Semlm Muhriz joined us watching this documentary on outer space exploration.Bagusnya limitkan tv utk anak nie,die tak kisah pon kalau kat tv tu bukan cartoon ;p.Ok so came the rocket launching part and OMG mulut muhriz ckp wooooowwwwwww non stop.Bulat mata,bulat mulut ok silap dah ternganga dah mulut sambil ckp woowww.Kecoh satu rumah!hahaha

Apart from animals,my son loves big machines.They just amaze him.Sgt suka.Hubby once told me he just didnot get it when parents said anak diorang tak main dgn toys.Children are reflections of adults(especially parents)around them so maybe anak tak main sebab you never make an effort to sit down and play with them.
Saya amat sgt bersyukur menjadi a stay at home mama sebab i have all the time for Muhriz.If he asked me to join him with his trucks,konon2 we're at a construction site,jadi la mamanya truck driver yg ayu.Sometimes,ok silap,nie tiap2 hari main,he's always the tarzan,mama jadi elephant or cat,tarzan rides a cat pulak tue hua hua.Or semlm at 11pm babah still kene jadi goalkeeper,muhriz kick asik goal je.
Of course you can never require your children to follow your pursuit.But you can share and expose them to variety of things.Open up to their own interest areas.Once his interests are indentified,it's our job to encourage and support them.So anak mama nie nak jadi engineer ke nie?hehe asal anak soleh,tak kisah lah.

Surviving shopping with a toddler

Weekly grocery shopping is always fine,bawak ke pasar pon takpe Muhriz nie,bookstore lagi lah die suka as it is one of his fav kedai,anak mama nie kan suka bace buku.There's a lot for him to see and learn;ada fish,veggie,fruits,lembu tergantung sibuk ckp "mama,cow mooo" dan kalau pegi bookstore mmg bulat2 mata tue hehe.He always enjoy looking at the stuff on the racks,nanti die sibuk lah tunjuk apa yg die dah tau,especially fruits.But one shop he never likes to be in is the clothing store,NEVER!After 2 mins,mintak nak turun dari Buzz,lepas 5 mins habis sepahkan baju kat situ,larikkkk.So until he understands the art of comprimising,i just give in and shop baju bajan online instead.It's a win-win situation for us now.Plus everything is available online these days,click2 je.Tapi hari tue masuk jugak Cotton On haha,tapi we planned ahead and took all survival steps needed.We thought he would behave as best as he could sebab baru bgn from nap,dah makan kenyang,dan dah pegi Toys r Us,die dpt a new Cat truck.But he didnot!Tak sempat nak buat ape die dah start dah project hehe.Believe it or not,i shopped for these 3 pieces in less than 5 mins,main tarik2 then passed kat hubby la bayarkan,before jadi disaster baik keluar cepat.dah keluar baru teringat eh do the clothes fit Muhriz?haha luar kedai baru ingat nak ukur kat badan anak,punya lah kecoh.

 With his 5th CAT truck.yg nie kecik boleh masuk pocket,senang kerja mama.

Some tips on shopping with small children(even i myself pon still tidak berjaya hahaha)

-Timing is everything-feed the kids as well as yourself.And don't plan to shop around his naptime but if you have too,don't forget to bring the stroller.This is the main reason we choose a Buzz over a Zapp last time.Buzz mmg boleh fully recline so anak mmg tido baring lah.

-Bring a long snack and toys

-Get your kids to involve in shopping.Biar die amikkan fruits,let him know the names of the veggie etc and dont forget to allocate some time at his fav spot,the toys isle.

-Make the trip shorter-Make a list of stuff to buy so you don't just wander around and grab things or later have to go back to find missing items.and plan your trip before hand nak singgah mana dulu.

-Know the location of the baby's room,make sure baby dah minum susu or make sure you know his next feeding time.

Kalau ada tips lagi share ye,tenki.

Belikan toys mahal tapi...

I believe benda nie normal these days.Sgt normal so tak heran pon kalau masih ade yang question kenapa saya choose utk jadi housewife hihihi.

