Thank you Okinokiyo and Fashiono.my

 

I have totally forgotten I entered the giveaway until I received an email from Mai informing me that I have won the consolation prize - a 50% disc voucher on any Okinokiyo's products. I read about  Mai's entry on the giveaway and decided join, just to try my luck. The giveaway was hosted by Fashiono.my and Okinokiyo was the sponsor for the particular giveaway, Giveaway #5.

Thanks you Fashiono.my and Okinokiyo. I'll be redeeming my voucher soon.. :)

A Diehard Fan of Luxe Monologue Diary : 2009-2010-2011 & A Giveaway

I can't live without a planner. Though I'm a full time mom now, I still need to have a planner. Being a full time mom doesn't mean that life is just about the house & the kids. A mom can still do things she like but in order to do that she has to be good at multi-tasking and managing her time.  And if she has a small business at home like myself, then she needs to plan her day& work wisely. And that's were the planner comes in handy.

For the past 3 years, I have been using the Monologue Diary/Planner by Grandluxe.Nothing special about these planners though. I just love the design-simple yet functional, the colours and the layout, a week to view,simply meets my needs :). Had the shocking pink for 2009. Then the baby blue for 2010. And for 2011, it's purple.

I also found another one which I find very very chic. It's called the Fashion Diary and it comes in damask print. I just had to buy one. And.....I'm giving it away to one lucky Itsy Doodles Facebook page fan. For more info on how to win it along with a mini card holder made by yours truly, please click here.
Good Luck!

Blocked milk ducts for company over the weekend

My breast friend ;)

I can't remember when was my last post on breastfeeding... (this blog is also to document my breastfeeding journey) For the record (my record) I have now breastfeed for 1 year and 3 months (almost). A few more months to go insyaAllah. Akif still bf on demand..anytime he wishes, anywhere he wishes... Though he has taken solids, his bf sessions never seems to lessen. He still wakes up once or twice for night feedings too. He musta love mami's milk very much, huh? Hehehe..

Anyway...last friday evening, my right breast felt lumpy & hard. I goggled and found related articles to help me find cure/ solutions. Through my readings, discovered that I had blocked milk ducts. Tried feeding Akif to reduce the engorgement but he eventually refused because very little milk came out. Pumping also did not worked. Nor did hand expressing. I was kind of in phobia because I had once experienced a bad case of mastitis 7 years ago. Praying very hard that this will not turn to that.

[ A plugged (or blocked) duct is an area of the breast where milk flow is obstructed. The nipple pore may be blocked (see Milk Blister), or the obstruction may be further back in the ductal system. A plugged duct usually comes on gradually and affects only one breast ] source : Kellymom

[ The common causes for blocked @ plugged milk ducts are....engorgement or inadequate milk removal, infrequent/skipped feedings, pressure on the duct or nflammation] source : Kellymom

Came Saturday, there were still no improvement. I heat compressed, massage, pumped.. After a few rounds, I finally saw the 'plug'. Tried to remove it but could not. And it was painful too (not kidding). But milk has started to come out again so I let the expert, Akif do the job. Alhamdulillah, though has not fully recovered, the engorgement has however subsided.

So..if you have a case of blocked @ plugged milk ducts, here are what you can do..
1. To reduce / prevent engorgement
     a. Continue to bf on the affected breast
     b. Bf on the affected side first
     c. Vary baby's position at the breast
     b. Hand express @ use a pump if the baby is not willing to nurse
     c. Heat compress - Hot shower @ try using a dispo diaper - fill it hot water. If the temperature feels  
                                     right (the wet diaper), press the inside against your breast. The warm stays longer
                                     compared to wet cloths.

2. Do not fall for myths such as the unremoved breast milk has turned bad@sour if your baby is unwilling to nurse due to plugged milk ducts. No such thing! Breast milk are sterile and they stay sterile as long as they are still in the breast. Baby refusal to nurse normally could be due to many other reasons such as difficulty latching-on due to breast engorgement or low milk flow as ducts are plugged/ blocked.

Lumps or bumps should go away in a day or two. If none of the above works, you should consider consulting a certified LC or your doctor.

For a better understanding and to read more on blocked @ plugged ducts, you can go to the links below
- Breastfeeding-mom.com
- Kellymom.com
- askdrsears.com
- Loveyourbaby.com

Love note : Breast milk is best!

Hafiy's Sunhat

After 5 looong months as UFO (UnFinished prOject) , I finally got it done.*Happy* :D. Thanks to Tinihani for hosting Jom Jahit on Sunhat for this month. Though  it's a little overdue but better late than never, right? FYI, submission was due on Dec 14th hehehe..

The jeans fabric was from my old pair of jeans and the applique..was from an old t-shirt Hakimi & Hafiy used to wear. Tak sempat nak turun kat Akif sebab dah terlalu comot ;P. 

I used the pattern / tutorial by Sew Much Ado. Though it says that this sunhat can fit a 2T-3T toddler head (with head circumference of 19" or so), my 7Y old son can also wear this hat. So, Abang Kimi has also requested a sunhat him :).

Here's a picture of Hafiy and Akif in their sunhats. Akif is wearing a store bought sunhat-which used to be Hafiy's :).

What excites me the most about this hat was....I get to use my new label...Muahahahaha...

SoTinihani, here's my submission for this month Jom Jahit.

Finally.....it's here!

Itsy Doodles's new label.

Rozi of Rozi's Needlework got hers last week. And she already blogged about it here. Coincidently we ordered our labels at about the same time. So we I was expecting my label to arrive...about the same time as hers (not 4 days apart ;P ).

Anyway, am sooooo happy on how the new labels turned out. This will be for something new, soon to be available at Itsy Doodles Shop, insyaAllah. Still trying very hard to make sure things goes according to plan. It's kind of challenging though, (and hard) when you are a full time mom..and your babies and your home are your priorities. What more..it's the school holidays...I really really need to plan my work wisely ;).

By the way, this label was done by kucinpurple. Hop over to their site to get yours done today.

Love note :

Click here to view Itsy Doodles's latest creation - The Itsy Hobo Bag :)

Lunch & Appointment

Went all the way to Shah Alam for lunch yesterday. At a not so newly opened restaurant, Bouquet Garni. Amin had an appoinment with his friend, Shah who's one of the important person there (sorry, I don't know his professional position there hehehe).

The kids

The Lunch

Wide food selection

Delicious & Tasteful Food

 Kimi wanted to eat Nasi Lemak. Served with 2 pieces of fried chicken, a hard boiled egg, sambal on the side & lotsa fried anchovies, groundnut & sliced cucumber. I ordered Chicken fingers from the Kids Meal Menu. for Hafiy. Very crispy and the serving was enough for 2 small kids. For myself was the Chef's Special Pasta- Pasta served with cili padi and coconut milk gravy (ala2 masak lemak gitu)..I LOVE IT! Amin had a bowl of Soto...It was delicious. and love the super large bergedil :). Oh..as for drinks..well, forgot to take pictures of those. The kids went for Milo & Sirap Bandung. I had Pandan Ice Tea while Amin had Mango juice.

The Appointment...

...was on wallpapers for the restaurant. Wallcovering Consultation & Services -something of my husband's interest and he does it on a part time basis. These are the latest designs. Very chic & gorgeous. And affordable too.  Interested? Give me a buzz. Consultation is FOC by the way ;).