Current Routine

Today is Day 30. Yeay Umar dah sebulan!

Unfortunately, it also means 30days of no TV. haih. nak buat cne, TV kat tingkat atas, dlm bilik takde TV. not that mak doesn't allow me to go up the stairs but i didn't trust myself holding umar going up the slippery stairs. Yet. Who knows? maybe tomorrow i will.

u guys know how vain i am right? right? righttt... well now everything goes out the window. n sleeping with the aircon blowing direct ke muka doesn't exactly help. At all. Even my sister, when she wrongly bought a cleanser for oil control for me and i said well this won't help at all now i'm quite dry, went 'ooh yaaa... i can see the dry patches...'

Sedih.

My current beauty routine:

hair tied in high bun to stretch whatever feature that is sagging, nothing done on unconcealable panda eyes.

Clinique Mild Cleanser on face.

Lucas Papaw ointment on dry lips (n dry, cracked nips).

DONE.

2x sedih.

I need face (and body!!) overhaul, STAT.

A pic to soothe a panicky fat mom:

aaahhhh... heaven...

if you have the time, do this:

A reminder for myself, for the next round :)

Things to do before getting admitted for delivery:

1. pack baby and mommy's stuff, yes, but don't forget daddy's stuff too. at least a change of clothes, kain pelikat, kopiah, and extra pillow and blanket for him and family members who will be waiting for you. like you, he'll have sleepless nights too in the ward, but minus a bed.

2. wash yourself, especially your hair, thoroughly, you won't know when you'll be wheeled into the labour room, and when you get to wash it again. and please, don't forget to trim your nails (like i did before delivering umar).

3. have the phone and camera ready, unless u have a doting father-in-law (like mine, loves!) who took videos and lots of pictures from the time you're wheeled out of the labour room, pictures of the star of the day in the nursery, till you're both checked out and getting in the car to go home.

4. please have something at hand to while the time away, especially if u don't have tv in the room. i had to wait a day and a half before my bundle came out after being induced. thank goodness for ebooks and smartphones!

5. have hubby to get some food supply, fruits and drink packs at least, for family members who's waiting for you. they'll fend for themselves, yes, but it'll make u feel much better.

Day 15

Today marks 15 days of life of our little darling. kejap je dah 2 minggu... n it has been such a roller coaster ride of adapting to new routines. diaper changing, poo-sniffing, feeding is especially a challenge since the boss is VERY keen on sleeping. but Alhamdulillah umar is not a screamer, cuma sekali-sekala bila mama lambat sangat bagi attention, n bila mandi terlentang. otherwise he is such a good boy, and he always smiles, which made all the night waking hours worth it.

He did have to come out early due to some circumstance, and the labour room had a little drama having him to get out, but Alhamdulillah we managed to get through normal delivery safely. the moment he opened up his eyes and smiled at me (before he managed to let out a loud cry), i know we're gonna be alright.

currently we're stationed at mak's, with doting aunties and uncles. cucu sulung, nak buat cne. jadi la bahan. tengah 'buat kuih' pun ada video.. kesian umar, cam reality tv show dah. takpe, at least we'll have things to remind us of little him when he's all grown up, and also all those potential embarassing shots to show his wifey haha

OUR LITTLE ATROMEN

MUHAMMAD UMAR NASHWAN BIN MOHD NAZMI HARIZ

19 JUNE 2011, 2.36PM

BW:2.5KG

Am I really prepared for this?

( i know: anis, TOO LATE.)

the most lingering question for a new momma, will i be a good mother? i've tried reading a LOT, but i know no theory can prepare me completely until i experience it myself. harap2 dapat jadi mama yg baik, aminnn.. or as hariz said, nnti kalau mama menyinga jadi raksasa gorgon, baby boleh jadi otromen... :D

will i be able to finish preparing for the material stuff before delivering? i do have a lot to pack, see. This is not even about hospital bags. ARGGHHH!

Baby stuff, easy, i'll just lug EVERYTHING into bag #1-beg bb balik pantang di SgPetani + raya di K.Trganu. Senang, sebab semua barang baru kan. Its the parents' stuff that's worrisome.

Thing is, if everything is according to my EDD, there'll be only a few days left to puasa after pantang and then raya. N we'll be heading east straight from north, so i'm not in the liberty to get back to our place before heading east, hence the freaking out having to pack for raya in REJAB.

