Travelling with cloth diped baby

This is a long overdue entry request :) Sorry for not sharing earlier Mommies! So, as you already know, I started cloth diapering Khairaldin when he was about 1 month old. Ever since then, I've only put him in dispos about once or twice; when I'm travelling long distance + overnight. The only reason I wear him dispos is because I'm not sure how or where to wash the diapers. There's this one time when Khairaldin was 3 months old, we were going for a weekend trip to Middlesborough. Happily I bought dispos for Khairaldin because it was only for the weekend and if I wanted to wash it'll take forever, plus I was staying at my cousins place. I still did pack his cloth diapers, just in case. And of course thank god for my instinct to pack his CDs! I was so used to buying newborn sized dispos and when I wanted to change him, it just wouldn't fit! Hehehe I totally forgot that dispos doesn't come in one size fits all!!!

Until recently, I thought what's the point of wearing him cloth if I'm still going to put him on dispos once in a while. Last December, I had a few people to visit in London. So we decided to stay for 3 days 2 nights (it was sort of 3 nights because by the time we got home it was 10pm) since everyone was coming around the same time. At first I've decided to buy a few dispos because we were staying at a B&B. Then I thought, "hey come on, it's London! There ought to be a few laundrettes on one street. I can always wash it there!". Khairaldin wasn't on solids at this time. So he still had runny poop. But I always spray it off first before putting it in the washing machine. I then packed all of his diapers stash, not that he's got a lot anyway. Hehehe Ever since he could fit into his Coolababy diaper, that's the only diaper he's in. He only have about 14 pieces of Coolababy pocket diapers. It was such a gamble to travel with that much of cloth diapers!!

What I did throughout our stay in London was to put 2 inserts in his Pocket diapers. That way it will absorb more and it won't end up leaking on me/him (since I was wearing him all the time). So with Coolababy pockets + 2 inserts, it could last him a maximum of 6 hours if he only wees. I brought some prefolds along to use it as inserts. Best thing about prefolds as an insert is that it's not bulky but still very absorbent. I still managed to bring some fresh diaperS home with me even with the amount of inserts + pockets I brought.

Travelling with cloth diped baby is manageable. All you have to do is to know the place that you're visiting, how often you'll be changing & also to bring a laundry bag to stash all the dirty diapers. It's best if you try and find out how absorbent baby's diaper is a few days before travelling. That way you don't need to worry about any leaks. So during our 3 days 2 nights vacation, we only used approximately 10 diapers. The best thing is, he did not suffer from any rash even though I changed him every 6 hours. By the time we got home we still had extras so we did the diaper washing the next day :) Blame on the tiredness, not laziness. *LOL*

I used to be so 'scared' of travelling because I'm not sure how many diapers I need. But now, I am a pro! Hehehe So far Alhamdulillah, Khairaldin's never been short on diapers to actually opt to wearing dispos. I guess it's easier for me since we've got radiator and it takes merely 1 hour to dry the pockets + inserts. But saying that, Malaysia has natural Sunlight and could easily dry diapers in less than an hour, right? I still get amused when the diapers are ready to be used within the next hour. Hehehe

So, here's to more dispos free bumbum! ;D

Ps: Sorry if I don't reply to any comments on any of my posts. It's just that I update via BB (Hubby's busy studying for examS, so he hogs the PC) and to reply comments it'll take forever for the page to load. I definitely appreciate all your comments though! :))

Royally spoiled + Royally loved = Khalid Khairaldin

It's unreal how spoiled Khairaldin is when he's with the grandparents. I am glad though that he's got that extra TLC from someone other than his own parents. Personally, without my parents around I think I'd spoil my baby to an extreme! Heheh I am so glad that they are around so that I know how to 'limit' myself. But parents' love is nothing compared to anyone else's.

This is Khairaldin's everyday routine:
9am - wake up, roll about with us on the bed
10am - wash up, ready for breakfast (before that Mommy's milkybar)
11am - naptime in Nana & Daddytok's room
12+pm - playtime with grandparents
1pm - lunch time
2pm - naptime with Daddytok (coz Nana will be busy watching Hallmark movies)
4pm - Milkybar + cousin time
5pm - hangout with Us
7pm - Dinner time
8pm - Nana & Daddytok time, eat junk foods, sometime he naps till about 930pm
10pm - ready for bedtime, talk with his Elephant mobile
11pm - finally in lala land
6am - Milkybar time

And the cycle goes on..... This is mainly on his good days (days he's not ill).

