Last night we decided to carry on with Maryam's potty training by not putting on the diaper for her at night time. This was our first time of doing so as Maryam has passed her daytime potty training, alhamdulillah. 

I was a bit hesitant and indecisive at the outset knowing we are going back to my hometown in a few days time so probably we better off proceed with the potty training at night time over there. In addition there will be change of environment for her, I don't think I will be bringing her toilet seat along; plus she will be using a new 'unfamiliar' toilet so there is a possibility of a resumption of the training itself. Naudzubillah.

Anyhow I remembered from my reading that in order to excel in potty training a child the trick is once we get the ball rolling we have to be exceptionally stringent in which we have to continue until s/he becomes completely diaper-free. 

So there we go, last night it began well where Maryam willingly requested to go to the toilet before she went to bed that I thought 'this is a good start' as she had got her bladder emptied before sleeping. At around 6.30am I woke up (after multiple wake-ups throughout the night) to breastfeed Fatimah when Maryam also got up telling she wanted to go to the toilet.

I wanted to make her wait till I finished nursing Fatimah if possible therefore to avoid accidents I confirmed with her again did she really want to go to the toilet that she answered 'No' and quickly went back to sleep. 

When I was done with nursing Fatimah I went to Maryam who was sleeping, woke her up and asked again if she wanted to go to the toilet. She said 'Yes' and I said 'Let's take off your pants'. Then I landed my hand on her bum and noticed that it was soggy. 'Oh my, we fell flat this time' when I thought we could claim victory after a single night. Hehe.

Nevermind we'll do this again tonight!

P/s: Maryam went to Tesco without wearing her diaper yesterday and she managed to use the public toilet to peepee- for the first time! Bravo Maryam!

*Maryam Sophia is 2 years 1 month 4 weeks and 2 days old today :). Alhamdulillah.

I guess I can conclude that Maryam's daytime potty training is accomplished. 

Today alone there were no more accidents and she let us know when she wanted to go to the loo. On top of that she did peepee or poopoo each time we brought her to the toilet as per her request, so not so much of a drama anymore, or 'tak jadi' (canceled) issues.

To keep things going as of tomorrow I might get her to not wear diapers at night *palpitations*.

We'll see how things go.

Just if you were wondering what does Maryam's toilet seat look like, tadaa! 

This is her toilet seat that I bought online. Love the fact that it has a rung for the kid to climb up and the handles are very handy. However I do wish for it to be more sturdy when placed on the toilet bowl and if they make the toilet seat more gritty, I would give 5 stars. The toilet seat has a smooth surface and can easily become slippery when it gets wet. 

For her achievements we bestowed on her star-shaped stickers, which she proudly pasted onto the fridge. She really enjoys being acknowledged and appreciated for her efforts while on our side we hope that they will serve as a motivation to quickly be successfully diaper-free during both day and night, with no accidents of course. InsyaAllah.

Alhamdulillah thumma alhamdulillah.

I'm so overjoyed right now as Maryam has just moved her bowel, in the toilet bowl! (at 5.15pm today to be exact hehe). Finally. It started pretty rough with her wetting her pants first. She was standing next to me when I was buried in my laptop, then she suddenly said "Nak berak" (I want to poopoo) in that shaky voice which means she was serious.

I quickly got on my feet and rushed her to the toilet. I noticed that she had peed in her pants when I wanted to take the pants off. Then I went to get her seated on her toilet seat when she accidentally passed wind from down below. I used that to get her to strain for poopoo which she initially was reluctant to.

I said to her that I wanted to 'hear her fart again' and waited. After minutes of no success despite non-stop persuasions I nearly gave up when an idea sparked in my head to get her to bring up the knees and squat on the toilet bowl. 

The combination of squatting and 'wanting to hear her fart' worked, she finally poopoo-ed in the toilet bowl I was so touched I felt like breaking into tears (which I didn't, just if you wonder).

