Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pregnancy. Show all posts

Wednesday, 30 March 2016

7 Things To Do Next Pregnancy

  • Drink water - the amount of water I drank before Baby compared to after baby was like a desert and a water fountain. So really I want to keep well hydrated as I think this will help my skin a lot during pregnancy. I have an issue with getting mildly dehydrated so that mixed with a toddler is not a situation to be in!
  • Eat healthier & more regularly - I find it harder to eat regularly and healthily as I'm such a fussy eater. I also find it harder to eat more regularly as I'm so focused on doing everything else and then when I do eat Baby wants some too! I will have to get used to that and learn how to balance...eventually!
  • Be active - I regret not doing this when I was pregnant, I think if I was a lot more active in walking and in general light exercise I wouldn't have felt lazy in later months as well as the extra flexibility wouldn't have hurt either! 
  • Be more forward with my midwife about things I want to discuss - My personality is such that I am not an open book when it comes to meeting people for the first time, or the second time - it takes me a while. It also made a difference that I didn't like my midwife. 
She wasn't interested in hearing me speak even though she commented on many occasions about me not speaking very much at all. She didn't want to talk to me about a birth plan and got her trainee to have the most briefest of talks with me. I just didn't feel comfortable at all and the times I did talk to her I was cut off repeatedly.
I think I would ask for a different midwife, or else be more firm in what I wanted to talk about and make sure I get my point across.

  • Have a holiday with just my husband - I definitely think we need as much 'us' time as we can soak up before getting on with it being a family of 4! We need non-stressful time together to focus on just us and not what we need to do, not what we have to do, not what we're supposed to do.  
  • Spend as much time possible with Baby & Me - I will definitely miss it being just me & Babe. I will miss spending all our time together by ourselves. I will miss the new things that she does and the fact that I can pick it up so fast because there are barely any distractions. I will miss her.
  • Similar to above, spend too much time with my mum, dad, sister & cousins while I could!

These are just some of the things that I'd like to be different for the next time. I think it's important to learn from my past experience and try to make some goals for the next one. Things can always be better if you allow them to be.


What is one thing you would change about your last pregnancy?


Wednesday, 27 January 2016

The Muslim Woman's Hospital Bag

I remember researching for hospital bag lists and watching countless YouTube videos to make sure I was all ready and prepared - making myself (and my mother, my husband, my grandmother, my village clan...) feel better.
But I also remember, very clearly, not ever coming across any list that would cater for the Muslim woman who covers herself from head-to-toe and what extra things she would need.
So I've decided to list the things I took with me.

The usuals that I took with me:
  • Notes!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
  • 2 toothbrushes & toothpaste (I took toothpaste with me, I remember packing it and when I'm looking for it completely disappeared!?!! I put an extra toothbrush for hubs!)
  • Deodorant, soap, moisturiser, Tresseme shampoo & conditioner, hairbrush, lip balm, (nothing beats the shower in your own home though!)
  • A gown & towel - for after the shower. 
  • Backless, comfortable slippers - these were sooo comfortable and I went home in these too.
  • Hair scrunchies
  • Socks, underwear & nursing bra
  • Nursing pads, Maternity pads & Nipple cream (I've also heard coconut oil works well as nipple cream and to moisturise baby's dry skin)
  • Phone, phone charger & headphones
  • Long, loose top (with buttons!) & pyjamas/leggings to give birth in & another pair, at least, for after birth.
  • Cardigan - in case you get cold, of course
  • Plastic bag for dirty clothes
  • Little jug/water bottle - for bathroom purposes

Baby things:
  •  Carseat & carseat newborn insert
  • (16 for a 2 day stay) Nappies, nappy bags, 1 bag of cotton wool, little pot for water, vaseline/nappy rash cream
  • 6 bodysuits & 6 babygros/sleepsuits
  • 2 cellular blankets
  • Baby jacket for home
  • Baby socks - (these work as good mittens too)
  • Bibs
  • Going home outfit - I didn't put this on, because of the weather even though they were warm clothes.

