At NICU

While Faris was in the NICU, I saw and met so many parents with such painful battles on their hands.
Like us, they had to stand idly by and watch their baby fight for their life.

We saw a premature baby, born at 28 weeks.
So tiny and translucent.
Fragile.
The anguish on the father's face (who spoke very little English) was obvious.
The mother was battling her own battles post-op.

On the day Faris was set to leave the NICU after 13 days,
a baby was wheeled in in an incubator,
no breath, no pulse.
But doctors won't give up.
The father was strong.
Amidst tears and visible anguish, he still opened the door for me,
with Faris sleeping in my arms, as the nurse wheeled me out in the wheelchair.
Such courage.

During Faris' stay at the NICU, I befriended the nurses.
I took interest in the stories of each tiny souls in the incubators and the bassinets.
One in particular was Anna Mirsha.

The day after Faris was born, it was Anna's 120th day in this world.
And in NICU.
She has never left the NICU.
Complications at birth, I was told.

She had to be fed via tubes through her nostrils.
The air around her bassinet needed to be purified (if I'm not mistaken) every few hours.
A paediatrician would come every morning and evening, turn Anna on her stomach, and patted it with some sort of cup.
It's like physiotherapy, they said.

Oh my, but she was gorgeous.
Adorable.
Everytime I hear Sound of Music's Favourite Things, I think of her.
She had this toy that plays that song.
The nurses would pull on it to lull her to sleep.

I was thinking about Faris' time in the NICU last night.
And then I thought of Anna.
By a rough calculation, she'd turn one some time ago.

Happy Birthday, Anna Mirsha.

I wonder how she's doing?

Anis

Long Read

A few days ago,
after approximately 2 months,
I finished reading Selden Edwards' The Little Book.


I only get to read when Faris is asleep
or
when he wakes up at 5am to nurse.
I rarely go back to sleep if that happens because I like to wait for azan Subuh then terus solat.
If tido balik, takut terlajak.

The past few books I read were period books (the genre that I love most) but decided to go with contemporary this time around.
So, I chose Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club (I know it's cheating because they mostly discuss Austen which is somewhat a period novel).


Wonder how long it'd take to finish this one. :P

Anis

Informed decisions

Salaam.

What makes a contemporary Muslim different from a non-Muslim?

Why do you think you are so much better than your father?

When am I answering my calling?

Who are we to pass judgment?

Which is it- drown in gold, or float on faith?

How does anything make sense?

Informed decision is the way to go, I think. Make every moment count, since any moment is one moment more than we had a moment ago.

Matt

Bakat Terpendam

Faris ada a few Lamaze toys.

An inchworm.
A dinosaur.
A lion.
A firefly.
A Sun/Moon.
A clutch cube.

Tak kira la Lamaze yang mana dia tengah main, and tak kira apa position pun toy tu,
Faris akan jumpa label dan nyonyot benda tu sampai lenjun.
Features lain pada toy Lamaze tu dia tak main sangat.
Dia akan carik label jugak.

Itu lah bakat terpendam Faris.

Bangga,
Bonda.

Decisive

Faris happens to be one of those blessed people who knows what he wants in life. :D

Nenda wanted to buy him this:

But he opted for this:
Very decisively and adamantly.

Tried to sway him to like the Vtech Dance and Sing Zoo toy buy he wouldn't let go of the Playskool Busy Balls, because that's what he wanted.

Even when Nenda wanted to pay for the balls, a little coaxing was needed for him to let go of the package.

Oh, our son. How you've grown this past 7 months. :D
Alhamdulillah.

Bonda.

My Children's Malaysia

In helping Husband narrow down his thesis topic, we paid a visit to Silverfish Books to broaden our horizon. It was a lovely trip.

Husband bought us this:

Shirley Lim's Princess Shawl.

I was amongst the priviledged to whom she read her working manuscript to back when I was an undergrad. I was quite thrilled to get to meet Shirley Lim.

But the visit saddened me.
The hard fact that statistically, Malaysians read one book a year.
Any book.

And then there's the hard fact that there aren't that many Malaysian writers in English.
Say what you will about my not loving my mother tongue. You don't know me or my preferences.
(Oh dear, I was distracted)
I'd like to read a fiction written about Malaysia, by Malaysians.
Something to put Malaysia on the literary map.

Princess Shawl is the first Malaysian children's literature I've come across.
I know that there's K.S Maniam's and there's Daphne Lee's, but this is the first that I was exposed to via Shirley Lim's visit to the university.

I'd just like my children's Malaysia to be available in literature, written by Malaysians.
They deserve that much, what with the advancements the country has made over the past 10 years.

Anis

TV Baby

Faris loves his books.
But he also loves watching the television.

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
My Friends Tigger & Pooh
Dibo The Gift Dragon
Mousse & Boubidi (shocking!)
Backyardigans
Hi5
Elmo's World
Dive Olly Dive
Chuggington
Upin & Ipin

Some of the shows that keeps him occupied while Bonda or Ayahanda run errands.

Anis

Swelling

Tengah pandang Faris tidur.
Ayahanda dodoi sampai lelap.

Meragam.
Gusi dah koyak.

Cinta sangat mereka berdua.
Rasa hati dulu tak pernah tahu gembira sebegini.
Alhamdulillah.

:D

Nikmat Allah s.w.t sungguh hebat.
MashaAllah.

Bonda

Half-Hearted Half-Blood

I have waited a long time to watch the sixth movie installment of the Harry Potter series.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
I loved the book. It was so beautifully penned and personal.

The movie was alright considering how those responsible brought J.K. Rowling’s brainchild to life.
Special effects at the cave during the Inferi battle were grand.
Radcliffe and Grint’s comic timing are superb.
Draco Malfoy finally gets more screen time than all five preceding movies combined.

However, it did feel as though the build up was highly exaggerated. An anti-climax, so to speak.
Everything felt like it was played down. There wasn’t any particular focus.

For example, as the title bears, the focus should be on the said Half-Blood Prince.
Yet no explanation is made of the Half-Blood Prince.

The help Harry received in Potions by the mysterious Prince was part of the essence of Book 6 and yet we only see the “book” in action once or twice.

When Snape reveals that he is the Half-Blood Prince, it was a “What? That’s it?!” moment.
The was no fire, no passion in the deliverance of the revelation.

Ginny and Harry’s romance was severely played down that it’s criminal.
Cho Chang was a fling but Ginny is love and it’s a shame we didn’t get to see that.
It has always been Ginny.

The absence of the battle at Hogwarts may leave many gaping holes for the final two installments.
It should have been the introduction to Fenrir Greyback.
It should have been the platform of the strength of the DA members and the Order of the Pheonix.
It should have been there simply because it was awesome.

In the Additional Scenes of the movie, the clip entitled “Clouds Gather over Hogwarts as Flitwick Conducts Choir” is a beautiful scene.
Personally, it should have been in the movie.
The score, the cinematography, the editing, the emotions – everything was so beautiful.
So deep. So moving.
It foreshadowed a terrible event. It was so utterly breath-taking.

I love everything in the world of Harry Potter.
All in all, I loved this movie.
It was ok, but it could have been great.

Here’s hoping Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Volumes I and II won’t fall short of anything other than extraordinary.

A Potter Fan