We are getting on well Maryam. Good job sayang! Bye bye diapers! :)

Maryam Sophia is 2 years, 1 month, 3 weeks and 2 days old today. Alhamdulillah.

I have been planning to potty train Maryam for so long. I bought a toddler's toilet seat even before Maryam reached 2 years old as she seemed to have developed good conscience at that time. She lets us know when she poops or pees with her diapers on without us asking. When I talked to her about getting her to learn to use the toilet when the seat comes in the post, she was happy to cooperate.

However when the seat arrived things changed. She could not agree on not wearing her diaper and although she was initially excited to be seated in her toilet seat, she took that just for fun. We tried our best to coax her but no success. I therefore put the plan on hold until she becomes more ready for a proper potty training. She was still young then anyway.

A day before I had my 2nd baby I laid out my plan to potty train her again the day after, second attempt after a nearly 3-month break. Little did I know that I was going to give birth on that day although I had hoped for it to happen given I was already post date. So again the potty training plan was kept in view.

Today after about a week 'brainwashing' my little girl about potty training she is happy to give it a go again. Therefore this day marks her first diaper-free day yeay! Funny her she felt strange not being put on a diaper when she was done bathing; she was all excited about just wearing her underpants and having a 'less bulky' derriere. Even when I told hubsy dear that Maryam hasn't got her diaper on he too got thrilled and Maryam cheerfully reiterated my words "Maryam tak pakai ampers hehe" (I'm not wearing diaper hehe).

It wasn't until 2 o'clock in the afternoon that she finally told us she wanted to empty her bladder. That was a tough one. After taking off her underpants in the toilet she decided she didn't want to sit on her toilet seat. What? She even said she didn't want to pee. Again, what? She said "Tak jadi" (Canceled).

We persuaded her to pee as we believed she did want to pee but she was holding it back. We gave her the options whether she wanted to squat on the floor or just do it while standing as she had rejected her toilet seat. She however settled with peeing while squatting on the toilet floor and happily walked out of the toilet with an empty bladder and a wide smile.

The ball is still rolling. Half a day more left, no accidents please!

Alhamdulillah 'ala kulli hal.

As a continuation to yesterday's entry, yeah we made our first attempt to bottlefeed Fatimah with my EBM. The result?

She nailed it!

Alhamdulillah. Praises be to Allah.

We just recycled Maryam's bottle as she is no longer using it. Fatimah seemed happy and comfortable with the MAM's teat that I placed on the preexisting Avent bottle (since Maryam's time). We have plenty of Avent bottles so I don't want to bring them to waste.

One task, checked! :)

"Bukan macam tu, macam ni- ah"

(Not like that, it's like this- ah)

"Mayam nak buat sendiri"

(I'm gonna do this on my own)

"Ummi buat apa?"

(Watcha doing, Ummi?)

"Abi cari apa?"

(Watcha looking for, Abi?)

"Eh ada- ah yogurt Mayam"

(Look my yogurt is actually here!)

"Mana sudu? Mana2?"

(Where's the spoon, where?)

Given her age and size, it often tickles our hearts hearing her sentences. She talks in a moderate tone innocently so we find it amusing than irritating. She can go on talking non stop and really loves when people respond, chat with her and ask her questions.

It is not until yesterday that I learnt that she has come to use the word 'malas' (lazy). Yeah we  have discovered her use of a negative statement before which is "Maryam tak pandai" (I'm not smart) but we tackled that by giving her some reassurance that she can do it and the fact that the thing will need to be practiced in order for her to be good at it bla bla bla. 

But yesterday I asked her for a favour, to pick up a book that she dropped, off the carpet then she replied "Tak nak, malas" (Don't wanna, lazy). 

Heartbreaking. 

We as her parents have never taught such a word to her. Therefore the impact it gave to me was massive. I wasn't sure what to do to get her do what I requested when she answered like that. It kind of punctuated things and my thinking came to a complete cul-de-sac. Then that reminds me, so this is the feeling mothers get when their children use harsh words when conversing with them. Awful.