Baju raya? hariz punya tak beli lagi? sendiri punya?(sendiri punya tu MUAT KE???)
Baju2 spare utk kenduri2 & open house?? yg sedia ada tak tentu muat!!
Songkok, tudung, butang baju melayu, sampin jgn lupa!
anak2 sutun, baju pegi dapur, baju jalan2 tepi pantai, baju tido????

all this, on top of risau sakit bersalin, risau baby hari2 kira movement, risau baby lahir normal/tak, risau mama's hospital bag tak siap lagi(???!!!), risau all the stiff joints i felt if i dont move during my sleep (hidung merah+kembang, kaki bengkak, dan jari macam sosej tu takyah cerita la).. haih..

Ground Beef Shepherd Pie

i really need to jot this somewhere, n pity i didnt take any pic on the dish before being eaten. it always feels good to cook it right the first time, n nobody gets stomachache from it!

what i initially googled was some recipes on mashed potato gravy, but ended up with a simple baked mashed potato with ground beef. bila google lagi dan lagi, baru la dapat nama yang betul:

GROUND BEEF SHEPHERD PIE.

ada la rupa skt mcm gambar sebenar, tapi bukan. googled.

you'll need:

mashed potatoes

7 medium size russet potatoes (roughly almost 1kg) - skinned and quartered
4 cloves garlic
1 cup cream
1 heaping tbsp butter (missed this one!)
sprinkle of mixed italian herbs
salt, as needed

ground beef base

500g beef, minced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
coarse ground black pepper and salt to taste

some grated cheese and breadcrumbs for topping.

to do:

1. preheat oven at 150C. Boil the potatoes together with garlic (or can roast the garlic with some oil instead) and mash together with cream, butter, salt and herb. set aside.

2. Saute chopped onion and garlic until fragrant, then mix in ground beef. Simmer on low fire til they turn brownish. Season with salt and black pepper. Transfer beef into casserole, spread around the base.

3. Top with mashed potatoes, and sprinkle breadcrumbs and grated cheese.

4. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the cheese tips turned brown.

Siap! Baked this for the potluck cum housewarming cum baby shower, and since ada byk budak2, this dish ialah yg paling senang makan, mashers for tots, beef for mums and dads too :D

:D

hoho this is the looooongggggeeeesssst stretch of absence from this page for me heh. lama gila tak tulis, rasa sgt rusty. no excuses , i know, but yeah, like some ppl like to say that annoys the heck out of me , whatever...

n whaddaya know, i've arrived at the last laps y'all! just 8 wks left til we can finally get to see our lil' one. ok ok, so we do get to peep at whatever the baby's doing every month n sometimes in the middle of the night i'm awakened by the baby's movement, smiling in the dark and secretly wishing i can keep feeling it in my tums, but everyone is very hyped up n anxious for the grand arrival. n me, being super-paranoid, am obsessing on every false/true labour signs i came across in articles / pregnancy tracker apps. not to mention the almost daily Braxton Hicks. dr kata anak panjang, maka agak kurang space agaknya, tu yg asyik mengeliat selalu, perut pun asyik kerassss je. the last time we saw the bean he's had his tali pusat near his face, his hands near his face, AND one leg up his face. kesian anak mama. sempit ye sayang? tak lama lagi dah nak kuar pusing la sesuka hati ye.

i just had the baby stuff for hospital bag packed up. baby bag is one cutesy bakul rotan courtesy from my MIL, yeay! comel gila, but i'm thinking of a way to line the basket so kain baju semua tak tersangkut. now just lapik dgn tudung yg tak penah (n tak boleh sbb susah gilaaaa nk bentuk)pakai. mama bag tak siap lagi, kemudian la ye.

checklist for baby bag:

baju: 3 pairs button tshirts n pants, 2 rompers

booties and mitts 1 pair, 3 pairs NB socks

3 receiving blankets, 1 pc muslin swaddle

4pc lampin

1 towel

4 barut baby

1 pk baby wipes

huggies NB diapers 1pk 12 pc

baby sebamed liquid wash

baby cotton buds

yet to be filled with:

baby massage oil, minyak telon, bedak, nail clippers, plastic and reusable bags utk uri dgn baju kotor.


being me, who likes to reaaadd anything and everything, am planning to jump on the CD(clothdiaper) bandwagon, which is a hot topic online nowadays. this, with full support from my mak who's gonna take care of me n baby masa pantang nanti. but still i'll be using dispos during the first few days on my mom's advice, at least until the baby poo is no more tarry like, or meconium as they call it. mainly because the tarry meconium mak kata susah skt nk tanggal unless pakai liner, n we had the huggies dispos for free anyway so we might as well use it first.

will be posting on inputs regarding clothdiapering later, toodles!