soda pop.

Hi all. :)

I just had to document this.
This is going to be hard to believe but I HAVE NOT HAD A CARBONATED DRINK SINCE APRIL !
Woohoo !
I consider this a huge achievement because prior to that I was downing Coke Light (and going to McDonald's) AT LEAST once a week. :(
Even Mr Sunshine is amazed that I can live without Coke Light. Haha.

This is a decision I made based on the increased frequency of my cold sores, I did some research and I found out that an acidic diet contributes to cold sore flare ups. Although Shaklee products helped in decreasing my cold sores severity and duration, they were still popping up more frequent than usual.

Plus, I don't want my daughter to gain the habit of drinking soft drinks too !

Photo credits to Google.

I used to stay away from sodas until I was in UiTM, and that was also when my insane love affair with McDonald's started. I used to study every day at McDonald's during examination week, imagine that !

So basically I have been avoiding fast food and most importantly carbonated drinks. If  I do go to a fast food joint (which is pretty rare these days), I'll skip the soft drinks. :)

I am so frickin' proud of myself.

Ok bye. :)

xoxo

spreading the love ?

So, I just found out that Lene had diarrhea and mild fever at work on Sunday, Marc started to have diarrhea and fever yesterday, and Linn is vomiting & purging too ! The paediatrician did mention that Khayla could have passed the virus to us, so I'm starting to think that she actually did !

Woah.

But Alhamdulillah Daddy seems to be looking alright, so far lah.

xoxo

stomach flu, boo-hoo.

Last weekend was supposed to be filled with us visiting relatives & friends & attending wedding invitations. But, we had to stay at home paying numerous of visits to the toilet instead.

The only friend we managed to pay a visit to was Diana, on Friday morning. Pictures and details at the end of the post.

Mr. Sunshine, Khayla and I are all recovering from a weekend of diarrhea, vomiting and fever. Khayla started throwing up on Friday afternoon and it went on for a good 5 hours. Everything she ate or drank (even plain water) would just come right back out. After the severe vomiting phase, she started to have very watery diarrhea, and that went on throughout Friday night right up until Saturday afternoon. She would poop every 1 hour and because it was so watery, it would leak out ! Tsk tsk. She had on & off mild grade fever. We tried to keep her hydrated throughout the whole ordeal with water, milk and oral rehydration salts. I also gave her SMECTA for her diarrhea. She showed signs of improvement on Saturday evening. Alhamdulillah.

Mr. Sunshine started experiencing nausea on Saturday evening, he was all feverish that night. I paid several visits to the toilet on Saturday night due to diarrhea. Can you begin to imagine how our Sunday was ?
Mr. Sunshine and I woke up throwing up everything we ate the night before. We were extremely nauseous, our tummies weren't feeling so good, and we had zero appetite. I started feeling extremely weak & feverish and I checked my temperature, it was 38 degrees Celsius ! I took two tablets of Paracetamol and went to bed shivering, in the hot afternoon. Poor Mr. Sunshine, who was also not feeling too good was left to take care of Khayla on his own. :(

Alhamdulillah the three of us are doing much better today, although I am still nauseous and haven't fully regained my appetite.
I just came back from bringing Khayla to her Paediatrician because she has been refusing to drink milk (only a cumulative of about 6 oz of milk since Saturday afternoon ! She usually has 5 oz every 3-4 hours) and doesn't have much of an appetite for food. Plus she is still in quite an irritable mood, and has been having a hard time going to bed, and would only sleep after I rub her tummy with some Yu Yee oil. :(
According to the Paediatrician, although the symptoms experienced by Khayla are similar to a Rotavirus infection, it could be any virus or bacterial infection. But since Khayla is no longer vomiting and her bowel movements have somewhat normalized, there is no need to get a stool culture done.What's important is Mummy & Ayah kept her hydrated. *pats back*

I am told to switch to a lactose-free formula for a week because all the diarrhea and vomiting has most probably stripped away the enzyme (that will properly digest lactose in milk) in Khayla's stomach's digestive acids which is causing the uncomfortable gas, heartburn, and diarrhea. Poor baby. :(
I was also told to give Khayla some Probiotics to assist in her intestinal healing, which can take up to 6 weeks. :(
In the meantime, all I can do is pray and be patient, hopefully Khayla will regain her appetite and usual bubbly self soon ! She has even lost a bit of weight.
Poor baby, Mummy misses watching you enjoy eating and drinking. *nangis*

Before I end, here are a couple of photos taken at Diana's mum's place on Friday morning (pre-stomach flu).

