Speaking of choices again

The 10kg Maryam is always testing my nerve, Astagfirullah. Ever since we moved in to a new house, carrying her up and down and around the house is somewhat draining out my no-more-energy soon I reached home. Plus, she just want Emi, Ami, Mimi and Mi only when I'm around. That's so sweeeet dear. :-)

Should I spend RM420 on Scootababy Hip Carrier or RM399 on Ergo Sports Black?
 

I'm not sure if New Carrier is included in 2011 budget last Friday. I wish.

Baby gadget

My cheeky baby is getting cheekier by day. Last weekend we went to BabyJaya Uptown Damansara and bought her a new carseat, Halford Premier Zeus.

And this cute bag too. She lurvessss it. Kalau front view nampak mcm nadirah nak gi hiking or bungee jumping.

BPA free BRO tumbler for her. Asyik btol minum air.

Thanks Abi! We heart you :*

The snuggMT and I

These days it seems impossible to leave the house without my snugg MT. Especially when I have four, I repeat F-O-U-R bags to carry at the same time when I rush to work every morning. 2 nadirah's and 2 mine. Like Mummy like daughter la. :-)

We have 3 baby carriers; 2 pouches and 1 MT. I'm hoping to try other types of slings, if money in the bank permits ;-)

Abi balik cepat! It's friday..la..la..la..


:-)

The arrival of..

our new CDs! 3 pieces crazy Momy CD, 6 microfiber inserts and 2 bamboo inserts.

3 pieces of Fiffy diaper cover size L, RM8.90 each. Puas hati den! These triplets are to be coupled with the prefold I recently bought. Moi really like these cuties compared to Little Coro I bought earlier and much3x cheaper than Thirsties Diaper cover (RM44) that we have.

I am a happy bunny la la la .. *_*

Bumbo Baby Seat

I'm eying on this at the mo!

Abi jom beli! At Mothercare, the price is RM199 and there's a sale now at TheBabyLoft. You can get the chair for RM139 only!

This is so helpful for our flash card session.

[Abi said mummy is like an NGO who always fight the right to buy more stuff for Nadirah.. TeeHee..^_^]

Cloth Diaper: My Journey

After the delivery, I've promised myself to start wearing nadirah with cloth diaper (CD) when she turns 3-month-old. I did.

I just have few CDs, all were bought during my preggy months. The hormones were unbalance at that point resulting with few insane online shopping sprees but nevertheless, I heart all the CDs! They are not the posh-mosh-branded-kind of CDs, but they do what they should do - keep the poo and pee contained in the right place!

I wanna note down the first generation of Nadirah's CDs so that when she reads this later, she'll know the CDs that have been with Mummy through thick and thin when we first embarked on our CD journey!

1. Bella Posh OS, Red RM70 (I think I just pay around RM60 for this one, ade sale @ babyznmom.com)

2. Tiny Tush OS, Sea Spray RM75

3. WholeSaleCD OS @ tinytapir.com, Ocean, RM35.50

4. Thirsties Diaper Cover X-Small, Rapsberry RM44

5. Fitted Diaper Unbleached Small, RM35.90

6. Coolababy OS, Green RM35 – the website is no longer available (lampinkain.blogspot.com)

7. Palm and Pond Pocket Diaper S, Yellow, RM23 – didn’t get the chance to wear this, Nadirah has outgrown the CD by the time she started wearing CDs.

8. Palm and Pond Pocket Diaper M, Greyish, RM23 (got this free for purchasing 6&7)

9. Fuzzi Bunz Pocket Diaper S, Hot Pink, FOC – Gift from Aunty Maryam Afaf to Maryam Nadirah! Tq XOX!

10. *NEW* Crazy Momy OS, Yellow, RM45 (got 2 inserts, 1 small and 1 OS insert)

11. *NEW* Crazy Momy OS, Purple, RM45 (same as above)

No 10 & 11 were my recent purchased last 2 weeks. Found her website many moons ago. Maryaa is from Kuantan, MIL met her in person @ Kuantan in a function where she promoted her CDs. MIL gave me her brochure and then only I convinced and decided to try her CD. Honestly, I really really satisfied with the performance. Value for many, no leakage, good trimming, value for money and YES VALUE FOR MONEY! Rase nak beli lagi! In addition, the Cd comes with 2 inserts and laundry tab. How cool is dat..

