Again, On the Universe telling me to do PhD

Bludging away at work (translation: ma-ga-but), these past three days I should be working on my PhD proposal. Since the clients I work with (institutions in Australia, NZ, US, UK, Canada) are on Christmas holidays until first week of January 2013, and most of my customers are holidaying as well, that goes for most staff in the office, too, so it's generally quiet on emails and on people dropping in, too.

So I had planned from weeks before that I'd use these 3 bludgeful (new word!) days to do something worthwhile: MY PROPOSAL.

But....

Since Raka's maid is away, I had to tend for him when I get home, meaning I had no rest at all since when I get home I have to feed him, nurse him, play with him etc that I never even have time for dinner since I'd be too exhausted and fall asleep with him while nursing. Oh not to mention in the morning, I have to wake up really early to cook his meals for the day, then spare time to play with him (he's up around 4 to 5.30am), before finally bathing him, and when he's not in a good mood, I have to soothe his tantrums by nursing him and rocking him to sleep. This happened yesterday, I left home for work at 8.35am, when work starts at 8.30am. I can't take days off work since there would be no one at the office.

So...

When I do get at the office, I get really tired and can't concentrate. The folder with my PhD stuff is left untouched, yesterday I even forgot to bring it. the USB stick is still in my wallet, I didn't even stick it into my PC to save journal articles or whatever my thoughts on the research.

I even start to have second thoughts.. It's going to be hard, right, doing this thing?? Maybe it's not for me.

Then I accidentally came upon a blog of someone who used to go to school with me, who was doing her PhD in Australia, too.

Then, I came across this:

It's another sign, right??

My destiny is UQ PhD right??

Right??

Can I get an AMEN here??

AAAMMMIIIIEEEENNN...!!!

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Night Nursing Toddler

It all started when I started working full-time when Raka was about 5.5 months old. Raka would wake up more often during the night to nurse. I was told this is normal because he didn’t get the breast during the day, so he’s making up for that loss. At around 10 months onwards, it got worse, almost like a newborn, he would wake up every 2 hours to nurse. If he didn’t get to my breast, he would cry and scream for hours. He wouldn’t stop even if I or someone else cuddle him or carry him and soothe him around. I thought it would stop by the time he’s 1 year old. But no, he’s still my frequent night nursing toddler.

Exhausted? Yes. I could never get enough sleep, especially since my work involves meeting customers everyday, it’s not possible for me to sneak a nap at my desk or somewhere else because my customers would be looking for me if I’m away.

We consulted Raka’s pediatrician about this during his 12-month checkup. According to her, at that age he’s supposed to be sleeping better. She suggested we give him more food and breastmilk (asip) during the day, and giving him a later dinner (this means moving down his evening meal from 4pm to 5pm, because at around 6 – 7pm he would be asleep already). We tried that, but no change. Just a chubbier toddler who doesn’t mind being stuffed up with good food all the time. Haha.

Curiously, when I was away for 2 nights for a business trip, Raka slept with his nanny and my mum in the same room. According to them, he only woke once, yes, once during the night to feed (in this case, a bottle of breastmilk). So it’s true what Google says: a night nursing toddler is actually normal,. Especially for one that is cosleeping with his parents. It doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with him. It doesn’t mean that he’s hungry during the night either. He doesn’t actually need to nurse at night, but he just wants to. Especially when that good food is available just a roll away in the bed. So it’s logical that he’d want it all the time, especially since he’s not getting it during the day.

So the choice is either

1. train him to sleep through the night, involving some major nighttime dramas of crying and screaming 
2. leave it be. Think that this condition won’t be forever. Raka won’t want to night nurse all the time, he’ll outgrow it one day. The same like he’ll outgrow wanting to sleep with his mum in the same bed :’( kalo kata orang Sunda, WAYAHNA.

Currently, I’m choosing option number 2. So even though I’m super exhausted every day due to lack of sleep, I’m actually not ready to give up nighttime nursing. I guess even though it’s tiring, I do cherish and enjoy those moments in the middle of the night when it’s just me and him awake (or half awake, most of the time), it’s very romantic if you think of it. It’s that quiet moment that only both of us share. It’s the only time that I can really bond with him quietly and without any interference. And deep down, I don’t want it to end…

So I think I’ll wait until his 2nd birthday. If by then no change, I’ll consider again, whether to just go on with option 2 or try option 1. Here’s a link to a method that I will try if I ever decide to sleep train him:

http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html

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Green Light!

Wichitra: Assalamu'alaikum wr wb

Sent at 10:05 AM on Wednesday

Tatas: Waalaikumsalam wrwb.

Sent at 10:23 AM on Wednesday

Wichitra: ini eneng baca, University of A menawarkan beasiswa postgraduate research termasuk uang kuliah, living cost and OSHC untuk student&dependent

tp untuk masuk di Juli - November 2013

kmrn eneng liat sih, kykny ada dosen sana yg bisa jd supervisor eneng

menurut akang, dicoba aja ga?

tdny rencananya mau apply Endeavour aja, masuknya pertengahan 2014

Tatas: iya ga apa2, dicoba saja ..

kl memungkinkan, sekalian jg yg endeavour, kan blm tahu keterimax d mana

Wichitra: iya, yg Endeavour tetap mau dicoba jg. rencananya mau apply ke Q, A sama C, krn sejauh ini yg ada dosen di bidang yg eneng mau research di 3 univ itu

Tatas: o gitu.. ok mantep

Wichitra: makasih supportnya.. mohon doanya.. demi masa depan keluarga yg lebih baik, amin

Tatas: iya sama2, semoga barokah

Wichitra: amiiin

 

Restu suami sudah ditangan, tinggal minta restu ibunda dan Insya Allah MESTAKUNG! Wichi BISAAA!!! Doakan yaaa!!!

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Edisi Kangen Anak #3

Biasa, kalo abis weekend suka kena sindrom kangen anak. So here’s a bit of what Raka can do now that makes me miss him more and more.

 

Sudah bisa panggil orang, yang paling pertama dan paling sering dan jelas terucap, tentunya (and I say it proudly) “MAMA!”

 

Selain itu bisa juga panggil:

“PAPA”

“MBAK”

“NDAH” dan “TI” – Kakak Putri, anaknya Mbak yang duduk di Kelas 1 SD, temen mainnya Raka

“TETEH” – tantenya alias sepupu gw, cuma Kakak Putri manggil dia Teteh jadi ikut2an

Yang belum beruntung dipanggil itu Eninnya, padahal udah manjain dia banget. Malah ikut2an kita manggil eninnya “Mama”

 

Terus, vocab lainnya:

“NA” – ikan arwana, dan ikan2 yang ada di rumah sebelah

“JAH” – gajah, kalo liat di TV

“MAMAM” – makan

“MEH” – mimi/nenen, paling heboh kalo udah pengen, teriak2 “MEH! MEH!” sambil kaos mamanya ditarik2 sampai dapat p*ting -_-‘

“NDA ADA” – kalau ditanya “Ninin kemana?” dijawabnya ini sambil tangannya melambai nunjukkin kalo nggak ada

“JA” – kerja, kalau ditanya “Mama kemana” pas gw kerja, dijawabnya ini

“MBEEEK” – kalau liat kambing, berawal dari pas ada yang jual kambing kurban di tanah kosong sebelah rumah jamannya mau Idul Adha, sekarang tiap liat kambing lewat di jalan (yak kampung ye rumah gw pdhl di Jakarta loh) atau liat di TV langsung deh

 

Selain itu, udah bisa diperintah

“CIUM MAMA!” dan dia akan cium muka kita sambil bilang “MMUAH!” *cute or whaaatt??*

“KISS BYE!” dan dia akan do the famous kissbye

“SALIM!”

“LALALA YEYEYE!” dan tangannya akan joget2 <- ini ajaran Teteh dan Kakak Putri yg kebanyakan nonton D*hsyat zzzz

Dan mulai ngerti kalau dia ngerjain yang dilarang, Mamanya ngomong “Raka! No! No!” sambil telunjuk tangan gw nunjuk2, dia langsung berhenti. Ini masih work in progress sih. Kadang dia juga bandel dan terus ngelakuin, kalo gitu ya sabar aja ngalihin perhatiannya.

 

Yang masih jadi PR cuma ngelancarin bicaranya karena belum jelas, kalo motoriknya sih udah oke lancar banget. Tapi sebenarnya dia juga udah ngerti sih kita ngomong apa, dan udah ngerespon juga Cuma ga jelas aja kata2nya. selain itu PR terbesar adalah biarin dia bisa tidur sendiri tanpa harus digendong mbaknya atau harus ngempeng sama mamanya. Kalau gak gitu dia ga bakalan bisa tidur, di kasur pasti guling2 gelisah atau nangis sekuat tenaga. Awalnya guling2 gelisah, sambil rewel2, trus mulai nangis tapi cuma rewel karena ga ada airmata, kalau masih dicuekin juga ama kita, baru dia nangis teriak2 sampe keringetan dan banjir airmata. Kalo udah kayak gitu udah ga tega deh ngebiarin, terpaksa ngeluarin nenen.

