7 things I didn't know my baby would need!

 

Parenthood is not a course offered at university and even though there are many online parenting courses, it's definitely a journey that we'll learn through experiences. As a mother of 3 month old baby, I still have to learn a lot. From people's experiences, Pinterest, Youtube, blogs and most importantly from my own experience.

In this post, I wanna share 7 (as of today) things that I didn't know a baby need and I hope this post will be beneficial to you too :)

1. Minyak telon

The first time I heard about the existence of minyak telon was from my friend, Jash. She has a daughter named Ayra who's turning 1 this December and she listed down all the things I needed to buy as I approached third trimester, and minyak telon was one of them.

Growing up, I only knew about Minyak Yuyi Cap Limau or some call it minyak buah. I'm sure you'd know the smell of minyak yuyi and I still use that for my period pain till now. But my daughter, Iryss couldn't handle minyak yuyi. I think it's too strong for her skin, so we switched to minyak telon.

I will apply minyak telon on her tummy, feet and her back every time after bathing. It helps with colic and tummy pain. Happy tummy, happy baby, happy mommy :)

You can buy minyak telon via this Shopee link: Minyak telon

2. Cetaphil Baby Advanced Protection Cream With Organic Calendula

Iryss has rashes on her cheeks due to breast milk. We call it 'ruam susu'. It's a wonder why does breast milk cause such rashes. We have to clean her cheeks with cloth soaked with warm water after every feeding, and when we just wiped it off, she'll develop rashes. When this happens, I'll put this cream on her cheeks. So so glad I found this treasure! The rashes will go away overnight!

You can buy this Cetaphil cream via this Shopee link (cheapest one I've found!): Cetaphil Baby Advanced Protection Cream

3. Youbaby Cream

I got super sceptical when Facebook ads suggested me this cream. But thank God for Ayra's mom who suggested me this cream, this cream is super helpful when Iryss developed phlegm. It's clinically proven to help dilute baby's phlegm through vomiting, runny nose or feces. It reacts differently on different babies and as for Iryss, the phlegm is diluted through her feces, so she didn't vomit like you could see on some testimonials. 

You can buy this cream via this Shopee link : Youbaby Cream

4. Foldable baby tub with cushion!

People do talk about buying baby tub, but they don't tell you to get the cushion. Buy the one with cushion! It's super helpful. As a new mom, it's a bit awkward for me to hold my baby during the first few weeks, and this cushion has come in handy when bathing Iryss. 

As she grows bigger, the float helps a lot because  don't have the strength to hold her for long as she gains weight and she's more active now. She gets super excited when in water and this cushioncomes to the rescue!

You can buy this tub with its cushion via this Shopee link: tub & cushion

5. Mist spray bottle for diaper changing!

Usually, people will just clean baby's private parts when changing diapers with wet wipes. My mom teaches me to also spray them with water. Ofc you can just head to the sink, but who has the time to go to the sink for 8 times a day? Lol. So, spray bottle comes to the rescue. And I particularly like this one that I bought from Shopee :)

You can buy this spray bottle via this Shopee link: mist spray bottle

6. Quran speaker

I'll let the Quran recitation play in the background most of the time and this particular speaker is super awesome because it has different versions of recitations. You can choose your favourite reciter :) It can also be your night lamp.

You can buy this Quran speaker via this Shopee link: Quran speaker

7. Wash cloths and bibs

My baby is spitting up and vomiting a lot! I mean, not in a big amount all the time, but spitting up is common every time after feeding. And now that she's 3 month old, she's playing with her saliva so much. Wash cloths or baby handkerchiefs will come in handy. Not to forget, sometimes the saliva and vomit could get to their clothes. To avoid having to do laundry every day because you have to keep changing your baby's clothes, wearing bib is always a great idea!

How many is too many when it comes to baby clothes? That's the question I have no answer to because I loooove buying baby clothes and before I know it, she doesn't fit the clothes anymore. But there's no such thing as too many for bibs and wash cloths and don't worry about the price because shopee has the affordable and cheap options to our rescue!

The picture above is my utmost favourite bib, it's a cotton bib that will cover 360deg of the baby's neck area! The material is sooo good and the price is so cheap!

You can buy yours now via this Shopee link: cotton bibs

There are also handkerchiefs / wash cloths produced using the same material as the bibs mentioned above.

You can buy yours now via this Shopee link: cotton wash cloths

I'm happy to share some tips with you based on the limited knowledge and experience I have about motherhood. Let me know what else you want me to share and what's your go-to baby products!

Till next time :)

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert when it comes to baby related stuff, all recommendations are just based on experience and they're not sponsored. 

Dear Iryss

Iryss was sleeping on my chest, while I was typing this. She loves this sleeping position, though it costs me sit sleeping the whole night sometimes, I love it. It comes with backache as a price lol. I’m gonna start working soon and work will always be busy. With the current phase of where my projects stand now, it’ll more hectic than before I left for maternity leaves.

90 days aren’t enough for me to bond with Iryss. Yes, I ranted about this a lot on my social media but I just had to let it out of my system. I wish I was in Canada now, the maternity leave is up to 2 years.

I don’t have the courage to let strangers taking care of my baby, yet I don’t have the heart to be separated from her and leave her with my mom in Melaka. In the end, I have to make a choice.

Iryss is one of the greatest blessings from Allah and I know she belongs to Him, but I just want to cherish every moment with her, I don’t want to be the second/third person to witness each of her milestones. I want to be the first, always. Yeah, not forgetting the dad in this situation lol but I still wanna be the first.

Before Iryss was born, before we knew her gender, I told some friends that I wished I could have a boy because at least I would not feel so pressured to have a boy in future pregnancies. But deep down, I’ve always prayed for a daughter. I’m the firstborn, I’m a daughter. I think I could relate to the first-born daughter better. My mom and I are best friends, the bond between us is something I want to recreate with my daughter.

