Mama(n)datory

I was on a fast-food binge with my daughters past month. I am aware how unhealthy fast-food are, but my cooking modjo was lost somewhere not to be found. Whatmore with the trip we had to Australia during mid-August, I just use up whatever food stuff we had from July and did not bother to stock up even when we've already  returned a week after.

I ballooned.
Hips gotten wider, face rounder. Break-outs too.

But then, dun dun dunnnn..

Just as I was getting back into action in my kitchen, I caught myself in a situation where I could no longer bear my haywire emotions.

And it wasn't even due to my weight gain.

I cooked, but I cooked basic meals, and repetitive after a couple of days. Mainly for my daughters. Husband? He only eats if he hasn't eaten any dinner at work.

I've lost my appetite. I either have breakfast, or I have lunch. Dinner are usually a piece of cheese sandwich if not none.

I went off my daily caffeine too. I gulped glasses of plain water everyday to combat hunger and thirst. I even started to jog at the park after sending my daughter to school to ease my mind and bring some rosy flush to my cheeks.

That made me lose pounds just like *fingersnap*.

Don't know how many pounds exactly, but I just bought myself a couple of pants today and I've dropped two sizes from a 29 to a 27.

I don't even know if I should be happy of this weight loss or should I gain it back together with redeeming my happiness?

I've been meaning to post about this, as it has been saved in my draft for quite sometime now.

See, I was diagnosed with a gestational diabetic (GDM) during my second full-term pregnancy, with Sofia. Didn't had any issue carrying my firstborn, Mayesa though.

I didn't really eat much during both pregnancies, just the occasional ice cream and cake treats. Carrying Sofia, I gulped more carton drinks and 3in1 drinks.

The evil 3in1 drinks.

The doctor told me that was the culprit to my GDM and weight gain.

I immediately steered off it throughout the remaining months up til delivery and boy was I thankful that that's just that. There and then. No continuation of diabetic in my system.

Right now, I'm leaning there again. I think I am.

I feel fat. I am getting thickkk. I feel heavy. I get sleepy easily.

Too much sugar in my system.

I've been regularly drinking my 3in1 coffee, 1 to 2 cups, almost everyday.

I need to cut it off.
Pronto, before I get sick.

Here's to a new aim - to cut off sugar, at least from drinks and desserts, if not completely.

And here's to restart my yoga journey - I'm so stiff and weak allover it's killing me just thinking how to start stretching and bending and planking and balancing...

Urghh.

Our family doctor thinks Mayesa has a minor athmatic symptoms. In her record, she has examined and prescribed medications for it, already thrice.

This is the fourth.

I'm not surprised.

My mom has athma. My little brother, too, the worse.
I even 'had' minor athma back then.

If I'm not mistaken, two of my baby nephews have them too.

For weeks now, Mayesa has been coughing almost every night and in the early hours probably due to the chilly hours. She's mostly fine during daylight.

No fever.
Just mucousy cough when it gets chilly.

Current weather and temperature is making it worse too. Musim hujan, musim tengkujuh, musim bah.

I hope she gets well soon.
InshaaAllah I pray it won't prolong into a severe athmatic condition, it'll just heal soon and be gone forever just like mine did.

Mayesa's gotten her ear pierced months ago. Sofia was supposed to get hers done too but she chickened out when it was her turn.

I paid for both.

I still have the supposed earrings and the receipt for Sofia to get hers done whenever she's ready. Now, I don't feel like getting her ears pierced at all.

Why?

Mayesa's caught a little infection. It was fine at first though. She started to bleed a little whenever she switches to a new pair of (cheap) earrings (been only 4 switches) as weeks go by but I dismissed it as just minor irritation since she said nothing.

Not today though.

I had the urge to take off her earrings, just to do some cleaning and found that her left ear piercing bleeds a little again but this time with pus!

Her right's is fine.

I cleaned it up and dab some ointment to help it heal. So she's off earrings at the moment.

I guess she inherits my allergies towards certain jewellery materials too. I'm fine with the expensive ones like gold, silver, platinum, titanium, but never with the cheaper metals, acrylics nor the plated ones. I'll get rashes , irritations and all.

I rarely even wear a watch, my wrist will get those tiny itchy red bumps after awhile.

So that means I got to get her a proper jewellery once she gets better. Ka..ching! Kachinggggg!

I doubt Sofia is off of the allergy so I decided that she won't be getting her ears pierced anytime soon. Paid amount, burnt.

Sorry babygirl, lets just wait til you're 18. Haha!