I was so upset I messaged dear hubsy. Apparently he was looking at his phone so he responded  quite instantly, about what I could do as a 'punishment' for her for saying such a word. I didn't do any of them though.

Thankfully it didn't last for long when Maryam finally of her own accord picked up the book herself without me using any kind of coercion. 

Now still thinking about the best 'punishment' to effectively teach kids to be a better person.

Today is my baby's 7th day of life. 

Umbilical Cord Stump

At the wee hour lil baby pooped and I got up to get her cleaned. I don't know if it was me who made it happen or it was going to happen anyway that I noticed her umbilical cord stump had fallen off that night. She was crying out loud, probably from the diaper-change or from the pain at her belly button, if I had accidentally pulled that off, oops. The belly button didn't look completely dry yet so I doubted if the stump had 'withered' on its own. Anyhoo what's out is out. Let's take a good care of the wound. Of note Maryam also had her stump detached on day 7 :).

Baby's name

After deep contemplation, quite extensive look-ups and inquiring the 'expert' we, my hubsy and I have decided on our 2nd princess' name. It's Wan Fatimah Amanda. Fatimah as we know is the name of the Prophet's (pbuh) daughter and Amanda is a latin word that means lovable. May she grow up with the akhlaaq of Fatimah and become a loving, lovely and lovable person. Ameen.

Tahnik

Hubsy decided to find a scholar to perform tahnik on Fatimah. We went to see a scholar in Tendong together with my MIL and granny in law. This was my first ride in a car since my discharge from hospital after giving birth, I didn't feel too confident in myself physically so I decided to just stay in the car outside when they went to bring Fatimah into the scholar's house. Hubsy however helped to capture those precious moments into a video which I have yet to watch. May Allah grant barakah in Fatimah's life and make her among the pious. 

As I'm typing this my beautiful baby (every baby is beautiful) is soundly sleeping next to me allowing me to have some me-time jotting this down after having planned of doing so since she was born.

Today's already her 4th day of life. She was born post due date by 4 days, and I was scheduled for admission for the induction of labour on date plus 9, which I luckily escaped.

It was an ordinary 3rd July 2014 morning. I went to bed quite late the night prior as a handful of thoughts kept running in my head holding me off from falling asleep. My deepest concern was the pregnancy and the fact that I very much wanted the delivery to be as close to natural as possible, no induction as such. I was already 4 days overdue at the time. Each day that passed by freaked me out more and more.

My 1st daughter was born post date too, date plus 6 to be exact. So it was the same scenario where I got the appointment for induction but I managed to deliver before that date, alhamdulillah. I was wondering if this time around Allah wants me to experience induction, which I very much dread of.

After our suhoor and prayers that morning I decided to recite Surah Maryam of the Holy Quran, which is known to be the surah associated with the hope to ease labour. I was praying that I would go into labour that day and the process is smooth and speedy. I subsequently went back to bed after having slept for just about 2 hours the night before. 

At about 7.50am I felt like I just passed a gush of fluid while lying down sleeping which made me jump out of my bed out of shock. I hopped into the toilet and waited if any more fluid was coming down down my legs. Nil. I remembered during Maryam's time the labour began with leaking where I passed about probably half a bucket of liquor, on the bed! No show no contractions before that so I thought this was probably the same thing that was taking place.

When I had a proper look it wasn't really that thin liquor that I just passed but rather half a pad of thick mucus which left me worried. Having the experience working as an MO in O&G I postulated that in this setting if I went to the hospital they will say that the history is not suggestive of leaking. And if they did the speculum exam, if leaking is not demonstrable I will be admitted and speculum exam be repeated the following morning. On the other hand if the leaking is demonstrable I will be scheduled for induction the next day and started on prophylactic antibiotics at the 18th hour post leaking. (Not to forget they will also do a scan to check the amount of amniotic fluid surrounding the baby). This means that the ending will still be induction of labour!

