Exclusive Breastfeeding Journey Part 3 – Weaning Off

In June 2017, our little firstborn turned 2 years old. Alhamdulillah, we managed to still provide him with his mother’s milk until then. However, with every journey, there must be an end for it. Having gone through very painful episodes of blocked duct for more than a couple of times throughout the 2 years duration, I was naturally anxious about stopping.

Nevertheless, for various reasons, I wanted to stop my son from breastfeeding. And I prefer a method that does not involve cheating or tricking my son. That’s my preference, and I respect other moms’ methods should they feel the need to do it any other way.

A few months before stopping, I consulted with many people, mostly my own seniors or friends that have gone through the process. They shared a few tips and from there, I formed a strategy. I also read up on the topic to prepare myself mentally and physically. Coincidentally, my husband was away for the fasting month and the majority of the ‘Raya’ month. From my previous experience of fasting while breastfeeding my son, I really do not think I could go on another month of it. (Bad thinking, I know!) I felt really weak and tired last year, so I decided to ask my son to refrain from breastfeeding during the day throughout the month of Ramadan this year. Instead, I gave him the liquid, full cream milk when he wanted milk. I started to give him ‘the talk’ about a couple of weeks beforehand, to make sure that he understands and cooperates with me.

The first few days, he asked for it. We called it ‘susu ummi’ and the full cream milk as ‘susu kotak’. The first dew days of putting him to his daytime nap was quite a challenge because he is used to breastfeeding till he falls asleep. Thankfully after a couple of weeks, he got used to the arrangements. This went on until the first couple of weeks of ‘raya’, when my husband returned home.

A couple of days after my husband returned, our son seemed to be in such a good mood that we started to completely stop him from breastfeeding. We told him that he’s a big boy now, already two years old, and he could stop ‘susu ummi’ and continue eating normal food. If he misses his milk, he can drink ‘susu kotak’. We struggled for the first week, whereby he would wake up in the middle of the night, throwing tantrums and all, because he was hungry. So we tried feeding him a night snack right before putting him to sleep, to prevent hunger pang in the middle of the night. So far, it’s been nearly a month and he seemed to have been weaned off completely and successfully.

I feared that I might suffer from blocked duct or anything once I stop. Fortunately, I survived without any need to express my milk and the supply dwindled to the point that even my breasts returned to their size before I got pregnant.

I’m blessed that my husband is around to help and that my son is cooperative. Alhamdulillah, we managed to complete that part of our duty to our son. May our next chid will be blessed in the same way. Aameen.

All the best to other moms out there! I hope this sharing helps.

Our First Toilet Training Part 3 – Using the Potty

In my previous sharing, we managed to train our son to be off his diaper at 19 months of age. I will be honest. Life after that, can be quite difficult. Especially when we have to travel and the size of the toilet seat outside is only for adults. Sometimes he would pass motion on the floor and I need to pick his poo up / use a lot of water to drain the poo into the hole.

We’ve had situations whereby my son was passing motion and someone really rude keeps on knocking on the door, impatiently, until I told her “My son is using the toilet”. Then only she stopped. Well, there are many other toilet cubicles and she just had to attack mine, despite only being in there for a couple of minutes (when she started knocking).

Another situation is when there are many other cubicles available, but one selfish lady walked into the family sized one – the one with a toilet bowl for kids) and took her own sweet time inside. So please, refrain yourself from using those toilets labelled “family” unless you are taking your little children along with you.

Anyway, initially my son refused to use the potty seat (see picture) that I bought for him. I read that children needs their feet to touch the ground when passing motion, so I bought him a cheap, small potty with very basic feature.

Still, he refused to sit on it. He only passes urine/motion while standing over it, so I could just dump the whole thing inside the usual toilet bowl to be flushed. The challenge is that his poo would be stuck on his thigh and buttock, and it was such a hassle to clean. I wanted to teach him to clean himself so that I could teach him that his private parts are only for him to touch. No one else can touch him there, not even me. So with so much poo to be cleaned, I can’t make him do it himself without risking him touching everywhere with his ‘poopy’ hands. LOL.

