Wildan's Diary : His First Flu

Last week was a tiring week. On Sunday, out of nowhere I got food poisoning. Vomiting and diarrhea were inevitable. I was weak and just pray I have the strength to breastfeed and Alhamdulillah...I did. Got MC for Monday but I still don't have the appetite to eat.

On Tuesday, Wildan's babysitter told me that his head was a little bit warmer than usual. We had experienced it last week and he did have a slight high temperature for awhile but then the doctor said he's ok. We didn't go to paeds but just went to a GP. That Tuesday nite, I started noticing that he is having mucus and I sucked it out to make him more comfortable sleeping and breastfeeding. I also put a wet towel to cool down his head. That seems to stop his flu as well. Maybe his head was warm, that's why he has the flu.

I send him to his nursery as usual on Wednesday and told his babysitter to call me if the same thing happen. At 11am I received a call from his nursery and I rushed back. This time, I brought him to see paeds. It seems that everything is okay with Wildan but he is just having flu but no fever. Both hubby and me has sinus, so the doctor said that Wildan may have that too but he is building is immune and antibody system. Baby will catch flu on and off just to strengthen its immune system. Fuh! That's glad to know.

We also took pneumococcal shot and oral rotavirus dose for Wildan because he is staying in nursery 5 days a week with 20 kids. Risk is not something I like. A big NO NO.

On the positive side, Wildan has finally roll over to his stomach that Wednesday morning!! I was so happy. Remember my last post when I said he is not even trying? It happened so fast and sudden that I didn't even catch it on video. Just a picture of him trying to roll over and finally did it. I am relieved to know that his development is where he is supposed to be. :)

Pump, Pump, Pump ke Potong Rumput?

When I was committed to fully breastfeed, as a working mom, I know will have to pump at work. Giler tak pam? Mau meletop! :P And...of course to keep stock for Wildan to feed while he is at nursery.

Wildan is my first child, so I had no experience what so ever in this pumping thing. I heard of Medela and Avent brand. I bought my first pump when I was still pregnant. I went for Medela Harmony Manual Pump. Why? Because it was kind of within my budget RM199 and I thought it wouldn't be that difficult. Better than pumping using my hands directly to pump.

I begin pumping as early as 7 days after I give birth. hmmm...than I found out that, yeah...using a pump is good but manual pump can be tiring. I am surely not gonna use it at work. Then I'll be doing more pumping than my actual work. :p After discussing with my working mum friends, they advice me to buy electrical pump. And I did. I bought Medela Mini Electric. Why? Again, because it is within my budget. I got a pretty good package deal complete with ice pack, cooler bag and extra bottles.

Now, Wildan is already 4 months 2 weeks. I have been pumping for 3 months. Although Medela Mini Electric is good but it is a single pump and...it makes quite a loud sound. I will go to my office surau to pump...2 to 3 times a day. But since it will take about 30-40 minutes to both side, 2 times is normally my number. One day, one of the clerk came in to pray and it was raining. I was sitting at my usual place to pump covered with my shawl. I was also chatting on my blackberry. When the girl came in..she said..."wah...hujan-hujan pon ada orang potong rumput yer?". I looked at her and said, "huh? potong rumput? mesin pam akak lah". She said.."Huh? ahahahah...yer ker?" Enough said....ahahahahah....my pump sounds like a lawn mower. :P

Actually, I have ordered Medela Freestyle. From what my friend told me, I can't wait to receive mine and start using it. It will surely safe a lot of time and I can do other things while pumping. And sure hope it doesn't sounds like a lawn mower. LOL One thing though...I will have to sacrifice 7 months of shopping to buy the pump. Anything for my cikenit bam bam. :D

Wildan's Diary: 4 months 2 weeks

I hope it is not too late to start writing his diary. Today Wildan is 4 months and 2 weeks old. Too lazy to count by days. :P He is doing okay for his age. His development is somewhat at an average level. Not too fast or too slow.

He talks a lot...baby talk that is...and he laughs out loud. He has now established a routine. He will sleep at 8pm and wake up 2-3 times at nite to feed and will be wide awake by 7am. This is great during weekdays but for weekends...hmmm...not so good because when he is wide awake and all energetic, we wants to play. Wildan, mummy need her beauty sleep...please. However, he has yet to roll over and seldom sees him trying to do so. I really hope he'll do it soon.

Up till yesterday since he was about 2 months old, he will breastfeed to sleep but today I have decided that I want to train him to fall asleep on his own. I know it will be a challenge to mute away his cry for attention but I was determine. What do you know? I did it!! He did it. He fall asleep on his own tonite. Mummy has such a good boy. So proud of you!! Lets hope this will continue and become a routine as well.

Boredom!

Everyday Today I am bored and lazy at work. Apahal entah?! I have lots of work to do but just don't feel like doing them. Maybe because I've been away from work for too long. 4 months, that's 1/3 of year I was on leave/MC during my maternity. So, coming back to work was not really something I look forward to.

I know, I'll go crazy if I just stay at home but I have my Wildan with me. And that is a full-time job. Unfortunately, I don't have that privilege. Not working is not an option and hub and me are just middle income earners. And with today's cost of living, one salary is not gonna cut it.

I guess that's life...:P

That's it for now. Am gonna update the blog again soon with maybe a fun story. My life is kind of dull. uhuhuhu...