I was so terrified fearing if the labour would not progress. Only in Allah I put my hopes. Subhanallah with Allah's permission I developed painful contractions only like 10 minutes after I started to have those worrying thoughts (8.30am). They got steadily more intense with time that I eventually decided to tell my husband as he got up from bed not long after. He was burning the midnight oil finishing his work the night before so he also dozed off after Fajr. I advised him to go to work first and I would update him later. He however reassured me that he would return from work as soon as possible.

My MIL came to see how I was after being informed by hubby that the labour had started. She was convinced that I would deliver at around the time of breaking fast in which I then responded 'I hope not that late! :)'. I was planning to go to the hospital at around after Zuhr thinking that the contractions would've gotten quite strong at that time. It was definitely a game of wait and see.  

In my first pregnancy the water broke at noon and I only started to develop contractions at 10pm. I had the baby delivered at 7.37am the following morning. Therefore from this experience I didn't very much expect that my subsequent labour would be too different from that time-wise or neither would it progress too rapidly comparatively.

After hubsie love left for work I decided to sit on the exercise ball and do some exercise while reciting Surah Maryam again. He returned home very quickly after about only 15 minutes of leaving. He suggested for us to take a walk in the house so that the baby will 'come down' a bit, like what we did with Maryam (myth?). We had plenty of time in between then, so we managed to stroll around and in the hospital, a few times. 

The contractions got so much stronger though that I would never be able to walk. I decided to make final preparation for hospital although I actually had got my and the baby's bags ready by the door for the past 4 weeks or so. I rested on a stool when this one massive contraction came then suddenly the water broke. This time it was watery enough I felt like I just passed again, half a bucket of liquor. It happened thrice along with three strong contractions in a row I would've run to the toilet to avoid wetting the permanent-fitted carpet in the room but was incapable of doing so. 

Following the leaking I managed to quickly stride to the toilet during the pain-free gap to get myself cleaned. Hubby lined up mahjong papers that we used as a backdrop for Maryam's birthday party from where I was seated down to the toilet to protect the carpet from the dripping liquor as I paced off.

To be con'td.

Assalamualaikum and heyya,

If you're wondering if the baby is out or not yet, the answer is the latter. I guess s/he is having great time tossing and turning in my belly, not wanting to come out just yet. Hehe. As long as you're healthy, dear. 

I've got three things to share today.

Firstly I finally managed to rearrange the furniture in the room. Phew! Well we just have too many things stuffed in our bedroom I honestly don't know where did they all come from hehe. After hours of huffing and puffing we eventually got the room sorted. Apart from transferring out some stuff and wiping off those dust we moved the baby's crib a little to allow a new wardrobe to come in. 

Erm, apparently we haven't gone out to look for a suitable wardrobe yet but we wanted to have a rough idea as to the size of the wardrobe that can fit in. Why do we need one? Because we need a proper and more structured way in keeping the children's clothes. The family's expanding, as well as the number of clothes mind you. Huhu.

Secondly my postnatal care set has arrived in the post! *bellydances*. Dear hubby got it for me online for a significantly cheaper price as he works part time in maintaining the postnatal care set's website. Anyhow I really hope that the items suit me perfectly, as the last time I used a different brand. Just thinking of a change of taste.

Thirdly I am stepping my second foot into a whole new world soon insyaAllah. That is BUSINESS. *palpitations* Not that I'm leaving my job as a doctor but I'm venturing into a new field at the same time. Yeah I am trying out this business to generate some side income and to gain experience that I hope can be benefited in other fields too. It IS risky but after much contemplation I think it's worth to give it a go. I might share it with you later but as for now please make prayers that I will succeed in it. Who knows if it will pave way to a more joyful, fulfilling life knowing that I am trying my best? InsyaAllah.

All in all dear baby, we've got your cot ready and ummi's postnatal set is in. We are all excited to have you here. Take your time but not too long ya, 'cause we're already missing you even without seeing your face yet. Please come out smoothly and healthily, ameen.

