Working Mom. Status : Resume

I've just started working last monday after 60 days maternity leave
and i dont have the extra time to update the blog
for 10 minutes, yes.. i could try
Higlights of the week:

• Successfully steal time to pump at work, at least 2 times per day (10 am, 2 pm & if i'm lucky, i could get the 4 pm pumping session)
• Successfully maintain and even i could add the stock in the freezer.
• The calculation goes like this :
• Pumping session minus Daily consumption = extra stock
• Pumping session before work =  6 to 8 oz (alhamdulillah, sometimes max up to 8 oz)
• Pumping session at 10 am = 5 to 6 oz
• Pumping session at 2 pm = 6 oz
• Pumping session at 4 pm = 4 oz
• Total Pumping = 21 to 24 oz
• Average daily consumption by Hanie = 14 to 18 oz
• Extra stock = 7 to 10 oz daily.
• Successfully receive all the works left out by me (no one did continue during the 2 months break!!) and another workload left by those who went for training at Japan
• The hectic working life and also as a mom resume!!

Let's see if i could update the latest picture of Hanie. (now we call her Hanie bam bam due to the increased weight and chubby face she got)

From Lissa's Diary : My Vocabulary (Episode 1)

Now i know how to say (and know the meaning) these few words:


1. Abah - One of my first word ever!
2. Mama – Mama was so pleased when she heard me saying this word. Wonder why…
3. Tok – referring to my grandpa
4. Nek – referring to my grandma
5. Teh – My Mak Teh
6. Tsu – My Maksu
7. Tutu – my milk
8. Jatuh - When things (or me) fell off, i'd say this word, with a very pitchy voice. more like jaaatuhh!!
9. Baby - More like Bibi, calling my sister
10. Nak – When I want..urm.. almost anything
11. Annnak – When I don’t want things that mama wants to give to me
12. Phishh – read : fish. I always ask mama to draw me a phishh
13. Mieoww – or cat
14. Duck – I said it out loud and clear, especially when mama asked me to take bath. I need to get my duck along with me, if not, I’ll scream my lung out or try to escape out of the bathroom.
15. Key – I love playing with keys, especially abah’s keys.
16. Mam – Babies famous word, means eat
17. Tido – when I saw abah or my baby sister slept, I pointed them out to mama
18. Nan-tok – when I feel sleepy..i’ll rest my head down
19. Nose – while showing my nose
20. Book – most of my books have no cover. Thanks to me..hehe
21. Ball
22. Sot – read : kasut, or shoe
23. Kom! – This is the word that really got my mama and abah’s attention all the time. Meaning? Assalamulaikum. Every time I cross any door..doesnt matter entering my house up to getting out of the bathroom, or balcony’s sliding door.


I’ll lay out some more words when I can relate it to adult’s words. Up to now, I always mumbling by myself because I know no one understand me. (aha, because I speak in French, people!..haha! gotcha!)


Tasks given by my mama and successfully done by me (yeay!)


1. Took the tv remote control and gave to mama whenever she felt like so lazy to get up (frequency : most of the time)
2. “Kepak!”, my mama said. I’d do the chicken wing act with my hand. It was almost like an order that I couldn’t resist. Every time my mama said it, I did it spontaneously!
3. “Lissa, nyanyi” I’ll sing any song which I knew nobody knows. Of course, it is my new debut single, not released yet ;)
4. “Kemas” I’ll tidy my toys, but usually that’ll remain nice for a few ..urm.. minutes?..or seconds?
5. “Lissa, tolong mama, amik …..” I’ll help my mama. But that’ll depend on my mood.
6. “Siapa budak …” I’ll raise up my hand to almost everything, either it was budak baik, or budak bijak, or budak notie
7. “Simpan..”
8. Basuh tangan or wash hand
9. Solat – and I’ll perform my prayer, just like mama did – or looks almost the same.
10. Kish – I’ll kiss anyone, but instead of kiss them with my lips, I’ll extend my cheek towards them
11. Salam – Shake hand


I'll update more if i could recall those words and those tasks(yup, my mama gave me a lot!! i was thinking that i'm no different than those students out there..)