Harith was actually cranky that his mother was holding Khayla. Khayla and Harith had their first fight, over the rubic cube Khayla is holding in the picture. Hehe. Thanks for having us, D & Hanan ! :))

Ececeh, shy shy pulak. :p

Ok people, gotta get back to my baby.
Until my next post, bye !

xoxo

khayla's hfmd chronicles.

Day 1 (Friday, 29/06/2012)
1400 hours - I received a phone call from the nursery, telling me that Khayla was having high grade fever. I rushed home to pick her up. She was bloated because she refused to eat the whole morning.

1900 hours - Her fever subsided after we inserted a Paracetamol suppository.

2130 hours - Tried to put Khayla to sleep but she would only go to bed for 5-10 minutes and then wake up crying as if she was in pain. This happened all through the night ! We noticed that she was drooling and teething, so we assumed it was teething pain. I had my doubts because we've been through teething before, and it was never that bad.

Day 2 (Saturday, 30/06/2012)
0400 hours - We decided to bring her to Selayang hospital to check if there was anything wrong with her. At the hospital, her temperature was 37.7 degrees. The doctor sent us home claiming there was nothing wrong with my baby (and that "Mak dia yang risau je ni.").

0600 hours - Khayla was still waking up crying every 5- 10 minutes. She refused to anything the whole day, she would cry everytime I tried to put food in her mouth. Her lips were swollen and she was drooling excessively. I also noticed red spots on her lips that day. she wouldn't finish her bottle of milk. We gave her Paracetamol syrup every 6 hours to help ease her pain but it didn't seem to work. Saw tiny red spots (like petechia) all over her calves and thighs and arms.

2130 hours - Tried to put her to bed but the same thing happened, she would still sleep for 5-10 minutes and wake up crying.

Day 3 (Sunday, 01/07/2012)

1500 hours - Khayla still wasn't accepting solids, and only drank very little milk. Mr. Sunshine noticed white spots on her lower lip. We decided to bring her to a paediatrician. Unfortunately, the paediatric clinic (Klinik Pakar Kanak-Kanak Putra, Sungai Buloh) we wanted to go to was closed that evening, so we took her to the nearest hospital, which was Hospital Sungai Buloh.

1930 - Doctor examined Khayla's spots and ulcers on lips, and was certain it wasn't HFMD, he took a blood test to check whether it was a bacterial infection. Blood test came out normal and we were sent home with an antibiotic cream to apply on her body along with Vaseline to apply on her lips.
I refused to use both medications.

2130 hours - Khayla still had trouble sleeping, and was still in pain.

Day 4 (Monday, 2/7/2012)

0600 hours - Noticed that the spots on Khayla's legs and arms were lesser. Lips were still red, swollen with ulcers.

0900 hours - Brought her to Klinik Pakar Kanak-Kanak Putra in Sungai Buloh. The paediatrician took one look at Khayla's big toe and told me it was HFMD. Hmm. "This is a classic sign of foot & mouth," she told Mr. Sunshine and I. She examined Khayla's buttocks & genital areas & also her mouth. Her mouth was filled with red ulcers ! My poor Khayla, Mummy's terribly sorry for not noticing all those red spots IN your mouth. *nangis*
The paediatrician told us that Khayla must have been in tremendous pain before this, and after three days, a babies body will start generating antibodies to fight the Coxsackie virus. Isk isk.
She was prescribed with Diclofenac Sodium suppositories and Xylocaine drops to numb her mouth area so that she could feed easily.
She recommended that we feed her with cold liquids or vanilla ice cream to soothe her ulcers.