Palm and Pond CD is from Thailand. I heart no 8 so much coz I don’t have to snap buttons to fit my baby’s size like OS-type of CD, just zap the Velcro closure according to fit baby’s tummy, yeah, you’re ready to go. Fast and easy just like DD (disposable diaper)! I normally use this during the day or for short period of time only (3-4 hours) coz the opening to put insert is quite small compared to other brands, so normally I just put I insert in it. Anywayzzz I found another website that sells this brand (even cheaper, just RM20 each!); but bear in mind, since the price is cheap, you then have to compromise with quality – the inner layer microfleece is easily ‘berbulu’ after a few wash, but to me it’s ok since you can’t see what’s inside, right? Only mummy and baby know the secret. So long it does the job, I'm so very fine. Hehe.

My verdict? I love CD that have both snaps/buttons for resizing purposes (One-Size - OS) PLUS Velcro to give good fitting at the tummy. Of course I would prefer to buy CDs according to HnyB's size, hence no need to snap the button, just zap the velcro and walla BUT at the moment dis madam don't have the money just yet to invest on CDs every time HnyB has increased in weight by 4kg. That's why OS CDs is so popular because you can wear it since newborn (3.5kg) and up to 13kg.

Advice to myself and mommys out there, if you wanna start wearing your baby with CD, the first rule of thumb is - don’t burn your pocket with super expensive CD, try out with ‘not too expensive’ but recommended-by-many-Mommys CD. 2ndly, don’t wait until you have 20-30 CDs then only start wearing one because, by then you’ll be too comfortable with DD. As for now, I only have 8 CDs (no 5 have to be worn with 4, so considered as one, no 6 abi left it somewhere far far away (kene ganti nih!) and no 7 is too small for HnyB) . For the past one month, HnyB wear DD at babysitter’s and CD at night and over the weekend. Alhamdulillah so far soooo good. And most important is, I feel good. Alhamdulillah.

I’m looking forward to shop more CDs very soon. (hah, reasons for shopping online!) Really hope that HnyB will be fully on CD before turning 1. Amin.

p/s- Thanks Hubby for being so understanding and supportive throughout the journey. Mwahssss..

Pesta Buku Antarabangsa KL 2009 Part III

Before leaving for PWTC, Abi taught Nadirah Calculus. Susah woo..Nadirah loves Abi teaching her Maths.

While waiting for the lift, nadirah sucks her thumb, aaduhhh..x tau nak wat cane dah ni. Her fav pastime since last week. She's now suffering from Oral Trush due to her new habit. Pity HnyB..
Tido dengan Opah dalam kete. Carseat kat sebelah Opah x gune pun..huhuh..

Hohohoyeaahh..here we come Pesta Bukuuu..Nadirah was fully awake by then.

At Telaga Biru booth, she dozed off peacefully, alhamdulillahhh..

Nadirah...

Aaaahh. Alas, ade gak mase nak update japs. Life is pretty hectic these days. Last weekend, the 3 of us went to makan Mee Udang Sabah specially made by the super-talented-chef-and-heavily-pregnant-momma, K Zaidah, SIL to hubby. Menjilat jari! Tak rugi tunggu sampai ke ptg baru drg sampai. She cook the meal at her house and bring it over to K wati's where MIL and the rest of us were waiting patiently.

Nadirah and Liyana. See, she's staring the lady-bird. She even talks to the lady bird.

Nadirah? At first she was busy entertaining herself on the playmat with baby Liyana, K wati's youngest daughter. Then tangan dy dah terkepak-kepak and menampar anak tuan rumah yg sedang baring di sebelah. Liyana dah la muke innocent je, and 2 months older than Nadirah, but Nadirah definitely more 'vocal' (singing baby carol whenever she feels like it) and more brutal. Ahhh, anak mummy betol! Anyway, she now can focus and concentrate on any striking/colourful hanging objects. Be it toys, langsir, towel or anything, she just stares! I still can remember Lana's remark to me long time ago (ntah biler aku x ingat) - "Azi3, ko stare org obvious giler! Ko mmg kena pakai sunglass besar mcm mummy aku!" Haha. Ha, nadirah skrg suke sembang and tersengih-sengih buat muke comel dy masya-Allah :-) Mummy always remember Nadirah's smile and missing every moment of it :-(

Staring mama-parrot. Bought this well b4 her delivery from Mom's Care.

