How do you know...

when a blog has been abandoned?

Answer: When your child has gone thru a surgery and the blog lacks updates on it..haha.

But I did update my fb and twitter frequently with her updates. Anyways, alhamdulillah 'Aatikah was discharged last Tuesday, just a day prior to 1st of Ramadan. And the damage done? Around RM32k. Alhamdulillah company insurance took care of this.

All I can say it, 'Aatikah sure is a trooper. Of course she cries, but all in all, very obliging and doesnt complain much. She was pricked for the iv line multiple times, even had to do it on her right foot because her hands were swollen from the antibiotics in the drip. And even then her foot also got swollen after a few days.


I think the most upsetting part for me was when the pediatric surgeon came over to explain about her 2nd xray and ctscan after about a week of antibiotics. He said that it has gotten slightly worse since she was admitted and that he had to do the surgery that afternoon. He showed the xrays and ctscan and explained everything in detail; what is going on in her body, why the surgery needs to be done etc. Husband wasn't around at that time and I was really trying hard to hold back the tears. Once I went back to the room, the flood gates opened. I was crying while cuddling and holding her. 'Aatikah was probably just looking at me, wondering what in the world is wrong with me.

Then after the surgery she was put in the ICU for observation. Hubby escorted her to the OT and was there when she got out. The surgeon showed what was taken out, and hubby described it to be really nasty. All the fluid, phlegm and even clumps of dead tissue all in 2 jars.

She spent two days in the ICU and hubby and I took turns taking care of her. But at night it was hubby's turn since they didn't have a proper bed and I was already heavily pregnant. At one point I guess the anesthetics wore off and she started to feel the pain, even tho she was on pain killers. She started to sweat and cringe and cry...until the nurse came over and increased the dosage of her pain killers. Then she slowly drifted to sleep.

All in all, we spent slightly more than 2 weeks in the hospital. The first week was to treat her with antibiotics, which didn't work. Then one more week after the surgery because she was still feverish, which is an indication that the infection is still there. After many types of antibiotics, her fever finally subsided and she was allowed to go home after being fever free for about 2 days and after her Dr changed her medications to oral ones instead of being administered via the iv line.

Tremendous changes could be seen once she was fever free. She started to eat well and was more active. Had to let her loose outside of the room for her to run around.


All that is left from this episode are the scars on her left torso. The long gash is about 3 inches long and that is where the Dr did the incision during surgery. The bottom scar is for the chest tube which was left attached post surgery to drain off excess fluid, if any.

And all I can say is, Alhamdulillah!

Here we are...

We are currently in the hospital. We have been here for a week now and we expect to spend a week more here. I update my facebook and twitter (ummisaeed) more frequently on what is going.

In a nutshell, 'Aatikah was admitted due to lung infection and pneumonia. Here's a chronicle of what happened.

Tuesday, 20th July: 'Aatikah and Sa'eed both were feverish, temperature wasn't that high.

Wednesday, 21st: Still feverish at night, but were active as usual

Thursday, 22nd: Both getting better

Friday, 23rd: Teacher called from the nursery, said that 'Aatikah had really high fever. Went to the clinic after work and was told that it was viral fever.

Saturday, 24th: Went back to Bangi as 'Aatikah looked better...but didn't really want to eat. When she ate in the afternoon, vomited everything out later in the evening.

Sunday, 25th: Vomited again in the morning around Subuh time. By this time her lips and hands were blue-black and she was shivering. Temperature was about 39 degrees. We went straight to a hospital in Bangi and did a blood test.

Results weren't good...her white cell count was super high and her hemoglobin was slightly low.

Went straight to D*SH to get her admitted.

Paediatrician saw 'Aatikah in the ward and thought that her liver was enlarged and her lung didn't sound normal. Recommended for an ultrasound and an xray the next day.

Monday, 26th: Did the ultrasound - enlarged spleen and fluid could be seen in the left lung

Xray (To'ki and Tokmi took her in the xray room0 - showed that about 90% of her lung has some kind of infection. Right lung was totally clear. Started antibiotics right away.

Tuesday - Friday, 27th -30th: 'Aatikah still feverish in around 39 degrees.