So, to solve this, in July this year, I purchased a comfortable and cute seating potty bowl for him. (see picture). It was on sale at GIANT for RM34.99. I just had to grab it because the cheapest I have seen in LAZADA or elsewhere, is more than rm50! So now we are in the process of teaching him to use the potty, clean himself, and clean the potty bowl as well. So far so good.

I hope I can totally teach him to be independent so that I could start to teach him about no-one-should-touch-his-private-parts-but-himself soon.

Any tips from other mommies are greatly appreciated :)

All the best to other mommies out there!

Our First Toilet Training Experience Part 2

Salam.

Last week I have shared about the general rule I followed for toilet training our first son. Here is the next part of that. :)

Monday, 16th of January 2017. First day of toilet training. The most tiring! We rolled and kept away all the carpet in the house. We told him he won't be wearing any diaper from now on, and that he must pee/poop in the toilet. We asked him to repeat that many times.

We had nearly 10 accidents. He nearly ran out of pants to wear because we had to keep changing him. Not to mention the amount of work to mop the mess on top of doing the usual housechores.

Sometimes, he peed during the toilet trip. Sometimes he did not. When he did, we would congratulate, praise and encourage him. When he did not, we simply say "ok perhaps next trip you will pee". Patience is the key.

The moment my husband got back from work, I passed the baton to him to take our son to toilet. It was really tiring! But we persevered.

Night time, we slept on a comforter (because thick mattress is more difficult to clean, so bye bye comfortable bed) and layered it with a thin plastic below another layer of thinner comforter (which can be thrown into the washing machine, just in case). The tips says not to wake him up more than 2 times at night to pee, so when he wakes up for milk (12-1am and 3-4am) I would take him to toilet and ask him to pee.

Tuesday, 17th of January 2017. Same routine except the time gap between toilet trip is longer. I felt as tired as the first day (probably more). Sometimes, our son asked for his diaper. "Lampin" as he would say it. But we were firm in telling him, he won't be wearing any "lampin" anymore after this.

Just like the first day, once my husband got back from work, I passed the baton to him. Thank goodness he was ok with it.

Wednesday, 18th January 2017. Third day. We saw less accident, but I tend to ignore my guts saying that "it's time for his toilet trip" so there were some frustrating accidents. However, each toilet trip is fruitful. He was then able to pass urine when taken to toilet.

He passed motion 3 times this day. Once in toilet (I was running like crazy and taking him to toilet when I saw his grunting face, which indicate defecating is in proses a.k.a muka meneran), another two at the living room. It was easy to not be angry at him because he seemed so scared and clueless. It was apparent that he needed us to guide him so we could not get angry.

Day 4 basically had no accident. We were back to sleeping in our bed. Yay!

Friday, 20th January 2017. Day 5. A new challenge because we were taking a trip back to our parents' for the weekend. We stopped a couple of times along the highway for toilet visits and once he fell asleep, it was such a relief because we know he will not pee in his sleep.

Saturday, 21st January 2017 Day 6. He had one accident while at my husband's father's house. Probably triggered by the change in environment as well as him being busy playing with his cousins that he forgot about peeing in the toilet. Otherwise all was well.

To be continued...

Our First Toilet Training Experience Part 1

Assalamualaikum wbt / Hi

We are extremely blessed that our first son is quite a quick speaker. He started speaking comprehendable words before he was even 18 months old. He picks up words as we speak them and repeatedly try to pronouce them until he is able to remember. On top of that, he is able to use the words correctly within context afterwards.

Since we stayed at my parents' place until he was about 19 months, I had to delay his toilet training, despite seeing some signs that he is ready. However, I took the chance to introduce him to be aware of the act of passung urine and passing motion and what they are called. For example, during showertime, when I see him pee I will repeatedly tell him "this is peeing". After a while, he is then able to say it himself (the words pee & poop, "kencing" & "berak")

Once we are back in our own house, we picked a day to start, and never looked back. I am also blessed that my husband is so cooperative about this. We did our readings and strategised. We also spoke to him repeatedly about our intention a couple of days before we started.

DAY 1 Every 15 mins. Stay toilet 5 minutes. 1 hour = 3x 12 hours = 36x

DAY 2 Every 30 mins. Stay toilet 5 minutes 6 hours = 11x 12 hours = 22x

DAY 3 Every 1 hour. Stay toilet 5 minute 12 hours = 12x

No leaving the house for chores/errands at all for that 3 days.

