The cloth-diped baby....

I first read about cloth diaper from Adriana's livejournal blog. I'm an avid follower of Adriana's blog even until today and I'm proud to say I got so many beneficial infos from her blog (THANKS ADRIANA!)! To think she's YOUNGER than me! Hahaha Guess people do learn from experience and it doesn't matter of the age. When I read her entry about cloth diapering Aqil, I thought, "Is he wearing those lampin or napkin type of diapers?". It was WOW so cool! My Mommy used to wear those type of napkins on my baby brother. To be honest, it takes a pro to fold the napkin up and until now I don't know how people managed those type of napkin. I didn't ask her any questions then since at that time I wasn't even pregnant. You know when you start asking questions about "how to.. baby" people would instantly think that you are preggers. heheheh So then I googled on my own about "cloth diaper". Amazingly there was soooo many websites on it. I never knew it was such a big thing. But most of it was in the States.

I kept doing my research about cloth diapering until I have confirmed that I am carrying Khairaldin. By then, I started messaging Adriana to ask for her personal opinions. I've never thought of wearing disposable diapers on my baby. I had my reasons for wanting to wear it. People think that we're just cheapskate and want to save cost. I mean come on, when I started researching on it I was earning quite good salary and can afford disposable diapers if I wanted to. Also, I get Child Benefits which could definitely pay off his disposable diapers. But we thought, WHY WASTE MONEY???

We did depend on disposable diaper during Khairaldin's first month. It was the easiest option since he was our first and we had noone else at home with us, except for my parents in law who was visiting from Malaysia for 2 weeks. Also at that time we recieved way too many free disposable diapers from the hospital. So again, why waste? We did use disposable diapers for a bit. As soon as he got into his 2nd month, Hubby & I thought it was about time we cloth-diped him. After all, he's growing up too fast and his prefold diapers can only last till he's 5kg (which he turned 5kg at 3.5months!).

Our cloth diaper experience was somewhat funny! There were times when we fussed about too much on how to fold his diapers and got peed on. There were also times when we thought he's done pooping but in the end he wasn't and imagine newborn poops! hehehehe Yes, you need to be a pro to fold prefolds. And we're definitely not one of them pros. We then decided to swap to AIOs/Pocket diapers. Firstly, just look at those prints! It's just toooooooo cute. I fell in love with cloth diapers because of their prints more than anything else. :-) Thank god I didn't get a girl because I can see myself buying cloth diaper for her EVERY week, at least! hehehe After going gaa-gaa about the prints, it then comes down to the benefits of cloth diapering.

• It's healthier for the baby's private parts. I've heard one too many Mom's out there complaining about diaper rash and I didn't want to go through that stage. So I took the chance and cloth diped him. People can't say that "you haven't tried disposable so how do you know?". I've tried disposable and Khairaldin was almost at the stage of getting nappy rash. My MIL who was staying with me for the first 2 weeks of Khairaldin's birth kept telling me that I should put some cream as his bits are red & almost inflamed. So I did put Sudocrem on him. Thank god for freebies!

• It's cheaper. DEFINITELY YES! Unless you're like me who like to custom make some of it every now and then. It could be A BIT costly. Not as bad as disposable diapers though.

• For the environment. Well, I'm no green person but if they say so. Then why not?

I used Sudocrem on Khairaldin only when he was using disposable diapers. We recieved free 25g Sudocrem tub from the hospital and until today, it's only about 1/4 of the tub being touched. Everytime I see the Sudocrem tub, I'd think 1/4 tub for one month, imagine how many tubs we have to use if we used it everyday until he's 2 years old!

Some may think that washing cloth diaper is an ALL DAY job. To be honest, it's not. If (god forbids hehehe), I become a working Mom, I would still stick to cloth diapering. Because for now I only wash the diapers at night. I wash the diapers every other day and there's only about 12-15 diapers in the bucket at one go. It's not that you have to handwash it. It still goes in the washing machine. What I normally do is, prewash (30mins) the diaper then wash it at 40 deg c (approx 2hours max). Once it's all done, I'll just hang it at the radiator and ready to be used the next day. And the radiator is only on for 4 hours. That's how easy it is to wash the diapers! It's also convinient for both Hubby & I because we hate to go to Tesco/ASDA just to get the nappies! It;s such a nuisance. So by washing the diaper we can do it whenever we're running low on diapers. Easy peasy! Pssst, even my Hubby knows how to wash cloth diapers, so IT IS that easy. Hahaha Sorry Sayang ;-)