Sa'eed was feverish too. Did a blood test and showed that he also had an infection. Was admitted, but not as serious as 'Aatikah. Started antibiotics right away.

Friday, 30th: Did a ctscan. Showed that fluid was still accumulated between the lung and rib cage. Fluid has probably 'hardened'. Was referred to Dr Razak, the pediatric surgeon. Decided to have the surgery after Friday prayers.

Coughed up nasty sputum.

Surgery was to remove the fluid and abscess formed...surgery started at around 2.30pm and successfully ended at 4.30pm.

Hubby saw what was removed and he said it was ugly. A mixture of blood, abscess and lumps of abscess.

Dr said that some of the lung tissue was already dead due to the infection. Probably started to get infected about 4-6 weeks ago.

'Aatikah placed in the ICU for observation.

Saturday, 31st July: Alhamdulillah recovering well. Started to eat a bit of porridge. Husband and I taking turns to be in the ICU with her.

A picture is worth...some words

While looking at the above picture on my phone...

Sa'eed: Ummi...adik marah

Ummi: Adik marah siapa?

Sa'eed: Adik marah Sa'eed....

When is enough really enough?

Hmm…I'm beginning to like writing from Microsoft Word. I think the idea flows better because I'm not constricted to the little itty bitty box in the blogger dashboard. Plus, I think I type faster too when I use Word…heh…perasaan je kot.

Anyways, work is kinda laid back this week because so many people are out of the office. Nak buat kerja pun terbantut. As I'm skimming thru random people's blog, ideas for my own blog start to appear. I can update you guys on every minute detail of my life and my children's life. But I don't think I'll ever get to that level. Not that I don't want too…but some things ought to be private. It really surprises me how some people can divulge so much un-needed information of their life on their blog. I make exceptions for updates on babies and toddlers, because even updating on their first poop is cute!

Oh I digress…there are blogs out there of people showing every single item they bought on their shopping sprees. And of course these people aren't the people who shop at Tesco, amik gambar sayur utk update. But these people are probably the socialites…their guilty pleasures are the Chanels, Guccis and Ferragamos (mine is a simple RM1 cone ice cream from McD). It's nice to see that people can afford those things (which then answer my question to who in the world shops at designer boutiques in KLCC?). But as I look through what they buy, I thought…when is enough really enough?

Some people survive on less than RM1000 a month and they are fine and dandy. Their kids go to school, they have enough to eat…in other words, they're content. Then there are people who claim to not have any money even when they earn RM8000 a month…and they don't even have kids! I've also seen blogs of people earning upwards of RM20,000 through MLM, with their car funds and free vacations etc. Sapa tak jeles memang weng la…but then again…when is enough really enough?

I don't want to be poor, but I don't want to be rich either. I think content is what I'm looking for. Am I contented? Alhamdulillah so far so good. We can afford some of the nice things, even though we cut back on things like eating out, but when we do really eat out, it's probably something we can appreciate more. Sometimes we treat our families for dinner…and that's always nice because dah berapa kali our parents treat us for breakfast, lunch or dinner kan…We have one car for the family, and that's enough…although with 3 kids in kids, it is expected kena squeeze squeeze sikit. But I don't think we need an MPV or a bigger car.

But really, what is my point? I guess I don't really have a point. I'm just thinking and writing. Think about it. You might make a million bucks today and can afford all the ridiculously nice things in life. No one's stopping you to earn that million bucks. But what values are you teaching your kids? How long will that million bucks last? What happens if it's no longer there? Heh…macam intro org jual insurance tak?

To Sa'eed and 'Aatikah (and future siblings insyaAllah)…don't expect to get a free ride in life. Spend on necessities and don't be bothered with designer items etc. They're nice to have, but you don't need it to survive. And dream on if you expect your parents to fund everything for you. Loan boleh.

Sa’eed the Teacher

If they're not fighting over something, Sa'eed and 'Aatikah can be good friends. And recently Sa'eed started to 'teach' 'Aatikah random things. Once at their grandparents' house, Sa'eed was teaching 'Aatikah the word 'ice-cream'.

