Aisyah's EBM Drinking Habit

Baru2 ni aku cam risau sbb Aisyah minum x sampai pon 2 botol of 5 oz milk a day. Setahu aku, dari blog kwn2 working BF moms yg lain, kalo babies diorg umur 6 bulan ke atas tu, stok mcm x bercukupan. Tercungap2 nak pump kat tempat kerja, nak kejarkan stok. Aku ni plak dah terbalik. Aisyah buat x kisah ngan EBM dia, minum pon main2.

Bila jumpa health visitor, dia kata normal sbb Aisyah dah start mkn solid food, aku cam x berapa percaya. Ye ke? Sbb aku jumpa tu general health visitor je kan, bkn lactationist, so aku agak ragu2.

Sblm aku dtg UK ni, ingatkan ramai mothers kat sini yg aware psl BF, sbb paediatrician Aisyah masa kat An-Nur ckp susu formula susah nak dpt kat sini (which is true), and kerjaan British bg 6 month paid maternity leave utk menggalakkan BFing, so I was under the impression that BF awareness is better here. Tp oops, aku silap, sini teenage pregnancy rate agak tinggi, so bebudak 'townies' yg quite possibly high school dropouts ni cant be bothered psl BFing, so aku tgk ramai gak yg bg botol aje. Tu yg aku bertambah x yakin ngan Health Visitor tu (but she was very, very nice, and dia sgt2 impressed aku berusaha giler2 buat stok EBM , and juga impressed dgn usaha Hubs yg bersungguh2 menjadi house husband yg caring dan bg EBM pd Aisyah semasa ketiadaan aku).

But I kept feeling worried about my daughter's EBM drinking habits. The only thing yg membuatkan aku rasa Ok sket ialah Aisyah suka menyusu mlm, byk plak tu. Tp letih sket la, sbb bila kitaorg dah tido pon kdg2 dia minta (mata dia pejam, tp mulut bunyi minta susu). Lebih 5 kali la satu mlm tu terbgn2 (aku la, dia mata pejam lg). Nasib bg susu dlm posisi baring, so x perlu aku fully awake jg utk BFing.

Aku takut perbuatan BFing sambil tido ni adalah salah. Ye la, mcm org malas aje. Pas tu aku takut bottle rot, sbb menyusu dlm tido. And aku x sure sama ada Aisyah ni nyusu betul ke, comfort nursing aje (buat pacifier dodoikan dia tido).

Tp selepas baca artikel ini on reverse cycling (http://www.workandpump.com/reversecycling.htm), Alhamdulillah, rupa2nya mmg ada 'smart' babies yg allign kan waktu mkn dia dgn waktu ibu dia ada kat umah (meaning less during the day, more at night). So, betul approach aku tu. In fact, sgt2 disarankan bg BF sambil tido, sbb benefit kedua2 baby n ibu (ibu dpt rehat lebih sbb yah bgn gi ke cot baby jauh2, n babies pon dpt coordinate kan waktu tido sama mcm ibu). Plus, babies mcm ni akan tido siang, so senang la keja Hubs. And when it's more on the breasts, I can pump less at work! A Godsend!

And psl bottle rot tu, baru la aku tahu bahawa kerisauan aku x berasas, sbb breastmilk does not rot the babies teeth. Hanya formula milk and juice will, and kalo baby dah start mkn solid, that is most likely the culprit. Phew!

So Alhamdulillah skali lg, and x perlu la aku risau2 tentang eating pattern Aisyah ni. Asal sihat n selamat, syukur....

Last night was like any other nights,..

.. it was a Sunday, and it meant it was laundry day in our house. I settled in front of the telly with a huge pile of clean laundry and started folding the clothes that had just came out of the dryer, whilst Hubs was busy 'fixing' the holes underneath the window sill (and thank God he fixed it well, bcoz it's freaking freezing in Plymouth since the last week, and we've been having a gush of cold air seeping into this hole into our living room every now and then. Apparently, winter has just arrived and is adamant to stay!)

As the parents were busy, Aisyah was left to her own devices. She was on her playmat fiddling around with her soft toys, and every now and then I would turn my head towards her and smile, or got up to pick her up from the door/electric cables/door mat/celah sofe, etc.

She moves quite swiftly now, but she had not yet mastered the skill of crawling, and had always been doing the 'golek-golek' (tumbling) act to get from one place to another. Sometimes she would move sideways (mcm ketam buat tu), and that would usually get her from point A to B. Most of the time though, when she tried to crawl, she'll just get backwards and even further than wherever she intended to go, as most babies start out, much to her frustration.

Anyway, when both parents were busy, she did the commando crawl for the first time ever! And she managed to move FORWARD!

I screamed at Hubs so that he could witness it but Aisyah didn't want to do it anymore. I had to do a commando crawl for Hubs bcoz he did not know what it looked it. After using several of Aisyah's favourite toys as baits, she finally repeated her feat and she did it so gracefully it looked like she ahd done it forever. She even wouldn't stop commando crawling afterwards.

Ah, babies... one blink and you'll miss it..

Another Quick One

Aci x kalo kalo tulis sket walau pon aku kat lab n byk giler keja x wat?

Ok, another quick post. Maap, x de gambar. aku x transfer lg dari kamera. Sbb utama, x dan. Sbb kedua, aku sebanarnya berkobar2 nak tulis blog, tp dari umah la, the goody-two-shoes that i am, x nak wat kat opis, tp BT yg patut psg line tepon umah kitorg hari tu screw up, pas tu terpaksa re-schedule tarikh baru lps xmas, yakni 7 januari utk psg line tepon. eeeiiii... geram x terkata, sbb aku nak telepon msia, aku nak psg internet n blog from home, n aku nak tepon 0845-numbers kat sini utk settle kan byk bills lain, api, air, gas, etc.. (otherwise kena pakai HP mahal giler babeng utk wat call, dah la kalo kena customer service manjaaaaang je put on hold, sakit hati aku!). ok cukup luahan rasa wat pg ni.

aku kat lab ni, tp x de manusia pon. sbb nya, term dah habis. org semua balik kg bercuti daaaa... plymouth ni mcm serdang gamak nya. uni town. kalo cuti aje, ghost town. mmg terasa berbeza la time cuti ngan x. bebudak msia pon byk yg pegi berjalan2. ada yg balik msia, ada yg tour europe, ada yg pulun keja overtime. aku? aku lead life mcm biasa, pg gi lab, ptg main ngan aisyah sampai mlm, mlm tgk tv sampai tgh mlm, tgh mlm bergurau lg ngan aisyah sampai pkl 1 pg (budak tu tgh mengalami fasa x mo tido awal, apa bole buat). aku x ke mana2 sbb x de duit, byk keja, x de tempat nak tuju, plus korg la, x dtg visit aku kat sini. kalo x bole aku bwk jenjln hehehehe... sedap salahkan org hehe..

tp kalo korg nak dtg pon, tggu summer kot baru worth ur money. sbb skang mcm sejuk ajer, tp x snow pon. so kalo nak harap nak main main snow, bkn di plymouth tempatnya. temperature dlm 8C hari ni. kira suam2 la tu. kalo 1C ke, baru sejuk betul.

psl PhD plak, dah mula susah. biasa la tu... aku nyer prof suka approach yg mana aku x yah la baca2 sakan LR tu, wat dulu programming part or test dulu available tools. bagus juga gitu, sbb kalo baca teori aje pon aku blur gak, better get my hands dirty from the strat kan. masalahnya, aku ni sgt la x terror bab2 technical ni, tp terpaksa la beb. nak wat cam ne. nak x nak...

kdg risau aku, takut x leh bawak ke.. ntah la, aku pon baru lg, so i should give myself time. jgn cpt panic! tp tu la, manusia2 kat sini mcm fokus sgt wat keja. dah la aku sebilik ngan 2 org postdoc, tertekan aku. lebih membuatkan tensen tu sbb aku budak baru, budak lain dah masuk third year pon, so in comaprison nmpk byk sgt la ketinggalan aku nih. prof M baru nak amik budak baru nak recruit semula starting april depan, so i guess aku la antara batch baru itew... huhu...

masing2 kat sini pakai headphone je manjang, ngadap PC, so x de la nyembang2 sgt dlm lab.. mkn pon dlm lab, x kuar gi cafe ke. not to say diorg sombong, time giler tu ada je menyanyi2 n main gitar (computer music nyer lab kan?) lagu xmas ari tu diorg, tp jarang sgt la. aku rasa work attitude dia la, sgt serius.

plus aku rasa mcm insan kerdil pon ye jgk. mmg pendek pon. lg satu, aku sorg2 nyer female dlm group nih. lain2 semua laki. tua plak tu (kalo muda x pe, acah je). ada yg viva baru ni lg tua dari bapak aku, anak dah 3, besar2. amik ko. huhu... yg post doc 2 org lagi tu masing2 nak masuk 40-an. waaa... intimidating sungguh!

tp sorg postdoc tu baru aje berfamili, n expecting twins (i found sama hari ngan i found out farid n dila nak dpt twins, and i thought, man, it's an epidemic! hehe), so dia byk tanya aku mcm2 bab parenting, dari segi stroller la, breastfeeding la (sbb dia nmpk aku relax je pump dlm bilik tu), work schedule la etc. malu aku, sbb post doc pon berguru ngan aku - tp bab parenting je la. lain2 dia power kot :P but enough to illustrate that org sini wlaau dah ada phd, still humble. bole nak blaja dari aku ni, dah la muda (ahem), novice giler plak u...

ok enough la rambling. overall, life is good, work is progresaing, albeit slower than i would have liked (sbb x de previous experience), moeny is a litlle tight, but sufficient (hoepfully!), and most of all, Hubs and Aisyah are all happy and healthy. It's more than what I can wish for right now, though it wouldnt hurt if i could sort out that kink in the installation bit before new year. pray for us people.

happy holidays!

