqn option. Or else, there's always formula milk.

Dulu masa dengan Afif aku selalu stress kalau susu tak cukup. Sejak dah anak 2 ni, i've lightened up a bit. Dhani pon masa umur dia 9 bulan camtu aku dah bagi je susu formula sebab tak cukup stok ebm dah kat rumah. He needs 15-20oz per day. So sehari dalam 3-6oz kene minom formula lah sebab skang ni aku mampu bekalkan max 15oz je per day. But that's okay. i can rest and not make a big deal out of it because i know i've done my best.

Breastfeeding is not just about providing milk for your baby. It's much more than that. It's the way you bond during those feeding sessions; the way your eyes lock on one another, the way your baby smiles cheekily-as if saying "thank you mama, for that yummy milk", the way he/she searches for you at night with eyes close but can still find his/her way to the milk-source, the cuddles during and after every feed, the way he/she NEEDS you and the fact that no other person can fulfill that need but you.

InsyaAllah, i'll breastfeed him as long as he wants me to.

Hah tu je la sedikit sebanyak experience sharing. Dah nak habis mengepam dah pon ha.

Hasil pagi ni.

Recipe: Bolognese Pasta Sauce for Babies

As i blogged in the last post, Afif loves pasta with bolognese sauce. The first few times, i made the sauce using leftover of pizza sauce that i made which used canned peeled tomatoes. As the canned tomatoes are preserved with vinegar, Wan kata guna lah fresh tomatoes. Gentler on Afif's tummy katanya. Baik lah. Google home made pasta sauce and made some adjustment.

Here's the recipe:

Chicken Bolognese Pasta Sauce

Ingredients
4 peeled ripe tomatoes (to peel: cut an 'X' on top of tomatoes, put in boiling water for 10 seconds, and put into a bowl full of iced water. The skin will easily come off)
olive oil
2 cloves garlic (diced)
Bolognese herbs (i use Masterfood brand)
Half teaspoon of black pepper
Chicken breast (cut into little pieces) or minced chicken
1 fresh mushroom (cut into little pieces)
1.5 cup of water
Half of a carrot (coarsely cut)
Salt and sugar to taste

Spaghetti Bolognese herbs

Method

Sautee the garlic in olive oil until golden brown (sampai naik bau lah orang kata). Put in the tomatoes (don't forget to remove the seeds and cut them in 4) and some water. When they boil, put in the bolognese herbs, black pepper, and a bit of salt and sugar. Reduce heat (api paling slow lah kiranya) and leave for approximately 1.5 hours to soften the tomatoes. After 1.5 hours, stir in the minced chicken and carrot (carrot is used to absorb acidity of the tomatoes). Wait until chicken in thoroughly cooked. Set aside. Remove the carrot pieces (i always munch it). Serve with alphabet pasta. Yum!

This recipe can make 6 servings with about 1oz per serving. i usually freeze the sauce and reheat it for Afif. Tak payah la banyak kali nak masak.

Bolognese sauce, ready to be frozen.

Pasni nak try buat cream based pasta sauce plak untuk Mama Afif.

At 15 Month

Dah lama tak buat post Afif's milestone. Moh kite..

Feeding

-Kalo nasik or porridge memang susah betol nak makan. Macam-macam style aku buat dah. Tumis pakai butter or olive oil. Letak telur or letak cheese. Vege and protein pon aku tukar-tukar nak test mana dia nak; broccoli, carrot, pumpkin, spinach.. Chicken or salmon. Tak kisah la apa pon cara, still dia takmo. Aku conclude dia memang kureng suka nasik.

-Makan nasik lauk kurma suka pulak.

-Tapi kalo pasta amboih laju je makan. Selalunya licin mangkuk. Yang paling dia suka tomato-based sauce. Aku memang buat sendiri pasta sauce tu sebabnya yg ready made tu buat pakai cuka. Takot perot dia sensitip pulak. Pasta plak pakai alphabet pasta. Senang kecik-kecik takyah nak potong bagai.

