After 9 months of ups and downs, the latest member of the family finally arrived on 17th November 2009. Baby Ziyad Muhafiz Anuar was born at 9.45 am weighing 3.04 kg, delivered via cesarean section.

The complication :

My pregnancy complication – placenta previa – was first discovered when I visited my home based gynae during my holiday in Malaysia. The consecutive check-ups and ultrasounds done on my 7th months onwards also showed that the condition remained unchanged. At about 35 weeks, the gynae here finally decided that I would have to undergo elective cesarean section immediately upon reaching full term.

The preparation :

I checked in to Al Ahli Hospital the night before the scheduled operation. As a private hospital here in Doha, I was welcomed as if I was checking into a five star hotel. A private room with a private bathroom equipped with all the toiletries just like a hotel, complete with  visit from the guest relation officer, free flow of coffee, tea, water and juices throughout the stay, and nurses with excellent services at my beck and call.

The nurse prepared me for the big day with CTG tests and routine vital tests. I was poked and pricked left and right – setting up the IV, antibiotic skin test and etc. And there goes my first night at the hospital and already I was sleepless with anxiety and fear of what’s coming up the next day.

The operation :

I was wheeled into the operation theatre at about 8.30am. I was actually scheduled as the first patient to be operated that morning but somehow there was an emergency case which needed to be attended urgently and so I had to wait at the recovery corner for over an hour for my turn to come. All this while lying flat on the bed alone, with mounting fear.

Finally, about an hour later, I was pushed into the operation theatre. The environment itself was enough to make me shiver. The anethetist came to start her job – administering the epidural for the spinal block in which I will be ‘half awake’. This was one of the pain points - I’ve had epidural for all three of my previous delivery and could remember clearly how painful this process was! The anethetist first injected a local anesthesia to numb the back area and then proceeded to inject the epidural in. The pressure of the medicine going into my back was just as bad as I had expected it to be. Given a choice, I would have preferred a general anethesia but my doctor was against it due to the added risks.

Soon after that I could feel the doctor rubbing my belly, some pulling and tugging sensations, and like a miracle, my baby was delivered within the first 5-10 minutes! Ohh the joy of seeing the baby safely out of my body brought tears to my eyes. The doctor continued her activities down there and the half an hour operation seemed like hours while I waited for everything to be over.

The recovery :

I was wheeled back to my room where Hubby was waiting – it is the hospital policy that husbands are not allowed in the operation room. My lower half remained numb for a couple more hours and I was weak as no food or drinks were allowed since the previous night to avoid nausea. As the numbness disappear, the throbbing pain begun. I couldn’t even hold my baby just yet. 

Right next day, the doctor removed the dressing from my wound, as well as all the tubes from my body.  With  this, I had no choice but to get up from bed, start walking and start going to  the bathroom. These activities took a major effort but I finally did them. In fact, I think I did much better this time around as compared to my first cesarean almost 11 years ago…

Home sweet home :

Now, home at last, with my little bundle of joy. The first night at home was somewhat challenging, having to manage the twitching pain from the wound, managing breastfeeding  and handling the baby all at once. Now after a week at home, baby and Mummy have more or less established our routine. Baby Ziyad is not cranky and so far so good. Big sis and big bro are excited and always eager to help Mummy with the baby’s needs.

Syukur Alhamdulillah ke atas kurniaan Allah ini…

Myisha turned 7 on 14th October 2009. In all my pregnancy exhaustion and breathlessness, we still managed to host a pool party for her. No cooking at all for me, all food were ordered. We invited more guests this year as our compound has grown in the number of Malaysians to about 15 families. This, plus of course the regular vogue but kecoh gang who have all came back to Doha. Agenda was simple - eat, swim, eat, swim. The weather was perfect, not too hot. The night temperature these days has dropped to the low 20s and soon winter will be here.

Myisha, the second child of the  family, is a very responsible kid. Though she projects a shy and quiet image to those who don’t know her well, the fact is she is the total opposite. She is very independent, responsible, brave and smart. She loves outdoor activities – she learned to ride a bicycle when she was merely 3, swim without floats by the age of 5+ and comfortably roller blades around the whole compound at 6. I hope and pray that she will grow up to be a fine young lady dan anak yang soleh. We love you Myisha!