Kenapa Aku Menyepi

Just a quick one here, aku kat lab nih, segan weh...

Still alive, still doing fine, still in UK...

Cuma lambat sket update bcoz last week ari Selasa tu pindah rumah. Sblm tu kan demam2 so x larat nak menulis blog dah. Bila dah pindah tu, sibuk ya amat la mengemas, memunggah dan menyusun plak di rumah baru. Pulak ada byk brg keperluan seharian yg kena beli, mcm kettle la, pinggan mangkuk, vacuum cleaner, bla bla, so kitaorg yg x berkereta ni memborong la sket demi sket, sehari ke sehari asyik ke supermarket aje kerjanya.

Tp x pe la, sbb ni pon musim winter, x leh nak duk lelama pon kat supermarket tu, sbb jarak waktu semayang sgt dekat, kang terlepas plak. Ye la, kdg mcm sgt kelam kabut sbb pkl 12 tgh zuhur, skali pkl 2 lebih sket dah asar, pkl 4.30 dah maghrib, pergh.... mmg x kan shopping lelama la... akan ku gunakan waktu itu sepenuhnya pada musim summer nnt bila maghrib pon pkl 9 mlm nnt hua hua hua...

Cuma yg best ialah 2 minggu lps gi umah Che Fadh kat Bristol. Best, best dan best! Nnt la aku letak gmbr jejak kasih kitaorg skali ngan entry dia lps ni. Malu ah nk upload gmbr kat sini, kang reseracher lain nmpk, kantoi! Best kan reunion nih. Aku sempat singgah blog sazly psl k dlyn melawat diorg.

Speaking of umah, hmm... mmg berzaman lg nak dpt internet. sian sgt kat Hubs... kitaorg dah masukkan SKY utk TV, dah apply utk BT line, tp lmbt giler lg diorg nak dtg install... bosan betul la... tu yg akan menambahkan lg kelembapan blog ini being updated. i guess it's good in a way, x de distraction kat umah, tp ndak jg tahu perkembangan semasa.

tp siap la, kalo dah psg, akan aku berborak lama2 ngan family aku kat msia (kitaorg amik plan yg akan bole dpt free international calls). And che fadh, siap sedia, kita akan call awak ptg2 or weekends, hehe... (sbb dpt unlimited calls evening and weekend - weeee!).

ok la, that's for now. nnt aku upload gmbr rumahku syurgaku soon. take care guys, and stay warm!

Home. Sick

Sebelum demam di depan klinik. Balik klinik baru demam. How ironic is that?

I am staying at home because I am sick. Demam. Huhu... the home which currently isn't my own home yet, coz kami still menumpang. Asalnya tghari Selasa tu jln kaki gi Mutley (tempat bakal umah baru kami terletak) utk daftar klinik (GP). Mutley ni jauh kalo nak jln kaki dari St. Judes (tempat host kami duduk), tp kunun excited x tentu psl nak exercise plus bole jimat duit punyer pasal, kitaorg pon menapak la. Pergi balik ada kot 8 km, which wouldn't have been so bad if the roads weren't hilly. Or if the weather wasn't so crappy (hujan renyai2, with winds).

Masa nak pegi tu Hubs dah suruh pakai topi yg ala2 snow cap tu, but I politely decline, coz, x macho la guek mcm nih. Pas tu Hubs suggested guna payung, which I shrugged off, psl kat UK ni serupa la x payah pakai payung, sbb bila hujan angin mestu kuat. Kalo nak rasa mcm mana rasanya Clarke Kent masa first2 dapat power utk terbang, bole la cuba bukak payung golf tu kat sini, hik hik. Plus I was like, 'Oh dulu masa kat UK x payah pakai pon topi ke, gloves ke, payung ke'. Yes, I was that angkuh. Hehe. I was forgetting one little fact, I have since grown older. A lot older, and as they say, bile dah beranak ni bodily function x kan sama lg mcm zaman anak dara dulu. Guess I have to surrender to that.

Anyway, kitaorg gi dafatr kat Lisson Grove Medical Centre. Bosan la sistem dia. Mmg kalo demam akan konfem akan kebah dulu sbb kena wat appointment in advance baru bole dtg. Kalo sakit sket2, beli aje la over the counter nyer meds. Kalo teruk sgt, gi je hospital. Dah la tutup klinik pukul 5 ptg. Sungguh rilek la doctor kat UK nih. Btw, at this point I was still as healthy as a horse.

Slps pendaftaran selesai, sekali lg kami balik jln kaki meredah hujan dan angin. Aisyah Alhamdulillah x affected, coz kami guna the plastic rainshield on her and so she was snug, warm n dry for the entire trip. Mmg angin atau air hujan pon x masuk, so best la dia.

Bgn pg esoknya, aku patut gi Uni ada kursus LaTeX, terpaksa emel n cancel, sbb x larat. Mula2 ok lg, lps tu jd sejuk yg amat2, walau pon dah masuk dlm duvet. Aku dah lupa apa rasa demam sebenarnya sbb dari masa pregnant sampai ke la ni belum pernah demam lg (Alhamdulillah for that). Test temperature dah 37.4C. Oh, dah feverish sket la. Mkn la Ibuprofen 2 biji sbb tahu sgt x de maknaya nak gi klinik skang.

Aku x tau la kenapa, tp lambat betul ubat2 kat UK ni berfungsi. Kalo kat Msia, mkn panadol 2 biji, setengah jam dah kebah. Kat sini, sejam lebih baru la nak terasa panas2 sket bdn tu. Mungkin sbb sejuk sgt kot. Ntah la..

Pulak hilang selera mkn, pening kepala, x sedap perut la, mcm2 lg. Aisyah plak asyik ajak main. Suka la dia, Ibu dia x gi school. Kesian budak tu x paham apa2. Masa ni mmg terasa nak balik Msia. At least kalo sakit, mesti balik umah my Mom hehe. Nanti sana mesti ramai aje yg sanggup jaga Aisyah kalo aku sakit, x de la dia keboringan.

Lagi masa demam tu la terbayangkan sup dgn bubur nasi. Allahu Akbar... Bole je buat, tp masa sakit x rasa larat nak bgn, plus masih duk umah org kan. Hati kecil ku berkata, kalo kat Msia, konfem dah bole order dah sup ni, sekejap je depa pi beli kat kedai makan dpn sana. Huhu..

Pas tu bila demam kat sini, sejuk sampai ke tulang. Apasal aku x teringat pon kesejukan masa duk Luton dulu? At least kat Msia kalo demam, rasa panas ke, leh duduk dlm aircon keh keh. Mcm2 la terpikir dlm kepala. Serius kalo x mengenangkan ticket flight tu mahal, and the long hours dlm plane, rasa nak bungkus kain balik jap :P

Plak tu dah sedia maklum kalo nak ke klinik pon x guna, sbb by appointment only. Kat Msia kan best, anytime je walk-in. Nak2 private clinic, lg best. Masa tu mahal pon x brp kesah, kan? Asal ada org treat kita. Sometimes demam ni psychology aje, dpt kuar umah naik keta lom sampai klinik dah baik. Usually gitu la aku. Tp kalo skang nak suruh keluar gi klinik (kalo ada la yg open pon), sorry la beb, x sanggup nak meredah sejuk ni. I'll pass.

