Calm amidst madness

Am finding unexpected pockets of time even with the chaos. Hopefully, some sort of a routine will be established soon. Right now, it's post-natal theraphy, people visiting and trying to get the hang of breast-feeding and cat-napping.

Post-natal theraphy: Malay madness! There is the bengkung madness (actually quite fun except when you sweat. For the uninitiated, bengkung is the Malay version of a corset). Baby is not spared - he gets bedung (swaddled) which is his least favourite thing, and a mini-corselet (forgot the name) thing, which he has no reaction to. Rehan's favourite thing: bath time. Hee hee.

So, maddest thing done: standing with knickers off over burning coal and some sort of incense...sauna Malay style. The massages are great though. Least favourite thing: pilis (herbal stuff you put on your forehead. Don't ask me what for. I don't know. Wail!). Most favourite: the stuff on my boobs. V good for swollen breasts. Ha ha. Joys of breast-feeding: it really hurts. The Hurrah squadron insists that breast-feeding doesn't hurt if done properly (hah. blame it on the mother. what a way to encourage breast-feeding). But here's a reality check - it hurts when your nipples crack, it hurts when your breasts are so full of milk and the baby won't wake up. And it's not just me...many mothers who have successfully breast-fed reassures me this is normal. So, take that sanctimonious prigs! (As you can tell, am not a big fan of people telling me to breast-feed, even though I had decided to do it. Bih.)

Errr...obsessing over breast-feeding. Meanwhile, the baby is free and clear of jaundice (hurrah! alhamdullilah) so no more check ups until Hep B jab. Little Rehan is a real warrior - having jabs and blood taken only elicts a mild 'eek' and he goes back to sleep. Heh.

A little non-sequiter: why should one not look a gift horse in the mouth? Remember the Trojan Horse?!

On a more sober note: One of my friend's father passed away recently. My condolences to her and prayers for her father. Hugs!

Life begins

Rehan Faris bin Nazirudin was born on 22 March 2007, 14:59; the champ weighing in at 3.1 kg.

With his happy parentsBringing home baby
4 days old

Yep - my little Rehan is here. Finally. The past few days have been horribly hectic as everyone tries to adjust to a new (wonderful) presence. Been kept up at night by breastfeeding (it's more difficult than all these 'breast is best' people try to potray. hah!) but despite snoozing over him - it's all worth it when he smiles. Of course, my family and husband have been invaluable through this ... big thanks and big hugs all around. I don't know how single mothers do it.

STILL waiting

Am just as eager (if not more so) as everyone else for the arrival of Rehan (or little Ryan, as Azah calls him. Why?! Ha ha. We all know why). Been getting messages to that effect - I'm waiting too! Wail! The baby is now 2.9kg, and the doc is telling me to lay off carbs and sugar in case the baby gets too big for delivery.

So, yesterday, against doctor's orders, I had my long-waited ice-cream, with Ain and Azah. Ha ha ha. I had been wanting to eat ice cream before the orders...so just this once. Anyway, eating less cookies now.
:-( Strangely, despite the 'eat what I want' regime, have not gained much me-weight. (Good, good.) Must be all the throwing up. (Not so good.)

Yup, the throwing up have returned. Yetch. Other joys of motherhood: leaking boobs, stretch marks you can FEEL but not see cause you are too big and a nose that everyone swears has swelled but isn't too huge cause it's small to begin with. Hee hee. Wearing maternity clothes - the same few things you bought, just enough for a week, repeated ad nauseum, because you want to buy baby things and don't want to waste money...anyway baby things are cuter, right? But it's so boring to have only 4 tops and 3 bottoms. You can survive (I have!) but I never want to see them again. For as long as I live.

I got to eat satay today. Yay! (It's proteins, not carbs! Ha ha ha.)