Here we are, in the ward of Ramsay Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya. I'm resting (and blogging when I should just use this time to get a nap) on the single sofabed while Sofia's napping on her hospital bed.

Ramsay's wasn't our first choice last night though. Our family doctor referred us to DEMC (now known as Avicena?) but as I was about to register I was told that they don't have anymore available wards that night. Ramsay's was our next choice since it's a bigger hospital so the probability of being rejected for admission is lesser. Alhamdulillah thankfully we got her a room here.

We just moved about an hour ago to this single-bedded room from a previous twin-bedded. Couldn't get one last night as we checked her in quite late at night at around 9.30 and was only given a sharing room by midnight.

Because we're using our Prudential Takaful insurance, they booked us on the next available single room for the very next day so here we are.

Sofia's diagnosed with a viral infection. Not a case of food poisoning, not even precisely rotavirus. She does not have diarrhea, nor fever; Only a bad case of purging - what goes in, comes back out.

She was rather lathergic that night, vomitting bile every 20 mins from an empty stomach, since her last fed at 4.30 in the evening. Dehydrated too, and she totally wasn't her cheeky naughty self. She didn't even bother meeting the doctor like she always do. It's like she surrendered herself. Just do what you got to do doctor - she couldn't even lift a finger nor open her eyes and mouth big. That weak.

She's getting a lot better now after 3 bottles of drips, and few bites and sips that she now managed to well swallowed in. Still sleeps a lot though, the aftermath of purging - exhaustion.

Hopefully she's back to her normal self soonest. Can't bear looking at her like this, it definitely breaks my heart into pieces.

Get well soon, my cheeky copia!

I've been disciplined in practicing yoga every morning this month, but I'm off from yoga today.
I'm tired. My mind and body can't take it - I've not been sleeping well last two nights.

Mayesa caught stomach flu the other night, puking 3 times through the night and continued to the day. She's gotten better towards the evening, albeit a little tired still. So I let her stay in and not go to school today.

But just as she's gotten better, Sofia took her turn to puke late last night. I guess she caught it too, from her sister? I guess. She slept in my arms last night and I only managed to get some sleep around 5 in the morning so imagine how drowsy I am today.

Good thing we have leftover  chicken porridge and beancurd from last night's dinner for today's lunch. Now we're just lounging around, with gadget each because I need me some peace. *guilty, but not guilty*

The house is a mess. I can't bring myself to get it cleaned up today. Not even doing laundry. Chores can wait. My babies need me more.

So, adios.
*Prays the girls will get better in time for our train journey up north this weekend*

3 times this month alone.

Source: Google

I am somehow still in pain even after 2 weeks since I pulled my back from lifting Sofia.

I had a massage over the weekend and the aftermath was so painful to bear with. Some says I shouldn't have had the massage, whilst some say I should since it had already been more than a week. The lady masseuse is my normal go-to and so I went. I was told to brave the soreness on the very next day, but never did it crossed my mind that it'd be this badly sore.

Still carrying this little one even with the pain I'm having. How can I not?

I had a rough Monday to begin with. I had a difficult time getting out of bed that morning - I cringed, cried and just had to force myself to be on my feet for school-runs and chores. So bad that it felt like a post-cesarean pain except that it's on my back. That bad. I could not even toss and turn in bed without feeling the burning pain. Sitting in the car, driving Mayesa to school and back home got me chanting "Ya Allah. Cepatlah sampai. Astaghfirullah. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts so bad." Alhamdulillah we made it to both school and home safe and sound.

It is now day 3 post-massage.
I am feeling much better and I can now freely do chores again albeit still in fear. Getting in and out of bed is smooth but still with a little soreness. It still hurts though not as much, whenever I sit for a long time especially in the car since I have to sit up and elongate my leg to accelerate/brake.

I am still putting yoga or any form of exercises on hold for the moment. Yes, I am as stiff as a log once again. Can't even reach my toes during a forward fold now; I even do a seated-solat now. T_T

Not quite a good personal start to the new year eh?

Allah is testing me early in the year.
Inshaa Allah all will be better soon.
Amin.

My second born - Sofia has some funky looking scales on the top of her head ever since she came out of me. Cradle cap it was, and still having it now at almost 2 years of age.

It never really went away since then. I thought it was partly due to her minor eczema when she was an infant, where she suffered burnt-like rashes and dry-peeling skin over her cheeks and chin (which I then initially assumed it was just milk rash). Eczema could possible be one of the cause and some says it could be a fungal condition related to dairy intolerance. I've mentioned it to the doctor a number of times, but she didn't seem to be worried and asked me to not bother about it too much. Apparently, toddlers with cradle cap is normal. 0_o

The top part of her head kind of look a little like this - dry flaky scalp Source : Google / Snotty-noses

Toddler cradle cap is a type of seborrhoeic dermatitis where the sebaceous glands in the skin makes greasy substance called as sebum, which helps make the skin waterproof. Kind of like wax spread on over shoes to make it waterproof (I watched this on Nifty Craft).