Most important of all:

• Pray hard that Allah will grant ease in the whole process
• Get the mindset ready

We were having dinner in one of the brasserie in Brussels in our recent trip when a flower lady came selling roses from table to table. Dear hubsie got me a stalk (for €4) so I grew wings and flew over the mooon (^_^).

I wonder if I should at all resume writing up on this blog? I probably should. The last time I scribbled an entry here was ages ago, so no wonder I'm feeling a bit awkward typing random sentences now hehe.

The reasons why I feel like writing again is a few. We have a battery of major life events coming up which will be so exciting, insyaAllah. Addition to our little family, a holiday getaway and probably my journey in pursuing my career as a doctor. 

I admit that this path of specialising into a specific field is somewhat wishy washy, particularly in Malaysia I must say. I find it challenging to identify the correct person to discuss about what I wanna become, in a context where I myself am still puzzled about what should I do in life what suits me best. So prolly this will kinda give you junior doctors some idea as to what I have gone through, not to simply follow but perhaps look at and compare thus find your own way to achieve your dreams.

Till I write again.

We brought Maryam to get her 1-year-old jab at the clinic today, at the age of 1 year and 19 days old. With the recent heated up discussion about the relevance of introducing vaccines to our children I can't help but feeling a bit worried too in making my mind about this. 

As a person who works in the medical field I am quite inclined to follow the current guidelines and vaccination schedule, as I have faith that the ministry must have put sufficient enough an effort in establishing the best guideline that aims to provide the best protection for our children from any health risks.

We were given the options whether to give Maryam MMR vaccination alone or MMR-V which includes immunisation against varicella as well, costing about RM50 and RM140 respectively.

I wasn't quite aware about this until my husband mentioned on our way to the clinic that one of the points to support giving MMR-V vaccine is because I work in a high risk setting where I am readily exposed to bugs and sick people. Therefore it would be a great idea to if possible cover Maryam from catching infections, as much as we can, of course after considering both benefits and risks.

At last as expected we decided to give Maryam MMR-V for her 1 year old vaccination. She will need another Varicella booster at 4 years old. When I inquired about whether it would be only Varicella vaccine given again at 4 years old, the GP says he also gives MMR-V again at that that age, if we want. Furthermore to support such action he says according to the current guideline MMR is given at 7 years old (standard 1 of primary school) just for the sake of reaching everyone as that is the youngest formal school age in Malaysia. He further adds that the ideal time of giving 2nd MMR is between 4 to 6 years of age.

In a nutshell;

 

Maryam Sophia is one year and 16 days old today and yesterday was my 2nd anniversary. Alhamdulillah.

Don't know if ye already knew this, Maryam has become so confident in walking now. She is a calm person, she walks slowly and carefully to come down onto a lower leveled floor, using her hands to assist too if needs be. She doesn't jump everywhere without purpose although she does walk around on her own appreciating every inch inside the house. 

I noticed about a week ago when Maryam was roughly one year and one week of age that she is cutting a molar tooth on her upper jaw on the right side. It could have been more in progress but that's the only one I managed to see. Hihi. She cuts teeth quite fast, I have friends whose babies at the age older and just a small bit younger than Maryam who don't seem to have that many tooth out yet. Alhamdulillah.

About feeding I am teaching her to have a mindset that rice is her staple food. Therefore I have made a transition where I am preparing her food much less than before. I am also allowing my bibik to make Maryam's food on a daily basis too, in order to ensure that she gets the best and and the most fresh meal into her small tummy. Maryam is a huge fan of strawberries so the Muller rice idea using strawberries suit Maryam really well.

May Allah bless us all.

I started my work in HRPZ2 about 2 weeks ago, which means that my life has transformed into a more active and hectic one since. I am posted to the Paediatrics department, a good start I guess for a person who is just tuning in into the new system, let alone after such a long break off working. Colleagues are pretty good, though I can't deny the on-the-go state that can readily make any nice person become cold and unfriendly. After all, alhamdulillah.

