Picmix!

Ever since my brother- Ilyas intorduced me to this Picmix software, I've been hooked!! It is ala insta.gram and it's just amazing! Ok, I have to say Blackberry's camera ain't all that but with this picmix, the pictures are of better quality. So, kudos to my bro for introducing it!

However, I don't think my dad would be keen of me ditching my Lumix coz it cost a lot. I'm not planning to though! haha I have been snapping a few pics from my Lumix too and it's just a matter of time I transfer it onto the PC and share it on here. Insha'Allah pretty soon!

Last  Saturday was Khalid Khairaldin's THIRD birthday! Because most of his pics were in Lumix, I am just finidng time to sit down and update properly. I have written a draft blog on my trusted Blackberry but because I hate to blog without pictures, lets just say, wait for a while yeah? Insha'Allah the time will definitely come. :) As for now, let's just enjoy Layina's picture at the park. Please don't cringe at her pic on the sand, I know some mothers wouldn't allow their child to do such a thing but I'm just too laid back to care about germs. heheh ;)

Oh, speaking of which, when in Malaysia, we went to A&W PJ for dinner and saw this grandpa carrying a bottle of dettol spray and cloth with him everywhere he goes. Since there were those kids arcade kinda games outside there, his granddaugther wanted to play with it. Everytime before the granddaughter touches anything, he'd spray the dettol and clean it of first!! Woah! That's one hard working grandpa there! Honestly, I am not that hard working and would just let my children play where they want to as long as there isn't any dog/cat poo. In the UK, that is something rare to find at parks because most of the owners would be walking their dog with plastic bags to collect & throw the poos away. So yeah. That's why I became too laid back. :D

Until my next post Insha'Allah!

Kitchen-less. Oh no no no!

You know what was the one thing that I missed so much when I was away in Malaysia??

Believe you me, it was my KITCHEN!!!!!! Oh my! I never knew I would ever miss cooking in my own kitchen but, I did. Three months away from my kitchen was what I would say, torturous. Yes, it really was. Not having that quick-get-something-ready-coz-Khairaldin's-starving stress was unbearable. In Malaysia, I had to literally stuff food into Khairaldin's mouth because he refused to eat. He wouldn't willingly open his mouth to eat whatever's been prepared for him. He will scream and shout and just refused to eat. Because of not wanting him to end up in the hospital, I did what I had to do, feed him regardless of anything! 


He was boney when he got back from Malaysia! Even Iskandar was scared to hold him because he was toooooo skinny! His leg was literally just bones and meat no fats what so ever. And for a 3 year old, that wasn't a pretty sight. I thought by the time we arrived the UK, I wanted to bring him straight to the doctors to get him checked.

Someway somehow, his behaviour changed straight away! The next day after we arrived, he was already asking for break AND cereals! He also wanted his Milo almost everyday now. Alhamdulillah shukur!! His appetite is increasing by the day. He asks for his normal rice, chicken and veges during lunch time. Dinner time is just a breeze. SubhanAllah. We have come to realise that they're just comfortable with everything in the UK, Alhamdulillah. Layina also had some issues in Malaysia, InshaAllah when I have the time I will update more on that. :)

Ever since we got back, I've only left the kitchen to breathe on the weekends.... And that was after being forced by Iskandar! Hehe It is so good to get the chance to cook for my loved ones. I never knew how to cook before I got married. Heck, even after I got married Iskandar was the one cooking for a few good years. I started to get the hang on cooking when I was pregnant with Khairaldin. I was made redundant and I just kept myself busy with cooking... Now also with baking! I love being in the kitchen and it's even better to know that my children prefers my cooking on top of everyone else!!!! The next time we go back to Malaysia, I'll make sure it will only be for a month, maximum. InshaAllah. Any more than that will only be a fight with me and my inner strength. :D Yeah, drama I know. But really, I miss my kitchen so very much and couldn't get enough of it. Alhamdulillah shukur!!!

Thank you so much Allah for giving me the chance to serve my family! Thank you for taking my job away from me and to give me a better one altogether. I am so grateful that I get to be there for my family. I am so thankful that I am the person they look for when their belly needs refuel, when they need a nap or even when they wanna play. I will always try to be there for my family during their happy and sad time, Amin!!!! May Allah give me the strength to endure what he has planned for me. Amin yaRabbal Alamin.

