The Ability

It is normal to discover our ability when we in the mid of our career path. For example, I discovered that I could easily mix and match my fashion sense when I started my first job in UiTM, Perak. But, it's getting more excited when I work in private sectors as the dress code is not as limited as the government sector.  Well, I don't find it a problem to wear baju kurung everyday to office. Again, it is not about wearing baju kurung or not, but how do you wear them. And it's been my dream to work back with IPTA =) Anyway, my fashion sense is not that extravagant pun hehe...

The ability that I would like to share here is I realize that since I have become the program coordinator (PC) in my current workplace, I manage to give a solution to a problem or any issues, quickly and my girls (the English lecturers) love to make this statement, " I love to consult with u. U always give us the correct and rationale solution and u did it very fast. How did u do that?" haha...I do not know where this comes from. I guess experience is the best teacher. This morning, at 8 am, when I was still getting ready to work, one of my lecturers called and asked me about a problem that she had regarding the LCD projector in her classroom and how scared she was about the spot check that we are going to have for this whole week. She took about 5 minutes to tell me the whole situation, then while trying to brush my teeth, i just told her, "Dear, can u just change to another classroom, and write on the whiteboard in the class that u are entering now, telling that "please move to another classroom"..write the specific classroom that u are going to move in. That will show u are actually running the class as usual and the spot checkers will go to the classroom  that u have mentioned on the white board." And then she said, "Mummy, that was fast. Why can't I think of that? That's why I called u. Thanx!" haha...when she hung up, then I looked at the mirror and have a thought 'hmmm..yeah..now I know what to answer when people ask, "what is your special ability?"....Does that count? peace.

Some candid photos of me during coordination meeting

With the other program coordinators of other subjects, informal meeting.

with my lecturers

during unit meeting

Penang: Fahri in action

My handsome and adorable boy, Ashman Fahri =)

Favorite pictures in Penang

I know it's kinda annoying when u keep pasting a post from other people's blog..hehe...what to do..i need to paste all of the info here so that it is easier for me to refer if there is any inquiries about BF later. Anyway, I would like to share some of my favorite images when my family and I went to Penang on last May. It was my family's first trip (on my side- complete). I really hope we can do this more often. Ok..let's enjoy the photos.

Of course, my most favorite persons in the world, duniawi & ukhrawi, my mom and my dad. They are the coolest mom and dad as well as the best grandparents!

Fahri & his same-aged cousin, Iqram. Oh..they are all grown up kids! Hope u two could get along really well, cuzzies!

Mee Udang! How I wish I could eat this more often! It is yummy!

I like this picture. I can imagine this if I have three boys in a row! Chaos!

How sweet that they are sharing birthday on the same month. The surprise cake was bought by my hubby's friend from Penang. It was a last-minute plan. I have planned this with my sister at first, and voiced it out to my brother and then asked a favour from my hubby to ask his good friend from Penang to buy the cake since they have planned to meet up at Padang Kota Lama. The cake is so yummy! Happy belated birthday to my mom and SIL!

I love these people! Including my sis who was snapping the photo! xoxo

The scenery is lovely, isn't it? This was taken at Feringgi beach. It would be much more beautiful if Fahri could stare and smile or laughing to papa!

My handsome dad with his tobacco pipe. When I look at this picture, I'll always think of an sms that he gave me when he was babysitting Fahri with my mom on last few weeks. I was at work on that particular time and worried on how Fahri was doing. Then, he texted me, sounded as cute as this, "Assllmlkm na. we manage fahri in good hospitality. you don't worry, continue your job. now fahri in good dream with suhana (my SIL). your mum also sleep, and your pa is guarding your house with new aroma, tobacco pipe. ok take care yourself. can you correct my english? the quick brown fox has jump over the lazy dog. he he. =) " Now, tell me..how cute is that? Even though, there are slightly minor grammatical errors (heee), but my dad is such a sweetheart!

A family potrait. Even though it's not the best shot, but this is the picture with the people I love the most. 