Day 5 to 8 (Tuesday to Friday) - Stayed at home to take care of Khayla. She would eat in small amounts. However, she finished a bowl of rice porridge on Thursday, woohoo ! Slept well starting Wednesday night, Alhamdulillah. No more spots and ulcers.

Sad to say, I did not get to snap any photos of Khayla's spots or ulcers as I was too busy attending to her.

Alhamdulillah, my baby is now well. She is still drooling (significantly lesser than before), but that's because she's teething. My baby's getting her molars !

A few HFMD tips that I can hand out:

• Once your child has contracted HFMD, there's nothing you can do but be there for him/her. Baby will be very clingy and restless. You will lose sleep and be exhausted. You've gotta be patient. 
• The sores can be extremely painful, so for mothers who do not like the idea of giving your baby painkillers, please, please reconsider your options ! But only do so under a doctor's recommendation, ok ?
• Your baby will have trouble feeding but make sure to keep them hydrated with lots of liquids because the major complication of HFMD is dehydration. Don't worry so much about wanting them to finish that bowl of pasta you made. Make sure to check their nappies (babies should wet their nappies at least every 6- 8 hours)
• And lastly, it might be a good idea to bring your baby straight to a Paediatrician when you sense that something's not right, rather than waste your time and energy bringing them to see inexperienced HOs and MOs.


Hah.


Ok bye.

UPDATE: Khayla did not get the virus from her nursery because appatently no other child there had similar symptoms, so she either got it from home or from the hospital when she was admitted.

xoxo

khayla's first hospital admission.

It all started two weekends ago, on a Saturday, after we came back from Melaka for a wedding. I felt that Khayla was a bit warm that evening, so I assumed she was getting a fever. Mr. Sunshine hugged her and she immediately fell asleep in his arms. When she woke up, I held her in my arms and felt that her body was getting hotter. I checked her temperature and it was 37.7 degrees Celcius. Although it wasn't that high, she was unusually weak and pale, refused to drink milk and wasn't playing around like her usual self. She was just clinging to me. I decided to give her a dose of Paracetamol syrup and bathe her.

When I put her into her tub, she starting shivering like nobody's business. Lene & I actually teared up because we had never seen her like that. She didn't stop shivering while I was dressing her up. I took a damp towel and dabbed her head and body in an effort to bring down her temperature. I tried talking to her and calling out her name, but there she was, clinging to me and staring into blank space. I knew something wasn't right so I woke Mr. Sunshine from his nap. My exact words to him were, "Ayang, kenapa Khayla lemah semacam je ni ??."

Suddenly, her eyeballs were rolling up, and her hands were curled up and stiff, fists clenched, and she was shaking vigorously. It took me a few seconds to register that she was having a seizure !
I PANICKED.
I passed her to Mr. Sunshine, put on my tudung and took a damp cloth with me. Lene drove (like a pro) us to the nearest medical centre, which was Gombak Medical Centre. In the car, she was still having convulsions and was not responding to anyone. Imagine the state of panic we were all in at the time !
I found a mineral water bottle and passed it to Mr. Sunshine and told him to pour the water on her (I soon learned that it wasn't the right thing to do at the time). It was then that we heard her voice, so we knew she was awake. Her fit lasted for about 5 agonizing minutes.
At the medical centre, her temperature was 39.7 degrees, and she was shivering because the nurses stripped her to her diaper and were sponging her body. We were told to bring her to a hospital for further assessment.

We brought her to Selayang Hospital, she was groggy and unresponsive along the way. Her temperature was 39.8 degrees Celcius at the emergency department. They took her blood to determine the source of fever and to rule out meningitis. Her white blood cells were slightly elevated (usually a sign of presence of an infection) but the doctor told me she didn't think it was meningitis or any infections of the brain. Khayla had to be admitted for monitoring purposes.

All of this happened within TWO HOURS !

Her temperature was still high throughout the first night but subsided the following Sunday morning. Alhamdulillah, she was slowly going back to being her old self that day. Alhamdulillah she did not have any subsequent fits. But since she already has history, there is a chance that it will occur again so Mr. Sunshine and I have to be really careful whenever she has a fever. Khayla was discharged on Monday. Her diagnosis was simple febrile seizure secondary to viral fever.