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12 hours plane journey with 1 infant and 1 toddler!!

Phewwwww!

 

That was a mouthful and tiring subject on its own yeah? Yes! That's exactly how I embarked my journey back from Malaysia exactly 3 weeks ago. As most of you might already know, the 4 of us went back to Malaysia in late March. The kids and I stayed on till May for my brother's wedding. Unfortunately, Iskandar couldn't stay on because he was on work probation and could only get 3 weeks time off. A lot happened when he went back to the UK and left the kids with me, but that will be a different blog update altogether :)

So, everyone asked me the same question every time they hear I was going back with both kids all by myself, "how will you manage with 2 kids on the plane??", "what if 1 of them starts to throw tantrum suddenly? Will u cope??". Everyone had their concern and was doubtful about my journey back home to the UK. To be honest, I couldn't give any rational answers when I was bombarded with these questions. All I could answer was, "InshaAllah, with Allah's will, I will be able to handle them on my own."

When we booked our tickets, the plan wasn't for me to bring both kids on my own. The initial plan was for Khairaldin to travel with my brother via Emirates and for me to travel with Layina via MAS on the same day. Somehow, the plan changed because Emirates didn't have any spare seat for Khairaldin. Since I've already booked for Layina and my flight via MAS, I had no other choice but to book for Khairaldin's flight with us. In all honesty, I wasn't prepared for this ordeal at all. But with so much faith in Allah, I took this opportunity as a Mother. Everyone who knew about my travel arrangements started to label me as a "SUPER MOM". All I have to say is, I'm no where near that title.

So, here's how our travelling went. I have to say, Alhamdulillah shukur for such a superb and easy travelling provided by MAS. Staffs were helpful and everything was just bearable from the check-in counter onwards. We + my parents arrived the airport at 8am and dropped our luggage at the check in counter. We requested for a travel assistance since I had 2 kids with me. At first they didn't have anyone to assist us but they had that initiative to get someone nonetheless. I had to wait for someone to assist us at 9am. So, we just continued waiting at the departure lounge. By 9, one of the staff came to help us out. Well, the reason I needed help was only to have someone to pull my hand luggage. Khairaldin was in the pushchair and Layina was in the baby carrier. It wasn't a problem in that sense.

Good thing about having assistance is that they assist you right into the aircraft and everything is priority; priority lane for passport checks, priority for boarding pass checks and of course the first one to get onto the plane! It was amazing! No hassle at all Masha'Allah. I was so glad. I would have given the young boy some tips, but by the time I settled down in my seat he has already pass his duties to the steward(ess). Didn't get a chance to say proper thank you. Guess he was scared if the plane took off hehehe. He'll be in my du'a, inshaAllah.

Oh yeah, I didn't request for a bassinet seat because when travelling with Khairaldin before, he didn't like sleeping in the bassinet. So I thought, it's ok, give others the opportunity. But I really wanted at least the whole row to myself. Before we took off, I asked the steward if there was any vacant rows. Unfortunately there wasn't any. Flight wasn't that full, there were spare seats but not rows. However, a guy sitting at the bassinet seatings offered to give his seat to us. I accepted his offer and swapped seats with him. It's very nice of him! After swapping seats we waited patiently to take off. Just before take off Layina cried for milk. I thought, that's good at least she'll get her nap straight away. Seeing that our flight was at 10:05am, it's the time she normally have her naps. So I breastfed her and by the time we took off she was already sound asleep. The stewardess then assembled the bassinet for her and I put her in it straight away. Little did I know, Layina is so different from her brother! She loved the bassinet and what I thought was going to be a short nap actually lasted for 4-5 hours straight!!! How good was that?

Khairaldin on the other hand, wasn't as easy as Layina. He suddenly had tummy ache and was restless. After putting Layina in the bassinet, I had a steward to look after her for awhile whilst I brought Khairaldin to the toilet. He had diarrhoea! Sigh. I did put diapers on him before we left for the airport, but being toilet trained, he couldn't 'do it' in the diapers. But Alhamdulillah, we only went for 2 toilet trips in 15minutes gap. After those 2 trips, he felt much better and fell asleep straight away! I was so glad. Since both of them were sleeping, I didn't waste anymore time and straight away 'joined' them to sleep. Alhamdulillah I managed to sleep for 2hrs straight. It was good!

