TITLE CHANGE

First things first; what LITTLE MAN? there are already TWO of them now :)

It's been way too long, I've ranted and whined and showed off the kids achievements in IG and Facebook but well, yeah, kesian si Ilyas I didn't have anything about him here, and he's already 9months+! -___-"

Nanti ye sayang, will update your activities here so we can all laugh about them later ;)

Umar selepas setahun

Lamanya tak cerita pasal umar kan.. sori laaa berabuk fuh fuh fuhhhhhhh

Apa khabar cikonet skrg? macam tu laaaa.. berat tak naik tinggi je naik... meh cerita apa perangai dia skrg..

1. Suka GIGIT org -  kenapa pun mama tak tau laaaaa takde sapa ajar asyik gigit oranggggg je... nasib baik budak kecik dari dia kat taska dia tak kacau. tapiiiii kalau yg sebaya, ke yg besar dari dia abis kena gigit. mama ayah tak payah cerita la lebam sana sini... harap2 habit ni tak lama, kesian budak lain nak... mama pun rasa sakit ni kan budak2 mesti la rasa lagi sakit...

2. Suka MAKAN makanan orang dewasa - puas hoih mama masak asing untuk umar, dia naaaaakkk jugak yg dalam pinggan kita, pinggan dia, dia takmo. mihun goreng dia tak abis, mihun goreng kita dia bedal. bubur bubur semua jarang sangat lah dia nak makan, nasik dengan sup baru on. pastu lagi satu perangai dia tanak sayur/ lauk potong panjang-panjang, kalau ada tu alamat dia korek balik mulut dia pakai dua-dua belah tangan. tapi sukaaaaa, sukaaaaa sangat makan. kira pantang lah kalau ada orang kat meja makan tu mesti dia pegi 'ma, ma, ma, ma' kat orang tu.

3. Ligat berjalan - umar dah boleh jalan right after his first birthday. Punya la lama dok cruising dan meniti merata-rata. Dah dapat kaki ni semua tempat dironda. Tempat favourite ialah bilik maktok tokwan / ki n nenek. Tapi si umar ni perangai dia, dia tak stay lama-lama sangat kalau takde orang dekat dengan dia. Kalau dah lama tak nampak mama ke ayah, dia mula la cari. Tempat first dituju ialah dapur (cari mama), ketuk bilik air luar kalau ada orang, then cari dalam bilik. Sekali sekala je dia 'tersangkut' di depan mesin basuh kat dapur kalau mesin tu tgh jalan. Seronok tengok baju pusing-pusing tu satu hal (mesin front loading), dia dah pandai la pulak pegi pause-pause mesin tu. Umar umar...

4. Paling pandai sekali cakap 'mama'. tapi biasanya mama tu bukannya maksudnya mak dia, tapi 'mama' nak makan. Bertuah. Dan sekarang dah pandai 'nene'. Sebab nenek dia suka bagi dia makan. Bertuah kuasa dua.

ok cukup-cukup la ye, nanti sambung cerita lagi. Babai!

Umar at (ALMOST) 10months

19hb bulan ni Umar dah nak masuk 10 bulan, dah lama tak note Umar punya milestones.

Standing: Umar dah practice2 stand since 7months, at 8months plus dia dah boleh berdiri sambil pegang kerusi/meja/orang. Dah meniti dari hujung ke hujung dah. Last weekend dia cuba lepas tangan dan tak jatuh! tapi 2 saat je leee, pastu dia terus pegang orang balik. Good job sayang!

Crawling: Ye, Umar boleh berdiri dulu baru merangkak. This was at 8 months plus. Sekarang dah pandai, merangkakkkk saja, takde dah menyusur2.

Sitting: Standing and sitting came simultaneously for Umar. Sekarang semua dah laju, dari baring ke duduk dah tak senget2 dah. Baguuuusssss...

