And another list

So , I 'm kind of a list person ;) As its the begining of a new year , and like nearly everyone else in the country, I have a list of new goals to go along with this new year .

14.Learn to type on keyboards without looking to my hands

13.Learn new cooking recipes

12.Grow my nails ( stop bieting them )

11.Stop avoiding things and people

10.Be a better friend

9.Take one big trip out of this country

8.Exercise more
7.Become more organized

6.Apply for HR courses at CNA-Q
5.Be more happy in life (being optimist)
4.Enhance my relation with God

3.Spend more time with my daughter

2.Improve my memory

1.Lose lots of weight

I realize that most of these goals are pretty general and mundane. Hopefully as the year goes along i can come up with more specific ways to accomplish these goals. Any ideas or suggestions ??

What about you ? what kinds of goals do you want to accomplish this year ??

How fast they Grow !!!!

Can you believe it?  in 2 weeks , Leana will be 5 months old, but these pictures are from a one week ago. She is so sweet! She is constantly smiling. It's so cute. She will just look at people and they won't even be looking at her but she'll start smiling at them and bouncing. She is such a happy girl. She is rolling around now and working on sitting up. Having this lovely sweet girl has been such a blessing to us!

I Can't help myself ...

So, as I sat down to check some news sites , I got a little sidetracked. And honestly I don't even know how I ended up watching a million Japanese (I think Japanese) music videos ! SO FUNNY. This was one of my fav's. I hope you enjoy. And I'm sorry but, I have no idea what they are saying. But pain and love transcend all language barriers.

The Shankaboot

As dysfunctional as this country and its people may be, I still miss it.
Shankaboot is a nice window into the streets of Beirut, which I so dearly miss being miles away at the moment. I am sure almost everyone has blogged about it , but what the hell, it brought a smile into my face seeing the streets, the postered walls, the highways, the Lebanese laissez-faire attitude, and the list goes on. So it deserves a post on this blog!
For more info and episodes go to http://www.shankaboot.com/.

here 's the first episode:

I Hate Getting My Baby Vaccinated

I believe in immunizing my little girl. It's just that getting her vaccinated is so traumatic for me !

My poor Leana had her 4 month immunization shot 2 days ago. I couldn't believe they had to give her 3 needles. She screamed with the first one, kept crying with the second, and then when she started to calm down a bit they stuck her with the 3rd .

I felt so guilty I couldn't look.. she gave me an evil look as she was blaming me for her pain ..At night , she got the temperature the poor little girl, but Adol helped get rid of it. Yesterday, she was quite grizzly too ...its normal i guess.

I hope it gets a little easier with the later injections but i would still makes me feel a little mean putting her through them :(

This Say it All

I believe it is one of the best ad ever created for a "cause, superb score, great production value, excellent cast, a zero fault job". This video should be translated into every language, because its not only the lebanese case , its the problem of the whole world .

A big salute to all of you who have participated in the production of this ad, creativity is still alive in this country.

My Birthday "WishList" (to my husband)

My birthday is coming up! On the 25th of December, I will be 25. I’m exactly midway through my twenties! Scream!

To lighten the blow, I have been thinking lately about things which would make me very happy…

So dear HUSBAND , these are my wishes , hope you can make them come true :

1- Travel to "Paris "(to visit my sister and her cute babies)

2- Honeymoon in Far East ( I leave you the option to decide the location &Time )

3- The New Iphone ( well , not top priority but I would like anyway )

4- Shades, shoes, watches, bags ( as I am willing to update my fashion style )

5- New living room set ( no need to tell you the reason ;)

Thank you honey , i love you mwah

FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar

I was checking some blogs when i read this poem regarding 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar .  Congratulations Qatar . Congrats to everyone who worked so hard to make it happen !!
المونديال 2022
ح نشارك في المونديال
أنا وانتِ والعيال
والعالم ح يصور
والتي في ح ينور
والجماهير ح تشوف
محسوبك في الحال

***
راح نبني براحة بال
وانحضر للمونديال
والدنيا ح تولع
والعالم يطلع
للدوحة ويقول
يا بخت المونديال
***
الدوحه ف أحسن حال
مسرورة وعال العال
العالم بيهني
والشعب متهني
والأمير فرحان
حقق الآمال
***
الشرق الأوسط نال
على خده احلا خال
والدوحه هي شامتنا
مرفوعه بيها هامتنا
زينتها بتحلى كمان
بقدومك يالمنديال
***
يالفيفا اسمك نال
إعجاب الناس في الحال
حطينك في الصوره

في كل المعموره
ترشيحك قطر
لأحلى مونديال



كلمات: جمعة الدوس 8/12/2010

Birth Story to be told !

