Al Faatihah. No words can describe how I feel at the moment. The sudden lost of our beloved father, who turned from one healthy person, to the one suffering from mild stroke, to suffering from confirmed stroke, to having been discovered to have blood clot in the head, to having shortness of breath and finally left us forever, all in less than a week time! He was in the intensive care unit for barely 2 hours when Allah took him away from us to be with Him. May Abah rest in peace, together with the pious, the solihin.
The only Abah that we have ever had, and we certainly had the best Abah. Insya-Allah our prayers will always accompany you, till the time comes when we are also called to be with Him. Fasubhaanallazi biyadihii malakuutu kulli syai in wailaihi turja'un (Yaasin - the last verse). Indeed, every body will return to Him. It is just a matter of when.
Mar 28, 2011
Feb 21, 2011
Sibling rivalry
Yesterday was Along's school sports day, so today, is holiday for him, but not for Angah. Knowing Angah, I know that he will insist to have a holiday too if he knows it. So, we have to think of a strategy. Hmm ...
When Along continued his sleep after coming back from the Subuh prayer, I asked Abah to lift him and put him in another room so that Angah will not see him when he wakes up. It worked! At least until Angah was about to leave the house when he suddenly stopped and asked "Abang Islah mana?"
"Hmm ... Dia dah pergi dulu kot." The word *kot* was put at the end to avoid myself from the guilty feeling of lying :) Luckily, he did not ask further and just left. One Monday morning scene avoided ;)
When Along continued his sleep after coming back from the Subuh prayer, I asked Abah to lift him and put him in another room so that Angah will not see him when he wakes up. It worked! At least until Angah was about to leave the house when he suddenly stopped and asked "Abang Islah mana?"
"Hmm ... Dia dah pergi dulu kot." The word *kot* was put at the end to avoid myself from the guilty feeling of lying :) Luckily, he did not ask further and just left. One Monday morning scene avoided ;)
Feb 18, 2011
5½ month old with 2 teeth and solid foods
It is the 18th day of February and this is the first entry for February! Err ... That is if it managed to make its way to the blog and does not get stuck in the draft list.
Alhamdullillah, I am still breastfeeding my little princess. But the status now has changed from 'exclusive' to 'fully' breastfeeding because she has started taking solid foods for the past two weeks. She has scored all ticks except one in the readiness table, so I am more than happy to introduce solid foods to her without having to wait until she reaches 6 month old. To me, the 6 month is just a guide. It varies from baby to baby. She has two teeth now. So, I am confident enough that she is ready ;)
During the first week of introduction to solid foods, she consumed 16 oz a day, which meant that supply met demand and I was such a happy & relief mama. However, she was back to her 20 oz a day routine this week *aiyook* and I begin to see empty space in the freezer. Hopefully she retains the 20 oz amount while I figure out how I can meet the demand. Tandem pumping perhaps?
Alhamdullillah, I am still breastfeeding my little princess. But the status now has changed from 'exclusive' to 'fully' breastfeeding because she has started taking solid foods for the past two weeks. She has scored all ticks except one in the readiness table, so I am more than happy to introduce solid foods to her without having to wait until she reaches 6 month old. To me, the 6 month is just a guide. It varies from baby to baby. She has two teeth now. So, I am confident enough that she is ready ;)
I hereby officially declare that the first breastfeeding milestone is accomplished *wink, wink*. Alhamdulillah.
During the first week of introduction to solid foods, she consumed 16 oz a day, which meant that supply met demand and I was such a happy & relief mama. However, she was back to her 20 oz a day routine this week *aiyook* and I begin to see empty space in the freezer. Hopefully she retains the 20 oz amount while I figure out how I can meet the demand. Tandem pumping perhaps?
Jan 31, 2011
The positive side of a credit card
Is there such thing? I think there is. I have been using them (yeah, I have more than one, and all are islamic cards) since the year I started working and still using them now. Alhamdulillah, they have never caused me to become insolvent so far :D The rule of thumb is - never spend more that what you have. Then you are safe.
The main reason why I have a credit card is CONVENIENCE. There is no need to worry for having to carry a large sum of money in the wallet all the time. We can also avoid long queue at ATM machines.
The second reason is centered financial management as (almost) every purchase of the month will be billed in a single statement. Petrol, groceries, Touchngo reload, monthly bills, you name it.
Third is the option to delay payment until after 20 days of the statement date. So you can place the money somewhere and it will generate daily dividend for you while waiting to be used for the credit card payment.
Fourth, for online purchase. This one I LIKE! Since you can get good bargains with online purchase. Much much cheaper than offline purchase.
In fact, you can even take advantage of your credit card ;) Namely, the treatpoints scheme. Usually, for every RM1 spent, you will be given 1 treatpoint. But some credit cards have better offer such as 5 treatpoints for every RM1 spent of petrol at Brand X petrol stations, for example. So, your treatpoints can accumulate more quickly. These treatpoints can be used to redeem many things. One of my favourite items is shopping voucher.