Belikan anak ipad sorang satu,kemudian tinggal dgn bibik for more than 12 hours,7 days a week.Then take a break for a few days,bring them for a holiday,beli toys lagi.Beli mainan semahal mana pon,jika parents tidak sit and play with them,it doesnot mean anything.A kiddo needs attention more than toys.Working parents yg manage to juggle between kids and housework after ofc hours adalah super parents saya rasa,good job.Don't think sendiri boleh handle that.

Different parents have different parenting styles.Kalau saya ckp saya tak suka anak saya tgk tv sangat,akan ada yg ckp kids boleh learn a lot from the educational show.Yes maybe,tapi not for kids below the age of 2.Exposure to tv should be minimal.Remember this,at this early age,we parents yg arrange our kids' schedule.So jgn marahkan die kalau nanti die asik nak tgk tv instead of doing something else.I would rather sit and play with him then bukakkan tv utk die then mama pegi masak yg canggih2.Play with real toys,bukan ipad ke ape.Kalau terpaksa masak masa anak dah bgn,just masak yg sesimple boleh.Sebab tue mama tak pandai masak sampai sekarang har har har.And if i have to leave him,selalunya saya akan ckp "I'll be in the kitchen for 5 mins,then i'll come back to play with you".Housework sebolehnya saya settlekan before little one wakes up.Takpon kalau agak2 tak sempat,siapkan yg mana rasa2 tak boleh buat kalau kenit nie dah bgn like mop the floor,kitchen counter,clean his toys,laundry,masak.By the time die bgn semua dah settle so boleh bagi attention kat anak je.Muhriz even main ganas tapi sgt manja,kene berteman all the time.Owh well maybe la sebab saya yg ajar tak pernah tinggalkan die kan.Tapi mak mmg selfish,suka pulak anak tak boleh mak hilang dari mata hui hui.Every parent akan buat the best for his/her children.Mama tak kerja so tak dpt kasi muhriz benda mahal ke murah ke(itu kene mintak dgn dada) but i can always be there to attend you,shower you with love and explore the day.Main truck/train/blocks sampai lebam kan sayang?Jom 230pm dah,baru boleh bukak tv tgk wonderpet

Honey,beranak sakit tak?

Hahaha dada muhriz asks this question all the time.Tapi makin kurang tanya after he saw video c-sect,baru pucat muka haha!Tapi pastu tanya jugak mana sakit dgn sunat?LOL sebab for him paling sakit sunat la kan huhuhu.

Dan mama muhriz akan jawab sunat tue macam kene gigit semutt je.Mama rasa lah hehe.

Semlm dada muhriz tanya lagi.The 3 of us go to bed together everynite,adalah setengah jam at least berguling2 atas katil sambil bercerita dgn Muhriz.Selalunya bed time stories die those yg dlm tablet tapi since hubby brought up topic beranak semlm,cerita pasal the D(delivery day).Hua hua muhriz baru 2 tahun dah lapan ploh kali cerita kat Muhriz.Nanti dah besar mesti die dah boleh hafal =p Tak apa,it's a good reminder for him.Rasanya i've never shared it here,so here you go.Dear Son,this is your story.

Week 20(An Nisa Pusat Bersalin): Mama nak amik letter utk naik flight pegi Deutschland lah mana lagi.Been staying at home in Kota Bharu for few weeks to settle my visa.Dr Hasliza my gynae advised siap2 yg i might not be able to deliver you through normal delivery,sebab she predicted with your growth rate,your size gonna be too large to pass my pelvic(CPD:cephalopelvic disproportion).So the safest way to get you out of mama's tummy is through caesarean.

Week 24-31(Augsburg,Germany): Monthly check-up semuanya okay Alhamdulillah tapi the dr been saying the same thing about CPD.So on my last checkup,she wrote a letter to be referred to my gynae in Malaysia.

Week 32: Balik Malaysia,saja nak buat card pink kat klinik ibu dan anak.Everyone ckp elok ada record jugak kat klinik ibu dan anak in case kene refer ke GH.And guess what,the dr pon ckp the same thing!Ukur tinggi berat baby berat mama-most likely tak lepas.