For our second baby, we plan to use cloth diaper as soon as he or she is born. Unless again we get free diapers from the GP/hospital. :-)

The day I didn't "wear" Khairaldin

Personally, I have nothing against people who uses pushchairs/strollers/prams to go out & about with their babies. In fact, I respect them for the courage they've to go around the small alleys in shopping malls because I can't push strollers without banging into people's legs! heheh I am capable of banging into people with just pushing the supermarket trolleys. Thank god I've got Iskandar to push it everytime we do grocery shopping. :-)

I do have something against the "stroller designers" themselves though! hehe I don't understand why they have to make strollers so bulky! Being a less than 5'0" Mom doesn't make it any easier if I were to push strollers about. It's just so troublesome! I know there are a few non-bulky ones but most of it comes with carseats, like this! I only want the stroller not carseats! Most of the strollers I like can't even be used until baby turn 1 year old. Can't they just make an all in one that we can use from birth till 2/3years old, at least? I also like those parent facing type of strollers as it's easier to see whether Khairaldin's asleep/awake/crying/laughing. But yes, that cost a bomb and again, it doesn't accomodate till baby turns 2 years old. Take for instance this stroller, it's nice and suits my wants and needs but it cost £350. Gotta be kidding me. I hardly bring Khairaldin out and I definitely wouldn't spend that much for a stroller. Another negative point about using pushchairs is THE British weather. Imagine coming out from shopping malls in the rain and you'd have to carry the baby out of the pushchair and into the carseat. Yes, horrendous! I bet by that time he's already yelling his head off. I can so imagine it.

So, it was my personal choice to wear Khairaldin. Alhamdulillah Iskandar supports my decision in babywearing and he also wears Khairaldin when I allow him to do so. I am possesive like that! hehe A lot of people have been asking me if my back hurts whenever I wear Khairaldin. To be honest, it doesn't. The ring sling that I wear isn't just a random cloth that I wrap around myself. It's been padded and suits Khairaldin's weight and also my height, it is custom-made. I bet if I wear Babybjorn people won't say anything because it's designer brand but truth be told, it actually serves the same purpose.

Some points to be noted about babywearing, credits to this website:-

1. Sling babies cry less- OH YES!!!! Personal experience, I've never had to put up with Khairaldin screaming his head off.
2. Sling babies get "humanized" earlier- I would say so because Khairaldin knows when we are talking to him or when Mommy & Abah is having a conversation and not to be disturbed. He knows eye contacts & body language very well!
3. Sling babies learn more- Yet to discover but like Dr Sears say, if they spend less time crying they definitely fill the free time observing about.

There are so much more plus points that people are not aware of. I'd say, read up on babywearing before you want to judge on whether or not it's good to wear baby. Contrary to popular belief, carrying your baby doesn't make them any less clever than "stoller babies". In fact the baby would be smarter if you tell them what's what rather than letting them sit in the stroller and just look at stuff without knowing what they're looking at. With babywearing, you're able to tell the child what they are looking at.

I'm not saying that I won't be using stroller in the future, Insha'Allah I will but when Khairaldin turns 1 year old, at least. Insha'Allah. Because by then he can sit properly and I bet he'd be too heavy for me and hubby to carry him about. In the mean time though, I would like to carry him as much as I can because he would be "close enough to kiss" and, which parents doesn't like the smell of their babies. Even if they smell of stale milk??!

Oh yeah, I notice that I never like the idea of pushchair even before I had Khairaldin. I used to babysit my brothers kids before I got married and whenever we go out they'd bring the pushchair but end up I'll take them out of their strollers and carry them. It's just because I love babies. I find it really hard just letting them "sit" on their own. I love to carry babies just because I can! Alhamdulillah I have so much great experience with babywearing and I'd definitely carry on wearing for as long as I can. I know people are intrigue about how I don't have any backpain when carrying my 6kg baby and to be honest, I am intrigued as well.

In the end of the day, wearing your baby or using strollers are personal choice. If you can push the strollers why not just go ahead and push it. But if you're a possesive and love to carry babies, then why not just wear your baby? ;-) And I chose to wear my baby even before he was born.

