A one-year-old child is so many things -- 

A tiny discoverer of butterfly wings, 

A hugger of Teddies, 

A sweet sleepyhead, 

And someone to dream for in bright years ahead 

My Noah turned one on October 19th and we celebrated with a picnic with our mini family (+ Tok) at our favourite park. I love picnics and it’s a curse that I live in humid, hot Malaysia. The birthday boy got cranky after the first 1/2 hour due to the heat but thank goodness his big brother enjoyed his time at the park playing frisbees, ball and what not. 

I know we did a much bigger bash when Hadi turned one back in 2011 but that was just because we got over excited, with him being our first born and all. Noah has to know, hence I’m writing this, that this does not in any way mean we love you any less than we love your big brother, OK? It just meant that as seasoned parents (har har har), we’re more practical now and this year we decide that we’d rather spend on perhaps a family vacation (soon, I hope). 

It has been an amazing one year with you, Noah. My darling sweet Noah. One peaceful and easy baby who comes with other sorts of challenges, dramas and fears, which perhaps I’ll share one day. But for now, I am thankful for this blessing and I look forward to many more years with my Noah. Alhamdulillah.

"Love can change a person the way a parent can change a baby- awkwardly, and often with a great deal of mess.” - Lemony Snicket, Horseradish

A darling friend Ayuni requested from Ayin and me a checklist of stuffs needed for a newborn. True there are a lot on the net but some are way too extensive, like what do you need an RM189 brush and comb set for? And expensive night light with lullaby? Sure, if you have money to burn, go ahead, but if you're practical (and kedekut) like me, soft light from a semi-closed bathroom door and your own zikrullah lullaby would do insyaAllah. 

So yeah, because I was bored, stressed out and was melayan Hadi painting anyway, I doodled this one for Ayuni and you can share it too! (I think I left out some essential items here, like a thermometer perhaps - thank you, Ayin for pointing that out. And yes Ieja, maybe a baby carrier too)

Till then, enjoy your pregnancy, mommies-to-be! (And enjoy shopping for you baby!)

"All kids need is a little help, a little hope and someone who believes in them." - Magie Johnson

I saw this Baby Mugging meme on Pinterest this morning and thought that this is too cute and doable too! Apparently it is the current Instagram sensation replacing #sleepingbabyart, which by the way is super hard to be done, phewww. I have some of Noah's #sleepingbabyart and I shall produce them when I have the chance. Look for #babymugging or #babyinamug hashtags on Instagram for so many other cute photos! 

And naturally, I have to come up with one of Noah! Here's my darling Noah, popping out of Hadi's Daiso RM5 mug, weee!

“There are lives I can imagine without children but none of them have the same laughter and noise.” - Andreas

 

One day, our kids will outgrow our laps and leave our home, and this is a reminder that every single thing we do with our kids, we could be doing them for the very last time. There are days when we are too tired and crappy from everyday stress and we get cranky and angry with the kids behaving like well… kids, we forget that these days shall pass very soon and one day, we will only be left with the memories of their childhood innocence and the lingering sound of their sweet voice calling out for us.

Ups and downs, craziness and fun; cherish them all, we shall.

“If you don’t think life is great, try going on without one"– Jim Evans

It’s been too long. Do people still read blogs anymore? I still do, although not on daily basis, but there are a few blogs that I still follow religiously. I just don’t think people still want to read my shit when there are faster mediums like Instagram, Twitter and what not (these days I don’t even tweet or read tweets daily anymore!) Until recently at a relative’s wedding, a pretty lady came up to me while we were queuing for buffet (didn’t catch her name but she said she’s Shanim’s cousin, so hi hello if you’re reading!) and she told me she reads my blog and asked why don’t I blog anymore. Honestly, I’m just plain lazy, that’s why. 