-Dia suka makan fruits. Betik, tembikai, melon, limau mandarin.. Kalo brekfes tu kadang aku malas aku bagi je dia avocado-banana mash. Memang laju je habis.

-Snacks lain yang dia suka adalah Cheerios cereal and organic apple puff ape ntah brand tu aku beli kat Manjaku. Roti cicah air cekelat pon feveret.

-Ni sejak aku kat rumah memang memanjang dia bergayut nak breastfeed. Every hour. Tak dapat monitor brapa oz sebenarnya. So happy i can fully direct breastfeed him. Takyah risau susu dipam cukup ke tak hari-hari.

 Alphabet pasta with homemade chicken bolognese sauce. His current favorite.

Development

-At 15 month dia belom boleh jalan sendiri okeh. Pening gak aku sebabnya dah 3 bulan bertatih ni. Bila lepas tangan, dia jalan 4-5 steps pastu jatuhkan badan. Macam dia gayat je nak bediri/jalan lelama. Kadang kalo dia berdiri and rasa aku lepaskan tangan, cecepat dia duduk. Takpe, i know it'll be soon. I'll enjoy these days that you love holding my hands so much.
-Skill lain dah boleh salam and cium tangan orang. Wave hands and flying kiss. High five. Suap makanan sendiri guna sudu even though clumsy lagi. Dah tau konsep bukak/tutup lampu, fridge, penutup teko (he's obsessed with teapot). Geleng kepala bila takmo. Clap hands. Dance to songs.
-Tunjuk kat mata bila ditanya mana mata.. Ketap-ketap gigi bila ditanya mana gigi. Bila nampak patung Barney, dia tunjuk mata Barney pastu tunjuk mata dia. Matching skill is there.

Teman mama dedi lepak kat mapley.

 You're just like an angel. Your skin makes me cry.

Activities and Hobbies

-Hobi dia apa lagi kalo bukan iPad. Kalo nmpak iPad tu tu shriek sambil tangan joget-joget. Memang pantang la dgn aku. Sehari aku limitkan boleh 2 sessions je tu pon 10 minutes. Nasib baik kat iPad dia reti unlock, tengok videos and tolak-tolak page apps tu je. Tak ajar main game.
-Sekarang dia suka menyanyi. Ada satu lagu dalam Barney ni Chugga-chug dia suka betul. Everytime dia nyanyi (bukan ada tune pon. Aaa-aa-aaa camtu) sambil menari cam Barney, kitorang tau la dia tgh nyanyi lagu tu. Haha
-Suka jugak main passing-passing bola back and forth ngan aku or Hubby. Excited nak tangkap bola  everytime kitorang pass kat dia. Pastu baling bola tu bawah lemari suruh orang amek (-____-)
-Suka campak barang atas lantai. Yang ni aku penat btol nak layan tapi layan kan aje. Everytime dia campak, aku akan buat muka terkejut and cakap "Hahhhh! Susu/mangkok/kalkulator/bola jatuh! Siapa jatuhkan? Afif ke? Pegi amek.." Memang idok ler dia amek.
-Dah pandai main Mega Bloks. Idok ler sampai built gajah/spaceship bagai.. Dia dah tau konsep sambungkan blocks. Sambungkan, pastu cabut. Gitu je ler..
-Obsess dengan kucing. Seboleh boleh dikejarnya kucing.
-Haritu kat Langkawi bawak dia gi beach. Nak ajar main pasir kononnya. Tapi dia geli. Diangkat nya kaki pastu suh aku dukung. Sabar je la.

 Tiger and cat.

Upin Ipin's biggest fan. 

 

Kecewa sebab mama suruh main masak-masak ngan Barney. i wanna play ball ma!

(in my defense, the speech therapist suggest role play to enhance speech and language development)

 

 Mama's mall buddy.

Hearing & Speech

-Alhamdulillah sejak aku amek cuti ni, nampak banyak improvement. Paling penting dia suka pakai HA dia. Dulu suka cabut. Skarang memang bila dipakaikan, sampai aku tanggalkan baru cabut. Alhamdulillah.

