Khadijah -- 48 days old

Khadijah is 48 days old today and she seems to have adjusted well to her surroundings. She seems older than she is if you ask me which can be a little scary depending on which way you look at it.

For one when she was born she immediately opened her eyes and had them open for quite awhile too. This is somewhat unusual because generally babies have them close for a few days or hours. Ali didn't open his eyes immediately.

I also think she can see quite a distance already as she gargles baby talk when you look at her. This is also her favourite position. She doesn't really like being held the usual way with her head in the crook of your hand. I want to see the world is her favourite position.

Khadijah can stay on her own for a few minutes as she amuses herself with the surroundings. She saw me walking past her in this pix and started oooing and aahhing away. Her eyes followed me steadily too.
She can smile when you talk to her sometimes. I think she has a dimple on her left cheek but am not too sure yet. Hope can tell soon when she cam smile more.

Babies can be such a joy. I can spend hours just looking at her. My bundle of joy. She looks a little like Ali here and also like her father. The face is still changing, guess we just have to wait and see who she will take after.

This was her eyes following me when I walked past. After this the cries got a little louder probably saying pick me up lah, been down here long enough. The kids love her and even Ali although there are times the streaks of jealousy comes out and he starts lashing out to try to hurt her. Probably just his way of seeking your attention cause he knows he is not supposed to "touch" her. Oh well! Sibling rivalry lasts a long time.

I Am 38

Another year has come and I just celebrated my 38th birthday. My ... time sure does fly by and before I know it I will be telling you about my 39th birthday. Wish I could say I don't feel a day over 16!



It was a relatively quiet birthday. Bob and the two girls are away. Bob took them to Thailand, this time to Sikao/Pak Meng though, not Krabi. It was just Ali, Khadijah, me and two maids. It was also a rather solemn celebration as I am still in confinement and not able to go out. Aishah came over of course and so did my girlfriends. Guess that was the highlight of the birthday for me!

We had a little tea party upstairs (being in confinement I have not ventured going up and down the stairs) The picture is a little dark, taken from my phone. But the objective is to show you the spread of food. Nikki was a little late and she brought rojak buah. I couldn't eat any but everyone claimed it was delicious. Guess I must try it next time lah.


This was my only birthday wish, chocolate mud cake, from my favourite cake lady. It was YUMMY!

Ali was the centre of attraction that day, and Syahnaz too (Shake's daughter). He seemed to have the most fun seeing all the aunties around, the food and the cake of course! I got beautiful presents from my girlfriends but really, their company was present enough.
I suppose as we get older a birthday loses its novelty like when we were young(er). I have always treated a birthday as a special day. It is your day afterall, something special to you and so should be enjoyed to the max. When I was working, I would make it a point to take the day off and do all the things I liked. Be it watch a movie, most of the time go shopping, and eat what your heart desires. When the girls were past toddler stage I would take them along with me and we would do some fun things.

Last year's birthday was rather sad though for my family as we lost my aunty (my mom's sister ) to cancer. She died on my birthday in the early morning. I was in Krabi at the time and didn't make it back for the funeral. It was in JB by the way. Her name was Khadijah, and I named our 4th bundle of joy after her.

This year's birthday was also special as we celebrated it together with Aida's (June 17). Aida will be celebrating her special day in Maldives, the lucky girl! Hope she has fun diving!
All in all, it was a good 38th and the year looks good so far. My birthday wish? Allah will continue to grant us his blessings, give us good health and a long happy life and always keep us in his light. Amin.

Confinement Days

Many friends and women I know hate going through confinement. It is probably the thought of not being able to go out and being well, confined to the house, that gets to you. A bad streak of cabin fever you can say. For those who do not practice confinement, they may retort and say than why do it!


There are many reasons that women who have just given birth, and even those who had miscarriages, go through a confinement period that generally lasts between 40 to 44 days. Mainly practiced in the Malay society but I think some Chinese and Indian ladies practice it too.


After being pregnant for 9 months and delivering a baby, your body has gone through many hormonal and physical changes. For one, you have expanded to sizes beyond your control. That is what you can see. What you can't see are the changes to your internal especially your womb. It is during the confinement period that your body and womb will recover from the "trauma" and get back into shape.


That is why it is very important for you to take extra good care of your health and your body during these 40 odd days. There are certain restrictions to what you can eat, drink and what you can do to your self and body. Many modern women may poo-pooh all these old wives tales but I for one believe in it. My mom always told me it is something that you won't feel now but in your old age, how you took care of yourself after childbrith will take its toll during your old age. Like effects on your knees, womb is weak, back and spine.


Take for example the rule of not having cold drinks and ice cream during confinement. Why? Cause it is cold and not good for your nerves and veins. You need warmth to ensure all the nerves and veins shrink back to size. Cold will cause them to be swollen. Also if you are breastfeeding, it is not good for the baby as it may cause colic. Cold stuff is also not advisable if wanting to lose weight.


