It's all over now baby

Phew..! What a relieve! Finally Izzul has recovered from a long stretch of cough and fever. It's a pity to see him having to swallow drops of his medication from 5 bottles of different coloured liquids. Those days are over as he gulped down his last antibiotics medicine this afternoon. We are lucky that he is not afraid to take his medicines.
Now that he is all active again, like his mum has mentioned in earlier entries, he is extra "manja". Maybe he knows that his mother is counting weeks before the arrival of his sister.
We are indeed very excited to receive yet another bundle of joy. Believe it or not, we have yet to settle on a name.
Anyway, looking at Izzul, I think he is quite ready to be a big brother. He looks like he needs a companion. He likes to be in the presence of other kids and it will be quite nice for him to have someone to play with.
Oh and we just recently bought him a potty bowl. Yup, training him up to go on his own. Too early? Well, you gotta start somewhere. Why not earlier. Could be helpful in these bad times. Haha..

When time gets tough, love gets the tough going.

For the past week, Izzul had not been feeling too well. He caught on some pretty bad cough causing him to throw up everytime his throat itches. We could all see his baby fats gone in a matter of days. After 2 visits to the family GP, his cough subsided but his temperature shot up almost immediately. We were so worried and brought him to KKH childrens' emergency. We were lucky we got there fast. His temperature rocketed to 40.1 deg!
After some blood test and x-ray, it showed some infection at his lung area. Although it is not good news to hear that but I guess we felt better knowing the cause.
As if it had not been rough enough for all of us, Izzul developed some kind of rash after taking the medications. So last night, we were back at KKH. They changed his antibiotics and told us to keep a close eye on him for any drug allergy symptoms.
All this happened when I am coming to an end to my practicum. The most critical time. The entire week, I was being observed by the principal, the VP, the HODs, my CTs etc... and on separate occasions. The observation is not the hardest part but the feedback session.
Going through day to day is not getting any easier with my continuous weight gain and feeling tired all day long. I usually put aside 5 minutes just to walk to my classes. Extra 5 minutes if I need to climb staircase. Yes, I am really THAT slow now.
And lately, I am getting a pre-labour stress. Usually when I am resting, before I go to sleep, I have flashbacks of my labour experience. It is funny because I was never really this scared when I was expecting Izzul. This has been affecting my sleep and usually I will wake up more tired than ever.
My, this is one long entry. So much has been going on and despite all this, I am surprised that I am still holding up. It is amazing how the presence of a child can make you a lot stronger that you really are. And I am lucky to be blessed with a helpful, supportive and understanding husband. Thanks, yang.
Oh btw, we still have not come up with any names for her.... Poor her.

My knees are hurting and my thighs are throbbing from all the walking and climbing of stairs. I didn't remember having such a tough time while carrying Izzul. It was such a breeze then and even enjoyable as I was basking in all the attention and extra care and concern from co-workers. Then again, in my previous work, I could stay seated all day and just 'waddle' across the room with my chair. Plus, I felt that I was stronger to carry Izzul.
Now, I realise that at times, I need to use my hand to literally support my tummy. This is especially true when I am carrying my laptop to class or back home. I can actually feel the great pressure the heavy items are putting on my pelvis.
The baby is only 1.7 kg now. I can't imagine how I am going to get through the day at work as I approach 9 months.
Talking about that, I went to check up with Ros the other time. It was really nice of her to accompany down to Gleneagles. She is only the fourth person who had the opportunity to see my unborn baby girl. Ros agreed that she has my nose. Haha..
Ok, all fresh! I think I better get back to work.

My first childcare leave

Today I took my first childcare leave. Izzul was sick over the weekend and continue to throw up last night, leaving us looking like zombies on Monday morning. Neither of us were ready to go back to work, so we took the day off.
I am full 8 months now and Izzul is getting more 'manja' by the minute. I'm not kidding. By the minute. Not in a spoilt way but in the most adorable manner. He would snuggle up beside me suddenly while watching tv or when his milking. Or he would take a break from playing his toys and come up to me and look at me giving me his silliest grin that would make the skin beside his eyes wrinkle so bad.
He still can't talk right now, but I really don't mind. It is really cute to see him babbling gibberish and at the same time looking so ernest hoping that we can understand him.
I remembered complaining a few months back, how tiring it is to keep up with Izzul then. Looking back, he has toned down with his mischievous ways and listens to instruction and heed our naggings even. It could be that he can understand us better now.
Secondly,maybe he knows that we weren't kidding when we say we will hit him if he is naughty. For what it's worth, it is not only him that is feeling scared of being loved less with the new arrival. I am too. I don't want to love Izzul any less. But could I? Can I promise I won't neglect him AT ALL? Yes, indeed I am scared.

Love,
Mummy Mas

Spare the rod and spoil the child

How true is the statement? For myself and hubby, we believe in taking a fair stand. We use both the soft approach and sometimes when there's the need, we play it hard. Both of us were brought up where the rod was always hanging somewhere in the house. But those were our days. Even Prophet Muhammad S.A.W advised us to discipline our kids as per their generation and not ours. Thus, I was not using my childhood as a reference when I decide to hit my child his feet or beat his hand. It definitely is not an indication that I love him any less.
As parents, it is not desirable to have your baby-sitter or your other family members complaining about your child's lack of discipline / attitude/ aggresiveness.... etc. As much as possible, we try to take their remarks positively and at the same time do what we can to ensure it does not happen again.
But the whole process of disciplining can be a tricky one. For a simple reason. Elders cannot stand lack of discipline in a child. Neither can they stand to see a child being beaten for a mistake that they have done. So how?