What are febrile seizures/fits ?

Simple febrile seizures are caused by fever in a child aged 6 months to 5 years. The single seizure is generalized and lasts less than 15 minutes. The child is otherwise neurologically healthy. Fever (and seizure) is not caused by illnesses affecting the brain.
Complex febrile seizures are usually prolonged (more than 15 minutes), or multiple seizures occur in close succession. 
Symptomatic febrile seizures occur in a child who has a preexisting neurological abnormality or acute illness.  Source.

Symptoms are uprolling of the eyeballs and/or shaking and jerking of the limbs and/or body stiffness.

From what I learned from the doctors in Selayang hospital, one-third of children who have febrile seizure will have another one, and about 50% of those will have a third. Isk isk. I also found out that parents who have had febrile seizures when they were a kid are likely to pass it on to their kids. Mr. Sunshine had three episodes of febrile seizures when he was a kid !

And now here's the important bit, what you should do when your child has a febrile seizure ?

1. DON'T PANIC ! These were the first words in the pamphlet I received from Selayang Hospital. Easier said than done !

2. Quickly place him on his side, away from hard objects. Gently turn his head to one side so he won't choke if he vomits. 

3. Make sure he doesn't have anything in his mouth, and don't put anything in his mouth while the seizure lasts.

4. Keep track of how long the seizure lasts (and try to remember !). If it goes on for longer than three minutes, bring him to the hospital.

5. If your child has difficulty breathing, if he's choking, or if his skin turns blue, bring him to the hospital immediately !

6. If it was your child's first episode - no matter how short it was - bring him to the hospital. This is to make sure he doesn't have a serious infection or other problem that caused the fever.

7. Don't try to lower your child's fever during a seizure by giving him medication, putting him in cool water, or sponging him off. Oooops.  Source

I pray that nothing like this will ever happen again, but if it does, I need to learn to stay calm !

I shall write about Khayla's experience with the Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) when I have spare time.

Goodnight all.
Assalamu'alaikum. :)

xoxo

from febrile fits to painful sores.

Hi all.
It has been ages, hasn't it ?
This is just a short update to let you all know that I am preoccupied with nursing my baby back to good health after being diagnosed with (the painful) Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease over the weekend. This is just a week after she was hospitalized for two nights due to an episode of febrile fit. :'''''''''''''(

I've  really got my hands full right now, poor baby has been in tremendous pain and hasn't been eating because of the ulcers in her mouth.

Please pray for her speedy recovery.
Ameen.

Thanks all.
Bye.

xoxo

drama mama.

I spent a few hours going through my old Wordpress and Blogger blogs the other day. I had to do so because I wanted to take down all photos of myself not covering my aurah.  
What a hassle, kan ? Siapa suruh tak tutup aurat dari dulu ? Isk isk.
As I was deleting the photos, I got to read some of my old posts, and I realized I could sum up my posts with one word; DRAMA.

I cringed while reading some of my posts. The life I had before was filled with unnecessary drama and I was all over the place. I still think I am a drama queen, but the old me was THE drama queen of all drama queens !

I have to remind myself to be constantly grateful for my present AND my past.
Without what I experienced in the past, I would not be the wiser (ahem !) person I am now. My past changed me, for the better. Alhamdulillah, thank you Allah ! :)

Khayla has been down with fever, cough & runny nose for the past few days, which means more sleepless nights for Mummy and Ayah. This time, being sick has also affected her appetite. Poor darling. Alhamdulillah she is recovering and slowly, but I'm just wondering, is it normal for a baby to fall sick every month ? Khayla had her first fever around the same time last month. Hmm.

Oh, my baby is10 months old today ! Alhamdulillah. :))
I shall update on her 9 months milestones, soon, InshaAllah.

Khayla showing off her pearly whites. :)

My cold sores have cleared up, Alhamdulillah. I've gotta take better care of myself from now on.
 
xoxo

cold sores galore.