And the weather makes the recovery real slow la aku rasa. Now aku paham apasal Che Fadh kita kata dia agak depressed and moody di kala winter. Sgt bosan! Herannya, apsal aku x ingat kebosanan itu? Atau adakah dulu2 x bosan? Sbb aku remaja lg ke masa tu? Sbb ada mak ayah n adik beradik bersama ke? Skang pon aku still di kelilingi keluarga terchenta, cuma kecik aje la saiz dia in comparison. Ke sbb aku dah jd ibu makanya tanggungjawab itu adalah lebih menekankan perasaan? X macam dulu kala masa aku tgh as carefree as a bird? And the fact that dulu aku wat GCSE n A-Levels je, skang PhD maaaa.... Or adakah otak aku menggunakan selective memory sahaja? Yakni mengingati apa yg best sahaja, dan lupa x ingat dah psl sejuk ke, psl the loneliness ke, psl life struggle ke (even as a teenager pon mesti ada struggles gak kat school kan? And as a Muslim student).

Tambah rasa self-pity apabila gi blog member2 di Southern Hemisphere, jd jeles coz diorg tgh summer... Untung nya org gi Australia & New Zealand, dtg2 tgh cuaca happening, panas tp breezy. Will summer ever comes in the UK? Rasa nak kait ngan galah matahari tu suh duk tegak atas UK ni hik hik...

Hubs plak siap tanya naper x pilih tempat lain utk buat PhD, like UPM? hehe... (still promote GSO tuh, x tahan, giler loyal mamat ni dgn tempat keja dia dulu). The only thing I can think of as an answer is that we were destined to be here, by a greater power, Who definitely knows that it is best for us, susah ke, senang ke, coz masa nak dtg tu, quota seriously dah abes licin, and I've also placed in offers from 2 different Universities in New Zealand pon, but lastly the big guns picked sini gak. Also, if I can only selectively remember the 'good' things from UK, and forget all the bad ones, then UK mustn't be that bad of a place, no? I'm prepared to give it some time and wait a little more. Patience is virtue :)

Oh, and yes, I am a little homesick now. Must be bcoz I was feeling unwell. You know how you feel unwell and suddenly remember your Mom and your family? Well, they came in my dream. Ah, pandai rindu jugak aku nih... Sob Sob.... Btw, Umai kata, the feeling of homesickness will get worst, coz awal2 x feel sgt, sbb sibuk n penat. Give it 3 weeks to a month, mula la x senang duduk. And she added, aku still tumpang umah dia, therefore not so bad coz ada teman berbicara dlm Bahasa Melayu and all that, but once aku dah move umah sendiri, mmg kesunyian itu akan menyelinap masuk. Tapi tabah lah, katanya, kerana kalo dpt stay for a year, bole la mengharungi the final two, Insya Allah . Doa kan utk kami di sini yeh :)

Gambar2 ada sket updated kat Picasa kalo nak tgk.

Jalan2 ke The Barbican As Tourists

Semalam jenjalan gi dekat kawasan tepi pantai di Plymouth ni, ala2 tourist gitu. Kawasan pantai tu namanya The Barbican. Rupe2 nya dekat sgt area kitaorg ni dgn pantai, mmg stone throw away je. 15 minit jln kaki dah bole nmpk dah air laut, serius! Tp yg aku tgk, pantai nye berbatu batan, standard la pantai UK, x mcm pantai kita, berpasir halus. Plymouth ni katanya in the summer, mmg jd watersport nyer paradise.

Diorg surf, canoeing, swimming, yachting etc. Tp aku gi smlm cuma tgk pemandangan je la, brrr... giler sejuk n berangin. Tp ada jg org tua yg giler gi mandi pakai speedo aje.. hmm....

Overall mmg best. Gambar2 aku letak kat picasa aku. Sila la jengok ke sana ye.

Oyis' Guide To Studying, A La Postgrad Mommy...

First off, find a good room to study. Reading must be done at a conducive place to maximize comprehension...

Put on a light sweatshirt to ward off the November chills ...

A hot chocolate by the side is always good. Keeps you hydrated, alert and warm. Now I'm so in my studying heaven. Let the reading begins...

Not a half hour has passed, and the little darling has woken up and decided that she wants a piece of the action and wants to be a PhD student just like Mommy. Or maybe she's trying to help out by reading half of Mommy's share of reading, so that Mommy'll have more time to play with her later. Bless her little thoughful soul. Either way, study = END.



As Aisyah has been exhibiting a deep interest in computers and books lately, I believe that she'll probably master the art of Internet surfing by her first birthday, start simple programming by age 2, and finish reading the entire line of books in Music and Artificial Intelligence at age 3. I, on the other hand, can only wish that my PhD is completed by that time. At this rate, it looks unlikely. I'll just have to leave the studying at the lab :P

Pics from Plymouth...

... from now on can be viewed at http://picasaweb.google.com/oyis08.

This does not mean that this blog has been shut down, far from it! It is merely a place where I chuck all the unedited (but censored - it's Aurat-free, don't worry) pics. Sometimes I have pics that I want to share, but not enough time /not interesting enough to blog about it. Intended for family members in Malaysia who misses Aisyah dearly (and her parents too), so some pics may seem really Aisyah-centred and very the Saiful Azlin clan oriented. Non-judgemental friends and blog readers are also welcomed to view :)

Cheers!

What Happened To My Frozen EBM?

Ada reader tanya psl my frozen EBM stock dari Msia tempohari. Selamat sampai ke?

Well, Alhamdulillah, selamat... daripada 51 botol yg dibawa, 8 didapati cair. Yg lain2 selamat dan beku. Ini adalah satu rahmat yg besar, sbb flight aje dah 14 jam, and trip to Plymouth took 4 hours, and duration dari airport hingga naik coach plak dekat 4 jam. All in all, 20 jam lebih la, and masih beku. Mungkin juga sbb fly ke negara sejuk kan, kalo kat iklim khatulistiwa x dpt la lama cam tu kot.

Plus maybe bcoz I used a total of 18 frozen ice packs and 2 sheets of Techni Ice. In my opinion, 18 is just about enough for 50 bottles, and any less is risky. The ice packs from Moms Little One's store are definitely longer lasting than the Techni Ice one. Tp ada 2 ice packs yg pecah juga, walaupon it says leak proof, maybe due to rough handling kt airport kot. Interestingly, EBM yg cair itu adalah botol yg duduk tgh2, yg duduk tepi2 x cair, suggesting that ice packs tu adalah sgt berguna, dan could be juga yg tepi keras lebih lama sbb weather sejuk kat luar so kena kat barisan luar dulu hehe...

Oh btw, aku bawak beg EBM tu as hand luggage, so it was inside the plane with us, and x termasuk la quota 20 kg sorg utk luggage tu. X tau la plak brape kilo berat beg tu. But if ada reader lain yg ada quota berat lg, better letak as luggage, bkn hand carry ye, sbb nya cuaca kt luar (dlm perut kapal terbang) is almost always a minus, e.g. -9C ke bawah.

Sampai2 kat Plymouth, terus masukkan dalam freezer yg kitaorg dah minta tolong si Zali ni belikan. Jd, x sempat la EBM tu cair. EBM tu plak telah ditest selamat Alhamdulillah, as Aisyah dah slmt minum pon 2 botol di bwh jagaan Ayah dia. Ok la tu, cuma Ibu dia je agak malas nak wat stock baru skang ni hehe... :P

Gmbr kat atas tu buktinya... Freezer ni agak dalam la, bagus sbb byk la ruang kosong tu. Dlm gmbr ni ada la dlm 40 botol.

Aisyah's New Skills

Sejak dtg sini, ada beberapa skills baru yg Aisyah dah dpt yg akan aku share dlm bentuk video. Antaranya...

Aisyah dah pandai berckp2 secara baby babble. (Maaf kualiti video teruk sbb ini adalah gmbr awal pg lps Subuh n lampu di UK ni hanyalah lampu kuning malap itu, mana ada lampu kalimantang u...)

Aisyah dah pandai duduk supported, and dah pandai claim hak milik sendiri. Tgk betapa dia x nak kongsi plastik yg dia pegang tu. (Plastik tu kecik aje n kitaorg mmg mengawasi dia masa dia pegang plastik tu in case of suffocation, jgn bimbang).

Aisyah dah pandai duduk ala2 piggy back ride atas tengkuk bapak dia. Again, still supported. Btw, itu diorg kat lab aku. Ye, kami berbondong2 pergi lab dgn selamba tidak mempedulikan org lain nak kata apa... muka tembok sungguh... hua hua hua...

Lastly, Aisyah dah pandai nyanyi. Also ini dirakam pd waktu bgn pg, and pada masa ni tahi adalah bertempek di bontotnya belum ditukar nappy, tp dia bole nyanyi dgn bahagia nyer.. (mula2 dia berckp2, lps saat ke 47 dia nyanyi, bear with me).

