To the hospital...again!

Baby is still pre term i.e 35 weeks and 2 days today. Doc is not confident that I can hold the baby any longer but I hope baby will remain inside till 40th week.

And little Shaura never fails to make my day when I'm feeling down :)

Water Baby

The one thing that makes me upbeat and chirpy:

The smile of my loved ones.

Senyumlah kerana senyum itu sunnah dan penawar.

Tok Adam ada kebun

Family outings are fun.

It has always been you...

Family matters most.

Beautiful December

It was really windy when we arrived at Changi Boardwalk and Shaura was very cranky as it was her nap time. But the shoot has to go on. We chose a nice spot at the bridge. Filzah and Raudha was very patient with us. At one point, I almost gave up chasing Shaura. She was running to and fro, almost knocking some of the visitors at the park. Boy, I was glad when it was over!

We took lesser pictures this time as compared to last year's maternity shoot at Botanic Gardens - it's not about the quantity but the quality that matters in the end :)

To Filzah and Raudha, thank you for accommodating this rather last minute request and being there for my family photoshoot for the second time. You're simply the best!

Credits

Photographer: Filzah Abdul Rahim

Assisted By: Raudha Ismail
Photos Edited By: Siti Zalinah

Camera: Nikon D60

Lens: 18-105 and 55-200

It's a boy!

The then 8-month-old Shaura looked like a boy, right?
Expecting Baby No. 2 to look like this!
Good that I can recycle all her boyish accessories and clothes.
Hehehe!

Now that's what I call forward thinking.
Yeah right... :p



Joke aside, here's a smile that makes me happy and sad at the same time. Sigh.

Been spending more time at work than at home. Working mothers, do you feel me? :(

Looking forward to the 4 months maternity leave in Feb.

My New Year resolution: To spend quality time with my babies!

Swimming Good Times!

Shaura loves water so it's just natural when we first introduce her to swim, doing simple kicks in her buoy. She loves it! But it's been a long time since we had a swinging swimming good times! The first post on Shaura's swimming lesson was posted here back in Dec 2010. At 16 months, Shaura has definitely outgrown her bumble bee swimsuit. Thank god for the suit which Kakak gave on Shaura's birthday, it fits her albeit tight-fitting. Sigh. It's true, baby does grow very fast!

 Seen above, Fazlan's blowing air into the buoy. Blow, wind, blow!

We lost Shaura's coconut tree buoy (picture above) and had to buy a new one - a red patrol car meant to be recycled for Shaura's baby brother. Hehehe.

The best part about swimming - we get to meet Hani Natasya, the proud owner of Kiki, the cat. Shaura loves Kiki, you can tell from the way she holds him dearly, just like hugging her favourite teddy bear.

This picture says it all. Shaura's supper happy just to be near Kiki.

And of course, Shaura is even happier when she's in the pool.

Hubby and I are thinking of enrolling Shaura for a proper swimming lesson when she turns 2. The difficult part - to coax her out of the pool after every session. She'll definitely kick up a big fuss :/

True encapsulation of "Daddy's Girl"

This Thai commercial really brought tears to my eyes. Actually most Thai commercials are good at making me cry, it's an Art that the Thais are exceptionally gifted at - from the technicalities (directing, cinematography, acting) to the storyline that touch a million hearts.

But this commercial is extra special....

Cos' it reminds me of them.



Trust me, a father's love is as powerful as a mother's love.

Introducing Maths

My husband is better at Maths than I am. I'm not really interested in the subject until I had Shaura - strange, how motherhood has changed me. I started using flashcards when Shaura was still a newborn (even though the great Einstein never believed in using this method)

....and we gradually progressed from finger-counting which has proven to be more meaningful than flashing a bunch of "meaningless" cards to singing nursery rhyme "10 Little Indians" as I realized Shaura learns better through songs. Will try to post updates about her development on fractions next. Till the next entry!

Decoding Shaura Marissa

Shaura: Dog
What she's trying to say: There's a dog barking.

Shaura: Car

What she's trying to say: I want to go out.

Shaura: Kakak Tua

What she's trying to say:  I want to sing (Burung Kakak Tua).

Shaura: Maaaa... (and laughs)

What she's trying to say: I'm imitating the sheep.

Shaura: Duck

What she's trying to say: I want to bathe with Duckie!

Shaura: Star

What she's trying to say:  I want to sing (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star).

Shaura: Huh! (pause) Huh!

What she's trying to say: There's an airplane flying above!

Shaura: Duk.

What she's trying to say: I'm tired of standing. I want to sit.

And if she says this at night,

Shaura: Teddy!!!

What she's trying to say: Bring me my Teddy! I want to hug Teddy!

And that's her favourite Teddy for everyone to see! :)

Senyum

Perasan tak? Apabila kita dewasa, kita semakin jarang tersenyum kecuali jika kita benar-benar berasa gembira? Jika senyum itu satu sedekah, betapa besarnya pahala kanak-kanak yang tak pernah lekang dengan senyuman. Bersyukurlah kita diberi mulut untuk bercakap dan mengukir kebahagiaan melalui senyuman yang ikhlas.

Modelling for an article

  

7 Ogos 2011
EKSTRA!

CILIK CANGGIH

Ada pakar yang berpendapat mendedahkan anak kecil kepada alat-alat berteknologi tinggi boleh membawa kesan sampingan negatif

TERIAKAN anak teman saya yang berusia sekitar setahun semakin kuat.

'Dah lapar budak ni,' ujar ibunya, yang sibuk mengeluarkan makanan untuk anaknya yang sudahpun disiapkan dalam sebuah bekas kecil.