 

Ada yang bilang dibiarin aja, toh nanti juga dia akan stop doing it. Ada yang bilang ya harus dilatih, kalau nggak dia jadi manja dan gak mandiri. So far sih gw masih biarin karena belum tega ngebiarin dia nangis2. Udah pernah coba hypnoparenting alias dimasukin sugesti such as “Raka udah besar, kalau malam bobo yang nyenyak ya.. nanti pagi2 mimi sama Mama lagi..” over and over but it turns out I’m not that patient. Haha. Lagipula, gw mikirnya those night nursing sessions sebenernya sesi bonding antara gw dan Raka yang gw tinggal kerja seharian. Jadi, mau dilepas totally juga gw ga tega karena cuma pas malam aja gw bisa full nonstop ada disamping dia. :’(

 

Yes, it’s exhausting sometimes. But that’s what’s parenting is like, right? Kalo lagi capek banget ya mikirnya ntar 10 tahun lagi belum tentu dia mau nempel sama mamanya gini kan. So just enjoy the moment, and pray I can give the best always for my children.

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6 Years in Between..

2002… entered 1^st year of Bachelor degree

>>fast forward 6 years later

2008… entered 1^st year of Master degree

>>fast forward 6 years later

2014… entered 1^st year of PhD degree

Amiiinn!!

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Resah Masalah Sekolah 2

I just found out that parents in Jakarta have been registering their kids to go to favourite primary schools/SD since their kids are toddlers and even PGs/kindergartens since they’re babies or not even born yet! Crazyy…

 

So, how are the Baktiluginas doing it then?

 

Well, we’re traditionalists. We can’t afford to get Raka and his younger siblings to go to those kinds of schools, we haven’t even decided when he should start school. Probably straight to TK at 4 years, we’re not enthusiastic about sending them to school at 2 years old. So just get him to go to a regular TK, then send him to a government school in SD or maybe just a modest but good private school, preferable one that’s Islamic. From SMP to SMA probably to boarding school or pesantren if he wants to, but if not, just to regular government school. Not the ultimate favourite one, they give the students with too much study load, but not one that’s off the charts either. Probably something like the 3^rd favourite out of the district (rayon maksudnya, masih pake system itu ga sih? In my time, the favourite one for the whole of Jakarta is 8, then for my district 81, then there’s the standard ones like 21 and 61, nah kira-kira Raka masuk yang standar 21 atau dibawahnya gitu).

 

Sure, I’m totally for the new student-centred learning schools, but they just cost too much, but they don’t reeeally provide guarantee that my kids will be more successful learning in that kind of school, right? Sometimes it just depends on the child’s ability to adapt. Intinya, ga mau nanti nyesel “Mama udah capek-capek nabung mati-matian buat nyekolahin kamu, terus kamu begini begitu bla bla..”

 

Banyak nih kejadian, di kantor ketemu anak-anak dari keluarga berada yang sekolah di sekolah internasional yang mahal, tapi nilainya malah jelek. Ujung-ujungnya bingung cari sekolah karena ga ada yang mau nerima, dan ambil ujian kesetaraan Paket C yang pamornya juaaauhh di bawah kualifikasi international di sekolahnya yang dulu (ujian Paket C kan buat yang, ehm, tidak bisa mengenyam pendidikan formal, usually because of economic constraints). Nah, akhirnya datang ke saya dan daftar sekolah keluar negeri menggunakan ijazah Paket C yang setara SMA, karena nilai International Baccalaureate atau A Level atau apapun yang dia pelajari di sekolah internasional tersebut menyedihkan banget. Isn’t ironic? Nah, kalau kejadian gitu sama saya apa nggak nyesek, karena kami kan bukan dari keluarga berada, kalau mau nyekolahin anak di sekolah swasta yang biasa aja harus nabung ekstra, kalau mau yang bagus ya mati-matian nabungnya. So tetep, cost and benefit. And learning from experience, kalau Mama Papanya (aka. Me and Akang) are graduands from government schools, dan kita bisa-bisa aja tuh sekolah tinggi2 di luar negeri.

 

Well the ultimate wish is Raka can get some schooling overseas while me or Akang is studying, just like I did before. Meskipun ga terlalu lama, bakalan tetep ngaruh. Buktinya IELTS saya 8.5 dan ada band yang 9.0 (maksimum score IELTS adalah 9). Hehe bukannya nyombong, tapi ngaruh itu 3.5 tahun di Aussie. Karena setelah itu, saya balik ke Indonesia dang a pernah les Inggris sama sekali, tapi begitu tes dapetnya segituan.

 

Mudah-mudahan rejeki Raka ya, bisa sekolah diluar negeri selagi masih kecil, amiiin!

 

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AKU RINDU I MISS YOU KA SALIRA!!

Lately I’ve been missing my son a lot at work. When I first started, I try not to think too much of him, and kind of feel guilty that I’m not like other mums who call home to talk with/about their kids while at work. I never call home just to talk to Raka or Mbaknya, unless he is unwell (like when he had fever, roseola and gastroenteritis).

 

But lately he’s been in my mind most of the time while working. I guess because now he’s a toddler, he can do all the cool stuff, like walking, talking (more like babbling), doing simple things that we order: Tepuk tangan! Topi… sayaaa bundaaar! Sholatnya gimana, Allaaahu akbar! Wudhu dulu, gimana wudhunya?? So when we say those things, he’ll action. Hehehe. Cute or whaaat??

 

Kangen! Rakaaaa.. AKU RINDU I MISS YOU KA SALIRA!!!

 

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On the universe telling me to do PhD

Just when I thought I found my passion in working where I am today, the signs of the universe are telling me to go somewhere else: do research. These include:

• students coming to me wishing to apply for PhD studies, so I become familiar with the entry requirements, and also read their proposal and become familiar with how to make PhD proposal and find supervisor etc..
• coming across a journal publication in my house -- made me want to write a journal article
• reading about Qaryah Thayyibah in Kompas (QT was the subject of my thesis back at UQ), reminded me of those thesis research days and how my supervisor always persuaded me to do PhD elaborating more on my thesis topic
• now, coming across an old blog entry from my blog as a Brisbane Student Ambassador, as below:

Here I am, with my laptop who is nearing the end of his lifetime but still hanging on for the sake of getting me through the research and writing of final report papers for 2 academic degrees… I am still painstakingly trying to get this thesis report done, knowing that I am falling waaaay behind with this but I have no other choice but to go on.

As I was reading about Lerner, Schramm, and of course Rogers with his diffusion of innovations… my mind was brought back to one year ago when I first started studying this program. I was in the Community Media and ICTs (COMU7014) class, and the session was given by a guest lecture, a prominent communications scholar from University of Ohio (I hope that's right), Professor Drew McDaniel. He was explaining about Rogers and diffusion of innovations, and I remember drawing the innovation vs adopter graph (or something like that), and noting to myself, "I do not understand any of this… but it seems interesting."

Community Media and ICTs were one of the first classes I went to, and it was conducted in extensive mode for 2 weeks in Week 3 of Semester, so it was still pretty early to finish all 3 assignments in one time. That class was memorable to me, because of the workshop mode which I found uncommon, because of the nice lecturers – Martin Hadlow, Pradip Thomas and Drew McDaniel, because of the telecentre presentation assignment, and the 2 1500-word assignment expected to be completed at the same time at the end of the 2-week workshop.

The telecentre presentation assignment was the most impressive assignment I'd ever done, besides Social Impact Assessment. It was hard finding a telecentre case study in Indonesia that was well-documented on the Internet. And the ones that were documented seemed to be too boring to be analysed. Until I came across Qaryah Thayyibah. Qaryah Thayyibah was a community offering alternative education for children in secondary school (SMP to SMA). It was one of the case studies documented in a World Bank report on telecentres in Indonesia. I was familiar with QT before because my mother told me about them. So I did the presentation, and I think I impressed the lecturers because I got 19/20 for that presentation. Martin even suggested Pak Bahruddin, the founder of the school, to be nominated for the prestigious Communication for Social Change Award presented by UQ's Centre for Communication for Social Change. I was so inspired that I made a note to myself that I would do a thesis research on ICTs and social change in Qaryah Thayyibah.

One year later, I was in Indonesia, still hadn't decided my thesis topic and went there merely "to be inspired". I figured QT which was located in Salatiga was too far away, and I know nothing about Salatiga, I don't know anyone there. I would rather do community radio instead, there was one near my grandma's village. But I didn't get any response from them. The first day I got to Jakarta, coincidentally, my mother was going to Salatiga the next day. So I told her about QT and how it was a potential research site. My mother then offered me to go with her there since I had nothing to do in Jakarta anyway. On our way to the airport she called Pak Bahruddin and amazingly he answered and we were to go to QT in a few hours' time!

So there I was, actually in QT, really being amazed at the place, and asking Pak Bahruddin's permission to do research on his school. He was very accommodating then, and he was even more accommodating when a few weeks later I came back, all equipped but dead nervous. He talked straight away, even offered me a room to board. But since I wasn't comfortable living in a house by myself where the person is no relative that I didn't know very well, I turned down his offer and stayed at a guesthouse in Ungaran, an hour's drive to Salatiga. But he did offer me a room to let me lie down on the first day, because I was exhausted (mostly from the nervousness of doing field research as an amateur on my own…). And during the whole course of my field research, he would greet me every morning, talk to me, and see me leave every afternoon. He gave me books and documents, files, photographs, videos, anything that would help me with the research. And of course, he paved the way of me getting interview respondents.