Ps: I'm ordering a new carrier and so can't wait to get it!

The day I annouced my pregnancy......1 year ago

I can't believe it's been 1 year since I annouced my pregnancy! Time flies so fast. I'm glad I'm one of those people who love being pregnant. :-) I used to enjoy my pregnancy journey. I don't feel the 9 months passing by so slow like some people. I enjoy each and every day reading baby's progress through babycentre.com e-mails. I also get extra attention from loved ones, it's just nice. Now that Khairaldin's 4 months old, I feel so blessed to get to hold him in my arms every day & night. We used to also co-sleep but now that our bed is smaller, I put him in his tiny li'l crib. But in the morning, after his feeds, I'll squeeze him in between Hubby & I. The smell of his "salt & vinegar" fingers make me so hungry whenever I'm fasting. heheh He sucks his fingers that's why it smells salty!!! But I love it!

Alhamdulillah it's also been 4 months of being his "susu gantung" like some may say. hehehe I'm praying to exclusively breastfeed him till he's 6 months old and continue feeding until 2... at least! I'm determined to do so. Insha'Allah with prayers I'll be able to do it. Insha'Allah when he turns 6 months, Mommy & Daddy will be celebrating thier 2 years anniversary! I'm already thinking of feeding him my famous Choc Moist Cake. hehe

Opps, I've to go. Khairaldin needs his milk. :-)

The day I silently demanded for SOME recognition.....

Some people think that the reason Khairaldin doesn't cry as often as other babies is because of.......... my "luck". Pfftts. Maybe there are some truth in that "prediciton" but Hubby and I worked our arses out to mould him into the person he is today. For those of you who did not get the chance to see him when I was in confinement would think that he is a gifted baby who doesn't make much noise. People would think he's such a happy go lucky baby who would only cry when he's hungry and Mommy and Abah hasn't got anything to do with it. But as the parents, we would beg to differ.

When he was a few days old, he was a crybaby like other babies. He normally cries from 7p.m up to 9p.m straight through and later again at wee hours in the morning. He was the type of baby that would sleep straight through from morning to evening but by late evening he gets fed up and cranky. Hubby & I tried our very best to find out what's wrong with him. We even went through the stage when we swaddled and unswaddle him one too many times in a day because we thought he didn't like it. Yes, we did go through the sleep deprivation phase too!! We did care for Khairaldin like what other parents had to put up with too! It's not down to luck that we "got" this happy-go-lucky-always-smiling-and-laughing-baby! It was our personal experience, love and care that made him the baby he is today and I can definitely assure you that.

Hubby & I also went through a phase when Khairaldin only wanted to sleep on my chest during night time. That happened after we got back from the hospital after his jaundice episode. He cried a lot during that time. So, I did let him sleep on me every night without fail if that's the only way too soothe him. The elderly folks also constantly reminded me that I shouldn't let the baby cry out during dusk because it's not good. In my case, I NEVER let Khairaldin cry out! Whenever he cries, I would instantly pick him up and just cuddle him. That kept him quite and calm. I never thought of "exercising" his lungs by letting him cry out! I thought that was mean. Throughout my confinement, anyone could see that both Hubby and I would take turns to hold him whenever he's crying or not sleeping.

So yes, I guess by the tender love and care that we gave him throughout his few days of life made him the baby he is today. We did give him and followed his needs if it meant we would not get any sleep. Alhamdulillah, even though he slept on me or cried during odd hours, he eventually grew out of it and managed to sleep on his own and finally in his own crib. The famous happy go lucky and only cries when hungry baby was moulded by his parents and sometimes grandparents. I think if I were to let my baby cry out he will be the grumpy and cranky baby because he doesn't feel the love from his parents.

I get very annoyed when people say "it's just your luck getting a happy baby". I think that's not fair! Are they trying to imply that we don't have to do anything to keep him happy? Just leave it down to luck to see him grow old and happy? Hmmmm. I don't want much, but as a full time Mommy, I would love to hear people tell me "WOW! you really know how to care for your baby" kind of statements. It really does make me feel appreciated and all my hardwork paid off.

continuation.......

Little did I know... breastfeeding is not an easy task as I thought it was. I have never felt the urge to lookup infos on breastfeeding whilst I was pregnant. I always thought, I've got boobies, that's all I need. Lo and behold.......

