𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴! 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱, 𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿! 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝘇𝘇𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘆.𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Life with Nur Sarah (0-1 Month)

Just in case you missed it, read about my delivery here.

Hey, hey! Time for a new #BabyTalk series where I share my first time mom experiences and development of my girl, Nur Sarah. Actually, hor, this is way back dated since Sarah is already 5 months old. haha So let's hope my memory is still fresh.

Week 1

My first four days spent with Sarah was at the hospital. It was rather overwhelming because the pain after a cesarean was REAL! I will blog separately about my cesarean recovery on another post or this post will be too long winded. Sarah spent most of her time with us in our private room. Ever since Sarah was wheeled into the room, Jhon's daddy mode was on immediately.  He was the one changing her diapers and holding her as I deal with my pains. To be honest, on top of the sleep deprivation, we were overwhelmed as first time parents. I had years of experiences handling babies, toddlers and children but not newborn so the struggle was real.





Sarah was generally a good newborn but when she cries at night was when it took a toll on us. We were drained to the max. We ended up sending her to the nursery so we can have a few hours of decent shut eye; whatever you call a decent sleep in a hospital is. Having problems with milk supply didn't help either.

Mak will be handling my confinement from food to post natal massages so Jhon, Sarah and I stayed over for the entire duration which according to Malay's wives' tales, it should be 44 days. Mak said minimum 2 weeks as long as I feel well and confident to stay by myself. I had my post natal massage on day 6, mostly on upper abdomen and sides. It felt so good and so relaxing. Initially, Mak and I struggled in a comfortable routine because Mak still had to take care of her other 4 grandchildren.



We spent most of our time just staring at our little creation trying to figure out which part of her has our genes. It clear, though, she has more of daddy's features.

Sarah, just like most babies, had jaundice too. I wanted to rest as much as possible so I was more than happy when Mak agreed to accompany Jhon and Sarah to the Polyclinic. It was also a nice break away from baby as I truly rested at home. Since I was struggling with milk supply and juggling with pain, I had to put Sarah on mix feed. Sarah would be on full formula when she was out which was not very long anyways. It turned out that this girl was solid, barely crying when her blood was taken and even if she does, she got over it very fast.

Week 2

I could tell Jhon was struggling taking care of Sarah in terms of trying to figure out why she would randomly cry. Just like me, he would get frustrated because when Sarah slept with Mak, she would slept in stretches of 4 to even 6 hours but in our care/ bed, we would be lucky if she lasted 2 hours. Why ah? Eventually, we realized that she can sense our over tiredness and tension so when we chilled down, she was less fussy.



After a good 2 full weeks of post-natal massages from Mak, I legit felt better; barely any pain. By then, I was also totally off painkillers. Unfortunately, Sarah would still wake up often when she was sleeping next to us. She would also suddenly cry bloody murder which would wake me up in a shock. It was because of this, I tend to get up too quickly and hurt my wound which in turn, sent me back to square one.





She sleeps like me and yes, Jhon has pictures of it but of course, I would prefer to keep it as a private memory only because I do not look cute as Sarah.


But good news was that I lost all my pregnancy weight, thanks to the confinement food and massages. My mom was not super strict with confinement food and the fact I enjoy eating basic meals like fried fish and soups, my confinement was tolerable.


Sarah still had jaundice but at least it was declining. We had planned for Jhon to use 1.5 of his paternal leave and it's taking up the rest of his leave. Since her jaundice was going down anyways, we decided to have her check 1 week later instead of every 3 days.

Week 3

After 5 appointments, Sarah had finally hit below 100 for her jaundice so hooray! I could tell from Mak and Jhon's faces that they were so over visiting the clinic. haha Days are up and down as per normal with Sarah. We are first time parents after all. I may have experiences with children but definitely not with newborn. When it comes to newborns, I've always been a spectator. Well, not anymore.