September is almost coming to an end. The month in which both Hubby and me celebrate our birthdays. This year my birthday was a day after we arrived in Doha from KL, it fell in Ramadhan just like last year. I had an early celebration with my family in Klang the night we left. My mum cooked nasi briyani and its lauk pauk for iftar, my elder sis cooked lasagna and my younger sis brought a birthday cake. It was a cozy family affair though followed by kesedihan of our leaving back to Doha. I even got  prezzies from all of them. On my ‘real’ birthday, we took the kids out for dinner as they were so looking forward to it (again).

10 days after my birthday it was Hubby’s turn. My plan was to invite a couple of close friends out for dinner but birthday boy had other plans in mind. So his birthday was finally spent by the beach though we couldn’t even see the beach as it was in the night! We actually went crabbing and since we left the house after maghrib, we couldn’t see nothing as the ladies and kids only lepak at the campsite. We had BBQ while waiting for the men to bring back the hasil tangkapan. I brought a birthday cake from Opera though initial plan was to get an ice cream cake, camna lah nak tahan since the crabbing place itself pun dah 45 mins from home. The guys managed to get some good catch, ada lah at least 80 ekor or more ketam. As usual we BBQ the fresh crabs on the spot and took the rest home.

As with birthdays generally, kids lah yang paling seronok sekali. Just a day before that we attended our good friend’s son’s birthday party. Other September babes include my cousin TL and a couple of other good friends – Voguemom, my famous producer cum scriptwriter buddy, my other glam politician fren, my ex college roomie, ramai lagi lah, you know who you are. Here’s to all of us – semoga dipanjangkan umur, dimurahkan rezeki and all our wishes come true!

Our third consecutive year berhari raya di perantauan, the second one in Qatar. Sad to say, not much excitement. As hari raya comes earlier in the year, more and more people extend their summer holidays back home. Unlike last year which I think was very meriah, this year it was pretty quiet all around. Amongst our close friends, only a bunch of us stayed in Doha while the rest joli sakan kat kampung.

We started the celebration on the eve of Eid with takbir raya organized by Colosseum Compound cawangan Malaysia. About ten families turned up and fortunately the suasana taklah sayu sangat. Teringat kembali takbir raya while we were in Oman. On the morning of Eid, we went for solat raya at Embassy. Ramai muka2 baru tahun ni, and the place was jam packed as usual. The typical Embassy organized function, very ala kadar, again unlike last year whereby the food was plentiful and every raya dish you could think of semua ada. Maybe coz Dato’ not in town this year. But hey, no complaints (or rather, tak larat nak complain dahh…).

After Embassy, we invited our close friends and neighbours to our place. I stayed up till 2.30 am the nite before cooking rendang daging, kuah kacang and soto. No ‘real’ open house lah this year, this preggy mummy can’t afford to cook and entertain no more. So alang2 masak for ourselves, just increase the portion a lil bit and invite friends over terus. Meriah jugak akhirnya.. In the evening, we went for one more open house and called it a day.

The next few days, we went for more raya invites, taklah banyak, tapi ada lah at least one each day. A relaxing week it was for all of us. Makan tidur makan tidur. Now, one day before school and work starts, we just got to know that the Ministry of Education had announced an extended school holiday for another week. Aahh how I wish that applies to work too! Dream on…

It’s been a while since my last entry (apart from the kad raya below). I’ve been away on a fabulous 4 weeks holiday in Malaysia tanah tumpahnya darahku. After more than 18 months in Doha, it was definitely a much awaited vacation. The saddest part of course, is not  being able to celebrate Aidilfitri with loved ones back home. Our original raya plane tickets had to be brought forward a month due to foreseen difficulties of yours truly going on a flight beyond 28 weeks pf pregnancy. Of course other friends have done it at even 33 weeks pregnancy, but at this maternal age, I’m not one who would take that risk. As it is, pregnancy at late 30’s is far different from the 20’s. I get tired all the time, not mentioning the backaches and sleepless nites.