1st SV Meet

Hari Isnin lps, saat yg aku debar2 kan itu tiba jua. Masa utk bersemuka ngan SV buat pertama kalinya. Aku turun umah pon dah lambat, sbb lps Subuh tu aku pulun baca balik tesis aku in case dia soal what did I do (dah lupa, sbb dah setahun tinggal research MSc), n also siap2 kan Aisyah before I left the house. This was the first time aku tinggalkan Aisyah atas jagaan Hubs semata-mata. Alhamdulillah, dia nak plak duduk ngan Ayah dia n dia x tolak plak EBM tu setelah sekian lamanya dia BF direct drpd aku. Sometimes, as parents ni kita risaukan anak2 kita lebih, and being too overprotective, which results in taxing anxiety on our part, walhal bebudak x de masalah apa pon. Apa2 pon, aku bersyukur sbb Aisyah ni baik budaknya n x byk ragam, so bole la aku ke school ngan aman...

Okay, to start with, aku dah sesat beribu2 lemon kalinya sbb University of Plymouth ni slap bang in the middle of the town centre. Pegi selangkah, bangunan Uni, pergi depan sket, dah kedai2 biasa. Siap intertwined ngan pub2 lg kat skeliling. 'I'm more used to the traditional campus university, rather than a town university like this one...' adalah modal aku sambil tersenyum simpul tiap2 kali aku terpaksa tanya reception bila aku sesat (reception library, reception faculty of technology, etc...). Lebih parah lg, dlm map guna nama building, i.e. Babbage Building, Nancy Astor Building, Smeaton Building, tp dekat bangunan tu plak dia tulis Faculty of Arts & Design, Faculty of Technology, Faculty of Science... e.g. aku di Faculty of Technology, dan bangunannya adalah bernama Smeaton Building, camne tuh? X tally sungguh..

When I did find my SV, things got better. Prof M mmg byk idea best. He reminded me a lot of my prev SV, Dr S from UPM. Mmg sebijik la dari work ethics. Kalo ikutkan member aku si Wak tu, dia kata x yah la aku risau, SV sini x expect kita keja at least sampai lg sebulan. SV dia siap suh gi jln tgk2 London dulu, bawa family mkn angin, settle down, biar lapang otak, baru start research. Prof M? Oh, sungguh tidak. Dia expect aku kat opis 9 - 5 tau, and dia dah catit hari2 yg aku akan dtg opis (sbb skang aku bergilir hari ngan Zali utk ke Uni sbb nak keep a Muhrim home la kan, until I move to my own plac, coz x sesuai la plak my Hubs and his wife serumah aje nnt kalo we all berdua ke Uni). Also I need to inform dia in case aku sick or taking a day off sbb hal2 mustahak, in case he comes in for a 'chat' and discover I'm not here... Wow.. I'm not complaining, in fact, okay la tu, sbb aku mmg dah terbiasa di'train' gitu masa MSc, but man, the resemblance is uncanny...

Anyway, berbalik pd citer aku td. Lps 1/2 jam, Prof M tunjuk kat aku lab aku. Ok la size dia, bawah Prof M ni ada dlm 5-6 org PhD students, tp 2,3 org mmg dah write up la, so dah x byk dtg ke lab. In fact, ada yg dah balik nogori dah, abiskan write up kat sana. Aku agak Prof M ni suka amik student international kot, ada dari China, dari Spain, dari Brazil, and now with added Malaysian.

Yg kureng syoknya ialah lab mates aku semua laki. Aduh... intimidating sungguh. Aku terpikir dua perkara je, ok ke kalo aku keja sampai lewat mlm, and no2, camne la aku nak pump EBM nih? Still x de idea... Lg satu yg kurg best ialah meja aku mmg dikelilingi oleh 2 org post doc lainnya. Segan aku. Aku ni dah la the only female, Muslim dan berhijab, muka kanak2 ribena lak tu despite my age (ahem, org Asia mmg awet muda you...), pendek plak tu, di mata diorg la, kalo kt Msia ok je kot. Nak setup printer hari tu aku terjengket2 sbb printer tu dia letak agak tinggi, aku x nmpk apa yg tertulis kat skrin dia (Ready ke, Offline ke, Tray 1 Empty ke...).. Nasib badan sungguh...

Pastu org sini mmg serius la kat meja, tertekan aku. X tau la kalo dia chat ke. Mmg ada yg berbual2, tp aku rasa dia bkn berbual kosong la. Org depan meja aku ni mmg kuat berbual ngan aku, tp 60% perbualan kitaorg tu psl commercial value of having an automated music mood detection system. Mmg hot spot aku gak, dulu pernah terpikir nak wta benda ni utk PhD. Tp dah lama tinggal literarature ni, x ingat plak nama software free yg aku pernah download tu, and also paper2 sapa ntah yg aku pernah baca utk diquotekan. Fair to say that conversation tu wasn't so hot on my part la, pathetic sungguh... Note to self: lain kali baca apa2 yg interesting ingat sapa author dia utk diquote kan, sbb mana bole main petik sesuka hati dah at PhD level, mesti ada bukti kukuh...

Buat masa skang x de geng mkn lunch. As a matter of fact, keja pon x de sgt lg. Pura2 wat busy je dulu. Prof M ada bg reading material, tp cam x masuk sgt la kalo aku baca kat lab. Baca ptg td kat umah ok sket. Mungkin aku kena get comfortable and buang rasa rendah diri and self-conscious tu kot baru bole fokus kat lab. Time cam ni rasa nak lari balik UPM :P

Tp mengenangkan ini la namanya perjuangan, dan aku kat sini nak menimba ilmu terpaksa la. Kat sini sekuriti ketat, setiap lab kena swipe kad matrik kita yg telah di pre-programmed bilik mana kita bole masuk. Utk aku, bole masuk lab aku, toilet, library, bilik printer, reception office. Tu aje la, huhu... Satu lg bab security ni, mula2 aku dpt PC, terus log in and then nak install and download mcm2, tp access denied. Set up printer pon problem, even after dah dptkan IP. Malu dah aku sbb kelihatannya aku spt amat bongok nak set printer network pon x dpt. Last2 aku call tech support. Rupa2 nya dia minta no serial PC aku and then baru dia activatekan semuanya utk PC aku. Cam tu ke?

Ok itu saja la buat kali ni. Baik aku gi baca paper Prof M kasi. Esok ada discussion ngan dia lg. Aku akan try amik gmbr esok of my lab, but it's dead boring. Meja aku pon x de apa2 lg, so mmg lifeless le... Speaking of lifeless, aku balik dari Uni pkl 5 ptg. By that time, sudah gulap gulita kat luar n sejuk plak tu. Aku naik bas aje la, tambangnya 75p sahaja. X sanggup nak jln kaki...

The Weekend

Giler lama aku x update, bkn apa, mmg agak busy... plak kalo ada kelapangan sket contohnya masa Aisyah tido ke, aku biasanya ke bawah utk tolong host aku masak ke, (ye kami amsih menumpang), x pon masa tu je la aku dpt belek2 balik thesis aku dan pikir2 psl idea terbaru sblm aku berjumpa SV aku pada Isninnya tu. Anyway, kalo si kecil molek tu x tido, gini la jawabnya yg terjadi... Bkn main kepoh dia pon turut sama la nak nengok skrin tu, kalo bole nak masuk dlm skrin tu... Nasib baik la ayah dia layan kan aje la anak manja sorg tu...

Hari Ahadnya tu gi shopping sket. Nama shopping complex kat sini ialah Drake Circus. Pelik, kan? Tp x de la plak sarkas tu. X besar mana, tp ada byk kedai2 di sekitar tu. Best la jugak. Almost semua ada. Plak Uni seberang jln je from here, lg syok. Ni gmbr Hubs posing kt luar Drake Circus.

Kitaorg kalo shopping kat sini suka mkn kat Mark & Spencer nyer Expresso Bar, dia nyer roll & soup best, plus toast dia sgt sedap. Kalo aku ngan Hubs mkn, konfem amik soup & roll 2 set, 2 cappucino, 1 sandwich, 1 toast and sometimes beli cookie yg besar tu utk dessert. Tgk la gmbr di bwh, piring tu dah bertindan2 sbb x muat meja. Bkn apa, kita kan terbiasa mkn nasi utk lunch, mana bole tahan ngan roti sekerat tu ngan kopi secawan je. Apa lg, mat salleh sebelah menyebelah mmg jeling la, sbb mcm pelahap agaknya. Ala.. kitaorg kisah apa, bkn pakai duit dia pon. Dia x tgk lg kitaorg kalo mkn kat kedai mkn kat Msia camne, hehe... Nasib Aisyah ni rajin senyum n tegur diorg, so diorg pon agah2 la Aisyah balik...jd friendly la plak lps tu...