But the overproduced sebum traps the skin that constantly flakes. This is why it tends to look scaly. It looks similar to crusting patches of dry and flaky dandruff.

It usually goes away on its own over time although I am not sure when will it finally be gone from (only) the top part of her head. For the time being the measures I take in treating her flaky scalp is by  gaping her hairwash to  every 3 days, and making sure there's no shampoo residue left on her after each wash. I sometimes do gently peel off the flakes while stroking her to sleep. Itchy hands, excuse me.

Those having prolong cradle cap may go on to have other rashes such as eczema, and even dandruff because the sebaceous glands makes more sebum than is needed. There's no exact treatment to it I guess, because one can only remove the scaly flakes, but is not able to control to stop the glands from making excessive oil.

Or maybe a good diet may help?
I am going to google more on it and bring up the matter on my next visit to the doctor.

It is day three.

Today's the peak, but I can safely say the blisters are on the average throughout her whole body.
Nothing too extreme, Alhamdulillah.

Taking care of a child who has chicken pox isn't difficult. Pity, yes, especially when she feels the itch and stings of the blisters.

Here's how/what I do to treat her pox.

The pox essentials

The antiviral - Zorax Suspension
Myth : You don't need medication, the pox will come out naturally on it's own. You're blocking in the virus if you consume this.
Truth : It helps to moderate the pox, helps to kill the virus within. Lessen the probability of the virus to pass on to someone else.

Soothing lotion - Calamine
Helps to reduce the itch and stings.

PCM and Ibuprofen (on standby)
PCM or Paracetamol if she develops fever, but thankfully she didn't. Ibuprofen to treat a higher grade fever.

Oral aid lotion
Drops to kill the blisters in her mouth.

Loads of H2o.

Diet. What diet?
There's no restriction to food (unlike what many people believed in - no seafood, no eggs, no chicken, no soy sauce etc). I let her eat whatever she feels like eating. My doctor told me the same too - tak ada pantang larang makanan. To each its own - if you develop any allergies, that's just your reaction againts it and not anybody else. (To be honest, I was the same during my confinement. I just eat what I want, moderately, even with the c-sec/epi stitches. Alhamdulillah I did ok and still am)

And shower regularly, just as normal days. You don't have to skip any, fearing it'll itch more or it'll worsen the blisters or it'll leave ugly scars. Let your child take her showers, care for your child's hygiene and it actually helps to sooth the itch.

Doa banyak-banyak anak cepat sembuh dan tak develop any other worse illness in the future. Doa ibu, doa mustajab yang dikabulkan Allah SWT. In shaa Allah.

Of course you may try other ways people normally do - minum air kelapa, mandi daun semambu (pokok semambu ada besar tinggi depan pagar rumah ni) dan lain-lain untuk pulihkan chicken pox atau cacar air ni. I just don't want to overdo it, I think what I'm doing is good enough since she seems to be doing fine with it.

Can't wait for her to be free from pox. We're going bowling!

I thought we are done with the chicken pox virus in the house. I thought wrong.

Mayesa has been telling me about her itchy and stingy tongue for the past couple of days, and I thought it was from the seafood dinner we had the other night. I thought wrong, again.

I cleaned up the room she slept in since there were a few black ants on the floor from her night-snacking in bed the other night. Whilst I was dressing her up yesterday, I saw a few red spots on her arms and body. Thought it was the ants. I thought wrong, once more.

This morning, I had a sudden curiosity to do a body check on her before she showers. Those red spots are now blisters, with few more popping up. Oh my god. I freaked out a little.

Just because she freaked out first when I told her "I think you're having chicken pox, just like papa did last two weeks". She was so upset that she cried out "but princess does not have chicken pox!".

Eeeh anak dara seorang ni kan. I just had to console her a little giving her a little pep talk about princesses do have illnesses too and how one should really take care of ones health etc, and luckily she immediately calmed down.

"Mayesa tak boleh keluar jalan lah macam tu? So boring mama."
"But now you can kind of be a 'princess', just stay in bed and mama even serve you food and drinks here, too."
"No mama, I'm a chicken now."

