Hello November!

The clock ticks very fast and without realizing we enter into November already. I can still remember we (read: the Nz gals minus our hubs) were so busy doing our last minute checks before we finally flew to the land of the middle earth, on this November two years ago. November last year I was so busy with my back-to-back pitching while at the same time attending the umrah course and tried to finish reading the book, so that I am well-prep for the spiritual journey. Alhamdulillah everything turns out well, though I had a very bad stomach cramping on the 1^st day we landed on the Holy land, the very same day we completed our 1^st umrah wajib. Frankly I couldn’t remember the details now, blame it to my laziness, I should’ve documented my journey right after I got back to Malaysia.

But a lot of things happened after that, I went to Terengganu for our GPMM retreat 4 days after I came back, then come January 2017 I moved to a new unit and tried to cope with new things and responsibilities, Idlan went to a boarding school, well so many other things happen that somehow change the routine and environment within our little family. Go visit Idlan every alternate week (I cooked nasi lemak sotong/ayam goreng rempah each time we visit him, sweet tak mama haha), listen to the arguments between the middle and younger brother each time they berebut the handphone, Irfan with his new-found sentences and non-stop questions which at times made me amazed with his milestones, hubby busy with his weekend training, I got a pneumonia for a week+ after we came back from Langkawi that made me went to the clinic twice for nebulizer (while hub was away from home, sedih ok) and just two days ago I got a jab due to severe senggugut pain that I had for the first time in my life (so tragic that I thought I had a fibroid or cyst kind of thing, or maybe the IUD got displaced and moved to a wrong position, and the pain and contraction was so severe mcm sakit nak bersalin that I couldn’t do anything for the whole day except lying down on the bed on a supposed-to-be nice weekend). 

So that’s what happened and is currently happening in 2017, and pejam celik now we’re in November already. Idlan has done with his final exam, alhamdulillah he did it quite well this time, as compared to his 1^st term. ‘Well’ does not means he got a straight As (he got D for Maths ok, turun menjunam from a B that almost made me screamed at the phone when he made the revelations that day haha) but he recorded a major improvement nonetheless, which was a huge relief. At least we knew that he’s happy, he’s on track, he’s coping well, and he loves staying there. His hafazan is also very well on-track, now on the 10^th juzuk. Alhamdulillah Allah terangkan hati dia and eases his journey to become a huffaz. So for what he has achieved thus far, I always tell myself that I must not complaint when he didn’t get top 10 in class, or scored straight As in the final exam. His challenge as ‘budak tahfiz’ is tougher, and I just adore his spirit and perseverance in pursuing this. Moga terus istikhomah anakku :)

Irfan Faris is also doing very well in his speech department. Some may not knew that he once saw a speech therapist, has attended a few therapy session before I slowly (read: purposely) start postponing his session and finally decided to disappear just like that because he has shown major improvements and a mother instinct told me that he doesn’t need one anymore. Allow me to recall few of his sentences that made us laugh, or even mad at him. That tiring moment when we ‘hiked’ uphill towards the famous Sky Bridge in Langkawi and stopped few times to catch some air while complaining penatnyaaa, he uttered ‘kenapalah korang penat ni, Irfan tak penat pon!’ Well he tak penat simply because myself and idlan yg bergilir2 dukung dia dlm hutan tuh, ofcoz dia tak penat mendaki!! And there was another moment when Idlan and the other brothers walked fast ahead of him inside the Oriental Village, obviously he was left behind and suddenly he screamed….”abang-abang tunggulah Irfan, abang-abang janganlah laju sangat!” I was like OMG how on earth he got that kata ganda ‘abang-abang’..bijaknya :p So that’s my Irfan, my miracle boy who once fought for life due to severe laryngomalacia.

my cheekiest lil' monster

Ok don't be fooled with that sad-looking face, he's not tired at all trust me!

the middle and younger brother, they can become best friends and turn into rival in split seconds!