Iryss is 77 days old as I’m writing this. She’s such an easy baby, not a fussy one. She’s a good sleeper, very manja because I manjakan, loves to laugh, and is a chatty one. I love talking to her, telling her stories and when I told her about my maternity leaves almost come to an end, I swear the corners of her mouth turning down, and her chin is quivering. Cebik bibir. Like she understood. 

When this happened, I regret not starting any business sooner, being a boss of my own and can take as much time as I can with my little one. I know the importance of sending kids to school and letting them socialize and be independent etc, but I think 3 months old is a little too early to be separated from the parents. Especially if the baby is still breastfeeding. 

I can rant about this all day long, though I know there’re so many parents who have to go through this dilemma every day, I just wish this won’t happen, to any of us. Ugh, why isn’t Malaysia having a better policy for our younger generations? *rolling my eyes*

Regardless of whatever choices I gotta make, I pray it will be the best one. May Allah protect Iryss, always.

My c-section recovery & essentials

 

Hello, there! I've received many questions via DMs on my c-section recovery and here I am, sharing it in this post.

I think I've mentioned in my previous labor post, how a c-section is not intentional and I only read about it the night before my operation. But I'm blessed with aunts that had gone through c-sections and they helped me out with some tips and tricks.

Due to C-section, I had to stay in the hospital for three days after the surgery. During this time, I was given pain medication as necessary. I was given painkillers every 4 hours to help me with the recovery. Despite the use of medication, I was still quite sore.

After my procedures, I could not feel my feet for the next 24 hours. I felt nauseous and I could only eat 6 hours after I returned to my ward. I threw up twice after my operation. I still had a catheter placed, so I didn't have to commute to the toilet for a pee for at least the next 12 hours. Nurses at Mahkota Medical Centre helped me out with changing too when I still couldn't feel my feet.

The next morning after my c-section, I started experiencing soreness at my incision site, before feeling cramp-like "after pains" when my uterus started to contract and shrink in size. Later, the nurse encouraged me to try to walk again within 24 hours of my operation. She even helped me walk to the loo, just in case if I felt dizzy. I also read online that walking will help my body to pass gas, which was true. I forced myself to walk around my hospital room, though it hurt, gas can be very uncomfortable especially when it occurred under my incision site.

Another painful thing that I felt was at my bladder, I needed to urinate frequently, so my bladder did not get too full, or else I would have to pay for the pain.

The pain did make me cry once a while in the first two weeks post-childbirth. But it's not good to cry during postpartum days because it may result in postpartum depression. I just had to keep telling myself that a full recovery from a c-section will take up to 6 weeks. This pain shall pass. I was depending on painkillers for four weeks. Consuming paracetamols every 4 hours helped with coping with the pain.

C-section pain is one thing, breastfeeding pain is another. But I will share on breastfeeding some other time because that deserves a whole new post. I was always reminded to not lift anything heavier than my newborn, to walk every day as walking helps prevent blood clots and constipation, to hold a pillow over my incision when I need to cough or laugh. And I had to remind my husband and siblings to not crack so many jokes because I cannot laugh like normal people. 

I wanna share my c-section recovery essentials, that might help you in the future :)

1. Pain relief - can be paracetamol or anything that your doctor recommends. I took it every 4 hours, it really helps with the recovery. I prefer Celebrex :)

2. Vitamin C - I take a Vitamin C tablet, the one for kids (30mg) because the pharmacist told me a breastfeeding mom cannot consume vitamin C tablets more than 30mg. Vitamin C helps in speeding the recovery.

3. Stool Softeners - this helps make that first poop less scary and more tolerable. Stool softeners also help prevent you from straining, which could irritate your incision. I request this from my doctor because being discharged.

4. Incision care - Although the doctor said, I can shower normally, I still cover my wound with plastic during the shower. 

I cover my incision with plastic and adhesive dressing tape when showering.

After showering, Pan helped me cleaning my incision with warm water. He soaked cotton ball in warm water and cleaned the wound. Later, he'd pat the area dry after cleaning.

5. Dermatix Advanced Scar Formula

Many women say that their scars are still tender to the touch for months after surgery, and some say that it is still numb for up to a year.  My doctor advises me to apply this gel after cleaning the wound and after it dries, to help avoid having a noticeable scar, 

I'd wear high-waisted underwear later.

5. High-Waisted Underwear 

6. Nursing pillow

Whether you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding, having a nursing pillow of some kind is helpful for all parents. Having a soft pillow designed to fit around your body is a nice barrier between your incision and the weight of your baby. It also helps bring the baby closer to you so that you don’t have to bend or lean over, which can irritate your incision.

7. Sleep and have enough rest

Sleep is essentials! Yes, with a newborn it seems impossible but when she sleeps, I sleep. Sleeping helps me recover fast and ofc I need extra help from my family.

8. Eat healthy food!

I know Malay Pantang can be very limiting but eat healthy food is a key to fast recovery. No, I don't eat pati ikan haruan / gamat. Just normal nutritious food. I love this makanan pantang set from shopee I bought!

 During the first two weeks, I felt very exhausted. I know women who give birth by cesarean section have a much more difficult time regaining their energy compared with those who give birth vaginally. I'm glad I receive extra help from my mom, my husband, and my siblings to take care of Iryss during this time.

After a month, I was no longer in much pain, though I still need to hold a pillow to cover my incision when I need to cough or laugh and I still cannot lift anything heavier than my baby. But it's all good. 

Do I want to go through it all over again? Maybe, if I need to. But as for now, I'm just gonna let my body recovers and enjoy every moment with my baby Iryss.