And now I'm back here, reporting what I've found from that short visit to that amazing place. I admit I had been careless, wasting my time trying to make sense of the data I found, trying to be a real social scientist but too scared to ask for help (not even from my supervisor!). And now I haven't even had a complete draft finished. One whole chapter on literature review is still in conception and not written yet. I only managed to give 3 chapters to my supervisor. I hope he doesn't get offended or disappointed that I forced him to read so many in so little time, because I'd be handing it all in by 4th November.

I guess I'm just trying to remind myself that this has been a journey that started right at the very beginning of my studies. It's been something that I wanted from the start, and now I am half-believing that it actually came true. I could actually go to that place, meet the inspirational founder, and still be in awe until now of what is going on in that place. It really gave me hope, that the people of Indonesia are really smart and able to adapt to any condition given to them. The QT community has appropriated technology to suit their environment, culture and tradition… all done in the concept that technology plays an important role in their development – personal and consequently for the whole community. All the theories that I had learned in the course of studying communication for social change, came resonating back to me in QT. QT was the perfect laboratory.

I hope I get to finish my thesis on time, and that the examiners are content with what I have written. I am now reminded of my goal, that this thesis is not for my personal fulfillment to become a Master of Communication graduate, but to provide a voice for the voiceless, the voice of the QT community who has great ideas but did not have the networks and significant platforms to publicise these ideas in the international development communities. All I am doing is for the betterment of the rural people of Indonesia… for the farmers, for the teachers, and for the children.

May Allah be with me every step of the way. Amiiin…. 

So my very nice thesis supervisor always persuaded me to do PhD, I think he probably reckons I have research potential.. but I was not confident enough. Looking at my mum who did her PhD and friends who were doing their PhD studies, I was under the impression that PhD changes you. It really changes the way you think, the way you look at the world.. well as I said, it totally will make you a different person. I was not ready for that yet. I was not ready for the big challenges that surely I'll face as a PhD student. I was still a naive, inexperienced 20-something and want to enjoy life and my new role as a wife and then a mother.

I don't know why lately I start to consider PhD studies. I suddenly become curious about things and really want to start doing some research to find the answers I seek about these 'things'. What 'things'? I have not yet really decided.. but I just want to start doing something.

Oh, another thing that motivated me to do PhD overseas, is that I can bring Raka along... the overseas experience will surely enrich him and stimulate him, there are so much better stimulation opportunities that don't cost a fortune overseas (like, parks and playgrounds are free, borrow children books in libraries are free, many activities for children are free there.. in Indonesia you have to pay to access those things). I know, because I myself was a child when my parents were studying in Australia, and I know the little kids that I teach at TPA (Taman Pendidikan Al Qur'an) are having the time of their life back there.

I don't know... maybe one day the opportunity will come.

Amin.

*shalat istikharah*

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Raka dan ISPA (Infeksi Saluran Pernapasan Atas)

Ini apadeh postingan kok tentang anak sakit melulu. Haha. Gapapa, sapa tau pengalamannya berguna buat moms lainnya, dan nanti Raka keinget how we took care of you while you're sick.

Jadi masih inget kan pas Raka 9 bulan dia bolak-balik ke dokter karena batuk-pilek terus diare? Nah, abis ketemu Budokter itu, ternyata 2 minggu kemudian si bayi sakit lagi. Kali ini, COMBO AJA DONG.. Batuk plus pilek plus diare. Jadi itu batuk ga berhenti2 padahal udah pernah diuap sekali, udah terapi uap dan sederetan home treatment lainnya. Pas banget mau dibawa mudik ke Tasik, dia mulai demam. Nekat juga sih kita maksain mudik naik bis umum dengan anak bayi 9,5bulan yang lagi sakit. Dan bis umum adanya yang eksekutif yang ada smoking roomnya. Meskipun dipisah ruangannya tetep aja lah namanya juga 1 bis pasti asep rokoknya tembus ke ruangan depan. Udah mana kita datang bis udah penuh mau jalan, jadi dapet kursinya pas deket ke belakang beberapa kursi di depan smoking room. Nasiib. Kenapa sih justru yang eksekutif harus gaya2an ada smoking room segala? Yang Bisnis AC aja udah lebih murah tarifnya, ga pake smoking room jadi ga boleh ngerokok sama sekali. Eh tapi kan puasa... kan ga boleh ngrokok? Justruuu... orang mah pada balas dendam gitu merokoknya karena mereka alasannya lagi dalam perjalanan, musafir, jadi boleh ga puasa. Hmmmppfffhhh....

Anyway, sampe Tasik anaknya masih rewel. Sepanjang di Tasik dia ga mau makan, nangis terus, ga bisa dipegang orang lain kecuali ibunya. Akhirnya kita pulang 1 hari lebih awal karena 3 hari di Tasik kondisinya ga membaik, mau dibawa ke DSA disana takut percuma karena DSA disana yang udah pada senior semua dan ga tau kondisi riwayat Raka, emaknya ga percayaan jadinya. Asli itu kasian banget anak shaleh rewel sepanjang hari sepanjang malam, makan ga mau, kalo malem tiap jam bangun, duduk, nangis, disusuin ga mau... kebayang kan parahnya?

Akhirnya mumpung masih cuti, kesampean juga kita ke RSPP buat ketemu sama Tante Dokter. Langsung seneng kayaknya dia kita samperin sampe ke RSPP, secara dia emang 'ngantor' di situ. Pas diperiksa, ternyata Raka dahaknya udah ngumpul banyak banget dan ga bisa dikeluarin. Dia udah ga nyaman banget sampe lemes, ga mau makan, dll. Berat badannya turun sampe 600gram aja dong dalam waktu 2 minggu itu. Aduh kasiannya anakku...

Tante Dokter bilang Raka terserang virus ISPA, kemungkinan sih emang baru nyerangnya daripada yang 2 minggu yang lalu kena. Dan masalah diarenya, sebenernya itu asalnya dari virus yang sama. Jadi 1 virus bisa nyerang ke pernapasan dan pencernaan juga. Ihhh.. jahat ya virus ituu??!! :((

Akhirnya dia minta ijin, yes minta ijin, buat terapi inhalasi dan kasih obat Ventolin, Iliadin (obat tetes hidung) dan apa lupa deh. Terus dikasihtahu detail sih masing2 obat itu gunanya buat apa, kalo ada efek samping nanti kaya apa, dan dibilang penggunaannya harus bener2 ketat dan sesuai dosis. Kalo dokter lain ngeresepin kan cuma tinggal tulis2 aja beres. Ini tanpa kita tanya2 langsung dijelasin panjang lebar. Pas diinhalasi juga susternya baik2 deh. Inhalasinya langsung di seberang situ, emang khusus buat anak2 dan susternya juga suster anak, beda sama di JMC inhalasinya di klinik fisioterapi yang digabugn sama dewasa. Terus di RSPP inhalasinya ga pake masker, jadi selangnya dideketin aja ke mulut anak, lebih manusiawi lah, meskipun anaknya tetep nangis kejer.

Sesudah itu, kita dibawa lagi deh ke ruangan Tante Dokter buat diperiksa lagi. Jadi lama banget itu konsultasinya.. dan seperti biasa dia bilang "tolong saya dipantau terus, kalau ada apa2 saya dikabari.." dan ujung2nya bikin nervous, "Kalau memburuk, terpaksa dirawat inap ya Bu.." Jreng... Hiks. Ya abis soalnya anaknya bener2 ga mau makan dan udah lemeeess. RUM itu kan rational ya, bukan nolak obat. Ini anak udah beneran parah banget sakitnya, meskipun cuma ISPA akibat virus doang.

Hasilnya? Alhamdulillah setelah dikasih obat dari dokter, dahaknya Raka bisa dikeluarin, anaknya pun mulai mau makan dan berhasil catch-up beratnya seminggu kemudian. Penting bener, karena seminggu kemudian kan Lebaran terus jalan2 ke Singapore. Haha. Selama itu dia sehat segar bugar...

...sampai seminggu yang lalu. Mulai meler lagi dia. Ternyata temen2 mainnya pada meler juga hehe. Sekarang sih masih meler ringan, emaknya masih nyantai, masih bisa dipake nyusu dan kalau tidur malam dia masih bisa napas pake hidung ga pake grok-grok. Dan ada batuk2 dikit, ga tau karena alergi atau emang dari virusnya. Semoga ga tambah parah. Asli deh iya sih normal anak kecil batpil sampe 6x setahun tapi beneran ini tiap 2 bulan batpil. Kasian dia beratnya naik turun meskipun masih diatas 50% sih...

Sehat terus deh Raka yaaa..

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Resah Masalah Sekolah

Sebenarnya lagi sibuk banget sih di kantor, end of the month and end of Q1 (iya, sini ngikut Australian financial year from July – June) pleuss banyak PR gara-gara ada KPI baru yang harus ditaati endebre endebre..