Now u know siapa yg letih, tgk muka si abang yg mencuka tuh :p

Irfan has taught us a lot of things, that hardship won’t last, sadness won’t last, and that nothing lasts in this world. Time shall passed that one day you’ll be thankful to Allah for things or challenges that happened to you. Insya Allah with His will.

So now we have less than two months till we parted with 2017 and welcome 2018. I foresee this whole week the middle and younger brother must be busy sharing and comparing their final exam results, my mom is busy preparing some simple hantaran for my adik’s engagement day next two weeks, come Dec we’ll be going to Legoland and Melaka (again!) to celebrate though the results are not out yet (thanks to their mama yg sgt baik hati janji macam2 before exam :p) and soon after 2017 is over.

Alhamdulillah for everything Ya Allah. I am thankful for all the good things that happened to me and my little family. May tomorrow be better than today, may we always remember you and do not neglect our obligations, and may we always be grateful for all the rezeki and nikmat that you have conferred upon us. Amin ya rabbal alamin.

our obligatory shot - hotel's mirror!

1st pit stop, before reaching to that 'precious' Sky Bridge..haha

Red velvet for his 14-mo birthday

The strawberries are originally intended for a victoria sandwich cake, but majority wins. So red velvet it is then!

Hepi 14 months old Irfan sayang!!! Mama, abah dan abang2 sayangggg sgt kat Irfan.

Anyway we're going to a clinic this morning. It seems that his lip is a lil bit swollen from the previous operation procedure though he doesnt seems to be irritated by it. Harap x serius la huhu

Tongue lip adhesion..and the reversal procedure

Irfan has underwent a tongue lip adhesion procedure when he was at 5 months old (1 June 2015). It is a procedure to open the airway by temporarily sewing the tongue to the bottom lip in infants. In mild to moderate cases, a tongue-lip adhesion is a successful way to keep the tongue from falling back and blocking the airway. In his case, the surgeon decided that he must undergo the procedure since the 1st operation, which is supraglottoplasty that took place on 31 March 2015 due to his laryngomalacia did not manage to resolve his breathing issue. 

Now that his larynx has strengthen and he no longer has stridor and retractions when breathing, it is just about the time to release his tongue lip adhesion. Furthermore he already has 4 teeth on the upper gum and 'some' teeth on the lower part, which means his tongue needs to be detached from the lip so that he doesn't bite his own tongue. 

The release of his tongue lip adhesion took place on last Monday, 21st March 2016. He went to OT in the morning, under full GA. It was his 3rd operation, and this time around i was the one that hold and accompanied him all the way to the OT room. The procedure was a success, despite him being cranky on the first 24 hrs post-op due to no fluid was allowed for several hours, and the fact that he can only take plain water or milk via a NG tube in the evening. He screamed his lungs out upon seeing his bottle, and the feeding process via his NG tube was really challenging. No solid was allowed at least for 48 hours, so that adds on to his crankiness. 

Lucky it was just an overnight stay, he got discharged on the very next evening, that after me having a hard time trying to persuade and convince his surgeon that Irfan is ok and fit to be discharged. Of course his lip and tongue are still a little bit swollen with stitches, and we got home with 2 different types of antibiotics.

Irfan is really a new baby now. To our eyes and his brothers, he looks like a different baby altogether. Whenever he smiles, the 4 white teeth (which is previously hidden by his tongue) at the bottom gum is now visible. He bites hubby a lot on his 1st day at home after discharged, probably 'lepas geram', feeling curious and just figured the fact that 'oh so now i have something that makes chewing and biting more interesting!'. I am happy to see him able to bite his biscuits easily. I feel more encouraged to look up for new recipes and introduces more textures into his solids, without worrying him get chokes and vomits.