On the first day when I thought Khairaldin was feeding OK, apparently he wasn't. Imagine the whole day he did not get any milk from me. Firstly, my baby sleeps a lot. Secondly, he rarely cries. So that ended up with me not wanting to wake him up for feeds. He will wake up about every 6 hours and that's when I "feed" him. Noone told me that newborn baby has to be fed AT LEAST every 2 hourly!!!!!

About 2 and a half days after he was born, midwife came to check baby and I. He was suspected jaundice. So we brought him to the hospital and they did thorough check, they found out he was also dehydrated! The doctor then advised us to stay in the hospital so that they can monitor his feeding & jaundice. Before admitting into the ward, the nurse had to put a cannula on his feet to up his fluid intake just in case he don't want breast milk. Whilst the nurse was inserting the cannula, a colleague of hers asked, "Aww, have you been feeding properly Khalid?" The nurse instantly answered "No! That's why he's in here!!". I literally cried in front of her because at that point I just felt like I was the lousiest mom ever! How could she say such thing??? She knew that he was my first. Of course I was struggling. Saying things like that won't make the situation any better! I thought to myself, if I were to take this too personally I could definitely be diagnosed for post-natal depression. So I tried to calm down. Iskandar wasn't around at this time because he had to go back and pack our bags. We didn't expect to be admitted.

After settling down, the nurse in the children's ward helped me with everything.... a lot!!!!!! She was truly sincere at doing her job. She asked me if baby was fed properly. Then I just answered "I thought he was but apparently NOT! That's why we are here" and I sobbed. Khairaldin's nurse then said, "Don't take it hard on yourself! It is hard being a first time Mom. You might not have any milk yet. I tell you what, why don't you try expressing your milk. I'll help you to it." So she did. I managed to get only about 10ml of Colostrum. Yes, my milk didn't kick in yet even after 3 days. Since that was the case, Khairaldin had to go on formula milk for the whole night. I cried again!!!!! I was planning to breast feed him till at least he's 2 years old. Having to give him formula milk definitely broke my heart to pieces. I then sms-ed my Mom & sister to ask them what I can do to increase my milk. My mom called me and told me to drink milk, water and eat properly. I cried again whilst on the phone with Mom. She said, "it's ok, you were formula fed for a bit because of jaundice too. But in the end you ended up breastfeeding till you were 3 years old. It will all be OK, Insha'Allah."

After I had pumped every 2 hourly, then only I can feel my breast engorged and filled with milk. That was nearly the 4th day. But Khairaldin's paed told me not to feed him from the breast and keep on pumping and giving formula milk. That was truly hard. He also had to stay in the "sunbed" for the whole night because his jaundice level increased. So I had the least contact with my son. Thankfully we got the chance to stay with him in the same room. We got to touch him and caress him every now and then. Since my boobs were too engorged and I had no clue what to do, I cried again! This time with a nurse around. Gosh, the number of time I cried just to breastfeed him was countless! I had to beg the nurses to let me feed him straight from the breast because I wasn't too sure how to feed. In the end they let me.

I also had to be half naked in the room because my nipples were sore. The nurses were so kind that they put a sign up asking people to knock first before entering. I felt more at eased that time. We thought we were only being admitted for 1 or 2 nights but we ended up being there for at least 4 nights!!!! Thank god Iskandar can also sleep in the same room as Khairaldin & I because breastfeeding Moms were allowed a private room to themselves. So he was with us throughtout the breastfeeding journey.

On the final day, his paed insist on giving him more milk just to make sure that he wants breast milk and was ready to go home. We then finally managed to get the amount that was recommended. By this time, his jaundice level has decreased and he also gained some weight.

So for those Moms to be who are planning to breast feed you child, I'd advise you to get a breast pump FIRST before anything else. I never knew how important it was until I was admitted in the hospital. Yes, breast pumps are expensive but it's definitely worth it! Alhamdulillah until today, my breast is full and Insha'Allah I will be able to feed him until he's 2 years old or ready to wean off.

Wishing all of you the best of luck for your breastfeeding journey. It is do-able Insha'Allah, with lots of determination and great strength. :-)

MILK BEFORE & MILK AFTER

The day I published my writings....

I'm finally publishing 'you' to the "PUBLIC". :-)