Week 35(An Nisa): Final words from the gynae "You can try to push but most likely you'll end up with c-sect,so double the pain" Considering 3 dr dah ckp macam tue plus both my sisters (your mak long and ibu)semua delivery their 3+4 babies(your kakak2 and abgs) through c-sect,kitorang decided c-sect it was.The dr said you were ready to see the world now,yer lah,at 35weeks nie kamu dah 3kg,apa la mama telan masa kat germany eh?So select date utk operate hmmm nak 08-08-10 ke 06-08-10.We chose the later one,sebab tue hari jumaat,siap pilih pagi sebab nanti poksu ckp kalau keluar sebelum semayang jumaat nanti rajin pergi masjid huhu.takde lah saja je,keluar pagi la best kan?

Week 36 and 5 days(An Nisa): The c-sect was scheduled at 9am,7am mama dgn dada dah checked in kat hospital.Tok mama,tok we and poksu gi breakfast dulu.Anaest called ckp sampai lambat sikit so postponed to 10am,tok ma and the geng boleh gi sambung minum teh pastu lepak dgr ceramah Tok Guru jap hehe.10am,i was strolled to the OT, given a shot of epidural lepas tue tak rasa apa dah just bila pasang oxygen mask tue buat rasa nak muntah sikit.Rasa senak2 the dr tgh kerjakan perut and i could see my tummy was wide open through the reflection on the lights,huuuu dah le mak takot darah.Owh btw,dada tak boleh masuk OT,it's the hospital policy sebab ada case husband terpengsan before.Right 11am,bunyi Muhriz wekkk weekkk and immediately they brought you close to me hihihihihihihi 3.1kg healthy comey baby you're!Alhamdulillah.And after that you were passed to the rest of our family who were waiting in the room next to the OT.Dada ckp you got clean and azan over here.

So really beranakkan Muhriz was no drama,contraction pain pon mama tak sempat rasa tapi of course la sakit dari sunat cik abang sayang oiii (honey rasa lah=p)hahahaa

Dalam hati ada taman

I don't know how many of you have met or seen me and Muhriz,hew hew ayat budget glamour.But i do know ade kawan yg membaca ini blog mengarut.Kalau pernah jumpa Muhriz,ada tak rasa itu budak manje kededek dedek?Semlm ikut hubby main futsal.

The best part mengikut hubby pegi mana2 ni,Muhriz and i got to see his friends' family,kalau ada yg bawak lah.And so far dah jumpa 3 SAHM macam saya.yg working mommies jarang ikut,letih la kot,nak handle keje rumah lagi plus kalau hubby kene outstation tue takkan nak amik cuti kan.Housewives nie mmg keje ikut bontot suami huhu.Dan semlm jumpa kawan baru,after duduk 10mins berborak(nama pon bini cam biasa la cakap pasal anak mostly) die ckp "Muhriz nie manja eh,salam aunty meh" Hahaha and i asked her "Nampak ke manje nye?" Huhh obviously la kan,tak boleh main sorang2,nak membuas tapi asik pegang tangan mama,org lain pegang tahan la 30 sec kot.Nampak dada buat muka nak nangis panggil daaaa daaa.Mama hilang tak payah ckp,terus hilang arah die.The other day i went to the saloon to chop my hair,hubby dgn muhriz tunggu kat luar.Hubby ckp mmg gundah gulana la kenit nie,semua tak kene and as soon as i came out,terus terkam mama.Befor i left him,dah offer nenen,tapi member tamau.Ini masuk kereta terus nenen melekat sampai kat rumah,takot sgt mama tinggal die lagi!Plus masa balik kelate hari tue jumpa my friend yg ada baby girl sebaya dgn Muhriz tapi dah jadi kak long.Muhriz malu2 nenek kucing dah nak berdukung or duduk atas riba or mintak mama hug je,kawan punya lah nak main dgn dia huhu.Dada ckp ini budak main ganas tapi manje kededek.Kalau kat rumah mesti nak dekat2 dgn kitorang je tapi main baling2 atau hentak atau lompat atau even worse gigit paha org.Pastu nak suruh die nangis tak payah marah pon,tinggikan tone sikit je dari biasa pon muhriz dah sedih boleh terguling.But i know the limit lah,kalau buat bende yg obviously salah,mama immediately bertukar jadi shrek,marah still kene marah dan bila mama marah,i tak akan pujuk immediately.Biar dulu so that he knows what he did is not acceptable,contoh semlm kene marah sebab pukul dada dgn train!He doesnot really understand instruction yet so dah try buat time out mmg tak jadi lah end up mak bapak yg gelak terguling.Kecik2 suka la kan anak manja tapi mintak2 la mama tak buat kamu jadi anak mak yg sampai kawen pon nak tido dgn mama lagi!