The extras you want to think about:
  • Long black pashmina (your scarf) - this can also serve as a breastfeeding cover & also if you just feel to cover in front of any visits you get in the hospital/whoevers barging into the room.
  • Open-front (either with buttons or velcro) abayah (a full-sleeved floor length dress) - I used mine as a hospital gown and as an extra layer it kept me warm - especially with the thin blankets at the hospital!
  • Overhead Hijaab (dress that is worn from head to toe) - wear this and a pashmina to go to and come back from the hospital!
  • Niqaab (veil)  - this is if you wear it regularly and want to wear it to/from the hospital.
  • Ka'bah compass - to find the direction so any one who visits can pray & if you are able to duringlabour/induction
  • Mushaf - if you have the time during labour/induction/want to recite it to your newborn
  • Zamzam water
  • Dates - these are soooo good for you, your digestive system & also to practice the sunnah of tahneek

Things I didn't take that you may want to:
  • Birthing ball
  • Extra pillows
  • Breastfeeding pillow
  • V-shaped pillow
  • Flip flops for shower
  • Lip balm
  • Hair dryer
  • Money/coins
  • Lotion
  • Glasses
  • TENS machine
  • Big bag to put gifts in
  • Gum
  • Vests
  • Make up
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Toilet roll
  • Paracetomol/Ibuprofen
  • Notebook & pen
  • Facial wipes
  • Tennis ball in a sock 
  • Breast pump



Midwife and Life


Monday, 21 December 2015

5 Things All Women Want to do During Pregnancy

I always see blogs/vlogs about what mothers aspire to do during pregnancy that they never get round to doing as much as they would like. These few things are so recurrent that I've decided to do them again, because no one can get enough of it. Simple as.

1) Drink more water. 



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Said every woman/person/alien ever.
If this is the case in normal every-day non-pregnant state of life then why don't you get started before pregnancy or, better yet, afterwards?

A quick google search will tell you the recommended amount is: eight 8 ounce glasses/2 litres/half a gallon. So if you divide this by 500ml bottles that's about 4 bottles in a day? Not bad - have one when you wake up (refreshing!), have one with lunch, have one after tea-time (you'll have peed so much you're tired of counting the trips to the bathroom) and have one with dinner. Sorted!

And if you're a breastfeeding mother you'll actually want to drink all of that. You will force yourself to as well while you cry about how much you miss coke. (I know it's not just me)


2) Keep Fit

I really tried this one (said no normal, average woman ever).

Everyone always want to keep in shape while pregnant, not gain too much weight, and prepare for the birth and after-birth. This does not go well, because we get lazy!

Pregnant women are lazy, hormonal and are dealing with bodily changes that they find disgusting. They want to cut some slack on themselves even though they did want all those benefits from exercising. It's just so hard right now. Let's try tomorrow morning instead?

Or let's say we do get round to doing it, and we feel pretty okay afterwards and a bit lighter and happier, and tired and in need of another shower, because wow sweating 3x more than I did pre-pregnancy. We all know it's only going to last a few days - a week or two MAX. There is no way we are going through the whole pregnancy doing squats and crunches up until the baby evacuates. We are too tired and too fat and too in need of ice cream.


3) Eat healthier

vegrecipesofindia.com
Okay this one is a bit more  doable if you don't mind or like veggies. There's tons of yummy recipes that you can make with that bursting-full-of-food fridge of yours.
The problem goes back to a recurrent feeling we've been having since this post began: laziness.

The idea is that you're never going to look after yourself more than anyone else, but the point being is that you are growing your child who is depending on YOU and no one else to feed them - therefore you should be offering them the best. Sometimes it's really easy to lapse and I can understand that, but you have the time to eat so, oh my days, get over yourself and your laziness! Get in the kitchen and pull up the recipe that sounds, looks and already tastes good without you making it already!!





4) Organise the house

I love organising the house when I'm pregnant. I want to do everything and clean everything and organise everything and the tidiness!! I want everything to be tidy! There's something so satisfying about everything being ready and put into its proper place. It's the safety of it, isn't it? The satisfaction of knowing that everything will be  fine and good and in its place when you really, really need it to be.

The problem is that it's not always possible to do the whole nesting phase - especially when you can't do the heavy lifting that needs to be done and time with your hubs is quite limited and, frankly, you don't want to spend it cleaning do you? You're getting ready for a baby - you want to do everything you can possibly do without the baby right this minute. Tidying up is not on the list.