-Kalo aku lupa pakaikan, dia tunjuk kat hearing aid tu. Pernah skali ni aku sengaja tak pakaikan sambil bg dia tengok Upin Ipin. Pastu dia raba telinga dia sambil pandang aku. i take as a sign that he's asking for it.

-Lagi banyak membebel dan menyanyi. Dulu kureng.

-Tapi bunyi yang dia keluarkan still limited to aaaa, maaa, mammm, abumm.. Still no na, ta, da.. It's okay. We'll get there. Tak sabar gi next speech therapy nak belajar how to teach him to produce sounds.

Salmon Porridge

Last weekend i decided to cook something a lil' bit special for Afif; Salmon Porridge with Veggies. 

As many of you would know, salmon is fortified with good fats particularly Omega 3 and also DHA. Many research conducted show that fishes especially salmon can make your baby smarter, imrpove vision, enhance immunity and help prevent eczema.

With these qualities i decided why not give it a try. Selama ni Afif's main source of protein are ikan bilis dan ayam je pon. Ikan pernah try bagi sekali je iaitu ikan kembong. Lalu gigih la beli ikan salmon dua ketul kat Giant. 2 ketul RM13. Murah la compared to Isetan seketul RM24.

Resipi dia mudah ajo. Macam selalu aku buat porridge Afif la cuma kali ni tukar ngan salmon.

Bahan-bahan:

Salmon setengah ketul (aku suka part kat belly dia tu sebab ada lemak yg sedap)

1 biji bawang sederhana kecik

1 ulas garlic

4 ekor ikan bilis saiz sederhana

Butter

Carrot

Kentang

Broccoli

Segenggam beras

 

Cara masak:

Tumis bawang, garlic dan ikan bilis dalam butter. Agak2 dah masak, masukkan beras yg dah dibasuh lalu masukkan air. Tunggu 2/3 masak (agak-agak 45 minit). Masukkan kentang, carrot dan broccoli. Kemudian masukkan salmon. Tunggu masak sepenuhnya. Siap! Blend jika mahu.

Make sure segala tulang di buang masa memotong mendadu salmon tu. Ada setengah orang rebus salmon berasingan. Ada jugak yg grill salmon tu berasingan. Tapi aku prefer masukkan skali dalam bubur supaya segala rasa dan good fat salmon tu terus meresap ke dalam bubur.

Ececeyy tuan kecik sempat jeling camera sebelom makan.

His Current Hobby

Nowadays Afif loves to go for car rides.. and instists to drive!

Sorry mister, but you're 18 years too young to drive.

Other than that, he's very much obsessed with food, Astro remote control (drives everyone mad by changing the channel 100 times per minute), boobs, and books, with Mirror Me remains his favorite one.

Lazy Sunday activity.

Anyway, last weekend i made him porridge. What i changed this time was instead of extra virgin olive oil, i sauteed onions and anchovies with butter. Put in some rice and water. Wait to boil. When the porridge is almost ready, i put in potato, carrot and broccoli. Wait to cook. And this is the result:

The smell is divine, i tell you. Must've been the butter. Kurang pahala puasa.

Oh, but of course i blended it. Afif makan selera siap bertambah lagi masa lunch and dinner.

Totally Random

1. On Monday ntah hape hal tetiba menggigil satu badan. Beriya menggigil terketap-ketap gigi. Kepala berdenyut sakan. Mata rasa panas. Demam kot. Kol 3 terus aku balik umah. Tido.

2. Selasa aku MC sebab demam lagi. Kol 9 hantar Afif ke rumah babysitter. Ikot hati takmo hantar tapi kalo tak hantar maka tak dapat la aku rehat. Aku tengok movie. Aku tido. Tapi tak lena sebab teringat anak. Kebah sket demam, i don't see any point trying to sleep. Aku bangun cuci toilet, kemas bilik sikit-sikit. Tak tahan kol 4.15pm aku terpacak kat rumah babysitter nak amek Afif.