I've been having back to back cold sore attacks since April 17. That's more than a month now. I have no idea what keeps on triggering the attack because I am trying my best to avoid chocolates (sigh !), nuts, sun exposure, extreme cold temperature, stress (!!) etc. I have been religiously popping multivitamins, vitamin B & C tablets, and making sure I don't skip meals.

How can I not be stressed when I have these ugly sores on my lips that people keep staring at and asking me about, and I haven't been able to kiss my daughter for so long ! Self esteem = ZERO.

Either there's a trigger factor that I have been missing out on, or that my immune system has gone haywire. My boss (a doctor) told me that it could be due to the fact that my body is under a lot of physical stress because I haven't been getting enough rest/sleep, have a baby to take care of and have to travel quite a distance to work every day.

SIGH !

For those of you who don't know what cold sores are, Google can help.

In a gist, cold sores (herpes labialis) are small, painful, fluid-filled blisters or sores that appear on the lips, mouth, or nose that are caused by the herpes simplex virus. It is transmitted through oral secretions or sores on the skin.Unlike most viral infections, this virus is not completely eliminated as they reside quietly in a dormant/latent stage in nerve sheaths until something triggers its active stage which causes blisters on the lips known as cold sores. There is no cure !
Cold sore attacks can be brought on by the following conditions:

• General illness or changes in the immune system (from mild illnesses to serious conditions)
• Ultraviolet radiation 
• Fatigue
• Physical or emotional stress
• Immunosuppression due to AIDS or such medications as chemotherapy or steroids
• Trauma to the affected area - my first attack this year (in February) was because Khayla bumped her head on my lips !
• Menstruation (hormonal changes)

Cold sores are actually very common. About six in ten people in the UK carry the virus, no data for Malaysia though. However, not all of them have outbreaks. So far I have only seen one UiTM student with cold sores, and when she came to the pharmacy to get her medications, I felt like giving her a hug. Drama, much ?

Annisa and I with my cold sores on my lips. :'(

I don't remember exactly when I had my first cold sore attack, but I know it was years ago, while I was doing my degree. My first outbreak was terrible because the doctor I went to see thought it was a bacterial infection and kept peeling my scab off, only to make it spread even worse ! After that, I have had one to three recurrences a year, but nothing like what I am experiencing now. :'(

Abu Hurairah R.A narrates Rasulullulah PBUH said,

"For every misfortune, illness, anxiety, grief, or hurt that afflicts a Muslim -even the hurt caused by the pricking of a thorn - Allah removes some of his sins."

and

"There is no disease that Allah has created, except that He also has created its treatment."

So many people out there are suffering from far worse, so I need to stay positive !
I can do this.

xoxo

khayla meets harith.

Oh my, it's already the last day of January !

I am just recovering from a day of slight fever, cough, runny nose and vomiting yesterday. My throat's still sore but I am so much better today, Alhamdulillah.

Alhamdulillah, Mr. Sunshine has been posted to Petaling Jaya since last Thursday.
He is planning to ride his bike to and fro work, something which we don't see eye to eye about - due to safety reasons - but he insists that he can cut costs if he does so.We went to visit my best friend, Diana last Saturday and when we found out that her husband rides a bike to work too, I knew it was no use disagreeing with him anymore. :(
But it's such a blessing that he's here, Alhamdulillah. :)

Diana's baby boy, Harith is soooo adorable ! Always with a smile on his face, he was so active rolling around the living room.
He and Khayla were born a month apart. To have my best friend also have a baby the same age as mine is awesome ! We frequently exchange stories about how our little ones are doing. :)

Wheee ! Khayla clearly wasn't in the mood for a photo, unlike Harith. :)

Khayla & Harith - holding hands on their first date, haha.

We were back in Batu Pahat during the long Chinese New Year weekend. One of my sister in-law got engaged, yayyyy !! Alhamdulillah. :)

Her nikah is planned for March next year, InshaAllah. Khayla took quite a long time (3 days to be exact) to warm up to my in-laws ! She would cry (read: scream) whenever any of them held her, and would only calm down if I hold her.

