Without Tubes Soon

Thursday, 23 December 2010



Today, we made a visit to "The Royal Children Hospital" for a follow up respiratory check with Dr Alan.

Little Princess had an oxygen saturation monitoring session at a lowered oxygen setting of 125 mls/min (from previously 250 mls/min) using the pulse oximetry machine (the white box device sitting on the chair in photo above) and the result was fantastic!! Dr Alan said, all she needed was at least 85% of oxygen saturation but our little girl had about 98-100% throughout, which was really good. He also said that she is well on track and adviced that she should continue to grow with enough oxygen. Because of that, her oxygen supplement was lowered to 125 mls/min from now on. This would be the lowest setting before she is breathing on air. Alhamdulillah!!

Her developmental progress has been fantastic!! She is gaining weight well, now 3.9 kg (50.2 cm in length), a gain of about 100g since her weigh-in during the community nurse visit at home last week. Since her last appointment with Dr Alan, about 3 weeks ago, she was never irritated or crossed or had any difficulty when feeding. Dr Alan was happy with her progress that in about a month time, if everything goes well, he planned to put a stop to her supplemental oxygen, completely. Yippie!!

Hubby and i really cannot wait for her oxygen prongs to be removed entirely so that we can see her cute little face - without the tubes. We take comfort that this is not going to be forever. We just need to be patient and take things a step at a time. Please help pray with us so that she would soon grow big enough not needing any oxygen supplement.. Amin!!

She is one little fighter and she never complains. We are strong believers that positive things will come out of this. We take our inspiration from her!!

Barney Time

Tuesday, 21 December 2010

Let's learn how to count 1 to 10..

Our little baby tentatively watching TV

It has been a while now that our little Princess has shown some interests listening to sounds and following toys, faces or moving objects. Her head control has improved tremendously and now starting to suck her thumbs. She smiles often when spoken to and would wave her arms and kicks her legs whenever she is awake.

Another big milestone for little Rania is being able to pay attention when watching TV. She would just sit down and watch for hours. I noticed she has a long concentration span, which is amazing. Just take a look at her photos watching her favourite educational video - Barney.

Welcome Back Daddy

Sunday, 19 December 2010

Missed you so much Daddy!!
I've always loved Kangaroo cuddling with Daddy!!

It feels good to be able to spend the end of year and new year with Hubby!! This is our first time spending the new year together as a family.

It has been a crazy travelling year for Hubby this year. This year alone, he has been travelling quite alot, he has made about a total of 7 return trips from Brunei to Brsbane, back to Brunei. In fact, he has come to Brisbane almost every month especially since little Princess was born. He managed to get his work done despite the buzy travelling schedule, i'm really amazed on how he still managed to juggle between his work and family. Thanks for all the sacrifice dear..

Now that Hubby is here, we will cheerish every moments we have and enjoy our time together to the fullest!!

Playtime

Friday, 17 December 2010

Olalala... Who is that cute girl?

Hello Princess, i'm Patrick, the dragon, your best friend!!

Little Princess Rania is now 8 weeks of corrected age. She has started to show some interest to play especially her colourful toys. She is mostly fascinated with moving toys or things.

Baby Rania has started to smile a lot more too. It is very fun to play with her as she has now starting to interact with us when we talk to her. If you noticed, her hair has grown too! HeHe...

Community Nurse Visit

Thursday, 16 December 2010

A community health nurse came to visit little Rania at our home in the morning. The purpose of visit was to check how Rania is progressing at home. The nurse asked a couple of questions about her development at this stage i.e. 8 weeks of corrected age. Some of the questions asked including whether she had already started smiling, managed to lift her head up while on her tummy and hand to the mouth suckling. The answer to all the questions are yes!!

I'm very much happy that our little daughter is progressing well and her development is on track at the moment, which is really really good!! Little Rania was also assessed on muscles development. Alhamdulillah, all going good!! I couldn't be more happier to hear all the good news coming from the nurse.. HeHe.

Childhood Resemblance

Tuesday, 14 December 2010

Cute little Princess' 27th Blogspot:

 

1984: Family photo taken when celebrating Daddy's b'day.

I definitely got my good looks from my Daddy (center) - who

by the way loves to cuddle, just like me!!  

1987: Family photo where Mommy is the one with the

cute little smile (left), very chubby, just like me.. I definitely 

got my cute looks from my Mommy!!



