1st Year Anniverssary

Just a simple equation.
Moon + Meen = Mateen! :)

***********************

From strangers...

...to lovers....

.... to fiancees...

...to husband & wife...

..and now, as parents & a family...






Exactly a year has passed, and I am so blessed to have a husband & a son in my life.

I couldn't ask for more..I look forward for many blissful years together Insyallah..

Happy New Year 2011 folks ! (^_^)

2 months old

Yesterday, we celebrated our first raya as a family.. :)

My two fav men in jubah putih..*loves*

Last night, Mr Bert left for KB to attend his best friend's wedding.
It was the first time we've been apart since Mateen was born.
And I cried like no one's business!
Being attached to your hubby ain't good.. especially when you have a little baby to look after at night ALONE.. boohoo..
Lucky thing Mateen 'behaved' well last night. One night down, 2 nights to go.

And today, Mateen turns 2 months.
60 days old, and my maternity has come to the end. Monday I'll start work. :(

Enough bout me, today I've managed to accomplish lotsa things for Mateen:-
1) Yippie-I account- done!
2) 2 month's check up- done! (and he didn't cry! My brave boy!)
3) DayCare Centre- finalized several things & going for trial class tmrw.
4) Doorgifts for Aqiqah- picked, now need to tie ribbons & glue some buttons.

The highlight for the day was Mateen's weight..he weighs 4.7kgs now! Alhamdulillah..
That's almost double the weight when he was born.My boy's catching up..:)

family-moon!

Today, I went back to my apartment to do some clean up, re-arrangement of furniture & installation of air-cond. The apartment is transforming into a home now. :) Now need to buy some book shelves & side tables..

Anyways,I came back home feeling rather tired. Didn't check my email the whole day until about a few minutes ago. Out of the 6 mails in my inbox, one of the email was from Mr Bert. He only wrote..

"Our first family holiday! Love you!"

Mr Bert told me a few days back that one of his client is giving him a 3D2N complimentary stay at this hotel. Since we missed the HRH on Mateen's birthday, I thought the hotel will be fully book for this upcoming school holidays. But thank my lucky stars, the bookings is confirmed!





As you know, I didn't get to go on my honeymoon..nor did I get to go for my babymoon. But finally, I am going for my first ever family-moon! Alhamdulillah, rezeki Mateen..
Two's a company, Three's a crowd!
Am counting the days..must remember to buy some sunscreen! Can't wait to get my feet on the sandy beach..:)

same name

Today is Mateen's first time on his stroller. I believe he enjoyed it very much.

No fuss at all! I think he can sleep all day if he wanted to..hehe..
That's a relief bout the stroller..Good boy Mateen!

At 51 days old, Mateen has already been to 3 shopping malls: Empire (twice), SACC Mall & KLCC. KLCC was rather a special treat, as he got to go into the Premier Bathroom for his nappy change (Tuk Mak insist!)


Anyways, had lunch with my mom, Tuk & Aunty Mah @ Serai, Empire. It was my 2nd time there..food was delicious, but of course I had to "eat fast" cause my little one was hungry for milk at the same time.

Upon leaving, I was putting Mateen into his stroller, when a waitress came up to me..

"How many months is your baby?"
"51 days today.."
"Aww..what's his name?"
"The name's Mateen"
"Ohh.. same like my cousin, his name is Mateen too"
"Really? This Mateen is spelled with a double e"
"Oh, same like my cousin! His full name is Ahmad Mateen"
"Oh my gosh! Thats the same with my son! But his Ahmad is spelled with an e"
"I see..."
"How old is your cousin?"
"He is 25 this year, getting married end of the year.."

Wow, I can't believe there's another dude with the same name. How cool is that! 25 years apart though. And I thought Mateen is not a common name..guess I'm wrong! :P

ps: pics taken from our new Canon Ixus 210, an advance anniversary pressie for Mr Bert. But as always, I bought it for him, but it's ours.. *winks* Love the features.. Me likey! :)

Mummy Bert is very busy

The long absence...it has been awhile, right?

