Day out

Went for Sunday lunch in KLGCC

Find Irys.. she's under the pink cover.. having her meal...while Mommy is waiting for hers!

Loss and gain

Irys is one-month plus.. and from the day she was born, her weight gains gradually up to 2.5kg (+/-) today. Alhamdulillah, berkat kesabaran Mummy membreastfeed siang dan malam, at last she's catching up to be like the normal size baby..

Before labour, I gained about 16kg +/-. Today, another 5 days before my confinement ends, I still have 3 kg to go, to be back on my normal weight. I lost 10 kg a week after labour, 3 kg for the past 3 weeks plus, and another 3 kg by the time my confinement ends. Possible or not, kita tungguuuu!!!

So the doc was right, I put on so much weight due to water retention..

And now I can smile again...

One-month old..

Happy one-month to my princess, Irys
Throughout this one month you have given Mummy and Daddy a lot of love and laughter,
Not to forget the sleepless nights and how you made us worried sick whenever you are unwell..
Looking forward for days, weeks, months and years to come..
Insya Allah Mummy will provide the best for you..
I love you, Iryssa Qaisara...

Confinement : Modern vs Traditional

Today is my 27th day of my confinement. Another 13 days to go and I can't wait for it to be over.
For the past 27 days, I've been following my mom's regime.. Regime is too harsh.. I should say.. my mom's diet.

Breakfast: Cornflakes / Half Boiled egg + toast and cup of Milo O
Lunch: Rice + Vege (tak sure sayur apa) + Ikan Haruan goreng/Bakar. Sometimes when I'm lucky, I'll have ayam masak kicap + plain water
Dinner: Same as above. Usually lunch is better than dinner.

Kalau nak ikutkan, berpantang cara mak lebih teruk. Based on her experience, her menu was only ikan kering and rice only. Can't imagine if I were to eat only that for 40 days.

Hubby wasn't that keen on my diet. He said it's not nutritious enough especially when the Irys is totally breastfed. He wants me to eat nutritiously i.e. eat more fruits, veges. Unfortunately, the food that he wants me to take is totally opposite the traditional diet. Kata hubby, kenapa perlu berpantang? Pantang cara org Melayu, Cina, India, org putih semuanya berlainan. Each have their own can / cant, do /dont during pantang. But the end result will be the same. For example, Irys was delivered through c-section while Hani (my niece) was through the normal delivery. My sis, fatiha berbarut, bertunku for the whole 40days. And me, since my cut still tak baik2 lagi, so I didn't berbarut or bertunku. But my tummy still end up like hers. Tapi kata org tua, kesan berpantang adalah untuk jangka masa panjang. But why don't doctors acknowledge this fact? Most doctors, if you ask them, they will say you can eat anything after delivery. Tapi kata org tua, tak boleh mkn tu, angin, tak boleh mkn ni, angin, mkn tuh sejuk.. so end up makanan yg boleh dimakan hanyalah ikan kering dan nasi putih. Sigh!

Frankly, berpantang nih sbnrnya depends on individual. If you believe it will give you to a certain result, than you proceed. Because, it's like what Hubby said, the end result will be the same.

p/s: So jealous!! My sis finishes her pantang today!

Pengorbanan ibu

Actually cam byk jer nak share about me as a first time mother, about my pre-mature baby, my confinement.. tp tak tau mana nak mula.. Everyday I always tell myself, "today I want to start writing!" but then, when I have to choose either to write or to sleep, I always choose the latter.

Irys ada her own feeding routine, which is every 2-3 hours. normal la kan untuk baby. tp yg tak tahannyer time mlm pun cam gitu. no matter how much I fed her before she went to bed, still akan bgn jugak (nurses in DSH bg hint if nak baby tido lama sikit, mak sure she is full). Sbnrnya itu normal and baguslah untuk baby kan..especially pre-mature macam irys ni. Tp mummy la yg teruk.. itulah pengalaman sbg ibu.. bak kata mak.. bukan senang nak jadi ibu ni. mmg betul pun.. in addition, irys is fully breastfed. tak mix susu langsung, so the night shift is totally on me, alone. tapi takperlah. pengorbanan sbg seorang ibu. Just that I can't imagine if I dah mula masuk keje nanti. how aa...??

At my 34-weeks

On 8th March 2008, I went for a normal check-up with Hubby. I didn't suspect anything, until the doc told me that there was some protein contained in my urine. It might be due to the food that I took, or maybe caused by urine infection. So the doc sent me for another test and the result should be ready in 30-minutes. It was a loong 30 minutes for me. So, we came back to see the doc with the result and the result remained the same. So the doc prescribed me some meds to treat the protein and hopefully it will go off by tuesday. Hubby told me not to worry. It might be due to urine infection and it could be treated.

So I came back on tuesday (11 March 2008) and again I had to take the urine test. Again, there was a level of protein in my urine, with high (above normal) blood pressure. I didnt go with hubby this time as he was working and he thought that I will not be admitted. So, Kak Jaja (My dad's secretary or so we call Kak Long-Long) prepared the admission for me. The doc said that he is admitting me just to treat my protein and also monitor my blood pressure. Hubby has told me that the doc suspected that I might have 'pre-eclampsia'.