3. Dulu aku tak paham camne sayang seorang ibu kepada anak. Sekarang aku paham. Demam pon tak lena tido ingat anak. Macam Monday tu, memang balik kol 3, tido. Tapi tido setengah jam je. Teringat Afif terus bangun buatkan porridge untuk dia. i never knew i could be so selfless.

4. Yeayyy Afif dah suka makan porridge. Sebelum ni 2 attempt aku gagal. First time makan tapi sikit je. Sebab tak suka kot. Second time memang reject terus. Continue je la bagi fruits and vege puree. Third time was on Monday. Aku tumis ikan bilis dan bawang dalam extra virgin olive oil. Dah agak-agak garing aku masukkan beras dan air. Dah 3/4 masak, aku masukkan carrot. Siap, aku blend. Licin Afif makan. Selera betol. Siap nganga mulut badan ke depan mintak disuap lagi dan lagi. Bertambah pulak tu. Haaa.. Sesapa yang perli anak aku mat salleh, tengok lah! Anak aku terbukti Jawa-Minang-Melanau.

5. Dua tiga hari ni aku angau betol kat lagu True Love by Pink ft. Lily Ellen. Aku rasa kena betol dengan husband-wife relationship. i love my husband dearly but sometimes he drives me mad. Bangun lambat lah. Sebok ngan iPad la. Tak romantik lah. Ape lah. But i love love love him. Hehe. Cuba korang dengar lagu ni.

6. Haritu ada beli Storycard by Wedoo kat Groupon. Last two weeks sampai yeayyy! Kualiti okay, cuma memang kecik lah.. Besar daun terup gitu. Ok lah dengan harga RM28. Senang aku bawak ke mana-mana. Looking at the pictures always bring me down the memory lane. Ada gamba 3D ultrasound dia sampai la umur 8 bulan. Kejap je masa berlalu. Sekarang ada lagi deal tu kat Groupon. Kalo berminat, beli lah!

7. Next week puasa dah. Gila cepat masa berjalan. To be honest, last year masa mengandong aku 7 hari tinggal puasa dan sampai skang tak ganti-ganti lagi. Aku try ganti tapi sumpah la lapa gila tahap nak pitam sebab breastfeed kot. Pasni terpaksa la bayar fidyah. Jangan tiru macam saya!

8. Afif skang extra clingy ngan aku. Tapi nasib baik la still nak kat orang lain and tak nanges kalo dengan strangers. Tapinya dia still tak merangkak atau army crawl lagi. Golek-golek je. Pastu slalu demand nak duduk dan berdiri. Itsokay, no rush. Plenty of time to develop!

9. Aku dah tempah dua baju raya. Tapi ntah hapa hal aku rasa cam tak cukup je. Padahal selama ni aku tempah satu je.Itu pon sebab nak posing Raya katanya. Should i buy more? Tapi aku bukan suka berbaju kurung ponnn..

10. Dah sminggu ngidam burger kat Wondermilk. Tapi asyik tak sempat pegi. somi keje je on weekend. Weekdays lak aku keje. Balik malas dah nak kuar. Tapi tak kira kene jugak gi before puasa!

Review: Phillips Avent Steamer Blender

i'm telling you i LOVE making baby foods for Afif.

It took Mr. Chenta and i a while researching baby's food processor. It came down to Baby Bullet and Phillips Avent Steamer Blender. There are pros and cons, of course. Baby Bullet looks convenient but i know i won't be using ALL the fancy containers (and they will end up being unused) while some people say Phillips Steamer Blender does not steam well (the foods will still be undercooked). In the end, we decided to take our chance and chose Phillips.

Hubby bought it at LittleWhiz at RM359 and it comes with Baby Cubes food storage for FREE!

i'm loving it so far.

