the truth is, being a sahm is great… if you have help.
without help, it can be quite a mountainous challenge, juggling household chores, your young children’s needs and well-being, and your own sanity.
with help, you get to eliminate the irksome and nitty gritty tasks of cleaning/sweeping/washing/ironing, and focus on the whole point of sahm-ing: your kids.
that’s how i see it anyway. of course, not everyone will agree! sahm-ing should come in a package, some say. what’s two kids, after all, right? our mothers and fore-mothers have done it all before, single-handedly, with half a dozen kids around their ankles. sahms should be supermoms! it’s a criteria, for heaven’s sake! and to those sahms who do manage without helpers and still have time to shop in town for the latest gucci garbs, well done!
but the fact is – i absolutely stink at housework. i grew up with a perfectionist mum who preferred doing things her way around the house and so, as a defense mechanism, i blacked out her naggings and got away with minimum lifting of my oh-so-delicate fingers. usually on the pretext that i was, err, reading or studying or something that required little movement on my part. nevermind that i was from an all-girls’ school for ten formative years of my life – i still suck at doing what is seemingly an inborn girl thing: domestic work. blame it on the lack of playing ‘masak-masak’ when i was young, i don’t know.
so, with the recent crisis re: the helper which prompted immediate repatriation, i have been stuck with a week’s worth of laundry waiting to be ironed, bathrooms waiting to be scrubbed, floors waiting to be mopped.
housework’s a bitch, can? LOL!
anyway, minor setback. i just have to, err, minimise our lives (less mess, less cleaning up), and wait for the dust to settle (which it has, literally, probably an inch thick!).
meanwhile, the bulk of the madness is getting everyone bathed and fed in the morning, send the elder one to his full-day c/care (at which he’s settling in effortlessly), afterwhich the little one gets full attention, until she has her next nap, which lasts all of one hour or less (hmph, so much for mademoiselle sleeping beauty – now not so sleepy anymore!), then feeble attempts at multi-tasking and running errands, before it’s five o’clock and the madness begins again, getting everyone bathed and fed for the evening.
SO FUN HOR! :D
jemput makan
the latest thing added to the daily schedule. yes, as you can see, i’ve had time to drop by the library for some, er, refresher. haven’t had time to break out the new food processor to try out the supposedly easy-peasy job of making baby purees, though. broke out in an allergic rash instead the day after the purchase, which got me a jab of promethazine, which made me totally conked out for the next 24 hours or so. (gawd have i mentioned i HATE drugs!!) maybe the thought of me actually doing something with a food processor caused the allergic reaction, ha ha.
so, her menu has thus far been stuck with jemput-jemput-smelling rice cereal with b/milk and bananas. (and which, while recovering from that lethal dose of promethazine, i ate some banana pancakes mum made – without b/milk, of course – and ended up the whole day doubled over with indigestion. i can’t eat bananas, dammit, when will i ever learn?!)
and speaking of b/milk, that’s the other thing i’ve been busy with. stocking up. :S
DIY tahui!
time check, 04:45am. orang gila ajer masih belum tidur eh.
gonna go pump my jemput-jemput now.
cheers!
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Dear Hana
I’m a reader of your blog. I’m currently 7 mths preggie and with a 2 yo daughter, I’ll be sahm-ing the whole “mothers and fore-mothers have done it all before, single-handedly” way plus the housework in a few mths time and I can tell you, sometimes I feel really scared. I hope I can pick enough tips from the elders in time though but I’ll bet I won’t be looking as good as you :)
hana.. pic of ure auni smiling makes me smile.. hehe..
Hahaha!! Guess I’m 1 of the giler ones.. I was still up and running (on the lappie of cos) at 4.45am!
I love auni’s outfit!
P/S: Aneeqa saw auni’s pix and said “adek? To her, all babies are adek! Hehehe :P
Why oh why….you are soooo adorable you little cutey pie Auni!!!…with that headband and all! ;-)
after awhile i turn a blind eye to the mess..but only with one, it’s relatively easier. esp now with him in childcare. but being a sahm is tough, yana also cant take it, it drives her up the wall..esp with three boys now.
anyway, my theory is, the women of our grandmothers’ generation had the support system in the form of neighbours and the kampung to help look after each other’s kids. the kids dont have homework, enrichment etc, they spend more time running around the neighbourhood, playing..so they take care of themselves.
wah lau eh so much leh ur ebm mine is a miserly 7-8 packs je…hah…actually i’m not a religious pumper (adeke such word) anyway…so malas to pump you know…
that’s old stock, got another layer over it now lol!
