18 months update

Watermelon turns 18 months this week, I can’t believe it! My baby is not a baby anymore, but legally a toddler who qualifies for the much-more-affordable childcare fees compared to the relatively exorbitant infantcare rates.

I was reading back my old milestone-ish updates and hardly remembered any of it. That’s very telling of motherhood I think, things move so fast, so hard to keep up, gotta purge old memories to make space for new things to remember, or you’ll burst at the seams. Not enough RAM!

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4 Aug Play Date – It’s ONZ!

Salam all! The play date that Mrs F and I are planning on 4 Aug, 2.00pm to 4.00pm is still onzzz insyaAllah.

We would love for mummies to get together with us and let our LOs play while we ladies chat 🙂 It’ll be hosted at either one of our houses in the north (Yishun or Woodlands) — we’re planning to see the turnout before deciding where. We’re not professional play date organisers so this sesh is free! (In case anyone is wondering)

Here’s the sign up link if you’re interested! Hope to see you there 🤗

Pic of my silly milkmaid for attention!

“no” shopping goal 2018: Q2 update

oh noooooooo, end of june means it’s time for my second report card on my no shopping goal, which means you will see how fantastically i am failing.

but fret not! i came up with a simple system to manage my obsession.

nevermind that it is only 5 days old at time of writing, we shall be optimistic that it will help me.

wraps and carriers i bought

• solnce phases rainbow pop 6

i love solnce’s phases pattern, and i love confetti. so when they released this i went amg. i missed the launch date but one day i noticed they had one in stock, so i grabbed it. it turned out to not be compleeetely love, and just so happens my friend wanted to buy it, so i said ok please.

• solnce phases noir 6

i was holidaying another mama’s noir and i really enjoyed it. it’s cushy, has this lovely stretch that makes it easy to wrap quickly and securely, supportive, and really forgiving towards messy wrap jobs. so… the mama sold it to me. hurhur. it’s also got confetti though it doesn’t photograph as well.

• shearwater weaving odyssey 4.2m

i put out an ISO (in search of) and a mama offered to sell me hers. i’m pretty sure there were other interested mamas, so i’m touched she offered it to me. which is not justifying the wrap purchase lah, i’m just saying only…

• didymos prima ziegelrot 6

ok this was an impulsive buy. the only consolation is that it’s fairly cheap so hopefully i won’t have trouble selling it away if i need to??

• blue hibou conversion slot

i started to feel really gatal to try different types of carriers, especially wrap conversion ones, and i also started lusting hard over mad hatter duchess (fyi the toddler tula is going for usd 2,000) so i decided to dream up my own custom. gonna try make a dupe. just like how the beauty community finds dupes/very similar shades to cult hits, i’m doing the same for my carrier hurhur. it’s slated for second half of the year and is not going to be cheap.

• spellbound weaving semi custom

i scored a conversion slot, but then i need a wrap right? so i signed up for a semi custom with spellbound weaving, which is based in australia. she charges same ish prices as the american weavers BUT in aud, which works out much, much better for me. it’s sunset inspired (purple to orange, again! i can’t help myself) i tried saving costs a teeny bit by choosing an off the rack weft instead of having the weaver hand dye it for me 🤷🏻‍♀️

• woven wings tom kitten droplets pocket weave pre-order

i am a big fan of Oscha but lately i’ve been feeling like it’s time to cut down on my Oschas and explore other brands. so i started looking for my first ww quad blend. but in my search, i stumbled upon this low woolie pocket weave piece and went to sign up 🤦🏻‍♀️ i am pocket weave curious, after all. anyway, i hope this piece turns out EPIC because the price tag is pretty epic.

i sold 2 other wraps, traded 1 and received a small cash top up yay, and have received interest in one of my ring slings so hope that goes thru!

but overall, i know the list above is too long since it’s ideally supposed to be zero. Watermelon refusing ups is a double edged sword: one side has me going like “no point buying wraps!” the other side has me like “faster buy all the wraps!”