Eating cold food, meaning food or vegies that cause wind, is also not advisable. Such as cabbage, pumpkin, some people carrots etc. Always best to stick to green leafs. Even lamb is not good as it is cold. Despite people thinking lamb is heaty but during confinement apparently it is the opposite.


Your confinement is also the time for you and baby to adjust to each other. If there are other family members it is for them to adjust too. The baby is still young and "new" and sometimes bringing them outside too early is not advisable cause of germs and "other disturbances".


As much as I hate it, I listen to these old wives tales cause I am sure they know what they are talking about and some of the tales do make sense. I even confine myself upstairs as they say going up and down the stairs not good for your womb. It is still recovering.


Today is my 30th day of confinement. How do I feel? Gets a bit boring of course especially not being able to go out (shopping!) but there are certain joys to it. Always best to make the best of it lah, look on the bright side. This month has gone by pretty fast too. It also helps I have a great confinement lady who takes good care of me when she comes with the massages, hot stone, scrubs and steam baths!


Once my 44 days are up, world! Here I come ... !

My Babies

I tried my best to get a snap of all the four babies together but it was not easy especially with little Khadijag wriggling around. At the same time you have to make sure that the others are ready with smiles. That is another challenge!

So this is the best that I can do for now. More or less you have them all looking at the camera one way or another lah.

And here Khadijah is getting ever so restless!

Well, guess we have to wait to try again another time.

A Prayer

There is something so magical and awesome about holding your baby. Especially when they are just a few months old. I guess it is always overwhelming to hold your child but when they are babies like this the feeling is different.

For one it is hard to imagine that this baby, this tiny person, was inside you for nine whole months, feeding from you and breathing with you. Such a miracle God has created that the baby can breathe in your womb while swimming in all that water. The miracle of life!

Holding my little Khadijah now, I can't help but have tears in my eyes. Seeing her look at you with those big brown eyes, so helpless and completely at your mercy. Then I think of the pain I went through to bring her into this world. Owwww, words alone can't describe that feeling. Only another mother would understand what it is like to go through labour, the pain mothers have to endure, the agony mothers go through. In fact, even now, when I think about what it was like giving birth to the 2 girls and Ali, I can't help but have tears in my eyes.

Writing this makes me think about all those mothers, wives or not, who abandon their babies and throw them like they were a piece of used tissue. Where is the heart in them! Did they not carry that baby in them for 9 months, did they not go through the same pain as I did to bring that baby into the world. And yet, they can dispose the baby just like that, some with umbilical cord intact and all. I just don't understand what kind of humans these are. Monsters and devils in a human body. Either that or they are really SICK in the head and heart.

The worst thing is, the problem seems to persist and the number of cases seems to be increasing everyday. At least that is the official number we know, how about cases that are not reported or babies that are not found. Like everything else, we need not find the cure for it but instead we need to eliminate the problem entirely. Malaysians always find ways to tackle the problem by finding remedies. In reality we should prevent it from happening entirely. After all, prevention is better than cure. The rising number of abandoned and dead babies goes to show the mindset of the society we live in now. Which makes me very sad. This is the world that we are raising our children in. Isn't this a scary thought.

God bless this women, or girls, who have the heart to dump their babies. Let us give them the benefit of the doubt that they are not in the right state of mind. Crazy loonies perhaps.

God bless me as a mother and please help me raise my children as best I can to become good and sane people in future. God bless my children and always keep our faith in you dear God, always bless us with your love and guidance. Amin.

Khadijah -- 25 days old

What's New

It has been awhile since my last posting. Yup! Have been qite busy with the new baby and adjusting to the changes. What kind of changes you say? Changes in temperament of all the three kids, especially little Ali.

He is very loving with Khadijah no doubt and he even says I love you to her. He hugs her and loves kissing her. But never ever leave her alone cause you never know when he is going to "attack"!

I also have a new project on the way. A very exciting project too. Bob and I will be going to Europe after Raya in September and am so looking forward to it. Why? Cause we are doing an "Ebi and Shu". Huh? What is that? That is where Ebi and Shu take holidays all the time, at least twice a year, just the two of them. Without the kids! So yes, finally Bob and I are going on a holiday together. Just the two of us. Can't wait.

Where we going? We are going to Paris and Italy. It is so exciting cause we are driving from Paris to Rome. We leave back for KL from Rome. I have been busy planning our route and stops as well as looking at other details.

Of course I have been wanting to go to Paris with Bob for the longest time and am really looking forward to it. It has been my dream/wish for it since we got married. And finally 12 years later, InsyaAllah, it will become a reality.

And the drive to Italy will be a real experience too. We have planned several stops along the way including must stops like Bologna (Bob wants to make a beeline for Ducati) and we plan to watch the SBK bike race in Imola), Florence (Prada factory outlet) and Rome (have to get some historical sights in this trip too lah).

Aahhhh .....

Hehehehe ....

Oh yes ... do I hear you ask what about Khadijah? Well, hate it as I must, I will have to leave her. Let's just hope I don't chicken out or cry everynight whilst I am away.

Will update you more. Khadijah is doing great by the way. We are 26 days old today.