Lps seharian suntuk bershopping (ahem, dari zuhur sampai maghrib sbb masa siang kan pendek la ni, padahal baru shopping dlm 4 jam termasuk masa jln kaki dari umah ke town - jgn risau kitaorg solat kat dlm tempat breastfeeding, keh keh keh, mana nak dpt surau beb sini, x byk muslim), ni la Aisyah berposing dgn toys barunya yg dibeli di Boots. Sungguh warna warni dan berbunyi2. Hopefully bole merangsang la minda anak Ibu nih. Baju onesies atau omputih British ni panggil sleepsuit tu juga adalah baru.Mmg sini shopping haven la utk baby pompuan, berpinar mata aku .... Kena sendiri mau ingat la duit schoalrship tu utk belajar, ngeh ngeh ngeh...

Lagi di Plymouth

Ni adalah gmbr aku tgh test Aisyah dlm stroller Ukyle, anak si zali. Masa ni adalah hari ke-3 kami di Plymouth, and aku n Hubs rasa konfiden kot nak jenjln sendiri. Masa tu pampers Aisyah dah habis, so sambil2 tu nak kenal jln gi city centre la. Memandangkan kami akan byk berjln kaki shj di sini, adalah difikirkan bhw stroller itu bakal menjadi keperluan. So ni tgh duk test la ni cam ne penerimaan Aisyah.

Kitaorg kat depan bus stop ni, tggu bus. Tgk, aku otai, tolak stroller x pakai gloves w/pon cuaca masa ni dlm 5C. And iye, Aisyah sudah pandai hisap puting, tp aku bg masa dia naik stroller aje la x nak kasi dia nangis. So far so good.

Lps shopping2 sket kat town tu, konfem la kitaorg nak beli stroller utk Aisyah. Sbb apa, dia mmg dah jd ala2 anak mat salleh. Ndak plak dia duduk dlm tu, walhal kat msia menangis2 nak dukung/sling. Itu pon masa kat msia x ikat dia masa dlm stroller. Siap nak wat aksi2 berguling/meniarap dlm stroller. Kat sini, ikat kemas2 pon x kisah. Mungkin dia rasa duk dlm tu suam2 kot, lg hangat drpd kena dukung, so dia diam, ntah la. Yg penting, dia suka dok dlm tu. Siap tido2 lg. X caya? Tgk gmbr bwh ni..

Haa.. ni la stroller baru Aisyah. Tgk, dia tido manjang dlm tu... Blue color you... Konon nak beli yg tayar tiga ala2 quinny, tp mcm kecik la shopping basket dia kat bwh tu. Kitaorg x plan nak beli keta awal2 ni, so byk nak kena jln kaki, so mmg looking for a stroller yg ada ruang letak brg yg besar. Plus this one ada cosytoes, mcm sarung guni yg menutup aisyah dari dada ke bawah. Tebal gak cosytoes ni, and jurujual tu kata, this model is really the best value for money la, coz cosytoes ni kalo dijual separately is GBP50. Stroller ni rega GBP99.99 aje (but kalo convert ke msia dah rm600 lebih tu!). Brand Chicco, so not bad la, at least bkn cap ayam hehe...

Masalah pakai stroller kat sini x de, sbb byk kemudahan disediakan. Cuma tension sbb ramai mat salleh pon pakai stroller n guna kemudahan tu jugak sama spt kita. Contoh, kalo naik bus, hanya 2 stroller per bus je dia kasi. Kalo dah ada org kat atas, kena tggu lg. That's what happened to us ari tuh. Makanya, 2 kali dah bus dtg, tp kena tggu the next one sbb x muat. But at least dia beratur n ada system le... cuma bengang coz kena tggu bus lain dlm sejuk n hujan renyai2. Last2 sbb dah nak masuk maghrib n lom solat, nekad, jln kaki dari town dlm sejuk n angin kuat tu. Pergh... cam nak beku. Tp Aisyah mmg warm n cozy sbb psg plastik rainshield dia. NAsib sempat gak solat...

Org British ni do everything by the book. Smlm ada org eksiden keta, sket je, x calar pon aku nengok ketanya, tp polis dah dtg amik report. Kitaorg yg pejalan kaki ni pon kena tggu, x leh potong2 jln, tp polis tu siap tolong stop traffic utk kitaorg lalu. Padahal bole je cross sendiri, tp tu la, dia nyer undang2 ni is taken seriously. kelakar pon ada ... sbb x serius mana pon... kat msia settle sendiri dah gamaknya...



Ni adalah gmbr Ukyle, anak Zali yg aku tumpang umah tu. Dia dah x takut ngan kitaorg, n dah mula mesra. Awal2 itu hari shy2 cat gitu.. Ok aku nak stop, kena bersiap, sat lg nak kuar wat bank account. doakan semuanya selesai...

Beberapa hari pertama di Plymouth

Ni diolah dari emel personal aku buat family terchenta. Bkn apa, aku x larat nak tulis 2,3 kali benda yg sama.

Update sket. Kitaorg sekeluarga sihat, Alhamdulillah.. cumanya cuaca amat sejuk, mungkin sbb baru sampai la rasa sgt sejuk tu, padahal di luar baru 5 - 7 C. Kat sini suhu mmg x rendah sgt, tp yg wat sejuk tu wind dia, sbb dekat laut. W/bgmanapon,Aisyah nmpknya suka n bole cpt adapt ngan cuaca sini, tp mmg bungkus dia habis2an tiap2 kali kluar.

Lps sampai di heathrow naik coach ke plymouth, sbb x larat dah. Kalo naik train ada 3 kali kena tukar line n kena guna subway plak tu. dlm 4 jam 1/2 sampai la ke plymouth. x lama tu ada member nama wak mari ambik di stesen bas dgn kereta dia utk dibawa ke umah zali, host kitaorg.

sampai umah zali tu mkn lunch, then x lama tu naik utk rehat. mungkin sbb bertukar cuaca dan suasana, Aisyah yg tgh tidor tiba2 tersedar n meraung mcm ada sesuatu yg x kena. siap teresak2 lg, x rajin dgr dia mcm tu kat msia. takut dah jg masa tu, sampai umai (bini zali) mari tgk kenapa kuat sgt aisyah nangis tu. alhamdulillah lps basuh muka aisyah n then tukar baju n seluar dia, bawa dia turun ke living room, dia bole senyum semula. umai kata normal, baby2 kalo mari UK mesti jd lagu tu sbb terkejut kot. umai kata lg, bilik yg dia bg kita duduk tu bilik master, mmg dia sekeuluarga biasa tido situ sblm kita mari, so insya Allah x de apa2. x mau la pikir yg bkn2, n aisyah pon dah ok lps tu. terus dia tido dari pkl 7 ptg sampai 7 pg esok (sama mcm parents dia hehehe). salin lampin dlm tido pon x sedar. 2,3 kali gak dia mcm nak jaga, bg susu dia tido semula. mmg baik la lps tu, alhamdulillah...

hari ni dia ok. byk aktiviti gak, kuar jln, suka la dia. dlm pkl 10 pg, turun gi city centre, naik bas ngan zali sefamily. tp sblm tu jln kaki la ke bus stop, sejuk jg, tp ada matahari. cantik jg plymouth ni.

first skali gi beli kasut sukan utk aku. dpt la cap Kappa yg harga 12 pound, sbb tgh sale. zali kata plymouth uni punya policy x leh bawa keta park ke uni, maka lps ni kena kuat berjln la. jgn terkejut klo aku kurus lps ni, sbb plymouth ni berbukit sket jln2 dia tu.

then zali bawa gi register di uni. aku masuk sorg je opis dia, aisyah, abg sepol n zali tggu di kafe atas. byk jgk org tu briefing. alhamdulillah byk yg dah settle, sbb byk dah wat masa di msia lg. kerani tu pon tekejut sbb ID card dah siap (dah isi form n post dari msia), pas tu byk yg di explain tu aku dah faham, sbb mmg benda tu dah ada dlm emel pon. mungkin student lain x rajin baca kot. atau dia x budget la kita ni up-to-date sbb belum sampai pon lg kat uni. siap minta lg surat akuan dari uni yg menunjukkan kita ni dah registered student kat UoP, so bole bukak akaun la lps ni. apa2 pon syukur sb Allah permudahkan urusan.

siap semua tu dlm pkl 1 lebih, wak mari amik ngan keta dia bawa gi umah dia. on the way, sinnggah gi amik anak dia di nursery. bole la tgk nursery tu dari dlm. rate dia 17 pound half day. no komen.

pas tu gi smayang umah wak sambil2 tgk umah dia, sbb dia mmg serius la kalo aku nak pindah dia nak suh amik umah tu. kalo ikut ckp dia, umah x de masalah, cumanya anak dia dah besar, nakal, org flat bwh dah marah sbb lompat2, jd dia nak pindah umah flat basement la.