I have been losing so much hair recently, and along with the fact that Khayla loves to tug at my hair, I finally decided to cut it short while we were in Batu Pahat. It has been years since I had real short hair. So now I would love to think I look like this..

..but instead I think I look like Peter Pan.

Well actually Lene has been calling me that ever since I chopped off my hair. Haha..

Work has been good, Alhamdulillah. The traveling can get pretty exhausting but it's still manageable lah.

People (including mum in-law) have been asking whether Mr. Sunshine and I are planning to get a house nearer to our my workplace but we have decided to stay in Gombak for a couple of years first or until we're really ready to settle down elsewhere.

xoxo

the chronicles of my weight (gain).

Khayla has been asleep since 1300 hours just now.
I have managed to freshen up, express milk, have lunch, perform my Zuhur prayers and tidy up the house a little. I've tried going back to bed but my eyes just won't shut.
Since I have nothing better to do, I thought I'd put up a post on my pre and post pregnancy weight fluctuations. Narcissistic, much ?

I am gonna file this post under my 'notes to self' label to remind me that I still have a few kilos to shed and not to overeat like tak sedar diri. :)

Before I got hitched, my weight was around 54 to 55 kgs, which was considered normal for my height. I've always been curvy, blessed with (huge) boobs and (huge) hips. My other body parts are considerably smaller, which is why I think a number of people wouldn't believe me when I told them I weighed 54kgs. There were even some who thought I weighed 10 kgs lighter !
But as Oprah puts it, it's not about the number on the scale, ......okay so I forgot the rest of the quote but you get the picture, don't you ? Haha.

Moving on !

1. I got married in January 2010 and I lost 2kgs for my wedding.

January 2010 - 52 kgs

2. By November 2010, I gained back the 2kgs I lost. Hehe.

November 2010 - 54 kgs

3. In March 2011, and at 16 weeks pregnant, I had already gained 3kgs.

March 2011, 16 weeks pregnant - 57 kgs

4. The weight was steadily piling on as the weeks progressed.

April 2011, 20 weeks pregnant - 59.5 kgs

5. May 2011 - There was just no stopping me at that time. I was happily putting on 5 kgs within a month ! The nurses at my antenatal clinic weren't so pleased. Hehe.

May 2011, 24 weeks pregnant - 64.5 kgs

6. In June 2011, my weight skyrocketed, again !

June 2011, 28 weeks pregnant - 68 kgs

7. July 2011 - I just couldn't stop getting fatter. Haha. But by this time, the weight increment was slower than the previous two months. Phew !

July 2011, 32 weeks - 69.5 kgs

8. In August 2011, it dawned on me that I had gained about 16 kgs throughout my pregnancy ! Woahhhh !

August 2011, 32 weeks - 70.5 kgs

9. About a month after I delivered my precious baby Dian Khayla, I only managed to shed about 7 kgs off ! *nangis*

September 2011, 3 weeks post-partum - 63 kgs

10. To date, I have lost a total of 10kgs, and I still need to lose another 6 kgs to get to my pre-pregnancy weight.

October 2011, 2 months post-partum - 59 kgs

I've got around 2 inches to lose around my hips in order for me to fit into most of my old baju kurungs a.k.a my work clothes. If I don't lose 'em, looks like Mr. Sunshine's gotta take me on a shopping spree ! Hehe.

I'm lucky I can still squeeze myself into a couple of baju kurungs, because I had a wedding to attend yesterday.
Here's to hoping I get to say goodbye to my extra kilos, soon !

xoxo

smelly jackfruit.

I slipped and fell on my butt yesterday morning.

Yes, this is not a joke.
I fell like a smelly jackfruit (nangka busuk). Hah take that, direct translation ! Hehe.

It was actually the second time it had happened within the past 3 months. And both times, it happened at the same spot here at home.
The difference this time is, my back hurt longer than it did before and the pain intensified as the hours passed. As I was also worried about how Mini Mel was doing after the fall, I decided to get myself checked.
I was not bleeding and neither did I have any other sort of discomfort but the doctor told me I had to be admitted for monitoring purposes.
I did not refuse admission this time around because I knew it wasn't only for my sake but for my baby's sake too.