Climbing up and down: dulu masa baru2 practice berdiri, Umar tak reti turun untuk duduk balik lepas berdiri. Daaaahhhhh meraung-raung pulak panggil orang tolong ambik dia sebab dia tak reti duduk balik. Sekarang dah maju, bila berdiri tu dah boleh tunduk ambik barang kat lantai, boleh duduk balik. Umar sangatttt panjang akal dia, kalau nak panjat sofa memang selalunya tak sampai, tapi kalau ada barang atas sofa tu dia nak, dia panjat throw cushion yang ada atas lantai dekat sofa bagi dia tinggi sikit so boleh capai barang tu. Semalam (9hb) ayah letak Umar atas sofa, dia dah pandai turun sendiri dan tak jatuh!!!! Yeay!!

Umar pun dah pandai clap his hands! mama ajar dua tiga kali je satu hari tu (sebelum ni tak pernah main tepuk2, selalu nyanyi2 je) petang tu jugak dia tepuk tangan sendiri. Alhamdulillah, cepat anak mama belajar :)

Umar dan Taska: Part 2

Hari-hari pukul 7 dah hantar Umar ke taska. Nasib baik la si Umar memang jenis bangun awal, takla kena kejut dia bangun ke, basuh bontot nak tukar diaper pun tak la marah-marah. Rutin umar biasanya pukul 5/6pagi:

1. Bangun

2.Sengih kalau nampak mama, kalau tak, bising nak panjat katil.

3. Poopoo

4. Bising suruh basuh bontot

Macam tu laaa hari-hari.

Maybe sebab dah hantar dia dari kecik, Umar tak kisah kena hantar ke taska. In fact, bila sampai je depan taska, kalau dia nampak kakak dia dari laman rumah nak datang ambik dia, dari dalam kereta dah sengih-sengih. Dulu ada jugak dia memilih, ada kakak yang dia suka, bila datang ambik dia je meluru nak pegi ke kakak tu. Ada jugak yang dia buat acah-acah tanak pegi, peluk mama kuat-kuat tapi sebenarnya sengih-sengih je kat kakak dia tu. Sekarang habis semua dia nak. 

Tapi sampai sekarang kakak dia yang favourite kakak Atikah la, yang jaga baby. Bila petang-petang ambik Umar, selalunya Atikah yang hantar. Kekadang dah kita ambik dari Atikah pun dia nak pegi balik bila kita sembang dengan kakak dia tanyakan aktiviti dia hari tu. Dia ingat nak pegi taska lagi agaknya. Even dengan mami (owner taska Ameen k.Umi) pun, kalau mami yang pegang, kadang-kadang dia siap acah-acah tanak balik. 

Bertuah punya budak.

The good thing about taska Ameen ni, while they are registered with Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat, so far they handle Umar's affairs very well. All helpers are trained with Kursus Asas Asuhan Kanak-kanak (with certification), memang ada exam dan amali. They are well versed in handling EBM, has no aversion towards CDs, and they prepared a development book for each kid, and sent to parents every 3 months. Check out Umar's report last month:

Bertuah tak? Masa ni memang Umar tengah practice berdiri, selaluuuu panjat mama ayah kat rumah since he was 7months. Kat taska p panjat budak lain pulaaaaakkk.. kesian sampai nangis anak orang. Tarik rambut tu memang lah, pantang nampak. Mami dia siap cerita kalau dengan Umar kakak-kakak pakai tudung sebab dah tau perangai dia suka tarik rambut. Nak marah pun tak jadi, sebab dia buat apa pun sengih memanjang. 

Alhamdulillah setakat ni bila ditanya, kakak kata senang nak jaga Umar tak banyak kerenah, dan murah senyum. Legaaaa mama dengar :)

Kisah Umar dan Taska

Kite pegi taska dari kite keciiiikkk lagi, masa tu umur baru cukup tiga bulan.. Mama nangis, tapi nak buat cne, mama dah kena masuk kerja. Nak taknak kena jugak hantar. Option lain yang ada, kite kena dok dgn maktok. kat kedah la. kite ok jeeee... tapi mama la, mana reti dok jauh dgn kite yang comel ni. winduuuuuuuuu...

Last minute jugak mama kelamkabut cari nursery, dah pesan dgn ayah byk kali, since kite dgn mama ada kat kedah 2 bulan 1 minggu, then kat trganu 2minggu, by the time kitorg balik KD dah tinggal seminggu je mama kena masuk keje. tapiiii ayah tak jumpa yg sesuai. Nasib baik mama punya kawan bg number nursery sekarang. Mama pun bt apppointment dgn tuanpunya nursery. Taska Ameen nama tempat tuh, dekat jugak dgn rumah kat seksyen 7 KD.

First time kite pegi, dapatla jumpa mami. Mami cerita panjanggg, cne aktiviti hari-hari, kite nanti tido katne, makan-makan, main-main. Ada nature walk, kdg2 budak2 besar p jalan-jalan, yang dalam plan pegi petrosains. Sambil cerita tu mami pegang kite. Kite ni mmg la suka orang pegang kan.. tapi mami nampak mcm baik dengan kite :)

Mula-mula mama ayah pening jugak, sebab nak kena bayar banyak. yuran 1+1, yuran tahunan lagi. Mama pun kena bayar balik elaun kritikal dia, yang tu saja dah dua ribu lebih.. tapi last-last mama ayah setuju je. Sebab tengok environment ok, mami nampak friendly, and kawan mama pun recommend. Satu lagi, mami tak kisah mama nak bagi kite pakai CD. Jadi sampai sekarang kite pegi taska dah 6 bulan. Nanti mama pulak cerita pasal kite kat sana, kite tak reti cerita laaaaaa :0

kite laaa,
umar

Books for kids menu

yes, mama masih amatur dalam bab-bab masak meal umar. and yes, mama suka baca buku. maka jangan hairan kalau:

Mama baca buku resipi.

Baca baru tau, try nye baru satu dua resipi kut.

Top from left: Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Baby Purees, Koleksi MamaPapa's Selera Sayangku, Annabel Karmel's Top 100 Finger Foods.

Oh, yang bawah tu abaikan. Tu buku umar ok, bukan buku mama.

Baby Purees tu byk choices, semua pun nampak sedap. Finger Foods lagi la, orang besar pun teringin. Nantilah, dah try nanti mama post kat sini. sini laaaa, bukan post kat aunty :)

My First Swimming Lesson

Kite lupa la nak cerita, haritu kite p swimming!!!

Kat rumah kite ada swimming pooooolll... ramai orang buleh masuk.. hihihihi takdela mama kata tak baik tipu, swimming pool kat clubhouse la... tapi betul pe, kat rumah la tu :0

First time kite pegi kan, kite cam, woooooo... besar nye besen niiii.. biasanya kite mandi dalam besen je, tu pun seronok gile.. ni mesti lagiii seronok.. mama kite bagi kite pakai diaper biru kite je, pastu celup kaki kite dalam air yang banyak-banyak tu.

Kite tak suka la.

Sejukkkkk... tak seronok tau, selalu dalam besen suam-suam bessssttt.. 

Mama pun tengok kite muka kesian kan, dia pun letak kejap je. Abang naufal dengan abang fawwaz seronok je main kite tengok. Eeeee... tak sejuk eh?

Pastu minggu lepas ki datang rumah dengan ayah su. Ayah ngah, mami ayu, abang naufal dengan abang fawwaz pun datang tido kat rumah. Hari sabtu pagi abang naufal awal-awal dah tukar baju, dia kata nak p swimming. Kite dah panik. Mama nak bubuh kite dalam tu lagi??? Tanakkkkkk!!!

Rupa-rupanya betul kite cakap. Mama dah tukar kite pakai diaper biru tu. ppfffffftttt..

Dia pun tukar baju jugak. Mula-mula dia celup-celup kaki kite dalam kolam baby tu, sejuk lagi la. Pastu dah abg naufal dgn fawwaz main kat kolam orang besar, dia pun letak kite dalam kolam besar jugak.. 

haaaaa... ni ok la sikit tak sejuk sangat...

Mula-mula kite macam malu-malu la jugak, semua org buleh nampak tau dari rumah diorang, kite pakai diaper je. Mama ni ape la.. pastu kite rasa cam best pulak. Selalu kite tendang-tendang masa meniarap tu, dalam air bila buat camtu lagi best rupanya. Mama yang tak penah masuk pool tu pun seronok sekali main dengan kite. kejap-kejap kite kejar ayah ngah, kejar ayah su, kejar mami ayu.. Mami ayu puji kiteeeeee, mami kata kite pandai pedal... (muka smug gile)

Kite main seronok sangat, mama kata nak suruh ayah belikan warm swimsuit untuk kite. Sebabbbb...

Kite demam esok tu.

Tula.. dua hari main dalam pool, abis beringus dah kite. Tu yang malam-malam tak buleh tido tu. Mama, mama. Lenkali jangan bagi kite seronok sangat dalam pool tu ok, tapi takpe, kite saaaayang mama sebab bagi kite main :)

kite laaaa,
umar

The hunt

I've been wanting a diaper caddy for a while already. All this while barang-barang for diaper changing simpan dalam a few types of containers.

Mula-mula a small plastic container.

Then my Clinique drawstring pouch.

Now, a plastic container with lid and handle, the container of couples tees we got from mami ayu.

Tapi none yang betul-betul sesuai. Yang takde lid, barang asyik jatuh tergolek, pouch susah pulak nak cari barang kecik. Yang ada lid tak muat la pulaaakk nak letak bedak.

I did come across a few types of diaper caddy during my hunt for babystuff when I was pregnant, the most appealing would be this;

Cantik kan? from munchkin. Tapi takde kat Malaysia. Only a few options in Malaysia that i like:

from Skiphop

from JJCole

Tapi they're more than RM100 which for me bukan keperluan la nak beli sampai ratus kan. Baik mama beli CD :)

Baru-baru ni googled on diaper caddy terjumpa lah diaper bag organizer yang ok.  Well it's meant for diaper bags so I'm killing two birds in one stone ;)

Currently what I'm waiting for in the mail is this:

from cupcakebabes

can't wait!

The first time Umar fell from the bed (i think)

Masa tu kite dah bangun. Lepas kite bangun minum susu kul 2, mama letak kite tengah2 atas katil, mama kat kiri kite, ayah kat kanan. Biasanya kite tido sowang2 atas tilam jeee tepi katil, teman bantal je laaa.. Selalunya kalau tido atas katil kite sukaaaa menempel kat ayah, tapi pagi ni rasa macam mama lagi best la nak ditempel, suam-suam macam air kite suka mandi tuuu.. kite tido tak lena, susah la nak tido, idung sumbat banyak ingus. Kejap-kejap bangun. Jadi mama peluk kite, baru la besssttt..kul 5 baru kite  tido tak jaga2..

Pastu kan, skali kite bangun mama dengan ayah dua-dua dah takde sebelah.. rupanya ayah p mandi.. kite nampak la mama, kejap masuk bilik air, pastu masuk kuar bilik berkali-kali.. tiap-tiap kali nampak kite dia senyum panggil UMAAAAAAAAAAARRR tapi tak ambik pun. kite kecik ati tau, tapi kite senyummmm je... Takpe mama, mama tak ambik kite kan..

Masa tu mama p iron baju tau. Sapa suruh tak iron masa weekend haritu, dah kelamkabut. Pastu kan bila dia masuk bilik dia pun 'UMAAAARRRR, BILA AWAK TURUN BAWAH NIIIII????????'

Cak! kite dah ada atas tilam :D

Mama pun kalut belek-belek kite. Kite senyum je la.. Mama sibuk tanya ayah letak kite kat atas tilam ke, ayah kata tak. Mama kata dia tak ingat pun dia letak kite kat atas tilam, tapi takkan la si kecik ni elokkk je sengih-sengih atas tu.

Sampai sekarang mama taktau dia yang letak kite atas tilam ke kite turun sendiri.. kalau mama yang letak takpe lah, kalau kite yang turun sendiri, haaaaa... nasib baik katil mama ayah rendah je, n kite pun pandai, jatuh pun atas tilam banyak padding ..

Rasa-rasa kan, kite yang turun keeeee, mama yang letak?

NTAH  ;D

kite laaa,
umar

A review of Bumgenius Freetime AIO

Dah dua bulan order baru dapat nih. Cottonbabies dah launch Bumgenius Freetime All-in-One since around end September kut, tapi hanya available through pre-order, and barang hanya akan ada in December. Ada new colours and prints (dan harga pre-order lagi murah dari retail!) harus la dirembat 2-3 bijik ;)

Since Umar dah ada Flip cover in Clementine, Butternut and Moonbeam, pilihan warna boboi adalah sedikit terhad. Maka mama belikan in Albert, Ribbit and Mirror (sebijik Flip in Dazzle jugak, tapi delayed shipping).

albert snap

Pic googled from babybellebottoms and bumgenius . will post real pic soon, promise!

My review:

How it fits - Fit sangat marvellous, Umar looked very comfortable in it. Leg casings are generous, no red marks at all. The rise is also generous, it fit just below Umar's bellybutton.

How it holds - After only 2 pre-washes (mak tak tahan nak bagi pakai tak sempat basuh 3 kali dulu) Ribbit held Umar's pee like a champ! We were busy while Umar in Ribbit, I forgot to change Umar from 10 until almost 2! That's almost 4 hours, careless mama! ( I usually change Umar 2-3 hourly). When I changed him, the insert is very soaked, but his bum is still dry :)

How it dries - It's really easy to use, and even easier to wash, since the insert only sewn in on one side. It dries up overnight, just the same as other inserts.

Verdict:

If only I have money to change ALL Umar's stash into BG AIO, I would! But anyways boy's colours left for me to choose is only grasshopper, twilight, noodle and sassy, and I'm not a fan of pastel colours for Umar's CD. And I wouldn't mind, but the father put his foot down regarding me dressing up his son in pink, so no, no zinnia and blossom for Umar. If only BG AIO comes up with more prints as with the 4.0's artist's series.. haih..

My favourite tool for preparing Umar's food

Masa mengandungkan Umar, I really thought I'd like that cute baby food maker for when my baby's starting solids. After extensive reading (as always, before investing) two options were at hand:

1. Baby food maker - from a few brands that i came across, the most famous would be the Avent Steamer &Blender. Others are from LittleBean and Beaba. Budget is from 200 to well over 600.

2. Slowcooker - i thought this option would  really come in handy. i mean, u can just toss all ingredients the night before and by morning it would be piping hot and ready as porridge. easy peasy. The good part is that the smallest slowcooker will cost us less than RM 100.

After having Umar, these were put out of mind until a few weeks ago when Umar's due for solids approached. By then, a third option came to mind:

3. Hand blender - this item would speed foodmaking process, i suppose. Baby food is almost always boiled / baked / steamed, i can blend it straight inside the container. This, would cost us somewhere between 300 to 400.

Under intensive discussion with my favourite guru (mak!) ehem, whilst browsing through the electrical store, i laid down my options and asked her opinion. I strongly leaned towards Avent's steamblend thingy, just because it was so nifty and easy, not to mention, cute. But I also thought the other two options were worth fighting over. Round and round i went, with umar and hariz in tow. Finally mak said, haizzz hand blender la senang... yg lain tu tak tentu pakai later. Umar dah besar ada ke nak pakai slow cooker ke babyfoodmaker lagi?

She's right about that.

Now I'm using Philips HandBlender to make Umar's food. Nak beli  Kenwood ke Bosch mahal nokkkk mak tak mampu (padahal sama je harga dengan Avent Steamer Blender tu hahaha), takpe yang penting boleh save budget, and can be used in the long run. Dan yang pentinggggggg skali kat kedai tu the best model for Philips hand blender was on sale, so we saved more! It has an extensive range of speed control, so the fastest made the smooooooothest puree.

pic from Philips Malaysia

Nowadays i made Umar's food every other day, packed into individual portions in 100ml freezersafe container. pagi2 panaskan dan hantar 2 portions ke taska, balik rumah he eats baked bananas/biscuit/a portion of porridge for dinner. kenyang anak mama, perut pun sudah gunduts ;)

Umar's first foods

Umar has just started his solid food. Baaarruuuuuu about 2 wks. From that measly experience, i can safely say:

1. Umar TAK SUKA plain porridge. Dah seminggu lebih makan kalau bubur kosong tu muka kelat kelat nak makan.

2. He likes potatoes. So far he does better with rice plus potato congee for breakfast n lunch. Awal2 tu bg potato saja lagi dia suka, tapi takut kembung maka campur nasik. Ada gaya pemakan french fries berjaya macam ayah.

3. What he loves most so far: baked bananas. Yg tu mmg dia siap pegang sudu masuk dalam mulut.

But my son being MY son, has a mind of his own. Kalau dah tanak tu, mmg dia pegang kuat KUATTT sudu tu tolak dari mulut dia. mmg takleh nak bubuh dalam mulut dia lah. haih. well.. anak sapa..

A Flip Review

Another AI2 system that umar currently use is Flip. It's a basic one-size waterproof PUL diaper cover with lay-on insert. There is an option of snap or velcro closure, and staydry or organic cotton insert. The staydry insert is comprised of 3 layers of microfibre topped with stay-dry suede. the Flip system caters for babies from 7-35lbs.


I first bought a day pack of Flip which consisted of 2 diaper covers (moonbeam and butternut, both in snap closure) with 6 stay dry inserts. i've since bought more staydry inserts, and another cover in clementine (above) with velcro closure.

Umar started to fit into Flip as he was about 4 weeks old, roughly 3.5kg. And since then, up til now, Flip has become a staple for him. i even use them on umar for night diapering, added with microfibre or hemp booster.

As with Thirsties diaper covers, Flip covers are also made of breathable PUL, which enables it to be wiped clean if there's no stains and airdried before alternate use. The cutting of Flip is generous, which is thumbs-up for chunky monkeys. It has flaps on both sides to put in the insert's ends so it stays put. Umar was at the smallest setting and just upgraded to M setting at 7kg. no red marks on umar's thighs at all on this system, yeay!

inner view of Flip cover

the look inside Flip with the insert laid on

the only minor thing that i (ehem!) disliked about Flip cover is the laundry tab for the velcro closure. since its laundry tab is velcro strip sewn onto the back of the cover, it touches umar's back, and mama doesn't like the feel of it. so my solution to it was to lay the insert onto the laundry tab instead of underneath the flap, so its contact to umar's skin is minimised :)

i love, LOVE Flip staydry inserts as it is very thirsty, hold umar's pee about three hours without leaks, and easy to clean. The staydry insert is also convenient to use as it has marks sewn onto it to show small, medium and large setting. I can just fold the insert according to the marks and it fits well into the cover. nowadays i use the inserts not just into Flip covers, but also into other diaper covers as well.

overall view: 4 thumbs up! more than a third of umar's stash is made of Flip, which goes to show how much i love them :)

5month old Umar Nashwan

maybe a little late, but i'll recap on umar's milestones here.

Umar's first smile:  The first few seconds of his life :) he actually smiled first before the doctor patted him in the back so he bawled his heart out. no kidding. bukak mata, senyum, then baru nangis.

Umar's first successful attempt to turn over: 12.8.2011, maktok's birthday. He's always asleep on his side, so it's quite questionable whether he turned on his own or by accident.  true enough, at two months+ he flipped and successfully took his hand from under his chest. Since then, very few attempts were made to flip on his own. on 27/10, he managed to turn over and over and over again. he never looked back since then.

His first jump (or lunge like a spring) was made at tokwan and maktok's place, before raya haji. since then, he's been jumping nonstop whenever we hold him on his feet. seronok sangat lompat, kadang-kadang terlanggar bumbung kereta. terberenti la jugak sekejap. tapi lepas tu sambung balikkkkk... betis mantap gila!

So far yang tu jela ingat. Senyum memanjang tak payah cerita. Memang bakal heartbreaker nih! Senyum je selalu, jarang sangat meragam. Kalau meragam tu mmg ada la benda yg tak kena. Angin ke, poopoo ke, lapar sgt ke. waktu  lain, bangun pagi-pagi buta pun sengihhhhh je.. sejuk ati mama :D

a Review on Rumparooz

i received these lovelies from my beloved sspians who threw babyshower for me and aishah cum ifi's housewarming (another excuse for makan fest and gossip session!). there is another one in sunshine - bright bright orange (couldn't take the picture as it was in laundry). it was love at first sight.

the colours are the most vibrant i've ever seen! u won't see any boring pastel colours from rumparooz. love love love :)

the rumparooz i have here is the new G2 pocket diaper. each diaper comes together with a set of inserts - a small 2 layer microfibre newborn insert which can later be used as boosters, and a 3 layer microfibre inserts which has adjustable snaps.

here's a look on the inside of the diaper. it's made from soft soft stay dry microchamois. the winning feature for this diaper must be the poopscoop, the inner gusset that keeps EVERYTHING in.

umar could fit in this diaper since about 2weeks, using the provided newborn insert as the soaker. trim dan cantik. n true to its claim, the poopscoop never let anything out. another thing that i love is the laundry tab for velcro closure. its made of cloth (barely noticeable in the picture) so it's very soft and won't graze my baby's skin.

the sad thing is, now at 5 months umar is already set on L setting. why? while the crotch is narrow, providing good fit so the baby won't look terkangkang much even as newborn, the thigh casing is trim too, which is bad news for my chikenet's drumsticks.

hot and sexy umar in rumparooz only :D

overall view: thumbs up for trimness and vibrant colours. i wish i could say the same about the fit on my chunkybaby, but sadly, no :(

Thirsties: A Review

Really. i really can't emphasize enough how much i depend on these covers during confinement. In fact, the Thirsties covers were used on umar since he was born until yesterday (umar hit 7kgs. size 1 Thirsties covers 6-18lbs which means it should fit umar till about 8kgs, but his thunder thighs said differently :( )

first off, a little about the brand.

Thirsties is a USA made diaper brand, the most famous products being their range of diaper covers. There is also fitted diapers, sleeve diapers (kinda like pocket but with both ends open so the insert agitate itself out during washing) and more.

The Thirsties came either in aplix or snap closure, in sizes (XS, S, M and L) or 2-size system:

Size 1 which fits 6-18lbs (3-8kg), and
Size 2 which fits 18-40lbs (8-18kg)

Here are the ones that i used on Umar:

from left: aplix cover in Blackbird, snap cover in orchid, snap cover in storm cloud, and duo insert, all in size 1.

All three covers are the Duowrap Size 1 (i couldn't find the XS cover). the covers are made of breatheable waterproof polyurethane laminate (PUL) and wipeable, so if there's no poo stain, u can just wipe it clean and airdry for alternate use. These fit Umar since he's born (2.5kg) till 7kg at 5 months.

The DuoInsert is made of two parts: 2 layer microfibre topped with stay-dry microfleece, and a bottom part made of 5 layer jersey-hemp. these two parts are connected with snaps, so u can unstick them and they dry faster after washing.

here is how it looks like in the duowrap.

my take after using the system for 4 months?

on the duowrap:

easy to use, the wipeable feature made it a breeze. u can just lay on any type of soaker (but NOT microfibre insert!) on it, snap your baby in, and voila, all done. until umar outgrew his duowrap, i love to pair it with FLIP staydry insert (review coming up later). in terms of using aplix or snap closure though, i must say that it's a personal preference. and i prefer the snap ones, since the aplix easily folded under umar's belly and cause leaks.

on the insert:

although hemp is reputed to hold a LOT of liquid, sadly it didn't work out much for umar, even when he's about a month old. these days i separate the two parts and they are excellent as boosters for umar's night time diapering.

overall view: thumbs UP!

Clothdiapering a Newborn

When i first got pregnant, mak advocated on using the traditional lampin masa berpantang, and at least masa cuti bersalin to cut the cost of using disposable diapers. i was a little apprehensive, knowing how pemalas i am and kesian mak nak jaga kitorg masa pantang tu. but i was little curious when i came upon the term cloth diaper at babycenter community forum.

more and more i read, regarding the whole myriad of CD systems available. it was overwhelming, at first, especially the jargons used. AIO, AI2, pocket. what's the difference between insert AND soaker???? what's the difference of fabrics used to make these cute stuff? THERE'S ACTUALLY FABRIC MADE OF BAMBOO???

to name a few.

on and on i read, and did a lot of research to avoid disappointment (and waste of money). at first, the thought of using one size cloth diaper was very tempting. but the more i read, the more i came upon mothers who failed to use the one-sized ones since newborn, mainly because after all, newborns are very small, and the cutting of onesize CD just don't cut it.

at 26weeks i finally decided that i would use lampin and small sized diaper cover during confinement, and when my baby finally fit, the one-size CD would be economical.

during confinement, i used lampin, folded macam kapalterbang tu (the proper term is origami fold), lapik dengan liner, with thirsties cover XS or duowrap size 1. tak payah pakai pin/snappi pun (buat rugi beli je), sbb lampin tu tak bergerak pun dlm cover. umar was snug and happy in them. memang kena banyak kali tukar, sebab umar is a poopertrooper, and lampin cepat basah so baby kurang selesa. on the other hand, we experienced zero diaper rash episode. yeay!

malam still pakai huggies though, sebab tak confident dapat bagi umar pakai lampin dgn selesa malam2.

i also used thirsties duo insert, but since Bonnie (of mycheekyboo.com) ada 2 keping je size 1, tu je la rezeki umar. but more on that later :D

First post on Umar's CDing Journey

I did say I wanted to post on umar’s adventure in cloth diapering kan.. eheh, my bad.

Umar start pakai lampin biasa+diaper cover around his 4^th day, I think. Nak bagi pakai CD yang one-size still too big untuk umar, dah dia kecik comel je 2.5kg, and one-sized ones usually tagged for 8-35lb (±3-15kg). I bought a few diaper covers that are suitable for 6-18lbs, so the fit lebih cantik.

After much MUCH reading and researching and browsing through online sellers to find the best deal (for I am an avid bargain-hunter), here are the list of diapers that I’ve already bought before delivering umar:

1 Thirsties cover in size XS

3 Thirsties Duowrap cover in size 1

3 dozen flats/ lampin

2 Thirsties duo Insert in Size 1

A day pack of Flip (2 one-size (OS) Flip covers with 6 stay-dry inserts)

the links i provided is where i bought the respective items.

N during babyshower that my dearest friend Ya threw for me and Aishah, I’ve got:

3 Rumparooz G2 OS pocket diapers

1 Freshbots fitted diaper in size S

There are a few websites that I always refer to when in doubt or have a lingering question in my head:

www.clothdiapermalaysia.com

www.allaboutclothdiaper.com

www.diaperpin.com

from then on, i slowly bought more and after 4months, this is how umar's stash looks like:

not much, but enough to fully CD umar. i've since kept away the flats for my coming niece/nephew :D

i'll keep different posts on CDing a newborn, and reviews of each brand okies. later!