Alternatively, you have too many kids and it's just not possible because they keep making a mess of everything they can get their hands on and, to be honest, they can climb now so there isn't anything they can't get. So you're screwed, really.

mumcloset.com

5) Answer back to all those invading questions in the most cheeky way possible

There's so many comebacks in our head that pop up whenever someone asks us those awful questions or give us awful advice about babies and kids in general. Please, I could write a novel about this, but that would mean this post gets too long.

In short, stop being so kind and polite to everyone - be tongue-on-cheek and be cheeky! Deliver that comeback with a smile on your face and walk off like you've always wanted to. Do it at least once in the sea of people you've passed off and ignored and then raged over later with your hubs over the phone.

Go on, you know you want to.

You Baby Me Mummy


Friday, 11 December 2015

Pregnancy Reactions

art by bg-light@deviantart


Telling my parents that I was pregnant was the most important thing to me. I remember getting so mad and upset over the fact that my husband didn't take me back home to tell them immediately.

I didn't even think of telling them in an elaborately thought out plan about how I was having their first grandchild, my husband's family's first grandchild from a son (a big deal in asian culture) and the first great-grandchild! I just desperately wanted to burst through their door and announce "I'M PREGNANT!!!!!"

So we eventually went over to my mum's house and sat chatting for a while before I broke it to her. I wanted to tell her by myself so I could just savour that moment (he ended up doing the same to his family too), so when he left momentarily I shrugged the test out of my sleeve and gave it to her.

The first thing that happened was that her eyes bugged out of her face and then said, "Is that what it's supposed to be?" She was very happy that the two lines meant exactly what she thought it meant.


Telling my father was a slightly different story as I was rushing to get my things together - I had dinner at the in-laws at the time he had come back from work. Just five minutes before I was leaving I ran up the stairs, shouting at him to stop, said hello and promptly gave him the pregnancy test. He propped up his glasses, had a good look, turned pink and shouted "OH MY GOD. OH MY GOD." 

Poor man didn't know where to look he was so embarrassed! He walked a few steps away from me and then turned back round and stood for a moment, "Congratulations, I guess!" It took a lot for me to not laugh at him, but time was also short and I gave him a hug and a kiss before shouting goodbye and running down the stairs and out the door.

image by polin@wordpress

My older cousin, someone who I regard as a sister, wasn't one of the first people to tell, but was one of the most meaningful. She lives about 6 hours away from me so unfortunately there weren't many ways I could tell her, and to be honest I didn't want anyone else to tell her and I didn't want to tell her in a way where she would be affronted by the fact that someone else in her family could find out that I told them before I told her. It wouldn't be kind - we've been through a lot. 

So I did the old fashioned and I phoned her and after a bit of our usual conversing about her uni life and how married life was going for me I said to her quite simply "I have something to tell you" to which she fervently replied "okay..." as she knew that the last time I had said this she had gotten the shock of her life that I was getting married. She again had the same speechless (literally so hard to get this chatterbox of a bubbly, wonderful, funny woman speechless) reaction when I had said "I'm pregnant".

There was silence on the other end of the phone and then she began gushing and on the verge of tears she was so amazingly emotional and happy for me. She was amazing and asked all the questions she possibly could off the top of her head.

Putting the phone down after one of her phone calls always leaves me happy and light and good and this wasn't any different.
I missed the pleasure of telling my grandparents, but from what I heard they were extremely excited, happy and a little shocked. Mum had told Nano, my grandmother, over the phone and she threw herself into a fit getting extremely excited and then couldn't keep the news to herself. At the time the hairdresser was coming over to do our hair and as she had just arrived Mum needed to get off the phone. She couldn't wait for baby and showered me with love, stories from Mum's childhood with her siblings and my grandfather, Nanaboo, showered me with food: food made by Nano, fresh fruit and asian desserts. 






This is best told in the messages we sent to each other:




I sent her a picture of my growing baby bump after the last text. She immediately called me afterwards and did her own gushing and brain freeze over the news of it all.


These are my most notable of pregnancy reactions apart from Husband's and Sister's which are in the post below. I love giving people good news and what's better news than "I'm getting married" and "I'm pregnant"?






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