Most importantly, I am grateful for Allah has made it easier for him to live his life as days pass by. Any person that see him today would never thought how rough his life has been before. How he had struggled for air just to breath, how miserable his early days  for not being able to sleep even for more than 10 minutes, how he continuously wanted to breastfeed because the calories he were getting burned quickly and used up a lot for breathing only, how he had spent 3 mths in the hospital after his 1st op and got series of infection, how he was put on a CPAP o2 machine to aid in his breathing, how myself and the nurses need to do suctions at least 3x a day to take out the unexplainable lots of secretions from his body, how he was put on an NG tube for feeding all the time and not being able to take anything orally, how he was put under several physiotherapist to massage his whole body due to being bed-ridden for too long, and how miserable my life has been for being away from hubby and my other 3 growing kids, looking pale and down almost all the time since the doctors were unable to give answers and hope on when Irfan is going to recover. Those uncertainties are painful to swallow, almost unimaginable to digest, which sometimes i even hope to temporarily 'pengsan' and shut down my body so that i don't have to remember all the pain.

To all my friends who are being tested, do not give up, gather your strength and always have faith in Him. Everything is coming from Him, and only to Him we return and ask. May Allah eases our ways in striving for barakah in this world and Hereafter.

Thank you all for your endless prayers, for the love and support showered to us, i can never repay your kindness and i always hope Allah will give you something in return for your kindheartedness. Amin.

Love,
-mama Irfan Faris-

Why celery for babies?

Sharing some of the benefits of celery, which i often used in Irfan's everyday meals. In fact i've started using celeries in most of my cooking, be it ayam goreng kicap, ayam masak merah, mihun goreng, and tomyam campur! The aroma that it produces is simply awesome! Celery has longer 'life span' than leek or daun sup, hence decrease the possibilities of wastage :)

All #teenytummy menu contains celery in it. Celery can also become a good finger food for your baby. Kasi je baby pegang and hisap or kunyah, one of the 'healthy' oral exercise for them :)

Last but not least, this is pretty interesting n exciting.

Celery does contain sodium, but it is not the same thing as table salt. The salt in celery is organic, natural and essential for your health.

So tak payah susah2 tambah garam dalam food baby korang ok :)
Seronok kan!

#teenytummy No.5 Irfan's Special - Carrot, celery, pumpkin, potato, chicken and cheddar cheese

#teenytummy No.2 Chicken Vege Casserole - Broccoli, celery, carrot, sweet potato, chicken and onion

Sweet potato, pumpkin and celery

#hestilldoesntwanttoeat

Mommy is so stress. He refused to eat since last tuesday, means it has been a week already! Org tua2 says maybe nk ringankn badan, sbb tu duk sakit seminggu while at the same time sakan prektis bertatih. Tapi kenapa sampai takmo makan dik oiiii...aritu baru je puji bdn dh makin bambam, perut pon dh buncit, now suddenly berubah angin plak.

Tlgla kuat mkn blk sayang. Mama risau tau..risau sgt2. Kat ofis pon duk teringat2. Buntu dh ni semua benda awak reject. Mama sedih ok.

Irfan @ 1yr 2 weeks

He now walks already yeay!
Sakan prektis..siap bole brek2 and pause utk balance kan diri :p

Irfan dh 5 hari sesema dan berkahak..batuk x sgt. Demam on off. Dh 2x amik neb di klinik. Selera mkn mmg out terus, semua favorite food dia x layan. Yang dilayan cuma yogurt je. Pisang pun cuma mkn half je..kalo idak selama ni pisang la makanan favorite dia seketul laju je habis huhu. Tlg cpt sihat ye sayang..nx wk abah takde seminggu..mau pengsan mama kalo awak duk cranky mcm skarang ni. Mlm punye lah susah tido..bgn pagi mama cfm migrain sbb takleh tido lena.

Irfan Faris turns 1!!