 

Tapi, kepikiran si anak di rumah. Raka sekarang lagi pilek ringan, semoga ga tambah berat deh, kalopun tambah berat semoga abis sembuh jadi pinter, sapa tau jadi lancar jalan atau bicaranya amin hehe. Si anak lanang emang belum bisa jalan sendiri tapi maunya dititah kesana-kemari. Ngomong juga masih “Mama.. Mama..” aja (berhasil kan, that’s his favourite word now… *happy mama*) Tapi yang lucu adalah sekarang udah bisa joget. Haha. Entah belajar darimana apa insting ya. Masa setiap denger music langsung joget2, mau itu lagi duduk, setengah berdiri, atau lagi berdiri pegangan langsung deh pantatny goyang2 dan badannya naik turun. Lucuuuu…

 

Etapi Mamanya dibikin galau gara2 berita tawuran ada yang meninggal. Innalillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiuun… kepikiran Raka ntar gedenya gimana tuh. Ribet banget deh ya kalo nyekolahin anak di Jakarta. Gw lumayan deh dulu sih alim2 aja, kalopun pulang sore itu gara2 ikut Paskibra (tapi lumayan bisa jadi Paskibraka kan akhirnya) atau MPK. Tapi kalo anak cowok pasti deg2an. Gw dulu SMA di Pulomas, rumah di Cakung. Tiap hari lewat terminal Pulo Gadung aman2 aja. Tapi temen gw yg cowo yg rumahnya deketan sering itu dipalakin.

 

Jadi kebayang kan, kalo punya anak cowok sekolah di Jakarta. Kalopun kita ngedidiknya udah bener jadi dia ga yang bandel atau ikutan yg macem2, yang ada terancam dipalak atau yang paling serem ya jadi korban kayak alm. Alawy, padahal dia baruu aja masuk SMA dan dia ga ikut yang macem2 cuma in the wrong place at the wrong time :( hiks, sedih deh baca twitternya kayaknya seneng banget bisa masuk SMA itu huhu.

 

Awalnya sempet kepikiran mau homeschooling aja, tapi Raka ini kayaknya orangnya sosial banget deh. Dia senang berada di tengah banyak orang. Dari bayi tuh, disaat bayi lain kaget dan nangis kalo dibawa ke tempat rame, dia malah seneng. Terus maunya main diluar sama kakak-kakak, kalo main diajak ke sekolahan (belakang rumah gw SDN) dan seneng dia liat banyak orang, anak2 dan abang2 yg jualan haha. Apalagi kalo mereka udah main bola…akhirnya di usia 10 bulan Raka udah pinter nendang bola loh. I think he wants to be a soccer player secara dari bayi senengnya nendang2 terus emakny jd suka nonton bola dan dia juga sekarang doyan nemenin bapaknya nonton bola.

 

Anyway, kyny gw belum pede juga sih homeschooling, soalnya gw orangnya kan emang rada antisocial haha. Takutnya Raka ketularan, karena kalo homeschooling emang tantangannya dia ga bisa bersosialisasi sama temen2 sekelasnya layaknya di sekolah umum.

 

Pilihan lainnya: pesantren atau boarding school. Kayaknya gw mau consider ini kalo emang nanti Raka pas SMP or SMA kita masih di Jakarta. Masih di Jakarta?

 

Yup, itu pilihan selanjutnya. Akang kan kerja di dirjen yang ada perwakilan di tiap daerah dan untuk menjaga profesionalitas tiap pegawainya pasti dipindah2. So far Akang pernah ditempatin di Tasik dan Tahuna (ituu salah satu pulau terluar di utara Indonesia, naik kapal 8 jam bok dari Manado!). Nah penempatan terakhir emang di Jakarta, tapi pasti in the future bakal dipindah (semoga dengan promosi). Jadi target kita nih Akang promosi minimal sampe Eselon 2 deh tapi di daerah aja. Gw tenang deh kalo nyekolahin anak di daerah. Selain dari biaya ga bikin megap2, lingkungan sekolahnya juga relative lebih aman daripada Jakarta.

 

Sekian. Back to work. Hehe.

 

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Future Education Planning

Today's chat on GTalk:

Wichitra: assalamu'alaikum wr wb

Tatas: Waalaikumsalam wrwb

Wichitra: akang, kemungkinan nanti sore eneng pulang telat, mau ke carrefour/poins square beli usb modem buat kantor, mau dipake sabtu

Tatas: emng d ktr skrg ga ad internet?

Wichitra: buat hari sabtu kan mau ikut expo di sekolahan

soalny data yg dtg mau langsung dimasukin ke database on the spot, biar ga banyak kerjaan di kantor sesudahny.. krn biasany klo expo jaga stand gitu pas sepi kan bengong2 aja

Tatas: oh gitu, iya

Wichitra: jazakallah khayr

oot: klo eneng mw PhD atw MPhil gmn yaa.. kok tiba2 jd pengen hehehe

Tatas: kalo ad kesempatan, d ambil saja

Wichitra: iya, dr kmrn udh kepikiran topik2 research gitu.. masih seputaran pendidikan dan pembangunan bangsa ky dulu waktu thesis, tp lebih diperdalam lagi krn kemaren kan case study baru 1 kasus doang

aplg skrg lbh banyak opportunity untuk beasiswa selain ADS dan endeavour ada beasiswa dikti dll juga

klo liat student2 yg kesini mau apply reserach program sprt PhD, liat proposal mereka dan kemampuan mereka, jd mikir sbnerny eneng jg bisa kyny

dulu waktu baru lulus s2 kan masih ga pede mau lanjut :D

Tatas: kl kira2 ad yg peluangx besar d ambil saja..

tp hrs jelas jg kedepanx mau jadi apa, kl cm sekolah doang tp tujuanx blm jelas, mendingan jgn

jauh lbh baik urus anak d rumah, d bekalin dgn ilmu agama biar jd anak yg soleh.. hasilx lbh nyata

JLEBB!! *pasang ikat kepala*

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Raka dan Tante Dokter

Di usianya yang baru 9 bulan ini, Raka udah ikrib sama Tante Dokter. Selain karena jadwal imunisasi yang padat (ceileh) ternyata juga Raka lumayan ikrib sama common problems yang diderita bayi/anak (mari mewek dulu, hiks). Yep, Raka so far imunisasi lengkap (hamdalah) eh kecuali rotavirus (as explained before) dan campak (masih pending karena pas jadwalnya dia lg parah2nya batpil). Tapi so far udah kena batpil sekitar 3-4x (usia 4, 6, 8 dan 9 bulan) dari yg ringan (tanpa demam, batuk pilek ga heboh amat), moderate (demam 1-2malam, batuk pilek mayan deh) sampe berat (demam 7hari and still going on – yuk mewek lagi – dan batuk terparah ga berhenti udah berlanjut 2 minggu and still going on)… terus kena roseola infantum di 7 bulan, dan diare (12 hari diare, combo dengan batpil, keren ga tuh) di usia 8 bulan. Yuuukkk mewek lagiii….

 

Yah abis mau gimana lagi yah, kalo nyalahin diri sendiri, apalagi orang lain (mis: ART) atau lingkungan (which is the biggest culprit: Raka terpapar asap rokok, asap pembuangan sampah dari tanah kosong disebelah dan partikel debu dari yg lg bangun rumah persis di depan DAN di belakang rumah)… juga ga ada gunanya. Paling berdoa aja semoga Raka gedenya jadi kuat karena dari kecil badannya udah kerja keras bentuk antibodi untuk masa depannya.

 

Untungnya, my biggest support comes in the form of Raka’s pediatrician. Kalo kata orang, dia bener2 dokter yang “bisa diajak tango” urusan kesehatan anak. Dokternya RUM, tapi ga ekstrem juga. Kalau kita minta obat ya sama dia dikasih aja tapi kitanya diedukasi RUM dulu jadi kita tetep dikasih pilihan. Abis gw takut dokter yg RUM ekstrim itu judgmental, klo kitanya ga update info per-RUM-an, nanti kita dijudge bukan “smart parent” apalagi klo pake diomelin, hehe. Nah Tante Dokter ini enggaaa… kemaren liat Raka batpil parah dia ga tega, dia kasih tau emang ada obat pengencer dahak, ada juga dekongestan, tapi ga efektif untuk anak2. Dikasihtau kalo Raka emang kena virus, dan virus ga ada obatnya, ‘obat’ yg dipasaran cuma meringankan tp dia tetep ga rekomen. Terus gw tanya klo diinhalasi gimana? Katanya ya boleh kalo batuknya parah ky gini, sekalian diajarin sama fisioterapisnya gimana fisioterapi dirumah biar dahak keluar, tapi ujung2nya “tapi ga usah lah ya Bu…” apalagi pas gw cerita pernah sekali diinhalasi dan anaknya nangis kejer. “Oyaudah, kan sayang itu obatnya ga maksimal masuknya.”