Hii budak melekat!Bgn tido cepat okay teman mama!

Hide and Seek

The three of us play hide and seek at home all the time.Muhriz is always the seeker sebab kalau dia sembunyi pon he will end up coming out from his hiding place after 30 sec hahaha.kalau die sembunyi,he will always hide at the same spot and is clearly visible huhu.Pastu siap tutup muka dgn tangan.I've read before yg kids buat macam tue sebab they think if they can't see us,neither can we,hihi cuteness!

But i donot mind to always be the hiding one.To be pursued is to be loved.Muhriz will look from one room to another while calling out "Ma ma,Ma ma" arghhh the joy of being cared for.Sometimes i just hide myself to distract him from doing something,macam tgh sepahkan laundry!Upon hearing "Muhriz,cari mama!" He immediately leaves everything,and start searching.Mmg kecoh lah kenit tue.

If he needs help,i'll shout out "Mama sini lah sayang".Biasanya die akan jumpa.You should see his face when he finds me.The reunion is a tremendous joy and I can see how proud he is to discover me!=p I hope he'll learn something from the game besides having fun.I hope it reminds him that separation can be temporary and reunification is possible.Children these days enjoy too much time on techno toys,so why not spend few mins with your kids playing hide and seek,no IPAD can offer you the suspense and fun!

Ready for the next one?

Before we actually become parents i.e the birth of Muhriz,i once told hubby "It will be great if our kids are just a year apart,senang sekali beranak,sekali harung lepas tue close production hehh" Tapi after countless nappy changes,i took back my words hahaha asik ckp "Dr pesan space them at least 2 years nak fully recover from c-sect".Time does fly,lagi 2 mths Muhriz akan turns 2!

I know different couples feel differently on the subject so no one can come out with the ideal spacing period between children.Itu belum masuk makcik2 ckp "Alaa buat ape merancang,beranak je lah ramai2 dulu,karang susah nak dpt anak baru tahu" Makcik,kalau Allah tak bagi rezeki,tak merancang pon tak dpt anak -_- Sekarang tgk ramai my friends dah proceed dgn 2nd baby,mula lah tanye muhriz "Mama panggil abg long nak?" hahaha abg long manja kededek!For us,the main key is readiness.Are both of us ready?Is Muhriz ready?Dah mama gatal nak masuk baby mode balik,it's time to go through these questions

1)Am i physically ready to go through a new pregnancy?

  Toting an active toddler with a big belly isnot easy,plus a c-sect needs 18 mths to heal,plus breastfeeding during pregnancy is tiring and one might face milk supply issue.For those reasons,i opt to wait for at least 2 years.sabar sabar,2nd birthday muhriz tak lama dah.

2)What is the best for my children?

Siblings spaced too close may become mutual playmates for each other(though won't necessarily be),and the fact that there'll be fewer toys to buy may be convenience.Plus it's easier to turn into baby mode again.But remember,they are too potential of nightmares(fighting berebut toys all the time that is).And they may need longer lap  to enjoy being the "only" hehe.

3)Will we be able to handle the demands of 2 babies?

We doubt this one.For similar reason we doubt sending Muhriz to a babysitter,especially one who handles more than one kid.Children below the age of 2 are high maintenance,need constant attention and care.Tak bleh imagine Muhriz kecik dgn adik kecik huwaaa mesti ends up mama nangis,rumah bersepah,dada kene bawa balik lunch =p.Plus we think spacing them apart allows us to shower attention on one child before the arrival of the next one,takot kurang attention kesian jugak.Sudahnya jadi la Muhriz yg manja kededek nie hehhh.

Glad that hubby and i have the same idea on this.Maybe it's the way we grew up.His and my siblings are few years apart with each other.Family pon takde pressure suruh beranak lagi,and my mom is a strong believer that siblings should be at least 2 years apart so that there are more space for them as well as the parents.Hehe dulu masa Muhriz still a baby tension jekk org tanye bila nak ada adik?Tapi sekarang saya anggap semua tue doa,mari doa2 kat saya hahaha.My duploh cents,k thanks bye.