Stop the diaper cold-turkey. NO DIAPER AT ALL EVEN AT NIGHT. (We found these tips on fb by the way)

To be continued...

Postal Order (Pos Malaysia)

Assalam / Greetings,

Today I would like to share about claiming Postal Money from the Post Office (Pos Malaysia). It was my first time, too, so I suppose sharing this might help many other who does not know what is the procedure like. This is the example of the postal money/order.

back view

front view

These are the steps:-

1. Go to nearby post office (Pos Malaysia).
2. Obtain this form (picture 3).
3. Fill up the sender / recipient details.
4. Sign the form at the bottom left section.
5. Get your number for your turn at the counters
6. Hand over the postal order and the form.
7. The Pos Malaysia staff will return the copy of the form to you, a receipt and your cash.

example of form from this page

You are all done now. Hope it helps :)

Jom Minta Resit GST Part 2

Assalam / Greetings

from here

Remember my post about this contest?

Well, I won something! Alhamdulillah.

They notified me by phone and I had to go to the customs office nearest to my registered address on the contest form to claim the gift.

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and join this contest! The deadline is November 30th 2016.

Wisdom Tooth (Third Molar) Removal Part 2

Assalam / Greetings.

Remember what happened on 18th April? Well, you can read it here.

After less than an hour, the local anesthesia's effect began to fade, leaving me in PAIN. I was so hungry but I cannot eat! I could barely open my jaw!

Anyway I searched for some information, so basically this is how I looked after myself after the procedure:-

1. Avoid hot/warm food/drinks for a couple of days to promote blood clotting. Iced drinks were the BEST!
2. Take soft, liquid diet like soup, porridge, milk to avoid moving the jaw so much.
3. NO GARGLING AT ALL for the first 24 hours. Which means, no toothbrush too! This is important to promote blood clot, which will ensure good healing and prevent infection.
4. Avoid heavy/strenuous activities for at least a couple of days. (I rested for the whole week!)
5. Apply ice packs over the cheek to reduce swelling and pain. (This is so helpful!)
6. Take the pain medications as prescribed (I did not, because I'm still breastfeeding so I would prefer to avoid medications unless REALLY necessary)
7. If bleeding occurs, put the gauze as supplied by the doctor and bite on it over the affected area for at least 20 minutes to ensure blood clot is formed nicely.

So why did I say my choice was awful?

Because, having a baby means having to breastfeed him, carry him, having him wanting to hold you, cuddle you and punching your swollen cheek! 

BIG OUCH!

The swelling started a few hours after surgery. and really, I just wanted to sleeeeeeeep afterwards. But, having a baby (with husband not around) means, not being able to simply sleep. I was counting the days and telling myself, it will get better. 

It WILL and it DID.

So, cheer up mommas. We have got to do what we have got to do, right?

Finally, the appointment to remove my stitches was one week later. So, after the removal, the lady dentist said I can totally do anything I want. LOL. What a relief. It took me at least another week to exercise my jaw to function normally again due to stiffness after resting for the whole week. Phew.

I'm done. I hope I don't need any more of this surgery. Aamiin!

Moral of the story : Go and get yourself checked before you became pregnant!

Wisdom Tooth (Third Molar) Removal Part 1

"Wisdom teeth are the third and final set of molars that most people get in their late teens or early twenties. Sometimes these teeth can be a valuable asset to the mouth when healthy and properly aligned, but more often, they are misaligned and require removal"

source :  www.webmd.com/oral-health/wisdom-teeth

On the 18th of April 2016 I got to experience something new. Truthfully, I regretted waiting until I have a child to finally get it over and done with.

From here

My first third molar erupted sometimes in 2011 if I'm not mistaken. The process was slow, and I noticed earlier on that I would definitely need to remove it because of its awkward position. Cleaning it was difficult, and every now and then the tooth would bite into my cheek and cause pain and swelling. Prior to getting married, I have already planned to visit a dentist to remove it, but as usual, I procrastinated.

Bad choice!