Sa'eed: ICE-CREAM

'Aatikah: keeem

Sa'eed: ICE-CREAAAAM

'Aatikah: keeeeeeem

Sa'eed: ICE-CREAM nah (lah)…bukan uncle hakeeeem

'Aatikah: keeeeem

And then yesterday, Sa'eed was showing how to put the animals printed on velcro onto his brand new book.

Sa'eed: Ni colour apa? Reddd

'Aatikah: eddddd…- while trying to stick the velcro thing onto the page

Sa'eed: Bukan letak samtu (camtu), seni nah (camni lah) – and shows 'Aatikah how to do it

And 'Aatikah willingly obliges.


Sometimes Sa'eed will think he knows what's best for his sister. Last night I made a small cup of milo for the both of them. Sa'eed is usually contented with one cup, but 'Aatikah sometimes likes to have more. So she would come find me in the kitchen and ask for more. Sa'eed will then follow her from behind…

'Aatikah: Nak agi – while handing the cup to me

Sa'eed: Ummi…dah sukup (cukup) kan…kan…kan…ummi…sukup kan satu…adik tak payah!

And the latest word that Sa'eed thought 'Aatikah is GOM-MOK (gemuk)….haiyaaa..

The night visitors

Last Sunday night, Rizal and his crew came over to maktok's house for a visit. So, it was him, Nafisah, Adam, Imran, Daniel and the maid. Add myself, Mr Hubby, maktok, Sa'eed and 'Aatikah and you get yourself 6 adults, 5 toddlers plus 1 (ke 2?) yet to be born babies. The adults as usual were sitting around talking and getting updated with the latest news and gossips. And the kids…oh the kids! They played and played and played till everyone was nice and sweaty. See…kids CAN get exercise indoors too.

I think that night the kids' names were called every other second because they were either fighting over toys, jumping to close to Daniel or wrestling too hard. Imagine Adam and Sa'eed wrestling! Hahaha…if you don't know Adam, he's a tall and big 4 year old boy (as the majority of my side of the family was once upon a time) and Sa'eed is this tall and skinny 3 year old boy (some of the luckier ones on my side of the family were like Sa'eed). But it was all good fun…no one was pushed to the ground and no one got a smack down…so it's all good. Plus, it's good for Sa'eed…builds character! Of course sometimes it might get out of hand and we'd tell them to calm down and take a breather.

At one point Sa'eed and Imran was climbing and jumping off the sofa and 'Aatikah wanted to join in. The maid put some cushions on the floor so that no one got hurt. But this 'Aatikah is too gung ho and ended up landing head first. She looked like someone diving into a pool. I held my breath, waiting to see what happens next. While picking herself up, she was laughing non-stop like that was the best thing that ever happened to her. Of course she went ahead and climbed the chair again.

Daniel the cutie pie was mostly minding his own business and amused himself with whatever toys he could get. He was contented playing on his own, but once or twice he cried because someone accidentally stepped on him. 'Aatikah played with him for a while, but I guess she wanted to play with the big boys. Sometimes it got quite petrifying to see this little girl trying her might to fight for toys with them or to join them in playing gaduh-gaduh.

The more popular toys that night were the ride-ons and a multicoloured train. Everyone would want it if someone was holding it. But no one wanted to play with it if it was sitting there on its own…until someone comes to play with it. So fights mostly revolved around those things.

I think the kids gelled well together because Adam even asked permission from his mommy to keep Sa'eed…haha. The night ended with a bang…literally, coz the front door slammed on Imran's itty bitty fingers when they left. So kesian, he cried his eyes out.

All in all…you guys should come more often!

Potty training....

Me: Sa'eed, ummi nak pergi toilet kejap ok.

Sa'eed: Ummi, Sa'eed nak kencing.

Me: Ok jom...

Put him on the toilet bowl and wait for him to do his business...

Sa'eed starts huffing and puffing and groaning

Sa'eed: Ala....tak de kencing lah.

*slap forehead*

All in all, I think he's getting better at peeing in the toilet. But the #2 part is proving to be a bit more difficult. I have a feeling he waits to be diapered at night to poop. Haiya, bila la nak berani to leave him diaperless at night??