By the time they woke up, we were already half way through our journey. We went for a few rounds around the aircraft, read a few books, played a few games and just made a mess on the floor! Thankfully Layina was already walking, saved me from having to carry here everywhere in the aircraft. We managed to catch some short naps. Layina wasn't awake that much. It was only for awhile that she was awake. Khairaldin was lucky as he got to just spend time with me :) Two hours before landing was a bit tough. Khairaldin kept asking what time we were gonna arrive and kept bugging about wanting to eat bread with chocolate spread from Nana's house! So I had to reason out with him until he really gets the idea that we are far away and there is no way he's getting his bread and choc spread in the plane. Hehehe

All in all, it was an interesting experience as it wasn't as how I expected it to be at all! I was prepared for the worse and Alhamdulillah, that was nowhere near my expectations. I am sure this breeze journey was from the numerous thoughts and du'as people sent to me! Alhamdulillah shukur! I believe that if we have a plan, we should tell your loved one about it so that they constantly du'a and remember you. JazakAllahu Khair, everbody!

 

Any tips or tricks? No really. I guess it was a rather "easy" journey on my side because I am with my children almost 24-7 therefore I know when they are restless or about to throw tantrums. If I was a working Mom, I don't think I would be able to take up this adventure. Basically, you really need to know your child when you're about to travel. Get them as comfortable as possible, InshaAllah everything will be great! :)) Personally to me, SUPER MOM are those working Mom's who would be brave enough to take such adventure seeing that they're rarely with their child during day time. But either way, mother instincts are the best!! :))

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Post-natal depression AND terrible two???!

Alhamdulillah it wasn't me who suffered from postnatal depression! Before I gave birth to Layina, I have read a lot about people whom suffered from postnatal depression. According to a few sources, postnatal depression "target" people with second baby, so they say. I was scared that it could happen to me. I mean, come on, how am I supposed to cope with post natal depression and this so called "terrible two" son??

In case you didn't know, I have a Degree in Psychology. After my second year of studying Psychology, I feel that most (not all but most!) of the things taught were a whole load of crap. Don't get me wrong, I love Psychology!! I believed most of the things being taught but I truly hate it when they teach us things that doesn't make any sense. For instance, Freudian's theory was being taught at A-Levels up to second year degree. Who doesn't know his theory, I am sure you've somewhat heard of his psychosexual theory, yes? You can read about his theory here if you are interested. There are also other modules that gives me the icks when I learn them. I find it rather pathetic that they're teaching us these theories when they know that it doesn't make any sense or even that it is very controversial. To me, it was like they were trying to brainwash us into thinking in those terms. Anyway, enough about that.

Like I said, there are some parts of Psychology that I could agree on. Basically, I 110% agree that the brain controls each and every part of our body. Our brain is the most important organ in our body. So when I was scared about the postnatal depression cases, it got me 'ready' for it. What did I do? Well, I convinced myself that I can definitely handle my 2 kids with Allah's will. Would Allah have given me another child if he didn't believe in me? I'm sure I've done something right for him to shower me with another child right? Of course I wasn't boastful. I couldn't have done it without Allah's help.

Depression and stress happens because we over think things. Say for instance if a person lose a job which I'm sure this is one of the many reasons people become depressed nowadays looking at the state of our economy. People without beliefs will feel that this is all their fault, as if they have failed in life! When really in Islam we are taught that Allah is the one that has control of every single thing in our life. Yes you can be sad, not a problem. But get over it quickly. Don't moan and groan over it too much. Get back on your feet and think of your next step. First and foremost though, thank Allah for everything that's happened to you. There's always a blessing behind every thing that He gives or takes. Like this ayat suggest; "....... it may well be that you dislike a thing even though it is good for you, and it may well be that you like a thing even though it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know." (Surah Al-Baqarah:216)

I believe that everything we say or think is du'a (supplication) to Allah swt. So if a person thinks of negative things, they are clearly channelling their feeling towards that particular situation. Like post natal depression, if you think too much about how tiring it is to take care of a child, you will definitely not have the time to enjoy the child that you've just given birth to. No doubt being a Mother is tiring (not much for fathers though)! Having to wake up every now and then for feeds, diaper change or even just checking that baby is sleeping soundly is REALLY tiring! So why think about it and tire your brain even more when you know it's tiring? Instead try and think about the joyful things you can do with your baby when he/she is awake. Think about how lucky you are that the baby wakes up to feed/diaper change etc. I'm sure you know that being a Mother/Father consists of being there for your child almost 24-7, right? Since you have asked Allah for this child of yours then enjoy bringing them up with lots of love, hugs, kisses and positivity!

