Our Bundle of Joy is Here!

All praise be to Allah SWT, after waiting for almost 9 months, our new bundle of joy finally arrived on April 25th.

My sincere thanks to my doula, Sr. Muneera, for helping me to cope with the labor for 17 hours. Thanks to her constant encouragement and coaching, I tried my best to cope with each contraction as best as I can. May Allah SWT grant her the reward for helping a sister-in-Islam during my time of distress.

Also my sincere thanks to Sr. Norsofina for taking care of daughter #1 while I was in labor. All praise be to Allah SWT she was able to see the baby before departing USA last Saturday. May Allah SWT grant her and her family a safe trip to India and Malaysia.

All praise be to Allah SWT husband has been a constant support throughout my pregnancy and labor. It is a blessing from Allah SWT for us to have daughter #2. She weighed 7lbs 7oz at birth. I was discharged from the hospital on April 29th while the baby came home on April 30th due to high level of jaundice detected in her body. Husband brought her back to the hospital on Saturday and Sunday to get her blood tested and the jaundice level finally went down yesterday. All praise be to Allah SWT she has been feeding, sleeping, peeing and pooping well. On May 1st we visited the lactation consultation as I am trying to breastfeed her. Allah SWT willing I will try to breastfeed her as long as I can. I have been feeding her every two and half hours since she came home. It has been tiring but I am so thankful for this wonderful opportunity to bond with her.

Yesterday husband went to a farm in Dallas in the morning to sacrifice a ram for the baby's birth. Thanks to Br. Musa, the task was completed much faster. Husband then distributed the meat to several Malaysian families and brought the rest to the nearby mosque to be distributed to Somalian and Sudanese Muslim families. By the time he got back home in the late afternoon, he was really exhausted.

My dear sister came with her daughter to stay with us since last Thursday evening. I'm so thankful that she is here and appreciate her help to cook and take care of daughter. I wish she would stay longer but she is going home this afternoon to Ohio. I will miss her very much and daugher #1 will miss hanging out with her 5-year-old cousin.

Last night we skyped with my parents at my younger brother's home. All praise be to Allah SWT they got to see the baby. I also got to chat with my three beautiful nieces whom I have not seen in 7 years.

I have not seen the chickens, quails and rabbit for two weeks now. Husband has been taking good care of them and all praise be to Allah SWT we are still getting 3-4 eggs per day from the ladies. My dear sister has been cooking eggs for the kids and I am glad that they are enjoying eating the delicious eggs.

It's going to be tiring for me in the coming months to take care of the baby and daughter when husband goes back to work in 2 weeks time. May Allah SWT grant me strength and patience in the coming months.