Sarah still looked small here but her weight was going up. According to the baby chart, her height is in the 75%. haha You would think it's because we are tall parents but here's a little fact, Jhon and I were very short when we were young (always the first ones when have to line up in ascending height order) and then we had a growth spurt in during early teens. If Sarah had a head start, how tall is she going to be, man? haha

 




By this week, I was moving around more than usual and although Mak said I can reduce my confinement days if I wanted too but I could tell she wanted us to stay as long as possible. It was understandably bitter sweet because Sarah would be her first grandchild that she would not help take care long term as I am a SAHM unlike Kakak and Kak Yana.





Week 4

Most of the time, Mak was the one who help bathe Sarah but it's about time Jhon get this in his check list. It took a while (trying to make sure Sarah was held properly) but of course eventually, he mastered it. By this time, I was actually about done staying at Mak's house. Ever since I lived at Abg Jamil's, I no longer call Mak's place as home. I missed our own bed, our own space and our own atmosphere. At the same time, I was having the FTM jitters having to take care of Sarah all by myself especially I still had my C-section sores.





Obligatory bacin photo with Sarah. I was wearing Mak's home dress during my confinement. It was the best thing ever compared to pants.








Well, at the last weekend of the month, we decided to trial and error by going back to our place for the weekend. Mostly to intro her to the place since some babies are sensitive to 'new' places and see how we can cope independently. Firstly, it was breath of fresh air physically and mentally because Mak house is always rowdy and full of people (3 adults, 4 children and that's not including us). Secondly, it was freeing since I was mostly confined in that house.

Well, the weekend went well and was tolerable which was a good thing. Sarah did cried a bit more than usual but she got used to place eventually.



After that, we went back to Mak's place to continue my confinement but Jhon and I were already discussing about ending it early, more on this eventually.

At this point, everything was still so surreal and moving fast and slow at the same time. Of course, hindsight as I type this months later, I knew we could've handled even better but that's how life always works right?


   

New Born Sarah from the Hospital

Huh? Confused right? Sarah is turning 5 months soon and I want to post her new born photos from the hospital. Well, I just found more photos from Jhon's camera and I am already reminiscing tiny Sarah as I am reorganizing her photos. FTM, looking back at baby younger photos, don't you want to go back and take care of them again especially knowing their 'pattern' now? With that note, isn't annoying that their 'pattern' is always changing? and by the time you figure it out, they change 'pattern' again? haha

Just in case you missed my delivery story of Nur Sarah, you may click here.

Obligatory first family photo that I ALMOST forget to take!



My 'bulat' baby but now her face shape is long just like her daddy except for her cheeks which she got from me.
Aww... here I go forever melting for this baby. She was so small and delicate. Now, I can pat-pat geram her.





I was actually surprised that the first set of visitors was Pak & Mak Hitam who came by first thing in the morning! They were so sweet rushing to see us after a night shift.



Second was my dad was also another surprise for me. We managed to sit and chit chat which was very nice.



Ooohh.. look at small Nadya. Kak Nadya also has grown and up until now, she loves Sarah, kissing her non-stop. haha







Of course, my best buddy came by with her son, Matin. Min came by much later.



Sarah and Omah!







Angah with Sarah. He was the first one to carry and held her the longest. lol



The loves of my life in photo. Poor Jhon looked so haggard. hahaha Never mind, matched my own haggardness.







Abang Jamil came by rather late. The perks of having a private suite is that they allow visitors coming at any time. There were a few more visitors who came by too like Abg Awil and his family but I can't seem to find any photos.



Okay, a few photos of Sarah which seemingly look the same but as her mommy, I see a difference. haha







ARGH! I love my baby so much! So geram! Which is the big reason I don't update my blogs often now because all my attention belongs to her. It's hard to really sit down on the laptop and draft blogs. I am only active on FB and IG because it's way easier. I can anyhow post and type.