Somehow my parents love to sleep with him. Khairaldin is such a good sleeper. Putting him to sleep is so much easier than changing his diaper! Seriously. He'd scream and shout when I wanna change his diaper because that's the time he wants to roll around the bed. Whereas when he's sleepy, you can just put him on the bed and he'll suck his thumb and within 5 minutes he's asleep. Wonders!

So far I've left him with my parents for a maximum of 3 hours and he slept through and through. Once I get in the house, he'll be wide awake. It's like he can smell me. My baby's a champion when it comes to sleeping. Hehehe I don't know if this is because I used to sleep A LOT when carrying him! Haha

On a serious note, it is so easy to look after Khairaldin. I've never stocked on EBM even when I'm going out because he's punctual with his drinking time and if I'm not around he can sleep. But if I am the one putting him to sleep in the afternoon, he only naps for 1/2 an hour. I think he knows when an elderly is looking after him so he doesn't wanna be a nuisance. Heheh

My parents, especially my dad, loves baby around this age. He loves putting babies to sleep and he's really proud of it when babies sleep on him. He could go on and on telling us how "he wanted to sleep with me instead of with Mom". I guess it's a male thing. I don't find amusement on these things anymore because I've come to known his routine. My Mom's told me before I was pregnant that she doesn't mind looking after babies (read: 0- 9months hehe) but once they start crawling, she's not gonna bother 'running' after them. Hehehe Well they are 57 years old. :) So for now, I let them play, cuddle and spoil Khairaldin as much as they can. Once he gets to the very rough & tough stage, I think I can't let him alone with the grandparents. By then my parents will be the fragile one. Hehehe

One thing for sure, I love how my parents will come knocking on my door to check whether Khairaldin's ready to 'come out & play'. It's just too sweet!!! Even when he's still asleep, he'd instantly wake up and give a very wide smile to my parents letting them know he's awake. :) I love Khairaldin so much!!!!!!!! He's such a people pleaser, no doubt.

Even though this li'l chap is all lovely and cuddly, my mom still find it disgusting when he vomits his milk out. Hahaha It makes me laugh everytime! Mom's just disgusted of vomits, thank god I didn't suffer from morning sickness otherwise I can see her screaming and shouting at me. Yes, she gets really disgusted!

Above all, I love that my parents can be part of Khairaldin's life. It's just amazing how they can love a being who's not even theirs. It makes me realise how much my parents have showered their love for all 7 of us. Priceless! I could never repay their love but I guess looking after them and being by their side as they get older is the best that I can do for them. And I pray everyday that I could be by their side till their very last breath, Insha'Allah. Amin. :)
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One more?

Haih, looking at my sister's pics of her daughters make me wanna have another baby!!! Butttttt, deep inside I know I'm not ready to have another one. :( Hhhhhmmm if only it was that simple. Or am I just making it too complicated. I don't know. Is there such thing as 'wrong reasons' to have another baby? Hehehe
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Name: Raja Khalid Khairaldin

So, how did we come about with this name? Our deal for this first pregnancy was that I choose a girl's name and Iskandar choose a boy's name. It all worked out well because I am so lousy at giving boy's name and vice versa with Iskandar. On my 4th month pregnancy we kinda have a name in mind. At least, I stayed with my name since forever. Hehehe Iskandar on the other hand couldn't decide on a name. He's always wanted the name 'Khalid' but since it only means 'eternal' we thought it was rather boring and meaningless. So we looked for names on the internet, I think the website was called muslimbabynames.com or sum'n like that. While browsing, somehow the name 'Khair Al Din' was staring at us in the face and we kinda fell in love with the name instantly. 'Khair Al Din' means 'Goodness to The Religion/Faith'. Gramatically, it's supposed to be Khairuddin if we wanted to join the name together. But I don't really like the sound of it. So that's why we ended up with Khairaldin which technically when u spell it in Arabic you'll still end up with Khairaldin. In the end of the day it's all the same meaning.

I get a li'l bit arsey when people spell either my name or Iskandar or my baby's name wrong. For instance, Eva (I hate it when people spell it this way on Facebook when clearly my screen name is with an 'I'!) or Syazwan (the correct spelling is sHazwan) or Khaleed Khairaldeen. I mean if we wanted to spell his name that way we'd have gone with it. No doubt the pronounciation is so but I just hate it when people spell it that way. I mean, what gives them the right to alter the spelling we had chosen! Ggrrrr! Oh yeah another one of my pet peeves is when he's nicknamed 'KK'! It's ok if you use it when texting because it takes a lot of characters. But otherwise, it's a big no-no!! :)

We've always wanted people to use both of Khairaldin's name. I find it a waste naming your child with a few names but end up not using it. My baby boy is known as Khairaldin amongst immediate family & close Malaysian friends. Whereas some of my other relatives have difficulty to pronounce Khairaldin so they end up calling him Khalid, which is his first name in the UK. I'm kinda proud that we managed to make everyone use all of his name. Iskandar and I both have long names but I bet only the closed one knows our full name. It's nice to sometimes hear people call him Khalid because we rarely call him that. Although Iskandar tend to call him Khalid Khairaldin, almost all the time.