Finally after my son turned 10 months old, I went to a dentist and was referred to the specialist clinic after they took an x-ray of the tooth. On the day of the 'mini operation', I had breakfast and went there with my sisters and son. The dentist was really nice. He asked me what was my problem, listened to my answers and explained every procedure to me simply but with enough information to make me feel confident despite the tremor in my fingers.

So this is what happened:-

1. Signing consent form once explanation given - I get to ask questions and my wuestions was answered nicely.
2. Cleaning the mouth.
3. Giving of local anethesia.
4. Waiting for anesthesia to work.
5. Cutting open the gum.
6. Drilling to cut off the bony parts (according to the dentist)
7. Removal of tooth.
8. Stitching.
9. Gargling one last time. After that I was not allowed to gargle for the next 24 hours.
10. Biting into gauze to promote blood clot for at least 1 hour.

Everything was settled within 1 hour. I was then discharged with paracetamol as painkiller and a bottle of mouth gargle to be used three times daily after the first 24 hours.

So, why did I say my choice was an awful one?

to be continued...

Jom Minta Resit GST

Assalam / Greetings.

Do you know that the Customs Department of Malaysia is currently holding a 'JOM MINTA RESIT GST' Campaign?

Yep, you can win so many prizes!

Please spread the word!

Do visit this link to participate. 

HURRY!

They have extended the dateline...

Contest ends November 30th 2016!

Our First Cloth Diaper Experience

Assalam

Let me start with an important statement. I AM A FREAK. I am not going to ask any of you who happen to read this to agree with me. I’m just sharing our experience and hopefully to inspire other mommies and / or mommies-to-be to consider this option.

Before that, maybe you could spend your time to read this :-

I forgot where I found this. 
Please contact me if it is yours so I can properly quote you. 
Thank You.

Anyway, my mother used cloth diaper for all six of us back then though the youngest she mostly used disposables for some reasons. I can remember helping to fold the newly cleaned diapers for my younger siblings. It was such a sweet memory. So, the moment I found out I was pregnant, I decided to give cloth diaper a try. Initially I wanted to use the flat diaper, like how my mom used to do. However, when I googled for info, I came across modern cloth diapers, which sounded so interesting because they are easier to clean, stain-resistant and beautiful, too. After comparing and considering my options, I ended up buying a stash of 20 diapers, as recommended by many experienced moms.

With my boy, I started using modern cloth diaper (CD) since he was approximately 7 days old. Why 7 days? Because he was jaundiced and we had to be in and out of hospital for a few days. The moment I started, I have never had to use disposables anymore. At all. Alhamdulillah to the support that I’m getting from my husband despite many unhelpful comments from others around me. And, although I never had to use one before, the mushrooming of self-service laundry is making it easy to manage CD while travelling. On top of that, Malaysia is a hot country. It is sufficient to dry the CD by air-drying/line-drying under the sun.

Since I didn’t buy the newborn-sized CD because it won’t be long for my son to outgrow it, initially I had some ‘incidents’ with leaking. The most important thing is to not freak out and be prepared with mattress cover/extra cloth for both baby and carer when leaving the house for chores or anything. Once I got the hang of it and my boy’s legs fill the diaper better, there’s been no issue with leaking at all.

I am using CD with the intention of reducing waste and lowering chance of exposure to harmful chemicals to my son. Therefore, I purchased CD’s that are still quit economical, and of which I believe I’m able to use successfully. There are so many types of CD’s out there. You can google them and compare and contrast. There are also different materials, different ways of care and so many things to learn about it before you decide to use it. You have about 9 months before your baby is born. Please spend some time to READ and add to your pool of knowledge. As for me, I am using pocket CD with simple designs so that they’ll be relevant to both boys and girls.

So far, I have been using the CD for about 8 months and I’m fine with it. Alhamdulillah. In sha ALLAH, I plan to continue until my son is potty trained, and also for our future children.

Here are some links that might be helpful for mommies / mommies-to-be who would like to know more:-

1. http://www.whattoexpect.com/diaperi... (english)
2. http://www.kellyscloset.com/Cloth-D... (english)
3. http://aisyahrozi.com/blog/a-pretty... (bahasa melayu)
4. http://soleh.net/2014/03/08/cloth-d... (bahasa melayu)
5. http://iluvsuperstore.com/ordercd/ (english/bahasa melayu)
6. http://happy-clothdiapering.blogspot.my/... (bahasa melayu)
7. http://azcutiekidsshoppe.blogspot.my/... (bahasa melayu)

Until next time :) Thank You for reading.

