Your First Steps

Sayang Mama! You chose the best day to make your first unassisted steps!! Yes. UNASSISTED! Ni makna nyer, Ilan bangun sendiri, diri sendiri without holding anything and made the steps.

18 May 2014, at 10 months 1 week. Thank you for waiting and choosing a time when i'm at home to witness. Nak tau, Mama happy yang teramat tgk Ilan jalan.

Tapi actually the best Mama Moment for me was right before you lifted your tiny feet to make that first step. Its the way you looked at me from across the room and that smile... That smile that melted my heart. Its like you telling me. Mama.. Look at me. I love you.... And when u actually walked towards me, my heart jumped!

Yeay! Anak Mama dah jalan. Alhamdulillah..

Nak tau tak Ilan, Nekbu slalu crite that Papa start jalan at 10 months. Makna nyer Ilan and Papa start jalan at about the same time. Hehehehee.. Suka tak?

And smalam Ilan very hyper. You were moving SO fast! Climbing down from the sofa, to crawling around. All in lightning speed. I guess you can't wait to grow up and play and be independent.

You thought walking was boring. So u started to climb! Arrgh! MAMA HEART ATTACK!

Mama rasa being around kids your age makes you wanna do what they do too. Mama tgk Ilan happy je bila surrounded by your cousins.

Skit lagi kay Ilan. Mama lom puas nk manjakan Ilan. Belum puas nak berkepit ngan Ilan.

10 months - Our journey so far...

10 months.. Where did my baby go.. Tatau lah kenapa, tetiba emo plak tgk my soon-to-be toddler ni membesar.

Rasa mcm baru je tengok dia lahir; then his first smile, then, his first laugh and his many other firsts.. Now rasa macam he will soon be taking his first unassisted steps.

Ilan Aydeen Bin Marzuki. My promise is this. "Untuk selama2 nya, mama akan sentiase sayang and mendoakan kebahagiaan awak." Insyallah...

Okay.. Sat ye, nak lap-lap skit. Mata berabuk plak.

Haritu kita celebrate first Mama's Day kat Penang ngan the whole family. Semua org ada. Ilan was the happiest baby I see.

u look so calm <3

You hated the sand. eee.. Penggeli rupa nyer.

Seeing that you are so brave, banyak benda mama dah excited nk ajar Ilan! Mama nak ajak Ilan see the world. Mama nak ajar Ilan culture2 yang berbeza dari apa yang kita tengok setiap hari. Tapi ni kene tunggu lah dulu ek. Mama n Papa usahakan.

Ilan, you are my little brave Kahuna! Even Papa was scared to come near :)

Mama nak ajar Ilan sesuatu yang Papa slalu cakap kat mama.

"Biar orang kata kita miskin duit.. Tapi jangan sekali2 miskin adap." - Papa Ilan Aydeen

Mama nak Ilan Aydeen belajar dari Papa. Respect ngan orang tua, dengar cakap, santun berbahasa. Those are the perfect qualities of your Dad that you should inherit. Mama in the process of learning them too.

Owh lupa plak nak cerita. Hahahaaa. U had ur first major bump (benjol) last week. In the efforts of teaching you to be stronger, I resisted running to you, picking you off the floor and consoling you. Instead I clapped my hands and said "Yeay! Ilan strong boy!"

Sumpah. It's not that I want to see you hurt. Jatuh jantung mama bila dgr Ilan nangis. Kalau ikutkan hati, nak je stop semua benda that instant and hug you sampai sakit tu hilang. But I know, if I do that. I will hurt you much more in the future.


Hentakan padu di tepi katil! Ouch!


Tapi mmg sangkaan Mama betul. U'r a strong brave little man! Nangis pun skejap je and ur back to your ol' self. Terus panjat tempat lain pulak.

I guess it's true when they say "Boys will be boys". I'm still learning the process of being a mother. I am not perfect but I shall be the closest to perfect for you.

One day, I hope I match your standards of what a perfect mom is.

Ilan Aydeen Bin Marzuki. Ni lah dia THE Marzuki behind ur name :)

For now, let's take these steps together. MAMA LOVES YOU ILAN AYDEEN BIN MARZUKI!! TO THE MOOOOOOON & BACK!!

Dah 8 months?!

What?! Dah 8 months??! Where did all the time go.. huuhu. My baby's growing owh so fast and im already beginning to miss him.

Banyak dah yg Ilan dah achieve since i last updated. Dah leh duduk sendiri.. Dah leh makan.. Dah kenal org..

Skang ni dia dah perasan big boy sgt. He detests sleep. Owh boy. Macam mana lab nak membesar anak bertuah sorg ni.

Ni dia.. my little big boy.

Baby Food - Super Popeye Porridge

Ilan's favourite porrige so far!! It amazes me how much he loves it albeit the yucky appearance after blending.

Ingredients:
1. A handful of brown rice
2. Japanese anchovies
3. Corn
4. Bayam merah/spinach - a fat tie
5. Beef
6. Carrots

Packed full of calcium, carbs, protein etc etc!!

Hush little baby don't you cry.

Assalammualaikum Ilan Aydeen,

Last night you woke up screaming at almost 12am. Mama and Papa pujuk Ilan, dukung Ilan, bagi Ilan 'bubu' but Ilan still tak stop nangis. Ilan nangis sampai teresak-esak. Mama sedih sangat coz Mama tak tau why you are feeling that way and sedih coz I don't know how to make you feel better or take away whatever is hurting you.