Animals and connecting toys

These 2 are Muhriz's current obsessions.Some of the animals he knows(and of course calls them as he likes =p):

1)cat

2)dogs

3)puppy for small dogs

4)fish

5)birds

6)ducks

7)appaish---spider =p

8)pig

9)cow

10)baaa---sheep

11)horse

12) ebit--rabbit(last time die panggil bit bit)

13) fly---butterfly

14)chicks--for chicken and chicks

15)ant

16)pog--frog

17)mouse

18)tiger

19)raf--giraffe

20)turtle

21)snake

22)e phant--elephant

23)no--rhinoceros

24)po--hippo

25)monkey

26)ra--zebra
27 bear

Besides suka sgt tgk National Geographic and reading books,especially those with animals picture in it,he is also into building blocks.Buku mmg die suka,sgt suka.Bawa pegi bookstore macam hilang arah,baca pon ye,panjat book racks pon ye muahaha.And i will make sure he reads at least 5 books a day if not more.As for the building blocks,sekarang ada 2 set je 1)Bruins(sekali dgn table) 2(Megablocks(came with a wagon).Just ordered a colorful pipe link,esok sampai kot and hopefully he'll like it.Baby(yes,still in denial anak dah toddler hihi) nie develops by phase kan.Ada satu masa ni,ingatkan ini kenit tak suka main dgn toys nak main dgn real things sebab toys bersepah die macam tak layan je.Tapi that didnot stop us from buying more toys for him.Dan tgk2 sekarang die mmg main pon!So mmg tak menyesal beli byk2,but make sure you spare sometimes to play with them.Byk toys tapi parents tak join main pon tapi sebok tgk tv or online berfb,twitter,how sad is that?Real toys sure teach our kids something IPAD or other tablet donot,go figure!

One of the best part of being a stay at home mama is to be able to watch over your kid,sit,play,read and teach them all day long.Sebab tue malam2 mama yg pengsan dulu.The other day i asked hubby again(we talk about this all the time) "So lagi sekali abg,kenapa best honey nie a housewife?" this time he replied "Kalau dgn babysitter,honey rasa Muhriz buat ape?How will he be treated?If he wants to read something,babysitter akan stop basuh pinggan and entertain him?Will he enjoy himself?" Wallahualam,if we need one later,hopefully dpt jenis yg melayan budak la hehe.And hopefully Muhriz enjoy la duduk rumah dgn mama nie kan hehe sebab i still tok bleh imagine how should it be kalau mama kat office.Some friends ask "Next baby macamana still nak jadi housewife ke" Next baby tgk lah rezeki macamana,for the time being,ini rezeki muhriz la bawah ketiak amma 24 jam hehe.Ok thanks bye nak gi sidai kain!Have a nice weekend

Traveling with a toddler : Packing List and Tips

Pegi sehari pon bising.Dah le 50mins je dari rumah hehe.Tapi itulah,you can never travel light with a baby,kalau babies tatau la berapa byk lagi barangnye.

1-Travel early morning.Always travel early utk kami sebab muhriz bgn lambat,so die tido je lah.Travel mlm is a no no.sebab lepas maghrib peak time die lah utk membuas.So kalau die tido,sebolehnya kami continue the journey tanpa pit stop.Balik kelate gerak kul 4/5pagi.tapi nie gerak kul 7/8 kot dekat jek

2-Food: Susu=mama,breakfast/snack dlm kereta: Aglio olio penne lepas tue pack beras(dah blend),halia,ikan bilis dah goreng tumbuk utk moi Muhriz.periuk nasi kecilku bawak sekali.roti/banana/corn flakes.Bottle air masak Muhriz.Air mineral

Entertainment: macam biasa mama bawa sebakul toys.

Travel Gear: Car seat,baby bjorn,stroller,baby bag complete with clothes,baby's toilettries,diapers,towels,wipes,bib,hand sanitizer.I always pack at least 2 set of extra clothes for Muhriz and 1 for me lengkap dgn tudung in the babybag kalau travel jauh. You will never know tiba tiba the diaper leak or anak muntah ke kan.