Me...at 7-month of pregnancy of second child =)

with my souls

Dad and bro were being so sporting to wear those hats! haha

Ok..this the historical moment of Fahri and my mom. The thing is Fahri is so picky when it comes to people that he would clique to because he is being taken care by my MIL all this while. He is not exposed to lots of friends at his age..His friends are his opah (MIL), atok (FIL), acu (SIL) and cik lang (SIL) most of the times. So, he doesn't really know how to get along with other people except for these 4 persons. I pity him but it's ok. He is still young. I know he will change. Thus, this picture is so meaningful to my mom because it shows that Fahri at last was walking together with my mom, holding hands! haha... This was taken at Bukit Bendera.

That's all for now. Till next time!

Good motivation on BF

Oh really need this and got it from here

Situasi 1
Kesian saya.. Bukannya saya tak nak memberikan susu ibu sepenuhnya kepada anak saya, tetapi saya bekerja dan tak cukup masa untuk pam dan lain-lain. Macam mana saya nak makan tengahari kalau kena pam? Macam mana pula dengan kawan-kawan sekerja saya? Mesti mereka kecil hati kalau saya tak makan tengahari dengan mereka..
Situasi 2
Susu saya kurang sangat apabila mula bekerja balik. Itu la sebabnya saya tak memberi anak saya susu ibu sepenuhnya. Dah takdir macam tu kot..
Situasi 3
Betul ke mampu nak memberikan susu ibu sepenuhnya kepada anak walaupun bekerja? Bukan tak boleh ke? Saya  dulu, susu ibu ada 3 bulan pertama je. Lepas tu, makin sikit. Lama-lama takda terus. Tengokla nanti, awak punye pon akan jadi macam tu..

Best x intro tu? hehehe
Sebenarnya sebagai seorang ibu/mak/ummi yang berkerjaya, memang tak senang nak menjayakan impian kita untuk memberikan susu ibu sepenuhnya kepada anak2 kita. Kita kena prepare dari segi mental, emosi serta tau apa yang kita bakal tempuhi pabila kita dah start kerja.. Adakah kita sanggup atau minat untuk pam susu setiap hari? untuk 2 tahun? kalau ada anak lagi lepas tu, mungkin extend kepada 4 tahun lagi.. sanggup ke? hehehehe persoalan yang diri sendiri je boleh jawab walaupon mengepam ni sungguh mencabar, tetapi dengan ilmu, persediaan awal dan kesungguhan, tidak ada yang mustahil.. kedua2 ibu dan anak juga yang akan untung..
Saya sendiri pernah melalui sebagai seorang ibu berkerjaya yang berniat untuk memberikan susu ibu sepenuhnya kepada anak sendiri. Masa tu tahun 2008… Lama sudah.. Masa tu, pendedahan mengenai breastfeeding ni sangat rendah. Tak seperti sekarang dah ada peningkatan dan ramai yang sudah mula untuk menyusukan anak mereka walaupun bekerja. :) tapi apa yang saya dengar dari ibu2 yang bekerja lain, termasuklah sedara mara sendiri, menyusu dan berkerja adalah satu benda yang mustahil… Ini kerana kurang pendedahan dan kurang ilmu dalam penyusuan ini. Macam nak bintang yang jauh berbilion2 batu tu.. disebabkan situasi tu terlampau mustahil untuk mereka, mereka terpaksa memberi susu formula kepada anak pada waktu siang, susu ibu pada waktu malam.. ada juga yang terus berhenti menyusukan anak mereka dengan susu ibu..


sebenarnya, tiada yang mustahil selagi kita yakin dan mempunyai ilmu / knowledge yang cukup. Saya percaya, kekurangan ilmu mengenai breastfeeding ketika bekerja lah yang menjadi alasan utama mereka tidak dapat menyusukan sepenuhnya anak mereka. (kita ketepikan masalah kesihatan ke, or any other medical related reason dulu ye)
Disini saya nak kongsi serba sedikit pengalaman saya untuk menjayakan penyusuan susu ibu ketika bekerja full time. Ni sekadar ringkasan. Mungkin saya boleh buat satu post untuk setiap topik. =)