have to stock up lah beb, saya kan nak balik kerje. but makcik ni tak minum banyak sangat, so i have a feeling i’ll be throwing away some packs eventually. sesapa nak? satu pack $2, lelong lelong! :D
is, i can imagine how yana must feel, lol! but for someone with 3 small boys, she still has time to ‘maintain’ herself, kan? bagos tu! :) also, i think it’s different being on your own and having parents in the same house, with the latter you know you have a ‘backup’. my mum is too busy maintaining her own household (although dia sorang kat rumah but she’s still a neatfreak!!) and her active ‘social life’ (with her fellow cikgu cikgee retirees). and forget about leaving our kids with her at night or weekends, soo not happening haha. she’s already stressed that she MUST have a helper when i go back to work coz she refuses to be stuck at home with my kids! so, support system with a modern nenek is, hmm… bare minimum.
haha yati, ni lah mak kemarok ada baby girl. :p
ayu, you also night owl eh? i have to adjust my body clock very soon or else, die!
hi oph, glad to make u smile!
hai rai, first of all – good luck! :)
i’m sure you can do it lah. i think it’s all about, err, time management. which i’m pretty bad at. hehe.
sekali pandang mcm anak zura!!
ok i think staying without my parents now..and erm..n of coz minus the kids..i wonder how people cna keep their house spanking clean, kitchen no greasy bits..and gorgeous garden ..neat and tidy garage.. well organised shed..! ahhahahahahahah so far yg kemas i think..my room aja! ehhehe
haha! ayu, ko pon dah sedap ada bibik kan? lol! lengkali bawak bibik gi ostolia sekali k!
Wow I’m impressed with the amount of do ur own tahui you have in ur your fridge. Seriously I hope to bf for at least a year for my second one not now though hehe. The first one only lasted for 4 months sob sob.
Sis, seriously how u manage to pump all that excess milk to store up… Im currently breastfeeding my 3wks old baby… But, kinda finding it hard to get extra milk… Can advise me on how you do it… maybe can email me when you[re free… Thanks… Your advice is much needed….
wey jemput jemput pun…berisi! ahha if u get what i mean ahwhaw
Yes hana, sahm is great with help, that’s y I alway go back to my mum’s place bcos I malas nak cook, haha!! I can do all houseworks but cooking, im still not so good at it. And with Marsya tgh terrible two together with an infant at home = horrible. So must go back to my mum’s, sana ade ramai org nak entertain dia. Hana, choose a date this week, tues/wed/thurs, probably will drop by ur place after sending Marsya to skool. I have something to show u. Must have our sahm date before u go back to work. Msg me, ok?!!
I jadi nite owl part time basis during wkend jer.
Kalau buat kerje gini on wkdays, nampak sah tido depan PC at wk! :P
So, u actually ada maidlah…I wondering jugak…rumah u look clean in the pic…
I though u do all the chores and managing the kids single handedly! hehehe
Eeeeii..geramnye tengok si auni tu. Boleh book untuk Rayan tak? hehehe.. Hana I jeles sebab you managed to extract so much bm. I am about to give up part-time bf-ing Rayan because it is never enough. Dah kasi bm nak kena kasi formula too so might as well fulltime formula je lah.
One tahui pls, with longan topping for Sharleez!
sharleez, you can ask your mummy for fresh tahui, ok!
tasyah, nak chope? bolehhh… so far belom ada calon, lol. and ehh, jgn givap lah. some is better than none! at least in the mornings and nights, ok apa. :)
hi hami, wuahaaha, i never said i was superwoman lor! helper only for kemas kemas and gosok baju. nanny for the children is me. :p
ayu, i become full-time night owl coz it’s like the only me time i have where i can do anything i want without interruption!
mariani! ok calling calling, wed or thurs? and yah, i also bring the baby to my mum’s more to get her used to her oma and the house. (and for me to eat too lol!)
haha lynn, actually they’re more like lempeng. :p
hi Lin! congrats on your baby. hmm, abt bf-ing… 3wks is still very early! so don’t worry, you’re just starting to build up your supply, so pumping at this stage is understandably discouraging (that’s why i didn’t do it). just keep on latching and feed on demand. maybe i’ll write more abt this here (if anyone else is interested lah)… :)
amayuz, 4mths is still not bad! no worries, can try again nx time, yah?
this entry of yours reminds me of when i first stumble upon your blog (emo sikit)..he he!!
after reading the entry, it gave me the courage to cont bf-ing my first bb even when i’ve already started working and now with second bb & that bb is ready for solids i should pursue it by mixing EBM with the choice of vege for added consistency : )))
and like orang melayu kata…jgn serik to write more of such entries.