I have been thinking to find out where i got my looks from. Many people think that i got most of my looks from my Daddy. But it is really difficult to be 100 percent positive right. So i have a better idea, the best way to really find out is to compare my looks with how Mommy and Daddy looked like at their childhood. Really classic but i think that is a fair comparison. Mommy and Daddy were so cute when they were little, just look at them in the photos - aren't they adorable?? 

Hmmm.. even after taking a good look at the childhood photos, it is still hard to say, i think i got my good looks from Daddy and my cuteness from Mommy. Overall, i think i got most of my looks from Daddy, Mommy, Daddy??!! I cannot make up my mind really, what do you expect, i'm just a 5 months old girl. HeHe. Lets be fair, lets say i got my looks from the two most amazing person in my life, Mommy and Daddy. Love you Mommy, Daddy!!

Get Connected

Monday, 12 December 2010

Hi Daddy! Really miss you.. Why can't Daddy come here
like now?! Orite.. I guess this weekend is also not that bad.
I'm excited to see Daddy this weekend!!

Hello Iring Sija!!!! How's Brunei? I cannot wait to go home
to Brunei to meet everyone. Say Hi to GranPa and everyone!!
When will Iring come back visit me again? 

We are starting to introduce the little one to the world of internet video communication - Skype. We've actually known about this all along but couldn't be bothered until Sis Sija, who are currently in Brunei, started video conferencing with us, that was when we realised that it would be a wonderful idea for Hubby to see his little Princess while talking over the phone with us and we did!! Skype is very easy to use and the best of all, its free of charge! Little Rania adapted with the video skyping really well, so well that most of the time she was looking at the screen, as if she was talking to her Daddy being present right in front of her. HeHe. She is one SMART girl!!

On another note, its been a quiet start for the new week, this week. I'm feeling much better today. Mom and Sis Miah had been taking the role of some night shifts, while i was recovering. HeHe. But tonight, i'm back on duty again - back to waking up 3 hourly for nursing the little one. It is very exciting, yet challenging to be a mother but with plenty of help around, life is so much easier! Especially during the day because i need some time out to do some reading for my literature review.

I couldn't wait for Hubby to be around this weekend to help me out especially with the mid night feeding and tummy playtime. Excited and looking forward!!

First Headscarf

Friday, 11 December 2010

An Adorable Little Muslimah Princess - a description of her given by her Daddy when video skyping today. Thanks to Wawa Miah and Iring Sija who bought the headscarf from Brunei.

Little Princess was very much awake almost the whole afternoon today, so we made use of this opportunity to play a little dress up game, which in fact, is her first headscarf dress up!! It was fun actually. HeHe. The headscarf fits her very well. She was a bit angry when we first put it on her. I think being the first time wearing a scarf must be awkward for her, she is simply not used to having something wrapped around her head. HeHe. But after a while she was all right and happy.

I have not been feeling well since a couple of days ago, had a bit of cough due to changes in weather and eating too much mangoes, i guess. I had to keep myself away from our little Princess for a while because i didn't want to transfer the virus to her. GrandMa and Wawa Miah had been a great help with her feeding. Thanks you guys!! You're the best!! But i'm getting so much better today, hence this dress up game. I hope i could get much better tommorow so that I can start cuddling her again!! Amin!!

Crab in Tomato Sauce

Thursday, 10 December 2010

One of my mum's cooking specialities is "Cracked Crab in Tomato Sauce". I love this dish so much!! There is one problem, it is hard to get it here in Brisbane.

But after a long search, we finally found a shop in Chermside that sells this particular type of crab, not sure what it is called, Coral Crab maybe? But back in Brunei we call it "Ketam Suri". It was a bit expensive though, about AUD19 per kilo. Whereas in Brunei, we could easily buy it at only BND$7 per kilo. But the cost would not deter me from buying it, i would pay however much to get this favourite dish of mine. At the end, it was really YUMMY!! It was worthed because the crab was very meaty, if there is such a word. HeHe.

Hi Again Wawa Miah

Sunday, 5 December 2010

Welcome back Wawa Miah to Brisbane. She just arrived last night. Wawa Miah bought lots of gifts for Princess Rania including new hats, a dress and tummy play time mat. Thank you Wawa Miah and Iring Sija for all the wonderful gifts for our little princess. I wish Aunty Sija is here as well! But i know she will come and visit Rania a bit later.

Take a look at our active little Rania making some progress, trying out her new tummy play mat!! She is very much loving it!!