Kumpulkan ilmu mengenai penyusuan susu ibu terutamanya untuk ibu yang bekerja.
Kita kena mengumpulkan ilmu yang secukupnya berkenaan bagaimana untuk memberikan susu ibu ketika kita bekerja… Carilah perkongsian ibu2 lain di blog2 (macam blog ni. hehehe), forum atau group2 mengenai kejayaan mereka, masalah yang dihadapi dan segala pengalaman2 lain yang boleh membantu anda nanti. teknik2 mengepam, jadual mengepam, cara simpanan susu ibu merupakan antara ilmu2 yang perlu diketahui. Sekarang ni, ilmu ni sangat mudah di dapati. just taip sahaja penyusuan susu ibu.. nah… berderet…

Melaburla dengan membeli Pam & peralatan menyusu yang bersesuaian dan mampu milik.
Sekarang ni dah bermacam2 jenis breast pump dengan range harga yang berbeza2. pilihlah breast pump yang kita rasa selesa. saya mintak tolong kepada semua, jangan beli pump semata2 kerana nak beli yang branded, nak sama macam kawan2 atau nak menunjuk2. Bagi saya, kalau mampu, carilah yang electric double pump untuk menjimatkan masa kita untuk mengepam susu ibu kita… Kalau tidak mampu, manual pumping pun dah ok… Lagipun, untuk pengetahuan semua, breast pump yang terbaik dan paling murah adalah tangan kita.. hehehehe Tak percaya? untuk info lanjut pasal jenis2 pump dan teknik pam guna tangan. Gunakan teknik Marmet. Boleh refer kat post ini.
Even saya guna pam, bila final, saya kosongkan B dengan menggunakan teknik marmet ni. Surprisingly, susu masih banyak lagi…
Selain daripada pam, kita juga perlu sediakan serba sedikit peralatan/aksesori penyusuan seperti botol/plastik penyimpanan/cooler bag etc.

Sediakan stok susu ibu 2 minggu sebelum mula bekerja.
Mula untuk practice mengepam dan menyimpan susu ibu paling2 lambat 2 minggu sebelum mula bekerja. susu yang dipam dan disimpan ini akan menjadi stok2 susu ibu kita pada awal2 masa mula bekerja. ini untuk mengelakkan kita menjadi stress dan bermotivasi rendah sebab stok susu ibu kita sedikit/tiada. Ketika ini juga, start ajar anak kita untuk menyusu melalui botol. Nanti saya kupas lagi point ni.


Rancang masa dan tempat yang sesuai untuk pam.
Kita mesti rancang masa yang sesuai untuk kita pam di office. Paling lewat setiap 4 jam sekali. Pukul berapa nak mulakan pagi tu, terpulang pada kita. Let say start every morning at 8am, jadi setiap hari mesti pukul 8pagi. Konsisten sangat penting. Nak tahu kenapa? Sebab demand dan supply. Itu mesti kena ingat. Bila dah konsisten pukul 8pagi kita pam, jadi, secara automatik, supply akan tersedia pada pukul 8 pagi tu. sebab setiap hari demand tu ada. Tu sebabnya konsistensi amat-amat penting. Skip pumping boleh menjejaskan supply kita juga.
Senang cerita, kalau kita memang setiap hari makan pagi. sebabkan ada demand sarapan, adala kedai yang buka. cuba imagine, semua bawa bekal pagi. dah takde yang nak sarapan pagi kat kedai, agak2 kedai tu tutup ke tak? Hehehheh
Tempat juga main peranan. Masa saya mula2 nak pam dulu, saya akan pam di surau. Tersangatlah memakan masa.. Sebab nak kena turun naik lif, lepas tu tinggalkan kerja kat office. Satu hari, bila saya beranikan diri untuk pam di cubicle sendiri, saya dapat jimatkan banyak masa sebab saya boleh pam sambil buat kerja.. Time awal-awal tu dah la saya seorang je pekerja perempuan. Alhamdulillah, kawan2 sekerja lain tak kisah dan mereka pun kekadang tak perasan langsung yang saya tengah pam. hehehehe Yang penting tutup segalanya. Kita tetap menjaga aurat. =)

