Ramadhan

We are already into the second week of Ramadhan. I hope it is still not too late to wish everyone Selamat Menyambut Ramadhan. So far, I have not missed a day Alhamdulillah. Breastfeeding wise, I still breastfeed the little Simba. Thirsty of course. But, its a no biggie for me. Tamar? Makan juga. But not in large amount. Kadang-kadang je pun infact. So, yeah. But, I  do give him the bottle although occasionally. Although, I was a bit worried about fasting at first. Worried my milk wouldn't be enough for the little Simba. But, as the days of Ramadhan passed, I think I am doing quite alright. Alhamdulillah. This is my experience though.

So far, there's always food at home, syukur to Allah. Either we go buy it from the Bazaar Ramadhan, or my mom cooks (most of the time). These are the must haves during Iftar. A box of Deglet Nour Tamar (for the father especially), Murtabak daging, Samosa, cekodok pisang, keropok lekor (for hubby), 1 kuih manis, usually onde-onde or kaswi/lapis/seri muka. The main course is Rice and lauk-pauk. The husband prefers variety in his Iftar menu. He'll come home with 'mee goreng, ayam golek, Ikan bakar sambal, nasi kerabu, nasi beriyani, burgers, laksa', things like that. Yesterday he requested for nasi goreng. Thank you Allah. There's always more than enough for the family to eat during Iftar. What do u usually have for Iftar?

Our favourite Bazaar Ramadhan is of course, in Section 6 KD. Takdela best sangat. Tak banyak sangat variety pon. But, plainly because we are so used to going to that place to get food for Iftar. Every year without fail. heh.

This coming Thursday, we'll head back to Terengganu to be with my in-laws. In Terengganu, the food takde la banyak sangat beza. The choice of food, plus minus la. Cuma, orang Ganu suka makan ikan bakar sambal. Usually, Talapia bakar. The fish comes in all sizes, and the price varies based on the size of the fish. And, it's just yummy. Another dish they have in abundance at almost all bazaar ramadhan is, ayam golek. Banyak! fuuuhh.. Can't wait. Of course we will always allocate our time to be with both families, am I right? That reminds me, we have to go find Baju Melayu and Kain Pelikat for Aboh. Abang! Jangan lupa!

Its 15 to 8 in the morning. I am sleepy already. I'd better go before the little simba starts to roar, although in a cute way! Salam

Dugaan

I had to work from 5pm-10pm yesterday. Thank you for the superbly-done timetable. Anyways, this is infact my very first time away from Hamza at that time of day. Usually, we'll only be separated from 8am to 5pm. I always make du'a to Allah so that Hamza will always be okay. Kita sentiasa du'a but, Allah knows best and Allah yang menentukan. Hamza refused his bottle. Yet again. He cried for an hour. He refused to be held by his father. Poor husband. Still, all husband said to me was, Hamza is a bit unsettled, but he's alright dear. Mungkin dia xnak merisaukan diri ini.

Husband came to pick me up at 10pm. Hamza was with him, asleep. I quickly took Hamza and fed him. I can see from his face that things were not alright. I asked him, and he told me, He only took close to 2onz. of milk. That's too little for Hamza. Husband said, he only wanted to cuddled. And he'll scream at the sight of his milk bottle.

I didn't know what to do. Owh, sungguh mencabar dugaan yang Allah berikan. Maybe for some, this is a none-issue. Of course breastfeeding is easy. I do not blame breastfeeding. I am sure it is Hamza. He's so not used to not-having me around him, especially during his bedtime. So i guess, that made it worse. I have never done the 10pm-8am shift since i gave birth. Tonight, is my first night away from Hamza. I am worried and worried and so worried and sad on top of that.

There'll be another nightshift in December. Owh Allah, Have mercy on us all. I hope Hamza will take the bottle without any fuss and will fall asleep easily. Baby, mama will come back as soon as i can ya? please behave. Last night, I refused to breastfeed him. I gave him the EBM instead. He gulped it down in just minutes. I guess he was hungry. But, i had to cuddle him for almost an hour to make him sleep. :( We can only work as hard and try as hard as we can. But, it is all Allah Willing. I am indeed hoping for a miracle.

I am not complaining. I am grateful i can breastfeed my son exclusively. and my milk supply has not run dy just yet. Tapi, dalam kesenangan, I am sure ada cabaran and dugaan that we have to endure. Be it me or husband. But, I am not going to give up just yet. I am already considering to... well, maybe its a bit too soon to say it here.

okay. i guess, i shall go now. Quality time with Hamza.

Hamza and Bottle

At the moment, i am struggling to get him back to being bottle-fed during the day coz i'll have to attend a conference in Sabah next week and his father will have to babysit him while i'm away. On top of that, my mother will come back with my sister and her babies in two weeks time. So, like it or not, i still have to train Hamza again. But, see it'll be a bit difficult because by now, he can identify that i am his mother and the boobies are on me. So, everytime i try to feed him by bottle, he will stare at the boobies. And after a few gulps of milk, he'll play the teat with his tongue. Sometimes or most of the time he'll spit the milk out if i force the teat into his mouth. Haiyoo.. Susah..:(

I read alot of tips on the net. But well, i guess it will take sometime for Hamza to adjust to the bottle again. But believe it or not. It only took him 1 week plus to forget how to feed from the bottle. He hates the teat anyway. I felt so guilty because husband tries really hard to make him want the bottle again. But, he'll cry his lungs out and you know, at the end of the session, he'll be frustrated and totally frustrated. and the fact that sometimes Hamza cries in his arms makes it more depressing and frustrating.

Some tips to be shared when introducing (in my case re-introducing) bottle to breastfed babies are:

1. If you are a working mother, you should begin bottle feeding at least two weeks before you start working.
2. Bottle is best if given by carer or father instead of the mother.
3. Makesure the rubber teat is warm and not cold when introducing teat to baby. run the teat under warm water. Hamza prefers warm milk though.
4. Feed baby in a different position (not the position you breastfeed your baby)
5. Try to walk about when feeding your baby via bottle to distract his attention. 
6. Do not force-feed your baby. (i do that sometimes, hikhik. didn't work though)
7. Give the bottle to baby when he is not very hungry. If he's very hungry, he'll refuse the bottle completely.

Hurmm, these are basically just tips/ guidelines to follow. But if it does not work (like in my case), will just have to find other ways to do it. Maybe we'll do spoon feeding/cup feeding. But if it is so difficult to cup feed him/ spoon feed him, i think i'll have to consider to start him on solid a bit early. But, from the parenting books that i've read, they said solid can be introduced to a baby as early as 4 months and latest by 6 months. Hamza will be four months this coming 21st November. So, maybe we'll start him on solid by mid December. Those are just plans. If Allah willing he can tolerate the bottle, we will continue with milk exclusively until he is 6 months. So far, husband and i have not throw in the towel just yet. We'll keep on trying until we are very-very sure that he really does not want/need to be fed via bottle.

Sekian sahaja celoteh untuk kali ini ye.