 

Pokoknya puas kemaren konsultasi sama Tante Dokter diskusi panjang-lebar-tinggi enak bgt, pdhl itu pas Maghrib dan dokternya puasa tapi pasti belum makan. Raka pun ga rewel.. mungkin udah kenal sama dia kali ya. Dari pertama kali keluar dari perut, udah ketemu sama Tante Dokter ini. Jadi Tante Dokter juga hapal bgt sama Raka, tau kalo Kaysan emang dipanggilnya Raka, hapal kalo dia baru lahir kena reaksi alergi kulit, terus pernah sakit ini itu dan imunisasi lengkap, dan terakhir bilang “Pokokny dlm beberapa hari ini telpon atau sms saya aja, kasihtau gimana kondisi Raka sekarang udah baikan apa belum..” :’)

 

Akang kayaknya juga senang sama Tante Dokter, ujung2nya pulangnya dia bilang “Eneng sih, ga nurut sama Akang, dibilangin ke KMC aja…” karena beberapa hari sebelumnya kita konsul ke DSA di RS lain dgn pertimbangan biaya, udah googling katanya DSA tsb RUM, tapi malah ngeresepin dekongestan dan Raka dsuruh terapi inhalasi 4x. Yang mana trauma banget pas terapi inhalasi anaknya berontak dan nangis kejer. That was the longest 10 minutes of my life, ihiks. Sesudahnya emang dahaknya keluar sih, tapi ga signifikan sama effort-nya. Terus awal bulan kmrn pas diare Raka konsul ke DSA lain di KMC karena Tante Dokter lg cuti. DSA yg ini cukup RUM, Raka ga dkasih obat krn diarenya kmungkinan virus dan dikasih pengantar lab juga kalo diareny makin parah aja dsuruh tes darah dan fesesnya (which is membaik stlh dr dokter, jd ga perlu tes lab, yayy!!). Tapi pas liat growth chart dbilang Raka kmungkinan bisa defisiensi zat besi karena berat stagnan. Lahhh.. udah jelas2 disitu ada riwayatny klo Raka bolak balik batpil dan diare.. jadi naik turun beratnya. Klo kata Tante Dokter malah wajar banget klo sakit berat turun, trus pas sembuh dikejar lagi beratnya. Dan menurut Tante Dokter ini berat Raka bagus kok ada kenaikan.

 

In the end, like we love our obgyn Budokter, we love Raka’s pediatrician Tante Dokter. Masalahnya, dia cuma praktek di 2 tempat, satu di RSPP tapi weekdays pagi-siang (ga mungkin gw bolos ngantor), satu lagi di KMC pas jadwal pulang kantor DAN Sabtu. So what’s wrong with KMC? It’s great hospital, I went there often for the last 1.5 years and gave birth there, TAPIII… you know how much we spent for doctor’s consultation last night? 10% of my salary. Yup, 10 PERSEN DARI GAJI SAYA AJAAA!!!

 

Kesehatan itu mahal. Asuransi mana asuransiiiii???????

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Jangan menyerah...

Insya Allah balasannya surga.

 

:’’’’’)

 

RAMADHAN KAREEM.

 

Salam,

Mama Raka

 

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Akhirnya Datang Juga

Akhirnya datang (bulan) juga. Hihihi. Setelah galau 8 bulan ga mens (padahal normal klo menyusui) dan udah beli tespek tapi ga berani mau tes, palang merah deh jadinya. Legaa.. soalnya beberapa waktu sebelumnya itu saya cranky banget, bawaannya cerewet merepet ke suami, emosian mulu hehe. Belum lagi suddenly PD kyk kosong terus, hasil pumping berkurang drastis. Udah pasrah kirain karena Raka udah mulai jarang minum ASIPnya, terus saya juga cuma pumping 2x di kantor, ya wajarlah berkurang…dah kebayang2 harus power pumping beberapa kali siang malam zzzzz huhuhuu.. mana mikir puasa lg hasil pumping pasti berkurang kan. Eh ternyata, dapet toh. Katanya wajar ya kalo dapet ASI berkurang karena pengaruh hormon. Mudah2an setelahnya normal lg. Etapi abis selesai dapetnya, langsung puasa ini. Lillahita’ala aja deh. Semoga cukup ASInya buat Raka.

 

Sekarang juga ASI di freezer jarang disentuh. Raka minum ASIP fresh tiap hari, karena emaknya malas mindahin ASI dari botol Babypax ke botol kaca/botol UC buat disimpan di freezer. Haha. Biasanya selain ASIP fresh, dikeluarin 1-2 botol dr freezer, tapi akhir2 ini Raka minum ASIP makin sedikit karena udah makan bubur nasi/pati 3x sehari plus lauk pauknya. Cuma 300-400ml aja abisnya sehari. Which is exactly how much I produce (halah berasa ternak pake kata “produce”) each day after 2x pumping. Selain itu, malaas ngatur freezer isinya udah penuh sampai banyak bunga es-nya. Akhirnya sewa freezer juga, tapi baru bisa diantar Senin depan freezernya. Meskipun kykny pas puasa isi freezer bakal kepake banyak nih klo pumping berkurang.

 

Anyway, dulu kan klo dapet itu sakitnya Naudzubillah.. katanya klo udah nikah berkurang… ehmm.. nggak tuh! Tetep aja kesakitan, tapi paling ada pelampiasan emosi PMS dan ngeluh2 klo lg sakit ke suami (yang ga mempan dengan alasan PMS, klo gw uring2an dia ikutan uring2an juga huh). Ternyata, harus melahirkan dulu yah biar ga sakit perut lagi. Karena sekarang ga ada kram tuh, semoga ke depannya jugaaa…

 

Seneng deh pokoknya, sekarang udah bisa konsen bikin Rai hihihi. Pas banget kata Budokter MINIMAL pas Raka 9 bulan saya hamil lagi supaya bisa lahiran normal. Bismillah semoga dikasih rejeki bisa hamil Rai dan melahirkan Rai dengan normal. ^__^

 

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Travelling with Baby

Raka suka kita sebut Si Bolang alias Bocah Petualang karena dari bayi udah sering diajak jalan-jalan :) Waktu belum genap 2 bulan, udah diajak road trip ke Tasik dengan waktu tempuh 7 jam (sebenarnya sih 4-5 jam tapi karena ada bayi kan pas berhenti makan jadi lebih lama hehe). Terus usia 2 apa 3 bulan gitu ke Carita main2 di pantai. Dan pas 6 bulan ke Singapura.

 

Alhamdulillah ga ada halangan berarti selama travelling. Kita juga termasuk yang ga rempong, kecuali pas awal ke Tasik yang bawa bak mandi, kasur, dll hehe.

 

Terakhir ke Singapore, untungnya Raka dikadoin Munchkin Duck Tub jadi ga perlu bawa bak mandi. Soalnya kalo ditaro wastafel dia ga bisa diem, apalagi kalo pake shower. Pas ke Singapur bawaan kita cuma ransel isi baju ganti, pampers, perlengkapan makan Raka, tas tangan saya, koper medium 1 dan tas bayi isi baju2 Raka. Total ga sampe 10kg, padahal udah beli bagasi yang 15kg hehe. Kalo stroller kan ga masuk itungan kg bagasi ya.

 

Nah ini beberapa tips buat yang mau travelling sama baby:

1.       Kalo bayi ASI dan masih ASIX, enak banget, ga usah bawa perlengkapan persusuannya, tinggal buka bra dan lepp! Haha. Jadi kalau ga mau ribet, kasihlah bayi Anda full ASI ^_^

2.       Pas Raka udah mulai MPASI, kita bawain yang simpel2. Ga perlu bawa kompor listrik segala. Paling karbonya ya oatmeal sama pisang. Walaupun akhirnya Raka ga gitu suka oatmeal terpaksa dikasih biscuit F*rleys yang dilarutkan dalam air. Iya, Raka makan biscuit buat cemilannya. Ga terlalu ekstrim masalah instan sih. Toh mainly masih homemade. Yang penting itu biscuit cm buat digigit2 iseng aja kok, bukan makanan utama, kecuali pas emergency tadi. Selain itu bawa alpukat dan pepaya juga.

3.       Bawa makanan fresh dari tempat asal secukupnya aja kalo emang makanan fresh bisa dibeli di tempat tujuan. Karena repot bener kalo kudu bawa cooler bag or lunch bag isi begituan, kan berat2in juga ya. Juga nanti jadinya ga fresh, saya sempat buang pisang dan alpukat karena bentukny udah ga jelas jadinya. Jadi hari terakhir di Singapur beli buah plum dan apel secukupnya aja.

4.       Tadinya saya udah siap bawa cooler bag plus icegel dll kata Akang ga usah, toh bakal 100% megang Raka, ga akan sempet pompa. Ohh untung saya istri solehah nurut sama suami. Karena bener, ga sempet pompa samsek. Tapi stok tetap aman karena Raka nenen terus jadi ga sampe bengkak2 hrs dipompa. Bersyukurr banget ga jadi bawa cooler bag dll karena pasti rempong, belum lagi nanti harus declare di bandaranya. Jadi, pertimbangkan lagi kalau mau bawa cooler bag, ice gel, dll. Kalau breastpump dan plastic ASI sih dibawa aja, buat jaga2 aja. Kemarin sih sempat kepake buat melarutkan oatmeal Raka.