The steamer blender comes with a user manual and a recipe book, both i found useful. Different foods have different time and water level for steaming. For instance, carrot needs 150ml of water and 15 minutes of steaming while pear needs 50ml water and 5 minutes of steaming. Oh, you don't have to worry about measuring the water level because this baby comes with a special measuring cup for measuring. So make sure you check with the manual before steaming blending the foods to get desired result. After making baby foods a few times, you will automatically memorize the time it takes to steam different types of fruits/veges.

Using it is as simple as 1-2-3:

1) Peel, core and dice the ingredients. Make sure you dice it into a small size (i always cut it to be around 2cm)

                             Pear with honey dates                                   Carrots with french beans

2) Put the ingredients into the steamer-blender container. Make sure the steamer side is at the bottom.

3) Fill water into the measuring cup and pour into the water dispenser.

                   The unit comes with this measuring cup                 Pour water into the dispenser

4) Turn the knob to steaming mode.

5) Wait a few minutes (depending on the type of vege/fruit) until you hear a "Tingg!" sound. It means the food is cooked and ready.

The pear and dates are being steamed.

6) Turn the container upside down so that the blender blade is at the bottom.

7) Turn the knob to blending mode and blend until you get the desired consistency.

8) Ready to serve!

9) Store the extra puree into Baby Cubes and freeze.

Pear and honey dates puree ready to be frozen!

i always mix the puree with a little bit of milk so that Afif will still taste the familiar taste of mama's milk.

Having used it for one month plus now, i encounter no trouble. The fruits/vege are steamed thoroughly and it blends smoothly. i even made a simple pumpkin soup for myself once because i cut too much pumpkin for Afif alone. Really easy; steam the pumpkin along with an onion, add salt and pepper, blend then add cream or milk and serve! Tapi haritu buat pumpkin soup kureng sket sbb pakai susu HL. So rasa manis sket. Next time pakai cream.

Pumpkin soup for mama thanks to Avent steamer blender 

So far i have made carrot, pear, pumpkin-dates and apple-dates puree for Afif. i also have given him banana but that doesn't require steaming and blending. i just mashed it up with a spoon. He loves banana and pumpkin-dates the most. The others are okay laa.. Telan jugak sampai habis.

In conclusion, i really recommend Avent Steamer Blender especially for busy mothers who want to feed their little one homemade foods.

p/s: i blogged about feeding Afif rice cereal in this post. That was a mistake! i fed him that twice, dua kali jugak la dia meragam sakit perut susah poopoo. Sejak tu, bagi fruit/vege puree je tak penah lagi kasi nasik/cereal dah.

First Food

As planned, Afif started solid food at 5 months 1 week! It was on the same day as i started giving him formula milk.

Alah, sebenarnya tak lah solid food sangat pon. i was excited to make pear puree for him tapi Wan kata first food bagi la rice cereal dulu. Pastu aku google, memang experts suggest rice cereal for babies below 6 months. Nanti masuk 6 months baru kasi puree. Baik lah. Rice cereal it is.

i chose Heinz Rice Cereal. Bought it during Baby Expo at CONVEC last 2 weeks. Murah la jugak kot 3 kotak for RM10. Gini rupa dia:

i mixed it with a breastmilk. Beacuse it's Afif's first time, memang sengaja buat cair. Kecairan menyerupai cecair daripada pepejal. Mula-mula bagi pakai sudu. Siap pakai bib sume haa.. Lepas 10 suap gitu, dia merengek. Tak sabar sebab lambat sangat agaknya pakai sudu. Aku masukkan dalam botol susu dia and kasi minom. Tak lame pastu habis. Muahaha.

To be honest, tak sedap pon bende alah ni. Tawar. Wan siap suruh bubuh honey. But i refuse. Kang kalo sedap sangat, dia takmo susu plak. Gitu lah cternye.

My baby boy ready for his first meal.

For 3 Days

The day i feared has finally come.

The day that i can't fully breastfeed my son.

Sigh.