It is been a while i didn't log on to my blog, I almost forgot about it ! The motherhood is getting me so busy :(

I promised you an honest birth story. So from here on out there will be talks about some details. I really appreciated mothers who were honest with me regarding the ins and outs of birth, which is why I want to be honest here. Just giving you a heads up if you 're not interested in these kinds of things!

I was 10 days overdue when my doctor decided to schedule a cesarean section because the head would not engage and the baby looked rather large according to an ultrasound. I was shocked when the word cesarean was brought up. I expected to go through labor like everyone else. I didn't even think of what i'd do if I had a C- section because I was so sure everything was going to go naturally.

So 2 days later, and now 12 days overdue, I walked into Al Emadi's hospital, scheduled for a C-section ( it was the first day of the Holy month Ramadan ) . I was so nervous and excited that i even accidentally dropped my urine sample in the toilet .

I am not scared of needles, so preparing for surgery was easy for me. When i finally had enough fluids in me , the entire C-section crew was present and everything was prepared , I got to head to the operating room wheeled on bed.

I sat on the operating table and one of the doctos held my hands and talked to me hile i was given the anesthetic. All of a sudden, my blood pressure dropped and my heart rate increased and...

I woke up in recovery to find my mother over my head holding my hand and the tears in her eyes.. Just cant forget this moment, the expression on her face made me see the endless love she has for me . I am so grateful to have my mom sharing me this unforgettable experience and supporting me in all ways.

Then, my husband appeared with his phone in his hand trying to show me some pictures taken for our beloved daughter in her first life minutes. I pretended to see them and smiled but in fact i saw nothing, I could barely open my eyes, even my vision was still not so clear.

They took me up to my private room where Leana was laying inside a small transparent box wrapped in a towel . The nurse , who accompanied me the whole time, carried her and placed her on my chest , I stared crying ( in a happy way !)

In that moment, I became a mother, and the emotional heaviness of that hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked at my husband , and now a father (who in fact was busy in taking pictures) and at my mother, now a grandmother for the second time. We all cried tears of joy together...

There is more to tell but I'll end with this : for me , the cliche was true. I felt instantly in love at 2:30 pm on August 11th, 2010.

Belly -Week 31

This is how my belly looks like on our week 31 . I can pretty notice that i am getting bigger and bigger which it is not a lovely feeling yet i am happy to know that my baby is growing .

Just like the past weeks, I am still feeling some shortness of breath specially while i am sleeping . As well , I started to have frequent abdominal aches this week , my mom told me it is normal as my uterus is continuing to stretch to accommodate my growing baby.

We've Got Our travel System !

We've finally received our order from Baby Shop today! Apparently, we have now all the accessories and materials needed for our baby's arrival except the bedding and the mattress which our neighbour promises to buy it for us as a gift ,other than that, no worries at all...

Nine weeks and Counting !!

Wow! It is just amazing how quickly the time is flying. I still think back to November when we learned about this pregnancy, and am amazed that I am really pregnant. The whole first trimester seemed like it passed in a daze. But now the strong, definite kicks of the baby make it more real every day. The movements have become more pronounced, and there is nothing like watching my stomach move!

And there is no doubt from people anymore-they look at me and know I am pregnant! It's funny how people feel more open to talk to you, or give you a knowing smile. Maybe it's my imagination. Maybe they're looking at me because I have a permanent flush to my cheeks and walk like a duck. I don't know for sure.

I want to tell the doctor that we should do the test at 11:00 at night, because that's when all the baby action kicks into high gear. I swear that she is going to be born with an addiction to" So you think you can dance ". she jumps and kicks like crazy every time we watch that show. she either loves it or hates it!
It has been awhile since we had any 4D ultrasounds done, and I am itching to see how my baby has grown and changed. My doctor said we'd probably have one or two more. I wonder every day what she looks like, and I'm really getting the strong urge to see her and hold her ! We can't wait!

Week 29

Really starting to feel the strain this week and looking forward to slowing down next week. I’ve been suffering from quite a bit of heartburn and my hips and legs are starting to ache when I walk. My sleep pattern has been quite disrupted - my baby seems to like waking up at 4am and giving me a good kick or three! Going baby Souvernir Gift shopping this weekend and really looking forward to it.

First week in the final Trimester

I officially entered the third trimester, when my baby's main job will be to bulk up as she already started.

At our last visit to the midwife , you weighed about 1.275g and measured 37-39 cm . I can tell you are getting a big head as I keep feeling it on my left side stealing the comfortableness away , but it is okay as long as you like being there .