5.       Munchkin Duck Tub sangat membantu pas Raka mandi. Meskipun gempor niupinnya, tapi setidaknya ada bak tempat mandi. Ini kalo di hotelnya ga ada bathtub ya.

6.       Satu lagi produk Munchkin yang menyelamatkan saya: Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder! Jadi tinggal masukin apel atau pir dan bisa digigit2 sama Raka pas takeoff dan landing, karena dia sekarang kalo disusuin juga banyak gaya kecuali lagi laper banget. Sementara masalah gigit-menggigit dia mah semuanya pasti dimasukin mulut. Munchkin fresh food feeder juga menyelamatkan saya pas Raka bosan atau pengen nenen tapi tempat tidak memungkinkan (misalnya di atas MRT), dikasih itu, dia diem ga rewel, asik menggigit dan menghisap jus apelnya nan manis. Ga berapa lama tinggal dikit itu isinya. *happymama*

7.       Pakaikan car seat pada bayi anda! Apalagi kalau perjalanan 7 jam ke Tasik kayak kemaren. Untung Raka belum rewel dulu ditaro car seat. Paling saya ambil klo dia mau nenen aja.

8.       Pas di pesawat, pakaikan juga infant seatbeltnya! Soalnya ada beberapa orangtua yang nolak dikasih infant seatbelt, mau gendong atau pangku anaknya aja. Kita aja harus minta pramugara dulu baru dikasih itu seatbelt. Padahal harusnya wajib bukan, kalo kenapa2 trus kita ga kuat megangnya gimana coba??

 

Apalagi ya? Itu dulu deh yang kepikiran. Nanti kayanya Raka bakal berpetualang lagi deket2 Lebaran, entah ke Tasik mengunjungi eyangnya atau ke tempat liburan lainnya sama eninnya. Hihi can’t wait. Semoga diberi rejeki dan kesehatan nanti amiin.

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Singapore - day 4 - Mustafa and Departure

Last day at Singapore. Time to shop for souvenirs at Mustafa Centre. Tadinya mau ke Bugis tapi dipikir2 takut ga sempat jadi ke Mustafa aja. Disana beli oleh2 buat orang2 rumah, trus saya beli jam, Akang beli batik (zzzz lagii.. masa jauh2 ke Singapur belinya kemeja batik??), dan beli Raka mainan stroller. Disana lengkap abis yah, apalagi baby stuff nya. Dari mulai baju2 unyu sampai breastpump dll, harganya juga miring. Ih seneng banget. Untung udah pada punya jadi ya cuma beli teether book untuk stroller aja hehe. Sama mampir ke supermarketnya, beliin Raka plum buat makan sore nanti sama apel buat snack ditaro di Munchkin food feeder. Oiya, Raka sempet nenen disini juga, di meja kasir yg kosong. Entah kenapa dia seperti balas dendam ada mamanya kerjanya nenen muluuuu…

 

Setelah itu udah jam11, jadi harus buru2 packing karena check out jam 12. Tadinya mau beli koper tambahan untuk barang IKEA tapi ga jadi. Untung kita bawa koper yang lumayan ringan jadi barang2 masuk semua, plus 1 tas IKEA tadi yang ditutup pake selotape hehe. Rencananya di Changi mau dibungkus plastik foil gitu biar aman. Abis check out, mampir McD lagi (tentunyaaa) buat makan siang. Trus kita naik MRT ke Changi, dengan bawaan berupa 1 ransel, 1 koper gede, 1 tas IKEA gede, 1 tas isi pakaian Raka, 1 handbag dan 1 stroller. Rempong bener yak? Demi pengiritan, naik taksi kan muahaalll… Alhamdulillah lancar sampai Changi. Sempat claim GST refund beberapa puluh dolar disana (lumayaan), nenenin Raka di nursing room yang pas dibuka ternyata isinya kakek-kakek (lah), dan ngasih makan Raka buah plum sesaat sebelum boarding.

 

Beda sama pas datang ke Singapur, pas pulangnya Raka bangun dan main2. Pas takeoff dikasih Munchkin food feeder isi apel biar ngunyah, tapi dia fine-fine aja sih ga ngunyah ga dinenenin happy2 aja. Ditengah jalan nenen, trus tidur. Kebangun pas ada turbulence tiba2, kebetulan ada anak kecil yang lari dan terjatuh di lorong dan teriak2 kaya apaan tau serem banget. Jadi Raka kaget dan kebangun. Sementara itu saya pegang Raka erat2 sambil dzikir huhuhu. Padahal itu udah deket Jakarta loh. Dan baru banget abis tragedi Sukhoi jadi parno abis. Raka saya gendong sambil dia terus ngeliatin saya dengan mata belonya dibelo2in karena gelap. Untung dia ga rewel, cuma bingung aja kayaknya. Alhamdulillah selamat tiba di darat hiks.

 

Pas turun agak lama nunggu Akang ambil stroller. Untungnya di Terminal 3 yang luar negeri cuma kita aja jadi yang ngantri imigrasi ga terlalu banyak, trus bagasi udah langsung ada ga pake ditunggu lagi. Di mobil tepar emak dan anak sama2 ketiduran. Sampai rumah seisi rumah udah menanti Raka hahaha langsung deh Raka dikasih ke mbaknya dan eninnya sementara saya bobo. Raka dibalikin lagi ga lama kemudian udah tidur hihi.

 

Hamdalah our first overseas trip as a family went by with no serious hassle. Tahun depan lagi ya Akang, Hong Kong kaaan?? *padahal katanya Akang kapok karena bangkrut sesudahnya hahaha

 

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Singapore - day 3 - IKEA and Orchard

Akhirnya hari ini kita menuju ke tempat yang membuat Akang mau jauh2 pergi ke Singapore: IKEA. Hahaha. Niat banget pagi2 udah pada bangun biar bisa cepet kesananya. Kita ke IKEA Alexandra aja karena mau mampir Anchor Point di seberangnya. Sebelumnya sarapan di McD (yup, karena pengiritan, kita sarapan sampai dinner di McD City Square Mall.. Cuma $4.50 udah dapat burger, kentang dan minum ditambah apple pie enyaaak Cuma $1). Trus naik MRT ke Queenstown. Raka rewel deh di MRT ga mau ditaro stroller, harus digendong. Tapi enak sih, jadi sering dapat duduk. Dan dia senang duduk sama kita karena bisa godain sebelahnya hahaha dasar.

Jadi turun di Queenstown station, Akang nanya nursing room. Sama petugas MRT-nya, akhirnya dipinjemin staff room. Mereka sampai repot2 hubungi staf di bagian kantornya trus kita dikasih ruangan sick bay jadi ada kasur dan wastafelnya. Bisa nenenin sambil tiduran haha kesempatan. Dan sempet ganti diaper juga. Hiks..terharu sama kebaikan mereka. Abis itu tinggal naik bus deh ke IKEA. Deket banget ternyata naik busnya, Cuma 2 apa 3 stop gitu. Dan turunnya pas didepannya IKEA.

Sampai IKEA, giliran si Papa yang kalap haha. Saya sih cuma beli barang-barang Raka macam training cup, Mata feeding set, mainan gantung, boneka, dll plus 1 set container Pruta yang murmer pisan itu (iya bo, isi 17 Cuma $4.90 gitu klo ga salah). Mana dapat disini harga segitu?? And you know what Akang bought? Dari mulai tempat cuci piring sampai.. sikat toilet!! Ebusettt disini kan adaa.. Dan belinya dua lagi! Haha. Ya udah lah, asal bagasinya muat aja deh. Boys will be boys. Hehe. Raka lagi2 rewel. Jadi saya nenenin lagi di salah satu display, duduk di sofa pewe sementara Akang duduk di ranjangnya. Duilee berasa di rumah sendiri yee. Untung gw ga nenenin sambil tiduran di ranjang ya hahaha.

Kita lunch di restoran IKEA yang penuh buanget. Makanannya enyaakk.. Lupa Akang pesen apa. Ada kentang dan ayam, pudding dll banyak bgt deh. Kita makan harus gantian karena Raka kalau kita makan ga mau diam, pasti diacak2 makanan kita. Jadi satu makan, satu ngajak main. Kebetulan duduknya pas didepan playground gitu. Raka disana main sama kakak2, seneng dia coba2 merangkak eh menjatuhkan diri ke lantai, nangis deh anaknya hehehe. Abis makan ke bawah, Raka pun mulai rewel lagi jadi kita keluar duluan buat nenenin sementara Akang masih asik di dalam.

Begitu Akang keluar selesai bayar, dia bawa 1 gembolan gede isi belanjaan hahaha gilaaa gimana tuh bawanya naik bis! Kita nyebrang ke Anchor Point dan langsung ke Cotton On Kids. Beli jumper dan kaos kaki murce. Dan menyesal karena jumpernya kekecilan (abis lucuk sih) dan harusnya lebih banyak belanjanya disitu soalnya barangnya lucu2 dan muraahh.

