Newborn baby clothes shopping

I have been addicted to baby clothes shopping even before Haifa's arrival..Well, the truth is I had some bought from Melbourne back when I was a student there..whichever that hadn't been given as a gift to others. My real shopping spree(s) started since Haifa was about 26week gestation..I know some people would start shopping even earlier, some would wait till 7 months.. As for me, I'd like to wait till we're pretty sure what's the gender..plus,being a doctor who saw cases where babies born prematurely and didn't survive long enough to leave the hospital, I tried to wait for a bit..but being the shopaholic me, I just can't wait..

Of course it's always better to shop something unisex to save up money. U can recycle the clothes for future babies and also if the prediction went wrong. However, U'll soon realise that most babies' stuff will come in either blue or pink. I tried to find something in between but somehow the girly shades attracts me more.

Sizing-wise depends on how big your baby are gonna be and how true to fit the clothes are. Well, it's not easy to anticipate the weight till very late. How sure are we that the baby will stay inside till its due or 3-4weeks earlier? An average 37week old is ~2.8kg, 40w ~3.3kg. That's the birth weight for an average-sized baby, but the pace at which they will grow once they are born is another aspect to consider. Some people recommends to just skip the newborn size as some babies grow very quickly. I'm glad that I bought newborn ones. Snug-fitting clothes are so much cuter than an oversized bodysuit. My baby was considered big with 3.5kg birth weight but the newborn size are rather large for her. She weighed 4kg at 2 months and 5.3kg at 70 days of life. She wore her newborn clothes till she was 2 months old. We stopped putting those ones on as they are just too short for her even though there are still rooms horizontally. 

My take on what to buy:

1. Crossover/side-snap/kimono style bodysuit

- This is probably the most important item in your shopping list. It is so much easier to put on when u have a newborn that hasn't got a good head control yet, even so when u're struggling with a crying one. I wish baby clothing companies would make more and more of these, especially local companies. I only found one bodysuit (one unisex design) in the largest baby store in Kuala Terengganu, another one in Anakku. That's all! None of them appeals to me and it wasn't reasonably priced. I went online and found this French company named Vertbaudet with a wide range of these. They are quite pricey, but worry not, they have sales all the time! Pumpkinpatch is probably another place to look for even though they don't have as many. I remember during my visit to the baby expo in PWTC, there is one particular company who sold this kind of baby clothes (can't remember the name). The price is somewhere around ~RM15. I would have shopped from them hadn't I bought a whole lot from Vertbaudet already.

- Buy at least 4, have a combination of long and short sleeves.

2. Sleeveless bodysuit/singlets

- These are essentials during hot, sunny days, unless U have air-conditions all over your house. Even so, your baby would still need some to be worn when U're out visiting friends or relatives during hot days.

- Buy at least 2.

3. Button-down/zip-up sleepsuits

- Again, this one are easy to put on a newborn. Great for nighttime wear. U would want something that has easy access for diaper change at night. Also good for when U're taking your baby to an air-conditoned clinic.

- Buy at least 4.

4. Sets

This could be long/short sleeve tops paired with shorts/leggings/skirts/tights. Buy a few that can be matched interchangeably. Convenient for diaper change and when out for clinic's appointment. If either piece became stained, U don't have to change everything. 

- Buy at least 2 pairs.

5. Dressy outfits

- I guess these are non-essential items in your shopping list, definitely not in newborn size. I would still buy a few as U might wanna dress your baby up for events like aqiqah or close relatives wedding receptions, or just a day out.

- Buy none if wanna be frugal! Any numbers if U just like to splurge on clothes, but remember your baby might wear them once or twice only.

That's all I can think of at the moment. The numbers are just a guide but for many of us those amounts are not enough. I myself bought in multiple numbers of what I suggested to U, but I regret shopping too much. Whenever I put Haifa in her clothes, my mind would be calculating how much money I spent for each wear. Let's say for a rm30 sleepsuit, worn only 3 times means that I I spent rm10 for each time she wears it. Not worth the money!

I trully understands the enthusiasm of a first time mother but it would be great to save the money for other important baby stuff, say a stroller? Food processor? Breast pump? Remember U won't be the only one shopping for your baby clothes, the grandparents, aunties, uncles, your friends too! Your baby will get some as presents, I'm positive!

I'm probably back!

Assalamualaikum..

More than a year has passed since the last post I made. Within this period a lot has happened, major ones in fact. The last post was made when I just shopped Spanx for my wedding, n now with the extra 18kg gained from the pregnancy, I can no longer fit into them. Gosh, I need new ones!!