For my future pregnancy, we've decided that I look for a boy's name and Iskandar a girl's name. I've got a feeling Iskandar will hijack the name I've chosen before. Hehehe But I think, it does make a difference in choosing the name with every pregnancy. When Khairaldin was in the tummy, Iskandar always talked to him and asked "are you Baby Khalid Khairaldin or Baby **** *****?" Somehow he'd twitch whenever we say Khalid Khairaldin. Since we didn't scan, we kept asking that Q all the time. Heheheh But with mother's instinct I kinda knew it was gonna be a boy. Between you and me, I actually begged Allah for a baby Boy! Heheheh Alhamdulillah my do'a was granted :)

So, how did you choose your baby's name?
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7 months!

Khairaldin turned 7 months a few days back. I don't really update his milestones because I just don't. :) But Alhamdulillah, so far so good. He's rather up-to-date with the so called milestone. Yeah, I believe each and every baby progresses at their own pace that's why I don't bother jotting down. Hehehe

Anyway, after 7 months, my baby's hair is still so short!!! I shaved it off when he was 10 days old and trimmed it ONCE when he was about 3 months. Until today, his hair is still short :( I know he's not a girl but I still wanna style it. Hahaha

I'm uploading his latest picture but don't know where it will appear, top, bottom, left or right. That's his latest hairstyle. Too short right? I've constantly applied olive oil but still nothing much. Oh well. I guess he's got my type of hair which grows 1 inch every 3 months. Hehehe Unlike the Abah's hair which grows ever so fast!

Ok just wanted to update on that. Hehehe any tips to make his hair grow? ;-) but I don't want it to be girly type of long.

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I'm super excited!

All have been confirmed, so far! Insha'Allah classes will commence on 15th February! What a coincidence, that date last year was the saddest date for me. Now, it's a total opposite . I'm excited beyond words! I have imagined myself attending classes and becoming a teacher, one fine day (Insha'Allah). As for now, just practising with my baby-cum-student Khairaldin hehehe. This is what I call satisfaction *beams*. Never knew I would be given this opportunity again since I missed it before (enrolling onto a wrong course). So, classes are on Mondays and Tuesdays. I don't think I'm diligent enough to manually pump when I'm in Uni! Thank god, my schedule is rather bearable. Monday is the only full day class; 10:30am to 3:30pm, Tuesday is from 10:30am to 12:30pm. I don't think there's a real necessity to pump, no? Praying hard for no engorgement! Hehehe

Iskandar will be starting his new semester on the same week as my freshies week. If his schedule's the same as current semester then we might have to go to uni together on Tuesdays! Hehehe So fun! Like dating all over again *blush*. I'll be glad if he doesn't have any classes on Monday though because I'd want him to spend quality and bonding time with Khairaldin. It's impossible for him to get bonding sessions when I'm around. Ever since Khairaldin was born, I can actually count with one hand the number of times Iskandar change, bathe or feed Khairaldin. I don't blame him at all coz it's me who's possessive and at the same time very OCD when it comes to my baby. I will always find fault with the way Iskandar puts on Khairaldin's diaper or clothes :| Iskandar's feeling rather offended whenever Khairaldin gets too clingy with me. Like this morning, Khairaldin was sleeping in between us and when I wake up for Subuh he actually pulled himself up to look for me, when he was actually in real deep slumber. Iskandar is trying to win Khairaldin's heart and I think this will be a great opportunity. But if he's got classes, then, I guess I have to start letting go... slowly! Hehehe

Oh, surprise surprise, today when I was BFing Khairaldin, suddenly my left side was leaking too! So I tried giving him, obviously he was giving me tantrums. Iskandar said to try a different position and surprisingly he latched on and sucked straight away. It's not that my boobies are empty, it's just the position! So now I know. :)

I end this by thanking Allah for giving us another chance to start our future! Here's to a fresh and great start of the new year! Amin.
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Spontaneous

I love making spontaneous decisions. By spontaneous I mean an hour mindless chit chat which WILL end up to be a 'life-changing' decision. Sometimes, it could upset people because they wanna know my plans well in advance. No, I don't have a 5 or 10 years life plan. My plans happen so spontaneously. Follow the flow has always been my principal in life, because that's how my parents have brought me up. As far as I can say, they've not made any mistakes in their decision making. So, if I say I want something, I'll try and make it happen there and then.