Maryam has been good since I started my job. She stays at home with Bibik who looks after her from A to Z when I am away. Nevertheless, she still sleeps with me at night no matter how late I return from work. That would be the only time I have to spend with her given the scanty time at home I got from being a doctor- a job that demands long working hours. 

A few milestones have passed. Maryam has got half a tooth out on her lower gum. The other half is still  hiding and has yet to show up. Anyway she has fever no more that is most important re about her health above all. 

Last night I noticed that she is now able to crawl, FORWARD! Though small strides at a time that is such an achievement. Remember she moved in reverse before so this new finding elates me a lot! We have to more carefully keep an eye on her from now on to avoid any unwanted incidents to take place. Naudzubillah.

You've grown up so fast my favourite girl!

Alhamdulillah.

I don't exactly know how busy will it get when I start working but I from what I heard from fellow colleagues, it is notoriously busy. 

Just to jot down a couple of things that I will definitely miss to do thinking I mightn't get to do them that often anymore. 

My husband and I have started playing badminton together. It is so fun as we both are no expert at that. Keeping the shuttlecock flying to and fro in the air for a decent period without falling onto the ground is already an achievement. Not to mention the shuttle being delivered outside the outlined mark, hitting the imaginary net or served below the net as such. No one cares. Love love love.

We walked to the surau holding hands to perform the Isya' prayer last night. As hubby's work finishes at 10pm or 10.30pm it is such a rare occasion that he would be free at home the moment Isya' starts. Such a wonderful feeling.

I feel so blessed.

May Allah keep our family happy together till Jannah.

Ameen.

Not only iPad has its mini version, honeymoon also does. Huhu. 

Hubby has decided to drive me down to Janda Baik, and he suggested for us to depart a day earlier than the date the induction course starts and spend a night over there. Yippee! I am so over the moon upon hearing this I can't be more overjoyed (in this context). 

Although we have made up our mind not to bring Maryam along, I think this is the best we can make out of it. The long journey, the short stay and the equipments to store or prepare Maryam's food as such, I believe Maryam better off stay at home so that bibik can look after her well in all aspects, insyaAllah.

I have reserved a room for the 17th of December so we'll kick off early in the morning, do some activities together appreciating nature whatsoever then he'll drive back to Kelantan on his own the day after- this is the sad part. Hope he'll be ok on his own.

I can't wait to have it but at the same time I can't deny dreading resuming into work. Day 1 of induction is taken into account in counting our days of working mind you. It's like I have to really shake off those rusts coating my thinking and memory cap.

We never had any form of holiday that can be called a couple honeymoon post tying the knot. And this is happening after we've been blessed with a beautiful princess, after more than a year or marriage!  InsyaAllah.

Thank you Allah.

We woke Maryam up early today to bring her to the clinic for her 6th month Pneumococcal vaccination. Poor Maryam she cried a bit longer than before the moment we laid her on the bed to receive the injection. However that's it Maryam, no more shots until the next 6 months at least, insyaAllah. 

The other kid next door was screaming out loud well before we even entered the doctor's room, and it hadn't stopped when we were at the counter paying for the fee once we were finished. I wonder what procedure was he/she undergoing. That might've influenced Maryam to break into tears too. The sound  of the cry in the clinic was awful as if he/she was being beaten or abused.

Subsequently we brought Maryam to a furniture shop as hubby was looking for some tables and chairs for his office in Berek 12. I was promised a coat hanger that I had been looking for, for free! Can't wait to receive it tomorrow insyaAllah.

Anyway did I tell you Maryam's weight? She is 7.7kg at 6 months and 3 weeks! Alhamdulillah.

By the way I have received a letter informing the date for my induction course, it's happening in Janda Baik as what I think I have told you before. I'm still puzzled whether to bring hubby and Maryam along or not, and bibik? Hmm. May Allah show me the best path.

We are also considering of getting ourselves a new car. Would it be Honda CRV? Heard the rumour that a new version of it is coming up around the upcoming Chinese New Year, is it? :)