Exclusive Breastfeeding Journey Part 2

I can’t remember how many time I have cried in pain and frustration at seeing my son getting more yellow by the minute, with his dark green stool (normal adequately breastfed babies should have mustard-coloured stool) and refusal to drink. I felt like a failure, as though as a mother, I was unable to help my son through one of his most crucial stage of his life. Needless to say, comments from others did not help, too.

“...the baby is crying every night as though he doesn’t get enough milk...”

“...why don’t you give him formula milk...”

“...the baby sleeps too much, why don’t you wake him up...”

and so on. Thank goodness my husband had been there a lot. The one week of leave that he was with me was so precious, because otherwise, I felt so alone and down. He’ll prepare my daily bath water and snacks with hot drinks whenever I need it. I can remember panicking when he had to leave to settle our son’s birth certificate and other paperwork, and the rush of absolute relief when he returned. And the help I get from my in-laws with the baby and my meals was priceless.

As crazy as it was during that time, the thing that kept me going was knowing that the moment will pass. I am a mother now, I told myself. I must be strong for my son! No matter how painful breastfeeding and the stitched wounds down there before they heal were, or how tired I was, or how unstable my emotions were, I must keep going for my son! This tiny, breathing human being needs me. I must be strong!

Although I managed to pump out a lot of milk at that time, I did not freeze any due to storage reason. We did not have extra fridge space. So I would recommend to parents-to-be who intend to continue breastfeeding their children even after going back to work to save up for a freezer to store the milk supply. I didn’t, mainly because my husband and I have decided that for the time being I would not have to go back to work. So I only kept some milk as much as our refrigerator can accommodate.

Day after day, our struggle during feeding time became less and less. At one month post delivery, I had my routine post natal check up and was given a clean bill of health by the doctor. The trick was, I kept taking the pregnancy vitamins (iron, folic acid, vitamin b-complex) as well as the milk that I drink during pregnancy (Frisomum) to replace the loss during delivery and breastfeeding (blood loss, nutrients, etc.) A few weeks down the road and my son no longer needs to be checked for his jaundice. His weight is gaining accordingly. He is healthy.

During the first few months, I had some issues with cracked nipple due to poor sucking technique by my son. After all, both of us were still learning. The only required remedy for me was to apply my own milk around the sore area and leave it to air-dry. A couple of hours later it will feel much better. It was the method I learnt in nursing school, so I’m sharing it with all of you.

After that, I realised that both of us were becoming better at feeding. Initially, my son, who is quite easily excited would be looking for the nipple frantically - a lot like a hungry bird pecking to get food. If he didn’t find it in a couple of seconds, he would cry and cry angrily. Naturally, the baby is unable to see yet, so he was easily anxious. I had to move as quick as I can to offer him the nipple. After a few months, though, he can find it himself, and to my profound surprise, the initial pain during let-down reflex was then replaced by a kind of relaxing and pleasant sensation that I do not know how to describe. It feels so good that I frequently fall asleep while my son is feeding! :)

Honestly, I did not take any so-called milk booster product, as I am quite a skeptic when it comes to those products. I only made sure I drink enough plain water and also take milk myself to replenish the nutrients needed as well as to maintain a variety of diet. So far so good.

At five months plus of age, my son suddenly had his first fever. His temperature was as high as 38.6 degree Celsius. I was in a dillema. I did not want my son’s first food to be medicine, although I kept the Paracetamol supply given by the clinic with me. I decided to try conventional method first, which is to wipe my son down frequently and to put him on thin clothing to promote heat loss. Thank goodness he was quite cooperative, as he accepted me wiping him down and leaving a wet towel on his body without much complaints. He was still feeding as usual and wanting to play despite becoming tired after only a few minutes, so my worries became less. I checked his temperature hourly and wiped him down about every half and hour, even at night during bedtime. We huddled together a lot, as I noticed my son to be more clingy and whiny during the time. Alhamdulillah, after 24 hours, his temperature remained below 37 degree Celsius.