So, I checked into the maternity ward here (at the hospital I am working at) yesterday afternoon. The ward has a strict policy which disallows anyone to accompany the patients in the ward outside visiting hours so that means I was left alone the whole night. Mr. Sunshine got to see me for about 5 minutes yesterday evening because he couldn't get off work early. :(
But Alhamdulillah, everything turned out normal with Mini Mel, my back pain became more bearable, and I was allowed home this morning.
All in all, it was not a pleasant one night's stay (from sweating all night because the fan was too far, to painful looks on the faces of the other patients who were experiencing contractions to the soft screams of women in labour !!), but am extremely grateful that everything's alright. Alhamdulillah.
I honestly take my hats off to the women who could go through all that labour pain ALONE. 
I can cry just at the thought of it !
Boy, am I glad to be home with Mr. Sunshine.

Note to self: Tak payah nak jalan laju-laju sangat lah bila perut dah besar ini !

Let's move on to less despairing updates.
Mr. Sunshine and I made a trip to Kota Bharu, Kelantan last weekend to attend a friend's wedding kenduri. We stayed at Tune Hotel, Kota Bharu which is located just a stone's throw away from KB Mall. The room we got smelled of cigarette despite it being a non-smoking room, but other than that we were pretty pleased with it.
I made a mistake in purchasing 24-hours credit for the air cond & telly, we spent less than half of the time in our room ! Lesson learned.

We did some shopping for baby stuff while we were there, had breakfast with Zana (who's currently working in Hospital Tanah Merah) and paid a visit to my ex-colleague, Ina and her 8-month old daughter. :)

Our King Sized bed.

We were lazy to bring our towels & toiletries so we purchased the towel+toiletries set !

Contents of the toiletries set.

We wasted more than 12 hours credit ! :(

The highlight of our trip for me was of course, KENNY ROGERS !!! :D

At our UiTM mates, Izza & Bob's kenduri. Congrats again you two !! :D

That's all for tonight I guess.
Before I end, I'll leave you all with this.

Goodnight !

xoxo

right here waiting.

The title has nothing to do with the rest of this post. It's just that I've had Richard Marx's Right Here Waiting on repeat in my car for a couple of days now. Sure brings back good childhood memories when I used to imagine that Daddy's golf tournament trophies were my microphones to sing. :p

I am watching the Top 5 contestants of American Idol sing their heart out while I am typing this.
I told myself I would stop watching if Casey Abrams fails to be in the Top 5 but I am weak (not much of a surprise ha). After being a fan of the show for the past 10 seasons, I just can't refrain myself from turning on the telly at 6:05 pm every Thursdays & Fridays.

I took leave last Monday & Tuesday because Daddy, Marc, Lene and Linn came over to visit Mr. Sunshine and I. They arrived safely, Alhamdulillah, on Saturday evening just as I was starting to prepare the Soto I had planned to serve them for dinner. Lene & Linn were the first to comment on how big my belly is right now. Hehe.
Fair enough lah kan, the last time they met me in person was 3 months ago during Faizal & Dee's wedding when I was still in my first trimester.
Lene was particularly amazed at the size of my breasts. Hahaha. Ok TMI, sorry.

Marc, Marlene and Linn helped out in the kitchen with the making of the bergedils and Mr. Sunshine fried the suhun and helped me to shred the chicken flesh into strips. :)
I'm glad all of them enjoyed my home cooked Soto. Marc even suggested I open a soto stall, hehe. But then again, they were all starving when dinner was served. :p

Our Sunday morning started with Mr Sunshine buying us Nasi Kerabu for breakfast. After that, we took our own sweet time to get ready for our trip to Kenyir Lake. We didn't go on any boat rides this time around, we decided to just enjoy the scenery and snap photos. :)
We spent the rest of Sunday afternoon at home where I taught the girls how to make the infamous batik cake with Marie biscuits.

If you're wondering why they were laughing, it was because Daddy was trying to suck in his tummy. Hehe.

 

Marc helped too !

Just in case anyone didn't know how the batik cake looked like.