In our case, on average, we can collect around 5000 treatspoints per month. An RM50 shopping voucher at a shopping mall that we usually go for our hari raya shopping costs 9300 treatpoints. In other words, we can redeem the voucher roughly every two months. When the time comes for the next hari raya shopping, we will be having (hopefully) 4 pieces of that RM50 vouchers. Isn't that nice? That is after setting aside 15000 treatpoints to be used for service tax redemption, of course.
So, here are some tips that I would like to share based on my experience in using credit cards so far.
The main reason why I have a credit card is CONVENIENCE. There is no need to worry for having to carry a large sum of money in the wallet all the time. We can also avoid long queue at ATM machines.
The second reason is centered financial management as (almost) every purchase of the month will be billed in a single statement. Petrol, groceries, Touchngo reload, monthly bills, you name it.
Third is the option to delay payment until after 20 days of the statement date. So you can place the money somewhere and it will generate daily dividend for you while waiting to be used for the credit card payment.
Fourth, for online purchase. This one I LIKE! Since you can get good bargains with online purchase. Much much cheaper than offline purchase.
In fact, you can even take advantage of your credit card ;) Namely, the treatpoints scheme. Usually, for every RM1 spent, you will be given 1 treatpoint. But some credit cards have better offer such as 5 treatpoints for every RM1 spent of petrol at Brand X petrol stations, for example. So, your treatpoints can accumulate more quickly. These treatpoints can be used to redeem many things. One of my favourite items is shopping voucher.
In our case, on average, we can collect around 5000 treatspoints per month. An RM50 shopping voucher at a shopping mall that we usually go for our hari raya shopping costs 9300 treatpoints. In other words, we can redeem the voucher roughly every two months. When the time comes for the next hari raya shopping, we will be having (hopefully) 4 pieces of that RM50 vouchers. Isn't that nice? That is after setting aside 15000 treatpoints to be used for service tax redemption, of course.
So, here are some tips that I would like to share based on my experience in using credit cards so far.
- Use supplementary cards for your spouse, rather than having an individual card each, so that the treatpoints can be combined for redemption.
- Use the cards at as many places as possible as long as there is no additional charge for using it. Some merchants may charge you a few percent extra for credit card purchase.
- Be alert of any promotions or campaigns and take advantage of them if they happen to be in line with your planning. But not the other way round, *heh*. For example, you plan to buy a new iron as your old one is broken and there is this triple treatpoints promotion if you buy electrical items at Brand S outlets. Go ahead and buy your iron at the nearest Brand S outlet as long as the price is not excessively higher than it should be.
Have a safe cashless shopping!
Jan 21, 2011
Is my baby ready for solid foods?
S.O.S! 20 oz gone before 3.30 pm! I received an SMS from the babysitter last Monday, informing me that my baby had finished all her 20 oz daily supply of EBM and the time was 3.38 pm. The 20 oz usually lasts up to 6 pm. Red alert!!!
In desperation to look for solution, as I don't think I can pump that much to meet her new demand, I searched for information to see if my baby is ready for solid foods. I found the following checklist.
In desperation to look for solution, as I don't think I can pump that much to meet her new demand, I searched for information to see if my baby is ready for solid foods. I found the following checklist.
Signs of readiness | My observations |
| Loss of tongue-thrust reflex [1, 2] | Well, I tried to let her 'taste' mashed potato last Sunday while I was having it for dinner. Just three very little pinches of the mashed potato. She could accept it very well. She is 4 and a half month old after all. How on earth would you know unless you try, right? An excuse :) So, this one is a tick. |
| Ability to let you know she is full from a "meal" [1] | She used to suck and swallow and suck and swallow until she was extremely full, and a few minutes later, the overloaded milk bursted out of her mouth. That hardly happens now and sometimes I can even see her satisfied smile when she detaches her mouth from the breast. So, this one is a tick. |
| Ability to sit up and hold head up unassisted [1, 2] | Unassisted? Certainly no. Unless when she is in her bumbo seat. She cannot even roll from back to front yet. So, this one is a cross. |
| Interest in your food [1, 2] | Certainly. I have no doubt about this. No need to say more. So, this one is absolutely a tick. |
| Doubling of birth weight [1] | She was born with 3.75 kg birth weight :) She was 5.8 kg during her 3-month jab. She was following the growth chart perfectly. According to the chart, her weight now should be around 6.5 kg. Hmm ... Not yet doubling her birth weight. So, this one is a cross. |
| Frequently waking in the middle of the night when a solid sleeping pattern had been established [1] | She established her sleeping pattern when she was 2-month old. She would sleep as early as 8 pm and waking up for milk at around 4 am. But recently, she wakes up 2 to 3 times throughout the nights and early mornings for milk. So, I think this one is a tick. |
| Baby is ready and willing to chew [2] | I could see her doing something to the mashed potato that I fed her that day and did not swallow it straightaway. So, this one is a tick. Err ... I hope that I am not being bias here :) |
| Baby is developing a "pincer" grasp [2] | She has better control of the things that she grabs and holds lately. But I need to do a few more 'tests' before I can make any conclusion about this. So, lets put a cross first to be on the safe side. |
Luckily, the situation did not prolong. She consumed the usual amount on the next day. So, maybe I can wait for a few more weeks until she scores all ticks ;) Then I will feel much better to begin introducing her to solid foods. So, myself, keep on pumping (rigorously)!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