xoxo,
Lissa

The Manual Expressing

Hari ini dlm sejarah!!
First time experience expressing milk manually!no,not using a manual pump,but using hand! Gosh, respect bangat wif people who r expert expressing by hand.
Where's my spectra? Sent it for a service..and i hv no idea tht they did provide extra pump if u request and reserve earlier.if i knew,awal2 lg dh booking.
Since i dnt hv my pump wif me,and i'm at my hubby's hometown, i didnt hv any option other than expressing manually..by hand. Hanie isnt the type of a baby who drinks a lot.she usually needs a smaller volume,but at frequent feeding..i guess,less than 2 oz per serving,every 2 hours top. So, having stocking up ebm crazily lately does hv a big impact on me these 2 days. A very very painful engorgement!
Then today,i cant stand it anymore! Took lissa's 8 oz bottle n started expressing it by hand. I dont really know how to dho it. Wut was goin tru my head at the moment was i needed to get this liquid out of my b! And to my surprise, i successfully 'removed' more than 4 oz of milk out ofme. though it was not much,but at least the 'pressure' and pain were gone,for a moment.
but after for about less than 2 hrs, the engorgement and terrible pain came back.. i really need my spectra, people!!
Oh,forgot to mention,wut did i do wif the 4 oz ebm?yup,gave it to lissa who didnt notice at all the difference in taste compared to her formula.belasah je.haha. fyi,i tried to do tandem nursing wif lissa n hanie. But lissa looked at me weirdly.she didnt remember her 13 months of bf previously..(sad)

I'm Free!

Today's my 44th day after giving birth to beautiful hanie.
It is my last day of confinement.
At last i can go out of house without feeling guilty (as previous outing during my 30th day and 37th day of confinement).
Being a mom of two does require a lot of energy from me. The other day, i have to carry Hanie with me while unloading my laundry off the washing machine, while screaming at Lissa not to pour her vitagen off. fuuhh..! i cant imagine how mothers of 5, let alone mothers of 10 manage their kids. A big applause for them. Having to juggle these 2 kiddos makes me feel like growing another me instead. 


What can I conclude from this time's confinement period as compared to my last confinement? It was a little bit loose, not as strict as the first one. why am i saying that? The tradition of the activities does changed in a matter of duration.


1. Bertangas (aka sauna with charcoal)
The first time i did it almost every day for the whole 2 weeks. This time, i did it for 4 times only.


2. Berbengkung (aka wearing a traditional girdle)
Previously, wore it most of the time, even until after the 44th day. Now, not so many.. why? i did most of the houseworks, such as cleaning, washing laundry, move all the time. So, wearing girdle does slow me down, which i hate. eish.. need to make up for it since my tummy not as flat as before..darn!


3. Warm Bath
Yes, still the same as previous. Warm bath up to 40th day.


4. No-ice rules
Yes, still remain, even til now. I can hold myself, though watching other people slurping down the ice tea... shoot!! another 66 days, airin, hold urself.


5. Applying Pilis + Param + Tapel
On and off during the 1st two weeks. i did get skin rashes when i applied it too often..


6. BM only, no FM
I can say this is the most improvement i made. During Lissa, I didnt get to produce breastmilk til the 3rd or 4th day. So during the first 3 days, she consumed formula given by the hospital (sad..) only after that, i managed to give bm exclusively til she was 13 months old (til my bm depleted due to my 2nd pregnancy). As for Hanie, proud of myself, i successfully bf her up to now, and insyaAllah (pray to God) that i could bf her as long as 2 years.. At first, i was hoping to do tandem nursing with Lissa. but she looked like she was never been breastfed when she looked at me funny when i tried to. somehow, if my bm supply does increase, i will give her my ebm. she still has another 4 months to go to her 2nd birthday. so it does valid, right? the thing that i'm worry is that the taste of the milk. will she prefer formula, compared to bm due to the sweet taste of fm?
And talking about stocking up before starting work, i didnt get to do any stocking up during Lissa, but for Hanie..alhamdulillah.. as of today, i collected up to 170 oz. and hopefully, manage to collect more than 300 oz by the end of my maternity leave..insyaAllah..