"Pre-eclampsia is a medical condition where hypertension arises in pregnancy (pregnancy-induced hypertension) in association with significant amounts of protein in the urine. Pre-eclampsia may develop from 20 weeks gestation (it is considered early onset before 32 weeks, which is associated with increased morbidity) and its progress differs among patients; most cases are diagnosed pre-term. While blood pressure elevation is the most visible sign of the disease, it involves generalized damage to the maternal endothelium and kidneys and liver, with the release of vasopressive factors only secondary to the original damage.Apart from abortion, Caesarian section, or induction of labor, and therefore delivery of the placenta, there is no known cure. It may also occur up to six weeks post-partum. It is the most common of the dangerous pregnancy complications; it may affect both the mother and the fetus. " (wikipedia)

That night I was in the hospital, accompanied by Hubby and the nurses came to check on my bP every 2 hours. I was surprised that my bP rose drastically throughout the night and the nurses had to inform my doc. The next morning again I had to test my urine and the result showed that my protein level was at the maximum level. The doc told me that I have go for c-section immediately so avoid any complications. Just imagine, when I thought that I have another 6 weeks to go, now I have to make a decision on whether I want it in a day or two. There was a mixed feelings and I was in the doc's room alone, without hubby, Kak Jaja or my family. The problem was that my baby that time was just 1.8kg and in her 34 weeks. At this point, I had to choose whether to wait for my baby to grow a bit bigger in my womb, which may result to some damages in my other organs or to proceed with the c-section and deliver my pre-mature baby. Dr Musa, the paediatric who will be handling my case advised me to proceed with the operation as my womb is no longer a safe place for my baby. So, we've decided to proceed with the operation on the next day...

This will be the first c-section in my family and I am the first who was diagnosed with pre-elcampsia....

I introduce you... Iryssa Qaisara

Name: Iryssa Qaisara (Permaisuri Pelangi)

D.O.B: 13th March 2008
Weight: 1.88 kg
P.O.B: Damansara Specialist Hospital

Supposedly, I am in my 36 weeks, this week. Another 4 weeks to go...
Supposedly, I'll have my 36-weeks check-up tomorrow..
Supposedly, I can still go out for shopping and eat whatever food that I want before the labour day..
Supposedly, I am still working, preparing for my presentations, out for meetings..
And supposedly, me and hubby are off to one of the hotels in KL to celebrate our 1 year anniversary this weekend..
Instead, I'm at home, in my confinement days (day 16 today), with my baby, off from work..
I'm not complaining, thank to Allah who gave me one healthy baby and made me one happy mother..

Post election

What a surprised and shocking results! I was up til 4am waiting for the complete results. I am usually not to keen on politics but this time, I feel that it's time that the younger ones voice out their opinions and the results show it all..

It was my first time voting. Went with Hubby after my check-up and had to climb up to Level 2. I was hoping that one of the SPR volunteers would consider my physical condition and let me vote at the ground floor but I guess I didn't get their sympathy. As I was climbing the stairs and almost reaching Level 2, I met one of the female volunteer/policewoman at the stairs and she asked " are you OK? You can just go to Ground level and don't need to climb up." But her male colleague said, "she's almost there!". Which was true, I was almost at level 2. So, there I was, catching up my breath, casting my vote, and doing my job as a Malaysian citizen. It was quite an experience !!

Congratulations to my friend, who won the DUN seat in Seri Setia. It was a great start for you and your party!

Week 33

Week : 33

Weight Gain : 16+/-

It's been a while since my last entry on my pregnancy. A lot to say and to tell, yet very little time to write. Where should I start?

My weight gain is uncontrollable. When I come to think about my weight gain, I can get so stressed out and avoid taking meals, especially dinner. But I can't skip breakfast and lunch as I know I can get so grumpy when I have an empty tummy. So, these past few days, I've been taking milk for pregnant mother and some toast for dinner. Of course Hubby is against it. He wants me to feed if not me, the baby. But then, when I look into the mirror and see my round face, double chin, and big ass.. I can get so stressed out. I know, it's part of the pregnancy, but then, I just can't help it feeling that way. I keep on thinking, will I be able to lose my weight back to normal after the labour? Will I be in this size forever? Sigh!!

I did blood test 2 weeks ago. I kept on getting the signs of thyroid and Dr Guna asked me to go for blood test. So I went. Few days later, I received a msg from DSH. It's negative. Thank god! But I can still feel my heart pumping so loud, as if there is a mic inside it. And my hand and fingers are all still sweaty. Maybe it's the hormone. Tomorrow I'll be having another check up. Now it will be every 2 weeks, until I reach 36 weeks, which will be in 2-3 weeks time. I can't believe that it has been almost 34 weeks of pregnancy and the day almost here.

Anyway, still have a lot to write but need to stop now. Will write more later.. daa...

My Niece

A week ago, on 29th February 2008, my younger sister, Fatiha just delivered her second baby.

I introduce you, Hani Safiyah.. She looks so much like my Dad.

And me, I'm counting my days/weeks to come.. its not far from my due date..