I am now a proud mother of a baby girl named Haifa Madina who currently weighs ~5.5kg on her 77th day of life. It's mother's day today and I couldn't have thanked Allah enough for giving me the opportunity to be a mother.

I thought of doing a throwback post(s) during my maternity leave but only now I realised that it's almost over.

I have been referring to other bloggers' entries every so often during the past year so why not give back to the community? Rather than constantly browsing on online baby stores everyday and sending my credit cards' bills to the roof for things I don't always need, I might as well blogs whenever I'm online. May this post be a good starting point for me, InsyaAllah.

She gets to me!

Resident Q: I think what you guys needs to do is focus on your clinical examination, because this is what the residents are doing..
Student K: Oh no..You don't need to worry about my examination skills..My examination skills are very good, I did that in my B Med Sci last yr...
Resident Q: Owh..ok...
Student K: I did a very good neuro exam the other day..(turning to me)..You were there the other day, I did a very good neuro exam right?
Me: yeah, that was alright..
Student K: that was alright? I thought it was very good!

This was initially my comment to Koyan's recent post but then I think it was a bit too long that I could just make an entry out of this..
I totally agree with what Koyan said...one of the main determinants of our career path is marriage...aku penah dgr conversation between these 2 friends of mine..both are malays..the first girl is very liberal-minded..the second girl nih plak quite feminist and egocentric..they were talking about what they're gonna do in the future, i.e nk keje kat msia or stay kat aussie, nk wat specialty ape..1st girl nih ckp, die x paham kenape slalu die jumpe msian girls who said that they're not sure what they're gonna do in the future sbb it all depends on how their life unfold - relationship wise..the 2nd girl pon ckp, "that's not the case for me, whatever it is my partner has to follow me"..I couldn't help but to intervene & I said to the first girl (I think the 1st girl (or maybe both of them) thought that culture org melayu n Islam ppuan kene ikot laki), "it all depends on what's important for you, it's not the rule that people are imposing on u, u prioritise things according to what makes u happy"...
As for me, I wish for both career & family..well, my priority might change along the way (and it's a long way to go) but I believe 'When there's a will, there's a way'...I might sound like the most hopeless med student at the moment but who knows, I might find my niche & will work for it..O Allah, please grant me a supportive partner...

Musim org bertunang berkahwin

I call this gossip paling best tahun nih, paling best for me, bg org lain yg x knal this person x laa...dh sebulan kot nk bergossip pasal this bestfriend of mine (BFoM for short..haha) who's getting married but she won't let me until she's engaged and now that she did, I'm free to write so long as no one can guess who she is...
anyway, korang penah dgr x yg kalo tunang2 nih x patot heboh2? that's what people used to tell me tp kalo tgk kat msia nowadays org tunang pon mcm dh kawen...ade yg lg pelik boleh exchange rings laki ppuan...
tp for me I don't quite get why shouldn't we announce engagement since yg I tau, if a woman is engaged, another man is not permitted to propose to her...kalo org x tau she's engaged, then possible laa kan utk org lain utk masuk meminang..

so today I did some googling utk carik Islamic rulings on this...

here is what i got:

- the part in a hadeeth that says 'conceal the engagement' is a weak one and the reason for not announcing engagement is to avoid destructive envy to the couple or families

- it is not prohibited to propose to a woman who had been proposed by another man in the following circumstances:

• the girl has rejected the 1st proposal
• the girl has not accept or reject the 1st proposal
• the 1st guy has given his permission/decided not to go ahead with the wedding
• the 2nd guy doesn't know about the first proposal
• the 1st guy is immoral whereas the 2nd guy is chaste provided that the girl is chaste as well

- another interesting point, Imam Shafiee said that in case of a virgin, a silence indicates acceptance of a suitor...<---and that's exactly what my friend did...silence..with a smile..

anyway, I'm so happy for this BFoM for finally found a match..from the background search I did he seems to be a good one indeed..and he's so lucky to have her, one of nicest person I've ever met...I am so excited for wedding which will be in June...unfortunately not on a weekend, so I have to skip a few days of hospitals to be there on her wedding..can't afford to miss this one, she's my first bestfriend to get married!!well actually not, there's another BFoM who's getting married the week before hers but my cousin is also getting married on that day & this BFoM lives in the northern part of Malaysia which makes it not possible for me to go..but my prayers will always be with you dear!

these 2 BFsoM are marrying someone whom they haven't known for long, so it will be pretty much love after marriage...I'm sure some people might disagree with this but I have always liked the idea of love after marriage...I'm all for this friends!!