Anyway, our agenda of makan, makan and makan was somewhat restricted during Ramadhan. We chose to stay at my parents’ house thru out the 4 weeks since our abandoned house was not exactly in living condition with leaking pipes and everything. Administrative matters were also a priority, from banking to car selling to property hunting. These are the things which we can never totally rely on family or friends to handle while we are away. Not that it’s a trust issue, but the urgency and priority are sometimes simply not there. Apart from the admin stuff, shopping was also very ala kadar this time around. I wasn’t in the usual mood to shop for personal things as they seem less important during pregnancy, so it was more of the kids and hubby that shopped mainly. I didn’t manage to meet many old friends either, well actually, not many of them knew I was in town. Malas nak announce. So it was mainly centred around immediate family, cousins and very close friends. Quality time indeed. 

It was great to just sit back and enjoy the lush green landscapes of Malaysia especially the rain! Although Ikhwan wanted to ‘go home’ after two days there, the kids ended up having a great time exploring new things which they had totally forgotten. Myisha loved the nature – from chasing the grasshoppers, discovering garden snails and helping her granny water the plants. My Blackberry being barred after two weeks there was a blessing in disguise as the next two weeks were spent leisurely. It was sheer pleasure to not have to think about work and checking e-mails all the time.

Back in Doha, kids have immediately started the new academic year after missing about 10 days of school. Ikhwan goes to Year 1, Myisha Year 2 and Dina Year 6. And poor Mummy has to get back to work. Thank God it’s only a week of work before another 9-day Eid break. What a relief! Weather in Doha is still hot and somewhat humid this time of the year but somehow we don’t sweat like we did in Malaysia. I am so looking forward to the winter months. After one whole month of eating Mum’s home cooked food, I now have to hit the kitchen again. Argghh, reality bites! No more nasi kandar, kue teow goreng kerang, paru goreng berlada and traditional kuih muih to point my finger to. .

Dah lama nya tak makan kopok lekor, rasa teringin pulak. I heard ada orang Malaysia jual kat sini, 3 batang 10 riyal. Hmm macam mahal je. Hubby asked his Trengganu friends how to make it, diorang cakap senang je. The ingredients are only ikan and tepung sagu. Sounds easy enuff, so today Hubby bought extra fish at the market for our little operasi.

We didn’t have any tepung sagu, so belasah je blend sagu till it turned into powder. We used ikan tamban mixed with ikan tenggiri coz tamban has a stronger taste which is perfect for keropok. The tip from our friends is to use ice cube when blending the mixture coz water will make it sticky. So ikut je lah petua dari mereka2 yang makanan asasi nya keropok lekor. The mixture turned out fine though kids thought the keropok tasted ‘quite fishy’. Overall kira berjaya lah eksperimen kali pertama ni. Nanti bulan posa bole buat lagi!

Dubai is an annual must-visit place for our family since we started living in the Middle East. Last weekend, we flew to Dubai for the weekend, thanks to the 50% frequent flyers redemption offer. So yeah, the tickets were FOC but the tax for a Dubai flight is damn pricey. We left early Friday morning and landed in Dubai in a grey skied hazy weather not unlike Doha. Hubby had booked for a car the night before but we ended up getting the car from one of those walk-in counters. The economic downturn in Dubai is apparent with car rentals going down and the same goes for hotel. We stayed at the same hotel apartment which we stayed in last year but the price this time around is at least 25% less than last year’s. Good for us.

After taking a short nap – everyone was sleepy having woke up before 5am that morning – we went for lunch at Singapore Deli. The kueteow goreng and nasi goreng kampung were so-so but the ayam bakar and soyabean drink were yummy. Camna nak buat soyabean eh? Something I’ve been meaning to try but just too lazy. After lunch we stopped for petrol and the car battery went flat. Arggh, an unnecessary hour was then spent to get a replacement car from the car rental. We went straight to a new mall which we had not been to before – Dubai Mall which opened late last year. The place is huge, and the stores are better than the ones in Mall of Emirates in a sense that there are more of my favorite stores here. The so-called Fashion or designer wing has all the designer stores you can think of. LV, Gucci, Dior, Ferragamo, Ralph Lauren, even the ones you normally see in magazines like Roberto Cavalli and Alberta Ferreti – I was definitely impressed! Other mid-range brands were also plenty, I would have needed a full day to check everything out. Finally, we ended the day with dinner at Chilli’s with the ex-FCNers who have also moved to Dubai. It was great fun to catch up.