Beritahu majikan anda
Bagi saya, bincanglah dengan majikan terlebih dahulu berkenaan penyusuan susu ibu ini. Mengenai masa yang kita kena gunakan ketika mengepam, elektrik (kalau guna pam elektrik) dan segala yang berkaitan. Mana tahu, kita ada bos yang sgt prhatin dan tidak kisah dgn niat kita asalkan kerja jalan? Daripada sorok2, end up bos bising asyik hilang je.. :) Sedikit peringatan untuk kita semua, niat kita untuk memberikan susu ibu kepada anak2 kita adalah tersangat murni. Oleh itu, peliharalah kesucian niat itu dengan meminta kebenaran dari majikan untuk menggunakan elektrik office (untuk yang guna pam elektrik) dan sedikit masa bekerja untuk pam. =)

Percaya “Saya boleh”..
Mind set dalam diri kita adalah paling penting sekali.. Sentiasa berfikir positif dan berkata kepada diri “saya boleh memberikan yang terbaik kepada anak saya dengan susu ibu sepenuhnya walaupun apa jua halangan dan cabaran.”.. Breastfeeding bukan hanya untuk ibu-ibu yang duduk di rumah, atau ibu-ibu yang berduit atau ibu-ibu yang kerja dekat dengan anak, tetapi breastfeeding adalah untuk semua ibu. Pilihan adalah di tangan kita. =)

Article on BF

I found a very good write-up about BF from here.

How to boost Breast Milk

Actually I was scouting for an affordable with good ROI BP but I found this instead..

1.       Why your B is not productive?

2.       How to increase the volume of milk

3.       Correct techniques to BF

Found all of these info from :- http://adrinis.com/blog/

1.       WHY YOUR B IS NOT PRODUCTIVE?

      Wrong technique applied. While BF, the areola wasn’t properly latched by the baby whereby the baby happens to sucked the tits only.

      Wrong technique of pumping and squeezing the B.

      Your BP has poor productivity. Opt for a good one even though it may cost you

      Insufficient stimulation from the baby mostly because working mothers did not adhere to efficient schedule to pump the milk. It is advisable to pump every 4 hours and never skip any session.

      Physically and mentally stress. Apparently, deviation to the mind and body does affect the productivity of the milk.

      Insufficient sleep and rest. Ample rest makes the body healthier and soothes the mind.

      Hormone imbalance and health issues such as fever, anemia, high BP and diabetes.

      The consumption of “family-plan-pills” and medications those are not suitable.

      Imbalance food consumption

2.       HOW TO INCREASE THE MILK PRODUCTION

      Foods

            Longyan  drink (air mata kucing)

            Jantung pisang

            Soya bean drink

            White carrot, Sawi, Kailan, Bayam, Peria, Carrot

            Kurma

            Halba

            Ulam pegaga

            Pil Fenugreek

            Pil ASI

            Crab soup

            Drink plenty of water

            Water chestnut (sengkuang cina)

            Lychee drink

           

      Massage

            Brush your B everyday using haircomb: selawat then brush the B to the tits, left and right

            Clean the tits with a soft toothbrush to prevent blockage

            Massage the B with selawat before begin pumping.

            Massage your back and B.

      Other alternatives

            Recite Al-Quran-surah al Baqarah ayat 60 with your palm on your B.

            Rub a small amount of coconut oil on daun sirih and swift over fire until it softens. Then place it at your B. Make it an everyday routine.

            Place warm towels on your B.

            Instill +ve mind and thoughts

            Invest in good BP

            Continual BF: demand vs supply

            Minimize stress and be at peace

            Pray and tawakkal

3.       CORRECT TECHNIQUES TO BF

      Firstly, identify whether the baby is positioned correctly. The baby must be close to our body in a straight posture. You may support your back and the baby with a pillow.

      If you are lying sideways, assure the baby’s belly touches your stomach. Again, assure the baby’s posture is straight.

      Our technique of introducing the tits is also very vital. Be sure the baby's mouth is wide open so you can place the nipple as far back into her mouth as possible. This position is best for avoiding breast soreness and will enable the baby to reach the ducts (source of milk). Never tilt over the baby. Instead, encourage her to reach for you.

      If you sense some pinching sensation, then you are doing things wrongly. BF must be comfortable and painless. Look over the baby and observe her. The correct method will allow the baby to suck and swallow continuously.