bila tgk umah dia tu, mmg selesa la, ruang tamu dia luas, perabot semua baru, karpet pon ok, sbb umah tu baru furnished sblm dia masuk (1 thn 1/2 yg lps). umah dia ground floor, x payah naik tangga tp ada org di umah basement and 2 tingkat lg kat atas. double glazing, central heating. dapur semua lengkap la, peti, dapur, washing machine, cabnet pon byk. bilik air cantik la, moden, x de tub2 ni, terus dia buat stall ngan shower. bilik pon ok, cuma sayup2 bole dgr bunyi train lalu. tp parking masalah sket la, agak jauh, sbb umah tu di jln besar, kena park kat jln blkg. 1 bedroom.

masalah satu nya ialah wak abis kontrak umah tu 24 nov, so paling cpt pon masuk umah tu by then la. takut lama di umah zali. tp zali kata no problem. wak pon kata, biasa la tu kalo tumpang sebulan kat umah org, sbb plymouth susah nak dpt umah.dia dulu pon tumpang sebulan jgk umah mail (sorg lg famili kat sini), kata wak la. zali pon kata, bab umah ni jgn rush, contohnya amik la umah lain (yg mungkin kurg molek dari umah wak) sbb nak mera ke tuan umah, sbb dia dah kena dulu, lagu tu la, nak cpt2 tubik umah host, x seh nyusah konon, alih2 umah dia tu single glazing, ketar x leh duduk, x lama kena pindah lg. rugi, kata zali.

lps fikir2 ngn abg sepol, kira sanggup la amik umah tu, sbb dah ok. dekat plak tu ngan Uni. lagi bekas org melayu, wak kata peti tu dia dah samak dah pon. n konfem karpet tu x berkasut kan. so ptg nya tu terus ke agent, book property tu, byr 235 pound, and sign paperwork la. esok dia akan hntr surat kata aku dah ada book property, n as of 24 nov, akan beralamat di umah tu la.

hopefully lps ni lebih senang nak buka bank account sbb dah ada surat sokongan dari uni n agent tu (dah ada alamat la kiranya). bila dah ada account nnt bole la cashkan bank draft tu. la ni duk pakai duit cash yg bwk di tgn lg. wak janji nak bawa gi bank ari jumaat ni, insya Allah. lps ni tinggal nak register/fax kat MSD, lg register GP la kot. tu je la yg nmpknya urgent wat masa ni. mungkin jg beli mobile phone. lps pindah baru bole install landline phone, atau maybe SKY/virgin, also internet ke, etc... ni pakai internet zali, mujur unlimited access.

lps selesai urusan ngan agent td, wak amik bini dia (mal) and anak dia (Haziq - 3thn) bawa ke umah zali sbb zali wat mkn sket2. lg dia jemput lg satu family, Mail n wife dia Eton, ngan anak dia Aqil (11 bulan). semua boy kat sini. anak zali nama ukyle (2 thn) pon boy juga. jgn aisyah esok ikut perangai boy dah le... hehe

ok la itu aje buat ari ni. doakan kami semua sihat n slamat, amin.

We're In the UK, Baby!

Dah sampai Plymouth, UK. Alhamdulillah...

A little jetlagged. Semua pon so far, so good, cumanya cuaca sejuk ya amat. Masih menumpangumah member, but t least registration kat Uni and also booking umah kat agent dah settle. Story will follow later. Ada pics aje dulu, from KLIA, to atas coach from Heathrow to Plymouth and also a pic of Aisyah the following morning. Elok je kitaorg pakai cantik2 nak ke city centre, batery plak mati. Hmm... x de can nak melaram.

So until next time...

Ni adalah gmbr ramai2 kat KLIA. Family Hubs.

Mas, Myself n Yzma. Diorg la amongst my best buds kat UPM and tgh hard at work with their PhDs

Me n Aisyah on our bus ride to Plymouth

Aisyah, yg ceria keesokan paginya, sehingga x sedar stokin dah cabut sebelah. Btw, pipi dia jd kemerah-merahan gitu kat UK ni (tp x flaky atau itchy, just blushing pink you, aww!). Mcm nak panggil dia Aisyah Humairah je (gelaran isteri Nabi tu - Aisyah yg pipi kemerah2an).

Countdown

Still here, still sane (altough my sanity is quickly diminishing)..

A lot has been prepared, but still, there are tonnes to be sorted.. I'm really losing my head now...

Moments like these, all you can do is laugh.. You know, the I'm-on-Prozac kinda laugh...

Sorry this is more like a rant, but spare me, please. It's a very, very hard time for me. I've let down tears (x nak ngaku nangis) a couple of times now, especially last night when we picked up the last remaining baby items at my mom's. It had been a good year since we started moving in with my mom, and I was very slow in making the transition to our own house, even after I finished my confinement period. But even then, Aisyah still spent many hours during the day at my Mom's, mainly bcoz I worked, so plenty of her stuff were left at her grandma's house. Having to pick up those items was so, so hard, for both me and my Mom. Sigh...

I feel like I'v robbed Aisyah from her family, namely her grandparents. Aisyah is my parents's first grandchild, and without doubt that makes her really special. And I feel like such a jerk for taking her away from all those who love her. Why does this have to be so tough... Shoot, man..

Part of me just wished that I didn't have to go through this. Why didn't I just opt to do my PhD locally? By the end of it all, I'll have a PhD, and Aisyah will get to spend a whole lot of time with her grandparents. Ill be happy, Aisyah'll be happy, everyone'll be happy. Right?

But then again, I was never forced to do this. I chose to do it. Me and Hubs made a pact to go through it together as a team, no matter what lies ahead. And I'm thankful that out of thousands who've applied, that little me got chosen for the scholarship. Really, I am. But separation from the family that I've grown up with for 27 years is so, so hard.

So far, I've been playing dumb and tried to put it off my mind everytime the subject of moving to UK came up. Now I can't pretend no more. How do you pretend when you have less than 48 hours to go? God help me!

I'm numb... I really am.. Better take that shower now... You know you're a zombie when it's 5.35 p.m. and you're still clad in your pajamas, unable to shower bcoz you have so many things to do. Moving sucks, big time!

Random Writing

Smlm gi bawa Aisyah utk monthly checkup dia. At 4 months, berat dia skang dah 6.7 kg, tinggi plak 63 cm. Everything pon fine, Alhamdulillah. This might be her last visit la ngan paed dia. Lps ni continue kat UK. Sempat mintak antihistamine ngan Dr tu utk bg kat Aisyah kalo dia ada masalah masa lift off nnt, tp harap2 nya x de la. Sempat minta Dr tu endorse kan surat nak bawa frozen EBM on board. Sesapa yg nak contoh surat dia, sila copy template nyer spt di bawah, credit to Puan Rita Rahayu dari http://www.momslittleones.com.

To Whom It May Concern,

Insert Doctor's Name adheres to the World Health Organisation guidelines and
policy statements on Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk.

Insert Baby's Name is our infant patient who currently receives breastmilk
from his-her mother as the sole source of nutrition. Insert Mother's Name
employment requires her to travel by air. Given this, she must manually
express her breasts to supply her baby with appropriate amounts of
breastmilk and transport it with her on the airlines.

Insert Doctor's Name advises that Insert Mother's Name be permitted to keep
her expressed breastmilk in her possession during travel in order to provide
safe and adequate storage, which is essential to achievement of optimal
infant health.

Sincerely,

Insert Doctor's Signature

Pas tu hari ni dah call MAS utk settlekan isu nak transport breastmilk ni n tanya psl weight bagagge kitaorg nanti. Also dah gi amik flight ticket dah, and dah konfem dpt seat yg ada bassinet, Alhamdulillah.. Also syukur sgt2 coz segala urusan ngan Bendahari sebelum nak pegi dah settle... :)

Sempat gi kemas bilik opis td. Sayu gak bila tgk former occupant dia dah xde, ada staf baru lak dlm tu. Byk juga kenangan2 ngan si ET ni rupanya, ye lah dah 5 tahun aku sebilik ngan dia rupanya... sampah sarap dlm bilik tu pon byk juga, as i said, 5 years beb...

Spjg masa ngemas tu aku mainkan lagu 'Who Knew' by P!nk. Lagu dia pon ala2 rock gitu semangat aku ngemas. Sgt2 la teringat kat my ex-roomie nih, sbb lagu ni kitaorg sama2 belasah main kat gitar (dia sifu aku). Skang sedey sbb dah x ingat chord dia. Dulu cair je lagu ni huhu...

Tambah sedey sbb fac skang sgt la x happening. Sunyi sepi je. Dah la gelap (sbb kat luar hujan renyai2 belah ptg. Bertambah2 la emo aku. Siap rasa nak nangis lg.

Tau2 lps ngemas tu ada sekotak besar sampah, 3 kotak AA buku2 and sekotak lg personal stuff. Pergh penat, penat ...