I'd like to talk more about these 2 BFsoM but I don't think it's possible without revealing who they are...so I should stop now...:)

On a more positive note...

I was busy when I was doing my elective that I didn't have the chance to write about the good times I had in plastic surgery...well I was busy with those endless presentations & worrying...yeah, I think I spent more time worrying that the surgeon will ask questions that I have no answer for than actually studying..but anyway, at least I can understand plastic surgery...u have a cleft, u close them, u have skin lesions, u remove them, u have a hypospadia (an abnormally placed urinary opening), u make a new tract with a new opening..it requires creativity but it does make a lot more sense than blood tests or drugs or organ failure (yes, I'm that dumb!..I can't comprehend heart failure, renal failure, liver failure etc)..

Ok enough complaining about my stupidity...I'll talk about my elective - about my plastic surgery placement..there's not much interesting thing happening in my orthopaedics placement..although it still was OK..at least it makes more sense than medicine...

I had a very anal surgeon when I did my plastic surgery placement...but who cares as long as she's passionate with teaching...she made me learn plastic surgery by asking me to do presentations...although I find them rather overwhelming at times, but I did learn something even if it's not examinable in MBBS exams...she let me scrub in all surgeries, made me stand next to her and quizzes me in theatre and would accept it if I don't know the answer, so long as I look it up later...She accepted it when I made mistake while assisting her in theatre with a remark, "medical students xpe, masters student x boleh"...

If I hadn't had the chance to get to know her I would be in the same boat with everyone else who thinks that she's just one of those snobbish surgeons who wants to be served like a king...but from my 3 weeks with her, I could tell that she really cares about her patients, she thinks of them as a person, not just as a cleft lip/palate, a hypospadia, a haemangioma, a pressure ulcer...

Most importantly, she wants me to be a good doctor...she made me a list of lessons in plastic surgery:
1) Courtesy i.e notify people of your absences, make proper investigations before referring your patient to someone else
2) Always do full examination
3) Study about the anatomy of the structure involved in the surgery beforehand
4) Study about the surgery you're gonna be assisting so that you would be able to anticipate what the surgeon's next step

Aiyyaaa...there were 7 on the list....I have forgotten 3 of them..dang!should have written that up!
On a scarier note, this surgeon warned me that if I don't turn out being a good doctor, she'll haunt me from her grave...

Why I like plastic surgery:
1. It makes sense
2. In most public hospital cases, it's not purely cosmetic, but it adds aesthetic value while correcting something that's defective or dysfunctional
3. It rarely involves saving life but it makes a huge difference to someone's life, hence their quality of life
4. A significant proportion of the patients are children (in a public hospital)
5. It is artistry

Some of the people who've made my elective a great one. Picture taken on my last day at HSNZKT.

I just don't know

I'm back in Melbourne..currently doing Gen Med/Aged Care placement..which is rather boring...well I guess it's not if you know your stuff but for someone like me...I would pass as a 3rd yr, but definitely not a final...I hate answering I don't know...not having the skills to filter the information...what's important, what's not, what needs to be documented...& not having these skills makes me look really bad...I have to ask the interns/reg..what's the plan again??n she would say, "what did i say just now?you're gonna be an intern next year, you should be able to do this..."
n gen med patients always have multiple comorbidities...I find it difficult to put everything together & not to mix up everything..
n I'm bad with phone calls, referral bla bla bla....or coordinating with the nurse about the patient's care...

I try to comfort myself by saying that I don't have the mind of a physician n I'm bad with pharmacology..that's why I'm struggling..I'll do better in surgery...but the truth is I don't know..it doesn't mean that I like anatomy, I should be good in surgery..(not that I'm that good in anat either)..
So what if when I'm on my surgical placement n still struggling? Whereelse can I go?What other excuses can I make?

Oh by the way, the only good thing being a fifth year is that the reg is keen on teaching the 3rd yrs..so she likes to throw questions to them, thinking that a fifth yr like me should know about it...so I'm off the hook..

The only thing I'm good at is counting days or weeks...2 weeks down in Aged Care-Gen Med, 4 weeks left = 2/3 left... which will be 1/2 in a week's time, n 1/3 in 2 weeks' time....
We have 5 modules in Aged Care...1 is done...4 left!

Then I'll be going to ED, heard that ED is pretty fun...that's something to look forward to, I need hope 'cause that's what keeps me going...please Allah, give me the courage..