Hehe… Thanks for the reply yeah… Sure i would love to read more abt your comments on breastfeeding… It will be very informative for me… Even though this is my 2nd child, my 1st daughter didn/t breastfeed at all… Thus, this time round i would really like to brestfeed exclusively…. Thanks sis hana lots….
hey maya, have you returned to work already? don’t forget to check for me about that thing, k! ;)
and ya tu lah, tak serik-serik, lol! sensitive issue lah, gone under fire so many times, sigh. but hmm, alhamdulillah for those who gave positive feedback and emails from those who’ve succeeded!
hi again lin, i’ve actually written a bit about it before..
http://aniqizhan.wordpress.com/category/breastfeeding/
good luck, and don’t be too shy or afraid to ask other mums, yah? they’re the best source of info. :)
wow. so much milk! hehe…. one thing best being a sahm (and not worrying to go back work for erm a year +) is… i don’t need to pump. or least to say, pretty lazy to pump! hhaha..latching direct is the best, or less work to do.
coz there’s more work to worry about like you said ‘housework is a bitch!’.
and er…i stopped making purees when my son rejected them lah. so…maybe now i should start back for my daughter?? ader ke masa eh.
hmph.
wah!!! that’s a whole lot of breastmilk!!! Kudos…wish i had the chance to stock up like that :(
Hi Kak Hana, I really admire those who can really pump that much. I surfed the webs on how to increase milk flow, like frequent pumping, drink enough fluidlah, I’ve tried all tapi my flow miserable aje, can only pump for 1 feed each time. Btw, how regular you pump in a day ah? I agree that in the morning there’s lot to pump after storing it for overnight. Kalau nak feed my daughter on demand, nampaknye tak cukuplah…… You know, in a day, si Alis ni kurang tidur so every hour nak nyok-nyok aje… so I gave up and terpaksa feed her on formula also. Tak ku sangka, yang susu formula stage 1 mahal u….
Kasi I tips2 lagilah. Like what food u eat (I nak makan food yang berkhasiat pun susah, maklumlah tinggal bersendirian, sek ask my hubby to buy luar aje), and how much you drink (i sampai beli that pegion tub water dispenser yg can quench our thirst for 8 glass tu).
aiya same same lor awhhwahwa
Sis hana… Thanks lots for giving me that link… Read it just now and its very informative and entertaining too… Btw, i have a qns 4 u master of b/feeding… Hehe… At 1 feeding session, is it necessary to offer her both breast or just 1 breast will do… Im kinda confused… And if i do give her only 1 breast, the other side will be full rite… So, how do i do it??? Hmm….
hmm… that depends on your baby, whether she still wants to continue on the next breast or not (have to pandai pandai read her cues lah, you can try giving it and see if she still suckles, if she’s not interested, then she’s had enough).. if she always has enough after one side, then you either pump the other side at the same time she suckles (this may help to fill up the bottle since you get a let-down easier when baby’s suckling), or just let it be so that your body will self-regulate.
am i making any sense?? ha ha! probably sounds gibberish eh.
lynn, so dah gi ikea ke belum?? ;p lol.
saly, feed on demand should be sufficient… but yeah, it’s tiring as hell with babies yang kuat nonyot lol.
have to know when they are crying coz they’re hungry for milk, or just want to be pacified. kekadang ni kita jadi walking pacifier kan? liddat kena train dorang, like maybe, errr… distract ngan mainan or bawak jalan2… hehe.
also, they go through growth spurts at certain weeks and that’s when they tend to want to drink every hour (i went thru that with aniq lor!). frustrating memang! but they actually do that to help mummy increase her supply naturally (more suckling, more milk). kena tahan arh, eventually when your milk supply increases, they’ll get full faster. :)
ermmm as for food… i main sebat jer lah, takde pantang2. only during confinement makan soupy stuff and a lot of rice, milk, soya bean, veges… but after that, anything goes ah.
and ahhh, infant formula brapa eh sekarang? i takut nak tengok kat supermarket, lol.
hey mahd, alahh i kan cuti lama, ni lah kerja rumah i, so dun say liddat k. lain orang, lain priorities. :)
aida, best eh tak kerje 1+? u still bf ur daughter eh? seb duit kan!
err belum! hwahwahwa tomoro then go ..weekdays lepas kerja penat la nak gi ikea..ikea besar kena banyak jalan ahhwa
nak kirim aper2 tak?
ah itu NAN 1 H.A. is at $37.95!! from $33 plus tau…recently ader added ingredient naik $4! melampao ah! ahahah
i nak beli anak lembu satu ah (anak lembu got milk? ahha)
Lynn, actually i just discovered i have 4 trays, and i actually just need 1 or 2. If u want to pinjam, just holler dari bawah block, k. And aniaya tu anak lembu nak kena perah, lol. Nak jaga lembu pun mahal tau..
u are too nice haha…sampai tray pun nak pinjamkan..takpe la i go get later..anyway tak urgent haha
kalau susah nak dapat mcm akar fatimah leh lah pinjam hehe..but thanks for the offer ya :D
a’ah. seb duit abis. skarang anak dara i pandai cakap ‘mahhh teetek!’ lol!
Hi sis hana…. Hmm… Am glad you gave me that sugestion… Alhamdulilah, things now getting better… N hope that it will be even better in the future so that i can have a smooth journey of breastfeeding… Btw, this is a bit of topic…. Where did you buy the sling that auni’s wearing?? Been contemplating btween a sling and carrier… Bt, decided on a sling… Hope you can get bk to me wen ur free ya… Thanks!!!