i’d just be kidding myself if i say i won’t buy any wraps in the next quarter. maybe it’d be a bit more realistic to aim to buy *less* wraps? i also fell back into travellers, both hosting and sending out. it makes me busy but i guess the good part of hosting is that i get to try more wraps without having to buy them.

clothes

i was less good with clothes compared to last quarter. especially during my holiday to europe. i bought two tops there, one of which i’ve not worn, which kinda goes to show i could have done without it eeps. i also bought two sets of PJs from Primark which i also didn’t need but couldn’t resist. and silly me, one of them was in the wrong size. idk why i didn’t double check. so now i’m torn between selling it, wearing it anyway, or hoarding it till my next pregnancy. oh and i also bought a black maxi skirt from Primark to replace my old one.

then came raya … i allowed myself to get another baju kurung, but i ended up not getting any. yay me. partly coz my closet is getting really crowded with kurungs and partly coz nothing appealed to me this year.

i did try to get the baju kurung kedah that Vivy wore, but i ordered a size too big from the FV sale and now it’s completely sold out.

(credit: @vivyyusof) the baju that i wanted

shawls

i threw out 3-4 and bought 2. ok lah kan … no? alright.

baby clothes

i did not have any carter’s order this quarter! i almost can’t believe it haha. i did however grab 3 dresses from janie and jack coz i realised she’s outgrowing her fancy dresses for jemputans dan sebagainya. hopefully these will tide us through until she’s much bigger.

bags

ok i was bad. not expensive bag-bad, just tote bag-bad, like i alr have a lot-bad, why do you need more-bad. i sinned in cath kidston in london, when i got a foldable ice cream print tote bag that sumpah is the cutest. i thought over it for the entire trip and caved in towards the end. sigh.

i also got me a cath kidson london print foldable shopping bag because … you guessed it, it’s super cute lah. has the palace guards and london eye and urgh, geram. if it makes things better, i have been more environmentally conscious these days so i do try to use it when i can.

lastly, i finally caved in and ordered a box from Sonder Social because i couldn’t get the nasi lemak batik print tote bag out of my head 😭 it is so up my alley, you guys. and since you’re here, let me share a bit more about Sonder Social: it’s a subscription box service of socially conscious goods. admittedly the price is a tad steep, but the girls do amazing work in curating beautiful collections and promoting social enterprises from all over SE asia. follow them on instagram even if you don’t plan to buy yet!

(credit: @sondersocial) nasi lemak batik bag by @thebatikboutique)

oh and funny story: my last quarter report was a few days shy of jujube’s super hot rose gold collection launch. i scored 4 things from the US website: two for me, and two for friends. guess what … i got refunded for my items because OOS, but received the two items for my friends. the universe was trying to tell me something..!

knick-knacks

ooh … my biggest area of weakness this quarter. it was the raya spring cleaning / sprucing up period that made me look into home improvement, and i started scouring the web for storage solutions (e.g. containers for drawers, little baskets to put toys in, clear containers for overhead storage compartments etc).

and kitchen accessories ooooooh this was a bad, bad, baaad one. i bought all sorts of things: ice cube trays, Pyrex measuring cups, cake pan, spatula, wooden spoons, new set of long tongs, egg yolk separator, rolling mat etc. all with some reason (or so i told myself), but it was a LOT of money going out VERY easily. eeks. also i learnt that one of the things i bought from Robinsons was 55% cheaper on Amazon Prime. OUCH?!?! so lesson learnt, please check Amazon Prime first in case it’s cheaper. heh. with same day delivery, it sure gives department stores a run for their money…

separately, i also got me a menstrual cup and some uber cute cloth pads from an aussie home business. there’s a learning curve to the cup and some people say it takes about 2-3 cycles to get used to it. i’ve only done 1. it’s been good so far and insyaAllah i plan to blog about it when i’m a real pro. now, not so much.

reflections

not a good quarter, resolutions wise. i guess i got carried away, many times. ironically (or not) i’m doing an e-course on minimalism called Uncluttered. i need to spend more time on it but i hope that it’ll help me get to where i want to go.