Finally, this month (December) we both have passed the 6 month exclusive period. We are now working towards weaning my son with solids and to continue until he is two years old as mentioned in the Quran. Alhamdulillah for the opportunity! I’m thankful that we are blessed with enough milk and patience. The most important thing is, LILLAHITA’ALA. In sha Allah, help would arrive.

All the best to other moms out there!

Exclusive Breastfeeding Journey Part 1

I contemplated writing for quite some time, phrasing and organising words in my mind whenever the ideas come. Today, I have decided to write, hopefully to share my journey, probably to answer some questions, and hopefully to inspire other mommies / mommies-to-be out there who might read this.

My son was born in the early morning, which made the beginning of my journey quite smooth. I’m saying that because despite staying up (mostly) all night for labour - I was in labour room from midnight till approximately 8 am - I was feeling energetic and, well, not as sleepy as I imagined having delivered at night would be.

The first time I fed my son was on our way back to the ward from labour room. We were both doing quite fine. Unfortunately, a few hours since then, (nearly four, to be exact) my boy kept on sleeping despite my numerous attempts at waking him for his feed. I voiced my concern to the nurse, and they even tried to wake him up unsuccessfully. After a brief discussion with the HO at the nurse counter, they decided to take his blood sample to check his glucose level. The results came back normal, thank goodness. I do understand that a newborn’s tummy is so tiny that they need frequent feeding in small amount, so, I did not give up. He had his second feeding quite successfully and I felt better. Then, we struggled for his third feeding as he prefers to sleep and sucking poorly. I was in distress, but I chose not to worry about it too much. That evening, we were allowed to be discharged from the ward, so we went home to stay at my in-laws house for a week until my husband had to go back to work again.

Delivery was the most tiring thing I had ever gone through. During the wait for my son to be delivered, at 40 weeks, I felt so tired I had wished and prayed and cried for my baby to please end his stay in my womb. My whole body was aching due to the relaxing hormone which was acting on my ligaments to ease delivery. I could barely sleep at night. The frequent toilet pit stops, the swollen ankles, aching back and pelvic and so much more. I thought after the baby is born, I’m going to get my old body self, and be as strong and fit as before. I was so wrong. *chuckles*

Anyway, during the nurse visit on his second day of life, my son was told to get his blood test done for bilirubin. Apparently he’s starting to have jaundice. The worse thing was, he refused to wake up to feed despite our many attempts. He’ll either sleep or cry loudly but still refused to drink. Alhamdulillah, I was blessed with plenty of milk that I had to pump out to prevent engorgement. To tell you the truth, the first few days after delivery, the milk letdown was so awfully painful, that during the rare time my son would suck from me, I wish to scream STOP because it was so painful. Otherwise, we had to force-feed him via bottle.

to be continued...

Azwa & AyBee

Plenty happened this week.

He was discharged from the hospital on 26th Oct.

Off we went to Ira's wedding in Muar.

Ira's wedding

Stopped by PD to pick up our sisters.

Next to Seremban, where he met the rest of my family (except Along) at my brother's eatery

>> LB Western Restoran <<. Ok, I don't really know how they feel about him, but I can see warm reception from my family.

The next day I went to attend Saffa's wedding near Morib, 

with Peqoot, Kaknyah and Nisa.

At Saffa's wedding

Then he and I returned to Johor. 

I stopped by Kluang to drop him off and continued my journey back to JB.

On 30th Oct, he came to JB to pick up his car as mine was repaired.

He took me to Desaru to see the sunrise, we bathed in the sea, had dinner and a walk at Pasar Borong Pandan before he returned to Kluang.

Delicious food, reasonably priced, amazing company. 

Thank you so much for everything!

Nasi Ayam Penyet Banaffe Village Restaurant,
near New York Hotel, JB.

Back to my routine.

Phnom Penh - of Sister/brotherhood

The trip was planned since January this year.

Organised by >> Hospital Beyond Boundaries << check out the page and see for yourself.

Location of Health Screening

We were there for 4 days 3 nights.

Basic health screening, tourist-ing, shopping and relaxing.

The team

Time to say Goodbye
"Phnom Penh Airport"

Such a great team we had. I'm proud to be part of this amazing family.

Hope our missions will be a success.

Aameen.