Mateen is 46 days today.. which means that I have been a mom for 46 days.

A LOT has happened..the sleepless nights, the love-hate relationship in bf, the frustration of low milk production, the horrors of diaper changing, the restless crying..

But of course, there are those bonding moments..the million-dollar smile that happened in a sec, the round-crystleball-like eyes looking at you, the hugging & clinging on your chest before he sleeps, the double chins, the cushion cheeks, the growth spurts, the unconditional love..

My time has been occupied with this little fella, hence the lack of updates. When he is up, I would need to feed, burp, change, & play with him. If he's asleep, is either I am washing his cloth-diaper, or sterilizing his bottles, or pumping milk, or getting a quick nap (sleep debt). If I do surf the net, it would be just browsing, checking on fb & baby related websites.

I would love to write about my pantang days & more about mateen, but I have a feeling that he will be up soon. Guess my blogging days would have to wait until I have a total "Me" time.

Like they say, being a mom is hard, but it is worth every second of it.. :)

Mateen's Birth Story

Latest news..my son will be discharged tmrw!
So, before his homecoming, I've decided to pen down his birth story while I have the time. Here is the story..

7 September 2010- Munckin @ 33 weeks
7.45pm- felt light headed after my birthday dinner.
8.15pm- while watching tv, felt a gush a fluid running down my legs. Rushed to the toilet, panties were wet. But no contractions. Don't think was labour, but was worried.
8.45pm- headed to the nearest clinic. Doc said to monitor leakage. Did ultra scan, baby was fine. Wore pad for the night.

8 September 2010
5am- Pad was "heavily" wet. Decided to see Dr Z that morning.
9am- Dr Z checked on baby, he's fine. Took sample, confirmed the leakage. Was given antibiotics for the next 5 days.

9- 16 September 2010
Leakage began to lessen, from every hour to 3-4 hours duration. There's improvement, but leakage didn't stop.
Made appointment with Dr Z on the 20th. Was scared that baby will be induced.
Was on AL. so took time to buy the finalized things for Munckin. Managed to get almost everything. Room was ready, hospital bags were packed. Anticipating on Munckin's arrival.

17 September 2010
4.00am- Started to feel contractions, every 5 minutes.
4.15am- The contractions stopped. It was false alarm.

11pm- wrote a 'letter' for my dearest son.
8pm- started to pack for Hard Rock Hotel, Penang. Looking forward for the short getaway.

18 September 2010- Munckin @34 weeks
12.00 am- watched ANTM reruns
1.00am- attempted to sleep, but failed.
2.00am- decided to do solat hajat. Prayed for Munckin's safe delivery, regardless whenever he comes out.
2.45am- finally managed to sleep.

3.55am- Started to feel 1 minute contractions every 5 minutes. Started to do breathing techniques. Monitored contractions in case it was false labour.
4.45am- It has been more than 30 minutes, contractions didn't stop. Woke Mr Bert up. Called my mom. Managed to brush teeth, change attire & pack a little. Lucky thing hospital bags were ready.

5.05am- drove all the way to the hospital via Federal Highway. Roads were clear, but Mr Bert drove at 140km/h. Kept doing the breathing techniques in the car, contractions continued every 5 minutes.
5.40am- Reach DEMC. Sat on the wheelchair and wheeled to the labour room #202.

5.50am- changed to hospital gown. Nurses checked Munckin's heartbeat, all was good. I had slight high pressure & fever. Opening was 4cm. Mr Bert started to smses the important ppl to say that I'm in labour.

Nurses asked if I wanted painkillers, I declined. Kept on with the breathing techniques "hee hee hoo hoo hoo", which helps a lot. Also in between, read surah Al Zalazah & Salawat.