Although, these aren't the only things that we should bring our child up with. Of course there's Syaitan to mess about with our mind. That is why whatever we do we should think of Allah first. After giving birth we are more likely to feel depressed because we are in a 'dirty' condition. The post partum blood is dirty and so we are not allowed to pray. Nonetheless, our Worship towards him does not stop there. We should continue our 'zikir'. Glorify him so that the Syaitan will be scared of us and will not dare to come near us. Insha'Allah with Allah's protection we will be safe from the Syaitan! After all, in Surah Fatihah we mention that only in HIM do we seek for help and therefore we should always seek HIM in whatever sad or happy situation we are in.

On a slightly different topic, I did say 'terrible two' son didn't I? Well, to be honest, I feel that this word is being used to make us feel that they are terrible. How is it that they've been our 'bundle of joy' for 1 year and suddenly when they reach 2 they are terrible? This term is negative and we should really change it to a more positive term like "terrific two". Well, just because they cry more and are a little bit clingy doesn't mean they are terrible! To be honest, I was also conned into the "terrible two" term. Whenever Khairaldin cried, I almost gave up and just said "Oh well, it's just a phase. He'll get over it." When really I think all he wanted was someone to listen to him and just give him cuddles! Since we don't carry him that much, he then throw tantrums to get attention. He wants to still feel that he's being loved. We can't just take it for granted that "he'll get over it." HE WON'T . Give the attention that they need. Children don't cry for no reason.  

It's a terrific two because they are clever to know how to get our attention yet we are so silly not to give them the attention they need!

So parents, don't be caught up with all these terms or label that has been put out to us out there. We should really think positively and not let anyone label us. After all this "terrible two" and all other stress, what next? Mid life crisis? Are we just gonna live our life by letting people bring us down all the time? So get up! Live your life to the fullest. Positivity is the way to go! There's nothing wrong with having a positive mindset. Doesn't mean you're positive you don't feel sad. You still do and it's ok to feel that way as it's a test from Allah swt to appreciate HIM even more. If you're too happy, you might forget HIS existance. So, he has to bring you down and test you every now and then. It is how you get back up and continue worshipping him that matters! Insha'Allah.

My du'a is for all of my readers to be more positive in life and to not let anyone label and judge us except for the Allah swt. Insha'Allah. Amin!

Our healthcare experience in Malaysia (part 2)

So, day 2 didn't go as well as we would have thought. The doctor came and examined just once. We waited anxiously for the doctor to knock our door on day 3. All the 3 of us woke up early hoping we could go home before noon. Well, long story short she came quite late and Khairaldin couldn't be discharged by noon time. He had another course of antibiotic to finish up. So we had to wait.......

Oh, remember the doctor asked for Khairaldin's urine on day 2? Again I had to ask on the results. The doctor was soooo blur that she had to ask the nurse what the result was. That part wasn't so annoying, what was annoying was that the urine couldn't be processed because he was dehydrated!!! Seriously??? Couldnt they tell before taking it? I won't complain if the procedure was an easy and not painful on him. It's not that easy to put the urine bag on Khairaldin and it was painful!!! They should've thought of it first before asking us for the urine! Anyway, the doctor had the cheek to request for another urine sample. I had half my mind to not carry on with it because Khairaldin has became somewhat phobia with the nurses. But because it was for his health, we gave them permission to go ahead and literally stick another bag. The doctor then said she'll come back in the evening to give us the result. Heh.

We carried on with the waiting game. Khairaldin slept for a while after he was given his antibiotic. Around 3p.m, he was bored and wanted to run around. We took him round the ward and the room since we couldn't do much just in case the doctor arrives. Thankfully he managed to keep himself occupied regardless of being in a boring hospital. He went in and out the 'cupboard', not so sure how many times but he wasn't complaining. 