especially since i feel like i’m at a crossroads in my career. i don’t know whether to chiong until my next baby, or cut back and spend more time with Watermelon instead. if i could break away my attachment for things and shopping and spending money, i think i would feel more free to choose either choices. now it’s like “but if you cut back on your career, you’ll have to give up so and so. can you handle it??”

otherwise, alhamdulillah for a good past few months. trying out the menstrual cup felt like an exciting time of learning some new life skills. i also bought my first house plant, a succulent, from Aida’s (she used to be a BTB blogger too!) new business Sprout and Spruce at the Laloolalang bazaar in Ramadhan. i then got myself monsteras, money plant and fittonia. there was a time when i was really kemaruk watching people’s house plants videos lol. again i felt very happy about learning something new and also developing newfound respect for plants. i’ve never cared much about them coz i’ve black thumbs, but hopefully these black thumbs are turning green! (nevermind that my succulent thrived for 2-3 weeks then quickly died in 1 day 💔) the plants breathe life into my house, and i’m happy to be a new plant mummy 💚

my monsteras 😍

i also joined a make up class by nora zee, and it was great for a noob like me! at least now i know what to look out for when buying make up 😬

oh yes, the new system i mentioned earlier: i’ve started a WTB (want to buy) list where i note down the date of my want, the item, the price, and the reason for wanting it. i tell myself that i have to wait at least a week before proceeding to buy. i’ve failed on certain items (kitchen accessories that i told myself was “urgent” and that i should order before the $20 discount code is fully redeemed) but for most items i’m adhering to it! hopefully this is a smaller step in helping me to keep to my resolution.

if you finished reading this entry till the end, thank you for joining me on my journey! i am not doing the best, but i think it’s good for me to log down my thought processes. till the next quarterly update, insyaAllah!

mums & babies qiyam + aug playdate?

alhamdulillah, over the weekend i attended the mums & babies qiyam session organised by the breastfeeding muslim mothers support group at masjid muhajirin.

it was my first qiyam ever. i was a little lost on the logistics, and had all sorts of questions like:

• do people sleep in their jubahs or PJs (jubah)
• do we pray all night (no, there’s scheduled lights off and then we wake up at 4.00am for tahajjud prayers)
• is it ok to bring my bed pillow (it’s not common but HENCEFORTH IT SHOULD BE!)

the end of an era

soooo i gave up pumping two weeks ago and i won’t lie, it feels gooood! earlier in my pregnancy, i told myself i didn’t want to pump at work. later on i was like, k let’s try for two years. and then downgraded a bit to 18mo. reality is that i stopped at 16mo~

and no regrets, well, not much. i battled with low/“just enough” supply when pumping. alhamdulillah somehow Watermelon didn’t seem to have issues when latching, so my stresses was only when pumping.

when Watermelon turned one, we introduced fresh milk to her as a supplement. she didn’t finish her bottles whenever we served it at home, but she seemed to be doing fine in school, at least that’s what the teacher assured. i’m guessing peer pressure and a feeding schedule both have a part to play 🤷🏻‍♀️

at first i dropped from 3 to 2 pumping sessions and felt so free. then i noticed that my yield was getting reaaaally poor so i dropped further to 1 session per day. i discussed with NG who agreed that the low yield didn’t seem to be worth the effort (he was in charge of washing my bottles and flanges every night, hehe) and so i planned to stop in Ramadhan.

then work got really busy in the week before, and one day i ran into problems with the pump’s suction and felt so lazy and unmotivated to troubleshoot. that was when i knew it was my unplanned, last sesh ever. i took a good look at the nursing room and thanked it before leaving. lol dramatic eh? but really, i’m blessed that my small office set aside a decent nursing room for us mummies. in its hey days it even had an exclusive fridge, but it’s since broken down and been removed, and we are waiting for the new one to be purchased.

anyhoos, i found a pumping set up that worked for me. before i forget — and i’m sure i will — thought i’d record them down here for future reference. coz i wish for another squish in the distant future, and would want to also breastfeed and pump at work. but this time i think i’ll try pumping even when on maternity leave to build up a stash and help increase milk supply.