Her new bundle of joy, mama-parrot. B4 2 mo, she loved seeing the parrot's red bum and the black and white design at the back, now she loves anything striking.

Mama-parrot nadirah, Best Selling LAMAZE toy in Amazon.

Monday was my first day driving to work and I didn't really like it. Dah biasa tido dalam LRT, skalik biler drive x leh tido ni yg payah sikit ni. Hoho. I guess I wont be driving to work every single day, as a start prolly alternate days. Tgh nak biase tido x tentu mase dulu with nadirah, then adapt to bukak mata between 7-8am travelling to work. Normally, my eyes are wide shut on LRT.

Ha, Nadirah many times refuses to drink from her bottle. I was a bit 's' out at first. Monday normally the worst. She feeds directly from the source over the weekend, so Monday is never a good day for the babysitter. Bertempur Nadirah dgn ibu nak bagi susu. Aduhh. So when I arrived around 6.45pm to fetch her, her eyes were wide open waiting for Mummy the milk factory. And she doesn't like frozen EBM. Totally hates it. Sheessh. Memilih juga anakku ini. Ye la, kite pun suke fresh milk, baby pun pandai jugak la suke yg sedap2 aje. huhuhu.

Abi balik today, huyeahhhh!

"If You Hold That Baby All The Time..."

Angel Pack Buckle Carrier

Ahaaa.. another evidence why I should have a sling!

"The single most important child rearing practice to be adopted for the development of emotional and social healthy infants and children is to carry the newborn/infant on the body of the mother/caretaker all day long..."

- James Prescott, Ph.D.

See, clingy is not the problem, it's natural! AND it's the long term solution to all other problems that may crop up if we didn't hold our baby now!

Now slings could hardly be called "new baby gadgets," since they have been used in many other cultures around the world for millions for years. However, in North America, they are something new. Whenever one of us was wearing my granddaughter in a public place, people would always stop to ask us about the sling and marvel at this great "new" way of carrying babies. Babies want and need to be "in arms" and they let us know that. A baby crying in a stroller usually becomes content as soon as he or she is picked up and held. I often see parents carrying a baby in one arm and struggling to push an empty stroller with the other!

Ha Abi, pengagihan budget utk stroller mungkin boleh digunakan utk membeli cool retro chic sling! *wink* erm, tapi stroller pun nak jugak.. hohoho

Below para is so familiar!

Contrary to what we have been taught to believe, research shows that babies who are held and carried all the time and get their need for touch well-met in their first year do not become clingy and overly dependent. They cry much less and they grow to become happier, more intelligent, more independent, more loving and more social than babies who spend much of their infancy in infant seats, swings, cribs, and all the other plastic baby-holding gadgets that don't provide babies with human contact. We had all those baby-holders for my granddaughter and she spent a little time in all of them, but she spent most of her infancy in her sling because she was happiest there, and we loved carrying her and being close to her.

More ..

Slings are different than front carriers. A sling is like a hammock. From newborn to the sitting-up stage, babies' spines are best supported in slings because their weight is distributed along the length of the spine. Front carriers that hold the infant upright with their legs hanging down, can stress the spine because they put all the baby's weight at the base of the spine.

When we wear/carry a baby, we are providing more than the comfort of the sound of our heartbeat and voice and the touch and warmth of our body. According to research by James Prescott, a developmental neuropsychologist and cross cultural psychologist, "vestibular-cerebellar stimulation (which happens when we carry our babies) is the most important sensory system for the development of "basic trust" in the affectional bonding between mother and infant. It establishes the biological and psychological foundations for all other human relationships." We have learned that carrying infants is a vital part of nature's biological plan for mother-infant bonding, and that it is critical to the development of trust, empathy, compassion and conscience.

Final bomb..

Carrying or wearing an infant in a sling, keeping the infant in constant human contact, and breast feeding on demand are the biological design for optimal physical, intellectual and emotional human development. Research confirms that carrying human infants develops their intelligence and their capacity for trust, affection, intimacy, and love and happiness. Anthropologist Ashley Montagu refers to this carrying stage, or "in arms" period, as the "external gestation period" the infant needs to complete his/her development.