Happy 20th month old, Lissa!

Kakak. 

That's what you call yourself nowadays. 

How time flies by. I can still remember clearly how small you were when you were born.

How botak you were in your 6th month 

We are lucky to have you.

Happy 20th month old, Kakak!

Be a good girl.

Looking forward to your next 2nd birthday, in 4 months time. 

(Abah,do we have a birthday party this year?)

We love you, munchkin!

Muahhss!!

Pacifier..anyone?

Ada apa dengan pacifier?

If you asked baby Hanie (only if she could answer), she'll tell you,"i dont know."
She loves to hang on to my b whenever she could. she wouldnt sleep until she gets to do it. she'll fall asleep easily once she has it. it is like a habit, or a candu as my mom called it. So what would i do to reduce the kebergantungan hanie towards my b? I gave Hanie a pacifier, in a hope that she'll stop hanging on to me, and transfer the addiction towards the pacifier (eish eish.. such a not-good mother) 
but..
harapan tinggal harapan
there's no way she would take the pacifier as her next best friend. She'll stuck her tongue out and show a very very funny face. 
so much of a pacifier, huh?

Resume role as a working mom

Here are my things-to-do list before i start working on 20th June 2011(oh, mark the date!)

these are my actual list since i left my organizer back at ofce. yes, i admit, i am an organizer-freak.i got lost when i dont hv my organizer with me..hehe. since i delivered earlier than expected due date, i left my ofce unprepared. with some of things, important things such as my organizer & my thumbdrive, and most of the unfinished jobs which i was supposed to hand over to certain people. nasib la sape2 yg kena completekan my report, budget request paper and etc.. hehehehe(evil laugh!)
Ok, back to my list, here it is :

A) Scheduled Event/Things to do:
6~8/6 Hubby's Hometown trip, Batu Pahat
11/6 Wedding of Nik Elda, Dewan Gemilang,UKM Bangi
15/6 Send Hanie to Babysitter (1st time trial before I start working-3 days ahead)

B) Unscheduled Things to do:
1. Practice giving ebm to Hanie (mommies, any idea when to start? 1 week before the real deal?)


2. Send my Spectra 3 for a service (do i need to? the pump sounded really loud as compared to last time usage. my sister said it sounds like a bullfrog!)


3. Check my Ebm stock (aha, currently entering another level of my freezer. the battle between ebm and chicken+meat+fish has begun!)


4. Find my normal Proton's uniform (seriously, ni pun kena letak dlm list?? yup, yup, i cant remember where i put it..ngehe)


5. Check my work bag - my work pass, drawer's key, etc (terasa mcm budak2 nak masuk sekolah after a long school holiday plak)


6. Set an appointment with my potential new boss (hopefully no one will tell my current boss.huhu. thinking about transferring to another dept. so tired wif the no-female-can-suit-in-foundry-environment mindset. Hello! i'm there for more than 5 yrs now, ok, and still survived)


7. Visit a hairdresser (i desperately need a cut! wanna join, anyone?)


8. Last but not least, set a date with my hubby! (yes, just the two of us.. movie + lunch date.. yang, bile ek? i believe you should apply for a leave some time between 15th to 17th, tau. need to do some catching up with movies. fast & furious 5-erk, ada lagi ke ; xmen ; nur kasih -erm..nk tgk ke? i dont mind a marathon!!)


How i wish i dont have to go back to work. Something i found from this website:

But combining work with your family commitments isn’t easy. In a survey by the charity Working Families, 44 per cent of working parents said they’d like to do flexible hours, and a further 30 per cent longed for a shorter working day. It’s no surprise, then, that for many mums, having a baby prompts them to completely rethink their career.

hmm..prompt me to completely rethink my career? yes yes yes, definitely! why do i have to work? is it because i need the chance to exercise my brain, or fully utilized my degree, or because i need to have the adult contact (compared to baby & kids contact only), or just because i need the extra money? only if i could ask for a shorter working period...