lastly, i’m ever so grateful for my two friends who generously passed me their frozen milk supplies and effectively become Watermelon’s ibu susuan-s. having their stash took off a lot of pressure from me to increase my production. i’ll always be indebted to them. may Allah swt reward them with abundance and grant them the highest of Jannah, aamiin!

pump stuff

– pump in office: spectra s2+
– pump at home: spectra s9
– flanges: maymom 21mm
– storage bottles: medela, because the maymom flanges are narrow neck
– storage bags: philips avent, but next time consider lansinoh’s for better design

bag stuff

– pump bag: jujube fuel cell (yay for “thinsulation”)
– ice pack: bought a thin plastic pack from qoo10 that i filled with water and froze overnight
– work bag: a small backpack from pierre cardin that fits the fuel cell nicely
– inside the fuel cell: 2 flanges, ice pack, 4 bottles for 3 pump sessions, and a spare storage bag for emergencies.

misc

– hands free bra: from simple wishes. two sets used in rotation. kept in a pouch, together with a permanent marker for writing on storage bags, and brought home every friday.
– small towel to lay on the table

milk management

– LIFO (last in, first out): on weekdays, that day’s yield would be served the next day. friday’s yield gets frozen in bags and then thawed on sunday night for monday’s feed.

a modest room which i sometimes looked forward to so that i could be left alone 😅 at its peak, there were 7 of us sharing it and all of us had to be on time. thank you for the memories, even if i’m so happy to graduate 💕

lessons from travelling with baby and parents

alhamdulillah i’m back from travelling with parents and baby to london, paris, and amsterdam. learnt A LOT from this trip because we made so many mistakes. gonna log them here to help me remember for future trips insyaAllah:

1. don’t be too ambitious

we had the classic mentality of wanting to squeeze the most out of our europe flight. after all, if you’re going to spend 11-13h to fly somewhere, you might as well spend at least 2 weeks right?

no shopping goal 2018: Q1 update

hello! hard to believe March has ended which means … time to do a quarterly update on my No Shopping Goal.

oh … i’ve been bad. and good. but mostly bad 🙈

wraps/carriers i bought

⁃ Carry Om Phoenix Fire: i’ve been admiring this purple to orange colourway for a long time. so when the weaver opened a draw for a right to buy this wrap, i entered my name. why? i don’t know. i didn’t think i would win but … i did. omg, panic. ha ha. the consolation is that i looove the wrap: the colours, the weave, and the wrap qualities. and i have been wanting to try her tencel so ok lah, happy jugak.

staycay at The Residence in Bintan

we did a one night staycay earlier this month at Bintan’s The Residence to celebrate NG’s birthday. the hotel opened in Feb and is still a work in progress: there’s plenty of landscaping that’s not completed, and also the pathways have not been tarred. many activities were also not operating yet.

it was pretty empty when we checked in. most of our the neighbouring units were unoccupied, and we were pretty much the only guests for dinner that night at the “halal” restaurant. by that i mean the restaurant that also offers dishes with wine in it 🤦🏻‍♀️ ok takpe, moving on.

crafting + brunch with asha and co

hello! i attended an awesome event by asha and co last two weeks, so i’m here to blog about it. it feels like i’m repeating myself again coz i pretty much gushed about it with multiple friends and NG for days after.

it was that good you guys!

fatima al-zahra – the leader of the women in jannah (course review)

once in a while, i come across learning materials that change my life.

aida azlin’s course on sayyida fatima az-zahra: leader of the women in jannah is one of them. it’s a 20-lesson online course conducted with her friend, fadhilah wahid.

i signed up out of curiosity because i realised that while we hear stories of nabi muhammad saw’s wives such as khadijah ra and aisha ra, i can’t seem to recall many stories of his daughter fatimah az-zahra. according to a hadith narrated by aisha ra, the Messenger saw had whispered in fatimah ra’s ear that she will be the leader of the women in jannah. masyaAllah.