About 6p.m, the doctor came to check on him and of course by this time it's wayyy obvious that he was well and kicking, Alhamdulillah. The doctor asked if we were happy to be discharged and of course we couldn't help it but to shout a big "YES!!". She then told us that we could go as there was nothing 'seriously' wrong with him. We asked again.....how was his urine result and she said, "oh, that's all clear, no worries." We asked, what exactly went wrong with him? She said "it's "PROBABLY" just gastric and nothing big". And she asked, "oh by the way, has he ever had a rotavirus injection?" We confirmed that he never had one and asked why? She said, "oh nothing, but he's not got any rotavirus". Alright, fair enough. Even though we were given a 'probably' diagnosis, we pretended to be happy and packed our bags to go home. After all, every hour at a private hospital is billed onto your bill. So, escape as soon as they give you the green light to do so! No kidding.

That's us excited to go home and just waiting for our bill

Really my point of writing here is not to say that the healthcare service in Malaysia is all bad. I mean come on, we've only been to one and it was an unfortunate event that we were given the 'not so right' doctor. I'm sure there are a few good doctors at DSH, if not at least one. A few people asked us to change doctor but it was too late then. I don't get the idea of it being a specialist and private hospital yet we were treated as if we were not paying them enough. After the supposedly diagnosis, we even felt as if we were just being admitted for our money more than for his sickness. I was so sure we could be discharged by day 2 as Khairaldin was feeling much better. But sadly, the doctor wasn't around.

Anyway, we had a follow up appointment, and when we were in her clinic, she didn't even look in her file and started asking us, "is he the one with rotavirus?". We said, not that we know off. Then she carried on saying "I think it was him because we did a test and it came back positive for rotavirus." Seriously, if you are a parent, you would be so anxious and wanting to know more about it. Her "I thinks" were really disturbing and it took her 10 minutes to check with the nurse. In the end, she came back and said, "oh no, it wasn't him. It was another child who came in at the same time as him." WHATTTTTTTT??????? Sigh. It's really an unpleasant experience. If it was a government hospital, we wouldn't mind because we know how many cases they have to attend to in a day. Well, at least more than that of private hospital! So yeah, we had a reason to be upset.

My advice is for you Mommies and Daddies to check which 'good paeditrician' there is at the hospital you're sending your child to. Doesn't mean it is a private and specialist hospital everyone there is up to the standard you'd expect. :)

Our healthcare experience in Malaysia (part 1)

Our recent trip to Malaysia was different in so many ways. One of it was to do with healthcare. Before 'going back' to Malaysia, I've had doubts about the healthcare system there. Even though we've not used the healthcare in the UK that much but I can assure you when we do, it's always up to our satisfaction. People say cheap things have no quality, I'd beg to differ because the healthcare in UK is free (yeah we are being taxed but that's still a small amount) and still we get really good service from the healthcare people.

As most of you already know, I was contemplating on whether to give birth in Malaysia or UK this time round so, I've been asking (blogging) people about their birth experience. Alhamdulillah, I got a few feedbacks about giving birth in Malaysia. Little did I know, we got the 'chance' to experience the healthcare system in Malaysia, unfortunate event but I'm glad Alhamdulillah we experienced it first hand. No doubt I should not judge our experience to the one of giving birth as I'm sure the services are different when giving birth.

So, what did we experience? A few weeks after we arrived Malaysia, Khairaldin wasn't feeling too well. He had stomachache and was purging one whole morning. It was only 3-4 nappy change that he suffered the stomach bug but because he wasn't his active self, both Iskandar and I were worried. We then brought him to the nearest private clinic. We didn't give much thought about where we were bringing him as we thought any DR/GP will deliver the same quality, yes?..... So anyway, we were prescribed with 3 different medications- 1) fever medication (he didn't even have any fever), 2) salt drink for his dehydration (good enough), 3) medication for his tummy (we thought, great! Just what we needed).

We got home, gave him his medication for tummy and salt water thingie. He then slept straight after. Iskandar and I were pleased as we needed the break too. About an hour later, he woke up and vomited everything he had in the morning. Alright! medication's kicking in, so we thought. About an hour later, he vomited again! And it's not a small amount of vomit, it's almost as big as his size. Yes, it was a huge amount of vomit!!!! We didn't feel good so we brought him to Damansara Specialist Hospital for further check up. Waited for our turn to be seen and Khairaldin was so lethargic by then. When we saw the DR, she told us that he was really weak and need to be admitted on drips. We were expecting that anyway because he didn't want to drink or eat anything. So he was admitted. I was asked who his paediatrician was but we said we are here on holiday hence we don't have any paediatrician here in DSH/Malaysia. The DR then said ok, I'll give you the on-call paediatrician to look after him. Ok, as long as Khairaldin's in good hands (Doctors and nurses), we were fine with it. Khairaldin was put on drips and he didn't bother fighting with the nurses when they were poking him with needles etc. He was too weak by now.