OK, today is Oct 22. Last year I found out I was pregnant with Aisyah today, so it's a very memorable day to me. Hope your day today was as productive as mine had been, despite being a little sad :)

My MSc Convocation 2008

Hari Sabtu lps aku konvo. Maka, selamat lah aku bergelar Graduan Master Sains dgn Tesis (Sistem Multimedia) UPM 2008 (walau pon sebenarnya dah habis tesis last year lg). Ok la majlis nya, minus a few bumps la kan - namely, hujan lebat masa masuk , jubah / sandal basah, missed perarakan, dok sorg2 sbb Azri n ET who was supposed to graduate with me dah fly, x de bunga dari Hubs, x de sapa sambut lps abis konvo sbb Hubs kuar pegi beli daging utk majlis mkn2 esoknya halfway through the convo n my Dad plak stuck dekat Uniten on his way back from an open house, which apparently ada konvo jgk pd masa yg sama. But they all made it around 6-ish, lps aku dah menapak balik ke Fakulti songsorg n semayang Asar dulu. Hmmm... bak kata org, kalo x de bumps tu kan, x de la spice nyer.

Whatever la. Aku x beli pon baju khas utk konvo, pg tu je baru pikir nak pakai apa yek. Aku pon dah x brapa nak kisah, sbb this isn't the first time naik amik degree, n hopefully not the last! (wink). Not to mention as an academic aku dah berkali2 dah pakai academic regalia/robe tu, sbg wakil fac utk upacara konvo tiap2 sesi, so the novelty kinda wears off a bit. Hopefully by the end of PhD, aku akan rasa berkobar2 nak pakai jubah akademik sbb dah 3 - 4 thn x pakai pon (thinking very positive here that I will get to wear another robe in the future - no negative thoughts are allowed, thank you very much... hehe).

Anyway, as bad as it sounds, I still had a lot of fun this convo sbb aku dpt berkenalan dgn org2 baru di sebelah kiri n kanan seat aku. Masing2 pon lecturer muda yg nak apply sambung PhD ke oversea. Plus diorg pon kira ibu muda gak so rancak la kitaorg dok borak psl breastfeeding and parenting, x dgr dah Pro-canselor bg ucapan kat dpn ngeheheh..

What made it more exciting, this time around I got to celebrate my success with someone very special yg x de masa aku grad degree dulu :) Best gitu kuar2 kat parking lot (lps semayang Asar) dah ada Aisyah dgn muka baru bgn tido dia tu... Kesian dia kena tinggal 6 jam spjg majlis. Kesian aku, dlm masa tu jugak 2 kali mengalami milk let-down, nasib x bocor kena jubah (sbb x pakai breastpad) keh keh keh...

Here are some pics...

Aku paling suka gmbr yg last nih. As if closing an old chapter and beginning a new one, dgn tiga beranak, in the very new future. End with the MSc, and beginning my PhD. Sedey gak, coz we have to leave behind our families, so we're looking back as if saying please pray for us. God, I am beginning to feel the pressure now, sob!

Busy a bit

Lamanya x memblog.. rindu nyer kat u alls! Tgn ni mmg dah gatal2 nak menulis, tp mmg x sempat la... byk sgt keja, especially part packing n kemas umah yg akan ditinggalkan ni huhu... time x buat keja n Aisyah tido plak ke, Internet slow giler2 x ingat nyer... kitaorg duk umah baru kitaorg dah skang, so terpaksa pakai broadband Maxis yg slow itu... sakit jiwa tunggu sesatu page nak load... plak dah x masuk opis, so first2 agenda bila guna internet is tgk emel utk settle kan benda2 yg mmg urgent dulu la... terpaksa la put off blogging kejap... sorry ek...

Update sket, keadaan skang mmg kelam kabut. As I said, tgh busy packing. Mlm ni the in-laws are coming to stay until we leave. Double busy. Esok plak ada konvo MSc aku. Lambat betul konvo UPM nih. Aku last submit thesis last August, you know. Aisyah belom conceived pon lg. Aku dah ngandung 9 bulan, bersalin, abis pantang, siap budak tu dah nak bole merangkak dah baru nak wat konvo. Aper le... X brape feel dah ler... Tanya aku psl thesis aku skang, mcm dah x ingat sgt dah hehe... Nasib nak wat PhD dah, so feel tu mcm dtg2 balik dah le...

Speaking of PhD, mmg tgh cuak, sbb mcm x prepare apa pon. Bebudak lain katanya x bawa buku apa sgt pon, so aku pon turut sama la x prepare. Hehe... bole ke gitu? Takut tercengang2 je kat sana. Aku dah register online dah, so beberapa task aku sbg student baru dah bermula. Contohnya dah kena isi oh, I don't know, what seems like a hundred forms psl background education aku. Dah set date ngan bakal supervisor bila nak start masuk lab (which is exactly a week after we touched down at Heathrow). And get this, by end of November, aku dah kena submit log report on initial supervisory meeting. Diaorg dah emel dah pon reminder kat aku melalui emel account aku yg by default all uni students ada tu... And I haven't even left the country! Waaa... dah officially bermula la aku punya life as a postgrad student. Why I put myself through this again, God knows!

On the BF front, aku dah minta host aku kat sana belikan freezer kecik utk aku, supaya once aku sampai sana aje, aku bole masukkan EBM aku tu terus dlm freezer tu. Sbbnya aku takut umah host aku tu nnt freezer dah penuh ngan lauk2 ke, sayang la plak, punya la bertungkus-lumus mendptkan info cara2 utk transportkan EBM, and then transport susah payah dari Msia, alih2 sampai sana cair jugak sbb x de ruang dlm freezer. Doakan la agar EBM aku semua tu slamat sampai, Insya Allah...

Since we mentioned EBM, aku nyer supply cam kureng sket lately, which freaks me a bit. Tp aku baca kat Net dia kata normal je kalo supply nmpk cam kurang at 3 - 4 months. Ntah la, aku nak associate kan dia ngan sibuk ke, stress ke, anxiety ke, nak dtg period ke? Wallahu a'lam. Tp I confess, aku mmg agak kurg pam lately, sbb x cukup masa. Tp so far cukup aje la supply, but pray to God la x semakin susut... Psycho je ni, Oyis... Psycho je ni... (menguatkan smgt diri sendiri).

Ok la, I think Aisyah needs her milk right about now. Better stop. Oh, even with all this clutter and mess, I still remember that today is Aisyah's 4th month birthday. Happy 4th month, Sayang!

So Long, Farewell & All Da Best

Hari Selasa lps kitaorg gi mkn2 ala2 meraikan those yg akan sambung blaja soon. Huge thanks to Nabil & Mas yg bertungkus lumus merancang majlis tersebut...

Antara yg hadir pada majlis yg mengambil tempat di Nando's itu ialah Nabil, Mas, Beng, Farid & wife, ET, Azri, Azlan, Azura, Izuan, dan yang last skali made it to the table ialah aku & Aisyah... nak wat camne, dah budak tu tido kan... kena la tunggu dia bgn baru leh solekkan dia :P

Ni dia Cik Abe yg dah pon berlepas hari Rabu lps... Azri ke University of Lugano, Switzerland


Ni plak ex-room mate aku (ET) yg akan berlepas in a few hours to University of Erlangen, Germany.


Ni plak pasangan yg akan berlepas saing aku nnt (Farid & Dila) ke Auckland University, New Zealand.



To all of my friends, sama ada yg dpt hadir ke tidak ke majlis tersebut, kita nak ucapkan terima kasih byk2.... atas sokongan n bantuan... kalo ada silap n salah harap maafkan... kalo terhutang, halakan lah yek... semoga sama2 kita berjaya mencapai cita2...

So..

Uf widerlüge (Swiss)
Auf Wiedersehen (German)
Good Bye
Selamat Tinggal to All....

Way To Go, Angelina!

Not much of a fan of her myself, but yay to the awareness or is it chaos that she has stirred regarding BF... But then again, as they say, do it as the celeb does ... ngehehe... What is so offensive about this pic is beyond me... Her baby needs milk, and she's merely doing what a mother should do, duh...

NEW YORK - We've already seen the baby pictures — now see the photo of Angelina Jolie apparently breastfeeding on the cover of W magazine. Jolie appears on the cover of the W's November issue in a sleeveless top, which has been opened to reveal part of her left breast and a tiny hand ostensibly belonging to one of her twins, Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline, who were born in July.

The black-and-white photo shows Jolie smiling, her long brown hair cascading over her shoulder. The cover headline promises exclusive "private photos" of the 33-year-old actress by her partner Brad Pitt.

Jolie last caused a stir when she wore a white nursing bra underneath her tank top on the cover of People magazine after she and Pitt welcomed daughter Shiloh, now 2 years old.

Another breast-feeding cover that got people talking was in the summer of 2006, when Babytalk magazine published a photo of a baby and part of a woman's breast in profile. The magazine conducted a poll of more than 4,000 readers; a quarter of responses were negative, finding the photo inappropriate.

La Leche League International, the world's oldest breast-feeding support organization, applauds Jolie's apparent decision to be photographed nursing.