Wildan's Diary

Every weekday morning I will send my little precious to his nursery with heavy heart. I was lucky I found a good nursery for him. I was so afraid that I wouldn't. well, maybe I'll write about that in another entry.

Every morning, I will send him direct to his crib and put him down, play with him a bit and kiss him goodbye. Well, actually I kissed him plenty. LOL I think every mom can relate. And I will also chat with his babysitter for awhile. She's very friendly and has experience with children development. She suggested that I make a diary for Wildan to write down all his developments. She did that with all her 6 children until they were 6 years old and later show to them. Actually, I did plan to do that. I have lots of his pictures in my Blackberry. Most of his updates are in facebook. Am gonna take a fren's quote "FB Puaka". LOL.

So, from today...I think am gonna put his journey in this blog at least once a month. The same fren with the quote has an open letter she wrote to both of her son in her blog. To me it is a brilliant idea. I even cried to one. Maybe I will write one of those one day but I think I will cry more than I write. Ok, even now am tearing up. :(

Quick update. Yesterday Wildan's temp went up to 37.4C at 2am and I was so worried. He didn't want to swallow paracetamol I gave so I took wet towel and put on his head. By 4am his temperature was stable. I took emergency leave to monitor him. Alhamdulillah...he's stable through out the day. Mummy kancheong but Wildan seems to love all the attention. hmmm.....

Travelling with EBM (Expressed Breast Milk)

Been meaning to update this blog with other entries before this one but didn't seem to find the time to. I don't even remember when was the last time I cooked dinner. Hmmm....

Okay, back to the main subject. During my 3 months maternity leave, my boss called me to tell me that the company will be sending me for a 4 days course in Indonesia. Told me to bring my little one along. Well, no need to tell me that...of course I will have to bring him. My hubby won't be able to handle him alone.

My little precious is 100% breastfed. Alhamdulillah (thank God) that so far the supply is sufficient and I pray it will continue until he is two years old. :) by the time the travel date to Indonesia comes, he's 3.5 months. Since this is the 1st time travelling with infants, I asked around to get more info about it especially about safety. Apparently there is nothing to worry about. We even went to see a doctor before we flew, and the doctor said since Wildan is 100% breast fed, I don't need to worry too much and he seems to be a healthy baby.

Now, that's settled. The only thing I will have to think about is transporting EBM with me. I will be attending a course and hubby will be taking care of Wildan in the hotel room while I'm gone. Of course I will have to bring EBM with me and not to forget my pump. The EBM will only be for the 2nd & 3rd day usage. Thawed EBM can only be used within 48 hours. At that time, I was thankful that I have just redeemed a cooler bag that is just perfect for this from a loyalty card points.

Our flight was at 9.15am so I booked a taxi to come at 6.30am. Don't want to be late. It's about 1 hour drive to the airport. Since this is the 1st time for me to transport EBM, I decided to put the cooler bag inside my luggage to be checked-in. Although I have read that EBM are allowed to be brought up to the cabin but I don't know for sure. I packed 6 bottles EBM at the very last minute at around 6.15am just to ensure that it stays chilled as the icepack will only last about 8-12 hours. Our flight will arrive at 12.15pm (6 hours later) and I think we should be able to be in our room latest by 2pm. And I was right! So, I quickly took out the EBM and transfer them into my hotel room mini bar. However, to my surprise..the EBM and my ice packs are still frozen. I think as they were packed inside my luggage, my clothing and other thing compressed the cold and keep them in stable temperature so they didn't thaw or melt. It was good because that way, I can just put the ice pack in the small freezer space inside the mini bar that they usually put small ice cubes and continue to freeze it.

I still direct feed on arrival day but hubby started his full time baby sitting job on day 2 and 3 and those were my full day course days. I would go back to our to during tea break to pump. Day 4 am back to direct feed. On departure day, I pack the frozen ice pack & chilled EBM into my cooler bag. This time, I did not pack them inside my luggage but hand carry them instead. Yes, all airport allow EBM to be transported on board. However, you may want to ask the airport staff once you arrive to ensure there is no problem during your departure. This way, you can plan on how to pack your EBM for transportation on the way back.

This is how I pack my EBM

This is my suggestion or tips if you are planning to travel with EBM.

1. Take out/pack your frozen EBM at the very last minute before you depart to your destination. This is to make sure your ice pack can last as long as it can.
2. If possible, put your cooler bag inside your luggage so that you can retain the temperature so that your ice pack will stay frozen (this will depends on how long your journey is, mine was about 9 hours till we reach hotel room). This will help to avoid complication for you to refreeze the ice pack especially if you are staying at a hotel.
3. Once arrive, transfer the EBM and ice pack into the mini bar (if hotel) and make sure the mini bar temperature is at high. Most hotel will set it at low. Most minibar will have small freezer poket inside the mini bar. You can place your ice pack there.
4. You can pump new stock while you are travelling but make sure the EBM age is not more than 72 hours once you reach back home to freeze it.
5. Most airport will allow you to bring EBM aboard the cabin but you might want to check with the airport security the day you arrive to prepare for your departure on your way back. This helps you to plan on how you should pack your stuff. Especially for international flight.

I was also relived that Wildan behaved on flight. Just make sure you nurse your baby during take off and landing to ease off the pressure. If he's full, a pacifier would help.

Wildan happy in flight. :D