Setelah meletakkan anaknya di atas kerusi bayi, suami teman saya dengan pantas mengeluarkan iPad lalu memainkan kartun Dora The Explorer.

Tangan kiri bapanya memegang iPad untuk anaknya menonton kartun, sementara tangan kanannya pula bermain dengan iPhone.

Pada masa yang sama, teman saya pula sibuk menyuapkan makanan kepada anak perempuannya.

'Wah! Macam raja!' usik saya.

'Memang! Kalau tak ada kartun, anak aku tak nak makan. Nasib baik sekarang ada iPad. Senang!' jelas teman saya.

Memang ini bukan kali pertama saya melihat ibu bapa menggunakan alat canggih seperti iPad, iPhone, komputer riba ataupun alat pemain DVD mudah alih untuk melayan bayi atau anak kecil mereka.

Bukan sahaja lebih banyak ibu bapa muda kini memiliki alat-alat tersebut, malah ia juga cara mudah untuk 'mendiamkan' anak.

Seorang anak yang sedang melalak sekuat hati besar kemungkinan akan senyap apabila menonton gelagat watak-watak lucu dan berwarna-warni pada skrin iPad.

Tetapi, dalam perbualan saya dengan dengan guru sekolah gim anak saya, beliau memesan agar tidak mendedahkan anak saya kepada peralatan elektronik tersebut.

Ini kerana, radiasi daripada alat-alat itu boleh meninggalkan kesan kepada kanak-kanak, apatah lagi bayi.

'Daya visual seorang bayi masih belum matang dan pendengarannya masih belum bersedia untuk menerima keamatan skrin peralatan-peralatan elektronik ini,' jelas guru sekolah gim anak saya itu, Encik Lawrence Lee, yang juga pengarah program bayi Glenn Doman.

Saya agak terperanjat mendengar penjelasan itu.

Saya sendiri suka menunjukkan video YouTube, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, kepada bayi saya sebelum dia tidur.

Lantas, saya buat kajian di Internet dan menemui sebuah artikel di laman web electromagnetichealth.org
Menurut Dr. Thomas Rau, Pengarah Perubatan di Klinik Paracelsus, sebuah klinik termahsyur di Switzerland, mendedahkan kanak-kanak kepada radiasi boleh merosakkan fungsi otak dan secara tidak langsung menghambat proses pembelajarannya.
Dr Rau turut yakin bahawa radiasi daripada gelombang elektromagnetik merupakan antara punca penyakit barah.
Eii! Seramnya dengar!

Walaupun maklum dengan pandangan sesetengah pakar ini, teman saya tetap mendedahkan anaknya kepada alat-alat elektronik.

Baginya, masih belum ada kajian saintifik yang mengaitkan radiasi daripada alat seperti iPhone sebagai penyebab barah dalam kalangan kanak-kanak.

Lantaran itulah, beliau sanggup berbelanja ratusan dolar untuk membeli aplikasi seperti kad tayang (flash cards), buku bacaan elektronik dan lagu-lagu kanak-kanak selain menayangkan DVD lagu Melayu kanak-kanak kepada puterinya itu.

'Bagus menggunakan kaedah ini kerana animasi dan bunyi-bunyiannya dapat menarik perhatian anak aku ni.

'Sekarang pun dia (anaknya) dah boleh sebut beberapa perkataan. Ini semua hasil daripada pendedahan kepada alat elektronik ni,' ujar teman saya.

Untuk mengukuhkan hujahnya, beliau menambah sekiranya kandungan yang ditonton itu bersifat pendidikan, tidak salah untuk ditonton kanak-kanak.

'Zaman dah canggih! Kita mestilah manfaatkan teknologi-teknologi ini,' kata beliau penuh yakin.

Namun, apabila membaca beberapa buku berkaitan pembangunan minda kanak-kanak, saya dapati pendedahan berlebihan kepada televisyen pada usia muda banyak kesan buruknya.

Alat-alat dengan keupayaan audio-visual seperti iPad dan iPhone juga mungkin mempunyai kesan yang sama.

Menurut sebuah buku yang saya baca, pendedahan berlebihan itu boleh menyebabkan kanak-kanak mengalami masalah attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) atau masalah perwatakan berkaitan dengan tingkah laku yang terlalu aktif.

Lantaran itulah, saya tidak lagi menunjukkan klip video Twinkle Twinkle Little Star kepada anak saya.

Sebaliknya saya sendiri akan menyanyikan kepadanya, lengkap dengan aksi tangan. Ternyata, reaksinya berbeza berbanding apabila saya menggunakan iPhone. Beliau lebih mudah menguntum senyuman dan mengikut gerak geri tangan saya berbanding dengan reaksinya yang sekadar terdiam sahaja apabila menonton iPhone.

Tetapi bagi ibu di luar sana, tepuk dada tanyalah selera ya...

Bola (Bulat)

Ajak

Shaura's new word of the day besides:

• Ayah
• Abu (Ibu) and...
• Ada tak?

I'm proud of you, baby!

Shaura's visit to the library

Shaura & her 2 teeth

Don't you ever give up, Shaura Marissa!

Cos you're special in every way.

Love,

Mummy

Let's welcome another baby...

Shaistah Omera

Yes, that her name.

And here's Shaura Marissa. Making friends.

What's new, right? :)

How I remember my 16th of April

I've lived to witness a friend's passing, another friend's birthday and a girlfriend's joy - a birth and the beginning of a new journey - all on the same day.

Well hello, Amirah Jannah.

Welcome to the world!

And to Shaura Marissa,
Don't you dare leave without saying goodbye!

Mini cup for lil' cupcake

Shaura Marissa & her first trophy