Pregnancy update : I'm only slightly diabetic

Remember when I said I had to went for a fortnightly Blood Sugar Profile (BSP) check-ups? Well, my last two visits revealed an alarming result, so I was referred to the hospital. I grudgingly went and confidently give my fingertip to the nurse in charge.

I was surprised when she took out the big syringe, and immediately asked "Err, I thought you can just poke my finger to get a few drops of blood. What's the syringe for?" She replied "Oh, that's the procedure for clinic. Here, in the hospital, we draw the blood from the vein in your hand to yield a more accurate result." *__*

I was like, accurate my *ss. I hated needles, and really scared of drawing blood. And this procedure have to be done 4 times a day every two weeks. Nooooo!!!!! And, the first two times was really painful. I'm not exaggerating, I've got proof. See this:



Luckily the last two times did not hurt as much, but still...I can see some of my friends rolling their eyes at my whining, but what to do...I'm really scared of needles. Its on top of "things that I am scared of" list, along with cats and cable cars and rollercoasters.

The next day, I went again for review and was told that my readings are normal, and with proper diet (read : control), I wouldn't have to be induced early at 38 weeks nor do I have to undergo the insulin injection. Yeay!

The gruesome bruising, the 4 times blood draw, the agonizing 8-hour wait to meet the doctor was soooo totally worth it :)

Selamat Hari Raya...Maaf Zahir Batin

Back when I was pregnant with Sara, I have no motivation whatsoever to celebrate Raya. I was 7months plus during that time (same as now) and I was sooooo big. I didn't even wear baju kurung/kaftan/dress, instead I just lazed around the house wearing my baju kelawar. Soooo not phat, I know :p

But, this time, considering that I have another toddler who even though doesn't really understand the concept of raya and whatnot, I feel like I'm being selfish if I didn't celebrate raya properly. So, I bought a kaftan, baju melayu for hubby and loads of baju raya for the little kid.

Early morning of hari raya, I bathed Sara and explained to her that this morning we have to "salam" everybody, say Selamat Hari Raya and seek forgiveness for any wrongdoings. So, that is what she did. I didn't explain the part where people would give her angpow, and she should politely accept it and say thank you.

The first person Sara "salam" was her Totok and Nenek, she said "Selamat Hawi Waye" and kissed them both. When they gave her the angpow, she got curious and asked "What is this?". I quickly reply "Angpow. Got money inside". Then she proceeded to "salam" me and hubby. Hubby handed her the angpow, and she took it. But, when she "salam" my sisters and they gave her the angpow as well, she immediately said "Hey, some more? Yaya got already-lah. See, Yaya got two already. Why give some more?" and everybody burst into laughter.

We went back to Kuantan shortly after the salam session in my house. We thought it would be a smooth sailing journey because the holiday was pretty long, and who goes back hometown on pagi raya anyway, right? NOT! The road was congested by people who took the opportunity of the long holiday to go to Genting. Gahhhh!!!

We stopped over at Temerloh and went beraya to hubby's side of the family and continue to Kuantan later in the evening. Our Raya was pretty relaxed, but even then, I felt soooo tired and lethargic...To top that off, I have never felt sooo huge, I was sweating like a p*g (Kuantan is soooo hot!), and my face was sooooooo round. Several attempts to look phat ended up in me looking fat *cries*

Anyway, I hope it is still not too late to wish everybody "Selamat Hari Raya" and I sincerely apologize for any wrongdoings that I may have commit whether direct or indirectly to any of you. I only took two decent pics; one with the whole family and another with my sisters and cousin. I totally forgot to take a picture of my family (with hubby and Sara). Oh well...

Selamat Hari Raya

Maaf Zahir Batin

Fasting during pregnancy

During my first pregnancy, I missed seven days of fasting. I usually throw up around 10am, and depending how I feel in the next half an hour, I'd either break my fast or continue fasting. Usually, it will also depend on whether my good friend, who was also pregnant at that time feels. She was my partner in crime, we'd go and buy McDonalds at the drive-through and eat it in the car, under a tree of some random housing area. Hehe.

