Playtime with the baby

When I first started working from home, I only did sideline writing and designing jobs. I was still pregnant then with a full-time day job. It was difficult but, with the help of my husband, I was able to do it. Nights were stretched and I did work even during the weekends.

And then, I had to stop working online when Laika was born. By December 2012, I resigned from my job with the plans of working again on January. I was very eager to work that I eventually forgot my reason for adopting this lifestyle--the work-at-home mommy lifestyle.

One day, I saw Laika smiling more when she is with her Ate Sharon (the nanny). Being a happy baby that she is, of course, she still adores me but when I saw how she looks at her Ate, I had to reassess. This is what I have been avoiding and which led me to resign from my work before. Mommy is jealous and she has to do something about it.  

Right then, I had to stop getting projects from people. Quality over quantity this time. I wanted to still be able to play with my daughter in the morning and be there for the husband when he needs me.

I devised a way for this to be possible. Sharon was reassigned to do household chores in the morning while mommy and Laika play in the room. By afternoon, when it is Laika's nap time, I get to face my jobs and be more productive. I also do work when Laika sleeps at night.

Now, Laika has a playschool time with mommy as the teacher.

What do you do to make working at home possible?

Mrs. Talia Basman goes back to work

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Wow! This blog has been ignored for far too long, huh? That's what happens when you're a new mother who has just gotten back to work. Imagine me in the office, calling up Laika's Ate Sharon from time to time with my other hand pumping for my lovely daughter's milk. Phew!

Good thing that is now a thing of the past. Uh-what now? YES! I am now a full time stay-at-home mother. I have just resigned from my work. I felt juggling my being a new mother and having to work to be too much. This is just me. To all the working moms there, I salute you.

Anyway, back to the few weeks I was at work. How was I able to manage? Three things: Sharon, breast pump, play cot.

Yup, in addition to our wooden crib, we had to buy a pack-and-play so that Sharon can still watch over Laika while staying in the living room.

I also got by by pumping in the office. But then, I noticed my milk supply dipped as I am too lazy to pump frequently. Bad, bad practice. I had to use my Spectra double electric pump to ensure that I get the most milk.

Good thing I am not working anymore. I still need to pump every now and then when we have to go out, but at least I am readily available to Laika now.

Breastfeeding in the Qur'an

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Today marks the day when I can finally pray again. That's almost two months of not doing the salah.

As I was about to pray Asr, Laika cried for milk. I have already performed my wudhu (ablution) so I turned to the internet to find out if breastfeeding will nullify it. The answer is no, wudhu is not nullified by breastfeeding. Not even changing of diapers (as long as you wash your hands that has touched urine).

Anyway, I was surprised to find out that breastfeeding has also been mentioned in the Qur'an. You know the saying "breast milk is best for babies up to two years and beyond"? It is clearly stated in the Holy Book.

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In the second surah (Suratul Baqarah), 233rd ayat of the Qur'an, it was recommended that a child be breastfed up to two years. You may wean as long as both the parents are consenting. You may also have another person breastfeed your child.

Contrary to popular belief, Islam regards women highly. In fact, I have never felt more special as when I got pregnant. Do you know that if you died while giving birth, it's as if you died as a martyr? Just now, I found out it's the same thing as when you are breastfeeding your child.

 I do not claim to be so knowledgeable about my religion. In fact, I am far from knowing a lot but I am trying. If you know something about this topic, I'll be glad to listen to you.

Allah knows best.

On breastfeeding and bottlefeeding

Even before we had a baby, heck, even before we got pregnant, my husband talked me into breastfeeding exclusively. He is a strong believer in providing nourishment that has been given naturally to a mother. Being the good wife that I am (hahaha), I knew from the very start that I will be breastfeeding my soon-to-be-born child. But don't get me wrong. I don't judge people who decide to formula feed their babies. I believe in doing whatever works for you and the baby. I do judge, on the other hand, people who judge formula-feeding mothers. Does that even make sense?

Anyway, my baby is now 3 weeks old and I am proud to say that she has only taken in milk that came from me. That is, except for her first 2 days in the world when the nurses in St. Lukes Global City, where she was confined for the first 3 days of her life in the NICU (more on that on other blog posts), took it upon themselves to feed her glucose water. Upon finding out about this, my husband told the nurses to stop this and we started visiting her every 3 hours round the clock since then to stimulate my breasts to produce milk.