Do come and support us at Hospital Beyond Boundaries >> HBB << 

Thank you. :)

Singapore with Loves

My sis and Alia came to JB to visit Singapore.

Huhu. 15th June 2013. 

Loooong and tiring day.

Money trickled like the river after heavy rain!!

Anyway, we went to Singapore by bus. I incidentally left my purse at home.

In singapore we shopped and walked around.

crazayyy delicious dinner!! ;)

Returned to Malaysia. Went to Stulang Laut for dinner.

Awesome service! Excellent taste!

Will definitely come back for more ;)

by the way.
Happy 19th Birthday Nurulhuda :)

PLKN vs Audit

Ok, the title is not of much relevance, actually.

Two significant things happened this past week.

1. PLKN nationwide open day (9th June 2013)

actually, more of a reason for me to meet him for the 4th time.

Wait, when was the 3rd?

8th June he came to JB for a wedding. So we had cool blog and a chat and he left. ;)

Officiating ceremony in Kem Padang Hijau, Kluang.

2. Audit in my Hospital

Checking this and that. 

Anticipating the experience, and the questions. 

Ohwell.

Busy May

Nurses' Day

from here

Teachers' Day

from here

Mothers' Day

from here

Mental Health Awareness Month

from here

Dominos Delivery

This is so cute. :)

Nurses Day 2012

12th May is International Nurses Day.

Theme in Malaysia this year:

“Closing the Gap: From Evidence To Action”

from here

Happy nurses day to those involved :) For me? Soon to be, insyaALLAH :)

KLCC Skybridge

Cute KL tower ;)

I did not know that we could go up to the bridge connecting the two Petronas Twin Towers for free previously! I was born and raised in KL till I was 14, and Suria KLCC was, like, my major hang out place. Sheesh!

view from above - KLCC park

Anyway, since I am nearing my final months in KL as a student, I thought, might as well go up there and, you know, do it. People have travelled from all over the world to go up there, and yet me, as a Malaysian, have never been up there before. What a [kind of] shame, don't you think?

view from above

So, last Saturday, my classmates and I left college as early as 7am to get to KLCC because apparently, you have to be there before 8.30 in order to get into the queue to buy the tickets. We got there at about 8 and was able to get in line. Limited tickets are available for sale and one person can only buy 5 tickets. The 'polis bantuan' was very friendly and helpful. Although the ticketing counter only opens at 8.30, the queue was already so long, I was scared that we might not get to buy tickets after all.

tickets selection

Anyway, to make long story short, these are the info that I can share with you all.

1. Be there before 8. If you get too far behind in the line, the worker will ask each buyer how many tickets they want and once they have reached maximum, even if you are in the line, you will not be able to buy tickets for that day. You have a choice. Come again at earlier time on the day that you want to go up and be at the front of the line or buy tickets for the next day. However only 50% of the next day tickets will be sold.
2. The counter is located at the lower ground level of the Philharmonic Hall next to Suria KLCC. If you take the bus to KLCC, it's near the bus stop, whereby the landmark is a twisting statue-like thing. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. 
3. The tickets are priced at RM50 for non-MYKAD holders, and RM25 for MYKAD holders. However, bring your student card and you'll get a 20% discount. There's a different price for children, I think, but I didn't buy any tickets for children so I'm not very sure.
4. Each buyer can get a maximum of 5 tickets only. So, If you're travelling in a group of more than that, at least two of you should get in queue.
5. The trips start at 9.00am, and the frequencies are as such: 9.00am, 9.15am, 10.00am, 10.15am and so on until 6.15pm. We saw a notice saying that they are extending the hours till 9.15pm but on the day that we went there, I didn't see the tickets for that time being sold. Probably the view of KL at night from the bridge would have been better, who knows?
6. The trip will actually cover the levels 41and 42 [the bridge] as well as level 83 [observation deck].

Personally, I didn't see the thrill in going up there. It's just that, as a Malaysian, I felt that it is good to go there and, you know, be able to say that 'Yes, I've been there'. Majority of the people queueing that day were foreigners, speaking all kinds of languages! However, if you are interested, go ahead and get up there :) Just be sure that you are not afraid of heights :)

P/s: Remember my post about Voters Registration before? Well, here's an update :) hehehe