6.50am-Started to feel harder contractions (mcm nak berak yg sakit!!). Mama arrived. Pain was getting intolerable. Held on Mr Bert's hand super tight.

7.10am- Dr N finally arrived. Opening was 9cm. Baby's head was crowning. Nurses & Dr prepared me into labour position, and I closed my eyes the entire time. All I could hear was..

"Okay Pn Helena, give me one hard push, don't stop. The baby's head is engaged. 1, 2, go.."
" Keep your chin close to the chest, and push.."
" Almost there meen, one more push.."

I pushed hard. I screamed a little.

7.22am- After 3 hard pushes, my baby arrived to the world. He cried a bit, and stopped. Felt a gush of warm fluids coming out too. He was wrapped in green cloth, opened his tiny eyes & looked at us. He looked a little bit blue-ish/white-ish. I said to my baby

"Hey sayang.. nih lah baby mummy yang tak sabar sangat nak keluar ye?"

Mr Bert kissed my forehead several times.
Mateen was placed into the incubator, and his Apgar score was 7/8. Blood type "O".
The nurses find that he wasn't crying as much as he should, plus he was born pre-term, so decided to bring him up to the nursery for further investigation. Due to his rather fragile stage, Doc said is best not for him to be held at the moment. Mateen was wheeled out. The doc gave me 5 stiches. 3 hours after contractions, and now I am officially a mom. Syukur Alhamdulillah..

7.40am- Mama came into the labour room, was shocked to know that the delivery happend so fast! She only read 1 page of the Yassin, and she heard Mateen's cry. Started to sms the important ppl about Mateen's arrival.

8.00am- Called Gina & Mikel to announce my maternity leave. Mikel was shocked to hear me, as he said I sounded "very healthy" after delivery. Dad & Dzhofier arrived.

8.30am- Was wheeled out into room 305. Started to sms to others.

10am- Finally, managed to meet my son in the NICU ward. He was placed into an Oxygen box cause he needs breathing support due to his immature lungs. Can't believe that a 2.36kg baby was inside my tummy all these while!

note: Lucky thing I didn't have contractions on the way to Penang. Imagine giving birth on the Penang bridge! heehee... I guess HRH's getaway can wait, Mateen wanted to rock my world instead! :D

******

So, that's generally how it all happened for Mateen's arrival.
I remembered reading this article from Baby Centre just a few days before Mateen's delivery.

"If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. "


Alhamdulillah.. that is true. Mateen has been in the NICU ward for 4 days.

He had to wear the "xyped" for 3 days to support his oxygen supply. Look at all the straps around his body.. cian my baby!

These are the machines to moniter his breathing and heart beat.

He had jaundice from the 4th day onwards, and had to be under the light for 3 days.

He also had to be on anti-biotic due to his pre-term condition and the suspected infection from my leakage (lucky thing it was negative, so no infection). And finally, the day I've been waiting for, he will be discharged tmrw insyallah. That's a total of 7 days in the hospital!

Of course as a mom, I was rather emotional through out the week. At times, I would go to see Mateen & tried to hide my tears when the nurses were around. That time, I could only hold his fingers or toes, and would tell Mateen to be strong. It was overwhelming for me, especially when I couldn't hold him in my arms just yet.


Finally when he was 4 days old, and he was off the "xyped", I held my son for the first time. I feel so blessed to be given such a beautiful baby, Masyallah. I remembered clearly when Mateen opened his eyes & looked at me, he gave a good 'stare'. .perhaps trying to say "So, this is how my mummy looks like..". He is such an adorable little thing.




Tomorrow, I shall officially start my duty as a parent, as a mom. Welcome parenthood, this is when the reality starts....wish me luck folks! ;)

My baby boy who loves to sleep!


Mateen si bulat. :P
Have a good weekend everybody!

Munckin arrives!!

I guess Munckin read my letter than decided to make a grand entrance the next day!