"Breast-feeding in public reveals a whole lot less than what has been revealed on the red carpet. ... I think we do need more role models like Angelina Jolie willing to be photographed and say, `Hey look, it can be done, it oughta be done,'" said La Leche spokeswoman Jane Crouse.

Selamat Hari Raya

Asslamualaikum semua...

Camne raye? Hopefully semua org menyambutnya dgn penuh gembira dan rasa kesyukuran... semoga semuanya selamat dan sihat sejahtera...

Alhamdulillah, tahun ni aku dapat beraya bersama seorg lg ahli keluarga baru... dah 3 tahun dah beraya berdua sahaja ngan Hubs... pada kawan2 lain yg first time beraya ngan anak kecik this year, mesti rasa teruja kan?

Diuploadkan chronicles raya this year ... bkn apa, utk kenang2an...

Raya tahun ni raya dua tempat, sbb lps ni dah nak fly mungkin 3 thn x dpt jumpa sanak sedara. Usually kitaorg bergilir aje, sbb jauh tu, Muar - Kelantan.

Ok, first kg Hubs kat Muar... balik hari Ahad. Hari Isnin nya tuh wat ketupat.. Sian Aisyah, cam x de sapa layan dia aje dlm gmbr ni sbb masing2 sibuk. Hubs tgh menganyam tuh.. terror dia..

Ni plak ketupat yg aku anyam slps beberapa try n tunjuk ajar dari Hubs... tralaaa... comey kan? dpt 7 bijik, sblm cik mek molek tu nangis minta attention...

OK fast forward kp pagi raya plak. Nampaknya ada budak x mo bgn lg... Cepat la Aisyah oii, org semua mandi sunat pagi raya dah ni nak oiii...

First skali slps semayang raya, aku n family Hubs ke bandar, amik gmbr kat studio. Fuh semanagt betul tu, sanggup terkejar2 ke bandar, beratur pjg2 nak amik gmbr, and byr beratus2 plak tuh ... sbb nak gi UK la ni... kalo x, hmmm... x pernah la nak amik gmbr raya kat studio... hehe... Btw, tema kaler baju kitaorg anak beranak ialah kaler kundang, kata org muar, atau ore klate kata kaler putih star... which is basically kaler cam purple like below... ini adalah pilihan Hubs, dia yg beriya nak kaler ribena, as he said it... susah payah la aku carik baju kaler tu, byk yg cam x match ngan dia (dia beli baju Melayu dulu). Last baru cari baju Aisyah, sbb sebetulnya Aisyah dah ada berlambak baju raya lain, yg aku beli sket2 over the last few months la kan, tp x de plak kaler purple. Aku mmg x tgk harga dah at that point, nak matching punya psl. Rupa2nya baju dia tu nak sama mahal ngan baju aku dah... pergh...

What? Nak tgk rupa aku di pagi raya.. X yah la eh... oh well.... if u insist... heheh...

Ni Aisyah memakai baju kurung pertamanya yg dibeli oleh Mak Uda dia, and di'alter' semula oleh Mak Usu dia. Susah la kan nak cari yg ngam2 utk budak 3 bulan...

Raya kedua, masih di Muar. Kali ni Aisyah ronda2 dlm baju denim plak. Bergaya betul anak Ibu nih... hehe

Raya kedua tu, sebelah mlmnya, kitaorg bertolak ke Ktan menaiki flight. Alhamdulillah Aisyah mmg sporting habis naik flight. Dia x nangis sket pon. Siap gelak2 lg, nak mmg kepoh nak tgk luar masa landing sbb dah nmpk lampu2 jln. Risau aku takut terlucut plak dia dari tgn masa landing tu sbb dia x mo duduk diam. Excited agaknya. Hopefully kalo naik flight gi UK dia baik mcm ni.

So pg raya ke-3 tu kitaorg beraya kat Ktan plak. Ni dia baju raya Aisyah pd pg tu, ala2 baju jubah ngan tudung. Muslimah gitu anak aku...

Belah mlmnya kitorg bersama sepupu sepapat yg lainnya buat barbeque.. Best!

Pg raya ke-4, masih mode jln2 coz kiranya it's still hari kedua di Ktan bg kitaorg. This time Aisyah pakai baju gown yg dijahit drpd perca2 kain kahwin aku dulu. Tukang jahit dia ialah makcik aku yg bajubiru itu. Satu lg koleksi jahitan dia ialah dekat budak yg pakai baju oren tu, and also baju hijau tuh. Kreatif, no?

Aisyah dah pandai menyulur skang. Habis dlm keta pon dia nak practice. Siap ditanduk2 beg diaper dia. Kitaorg x bawak carseat dia balik Ktan, so mmg manjang je pegang dia. Bad driving practice tp terpaksa... Mmg kena tawakkal sgt2 la..

Ni gmbr budak yg kepenatan beraya. Balik ptg raya ke-6 tu, dia tido ptg x berbaju, berlengging aje.... Kesian..

Mlm raya ke-6 tu kitaorg balik KL ngan flight lg skali. Last flight plak tu, pkl 11 mlm. Sampai2 umah dah pkl 1.30 pg. Skali lg Aisyah was a star, mmg dia suka naik flight kot.

Dgn itu berakhir la raya2 kitaorg kat dua kg. Insya Allah 3 tahun lg baru la dpt merasa beraya mcm tu balik. Huhu...

Anyway, all was good and mmg kitaorg beraya sakan la kiranya... Di kesempatan ini nak mohon maaf sekiranya ada terkasar bahasa and juga kiranya ada tertulis benda2 yg mengguriskan hati sesiapa saja di ruangan blog ni... Ampaun n maaf dipinta yeh..

Kpd cousin ku K Anis yg telah memberi penghjormatan kpd kami utk menumpang tido dio umah parents nyer, tq very much. I know u read this blog, jgn malu2 utk meninggalkan komen ok...

Can You Spot Oyis?

Sasar lahir 60,000 graduan Ph.D

Oleh FATIHAH MOHAMED
fatihah.mohamed@kosmo.com.my

MOHAMED KHALED melihat sijil milik Siti Norwardatulaina Mohd. Yusof selepas majlis

pelancaran MyBrain15 di Pusat Konvensyen Antarabangsa Putrajaya semalam.

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KUALA LUMPUR - Kementerian Pengajian Tinggi (KPT) meletakkan sasaran untuk melahirkan sebanyak 60,000 lulusan doktor falsafah (Ph.D) di negara ini dalam masa 15 tahun ini bagi membantu memacu perkembangan ekonomi negara.

Menurut Menteri Pengajian Tinggi, Datuk Seri Moha- med Khaled Nordin, penghasilan lulusan tersebut akan dilaksanakan melalui Program MyBrain 15 yang bertujuan untuk meningkatkan bilangan pelajar lulusan Ph.D.

"Melalui bilangan lulusan Ph.D yang mencukupi, ia akan membolehkan negara dikenali masyarakat antarabangsa melalui penciptaan dan inovasi produk dan perkhidmatan yang bakal diterokai," katanya semasa melancarkan program MyBrain 15 di sini semalam.

Setakat ini katanya, pelajar Ph.D dalam negara hanya seramai 8,000 orang manakala seramai 3,914 pelajar lagi sedang melanjutkan pelajaran dan kos bagi menampung pembiayaan pengajian mereka bagi tempoh 2005 hingga Ogos 2008 menelan belanja sebanyak RM837 juta.

"Jumlah perbelanjaan tersebut meliputi 39.4 peratus iaitu 1,543 pelajar yang mengi- kuti pengajian Ph.D di univer- siti tempatan, manakala selebihnya di luar negara," kata- nya.

Jelas Mohamed Khaled, jumlah sedia ada itu masih belum mencukupi, justeru memerlukan campur tangan institusi pengajian tinggi (IPT) untuk memastikan hasrat meningkatkan pelajar lulusan Ph.D tercapai.

"Jadi kita sarankan pihak IPT mendorong pelajar-pelajar peringkat sarjana muda untuk meneruskan pengajian mereka ke peringkat lebih tinggi sama ada di IPT tempa- tan atau luar negara," katanya.

Untuk tujuan itu, jelas beliau, pihak IPT juga perlu menyemak semula beberapa perkara berkaitan kemasukan pelajar ke program Ph.D, sokongan penyelidikan, tarikan kerjaya dan tempoh tamat pengajian.

"Pihak IPT juga perlu menangani urusan berkaitan penyeliaan Ph.D dengan lebih serius melalui meletakkan nisbah penyelia pelajar pada kadar 1:5 untuk menyokong keperluan pertambahan tenaga kerja berijazah," katanya.

http://www.kosmo.com.my/kosmo/content.asp?y=2008&dt=0926&pub=Kosmo&sec=Negara&pg=ne_10.htm