The second day we started our morning with breakfast at Ravi’s – aloo paratha and mutton curry. Then, off to yet another new mall – The Outlet Mall which supposedly had discounted factory prices. Hubby enjoyed this mall the most as almost all the sports brands can be found here. Ikhwan was somehow not in a good mood today even after getting a new pair of shoes so we headed for nasi padang at Betawi Cafe and took a quick rest at the hotel. We spent the evening browsing Burjuman – one of the older malls situated just behind Hubby’s old studio apartment back in 2006. During my first trip to Middle East in August 2006, I walked from the apartment to this mall with sweats trickling down my whole body – my first experience of temperature above 40C.

On the last day in Dubai, everyone woke up late as the last two days’ non-stop shopping walking began to take a toll on us. Our bags were overflowing with the hasil2 shopping (we came with empty bags..). This day was spent at our favorite kain shop – Pulwani’s in Naif area. Shopping baju raya lah, apa lagi. Wanted to get some abayas too but was just too tired and too damn hot to walk in non-AC streets. So off to Deira City Centre where I had to literally drag my feet, penat giler. Before going off to the airport, we managed to stop by another must-makan place – Najd Mandi. We spent almost half an hour looking for parking and finally gave up and tapau the food. As yummy as I remember it. Simply the best!

Back in Doha, one more day to rest at home before going back to work tomorrow. Rasa cam nak ponteng lagi satu hari je, takde mood langsung nak keje. I worked late a lot last week rushing for the Q2 performance review deadline on Thursday. With the boss gone for the summer holidays, it was moi that had to face the COO for the gruelling review session. So I do deserve a break this week don’t I?!

Another trip to the singing dune with the Malaysian lot, most of whom I don’t even know since this trip was organized by the association. This is our third time here. The tune of the dune or rather the ‘roar’ is supposed to be heard better in the summer when the moisture level in the sand is the least. Mind you, P.Ramlee was one wise man when he quoted ‘negara pasir berdengung’ and now we know why it’s called as such.

The average weather these days is in the high 40’s. The unbearable heat of the summer is definitely here and it’s here to stay for at least 3 more months. Alhamdulillah, our picnic spot by the curvy dunes was somewhat shaded from the glaring sunlight. The haze though unhealthy, managed to filter some of that heat after all. Kids and newcomers to Doha had fun sliding down the dunes and feeling the vibration of the pasir berdengung while one preggy mummy sweated breathlessly. After Maghrib, we had our mini BBQ. I was allocated with lamb this time and also brought some spaghetti and my special kuih lapis. Haha, since when did kuih lapis become my specialty??  Somehow this pregnancy has brought the kuih-tradisional-crave to me and walla, suddenly kuih lapis, lepat pisang, buah melaka & apam have become regulars in my household!

I am only halfway through and already so exhausted by any sort of outdoor activities. And 5 kgs up too! To top it off, the office called several times today while I was taking my beauty nap, asking to submit some slides required for tomorrow’s business planning workshop within an hour. Like I got nothing better to do? I know I shouldn’t be complaining as this hardly happens in Qatar. Lain lah kalau kat KL where siang malam, weekdays or weekends, work, work, work! But hey, this is Qatar isn’t it, nobody works on weekends I’m telling ya!

Ikhwan’s 5th birthday fell on 11th June 2009. Mummy was too tired to host a party at home this time around, so we finally decided to have the party at Ray’s Reef, a kiddies playplace. Kids had so much fun on the bumper car, bouncy castle, painting and other games & rides. But the happiest kid was of course the birthday boy who was counting days since the last two weeks. We couldn’t get the place booked last week, in fact the place was booked all weekends in June when we went to enquire. Luckily someone else cancelled her booking and we managed to get a slot.

Kids played party games including passing the parcel, musical chair and collecting the straws. Highlight of the day, the cake cutting, was especially splendid as they provided a sparkly candle – somewhat like a small firework on the cake! This was followed by the party poppers which popped out colourful confetti. Very festive indeed.

Happy Birthday Ikhwan! I know you had a great time at the party! (err.. tapi bukan tiap2 tahun boleh buat kat tempat camni tau..)