My shepet turns 1 today  Hepi birthday Muhammad Irfan Faris. Moga terus membesar dgn sihat, kuat, suka makan, cheeky dan terus menjadi penyeri hidup mama, abah, dan abang2. We love u loads sayang. Kisshhh sket muahhhssss 

#yatipruzz_teenytummy

Never thought that i would venture into this line of business. Honest speak, the idea never occurred to my mind at all.

Anyway, things started when i came back to the office, sharing and exchanging stories about our babies with a dear friend cum office-mate of mine. In 2014, we talked about our pregnancies, as hers and mine were pretty close. 2015, i was away from everyone, but we still contacted each other thru Whatsapp, once in a while, just to have a short catching up about each other n of course, our little ones. So now in 2016, we talked about baby foods, what do we feed our babies and whatnots and how she once ordered frozen solids from an IG but unfortunately sweety R didnt like it. So the next day i brought some solid food that i made for Irfan, for her to offer to R. Well some babies just happen to be a fussy eater, so we mothers need to keep on trying to figure out what are the foods that they love, and what foods to avoid. Some babies love sweet potato, some just hate it. As for Irfan, ohh this little guy always mesmerizes me with his big appetite. He basically eats everything, almost everything that we offer him. Broccoli, sweet potato, chicken, salmon, celery, carrot, apple, pear, potato, onion n lots more u just name it. Even a plain natural yogurt that is so 'masam' pun dia layan!  Alhamdulillah :)

So to cut it short, i had launched #teenytummy, which currently offers 5 different menu in its starter pack for 8+mth babies. Those are basically the extras that i made for Irfan. Those are basically some of the many variations that i had tested on Irfan, and of course he loves it. This so-called 'passion-turned-into-small-biz' is not aiming at big scale. I just hope that it could at least ease some of the working and busy mommies who just wants to give the best to their babies. Of course fresh home-cooked meal and air tangan ibu are always the best, this is the fact that i believe everyone will agree :) I don't know how long i will survive with #teenytummy, because time will always be my constraint, especially on weekends. My weekends are seriously super duper pack with endless chores, some more 2016 is a big year for my eldest guy. May Allah eases our day, and i just hope whatever i do and share will bring some benefits to other humankind.

May tomorrow is better than yesterday. Have a bless Friday peeps!

Irfan Faris..2wks to 1yr old

My shepett. 2 wks to 1yr old. He took 2-3 steps for the past few days, quite too soon to ppl who had known about his past. He only rolled over at 7m+, after 3mths being in a hospital, and undergone 2 surgeries. The doctors kept on telling us, ur son gonna hv some delays in his milestones. He was arranged for OT and PT right after discharged, not to mention frequent f/up with all of his attending doctors; ENT, Paed & Paed Surgeon. Our schedules were tight, really tight i must say (thank God he hates the therapist, so we ended up doing the exercise at home ourselves). I've never thought i would be able to come back to work, looking at his condition that time. Sometimes we think that this is the best for us, but Allah knows best above all. Have faith in Him, and move on. Easier said than done, i know. I feel you. You are not alone. Stay strong mommies. This shall pass, i promise.

Sweetcorn pumpkin delights

Ingredients:
Sweetcorn, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot, celery, onion, butter n fresh milk.

Not sure whether this recipe ever exists in any baby books bec im just using whatever ingredients i hv in hand. Taste-wise is delish! Smells good too, thnx to the butter :) Can even use it as a pizza base, or spread onto bread or pitta wraps for your older todds.

Homemade baby food for Irfan

Today's menu:
White rice porridge with tenggiri, pumpkin n carrot.

I also restocked some frozen pear purees for his snack times. Pureeing fruits or vege sounds easy, but it was soooo time consuming. Imagine yourself peeling the skin of each pear/apple, take out the seeds n cut into cubes before tossing them into pan for cooking. This morning 1 big plastic of pears only yields 5 bottles of 5oz each. Haha i wish i have a helper to just do all the skin peeling n cutting process :p

Have a fruitful n productive weekend peeps!