Baby first aid kit: Mmg bawak lah bag ubat nie ke mana2.Semua ada,forehead thermometer,digital thermometer,ubat bontot,liquid pcm,diaper rash cream(though berzaman dah tak pakai),cool fever,ubat gatal,mopiko etc etc

Misc: Muhriz's feeding set,lots of plastic bags,nak letak trash lah,baju busuk ke.

Lastly bantal busuk anak hehe.Tak lah busuk mane pon,tapi mama bawak je.

Bedsharing with baby: Yes!

I know bedsharing is a contraversial issue.
I know it's best to have the baby sleeps alone and parents need to wake up for night feeding then put the baby again in his cot.Tapi still,i choose to bring Muhriz to bed with us.

It's a family decision.And yes,the 3 of us do get better sleep and enjoy the proximity and comfort.Plus it's easier to nurse Muhriz.When it's time for feed,i just need to help Muhriz finds Ms B,then i can drift back into my sweet dream.Please,don't start your preach: You'll be sorry lah,nanti anak too attached and overly dependent or you'll get less private time with hubby.
We are well aware of that,so we arrange it to be as safe as possible:

1)Muhriz slept on a separate baby mattress until he was about 4 months old.Mattress ni letak tgh2 so macam divider lah utk kitorang.Next time maybe boleh beli sleep positioner tue

2)Always put him down to sleep on his back.

3)Since Muhriz sleeps in between mak pak die ni,semua org ade blanket sendiri.Risau kalau share2 nie tgk tercover anak kat tgh.Tapi Muhriz dgn mama geng pemanas,tido dlm air cond pon berpeluh so kitorang mmg tak selimut pon most of the times.Muhriz ada sleeping bag,tapi berpeluh2 dlm tue.Anyway,the idea is to keep the beddings away from the baby's face to avoid suffocation.

4)Childproof the whole room.Tepi katil letak single mattress/pillow to cushion falls.Put the bed against the wall and make sure there's no gaps.Hubby tido side yg paling terexpose hahaha so die jadi pagar.Or you can put bed rails too.So far Alhamdulillah Muhriz tak penah jatuh katil.Believe me,there are days when your baby just get out of the bed,main while you sleep.

5)Somehow hubby and i naturally sleep on our sides,giving more spaces for Muhriz kat tengah.Muhriz usually faces me (easy access to nenen hehe),hubby tukang bau pampers.

6)Maybe instinct lah kan,even i dont have to wake up to feed Muhriz,mmg akan terjaga juga to check on him.I'll make sure he's breathing(i know,mak yg psycho!)and his face is not covered by beddings.Hubby pon sama,even without awakening,he will reach out and touch Muhriz if he moves or ekk ekk minta nenen.Next morning kalau tanya,abg sedar tak?Mesti jawab "ye ke?tak sedar pon" huhu

Bab takot anak jadi attached sgt tue depends.There are pedeatricians who believe babies who co-sleep grow to be more confident and independent.Happy hour dgn hubby tu you have to be creative lah hua hua.And i know what might be a problem later is transitioning him to his own bed.But when the time comes,we'll think about it.As for now,this is the right thing for us.We are comfortable with it and shall i say i just love the crowding?hahaha

So we are not sorry,but happy.Happy to snuggle in bed together after a long and tiring day.Muhriz ni mesti cukup korum baru boleh tido.Kalau baba die tak ada atas katil sekali,mesti keluar bilik balik,tarik tangan hubby hihi.Dia akan buat the same thing kalau nak our attention.Say kami sibuk borak,tak kisahkan dia.Nanti adalah tangan kecik tarik suruh masuk bilik,golek2 atas katil.Pernah juga letak muhriz tido atas mattress tepi katil tue,tapi end up angkat balik.Tak boleh tido tak ada die.Hubby siap ckp kalau Muhriz ada adik nanti kene upgrade to King size bed hihi.Eh kenapa tiba2 ckp pasal ni bedsharing nie?sebab semlm i saw this baby cot,so cantek!Tapi ingatkan balik why didn't we bought it in the first place,hilang dah nafsu nak baby cot tue hehehe.