I also believe that money can be found anywhere, yes, if you work for it that is hahaha. It is possible to find some money under ur sofa or in between some books, point is, you have to get off your arse and look for it! It doesn't just come out of nowhere. At least that hasn't happened to me yet. Hehehe To me, there's no point stressing out about whether there's enough money or not, because however rich you are it's just never enough. We are human being and are not easily pleased. If I were to wait till I have enough money than only start my life, that may be too late and will only end up with lots of regrets and what ifs!

So far by making spontaneous plans I have managed to have blissful marriage and an adorable baby boy, with no regrets at all. Alhamdulillah! If I was one of those who would go 'I can't get married coz tak cukup duit!' I think I'll never get married and live happily ever after. Just take the plunge and work your way through it. After all life is all about adventure! :)

So, over the weekend, I was blabbing to mom, dad, bro and sis-in-law about wanting to do a Childminder course because I'm just bored of staying home doing nothing. It's been 1 year since I've been jobless and trust me, I haven't been doing anything beneficial with myself. Yes, SAHM is the best but at the moment my baby just sleep and sleeps. Hehehe Until it's time to start teaching him, I think it's fair to give myself some break and later on full concentration on him. Anyway, as the conversation proceeded, my sis-in-law advised me that it's not easy to start a childminding business even if I'm childminder certified. It may be difficult to get them to certify our house up to a chidlminder standard. You see, our house is filled with loads of tidbits which just attract the kids even more. So it's easier to get a new house rather than child proofing our current house (which costs A LOT of money!). Then my Dad asked, "why don't you take up a Masters course instead or even PGCert, if you only want to study for a few months". Since my Dad is working for an institute which is associated with Gloucestershire Uni, he knows the ins and outs of each course. He then recommended me to do MEd in Islamic Education. I thought, hey that's a good opportunity coz it's a broader course and if I plan to work, I can teach at Primary until University level (not that I'm eyeing to be a lecturer, teacher is still ok). At least I'm not only stuck to caring for babies/toddlers. Best part is, there's an Islamic girls school just 5 minutes walk from our house.

After that conversation, I just left it as it is because I only thought about it in that split second. Also, I have to discuss with the dear hubby before deciding on anything. I think Iskandar has passed the stage where he'll say "you didn't discuss with me first before telling the family!" Because he knows I think and decide at the same time. So he has to follow my flow as well. Hehehe After discussing, we agreed that it's ok for me to continue my studies if that's what I'm keen on doing.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting up with the registrar to find out more about the course and fees. And if all is OK, I'll be starting the course on the 3rd week of Feb.

Now comes the most important bit..... It's been ages since I EBM. How am I gonna start doing it? I find expressing really stressful even if I can get 4oz in just 10mins. Although I'm not sure how much I can get now since I haven't been expressing. Another thing is, my letdown on left is literally just drips. Unlike my right, it sprays in just 5 secs. Will I be able to pump and stock up? Nowadays, Khairaldin drinks at about 10am, 4pm and 9pm. So really, if I have to stock up it will only be for the 10am and 4pm ish. My classes may be running from 10:30am to 4pm. I don't think it's an everyday lessons though. Is it still possible to get any milk out even after it's just producing 'drops'? I need to google and learn more on this before I leave him behind.

The even worse part, he's NEVER voluntarily drink from his bottle! I always had to force him and he never finish up! So, hubby and I have to find the perfect bottle for him and maybe get him to get used to bottlefeeds.

We see how it goes tomorrow. If all goes well, I'll be shopping for my stationaries and Khairaldin's bottle gadgets!! *beams*

By the way, please pray that the study goes smoothly for both me and Hubby. Insha'Allah this will bring a better future for all of us. Amin.
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Planned or Unplanned?

Isn't that the famous question people would ask whenever you tell them that you're pregnant?

Well at least for me it is. When we told our friends about my first pregnancy they asked "oh, did you guys plan for the pregnancy?" Iskandar and I are always dumfounded when being asked this q. My question is, how do you know if a pregnancy is planned or not? Well to be honest, we did set in our heart and mind to try not to get me pregnant at the early months of our marriage. At that time, I was still in uni and Iskandar was just about to settle down in the UK. But no, there was no contraceptions involved. It's merely our 'niat'. Alhamdulillah, after I finished Uni and started my job, I got pregnant. We were indeed in the comfortable stage. Having said that, we did try really hard for a few months (don't ask me how hahaha).