Later on, the paediatrician came to see and examine him. He was sleeping at this time so she didn't want to disturb him. The paed asked us his medical history and what happened to him. She also asked us for the medication that was given by the clinic we visited in the morning. We showed her the medications and she was ok with all except one medication. It was the one supposedly for his tummyache. She told us that the medication was for older children and not for his age group. The paed made sure that we threw the medication and not to give it to him ever again. So we threw it away. We were quite upset at this point because we thought the GP was helping us to cure him!!! Alhamdulillah we only gave him once and his body reacted straight away. Otherwise we could have made situation even worse. Nauzubillahiminzalik... The paed also requested for his urine to see if he was suffering from Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). We managed to give them the urine sample around midnight since Khairaldin didn't have anything to drink except for the drips.

So, day 1 at hospital went smoothly. Khairaldin had his rest, antibiotics and paediatrician visit. Alhamdulillah we are in good hands........

 

 

Having said that, day 2 came along. The paed came in the morning to see him. She asked if everything was ok. She saw that Khairaldin was still weak so told us she'll be coming back in the evening to see if he could be discharged later in the evening or if he needs anymore medication. Even though she seemed helpful, I had to keep asking her what is wrong with Khairaldin. I also had to ask if his urine sample came back OK. After asking only she explained to me that they couldn't test his urine because it was left outside the lab for quite a while so the urine wasn't "as fresh". She then said that she needed another sample and will ask the nurse to get it from us once it's ready. I thought fine, the hospital did seem rather busy so the urine could easily be faulty. We then waited for Khairaldin to wee again and called the nurse as soon as we had the sample. We made sure that the urine was fresh enough for them. We waited for evening to come as the paediatrician promised to see us again. By 5pm we asked the nurse where the DR was, she then said "Oh! Today is actually her day off so she won't be coming in to do her evening rounds. Just mornings." Iskandar and I both thought.... "Whattttttt? Isn't there like a replacement DR? I mean, she's dealing with a child here how could she not attend to patients? At least pass the case on to a different paediatrician....right????! Well, isn't that how it's soupposed to work???" We were so furious but we didn't want to take it on the nurses. Khairaldin definitely felt much better as he can talk, sit and eat as normal. But we are stuck for another day just because it's the doctor's day off!

Day 3........ To be continued. Insha'Allah.

Pregnancy and weight gain. Issues issues!

Weight...... It is ALWAYS an issue for us, ladies. Right? When we are too thin people will comment and when we are "fat" they will still comment. What is perfect weight? One thing for sure, it is not up to oneself to say that they've already got a perfect weight (or even figure). Peer pressure always gets the best of us no matter how satisfied we are with our body.

So, when we ladies announce about our pregnancy to everyone, people will start advising us to eat, eat and eat. It's like, "put as much weight on as you can because this is the ONLY time you can do so". Of course during the 9 months pregnancy we don't care about putting on weight as it is the only time people will say we look good no matter how big we have become! It is also hard to differentiate the baby's weight and Mom's weight, so noone will notice how huge you really are. We all then take for granted to put on as much weight as possible since after all, the bigger your bump is, the sexier you look! No doubt.

But..... As soon as you've given birth, literally a few weeks after, these people would also be the one saying how much weight you've put on ever since they've known you! They EXPECT you to lose weight as soon as the baby is out! Don't you think that is unfair? Mommies then become too pressured about losing the weight and tend to concentrate on their weight more than the baby's. They start to eat less than what they normally would just to lose the fats!

If you're a pregnant lady my advice is, eat reasonably. Do not listen to people who advice you to eat more than what you can handle. Eating for two is nothing but a myth!! Yes you do need to eat for two but definitely not twice the portion you'd normally eat. It's only a few calories more and that sometimes could only mean eating an extra 1 slice of bread! Know what you are eating whilst being pregnant because once the weight is on, you'll find it depressing having it on for a long long time.