This time, I still do vomit from time to time, but I have better self-control (or maybe because this time, I no longer have my partner in crime ;p), I still haven't missed puasa except for a couple of days I have to go through with my BSP checkup at the clinic. I am also spared from the stomach cramps I usually get when I'm hungry, Alhamdulillah...

I didn't do anything differently though. Still the same routine. I'm the type of person that have to wake up for sahur EVERYDAY. And I eat more during sahur than berbuka. I usually have rice, one glass of teh tarik, one glass of pomegranate juice, one glass of plain water, half-boiled eggs, some leftover kuihs and dates for sahur.

With only 5 days left in Ramadhan, here's to hoping I can fast throughout and may my fast is acceptable to the Lord Almighty. Amin...

*__*

Hi blog...

Hee, I'm surprised I can even remember my own username and password (did have to try twice, cause I forgot my password..teehee..) I guess I have to ask Mr.Firefox to remember my password from now on..

Usual excuse for not blogging in err..two months : yep, busy (read : lazy). But, I'm still baking though, and I recently discovered that leaoven (the one that produces edible image) is located very near to my house. Yeay! So, those who would like to order their cakes with edible images are welcomed to do so (sample as pic below)


As for the baby in my tummy, I'm loving my second trimester. And, its a girl. Yeay! Secretly, I am wishing for another girl, so imagine my joy when my secret wish turns out to be true. However, the bad news is, I have diabetes this time around. I was told that it is caused by the hormonal change in the body and with proper diet, it will most likely to go away after the pregnancy. Which I pray so hard to be true.

Sara has slowly beginning to accept that she's going to have a rival sister soon. Before this, she kept insisting that she's the baby, and the thing growing in mummy's tummy is kakak. Hehe. Last week, we brought her along for the 3d/4d scan and I think she's beginning to really understand that "Mummy got baby inside Mummy's stomach". But, she still refuses to call the baby "Baby". Instead, she calls the baby "Adik" and she calls herself "Baby".

The 3d/4d scan that I went was at PJ Women Specialist and Family Clinic at SS2. I bought the service from www.kasihkusayangku.com for RM100 and I'm really pleased throughout the whole experience. Everything looks good, and my baby kept yawning and at one point, she even sucked her toe. She even opened her eyes (probably out of anger because we were disturbing her rest). Here's a video of the miracle in my womb :

Sara has been really wonderful as of late. She understands that I can no longer carry her (she's already 18kgs++) and she's very quick to apologize if she does something wrong. I don't know why, but lately I've been feeling rather emotional when it comes to her. I'd get mad if I hear my husband raise his voice to her, and she too, have grown somewhat clingy-er to me. Here's a few photos of Sara I couldn't resist to share.

She looks like a five-year-old instead of two and a half, kan?

Err, she insisted to be swaddled like the baby?

Luckily we were all fasting this day. If not, we'd eat her KFC thighs :)

Oh, did I mention she's really reliable these days?
Yep, up to the extent where I can ask her to mop the floor ;p

Tips on how to stop your child from using pacifier

I am not supporting nor rejecting the idea of using pacifier. My motto in raising my kid is work with what you've got. :)

As for Sara, she was on pacifier as early as five days old (I think) and no, I am NOT proud of the fact.I know that kids regularly on the pacifier will tend to develop dental deformities, so we have from time to time try to avoid excessive usage.
Sara has always call her pacifier nu-nu, and she'll motion for her pacifier using her index finger to her mouth EVERY TIME she wanted to sleep. So, what we did was take out her pacifier as soon as she falls asleep.


As she grows older, and able to talk, she'll always ask for her nu-nu when she wants to sleep. BUT, when she reached towards two-years-old, she began to demand for her nu-nu every time she felt neglected by people around her.

For example, when I was watching TV instead of playing with her, she'll walk up to the kitchen, and start to ask for her nu-nu. So, I casually suggested to my mom to start depriving her of the pacifier, gradually.

Little did I know that my mom was also having the same thought, which is to stop her from using the pacifier altogether.