So, during and after the pregnancy we thought, "hey, it's not that hard being pregs and Alhamdulillah the delivery went smoothly!" So, when's the best time to have our second?; note: Iskandar asked this a few months after Khairaldin was delivered. :-|

Yes, being a SAHM is not a problem to have another one almost instantly, at least that's what everyone thinks! I would beg to differ. There are other things that need to be taken into consideration when raising a child. I for one wanna try and breastfeed Khairaldin till he reaches at least 24 months. Not being negative but my left breast it almost empty! However my right side is still like a full blast shower. Hehehe if you know what I mean. So, I know I might not be able to go that long but if I reach 12 months, I am more than happy. :) But some say if I get pregnant before then, my milk supply will stop. How true is that?

Contrary to popular belief, you are able to get your period like normal after a few months of delivery. Like in my case, I started to have normal period when Khairaldin was 3 months old. So yes, my cycles are 'normal'. I say 'normal' because it's not for me. Before I got pregnant, my period cycle was once every 6 months. But now it's almost every month. Guess my hormones are just about to catch up. Hehehe I say this is a blessing in disguise because I know secretly Iskandar wants another baby like NOW! Hahah he doesn't want the age gap between our child to be far apart because he's personally experienced it and doesn't like it. The gap between him and his eldest is about 12 years, and to think they only have 4 in the family. So it's rather hard for them to get along.

Moving on, personally I'm not ready to have another baby. But again, we are not taking any precautions because Iskandar wants another. My only excuse is because I'm still 5kg heavier than my pre-pregs weight. Until I lose them all, I'm all out to having another. But I'm not doing anything about it!!!!! Heheheh So, until when will I finally be ready? Hmmm.

So now I'm thinking, why not get pregnant as many times as I can before 30 and then only start on the weight lost! Hahahaha I don't know, 'planning' for a second is even harder than the first. That's why I don't plan and just let it be...........

If I'm pregnant for the second time in this short span of time. I'd say, "Alhamdulillah it's my rezeki". And to be honest, it's not easy to get pregnant. How much you plan, it might not happen almost instantly. I also believe that things WILL fall into place when ALLAH has destined you to get pregnant. So be it if you're a working mom or stay at home Mom, you can get pregnant regardless.

To sum it up, I'm just against contraceptions. Especially the pills coz I read somewhere (will source it when I find it), it's as if you're killing the child because there are chances of the egg forming. So let's make babies and I mean lots of them! :)

Anyway, here's a pic of my baby boy acting all big. Is he ready to venture the outside world? Hehehe I love you, always!
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Make-ups

Alright, here's a confession.......


I've never worn make-up in my life, other than on my wedding day. :-|

The everyday, EVERYWHERE face!

The made-up face :)
(If only I can paint my face like this. Almost close to natural...)

So yeah, every time I watch those Maybeline, Loreal and other make-up adverts, I'll always say "ouh, must try this product!" But every time when I'm out, I just can't remember the names. Hahaha Almost everyone around me are wearing make-ups even the younger ones!!! I feel rather hmmmm 'selekeh' if I may say. Iskandar however, is SO against made-up face! He prefers au naturel. So obviously if I wanna buy any make up stuff he'd go, "tak payah lah. You're already beautiful as it is". Haish, which husband sees their wife's ugly side? Pfft.

I thought this year it's about time I make an effort to wear more than my Body Shop lipbalm! I swear that's the bestest lipbalm ever ever! Although I can tell u for sure, this won't happen. First things first, I don't know how to wear make-ups!!! Lagi burok karang baru tau. Secondly, ever since I got pregnant, my complexion is soooooooo smooth. I definitely wouldn't want to mess it up now. Finally, if my husband thinks I'm pretty without any powder, mascara, lipstick etc etc, then why change, right? ;-)

But I was just wondering, when's the right time to start wearing anti-wrinkles product. I am 25 years young, is it too soon to start caring about wrinkles and whatever lines?

Yes I'm becoming rather paranoid nowadays! Hehehe Doesn't help that it's Winter and my skin is becoming rather dry! Eugh. Ho well, for the time being let's just slap some moisturiser on the body.

Oh speaking of moisturiser and dry skins. Khairaldin has eczema and he's covered with moisturiser every day and night! So cute that at such a young age he's oh so vain! Hehehe it's not a bad case of eczema but because it's Winter we just have to take precautions. :)

I've to end now, hubby's tossing and turning on the bed ;-) Will update some pics to this post because as 'always' am blogging via BB.