I was having an extremely busy week full with system refresher trainings given by a Polish lady from UK. And, those verbal trainings made by body and head aching all over!

It’s finally over. And, I got to rest my tired mind a bit. At least some peace before having to deal with KPMG auditors coming for year end audit, urgh.

Enough about me. Let’s talk about the little princess instead.

She is such an active little baby. Remember that walker-rocker thing? She’s now an expert in using the walker!

At first, she used to walk backwards but now she can control the walker really good. She loves ‘walkering‘ in the hall, into our bedroom, into the study room as well as steering it through the small corridor to the kitchen!

And, she loves touching everything her hands can get from the walker. I mean everything… newspapers, tv remote control, handphone etc on the day-bed, plastic bags hanging on the display cabinet, the door, the teak chairs, the washing machine, the laundry basket (and the dirty clothes…hu..hu).. and her favorite of all… the curtains.

She is also interested in getting her hands to basket on the floor containing her grooming stuff. But, the walker makes it impossible for her to reach it. And, she is still trying. Such a persistent little lady she is.. ha..ha..ha

Since she also can sit without support, sitting in a Tesco trolley is a must when ever we’re out shopping at the hypermarket.

So, what’s next? Crawling? Cruising?

She is quite mobile on the floor by rolling over her body a few times to reach her destination. And, she can control her head to land softly on the floor while rolling over. I bet she learned that it’s hurt to knock her head hard on the floor, ya honey.

She has not yet master the soldier crawl, though.

We seriously need to baby-proof our home soon!

We didn’t use a ‘buaian’ until baby Izzah was 2 months old. I prefer to train her sleeping in her cot.

But, when my mother-in-law looked after her when I got back to work, my hubby bought an electronic cradle (iBaby). I was a bit reluctant about the ‘buaian’ thing, but what can I say… mother-in-law rules eh?

Since then, Izzah started to sleep in the ‘buaian’. Her baby-cot is left to dust.

When she was 3 months old, we sent her to the day-care. The day-care also used ‘buaian’ for babies. There were four ‘buaian’ available. But, since last month, the number has been reduced to only one.

I don’t know excatly why. Perhaps, it’s a regulation for a day-care.

Because of that, we were asked to bring a baby bouncer for baby Izzah’s use at the day-care.

Actually, we already have a bouncer (Kangaroo brand) but was hardly used. Now, it seems so small for my baby.

So, we bought a new bouncer. A pretty Sweet Cherry Bouncer in pink. I like it so much!

Little Izzah was given her second jab of Pneumococcal vaccine on 23rd October 2008. And, also her first Rotavirus vaccine.

Rotavirus is an oral vaccine, so Dr Ling gave that first. Izzah must have enjoyed the taste so much because she kept on licking her lip even after the dose is all consumed.

Not even a single drop is wasted. She swallowed them all. Good baby!

You see, Rotavirus vaccine is RM180 each. So, not spitting means not wasting your hard-earned money!

Then, Dr Ling injected the Pneumococcal vaccine on her thigh. As usual, she cried out loud.

She must have hated her paed so much.. ha..ha..ha

Pneumococcal and Rotavirus vaccine are not included in the government compulsary vaccination program. Perhaps because they are so expensive.

But, I believe both are also as much important as other vaccines like BcG, HepB, Polio, Dtp etc.

Money is valuable, but your baby’s well being is PRICELESS.

If your baby is not yet protected, now is the best time to do. Don’t delay because you don’t know what will happen in the future.

I have written about Pneumococcal here.

How about Rotavirus?

Rotavirus is a virus that infects the bowels. It is the most common cause of SEVERE diarrhea among infants and children throughout the world and causes the death of about 600,000 children worldwide annually.

Symptoms of the disease include fever, vomiting and watery diarrhea which can cause severe dehydration. Severe dehydration can lead to death so hospitalization for intravenous fluid (drip) is needed.