Alhamdulillah, I only put on about 15kgs throughout my pregnancy. I ate as normal and within the limit. As soon as Khairaldin was born I managed to lose about 8kgs, since those were the baby's weight and water etc etc. I didn't rush to lose the weight because I was breastfeeding and my baby's weight was more important than mine. After a year, I then bothered about my weight because I was planning for the age gap between my next child to be 2 years. Howere, since Khairaldin is still 'actively' breastfeeding, I had to rethink my plan and again taking it slow with the weight loss. Whatever it is, my plan is to try and lose weight before I try for a second baby. Like I've said before, gym is the place to get me active and not to lose weight.

Celebrities (or even the media!) are not helping by showing the wrong examples of post-pregnancy body because they show as if after being pregnant, all the weight is gone...instantly. Any normal people will know that it is not that easy and quick. Truth be told, they are either using some sort of 'girdle' or even liposuction straight after. So yes, the weight will stay on for a while, it is NORMAL! It is not normal to lose it all at once. After all, you've put the weight on within a 9 months period so it is only fair to let your body lose it gradually.

If you are a formula milk Mommy, then you can go ahead and lose weight. However, do not put pressure on Breastfeeding Mommies to lose all the weight soonest because they have to eat healthily for the baby too.

As for breastfeeding Mommies, concentrate on your child's weight gain before your weight loss. It is okay to have extra fats as you need those fats to turn into energy anyways.

After all that, whatever weight we put on or off it's for our husband to determine whether it's healthy or not. Looks is a totally different matter, at least for the first year of baby's birth. Ignore others' comments as they are only wanting to add pressure on the already pressured post-partum Mommies (or even Dads!). Love your body for giving you the chance to let you do things you want to do. Be thankful that your body managed to carry your weight and your child's. Alhamdulillah. As a return of favour to our body for helping us through the pregnancy, do not opt for CRASH diet, as the name itself tells you that you are crashing your body.

Have a joyous pregnancy and Motherhood. It'll only get better in time, keep believing in that. Insha'Allah.
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Lose weight or lose fats?

Before I got pregnant, I've always wanted to lose some weight because I know I will put extra weight on. :D My pre-pregs weight was 45kg and I've been this weight since 19 years old. During secondary school my weight ranged around 40-42kg. Yes, that skinny!

When I first met Iskandar I was around 40ish kilos. Then few months after we got together I put on some kilos, I've never been under 45kg ever since! Poor him, I thought! He went out with this skinny girl then suddenly she's put on a lot of weight. Being in a LDR made it impossible for him to see my gradual weight gain. We only see each other once a year for 3 months; Summer hols. We went out for 6 years before we decided to get married. Everytime when I tell him I want to lose weight and be the girl I was when he first met me (which coincidentally was 8 years ago, today!! :), he instantly said "NO! You were too skinny and looked rather fragile". *gasp* I thought that he was with me because I was small! LOL! Apparently that's not the case.

During my 9 months pregnancy, I put on almost 12-15kgs. Six months after Khairaldin's birth, I managed to go down till 50kg. Which accordingly I am in a good BMI range. But I am still not satisfied! Obviously I moaned and groaned about my weight but not wanting to do anything about it, let alone light exercises. So Iskandar told me, "it's not your weight that you're having problem with but it's the fats you've put on around your waist, bum and thighs." True enough. Even though I've gone down to 50kg, I still felt sluggish and tired. Iskandar said that my only option was to workout to burn those fats. I'm aware of the many diet pills or diet products available out there but I'm not too keen of it's health "benefits" (or lack of in some cases). I've got this mindset whereby, if it's really that good, why isn't it being prescribed by the doctors? So, that is why I'd rather workout to get the euphoric feeling :) I also always tell myself that the reason I wanna workout is because I wanna keep myself healthy. Allah has given me this perfect body, mind and soul for me to worship Him. If I become unhealthy it would be difficult for me to worship Him :( That's why I try my very best to keep myself healthy.

