Saturday, December 21, 2013

Well I'm calling it as well. I'm calling bullshit.

Do you remember that scene in the movie, "What to Expect When You're Expecting?"when Elizabeth Banks breaks down and confesses how hard pregnancy really is and called pregnancy glow as bullshit.




That is very true.

There may have been those days when I presumably had a "glow" but that's because you saw me on my best hour where I took the entire day to get ready, put shimmer on my cheeks, and got out of my plus sized pjs. But trust me, I was NOT glowing.

I threw up everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

On the train, check.
On the floor of the bus, check.
On the side of the street where I worked, check.
In all three of my toilets at home, check.
On all the toilets at my work, check.
At my brother's house, check (sorry).

I threw up for 4 months straight plus more on my last trimester. I lost 8 kilos in the first 4 months.

But ohhhh did I gain those back plus more.

When I got hungry, the last thing I wanted to hear was the infamous advice that pregnant women do not necessarily need to gain that much weight and we should be careful (this advice is always said by women who have never been pregnant. The ones that have been know better). Honestly, we have been to the doctor's office. We have been given the professional advice on how to treat out body. WE KNOW. 

After I had Hasouni, I immediately lost 10 kilos which immediately followed the comment,  "oh, he's only 3 kg so how come you lost 10kg?

Well you know what...





First of all, it's not like I gulped Hasouni and he went straight into my stomach and I gained 3 kg. I'm thinking that if it takes 9 months for a baby to be developed in the body, I think, I THINK there is more to it.

When you're pregnant, you don't get those feelings "yeah, not really hungry but I could eat." When you're pregnant and you're hungry, you want to gauge someone's eyes out but you try to keep it cool...




It was as if you were on the brink of starvation. 

The heavier the meal was, the better I felt. It was a crappy feeling, but that's it. That's what happens when you get pregnant. For the love of God, you are creating a HUMAN inside you. Its tough business. You don't have control over your emotion, you don't have control over what you eat. You obvious do not want to eat bad food because you only want the best for your child but when you are spewing after every attempted meal, you just hope to God that you can eat something.

One night before I knew I was pregnant, Amar and I were in the kitchen and I was telling him that I was starving. I told him to go to his parents house and get the dish of food that I knew his parents made that day. I was really craving it. I was dead serious. Amar was  shocked. He said,  "you want me to go home, wake my parents up, and get you a plate of their food." I didn't understand what the problem was. All I heard from that was that I was hungry and I wanted a plate of the delicious meal they made. To me, it was basically a compliment to them. I was craving it so much that I thought for a split second, am I pregnant and why is he still here!??? But that thought went away and I kept trying to convince him. He didn't end up going. 

Unfortunately, pregnancy is hard for some and for others it may not be. AlhamdouAllah, I found raising a baby to be easier and even though pregnancy was hard, I would do it all over again for him.

On a good note, HASAN SAID MAMA!!!

Once. 

Next post will be less dramatic. I promise.













Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Baby Product Review

WOWWWWW babies need a lot of stuff. A lot of crap. The amount of toys that accumulated in my living room is ridiculous and what's really annoying is that Hasouni would like a toy for maybe a second and then spend the rest of the day playing with a string or a cup.

So, I thought I should do a product review of baby products and pass on some of my 8 month motherly wisdom.

1. Nappies. No hugs for huggies. A lot of love and comfort for Babylove.

I was so excited to buy nappies (aka diapers) that I immediately bought Huggies. I thought they would be an obvious choice since it's a huge brand and I love Winnie the Poo. I hated these stupid nappies. They were beyond useless. They kept leaking that I swear I thought I went demented and didn't know how to put nappies on my kid. I didn't know that nappies didn't necessarily fit all. You actually have to try and find ones that are best for your child. I swear, life gets so complex.
My favourite brand is Babylove. I was secretly disappointed with their cartoon choices for the nappies but I guess since they get the job done then I can-should overlook it. Really wanted Winnie the Poo though.



2. Prams. Steelcraft Strider Compact


I LOVEEEEEE my pram. If there is one thing I would suggest it would be to take your time and invest in a good pram. Everytime I use this pram, the Notorious B.I.G song plays in my head and I sing " I love it when you call me big mama." I don't know why. I feel so gangster with this pram. It's so EASY to use and it's so light. I bought a cellphone and coffee cup holder so I always have my sh-t together. All my groceries fit in the bottom. When you go to the pram store and ask for advice from staff, always say that you take a lot of walks even if you do not. The staff members will assess which type of pram you will need. When you say that you are a huge walker, they will advice you to prams that are easy to gear. This is the most important aspect. Remember how frustrating it is when you go to the grocery store and the stupid carts move slanted so you look like a retard pushing it sideways instead of straight. The last thing you want is after you put your crying baby in his seat, the diaper bag, the soft blanket, the heavy blanket, the bottles, all the toys and even your crap is to deal with a pram that is heavy to push and steer. Yes, the bulkier prams are much less expensive but you need to save your sanity.

What's cool with this pram is that you can turn the seat so that your baby faces you. Sometimes I feel bad because I know Hasan should be looking around and exploring the world instead of me but he's just sooo cute. 


3. Sophie the Giraffe

I am sure even if you do not have a kid that you know about Sophie the Giraffe. Every baby will love this toy. It's a teething toy. They say it is 100 percent natural which is great but I don't really know what that means. So, I looked that up and they explained
  • Made from 100% natural rubber derived from the sap of the Hevea tree
In one ear and out the other. Sounds good to me though. 
It's very soft and gentle for the baby. When they start teething, they really need something that they can bite on aggressively without getting hurt. You know this costs around $30. I know. I almost had a heart attack as well.


4. Melobaby Nappy Bag


This is the coolest thing I bought. It's a small purse that folds out to a change mat (that is machine washable!) and it holds nappies,  toys, clothes, baby wipes and even your cellphone. I was showing this to some friends and Amar told me I was being inappropriate because we were in the middle of tea and cakes and I just folded out a change mat to a bunch of people that don't have kids but CMON it's so cool. I was explaining to him that instead of taking that big bulker diaper bag, I can just take this one. The thing is I end up being really paranoid and take both this tiny bag and diaper bag and it just becomes this big mess but I am working on it. 

5. QV kids balm. Cradle cap saviour 


I love all QV products but I especially loved QV kids balm. It's great for when you need to remove cradle cap. Wait till you find out what cradle cap is. It's pretty gross but completely harmless to a baby. 

6. Dermeze. A must have for babies with eczema


Nothing was more heartbreaking then seeing Hasan flare up from his eczema. I used every possible moisterizer because I really wanted to avoid using hydrocortizone creams on him. Nothing worked until I found dermeze. Dermeze really helped in controlling his eczema but it did not eliminate it. I had to stop eating dairy and egg but, dermeze has been a significant help. If you do not have dermeze in your country, look for an ointment that has "Liquid paraffin 50%, white soft paraffin 50%,  no colours, no preservatives." Thats dermeze full ingredient. I am sure your pharmacy has this but in a different name brand. 


Hope this was useful! Love to hear from you so feel free to leave a comment.

xoxo

Oum Hasan