Rotavirus infection is highly contagious. Almost all children will become infected with rotavirus by their third birthday!

So, we decided to give baby Izzah the protection against Rotavirus too (the recommended age is 2, 4 and 6 months old).

The Rotavirus vaccine is known as Rotarix.

There are two vaccines available. One is Rotarix (RM180 each) and given two doses (once in a one month gap). Another is RotaTeq which is cheaper (RM100 each) and given three doses (once in a one month gap).

Dear little princess…

Mama and babah have given you almost all the protection you need against those nasty bacterias and viruses. So, be good ok. Else, mama will claim back all the expenses incurred when you start working (mama has compiled all the bills ya…) 

One year old mama? Oh yes.. there is no typo error whatsoever.

I found this old picture of mine at one year old (posing with a cousin) in my album recently. With a baseball cap, short dress and curly hair, wasn’t I super-duper cute eh?

Looks like baby Izzah’s chubby face (small picture) is inherited from me…he..he..he.

p/s I will dig her babah’s album later to steal his younger days photo. Then, we will see who has the closest resemblance to that little princess!

This year’s Hari Raya could have been so boring. But, with my little princess celebrating her first ever Hari Raya with us, even the most mundane day becomes much (much) more exciting!

You see, this is the third year in a row that I couldn’t ‘balik kampung’ to the East Coast to celebrate Hari Raya with my mom (dad passed away a year ago) and my 6 siblings with their families.

2006 - I was on a three month trainings in Singapore and was allowed to take the 1st and 2nd day to celebrate. But, need to fly back to Singapore on the third raya.

2007 - I was two months pregnant and was medically advised not to take a long journey (it took 8-10 hours car ride to get to my kampung)

2008 - I was only allowed to take the 1st and 2nd day leave for hari Raya. And, back to work on the third raya because early of the month is the closing of accounts time (furthermore, it’s year-end-closing in my company).

So, imagine how sad my mom was . It took a few calls to make her understand. Also, a strong promise to ‘balik kampung’ during Hari Raya Haji in December. Phew…

And, last weekend, to cover back our lost moments, we went ‘berhari raya’ to our siblings houses in Temerloh, Keramat, Rawang, USJ and Salak Tinggi.

Let’s see, where the little princess went.

Saturday - two hours journey to Temerloh, Pahang to her Pak Su’s house (my youngest brother-in-law). We have our lunch there (the usual rice with sambal udang, fried cabbage and fried chicken). Yum!

Then, we drove back to KL and visited her Pak Alang’s place in Keramat. There, we ate the typical nasi himpit with rendang ayam kampung (I loike!).

In the afternoon, we went to Kak Zaini’s house (my husband’s cousin) at Jalan Kedah, Bangsar.

Kak Zaini is the cook for Istana Kedah which is located at Bukit Persekutuan, Bangsar. And, her house is just below the palace. We need to drive into the palace gate and passed the majestic palace to get to her house located at the hill below.

The Istana Kedah is actually the ‘istana hinggap’ for the royalties of Kedah. Only during the cousin’s open house, we are allowed to pass through the palace gate. I only managed to snap the picture below - the palace is in the background.

Here, we have laksa kedah, bihun soto and some traditional kuihs. Oww.. my stomach was so very full!

Sunday - we brought Izzah to her Ayah Teh’s house in Rawang. Here, we ate nasi dagang which my brother claimed he cooked after learning the recipe from my mom. It tasted yummylicious, bro!

Then, my brother follow us to my eldest brother in USJ9 (baby Izzah’s ayah long). Here, we have laksa penang and home-made dodol from my sister-in-law kampung in Raub. The dodol tasted so good.

In the afternoon, we went to my younger sister’s house in Salak Tinggi. My sister cooked mi kari which is so very delicious. Can I order from you, sis? He..he..he

We arrived home at 4pm that Sunday. Left with so very little energy, the three of us ’pengsan’ til’ 6pm.