Meeting our infant's biological need for human contact is not about following a particular parenting philosophy. It is about honoring and adhering to nature's biological plan for optimum human development. Keeping our infants in almost constant human contact for nine to twelve months may sound like an impossible goal in modern society. Sleeping with our infants provides that contact at night. Holding them or wearing them in a sling will give them more of the human contact they need. Now that research has shown that holding babies does not "spoil" them, but is, in fact, what they need most, we would be wise to listen to our hearts and "hold that baby all the time."

Wallaaaaa! Another reasons to carry your baby from Sleepywrap:

Carried Babies...

• Cry Less! (43% less overall and 54% less during the evening hours)¹
  
• Are Healthier! (gain weight faster, have better motor skills, coordination, increased muscle tone, and sense of balance)²
• Get a better view of the world! (babies pushed in strollers or lugged around in car seats only get to see the adult world at knee-level)
• Become Independent Faster! (making them more confident and less clingy)³
• Sleep Better! (they fall asleep quicker and sleep for longer periods of time)
• Learn More! (not overstimulated, but calm and alert, observing the world around them)
• And are just plain Happier!⁴

Product from SleepyWrap

Ok, wanna cuddle my sleeping dahling. I rest my case :-)

I need a sling!

HnyB is super-cling-y! (but i truly love it!) She only sleeps when mummy/opah cuddle her, tepuk2 sikit, dendang selawat munif ahmad/akil hayy, then only she dozesss of to dreamland. But watch out! Once you put her down on the bed/toto, she'll open her eyes and started to cry. Hohoho. Back to square one! I have to add this in the 'Manual Penjagaan Nadirah' which will be given to the baby-sitter:

Peringatan: Bayi ini akan membuka matanya semula jika anda hanya mendodoi/memegangnye kurang dari 15 minit.

At nite, she rather sleeps on my super-fat arm than on the baby pillow. Lenguhhh tangan den! During her first month, she's ok sleeping in the mini cot below. Now she has outgrown the cot, (height and width!) kesian pulak tgk anak Mummy tersepit dalam tu. To all Mummies/future mummies out there, I don't recommend this to be in your shopping list, trust me. It has now become tpt letak baju. Hoho. Abi cakap, 'Mahal btol tpt letak baju Nadirah ni..'.
She sleeps less now during the day, but she needs to be cuddled all the time when she's awake (Opah cakap suke 'memerap'). In the end, Mummy and Opah have to take turns holding her until she feels like sleeping. Due to that, I knew I need a sling. Abi, dah justifiedkan Mummy nak shopping sling? :-)

They are many types of baby carriers in the market. Some are super-trendy and irresistible (specially those retro design fabrics) like this one from Kozy, which is known as mei-tai. Cute isn't it?

My research on baby carriers has started long before HnyB was born. Being a pregnant momma who constantly travel on bus and lrt, I am a strong believer of wearing a baby is the only solution to move around. And now, at 4.2kg(HnyB's weight, not mine!) I'm starting back searching for a comfy carrier.

Last time I was eye-ing on Aidafiqs's Mei Tai but she has stopped producing one after moving to London. Then, Snuggbaby comes into the picture. I really really love the selection of fabrics they offer, but I'm not sure whether it's the one for my baby.

This fabric is my favourite! Ala2 All Blacks gitu..

After reading few mommas blogs and forums, I think I wanna start my baby wearing journey with baby-pouch. Many(from forum) recommended Peek-a-Pouch from Peekaroo. The price is not bad! Barangan Buatan Malaysia ni, jgn main2! Aku salute btol org2 yg reti menjahit. I am so hampagas with sewing machine! My Form3 PMR sewing project was done by Makcik Ani d tailor @ taiping! Hoho. Selamberrrr.

I like stripy peek-a-pouch!

If hubster luluskan budget, I would go for Hotslings which is available at ThelilCaliph, but budget is not approved. Economy injection of RM10b by MOF doesn't include a Hotslings. Too bad!

Design Everyday : Tokyo - shweeettttt!

Last but not least, Littlepods also offers comfy slings at an affordable price, RM85 each. I think I loike this one.

Red is my colour. True assie-ness!

Ok, that's all. It took more than 5 hours to finish this entry. Why? Because I don't have a sling!

^_^