I’m gonna start with a summary. Fast forward 4 months after my last post, I’m still a lawyer and have been branching out on many other areas of law so you can give me a call if you find yourself buried deep in legal problems hew hew hew. Oh I do entertain “friendly” legal questions - you know, the pro bono kind which doesn’t lead to real cases with real fees, but please remember that a lawyer gotta eat (and have needs for pretty clothes) too. Am still very much happily married to the boss (d’uh) and he’s getting me a new car soon (amen!) so I’m loving him even more these days hew hew hew, oh and I caused a dent to a rented car few weeks ago so yeah oh baby I love you so. My parents and MIL are in good health and I thank Allah everyday for this. My Hadi has been in preschool for almost a year now and I’ve seen improvement in his everyday English and socializing skills although he is still very very shy around strangers (including friends at school)! He is the complete opposite at home though; very loud, talks non-stop, always jumping and running and up to some mischief. I wish I could combine these two very different personalities and create one perfect Hadi, sigh. My Noah is already 10 months old (time flies so fast with this one, phewww!) and he is still the calm and darling baby that he is. I have so many things to share about Noah but maybe later. Still fully breastfeeding Noah who doesn’t really like food so momma’s milk is all his nutrition is coming from and honestly I don’t think I am able to keep up with his demand! God help me! 10 months later and yeah, I’m still fat, far from my dream weight, belly full of baby fat (more like full of teh tarik and nasi lemak) and lotsa fat hanging loose here and there (don’t picture it!) Maybe I should just get pregnant so I could justify all my eating and what not. I want 5 kids anyway (if Allah permits) and I’m already 32 now so I think we should act fast! I have so many everyday issues that I share randomly on Instagram, Whatsapp and Facebook, I couldn’t probably list them down here in one post. But all in all, by Jim Evans’ standard, life’s really good. 

That’s a lot of useless facts in one para. This is fun. Maybe I should pick up this hobby again.

"Between the innocence of babyhood and the dignity of manhood, we find the delightful creature of a boy"

“My mother groaned, my father wept, into the dangerous world I leapt.” ― William Blake 

Noah and I, we clicked the first time we saw each other. He, of course looked a bit dazed as to whom I am and why am I shoving my you-know-what to his mouth, teaching him to latch on it. But me, I fell instantly in love. I mean, I have loved him from the moment I knew I was carrying him in me, but the first time I held him in my arms, I fell in love. Head over heel. Told ya, a mother’s love knows no limit, has no capacity. 

Anyways, the birth story. Alhamdulillah, this time around, shorter labour, easier delivery. I told my doctor that I was determine to try for vaginal birth for this baby, which would make it a Vaginal Birth After Caesarean (VBAC), which naturally, comes with more risks. 

Two days before Noah was born, I was admitted for heavy blood show. Pad-soaking heavy, it was quite worrying. So they attached me to the CTG machine for almost the whole night to monitor the baby and did vaginal scan the next morning but everything seemed normal and there was no other labour symptom just yet. Blood show, Braxton Hicks, 1 cm opening but nothing else. They sent me home and I went on a date with the husband the whole day. 

October 18th, at night, I was starting to feel more sharp contractions, lebih sakit dan lebih kerap, and by midnight, rasa dah sakit sangat. My firstborn Hadi was already asleep so we angkut him and sent him off to his Tok’s, not without some drama of course, sebab dia terjaga and wanted to sleep with me. Berjaya lepaskan diri at around 1 a.m. and they immediately admitted me and called my doctor. 

Starting from around 2-3 a.m., the contraction semakin sakit but baru buka 3 cm! 3 cm! Rasa nak meraung when they told me that. Still a long way to go, man. There was no single room that night so I had to share with 4 other heavily pregnant mommies in distress, macam berlawan-lawan mengerang. Sometimes I would remember to change position, berzikir, do the labour breathing and what not, but other times I would just join in the mengerang session (which as we know, was so not helping with the pain sebenarnya!) 

After Subuh, the nurse told the husband that my bukaan was only at around 4 cm and they estimated paling cepat akan beranak petang, so husband went home to mandi etc. By then I was already in so much pain I was determined that I wanted epidural. They asked me to wait for the doctor. The doctor came at around 8 and I was so ready with my script nak request epidural but they checked and I was already fully dilated! How did I go from 4 cm to being fully dilated in only an hour, I do not know! 

So they immediately wheeled me to the labour room, while one of the nurses frantically called the husband and the others telling me to try to push. Tapi sebenarnya takyah suruh sebab masa tu all I want to do is nothing but push, push, push! They coached me and cheered on me and honestly, the delivery process was so quick I can barely recall what happened. Pushed a few times lalu dengarlah tangisan Noah bergempita. I thank God for making the delivery bit quite easy, phewww. Husband arrived 10 minutes after I have given birth, with Hadi and his Tok. 

One day old Noah Rashad. Mad love.

 

I wish I came up with a post-delivery plan for the doctor though; would have loved to have the baby placed on me immediately after he was born, he must have felt really scared without his mommy! He was only sent to my room an hour after that and I was told that they have fed him with formula. Apparently it’s the paed’s practice. Pfftt. One of the nurses even “advised” me that newborn need formula milk, to make sure cukup sihat, kenyang and to minimize jaundice risk. Say what?! I was feeling so much love and gratitude ketika itu so I just held back and said nothing much. So yeah, mental note, next baby, tell them: immediate mommy-baby body contact, and no formula please! 