Last-last mama dukung Ilan and jalan-jalan luar bilik. Wiped your tears and calmed you down.  Then Ilan nak main-main and tak nak sleep. Sorry nak, Mama sleepy teramat sangat  malam smalam. Usually I will stay up and teman if you wake up in the middle of the night and nak ajak main. But last night I was really  too tired so Papa had to teman you instead.

Nasib baik tak lama after that, you ngantuk and comfort nursed sampai tertido in my arms... sampai pagi... Smalam, when you looked at me in the eyes each time Mama zikir and usap kepala Ilan, I know that you recognize me and that's one way you say "I love you Mama...". Thank you Ilan, Mama really needed that assurance sometimes.

Sebak when dengar Oma cerita pasal Ilan pandai buat ni lah, gelak-gelak lah, Ilan nak tido ngan Oma je or Oma ajar Ilan this and that. Sebak coz I can't be a part of your happiness. A part of your growing up stage. But you are happy, and you deserve to be happy.

If only you knew how hard it is for me to leave you each day and not be the one to raise you, cook your meals, comfort you when you cry during the day.

I love you sayang. Forever and ever and ever. Insyallah..

xoxo
Mama Ilan
28 Jan 2014

Mango + Peach Puree

If you have not tried it, try it NOW! Lucky in Malaysia kita leh dapat buah2 ni all year round and tak payah tunggu season.

 

Pilih je peach and mango yg elok (no lebam-lebam). Then buang biji. Tak perlu boil first coz water content in these two fruits dah tinggi and its already mushy. But if you feel its still too think, then add a little water. Two regular sized peaches and 1 large sweet mango yielded about 10oz puree. Just freeze into ice cube trays. Boleh bertahan for a month if frozen. If dalam fridge, a few days. Senang kan. Bila time nak makan je, pop the cube into feeding bowls and defrost / thaw. If nak senang, pagi2 or malam2 just take the cubes u need for the day and let it thaw naturally dalam fridge biasa.

 

Goodness of mangoes: Click here

Goodness of peaches: Click here

 

Save duit, tak payah nak beli the prepared Heinz ke, apa ke. Au naturel. Satu lagik, at least u know that there's no preservatives. Just FYI, even kalau yang shelf baby foods depa kate its organic, ada gak preservatives, if not takkan dia boleh dok atas shelf berbulan-bulan kan? But again. To each their own. Just nak cakap, takdelah susah pun or time consuming nak buat baby food. Nanti I snap gambar the frozen cubes.

 

Psst.. If baby tak makan, mak nyer pun boleh makan the frozen cubes. Macam instant fruit popsicles! Tak payah bazir beli ice-cream lagi. Heheheee.. WARNING - SUPER ADDICTIVE. MIGHT HAVE TO MAKE MORE TO FEED WHOLE FAMILY.

Brown rice cereal + anchovies (ikan bilis) + broccoli & carrot puree

Ilan was introduced to a mix and an array of first foods from the start. Alhamdulillah, there wasn't any reactions or signs of allergies or wind so far.

The brown rice cereal, dari Day 1 dah bagi. So taknak Ilan bosan with the same taste, I tambahlah ikan bilis. Take note that these are not the anchovies (ikan bilis) yg fresh tau. Its the normal ones we have but beli yang kecik-kecik tu. Preparing it? As below:

1. Rendam and wash the ikan bilis
2. Toss dry
3. Singai
4. Blend into powder form

Bila tengah masak the bubur, sprinkle some in the pot. Easy peasy. The kid loves it. Actually, the kid loves anything yang leh masuk mulut. heheheee. So for his lunch, I decided to add greens. Yes, tumbuh-tumbuhan. Asyik makan fruits je, kang dah terbiasa ngan sweet fruits he don't like greens. So for starters, it'll be broccoli. See below... Owh. The pureed concoction, I mix it into his brown rice n anchovies cereal.

 

Broccoli + Carrot puree

Boiled / steamed broccoli & carrots

Looks yucky, but its actually yummy!

Why did I start giving anchovies? One - is taste, two - its packed with nutrition! And broccoli, I know sepatut nyer lom start lagik coz angin, bt masa time ni dah tatau sayur apa nak bagi. And broccoli is my peberet! heheheee..

Ilan's first food - MESS!

Alhamdulillah, Ilan now dah masuk 6 bulan 12 hari. Big boy dah anak mama sorang ni.. Anyways, remember I went all crazy on giving him only home-made first foods? Yups.. Umur Ilan 4 bulan i dah beli Baby Bullet yo! Talk about being overly excited! Actually, found a Groupon promo for this Baby Bullet for RM99, so apa lagi. BALUN!

 

Hari yg balik dari 5months checkup, nurse kat clinic dah cakap leh start introducing him slowly to solids. Coz by 6 months, our breast milk is not sufficient enough for him. Sebak dengar tau.. Rasa macam all this while he relied 100% on me, now he don't anymore.. Huwaaargh!

 

Okay. I've got to get it together. Stop crying over silly little things.

 

Bile Ilan masuk je 5 months 2 weeks, I pun unpack lah the Baby Bullet, start lah beli avocado and peach (mama dia pun tak pernah makan fresh peach n avocado in her life).

 

Ni haa. Big boi makan for the first time. Its avocado puree.

 

Clear satu bowl. That's half an average avocado. Yeay for firsts!

 

Moving forward, now his meals includes:

 

- Brown rice cereal + pureed carrots

- Brown rice cereal + pureed carrots + anchovies

- Pureed carrots

- Pureed pears

- Apple

- Honey water

 

Bila budak botak watch cartoon. Fuh!