So, what we did was: first, we stopped giving her pacifier by her demand. When she wanted to sleep, we gave her the pacifier, but after 10 minutes of sucking, if she's still not sleeping, we'd take out the pacifier and played with her until she's really sleepy.

Secondly, we'd take out her pacifier the minute she falls asleep (as opposed to taking it out when she has dozed off completely). Sometimes she would wake up, but judging from varying degree of crying (mild meaning she can get back to sleep, screaming meaning I-want-my-nunu-back); we either give it back or just cuddle her until she falls right back to sleep.

However, the two ways doesn't really diminish her need for pacifier. They were just means to train her and decrease her need to depend on the pacifier.

One day, my mom decided to go cold-turkey. She secretly cut the tip of the pacifier and put a black thread inside the pacifier. So, it looks as if there's "worm" inside the pacifier. (Sara is really scared of worms ;p)

She took one look at her pacifier, and say "Nenek, got worm" and together, they threw the pacifier in the dustbin. Later that day, when she wanted to sleep and asked for her nu-nu, my mom reminded her that her nu-nu got worm and its in the dustbin. She must've been really sleepy because she dozed off after that.

During night time, she asked for her nu-nu again, and this time, she pulled my dad's hand to the dustbin and demanded that my dad take back her nu-nu. "Wash first, ok?" she said. Haha.

My dad took the nu-nu and brought her to the kitchen and they wash the nu-nu together. "But, the worm cannot come out-la, Yaya" my dad said. She's dissatisfied, but didn't cry. I take that as a good sign.

She came running to me and asked me to buy her new nu-nu and I said okay. I also told her that "Only baby can get nu-nu, Sara big girl already, Sara kan kakak. No more nu-nu okay?" She seemed to understand and didn't press further.

Luckily for us, starting from that moment on, she'd never scream/shout asking for her pacifier. Don't get me wrong, she did cry and we have had some sleepless nights and our patience are almost running thin. But, we persevered and the result; no more pacifier for the little girl.

Priceless moments...

Mummy, come take picture of Yaya..

Ok, Yaya pretend to watch Barney, mummy take picture okay?



Umm...Yaya pretend to laugh, Mummy take picture okay?




And then, Yaya pretend to become angry, Mummy take picture okay?



Yaya do funny face, Mummy take picture okay?




Yaya smile like cute girl, Mummy take picture okay?

And all the pictures are blurry because I was laughing sooo hard entertaining my cheeky little kid :)

Children's Playground Ethics.

First off, if your child is below 3 years, kindly assist him/her to play. I've seen a father who suddenly came into the playground area shouting "Who pushed him? Who pushed him??!!" upon seeing his son falling down and crying. Dude, seriously, no point blaming others, if you don't want your child to fall, be with him. DUH! (and yes, the child looked no more than 2 years old)

Do not let your child climb the slide from below. Ask them to go through the stairs. I don't really mind if the child is alone, I understand that children have their own imagination and sense of adventure. What makes me tick is when the parents is there, letting their child climb the slide when obviously, a queue is starting to form at the top of the slide consisting of children trying to CORRECTLY go down the slide (including my child).

I once said to a boy (indirectly to his father, who was just standing not two feet away) "Abang, bagi adik turun dulu gelongsor ni boleh?" because my child is trying to slide down (like a normal person do), instead of trying to climb up the slide (like the boy was trying to do).

Of course, he didn't understand me, and almost fall off in his attempt to climb the slide, all the while the father was watching him, and DOING NOTHING.

So, I did the next mature thing to do. I told my child gently, "Sara, don't do like abang ok. Next time you want to climb the slide, use the stairs. Don't be selfish like abang, ok?".

The father instantly looked at me. And immediately coax his son to climb through the stairs. Luckily, he did still have some ounce of shame.

From my observation, the parents are always there in the playground area, standing nearby the child at every time (which is good thing) but more often than not, the parents (especially the father) just stood there watching. I get the whole "letting your child test his ability" thing, believe me, I do. But, when your child is dangling upside down from the stairs, its really a good time to interfere, no?