Noah is 47 days young today and Alhamdulillah, he has been a very easy, fuss free baby from the start. He almost always seems contented, only merengek sikit when he wants milk or diaper change, and wakes up at night only for feeding. MasyaAllah, what have I done to deserve this blessing, I do not know; not a day passed without me thanking Him for Noah, the easy baby that he is (setakat ini! Hehe) 

One thing for sure, Noah certainly lives up to the meaning of his name; my darling peaceful baby :)

“Through the blur, I wondered if I was alone or if other parents felt the same way I did - that everything involving our children was painful in some way. The emotions, whether they were joy, sorrow, love or pride, were so deep and sharp that in the end they left you raw, exposed and yes, in pain. The human heart was not designed to beat outside the human body and yet, each child represented just that - a parent's heart bared, beating forever outside its chest.” ― Debra Ginsberg 

Alhamdulillah, on October 19th, 2013 I gave birth to a perfect little baby boy, another heartbeat of mine. InsyaAllah I shall share the birth story soon. Muhammad Noah Rashad, my peaceful and wise baby, insyaAllah.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY #27

"There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing." - Alfred Wainwright 

One of the best things about Sydney is the weather. Most of the time, it’s sunny dan dingin, macam just right saja. The kind that’s perfect for strolling, taking pictures, picnicking, BBQing and just about any outdoor activities. Even their patrolling cops cycle everywhere, which explains why they all look so fit and healthy. The Boss kept on asking, “Who is paying for all this aircond, God?! Why is my country so hot?!” Hahaha. Sigh, Sydney people are so lucky! *stares sadly into Malaysia scorching hot, berjeberebu sky* 

Jadinya, Sydney travel tips pertama kali ini, find an accommodation not far from the must-go attractions and you can just walk here and there. We stayed at Meriton Serviced Apartment which was awesome. The first night we were there, after dinner (and making sure Hadi had fallen asleep), the Boss and I strolled along the city and walked all the way to Darling Harbour. We initially wanted to take a cab but the cab driver told us truthfully that the place isn’t too far, tapi kalau naik kenderaan jadi jauh and mahal. And so we walked. Mind you, I was 3 months pregnant at that time dan masyaAllah, sesampainya di Darling Harbour, all I wanted to do was baring. Albeit the wonderful weather, penat gila weh. The Boss had to bribe me with dessert to make me feel better. Haha. 

Walking to Paddy's Market and occasionally stopping for pictures. Hehehe.

Perempuan gemuk ini sedang mengandung tiga bulan ketika ini.

They sell the famous roti canai terbang here. Heard that it's not even that good tapinya good enough lah kot for Malaysians living in Sydney craving for roti canai back home.

Sydney travel tips kedua ialah be sure to buy your souvenirs at the Paddy’s Market. The prices there are at least 3 times cheaper (if not more) from outside souvenir shops. Keychains, fridge magnets, hiasan pejabat, t-shirts, household items, plush toys, bags and what not, you name it, they got it. I did buy fridge magnets from Madam Tussaud’s, Hard Rock and Sydney Sea Life though, because these kinda magnets are not sold in Paddy’s. 

There you have it, my Sydney travel tips for today. Till next Oz entry! 

"A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." - Agatha Christie

  

InsyaAllah, do pray for us :) I am currently in my 20th week of pregnancy, all praise to Allah. Doesn’t feel much different from the one with Hadi but with a toddler in tow, this time around is naturally more tiring. You don’t get to nap or rest whenever you want to, because rest assured, the moment you lie down to rest is the exact time your toddler will be asking for food or milk, or bugging you for some toys he couldn’t find, or to read him a book, anything lah. Hehe. Nevertheless it is such a blessing that my current job comes with flexible hours and some other perks; well it should, considering the Boss is the one who knocked me up. Ngeee. 

This pregnancy is not much different, yet emotionally, it is so different in a way that well, I’ve done this before - I’ve been through the pregnancy exhaustion and elation, the excruciating birth pain, the sleepless nights of attending to a helpless newborn, the breastfeeding battle, the joy of shopping for tiny thingies, the precious heavenly smell of a newborn – and I am excited and berdebar at the same time to repeat the process all over again. 