I regret not having read much about breastfeeding as much as I did about pregnancy. Husband told me I should stop regretting and instead look at this as an opportunity for me to share what I know now. I've listed some of them below:

• I didn't know I should have started having baby latch to me as early as possible to stimulate milk production. 
• I didn't know it is okay to not have milk the first few days as baby has food reserves from when she was in my belly (milk came in 3 days after baby was born). 
• I should have known having a supportive partner is essential in this (of which I am very lucky to have). 
• I should have known and read about engorgement and how much it hurts like hell!
• I should have purchased a breast pump before I gave birth. This has been a very worthy investment for us.

After reading much about breast pumps when I was pregnant, we decided on getting an Ameda Purely Yours Breast Pump because of the great reviews.  But because it is not readily available in malls here and to have one, I would have to purchase it online, we weren't able to buy this one.

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Because of engorgement and my postpartum condition, my husband had to buy one immediately after we were discharged from the hospital. He went to Market! Market! and I asked him to buy an Avent Isis iQ Uno Breast Pump. It also had great reviews but it is more expensive and it only has one pump. The good thing is it can also be used manually and can be battery-operated. At present, it is my best friend in the world!

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Just yesterday, for the first time ever, we gave in and bottled-fed Laika using my expressed milk. We believe breast milk is still good in whatever form it comes in. We use Philips Avent and Tommee Tippee bottles. Before then, we tried giving expressed milk through medicine dropper. We originally didn't want to introduce bottles yet to avoid nipple confusion but we had to as Laika and I had latching issues. It also hurts too much!

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Of the two, I prefer Tommee Tippee more as it is slow-flow. We also had zero problems on nipple confusion as I still feed her directly from time to time and she has more efficient latch as compared to before. I noticed that she also feeds more now that we introduced bottles to her. My problem now is my milk supply can't keep up. I ordered lactation cookies from Mommy Treats and it will be delivered tomorrow. I will be making a review once it gets here.

39 weeks + 3 day checkup

Yesterday was my 39w+3d checkup. My OB, Dr. Marie Victoria Cruz-Javier did an internal exam and told us that Laika is still floating. She still hasn't engaged. I guess baby still wants to be inside mommy.

She also told us if labor won't progress, she will induce us on our due date. That's on Sept 10. But since Saud is on-hospital duty that day, we will be doing it on Sept 11. I really hope we won't have to be induced. I read it hurts. I hope things will progress naturally. Anyway, I've been taking Evening Primrose Oil since Saturday. I hope that helps.

Laika, when will you be born?

Dear Laika,

Hello, anak!

You're now 39 weeks and 3 days in my belly. I know, we are putting too much pressure on you to be born already. Especially because your Tita Tasnim (my sister) will be going to Indonesia tomorrow to study. She wants to see you before she leaves. Don't worry, Mommy learned not to pressure you anymore. Anyway, Tita Tasnim can still see your photos through Facebook. And she promised to visit us this December. I know, we tried every natural thing to induce the labor, but as they say, it is only effective when baby is ready. Daddy and Mommy has been having date nights lately just so we can walk together. Walking is an effective labor-inducer, according to many people. But as you can see, it is not that effective. What's happening is Mommy has been shopping left and right. That's because we walk inside malls. These pregnancy hormones are making me too sweaty so I need Trinoma's airconditioning. That's our mall of choice lately.

Because of our almost-daily malling habit, we bought a new comforter for our bed and a 300-thread count bed sheet. It's the first time for us to try that kind of sheet and we installed it last night. Anak, we had a good night's sleep! So that's how a very expensive sheet feels like! I was kidding Daddy last night, "Is there a crib set sheet that is 300-thread count?" Hahaha...Don't worry, you will still get to sleep in our bed. Anyway, we bought the bed sheet because we got so intimidated by your crib. Our bed looks so-so compared to your crib.

Yesterday, some carpenters went to our house to fix the ceiling in our bedroom. It got damaged because of the leak so Daddy had it fixed. He told me, maybe that's why you refuse to be born. Maybe you hate the ceiling? Of course, he is kidding. But I am so glad you don't have to deal with the damaged ceiling anymore.

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Last weekend, we bought a birthing ball. We have also read that it is a good labor-inducer. I am bouncing on it every time I watch TV. But still, you won't drop. That's okay, anak. If you want to cook for a longer time, that's okay with us. If I get frustrated sometimes, just know that we are all excited to meet you. We will be welcoming you with open arms anytime you feel ready.

Love,
Mommy

PS. We have a doctor's appointment later. Let's see our progress, okay?