Confinement List

as we are now in the week of 36, i should be prepare for the birth that is approaching. confinement! i already booked a set of bengkung+massage oil plus some edible herbs from my friend. i don't have plan to take any consumable confinement set or jamu since i plan to breastfeed, and i'm gonna continue taking my shaklee pills for confinement.

and since i bought many packs of this herbal pads before i got pregnant, i'm gonna use them later. i heard that herbal pad is very good for post-natal. should it has cushion effect? or maybe i have to put it in two layers?

i bought this bio-oil as suggested by aunt shasuya, with a little hope that it may help in reducing the effect of this pretty ugly stretch marks. at least the silver linings won't be visible to my naked eyes, after your birth day. you know how this thing makes me feel a bit downzzzzz.

and this dry shampoo, since it is not recommended to have frequent bath during confinement.. and i don't want my hair to be stinky!

tungku, urut, and all those things associated, i have no worry since in my kampung, those bidans & tukang uruts are available anywhere, anytime. furthermore, my mom has her very own batu tungku and don't have to buy for any tungku equipment. and i'm really into yu yee oil. it helps me to reduce my short of breath.

those sweater, blanket, kain batik, socks, etc. are already available at my parents' house. and i bought this kind of head scarf, imported from Indonesia. would be very convenience if we have any non-mahram visitors :) easy to wear huh.

the only thing is, we can't have Abi by our side all the time. most probably he's gonna see us only one time in November and again in December, to take us back to Miri purposely. so miserable but that's the best option we have, since the transportation cost from Miri-Kota Bharu-Miri is more than a thousand. oh dear, that one we can't afford. luckily my mom lives in kampung, with my nenek2 & those elders hopefully my confinement will run smooth :)

i hope that the 2-months period is gonna be a good time for us. no office work, no housework... only spending our time alone! poor Abi, huh, has to cook, do laundry, tidy up the house, sleep.. all by himself...!

Preparation?

i should be ready for your arrival, in term of your thingies + mine in case you decide to put in an early appearance. but, because of many constraints, i unfortunately can't make it. we will only fly back to my hometown in the next 2 weeks, and i don't have anything with me right now. it's just 2-3 thingies those will not be enough to welcome a baby!

this is what we ONLY have here. CW: napkins, nasal aspirator, baby wipe, booties & mittens, blanket, cot sheet, cornstarch powder and head-to-toe wash.

worst case (if you're still stubborn), we're gonna stay in Colombia Asia until our supposed-to-fly-day comes. lucky the company pays! actually, i should be worry about it. i have many friends gave birth at 36 weeks. but still... be positive!

in this almost final stage of pregnancy, i have to deal with discomfort that i never experience before. my backache becomes frequent. and the Braxton Hicks too. and aches around my pubic area and groin. lucky me, it just happens over the weekend. changing position, not much help. but i feel released when my back is massaged by Abi, with full of his love and care :) but not all the time. usually i have to do self-massage. Abi is very busy lately, get many things to do before taking a week leave to send us to my hometown.

and i can feel my uterus is just below my breast. no wonder your legs are always hitting my ribcage. i have to sit straight, and it's quite disturbing especially during meal time. with the lower-than-my-chest-table, i can't bend my back to enjoy the food, or you'll give me a great kick on my ribs. and my mouth start to bising2, asking you to stop. and usually, you listen!

i start to perform perineal massage, even if i'm very confident that episiotomy is very common in most hospital in Malaysia, huhu. i don't think can avoid it, plus, you're big! and i started to chart your movement. however, i can't commit most of the time. haha. but since you're always moving, Mommy don't feel worry.

our preparation is more towards this coming Ramadhan. hopefully i would be able to fast, for the one whole month. last weekend, we went to Boulevard, bought 2 packets of dates, just a-week stock, before going home. one pack for RM2.20 and another one for RM13.60, for 7 bijik only!

this kind of date priced RM75 for 2kgs.

Abi is very confident that i wouldn't have any problem with regard to fasting since i showed a good record when performing my qadha'. plus, your weight gain is very progressive recently (even Abi can see my tummy is getting bigger day by day), so Abi says there's no problem for me to fast. insya-Allah.
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last weekend, we planned to go to Sibu. however we just able to arrive at Bekenu & Niah only. i think you didn't allow us to go to Sibu before you come, you wanna see Sibu as well ah? Bekenu is a small town, about half an hour from Miri. we didn't take any picture coz it was raining, cat & dog. it was just a 'jalan-jalan kenal Bekenu' only.

i asked Abi to extend the journey to Niah, despite the heavy rain. however, we hadn't go into the cave, just around the head quarter office's yard. maybe some other time, when our family from Peninsular comes, then we'll make an adventure journey to Niah Cave.

Mommy at Niah. so poyo.

on the way home, we dropped by Luak Esplanade Beach. my first time ever! not many people there, it was very midday :)

i like beaches. especially Miri, can see platforms from onshore.

and we bought this. i dont know its name, but since the shape is similar to Shell logo, we call it shell. so yummy... buat sambal tumis.

shell?

Carry Cot, Pushchair, Carrier, Carseat or Sling?

we are not-so-rich parents to be,so we find the cheapest solution to buy your goodies, but still in the highest satisfaction. people always mention that buying thing for newborn especially the first child is an investment. yeah, we are strongly agree since invest itself means to give or devote something to achieve something. so we give our $$$ to have a better you and better future for your siblings. that's why we don't count for each money flies into the supermarkets' tokey as long as it is for your good.

we have no experience in choosing your travel set. only when we started our survey by visiting almost all baby stores in KL, then we began to learn. until we found out that the cheapest solution is having a travel system set with push chair and the carrier. buying a separate carry cot is quite costly for us, and we decide to have the carrier as carry cot even if it is curvy, not straightly horizontal like a carry cot. this curvy is not good for baby's spine development but we hope you'll just be fine. mommy will not putting you in the carrier for a day!

infant carrier

carrycot

for carrier, we sought for something multipurpose, i.e. can be used as carry cot, carseat, bouncer and swing. we went to several stores, looked for travel systems and try the carrier, whether it can swing or not. finally we found something attractive at sogo.this is safety 1st acella LX travel system. it's a bit bulky but we found it's very convenience and comfortable. we saw it as a solid performer, and the carseat has 5-points harness. the stroller also has trays for parents and the baby. and, we found the infant car seat clipped easily yet securely into the stroller to use it as a complete travel system. plus, the wheels have absorbers so that it won't go toing..toing... and most importantly we adore the design.

but we didn't buy it at sogo. still sought for another options like graco, chicco, peg-perego, maclaren, recaro, sweet cherry, elego, cosco, maxi cosi, combi, etc. finally we found one at mom's care 1utama with discount price! same brand, same model. safety 1st acella LX.

considering after your 1st year, you may not using the carrier anymore, we will spend for a toddler carseat later (we didn't buy a carseat for newborn-toddler bcos its not functioning as carrier or carrycot). long way to go, still have time to save money! :D and considering spaces at miri's shopping complex is very small, we'll get a sling once we back to semenanjung later.

so many things to consider before buying your thingies. we asked around about the most popular brands and styles, read the reviews, compare prices, etc. and we found out that this is the best choice. the cheapest in its class --after discount.