I still am not quite sure how things are gonna work out – will Hadi cooperate? With a newborn’s constant obsession with boobies’ milk, how do I make sure Hadi won’t feel neglected? Will I be tired all the time? Will our tiny home be comfy enough for all the four of us? Now that I will have two khalifahs entrusted by Allah, should I quit my office job and work from home so that I can watch my babies grow up before my eyes? With Hadi’s need for my ketiak, how is the sleeping arrangement gonna be? Do I pantang at my mom’s place or just settle at my own abode and borrow MIL’s bibik for a month? I still have half away to go to think about all this anyway. Right now, I shall enjoy this pregnancy and pray to the Almighty; sempurnakan dan permudahkanlah, Ya Rabb. 

One thing for sure, it is true what they say, that a woman does not know her capacity to love until she has a child and that is how I feel with my Hadi. And now I’m feeling the immediate and growing love for this cantaloupe-size baby growing and kicking inside me. That’s the awesome thing about a mother’s love, there’s always room for more :')

"No road is long with good company." - Turkish Proverb 

One of my Oz photobooks has arrived and they still have yet to reply me on the whereabouts of my other book. Pfftt. Anyways, today my Oz travelogue is gonna be on the famous Darling Harbour attractions! A touristy thing one must do lah when you're in Sydney. This is on April 17th, the day my mom and dad union turned 32! It was just 10-15 minutes leisure walk from our apartment to the Chinese Garden and from there we boarded the train to Darling Harbour. 

No, Azwan Ali is not a good role model, kiddo.

Train fare is as per stated.

The boy really enjoyed the train ride.

There are so many attractions to choose from but with a toddler and a baby tagging along, you gotta plan your day and pick and choose. Since we already planned nak pergi the Oakvale Farm later (see previous entry), we skipped the Wild Life Zoo and chose Sydney Aquarium and Madam Tussaud’s. We took the Combo package which costs around $50 per adult I think. Free entrance for children under 4. 

Oh fakta: We had lunch at the food court; the usual sea food buckets of course.

Personally I thought Sydney Aquarium was too huge and kinda boring. Hadi was excited at first but he grew tired selepas separuh perjalanan and only got excited whenever we passed souvenirs shop selling sea life toys. It was alright, but a onetime thing lah, sekali masuk cukup dah. 

See, even Baby Dora was like mehhhhh, boring!

Then we went to Madam Tussaud’s which was interesting but I did not get the chance to tengok puas-puas as the little boss was already cranky by then and asyik ajak duduk, so tengok sikit-sikit and left the others inside while we wait outside and feed the birds. Asalkan anak tak cranky, emak tak dapat enjoy pun tak apalah! 

The Boss and Izzue Islam. Oh wait, an actor who looks like Izzue Islam. Haha.

#caughtgramming ;P

My Ironman!

And this has got to be my favourite pic of the day! LOL!

We then took the ferry to Sydney Harbour, on which Hadi and I slept all the way, so yeah no pictures. But that's for another entry. Till then, here's us resting and snacking by the harbour after all the walk, phewww!

 

"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour." - William Blake 

So OK, Birubi Point Sand Dune. After Oakvale Farm and Fauna World, we headed to Birubi Point for sand boarding. The weather was still awesome and Hadi had slept all the way since we left Oakvale so he was quite recharged. Kenapa penting? Supaya tidak cranky. Mothers of toddlers would understand this. 

First, important facts: WHAT IS A SAND DUNE? A sand dune is a mount, hill or ridge of sand that lies behind the part of the beach affected by tides. They are formed over many years when windblown sand is trapped by beach grass or other stationary objects. WHAT IS SAND BOARDING? Sandboarding is a board sport similar to snowboarding but takes place on sand dunes rather than snow-covered mountains. 

I can't remember the fees they paid for it but only those yang nak main had to pay for the board. And tak mahalpunlah. The rest can just menumpang hop in the rides for free to enjoy the bumpy journey from the beach to the sand dune. You can also choose to ride the camels and 4WD, at a different fare I guess.

Look at the blue, blue sky! Subhanallah!

Isn't my dad the cutest? Posed a la sand board konon but refused to do the real thing, takut sakit belakang.

The very chatty instructor, whose dreams are to finish grad school and go to Brazil for World Cup 2014. Yes people, my mom is a very, very friendly woman. Very. T____T

Hadi finally has woken up from his nap at this point and I was free of 15 kg load. Phewww.

Then it's little Baby Durrah's (Hadi calls her Baby Dora, super cute!) turn to nap. Nenda happily babysat while her Mummy sand boarded.

Yep, that's the boss, y'all!

They say the journey down was exhilarating and fun tapi look how far down they are! Imagine nak kena panjat balik the sand mountain for another ride. Phewww nasib baik sejuk.

Thank God Hadi wasn't bored. He happily played with the sand and I just let him lah. Asalkan bahagia.

One for the camera!