Mr Sunshine was kind enough to lend a hand in the kitchen when I was preparing dinner that evening. The soles of my heels hurts when I stand for too long (thanks to the huge amount of weight I have gained), so he actually brought in a chair for me to sit while I cook. Hehe.

Awww ! Hehe.

On Monday morning after a breakfast of home cooked fried rice and mihun, we drove to Pasar Payang where we went on a hunt for fish keropok.

Can you feel their excitement ? Ok let me rephrase that, can you feel Linn's excitement ? Hehehe.

We drove to Kelulut with hopes of enjoying fried keropok lekor and fresh coconut water for tea after a stop at the Tengku Tengah Zaharah Mosque a.k.a the Floating Mosque (Masjid Terapung), but much to my disappointment, they were only catering for takeaway that day. So we adjourned to Kampung Losong for some keropok lekor.

It was obvious that Marc was starving. :p

Pandak Beach was our next stop, which is where we chose to relax & enjoy our A&W Rootbeer Floats. Daddy deserves a treat once in awhile. :)

Daddy walked a couple of meters away from us just to stand and enjoy his float. :p

Love !

And our final destination for the day was Payang Serai Restaurant in KT, where Marc & Linn treated us to a scrumptious seafood dinner in conjunction with my birthday last week. :D

The food was delicious and the price was pretty reasonable. Thank you so much Marc & Linn !!

Time sure flies when you're having a good time, and before we knew it, it was already Tuesday and they had to leave for Gombak. I woke up pretty early as I had my monthly antenatal checkup scheduled that morning during which I had to drink 75 grams of glucose but more on that later lah.
I was so touched to see this when I got back home from my checkup.

Sobs.

We said our goodbyes after having lunch at KFC, Kuala Berang.
As usual, I just had to cry after that. :p
It was great having the family over. We had a fabulous time although Manchester United lost to Arsenal (arghhh !). Hehe.

One for the road. :)

Moving on to what happened at my antenatal checkup last Tuesday morning. It was also the day I had to take the MOGTT test as mentioned in this previous post of mine (click, please).
It started out with the nurse drawing out 2 mls of my blood prior to me drinking 75 grams of glucose mixed with water. Then I had to wait for 2 whole hours before they would draw another 2 mls of blood out of me. As for other usual glucose tests, I had to fast starting from 10 pm the previous night.
While waiting, I went through the routine monthly checkup which consists of checking my weight, blood pressure, fundal height and urine for ketones. This time around I got to hear my baby's heart beat through something which I think is a doppler. It was amazing ! MashaAllah. :)

The other amazing thing is that I found out that I had gained a good 5 kilograms over the past month. 5 KILOS !!!
As a result, the doctor told me to get my blood pressure checked every other day (starting today) since I already had the MOGTT test done. Yikes. Blood pressure was normal today, Alhamdulillah.
I'm pretty worried about my weight gain pattern, I don't want to end up with gestational diabetes or any other complications related to excessive weight gain in pregnancy. :(
Mintak dijauhkan. Ameen.

All the other test results came out normal, Alhamdulillah, but I'll only get my MOGTT results after 2 weeks. I think I'll be living in fear until then. :(
Oh, I also received my first dose of the anti tetanus toxoid vaccine that day. My left arm is still sore from the injection. The second dose will be at the end of this month, InshaAllah.

Baby's movements are getting stronger by the day. Alhamdulillah. Sometimes I wonder what he/she is doing in there. Hehe.
Mr. Sunshine is able to feel the kicks and movements from the outside already, Alhamdulillah. Lene felt some movements too ! :)

Now for a closer photo of my belly at 24 weeks (6 months) and 10 kilos heavier !

Ta-da ! Huge kan ? And my Daddy's so comel. ;D

Before I end, I have a note for my family in reply to what they left on my whiteboard.


Dearest Daddy, Marc, Marlene & Linn, 

Thank you so much for driving all the way here to pay Mr Sunshine and I a visit. We truly appreciate the company and good times you spent with us ! Please do come again. Please. Please. Pleeeeeeaaasssssee ! :D

Love,
Syafiq & Melissa

Until my next post, bye !

xoxo