Cute Bips

Saturday, 4 December 2010

As usual on every Saturday, there's fruits and vegetables market close to our apartment. Apart from that, some stalls are also selling some nice baby clothes and items. One stall was quite new there selling some baby items such as clothes, mitts and bips. I was very much interested with the hand made bips! It was not just any usual bips, it is quite wide and colourful too. Managed to get two pieces for Rania at $10 each. What do you think? Cute isn't it? :)

Tummy Play Time

Saturday, 4 December 2010

Little Princess' 26th Blogpost:

Hi Daddy.. Look at me!! This is for you Daddy!!

After hearing my physiotheraphist advising Mommy to let me have lots of tummy time, i have been doing as much tummy time as i could lately. Of course, i couldn't do it without Mommy helping me around. Today, I made a bit of progress, i moved myself slightly forward. I managed to hold my head straight up while on my tummy!! But just for a little while, of course! It is quite a big progress for a little girl like me!!

I think practice is all what i need, lots and lots of them. Mommy took a couple of photos while I was trying to show off my skills. HeHeHe.

Learning to play on tummy is really hard work! But I know one day I will be a pro! Daddy, please come back and train me with my tummy play time!!

World Class Innovation

Tuesday, 30 November 2010

What does Hubby really do? His work was briefly mentioned in the local newspaper. Despite the buzy travelling schedule he managed to balance between work and  family. I'm so proud of you dear!!

Some quotes from the newspaper describing the job as "The high performance project, which BSP admits is "a uniquely challenging, high technology" undertaking to open up the country's mature oil and gas fields is driven by BSP's innovative and total integration of technology, exploration and its development teams". More details can be obtained in these links: for Borneo Bulletin article, entitled "First two wells exceed expectation" and for Brunei Times article, entitled "Extraordinary oil discovery for BSP"

Progress Appointment..

Monday, 29 November 2010

Today, our little Princess Rania had another appointment with her main doctor, Dr Adam at the Royal Brisbane Women Hospital. Before seeing her doctor, her physiotheraphist came to see how Rania was progressing physically. Her physiotheraphist told me to encourage baby do lots and lots of tummy playtime to help her develop her muscles. She also mentioned that her head was a bit flat on the left side too. Rania should be encouraged to sleep on her right side to balance it out. Or while she was awake to put all her toys that she loved on her right side to encourage her turn that way. I think its going to be hard work because Rania loves to sleep facing her head left and turns her head to the left side when she is awake! HeHe...

Dr. Adam said that Rania is growing very well based on her weight gain and increase in length. Dr. Adam received a letter from Rania's respiratory doctor, Dr. Allan, telling him to reduce her oxygen from 250to 200mls/minute. But I told Dr Adam that it couldn't be done because  the next level down on her oxygen regulator is 125mls. So he decided to keep her oxygen at 250mls. Hopefully in the next appointment with the Dr. Allan on the 16th December, her oxygen can be reduced to 125ml! The aim is to get Rania to cope with the lowest oxygen settings a much as possible and then get off the oxygen completely. I wonder when that will be??

Bon Voyage Daddy

Sunday, 28 November 2010

Time flies, it was time again for little princess' Daddy to go back to Brunei to work. Daddy has been a great help with taking care of our beautiful Rania. I had a lot of extra sleep during the night when he was around. Now that he is gone, i'm back to my normal schedule. But Grandma has been a big help too. I'm glad both Grannies are here with Rania.

Missing little princess' Daddy so much! Hope his holiday in mid December is approved. Below are some of the photos taken when Hubby was here during this trip.


It feels so good to be loved..

'I am a cool baby'

Daddy singing lullaby songs..

Princess Rania's special security body guard! HeHe..



Mangoes Galore

Saturday, 27 November 2010

It is almost summer time in Brisbane. This is my first summer in Brisbane. I was told that it might get really hot, much hotter than that in Brunei. Wow! We'll see! The weather for the past couple of days has been quite contrary - lots and lots of rain and feels rather quite cool. That has delayed our plan to go swimming at the apartment pool. But nevermind, the time will eventually come :)

Another interesting event during summer in Brisbane are the variety of fruits that suddenly popped up in the shops and markets. Our main target is mangoes! I love mango so much! Back in Brunei, my dad use to have a couple of mango trees and the fruits were really sweet. Here, the mangoes look slightly different than those in Brunei. It has a bit of pinkish skin colour. I think it tastes very much sweeter here. In case you come here, never forget to try them out!



Head Shaving

Friday, 26 November 2010

My hair just before the shaving

My new look after all my hair is gone..

I know just how to cover it up.. HeHeHe.. I even have my

sun glasses ready just in case there are papparazis around.

How do i look with my hat on? No body can tell right?