Right, what is the difference between losing weight and losing fats? When I talk about losing weight before, I meant, 45kg and below on the weighing scale. But little did I know, whatever is shown on the weighing scale isn't what I should be judging my weight by. You see, numbers on the weighing scale is the weight for everything, internal organs, bones, water, fats, blood etc etc. It is impossible for us to know what each and every one of these weigh, if we knew the weight then it would be easier for us to estimate how much fats are stored in our body. You could get the weighing scale to show numbers that you wanna see by just going on any type of diet. I've tried Herbalife before and it definitely brought me down to 43kg, for a while. Once I stopped, I was back to my 'old' self. As for mental and physical, it didn't change much. I still had some flabs and sometimes I become even more tired because the amount of food consumed was not enough. So now, when I say lose weight, I mean I wanna see myself in better shape - physical, mental and health wise. Insha'Allah.

So, when Iskandar told me about 'losing fats' I started reading on ways to burn fats rather than burning weight. Like I said, you can take the easy way out by going on a meal replacement diet and get the 'weighing scale' figure that you want. However, you might still end up with 'love handles', 'saddle bags' etc because what you're losing might only just be water and not even fats! My research have then pointed me to the right direction on how to actually burn this excessive fats that's been put on along the years.

Wanna know my way of losing fats instead of weights? Then follow me on my next entry with a full workout regime! :) Insha'Allah.

How to lose weight?

A friend of mine PMed me saying that I look slimmer (judging from my latest FB profile pic) and wanted to know how I lost the weight. Thank you Elina :) Truth be told, I haven't lost a tremendous amount of weight. At least not the amount that I've been wanting to lose.

Some people think it's weird that I actually opt to join gym to lose my weight seeing that I have a 10 months old baby. Seriously, when I joined gym I wasn't looking to lose a lot of weight. After all I just need to lose about 4-5kg pre pregs weight. But I have accepted that with "extra fats" at certain areas, it's impossible to get back to pre-pregs weight. However, my intention on joining gym was to keep up with my ever so active baby boy! I used to babysit my niece before and I can tell you that it's so much easier to look after her. When I sit and hug her, she'll not retaliate. Unlike Khairaldin, he's a boy, a very active one! Alhamdulillah now, I have a great amount of stamina compared to before I joined gym. Also, Alhamdulillah with joining gym I managed to lose some of my pregnancy fats. I kinda killed two birds in one nest. hehehe

I used to not care about joining gym because everyone, I mean, EVERYONE, kept telling me that you'll lose the weight eventually from breastfeeding and chasing after your son. Sadly after 10 months, that didn't happen :( I did lose some for the first few months, but after 6th month my weight was rather stagnant. I think reason one is: houses in the UK are not that big to actually make me run around the house to chase after him. Khairaldin can get from one end of the living room to the other in a mere 2 mins crawl. Now, imagine me walking to him, obviously it'll take about ermmm roughly 20 steps? That's how confined the spaces are. Hence, 20 steps won't make me any lighter! :) Reason two: I only go out on weekends so I don't have much exercise. I can really count how many steps I do in a week. Yes, it's that bad! Iskandar was also complaining how I looked lethargic and as if I haven't got much energy. So that's another reason why I signed up for gym.

I have joined gym for 2 months now. The first month was just about getting my stamina back. I haven't done any workout ever since I got married! So, it took me a while to get my stamina back. So my regime for the first month was 15 mins jog on the treadmill for 2-3times a week. On my 2nd month, I managed to increase my running time to 30 mins. That is when I felt really healthy after every workout. The sweat was rather refreshing. I go to sleep early and also wake up earlier than usual. Iskandar also saw some 'decreased fats' especially around my thighs. So, we are both happy :)

If you are one of those unlucky Mommies like me (don't do much move abouts), then I would say, SIGN UP to a gym! You'll lose the weight in no time and will feel refreshed. Unless you've got a big house to do your run abouts, then by all means, do it at home. Yes, the first month on getting back on track is hard! Super hard! But once you've got used to the running, you'll feel like you can't miss a session.

Go on Mommies, if I can lose some weight by working out, I'm sure all of you can! Choose your best workout and you'll never look back.

Oh yeah, as for eating habits. I still eat EVERYTHING! Even chocolates and biscuits. But I've to work extra hard if I have those food though. :D Since I'm still breastfeeding, I have not started on any diet.

Ps: Joining gym with someone you're close with is also a plus point to make you workout better. In my case, I've got hubby, my eldest brother and sister-in-law in the same gym. So it's FUN!