Alhamdulillah, I have given birth to my son
Ahmed Mateen on 18th September 2010, 7:22am
@ DEMC, Shah Alam.
He was born at 34 weeks, normal delivery.
He weighs 2.36kg, length 48cm.

Our first photo when Mateen was 3 hours old.
Can't believe I am a mom now! :D

Will update more when soon Insyallah...

A letter for Munckin

A letter for my little baby who is still in my tummy..

Dear Munckin,

How are you my dear baby? I figured that you are asleep, as you have not been as active as you were earlier this morning during my first's Braxton Hicks.I thought you were coming out today! Anyways, Mummy is enjoying my last day of annual leave at home, while Daddy has gone off to work. It was raining this morning, a good weather to sleep in, and we both enjoyed that, didn't we?

As you know Munckin dear, all of us, including Tuk Mak, Atuk, Tuk Ma & Tuk Ba are very worried about you. It has been a week and a half since mummy had leakage. Although with the doctor's medication, it has subside, but it has not completely stopped. If I tend to do more vigorous activity, I will leak more, if not, I will leak bit by bit within the span for 4 hours which is an improvemnt from before (every hour leakage).

Mummy has rescheduled the appointment with Dr Z to Monday afternoon. His last words are still toying in my mind "If the leakage does not stop, we might have to deliver the baby". At this point, I am not sure how much leakage "damage" has occurred, but I hope the air ketumban it is still sufficient for you until you are 36 weeks.

Ideally, I would like you to be born not as a pre-term baby. And, I would like you to reach the weight of 3.4kg, just like Mummy & Daddy when we were born. Last week, you weigh 2.3kg at 33 weeks. Imagine if you need to be delivered by next week, you will just be a tiny little baby, less than 3kg. Also, I would so much want you to be delivered normally.. no induce, no operation, just pure labour pain. But, that is something I have no control of.

But of course, Mummy can't be selfish. Your health & safety comes first before anything else. If you are required to be delivered earlier upon doctor's advice, then Mummy will accept the reality and proceed with recommended procedure.

Munckin, you are still quite active in Mummy's tummy. Please be strong, please be healthy. If you are ready to be out in this real world earlier than your expected time, don't worry, Mummy is here eagerly waiting for you. This week, Mummy & Tuk Mak has been busy buying all the remaining essential things for you. Your room ready, with all your clothes & cloth dipaers has been washed, hospital bags are all packed & ready to go.. now we are just waiting for your grand arrival to this world. :)

Lately, Mummy has been walking like a penguin, feeling aches & pains at the back and at the "bottom"areas, feeling hot & sweaty, getting heavier by the minute. Every time Mummy has to climb the stairs, I have to sing "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus, because literally, it is a climb for me! I was advice to "rest" more instead being my active self. The past 8 months, mummy has been blessed with an easy pregnancy, but this last few weeks, Mummy has become slightly fragile, but it's okay sayang, it is all for you.

Mummy has been crying a lot lately thinking of you. Thinking whether are you still okay inside my tummy, thinking about the labour pain that I will encounter, thinking whether I will be a good mom to you.. it is really a life changing experience for me, and I hope you'll be a good baby and be patient with the change that mummy has to go through, okay? Daddy has been very supportive, always asking about you & mummy despite his hecticness at work. We are truly blessed to have him around Munckin. He is doing is level best to provide for us.

*Mummy wiping away the tears away. Ter-emo sekejap*

Okay Munckin, you take care in there kay. Hang in there, in less than 6 weeks you'll be in my arms. I've always enjoyed every moment of your movements in my tummy.. the kicking, the nudging, the somersaults.. Daddy & I can't wait to see you in person baby.. Mummy tak putus-putus doakan for your safe delivery and arrival in the pink of health nanti Insyallah. Whenever you're ready Munckin, pre-term or later, Mummy is here waiting for you. And not forgetting, I love you Munckin..."I knew I love you before I met you.." :)

Hugs & Kisses,
Mummy...