Head shaving on the seventh day from birth is Sunna in Islam. Little Rania had her head clean shaven today. It is an exception for her to do it quite late since she was in the hospital for quite a long time. We were at first abit reluctant to do it, but as a muslim, i felt it was necessary as part of spiritual cleansing and plus it posed no harm at all.

Our Prophet's friend, Ibn Al-Qayem (Allah's mercy upon him) said about the benefit of shaving the newborn's hair: Shaving newborn's hair removes the weak hair so that stronger and firmer hair replaces it and it is beneficial for the head. In addition, it comforts the newborn and opens the head's skin openings. And most importantly is a strengthening of her eye sight, her sense of smell and hearing. Another source, although not backed by scientific data also suggested that newborn baby's hair are referred to as unclean and shaving it would enhance their brain development.

Then it is recommended to give a charity in a monetary form an equivalent to the price estimation of gold or silver equal in weight to the hair.

We ask Allah to protect us and our very own child from all evil and to keep her safe and sound in this world and in the hereafter. Amin!

Safety First

Thursday, 25 November 2010

Buckle up before driving eventhough just as passanger..

Our most valuable cargo..

It has been almost three weeks that our Little Princess has been at home. Rania has been spending most of her time at home. Loads of rest is good for her especially for a little preemie like her. She has been a really good girl. Sometimes at night, she could get a bit grizzly. A bit of soft pat and a whisper of lullaby song would settle her quite quickly.

She had a couple of car trips to the Royal Children's Hospital. A week before she came home, we rented a baby capsule which is installed in our back seat for AUD 65, a once off rental for as long period of rental as we want. It is very convinient especially for short trip like this. It also save us alot of time getting her pram ready as we could easily clip the capsule in, take it out and carry them around by hand. I think it is a very good idea to have this installed rather than buying one for her because we can only use it until she reaches 6 kg and she is growing very quickly! For the safety of our little precious cargo, we'd do anything!

Road Safety is important for little baby too!!

Respiratory Appoinment 2

Wednesday, 24 November 2010

Since Little Princess' last appointment last week, her respiratory doctor, Dr Alan Isles, decided to reduced her oxygen requirement from 500ml to 250ml. This change was based on her good weight gain and the good oximetry test done during the appointment.

We brought her back to the Royal Children's Hospital for a follow up check. Nervous, but excited at the same time, Hubby however was very calm through out the time. Her weight was measured and another oximetry test was done. Great news! Rania had gained 103g for the past 6 days and her oxygen saturation has been fantastic! Good girl! Dr Isles said, based on the oximetry, her oxygen could actually be lowered furher down but instead decided that she should be maintained on the lower oxygen settings for the next 3 weeks before lowering it further. Just to follow a safe procedure. 

The best of all, Dr Isles predicted that our Little Princess will be free from using the oxygen in about 2 months time. Amin!! Alhamdulillah, so far everything has gone well since she went home. Hubby has been a great help coming to Brisbane to help look after little bubs. I cannot wait to have her oxyen removed completely.

Cuddles

Monday, 22 November 2010

Little Princess' 25th Blogpost:

I love to cuddle. Cuddle is best!! Here are some of my exclusive cuddly photos collection. Enjoy!

Daddy gives the best cuddle + feed at the same
 time



Mommy's cuddle is the most comforting of all..
Lets go now Mommy, i'm gonna be late for my appointment!

 

Granpa's first cuddle - a bit shaky at the
begining, i had to calm him down (see
myhand trying to calm Grampa)..

Granma's loving touch makes it hard  for
me to resist to sleep



Aunty Nadia giving me a motherly
cuddle.. She loves to kiss me :)

This arabic style lady is Aunty Roslynn.
 I like her dress. She is so loving!

Cuddle with Aunty Aimi... uwwaaaa...
so nice, make me want to sleep..
a wee bit longer please..

Aunty Hani's warm cuddle makes me
sleepy even more... i wish she can
cuddle me till morning..

Respiratory Appointment

Tuesday, 16 November 2010

Today, our Little Princess had an appointment with her respiratory doctor, Dr Alan at the Royal Children Hospital, Brisbane. We were hoping that her oxygen requirement will be weaned down today. During the appointment, we were asked a couple of questions on how she was going with her feeding. Her feeding has been good actually since she was home. Dr Alan was more convinced that she was feeding very well because she had gained about 132g since she was discharged from the hospital.