Akhirnya bisa juga deh kita naik bis dengan Akang bawa stroller, ransel dan gembolan raksasa isi belanjaan IKEA. Bisnya penuuuh dan Raka pup lagi jadi bau banget. Ga dapet duduk pula, untung deket. Tadinya mikirnya ya udah di rumah aja gantinya, ribet soalny nyari baby room di stasiun MRT. Alhasil anak itu nangis ga berhenti2 sepanjang perjalanan sampai ke hotel, sampai2 dilihatin orang2 disangkanya diapain ya. Huhu maapin ya Nak. Ga lagi2 deh dibiarin ky gitu. Bodohny lagi sampai kita mampir ke McD dulu beli dinner dengan Raka yang teriak2.. padahal ternyata di sebelah McD ada nursing room nyaman yang ada baby taffel, hot water dll.

Sampai di hotel Raka dibersihin, ternyata pupnya buanyaaakk banget, pantesan rewel ga nyaman. Jadi gara2 beberapa hari sebelumnya dia agak sembelit, saya kasih pepaya banyak2 dan dipijat ILU dan digoyang sepeda kakinya. Setelah beres mandi dan nenen, tidur deh bocah. But the night is young! Kita memutuskan jalan ke Orchard. Kali ini ga bawa stroller, takut anaknya ngamuk kaya tadi sore. Jadi gw gendong pake babywrap. Awalnya enak bgt, ga ada pegel2nya. Sampe Orchard juga masih enak. Pas keluar di ION, bingung mau kemana. Haha. Turis kere sih, ga cocok berada disitu. Paling foto2 bentar trus lanjut ke Merlion Park, penasaran liat night view nya.

Sampai di Merlion Park, gw udah ngos2an banget. Raka beraat ternyata. Tapi tidak menghalangi niat saya untuk difoto meskipun Raka pules di gendongan hahaha. Cuma udahannya bener2 ga kuat, kaki udah pegel banget dan ngos2an. Jadi gantian gendongnya. Pulang dari sana langsung tepaaarr…

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Singapore - day 2 - Sentosa Island and Merlion Park

Today we planned to go to Sentosa Island and Vivo City. After a good night’s rest, the big baby is happy and contented. Gave him breakfast of instant oatmeal and breastmilk. Didn’t finish it, it was grainy/sandy so I guess he didn’t like it. Maybe the hot water wasn’t hot enough so it’s not cooked well. But I didn’t make a fuss about it, he’s still learning to eat so if he doesn’t finish his meal it’s fine by me.

We took the MRT to Vivo City and went straight to the Sentosa Express terminal. There was a line to buy the ticket, after queuing a while and getting the ticket, we found out that we could use the EZLink card on the Sentosa Express, so we didn’t need to queue that long zzzzz -__-‘

We hopped off at Imbiah Station. Raka agak rewel, pas nyari nursing room ternyata ga ada. Jadi dinenenin di salah satu gazebo di atas bukit gitu hehe. Tapi bayinya malah asik liat sana-sini. Yaudahlah, off aja kita ke Beach Station, keburu siang ntar kepanasan main2 di pantai. Pas mau naik Sentosa Express lagi, there were a lot of Chinese tourists admiring the cute baby hehe sampe2 ada yang minta foto deh. Haha. Pada kesengsem sama mata belonya (you know why lah hehe) dan sumehnya senyam-senyum kemana2. *ProudMama* Dan ga cuma tante2 yang kesengsem, cowok2 pun pada nyamperin dan ngajak dia main hehe.

Sampai Beach Station, rewel lagi deh bocah minta mimi. Eh disana ternyata ada nursing room. Tapi lagi renovasi, jadi brisik dan panaas, trus bau L Setelah itu, kita naik tram ke Palawan Beach.

Surprisingly, Raka was sooo happy to see the water! Disana ada kolam yang ada air mancur banyak gitu, dia seneng banget jadi aja dideketin dan basahlah bajunya. Dari yang dibuka celananya, trus buka bajunya, sampe cuma pake diapers aja hehe. We took him to the beach, he had fun playing sand and trying to put it in his mouth haha. We also took him to the waters and he was delighted. Different from when we took him to the beach in Carita, he cried when the water touched his feet. Aahh happy... anak bayi udah bisa diajak berenang di air dingin :)

Nah abis itu rempong deh, gimana caranya mandiin anak yang lengket kena pasir dan air laut di siang bolong hahaha. Untung sedia handuk kecil. Jadi Raka dimandiin di wastafel. Well, cuma dibilas aja sih soalnya ga bawa sabun. Abis itu dia kecapean jadi nenen sampe bobo pulas :)

Dari Beach Station kita naik monorel lagi ke Imbiah Station buat lunch di KFC sana. Pas lagi lunch Raka bangun. Baguslah, karena jadinya bisa foto2 deh disitu sama Raka. Niat sampe pake tripod segala hehehe. Abis itu kita jalan kaki ke Waterfront Station, kan turunan jadi gapapalah. Dan melakukan syarat foto di Universal Studio Singapore globe layaknya orang Indonesia norak lainnya tanpa masuk ke USSnya. Hehe. Abis ga minat juga sih. Paling2 sepantaran Movie World yang di Gold Coast kan, itu sih udh sering dimasukin dan bosen *sombong* Lagian anaknya masih kecil, ga bisa enjoy apa-apa juga sih.

So there goes our day at Sentosa Island. Ready to go back to the mainland. I searched for the Waterfront Station but Akang insists we walk back to Vivo City. Iya booo… JALAN KAKI. Katanya ada Boardwalk gitu deh. Which turned out to be hard to find, tapi ketemu sih. Dan sepi. Ya iyalah.. orang pada milih naik monorel 2 menit daripada jalan hampir 1 kilo disiang bolong. Etapi ternyata pemandangannya bagus, ke laut gitu. Cruise ship and skyline and everything. Mendekati Vivo City Raka udah rewel lagi. Lapar ya Nak... cari2 nursing room ga ketemu, ditunjukinnya toilet yang ada baby changing stationnya. Ya udah, Raka dikasih makan di bangku di tengah mall. Setelahnya rewel minta nenen. Akhirnya dinenenin on the spot deh. Enaknya pake jilbab panjang yah, bisa nenenin anak dimana aja tanpa pake apron, jadi ga ketauan lagi nenenin J Abis itu kita jalan lagi keluar, karena katanya ada mesjid. Kan belum shalat. Mesjidnya lumayan besar, Raka bisa puas belajar merangkak dan guling2 sementara saya shalat.

We were quite exhausted after that. Akang suggested to go to IKEA but I was too tired to shop so I suggested to go to Merlion Park instead. Disana puas foto2 di depan Merlion, gedung Marina Bay dan Esplanade. Trus kita ngopi2 di Setarbak. Tadinya mau nungguin sampe malem, konon katanya bagus pemandangan disekitar situ pas malem, apalagi gedung Marina Bay Sands dan Esplanade-nya. Tapi berhubung masih lama dan udah cape, kita pulang aja sore2.

Oya pas di Merlion Park banyak banget orang Indonesia. Banyak rombongan gitu dan pada, maaf, katro. Pas lg ngantri Starbucks Akang dan pelanggan lain disela2 sama mereka, sampai baristanya nanya ke mereka orang mana, dijawab Indonesia, dan si barista mesem2. Malu2in yah :(

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1st family vacation - Singapore!

So the time finally came for our first overseas family vacation to the Lion Island. Deg-degan? Pastinyaa… Takut si bayi kenapa-kenapa. Tapi Alhamdulillah lancar jaya. Couldn’t be more proud of my wonderful son. J

 

It was quite spontaneous, the plan for the trip. I mean, I had thought of going somewhere during the long weekend, but didn’t think Akang actually approved. But surprisingly he said he wants to go, as it’s been quite a hectic year in the past with settling in to Indonesian life, going back to work, renovating our home, me getting pregnant, giving birth etc… So we do need a holiday. Yay!

 

Of course, we planned a budget holiday, so first thing is to search for budget airline. We got Airasia return flight for Rp. 2.4mio for the three of us. Then, based on blogger mommies recommendation, we booked Tai Hoe Hotel for around SGD 110/night.

 

Before D-Day we didn’t really prepare much, since I was busy at work. I could only manage to do a rough itinerary and asked Akang to search for the transport to get there. We travelled quite light for a 4-day trip, even with Raka’s MPASI food. It was just a suitcase for Akang and my clothes, Raka’s diaper bag for his clothes, a backpack with Raka’s stuff (food, daily clothes and diapers etc) in addition to my handbag, Akang’s camera bag and tripod, and a buggy stroller.

 

We left home for the airport before 8am to catch our 11.20 flight, thinking it would be hectic at the airport. But nooo… Terminal 3 is so so nice. Not crowded at all since it’s only Airasia flight there. The flight was delayed for 1 hour, we arrived in Singapore around 3pm. Raka was sooo happy before the flight, he was smiling and cooing the whole way. And just before boarding, he fell asleep. He slept through the whole flight and woke up just before landing. Great, huh? No crying during takeoff-landing at all. I gave him Munchkin Fresh Food Feeder with pear chunks inside for him to chew on during landing, because his pediatrician said to keep him chewing during takeoff and landing and no need for earmuffs.