Begini ceritanya..

i went to Kuching last last Saturday (9.3.13) because my beloved sister in law was getting married last Wednesday (13.3.13). So i took one week off work. It was super nice not having to go to work. i spent most of the time with Afif at in-laws home.

Kamu tahu kan bahawa stok breastmilk saya dalam fridge tak lah selebat mereka yang mempromosikan set breastfeeding shaklee yang penuh freezer. Saya hanya ada stok utk 1-2 hari sahaja. Maka sepanjang bercuti saya telah habis menggunakan stok tersebut untuk Afif minom dalam flight, traveling around Kuching and at the wedding. Tambahan pula weddingnya kat Permai Resort, Santubong. Takkan lah tengah-tengah majlis anak nak susu, nak selak pulak tengah keramaian itu. Dah la kadang-kadang aku kene run around menguruskan majlis, Wan jaga Afif. Takkan lah nak sumbat nenen Wan pulak. Kah kah kah. Ok not funny.

Nak dijadikan cerita, bila start kerja on Monday, memang takda stok susu dah. Masa cuti memang tak sempat la nak pam hoi dia asek bergayut.

Dengan keterpaksaan sedu-sedan sebak di dada terpaksa la bagi dia minom formula milk. Enfalac A+ menjadi pilihan atas suggestion paed. Mula-mula dia reject jugak. Tapi sebab lapar agaknya dia telan gak. Now, dah 3 hari Afif minom fm di siang hari. Petang aku balik kerja terus dia demand nak bergayut.

So far okay lah dia minom fm. takda muntah-muntah, cirit birit or naik rashes. Tapi semalam masa dia tengah poopoo dia pandang dengan muka cam sakit pastu merengek sket. Dah abes poopoo senyum girang. Tak sedap perot agaknya. tapi tak pulak keras poopoo nya.

Yeah, memang syahdu jugak lah kasi fm but i have no regrets because i have tried all i can to provide him with breastmilk. i believe all moms experience this kan? We try and try to provide the best for our children but things don't always go our way.

Alhamdulillah stok susu dah kembali berkumpul dalam fridge walopon tak banyak. InsyaAllah esok dan hari-hari mendatang Afif will be on full breastmilk again. Ya Allah, murahkan lah rezeki anakku untuk dapat minom susu ibu sampai umur 2 tahun. Amin.

Hubby Whatsapp-ed me this photo when i was at work. Terus aku berlari balik sebab rindu keduanyaaa! nasib baik dah kol 5 time tu. Huhu

Tentang Susu

So Afif is 3 months plus now.

So far alhamdulillah i have been able to feed him fully on breastmilk. Siang dia dijaga oleh Wan while mama nya goes to work. Daripada kol 8.30am tu sampai around 6.30pm dia minom lebih kurang 10-12oz. Nasib baik lah ada buat stok since masa dalam pantang so takyah nak bagi formula even dah start keje pon.

Tapi sejak masuk keje jadual mengepam tak menentu. Ada masa boleh pam 3 kali tapi kalo busy sangat 2 kali je sempat. Dah la supply susu pon bagaikan hidup segan mati tak mau. Sekali pam dapat 4oz. Kadang dapat 5oz. Kalau nasib baik dapat la 6oz. Sehari bole buat stok 9-15oz je. Jeles bila kat bilik ngepam tengok mak-mak dapat sampai 8-10oz skali pam.

Sekarang dah start cuak sebab stok dalam fridge cukup untuk 2 hari. Aaaa cuak! Kene cari backup plan takot la kalo satu hari nanti tak cukup. Dah la dia makin besar makin banyak minom. Supply mamanya sama jugak. Walopon taknak, nmpaknya weekend ni terpaksa la survey formula milk for backup. Uwaaaaa..

Takpe lah. Selagi boleh, i'll try to squeeze every ounce of milk out for my baby. Nanti dah takda, baru bagi fm.

P/s: yang peliknya kalo direct feed susu ada je and flowing smoothly. Even though lepas pam baru dia df, still ada susu. Tak paham kenapa kalo pam tak dapat banyak.