Don't forget about my blog, please. haha But definitely follow me on IG. hehehe

   

Baby Weaning Food - HiPP Milk Paps

sponsored review

Disclaimer: 
I am no professional and indeed, according to WHO (World Health Organisation), infants should be fully breastfed/ formula fed until 6 months which after can be given complementary foods with breast milk/ formula milk still the main source of food.  With that said, there are exceptions to the rule which can only be confirmed by your pediatrician when baby turns 4 months old and has hit majority of his/her milestones especially sitting up straight and showing signs of interest in food. 

Personally, my household likes to practice feeding babies from 4 months. When we say practice feed, we do not give full servings. The most we would give is a tablespoon of puree or soft food to introduce them to textures and flavors. By the end of the day, to each it's own and up to the parents' comfort level.

As Sarah turned 4 months old, it was almost just in time when HiPP sent their milk paps (soft food for infants). Sarah had met all her milestones and more and I basically can't wait to introduce her to new flavors. There are plenty of brands out there and it can be overwhelming for a FTM like me. There are also many brands which are too sweet or has salt in it so we have to research a lot. Although I grew up with DIY baby foods, I don't see any harm feeding baby ready-to-make foods too. As she gets older, I would definitely feed her more DIY food as she takes in more food.



Banana Peach and Fine Apple are organic, based on followed-on milk to suit age, has iron for blood formation & mental development, calcium & vitamin D for the formation of bones, iodine for the thyroid gland function, zinc & vitamin C for the body's own defenses, vitamin A for the immune system, omega-3 fatty acids important for brain & nerve cells, sun kissed fruits, valuable whole-grain flakes/ cereals, easy to digest (contains gluten) and no added sugar, coloring*, artificial flavoring*, preservatives* - *as required by law.





HiPP PRAEBIOTIK Milk Paps contain prebiotic dietary fibres (GOS*) which can also be found in breast milk and support a healthy intestinal flora. Like for all their HiPP milk paps they use follow-on milk, which meets babies’ requirements, as a basis. For the sake of your baby’s health, follow-on milk contains all important vitamins and minerals, as well as omega-3 fatty acids (ALA) for brain and nerve cells.

*Galacto-oligosaccharides – derived from lactose



Preparation of the food is easy.
Simply follow the recommended portions according to the back of the box which is

From 6th month: 45g (approx. 4 tbsp) to 135ml water
From 8th month: 50g (approx. 4-5 tbsp) to 150ml water
For smaller portions: 40g (approx. 3-4 tbsp) to 120ml water

You may use warm boiled water (50°C) to mix with the powder. Stir and let it swell until it reaches the required consistency.

So what does it tastes like? Don't underestimate a baby's taste buds because they also know what is yummy or not. Since babies can't really communicate except for facial and/or vocal expressions, we mommies can taste test for them. To be honest, I 'sayang' to open all the boxes because once opened, we can only use the content within 3-4 weeks and since Sarah is only eating maximum 1 tablespoon portion everyday, I can confirm 1 box can go a long way.

With that said, I opened Forest Fuits PRAEBIOTIK to taste. I got to admit, I can really taste the mixture of strawberry, raspberry and blackcurrant although not overwhelming. The cereal reminds me of cornflakes. For forest fruits, it does not say it's sugar free but it's definitely not sweet. Personally, if I add sugar, I can eat it for myself. haha

Of course, I let Sarah tasted some. This is not her first food though. I had given her 1 teaspoon of avocado mixed with breast milk which she disliked. haha When I first let her taste the Forest fruits, she seemed to be nonchalant about it; she swallows but 'meh' about it. Gradually, as she gets used to the flavor after a couple of days, I ended up having an angry baby who does not understand the concept of having to wait a few seconds to take more food into the spoon. haha



Check out HiPP's website and especially their Facebook page for info and updates on events, contests and discounts. You may get your hands on HiPP Milk Paps and their other products on RedMart, Robinsons, Mothercare, 1010 Mother & Child, Baby Online, Agape Babies, NTUC and other participating stores/supermarkets.