 

He pooped just as we landed in Singapore, so first thing we went to the toilet to change him. Quite a challenge, he wouldn’t budge still so it was hard to put his diaper on. After that, we went past immigration and down to baggage claim. Raka rewel lagi, minta mimi. We asked where the nursing room was, but given directions to the toilet with baby changing station instead *tepok jidat*Of course Raka and I wouldn’t want to nurse there. Yes, Raka knows if the place is uncomfortable, he’d nurse on and off and play with my n*pples instead *gubrak* hehehe.

 

Anyway, after we got out at T1 Changi, lo and behold, there’s a nursing room there. So I nursed Raka there, quite comfortably with soft cushioned sofa in a lockable room, there’s also a sink and hot water as well there. After that we transferred to T2 to catch our MRT. We stopped at the Singapore Visitor Centre to ask for directions to travel to our hotel by MRT and pick up maps of Singapore, Sentosa, and other guides.

 

The MRT ticket office was closed from 15.45 – 16.45 and we got there like 16.30. We waited a while to get our EZlink cards. Why did we buy EZLink instead of single tickets and Singapore Tourist Pass? Because we were there for 4 days, while the Singapore Tourist Pass is only for 1, 2 and 3 days. And it would take too much time if we have to buy single tickets everytime we go on MRT, and anyway we were planning to catch a bus to IKEA which means we have to have correct money to put in the box as there are no change given. Intinya: ga mau ribet nantinya. Biarin deh kena $5 untuk beli kartunya, kan nanti bisa dipinjam atau syukur2 ada rejeki kesana lagi bisa dipakai.

 

To get to our hotel, we had to change trains at Tanah Merah station, then again at Outram Park and finally arrive at Farrer Park station. We got out at City Square Mall just in front of our hotel. The hotel is very conveniently located. No regrets staying here. Cheap price, room and bathroom is clean even though very small (as is all other Singapore hotel rooms), there’s bar size fridge inside to store breastmilk and fruit for Raka, hot water dispenser outside to make Raka’s oatmeal and our Popmie and there’s also coffee and teh tarik. Walaupun di Little India dan banyak orang India yang nginep disana, tapi bersiih dan ga ada bau2an aneh disana hehehe.

 

We arrived at the room at about 6.30pm. Yup, lamaaa yaaa dari mulai berangkat dari rumah Jakarta sampe nemu kasur lagi di kamar hotel. Akang said we’re not going anywhere tonight, paling dinner aja. Jadi disana pertama mandiin Raka (but first we had to inflate the Munchkin duck tub yang ternyata susah ya niupnya, harusnya pake pompa hahaha), udah gitu kasih makan. Terus pada shalat, dan Raka mimi sampe tidur. Karena anak bayi udah bobo jadinya Akang keluar sendiri beli nasi briyani sementara saya dan Raka di kamar. Not long after that we were off to slumberland as we were all too exhausted….

 

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Post Holiday Syndrome

Aaakkk… gonna suffer from post holiday syndrome nih hari ini. Setelah long weekend 4 hari dimana kami bertiga (saya, Akang, Raka) menghabiskannya dengan liburan ke Singapur, sekarang harus balik kerja lagi, jauh dari Raka lagi. Iya, sebenernya yang bikin ga semangat bukan karena liburan leyeh2 sudah selesai, tapi sekarang udah ga bisa lagi full megang Raka kayak kemaren, cuma saya dan Akang tanpa nyokap, ART, atau yang lain. Meskipun gempor gendong2 anak yg klo lagi manja ga mau pake stroller atau digendong papanya. Ihiks. Jadi kangen si anak ndut pipi gembil mata belo idola semua orang uhuhuu…

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Raka kena Roseola

Pas Raka menginjak 6 bulan, sebenerny emakny ketar-ketir. Kenapa? Karena Raka udah mulai makan, berarti udah mulai terpapar kuman2 dari makanan dan juga intoleransi makanan yang dia alergi, mengingat dia memang punya riwayat alergi makanan. Selain itu, usia 6 bulan juga bayi udah bisa kena penyakit macam2 mulai dari campak, roseola sampai demam berdarah. Ini diamini sama dokternya Raka waktu kita imunisasi 6 bulan Raka. Waktu Raka 6 bulan sebenernya dia agak meler2, tapi saya curiganya alergi soalnya melernya bening terus gitu. Kalo karena virus kan dia lama2 jadi hijau/kuning dan kental. Pas Raka udah diimunisasi, meskipun vaksinnya yang bikin demam, tapi ternyata anakny segar bugar, Alhamdulillah. Jadi senang pilih yang irit hahaha. Apalagi pas bayar, cek kwitansi kok polionya belum terbayar? Saya udah mau pulang aja, pasti ini susternya lupa catat. Tapi Akang keukeuh, katanya masa ga dibayar. (tirulah suami saya yang shaleh, jangan istriny yang rada2 hehe). Pas balik lagi ke Poli Anak, ujung2ny digratisin karena udah ditutup apa gimana gitu. Hihi. Lumayan hemat 90rb. Tapiii beberapa hari kemudian Raka mulai meler2 parah. Eh trus ada batuk2 juga. Saking hebohnya batuk berdahak sampai suaranya hilang dan parau gitu. Hiks… sediihh… Tapi masih ga panik sih. Nah, pas tanggal 8 Mei malam kerasanya badan anak ini panas, tapi saya capek banget sampai ga bisa bangun jd Cuma bangun2 ayam buat nyusuin Raka. Pas bangun paginya tanggal 9 Mei subuh2 dicek suhu udah 38.7 ajah. Dan pas banget hari itu ART ijin mau antar anaknya. Tadinya Raka mau dijaga ART yang satunya tapi karena sakit begini ga berani saya. Terpaksa deh ijin dari kantor. Biarin deh masih probation juga, dipotong2 gaji semua juga, mau dibilang apa kek yg penting gw hrs utamain anak dong ya. Untung hari itu ga ngantor, karena Raka panasnya ga turun2, mau skin2skin susah banget anaknya ga bisa diem, saya ga mungkin ajak jalan2 sambil topless-an berdua (maaf vulgar hehe). Udah gitu Raka beneran ga berhenti nyusu, dan maunya digendong terus. Jadi aja saya buka BH (hehe vulgar lagi) seharian itu biar Raka nempel terus. Paginya meskipun panas tinggi masih bisa main dan makan dengan lahap. Menjelang siang rewel minta ampun, terpaksa buka T*mpra dan masuklah 1 dosis sirup rasa anggur ke mulut Raka yang terbuka karena lagi teriak nangis kenceng :’( Udah gitu dia tenang, dan panasnya turun. Sore udah main seperti biasa, makan tetep lahap. Hari berikutnya, Raka masih demam pas tengah malam. Skin2skin bentar, turun demamny. Tapi pas malam2 buta dia rewel minta ampun, panas lagi. Akhirnya kasih Tempra lagi. Eh dimuntahin, dikasih lagi, muntah lagi. Yaudahlah, bismillah aja. Selama itu dia tidur di dada saya. Besoknya lagi, katanya Raka udah ga demam lagi. Sore2 dia dibawa Mama ke kantor karena Mama otw mau nganter sodara dari Belanda ke bandara karena mau pulang ke Belanda lagi, tapi sebelumnya pengen ketemu saya. Jadi kita foto2 depan kantor, trus mereka cabut ke bandara sementara Raka sama mbaknya pulang bareng saya. Nah, pas itu saya lihat badannya merah2. Sempet curiga roseola. Sampai di rumah, demam lagi, kasih Tempra lagi, anteng deh. Trus bikin janji buat ke dokter besok, karena udah 3 hari demamnya. Sebelumnya udah sms DSA Raka katanya disuruh ke dokternya kalo udah demam 3 hari aja. Hehe demen dokter kaya gini ga buru2 ngasih obat or diagnosa or nyuruh kita ke dokter. Pas ketemu dokternya, bener deh, diagnosanya roseola infantum. Demam 3 hari, pas demam turun ruam2 muncul. Katanya ga bahaya, ga usah ke dokter juga gapapa, tapi kan orangtua suka panic. Hehe. Sebenernya saya nyantai sih, cuma Akangnya yang agak worry. Curiga dia ngefans juga nih sama dokternya Raka abis demen banget ke dia hahaha. Tapi kebetulan ke dokter sih, skalian konsultasi kan Raka mau dibawa naik pesawat keluar negeri, dengan kondisi begini gimana. Jadi tenang, dapet lampu ijo udah boleh dibawa naik pesawat dengan kondisi batpil sekalipun, yang penting harus ngunyah anaknya pas takeoff dan landing. Dan seperti dugaan saya, dokter pun bilang Raka kena roseola pas dia datang imunisasi ke dia 2 minggu sebelumnya, karena pas bgt waktu inkubasinya sekitar segitu. Dan seinget dia emang waktu itu ada pasiennya yang kena roseola juga. Yak pas benerr… Jadi begitulah akhirnya Raka kena penyakit virus sedang pertamanya. Udah lega, karena artinya dia sangaaaaat kecil kemungkinan kena roseola lagi karena udah terbentuk antibodinya. Dan boleh dibilang ini ringan banget episodenya, anakny rewelnya masih okelah ga terus2an, masih bisa main2 dan makan dan nenen dengan lahapnya. Oh my good good boy… Kebayang kalo gede pasti lebih heboh kali ya. Sehat terus my boy…

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