Source: Google/DeviantArt

She's currently in the second bedroom; resting with her iPad for some entertainment, and a bowl of honey stars by her side. She insisted to just stay in, hoping to not transfer the virus to her little sister. Such a loving doll, my firstborn.

"I'll make you porridge for lunch ok kakak?"
"Ok mama, tapi mama tak payah masak. I just want bubur McD mama, that one is good enough."

Mehh.
Ok.

With Halloween over few days ago, people are now looking forward to the next holiday - Thanksgiving and Christmas. But apart from the holiday season, lets not forget about the season we are currently in right now in Malaysia - monsoon/rainy season. Yes, we do have seasons too in Malaysia, didn't you know?

No, you don't encounter chicken pox for 30 years.
My husband - now at 30+ years old, just gotten his chicken pox virus.

Nak gelak jahat, tak boleh. Nak kesian pun, everyone will get it at least once in their life.

Of course, you usually get it once at a young age, rarely later. Afterall it'll heal faster and better then comparable to your current being with lower-level of antibody and collagen; ambil masa lah sikit nak baik kesan-kesan parut cacar air tu.

That's what he thought. He thought he had it once, but turns out it was just measles then and not chicken pox. People seems to confuse between those two anyway. Hadap je lah gatal-gatal tu sekarang.

You can't escape it I guess. That's how important vaccination is nowadays; if you couldn't avoid the sickness completely at least you could lower the level of severity. Prevention is always better than cure. So do your part and get vaccinated, especially the younger generations - your kids.

My two girls have completed their vaccination course (toddlers' one). But that doesn't mean they are free of any illness, I know at least they're vaccinated from the worse. Whatmore with their own father who's suffering the pox now, I just had to bring the two girls away from him for some time while he is currently away at his mom's until he is fine and dandy again.

I did have the thought of "alang-alang seorang dah kena, baik kena terus kat anak-anak, sekali harung jaga". Ya Allah, bad of me for having that thought. Istighfar banyak-banyak. Hence, the strict separation.

Not that I don't or won't care for my husband, it's just better this way.
One, taknak anak-anak berjangkit; a little separation is best.
Two, his mom has the time to care for him better compare to myself who's busy managing the two girls every minute.

Hope he gets better soon. In shaa Allah.

Sofia unfortunately caught the hand, foot and mouth disease a little over a week ago. Alhamdullilah it was not that bad and she recovered well only within 5 days.

How did I know it was HFMD?
I didn't, at first.
For few days, dia hilang selera makan. Not that she rejected everything; she still takes food into her mouth, cuma dia kunyah-hisap-buang makanan tu. Tak telan. She drinks a lot though. She also had a few bouts of low fever, which only spikes to about 38degrees or so when she sleeps for a consecutive two nights.

I suspected she was only teething.

Doctor's visit
The morning after, badan dia naik ruam-ruam merah, mostly on her arms and legs. It wasn't bumpy nor blister-y  so  I assumed it was just fever rash (Roseola).

Brought her to see the doctor, and he was not too cencerned about it sebab Sofia dah tak demam. Yes it could just be fever rash, along with sore throat. Tapi doktor ada cakap, ada few blister spots but too early to tell if it's something else like measles or chicken pox. I was told to come back if it gets worse.

Rashes to spots
Petang tu tangan dan kaki dia yang mulanya cuma ruam dah jadi bintik-bintik halus. Some of it turned into blisters. We thought, ok, this could definitely be measles or pox. We'll bring her in to see the doctor again on Monday.

Second checkup
Prior to visit, timbul pula bintik-bintik merah dekat bawah mulut. Spots on her arms and legs pon makin bertambah. A quick check with my family members- ada  yang kata campak, ada yang kata ruam biasa. Tiba-tiba someone brought up HFMD. Terus ting!ting!ting! Yes! Hati kuat kata ni mesti HFMD, which didn't came into mind at all before this.

Doktor sahkan memang HFMD. Immediately I recalled a visit to an indoor playground a couple of days before she started her fever. Lucky enough, my eldest didn't get the disease, and all I had to do was to monitor both girls to not be too close to each other for a few days.

Quarantine
HFMD ni akan baik sendiri dalam masa lebih kurang seminggu. Doktor cuma bagi ubat demam/tahan sakit sebab katanya HFMD ni sakit, bintik-bintik tu tak gatal pon. Alhamdulillah Sofia terus sihat two days after and mula makan dan minum banyak.

Outbreak
There are many cases of HFMD this of late, apatah lagi virus-virus lain yang makin merebak macam campak. It could lead to many other things..many unwanted things. Jadi fikirkanlah pentingnya imunisasi anak-anak kita ni.

PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE.