I've missed you and Blog Awards

Hello everyone,
My blogging has been scarce these days due to a complete lack of motivation on my part to get off my lovely couch. Sleepiness, tiredness, laziness, you name it I've been suffering from all sort of inesses lately mostly associated with late pregnancy.


I was able to fast for about 2 weeks when my OB-GYn raised concerns about my condition. Instead of gaining the required 1 pound/week, I lost 6 pounds and my uterus stopped growing(I was measuring 32 weeks at my 34 weeks appointment). She's concerned that the baby's not growing properly and my amniotic fluid is low and asked me to stop fasting right away. The whole time, my husband was just sitting there with the " I told you so" smirk on his face since he was against me fasting to start with. After measuring my uterus, the OB-GYN just kept on going on how this was why pregnant women were exempted from fasting and yadi yada. Mind you, she's muslim and said she would love to be pregnant so she would be exempted and she's planning just to do that next Ramadan since the days will be longer, lol. After we were done with the visit, my husband said he thought the dr was going to take out a belt and spank me right in front of him coz she was so mad at me for fasting against the other dr's recommendations. Long story short, she also ordered an ultrasound that I have to do tomorrow to measure the fluid around the baby and determine the baby's growth. She did indicate that if the fluid was low, I would need to be hospitalized and some sort of intervention will be needed. I was really sad to break my fast at first,it made me feel like I was missing something but I knew it was for a good cause and the baby's health and growth are more important at this poing. Now, I've come to terms with it and I've spent the last week resting, eating and drinking a lot of fluid to gain back what I've lost. Despite all that, I've not gained any of the lost weight back so we will see how things go tomorrow at my appointment inshaAllah.

Also does anyone know what the ruling is on pregnant women who are not fasting? Should we just make up the days we missed or do we have to feed poor people for every day we did not fast, or both? I've read so many different opinions on this that I don't know which one is correct so any thoughts would be appreciated. Ramadan Kareem!

I just visited this lovely site Book-Room, it's new and by muslim sisters for muslim sisters. Take a look if you have a chance!

On another note, I've been awarded by Mina, Hajar and Umm Omar . Thank you so much for thinking of me and for this award :-p

The rules are

List five current obsessions

Pass the award on to five more fabulous blogs.

On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them.

When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. Don't forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by leaving a comment on their blog.

* I'm obsessed with pregnancy and anything baby related.
* I am addicted to the discovery channel freakbirth shows!
* I'm obsessed with home decoration as we're getting our new place together.
* I'm obsessed with learning how to make a fool out of myself bake. Made a strawberry shortcake yesterday, yummy!.
* And finally,I'm obsessed with the swirls, kicks and jumps by the alien baby in my belly.

I pass this tag/award to,
Tuttie
Jasmina
Umm Saliha
Skye
Malizea

Other things & Ramadan Mubarak

I've been MIA for a few days now due to the move and I also didn't have my new internet connection set up. The move was a hassle as our movers decided not to show up and we had to find a new moving company on the day we were supposed to move. We were lucky to find a company at 5h30 pm on Saturday and were out and about till midnight. I'm still not done unpacking but decided to do it slowly as I am still recuperating from all the stress and fatigue. There are days when I just lay down on the couch without any motivation to do anything, my body just refuses to move and I lack the energy needed to do anything. Other days are better, and I am able to unpack 2 or 3 boxes and put stuff away.

Alhamdulilah, I am 32 weeks pregnant now and only have 8 weeks to go inshaAllah. At my checkup yesterday, the doctor told me that the baby was measuring 33 weeks which is one week ahead. I asked her if that meant, I'd have the baby earlier than my due date and she said not necessarily, that it only meant that the baby is bigger than average...*sight* She's also almost 4 pounds now, the funny thing is I don't feel that my stomach is any bigger, I actually think that I'm on the lower side when it comes to pregnant bellies. Every pregnant woman that I've seen has a bigger stomach than I do, I thought my baby was minuscule or something. I guess I was wrong.

Ramadan Mubarak to everyone. May Allah grant you the best this month has to offer. May He accept your supplications and purify your hearts. I've decided to fast even though a lot of people are against pregnant women fasting. I thought about the pros and cons and decided to go for it and so far, it's not been any different from pre-pregnancy fasting. As a quick reminder, don't forget to make dua at the time of Iftar as:

Once Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) asked Almighty Allah (SWT): O Allah! You have granted me the honor and privilege of talking to you directly, Have you given this privilege to any other person? Almighty Allah (SWT) replied, O Musa during the last period I am going to send an Ummah (Community or Nation), who will be the Ummah of Muhammad (SAW) with dry lips, parched tongues, emaciated body with eyes sunken deep into their sockets, with livers dry and stomachs suffering the pangs of hunger - will call out to me (in dua) they will be much much closer to me than you O Musa ! While you speak to me there are 70,000 veils between you and me but at the time of Iftaar there will not be a single veil between me and the fasting Ummah of Muhammad (SAW). O Musa I have taken upon myself the responsibility that at the time of iftaar I will never refuse the dua of a fasting person!

Bada Bing, Bada Boom

In a bar in a remote village in Spain, close to the city of Olite, there is a sign placed there by the owner. "Just as I succeeded in finding all the answers, all the questions changed." The master says: "We are always concerned with finding answers. We feel that answers are important to understand what life means. "It is more important to live fully, and allow time to reveal to us the secrets of our existence. If we are too concerned with making sense of life, we prevent nature from acting, and we become unable to read God's signs." Paolo Coelho~ Maktub

Yeh, so much for an inspirational title! Good news I passed my 3 hours glucose test which means, I don't have gestational diabetes, yey! I was worried about that since I'm very bad at following a strict diet. I've never been able to follow any sort of diet, I lack a certain discipline that is necessary for things like that.

I also started childbirth classes on Tuesday and I'm loving them. The first class was very informative and I think it's also an opportunity for my husband and I to bond with the baby. He's been so busy with work recently that we barely spend any time together. It's gonna be good to spend these 2 hours every week together bonding with the baby and experimenting some breathing, massage and comfort techniques that are supposed to help during labor.

Apparently these are normal Newborn Characteristics per my childbirth classes:
-The baby's head may have an odd shape. It may look pointy and long or too large for the small body. Don't panic, that is normal!
-The eyes may appear puffy and seem out of focus. Don't worry, that is normal!
-The skin may look wrinkled, red or scaly. It will peel off during the first week of birth! Don't panic!

And just in case you did not know, these are some Pregnancy Do's & Don't:

Awards in the closet

By my lovely sisters Mina, Banafshe, Jasmina, Hajar . Thank you so much for these awards. Sorry it took me so long to get back to you but things have been a bit busy on my side. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I'm sure that I'm the last one to accept these awards, so I will not award anyone else but if you haven't received any of these, please consider yourself awarded! You are adorable....


I have a dr's appointment today and will be having them every 2 weeks from now on since I'm in my 3rd trimester. I have a question for experienced mums, would you recommend co-sleeping? i-e did you sleep with baby in your room? and if yes, for how long? At what age should a child start sleeping on his/her own? Thank you for your feedback.

P.S: If you emailed me and I haven't got back to you yet,please know that I'm not ignoring you,lol I'm still going through my emails and will reply as soon as I can inshaAllah.

Happy Jummah, Are you a wealthy man?

Happy Jummah to everyone! I went to my 3 hours glucose test this morning just to be told that an appointment was needed. The mistake came from my dr's office since they told me I could go without an appointment. So, I fasted, got there first thing in the morning and lost half of my day just to realize I wouldn't be able to take the test today. Needless to say, I was pissed but inshaAllah, I scheduled one for Tuesday, so we will see how that goes.

Jummah Inspiration

A saint was praying silently. A wealthy merchant, observing the saint's devotion and sincerity, was deeply touched by him. The merchant offered the saint a bag of gold. "I know that you will use the money for Allah's sake. Please take it."

"Just a moment." The saint replied. "I'm not sure if it is lawful for me to take your money. Are you a wealthy man? Do you have more money at home?

"Oh yes. I have at least one thousand gold pieces at home," claimed the merchant proudly.

"Do you want a thousand gold pieces more? Asked the saint.

"Why not, of course yes. Every day I work hard to earn more money."

"And do you wish for yet a thousand gold pieces more beyond that?"

"Certainly. Every day I pray that I may earn more and more money."

The saint pushed the bag of gold back to the merchant. "I am sorry, but I cannot take your gold," he said. "A wealthy man cannot take money from a beggar."

"How can you call yourself a wealthy man and me a beggar?" the merchant spluttered.

The saint replied, "I am a wealthy man because I am content with whatever Allah (SWT) sends me. You are a beggar, because no matter how much you possess, you are always dissatisfied, and always begging Allah (SWT) for more."

So, reader, are you a beggar?

Here and There

By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world....

I've been eating and sleeping for the past few days. There seems to be a disconnect between my mind and my body. There are so many things I want to do but my body's just constantly tired and sleepy. My belly is getting bigger and bigger and I find myself sitting and staring at it when the baby's dancing, kicking and turning.It's super-freaky to see my belly bump and bounce. We play this little game where she kicks, then I poke her, she runs and kick somewhere else and I poke her back, lol. DH thinks I might be hurting her but I tell him not to worry,she's very strong. It's a great way for us to bond and interact while she's in there.



My dr's appointment went well yesterday and I took the glucose-screening test which involves drinking a solution of glucose that tastes like very sweet orange soda. After an hour passes, the doctor draws your blood to see how well you processed the sugar. I'm supposed to get my results on Thursday and I hope they're good. If your body did not process the sugar well you will have to go back for a 3-hour glucose tolerance test, yuck! Oh, yeh great news, I gained 8 pounds in one month! I did not do anything not to gain weight, I mean, I haven't been exercising or avoiding junk food, but that was still shocking. I think I will start walking for 30 minutes on the treadmill daily. I'm also looking forward to starting birthing classes next week inshaAllah.

The Joy Of Swollen Pregnancy Ankles

Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better. (King Whitney Jr.)

I've got swollen feet & ankles y'all. It's not even funny. I was watching tv last night and just out of curiosity, looked at my feet and noticed how swollen they were. It's scary, I've never seen anything like this before: it looks like someone else's feet, but more like an elephant's feet. The weirdest thing is, my left foot is now bigger than my right foot.It looks like it belongs on Frankenstein! Apparently,elephant-like ankles are a normal, though frustrating, woe for many expectant women. They even have a fancy name for it: edema!

Edema: The mild swelling that's so common during pregnancy and that, thanks to the laws of gravity, is particularly noticeable in the feet and ankles. It can vary by the hour (fatter feet in the evening) and by the weather (warmer temperatures forecast more swelling).

People, these are the things they don't tell you before you get pregnant. You have to go through it and learn for yourself. They don't tell you :

That your whole life may become dominated by your bladder

That constipation can reduce you to a raging, weeping shell of your former self

That the moment someone sees your bump they will rush to tell you their birth nightmare story. And that they'll feel free to tell you that you're walking like a duck. Thanks.

Puting your shoes on and making wudu on your feet is a major performance

Your bump will be stared at constantly. Mostly by women,AND especially when you are at that stage around 25 weeks when people wonder if you're actually pregnant or just fat. Not sure if this is out of longing, disgust or sheer horror....



The linea negra (dark line that runs down your stomach) is not always a straight line. Mine is crooked,off center above my belly button and that part doesn't line up with the part below my belly button. When I look at my stomach, it feels like the left side is bigger than the right side....


Maternity clothes are designed by people who failed their cloth designing diplomas

Maternity bras are ugly and the salesperson will give you an ugly look if you try to purchase a nursing bra at 25 weeks. Nursing bras are only for Nursing women, people!

You will wake up in the middle of the night with numb hands that look like claws and will scare the hell out of you!

Oh, and the not being able to get out of bed/bath/shower/sofa without help and/or industrial crane.
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Really am not wanting this to be incredibly depressing but there are many other things..... but I will save them for a future blog.

Despite all these not so funny changes, it is truly a blessing to be pregnant. Just don't lose your sense of humor :)

Freebirthing

Yesterday I stumbled upon this show on Discovery Channel aboutFreebirthing. I was curious to see what it was about and after watching it, I had mixed emotions. The crew followed 3 women in the US & UK who chose to give birth without prenatal care or medical help. Apparently a growing number of women in the US and in the UK are giving birth with no drugs, no midwife,no doctors,and no medical support and this movement is called Freebirthing. One of them said that:

"If you listen to your body and you are healthy there should be no reason why you can’t have an unassisted birth, We need to go back to the old days, pregnancy and birth are not illnesses".

However, doctors say 'freebirthing'has terrible risks. We can't ignore that there are circumstances which are capable of changing an everyday ‘natural’ event into a life threatening emergency. Childbirth scares the hell out of me! I always close my eyes when I'm watching pregnancy or maternity shows, so just thinking that someone would deliberately choose to have a baby without any assistance is mind-blogging. What are the reasons these women choose freebirthing?


Physical control. The mother is free to birth in whatever position she feels comfortable in. She can eat and drink whenever she wants. She can walk around, lie down, watch TV, clean, or do anything else she feels

Mental control. During an unassisted birth, the mother stays in control.This allows her to labor how her body knows is best, rather than being in more pain because an attendant told her to do something she knew was wrong for her body.

Spiritual control. Some women believe unassisted birth is one stop on their path to self-empowerment, self-actualization, and also gives them more confidence and higher self-esteem. They also beleive that they're sharing an intimate bonding moment with their baby and have a stronger bond with the baby than they would've had if it was an assisted birth.

So how hip was the birth of your baby? Was it a c-section? Shame. That's very 1980s, you know. A water birth? A little retro - but still cool. Are you a freebirther? You are more in than Marc Jacobs' spring/summer 2009 collection! What's the world coming into if we're choosing the way to give birth according to what's in and trendy while ignoring every medical warnings? Is it fair to the child? Is it fair to the mother? I think women choosing freebirthing should realize that when a complication arises during a birth, death can occur within a matter of minutes. This means that the unborn baby and/or mother may die during a freebirthing simply because trained medical help was not immediately available as it would have been, had the birth taken place under the supervision of a nurse midwife or in the setting of a hospital.I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself if I lost a child or my child developed a disability because of a choice I made. But, that’s just me.

So, I am curious, what do you think about freebirthing? Would you choose to give birth alone?