Dr Alan wantede to trial her on half her current oxygen supply, which is 500mls/min down to 250mls/min and monitored her oxygen saturation using an oximetry for about half an hour just to see how she would cope with the new lower setting.  She passed!! Throughout the monitoring, her oxygen saturation remained between 97 to 99% and even during bottle-feeding! Clever girl! Dr Alan and team was very happy and decided to let us go home with 250mls/min.. Yippie!!

Rock on Baby Rania!!!

Rania's 1 Week Home Progress

Sunday, 14 November 2010

I have noticed a couple of Rania's progress at home. For the past seven days, her bottlefeed and breastfeed has improved a lot. Since, Rania is getting bigger, her feeds also get much bigger! Her head control has been really good too, lots of tummy time does help a lot!

Another exciting progress that she made is that, she has started to play on her own. She loves colourful toys too. We hanged some over where she sleeps. Sometimes she will spend up to an hour just looking and patting those toys with her cute little hands. She seemed to be enjoying herself too! And of course, after a little play she will get a bit hungry wanting some food, after that she will get a good long sleep.

Yesterday, we were asked to came back to the hospital, but don't worry, just for another weighing. Just to check that if little princess is getting enough feeds and sleep. She gained about 72g during the whole one week at home!! Yeay!! The doctor said we would no longer be needing to go back to hospital to have my weight monitored. Yahoo!!

As promised, Hubby is coming tonight to visit us. In fact he is already on his way here as im writing this blog, right now. Yippie!!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Happy birthday to beloved mom-in-law!! My eldest brother-in-law, Hj Sufri planned a surprise birthday celebration for Mom at his house at Salambigar. Everyone from my Hubby's family side was there except me because i'm in Australia, but i will always be closed at heart! Love you Mom! I feel really touched when I saw the big family photo. Hubby's family has been a great company. Can't wait for Rania to join them in Brunei.

Hubby was just back from Penang for a workshop and managed to stop by to attend her party. He managed to get a hand bag for her from the airport in Penang. Hope you enjoy the "Sembonia" handbag from Rania and us!! We pray that Allah will give her good health. Amin!



Dreaming of Daddy

Friday, 12 November 2010

Rania's 24th Blogpost:

It has been almost a week since my return home. Being at home is very different compared to hospital. I've been keeping Mommy, Grandma and Grandpa very busy. I'm a little Princess, remember? I need all the attention! HaHaHa. However, Daddy has to go back to Brunei during midnight on the day i got discharged on Sunday the 7th. It was very sad, because i didn't get the chance to spend the night with him at home, but Daddy promised to come back at the end of this week!

I sleep much better at home. I noticed that somebody is always there watching over me. Sometimes I get a bit crossed, just because I need my tank to be filled with Mommy's milk! I get hungry quite a lot actually. At night I woke up and cry for food every 2 to 3 hours. Mommy's very good at waking up everytime she hear me cry. Sometimes i made false cries, i wasn't really crying, just having a night dream, wanting to be picked up by Daddy, but as soon as i woke up, i went back to sleep again. HeHeHe..

Everything is going so well at home! Thanks for the continous support everyone!

Home Sweet Home!!

Sunday, 7 November 2010

Today is a BIG day for our little Princess Rania. It is the day that she is going home!! Alhamdulillah!! It is the happiest day of my life!! Now, i can hold her on my arms 24-7!!

On her final day, little Princess, her Daddy and myself had a little round at the NICU and SCN ward. We just wanted to personally say thank you to all the wonderful staffs who had taken care of her before. Unfortunately, not all of them are around including her doctor, Dr. Adam Hoellering. We only managed to meet  a handful of people who are working today. To others who are not on duty today, thank you so much. You guys are awesome!! Thanks for caring for her. It means alot to us!! We also would like to thank family, friends and readers of this blog for all you prayers..

During our round, we used this opportunity to distribute our little gifts to those that we met along the way. To other baby nurses whom had looked after our precious little princess and haven't already received our little gift of appreciation, please drop an email to me with your full name at haiza.ahmad@gmail.com and i will be glad to drop the gift at the reception of NICU/SCN, RBWH.

These are some of the last few sweet memories of our Princess Rania at the NICU/SCN of RBWH.. Enjoy!

After we were done with the round, off we went.. Home!! Home Sweet Home!! Yeay!! HeHeHe.

Another interesting event awaits at home. GranMa and GranDad had a little surprise for our little Princess, a surprise "welcome home" banner! Lots and lots of baloons, everywhere!! There are these one set of baloons with big letters that says "R - A- N- I - A". So sweet of them. Take a look.. HeHeHe.. Thanks Grannies!!