Belly - Week 26

Not all sunshine and rainbows

One thing I haven’t really talked about during this pregnancy is my fears. I have them. A lot of them. As cool as it is to feel baby kicks , the fact is in 13 weeks or so, there’s going to be a real life infant here who will rely on us for survival.
I’m not afraid of keeping her alive, but I’m afraid I’m going to do it wrong. I watch my friends who are mothers and think, “How does she know to do that? How does she know that’s what her baby needs?”
I’m good with kids, love them, actually. But will I be able to tell the difference between a cry for food, a cry because she’s tired or a cry just because she wants to be held? What do I do when she gets a fever, won’t eat or doesn’t poop for days?
I know every new mother goes through this, but as the weeks tick on, I start to worry about this stuff more and more. Last night I had a dream that the first time I decided to try and breastfeed was 3 months into her life. she was huge and I just couldn’t get it to work. I kept jabbing her in the eye with my nipple and one point, her face puffed out like a marshmallow and milk started dribbling out the sides of her mouth and it was only when she spit up in my face that I realized I had essentially squeezed a water balloon worth of breast milk into her mouth all at once and she was choking on it.
I was so upset in the dream that I didn’t even think that I should stop and notice that hey, you’re looking at your baby. All I could see was this little face that I was drowning IN MY BREAST MILK and I felt horrible.
I’m hoping that some natural instincts will kick in and I’ll surprise myself and in the meantime, I’m hoping these dreams don’t get more persistent.
And I really hope I don’t drown my baby in my breast milk.

Belly - Week 25

I 've felt really good this week, except I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks :(

I'm not looking forward to my next doctor visit. It's the glucose test and I have to have blood work.

Belly - week 24

Leana - Week 24

Here is you on your week 24 ! As the doctor took your measurement you were deeply falling asleep . You are now around 725 g and about 30 cm .

oh i am so excited my little baby is growing !!

Family intervention

Since we found out that you are a Girl , all the family has been spoiling you already left and right . Everybody started to buy you clothes and nice things to use when you'd born.

Last week , your granpa send us pictures about what he bought you ( lovely skirt with a nice t-shirt, and couple of trousers ). It was really a nice gesture from him and it was funny seeing him trying to wear them just to show us how they gonna look like on you .
Beside that , your pretty aunty and your little gorgeous cousin Sisy wanted to share in your future fashion style . so they bought some lovely colored clothes chosen carefully to ensure that they would fit you well when you will be in Lebanon .

As well , your aunty is concerned about your education , thus she bought also some DVDs and books . Isn't she great ?!

Pregnancy Bonuses !

I read lots of comments from pregnant women complaining about being pregnant and stating several points regarding how unhappy the pregnancy could make them. One of those women is me ! first months were really tough , having those weird new feeling of sickness , dizziness and nausea ...

Anyway , as a change , I decided to look on the positive side of being pregnant , means to think positively ! i am sure it would make me feel better about myself at least .

So considering what i like about being pregnant as Pregnancy Bonuses since you only got them when you are pregnant ; here are my bonuses :

1. The best bonus of my pregnancy ? it is a handy excuse whenever I needed one ."Sorry , I can't make it . I'm pregnant ."
2. People are just plain nicer when you 're pregnant , they 're friendly and they hold doors open for you !!
3. Eating a whole pack of chocolate and not feel guilty .
4. Taking naps , lots of them .
5. Watching my husband turn into a father when he kisses my belly goodnight.
6. Feeling those first fluttering kicks and thinking" is that what i think it is ? or it us just gas?"
7. Shopping for baby
8. Writing a pregnancy diary for my baby to read in future .
9. Looking at my growing bump in the mirror and realising there's a person in there !!

Week 23

Here we start with another week !!!
Just can't believe how fast the days are running . I just wrote about my week 22 from 2 days ago and here i am starting my week 23 !
As I 've read in many sites , you are approximately about the size of a mango and you would keep growing faster in the coming weeks :)

Nothing really special happened since last week except that i 've noticed a dark line down to the middle of my tummy .. it turned out to be called : Linea nigra .. Hello !!

Comfort-U Pillow

As i mentioned previously , i am having a sleeping problem . I keep waking up flat on my back , it sucks but there really isn't a whole lot i can do about it .. after all, I am asleep when this happens . So i had to find a solution !

As usually i consulted your aunty who told me about her comforting secret...which is : Pregnancy Pillow !!!!

I spent all day thinking about this magic pillow that could be perfect for sleeping , relaxing and even nursing baby wondering where i can find it .

Once it became 4 o'clock at noon , i went off directly to the Mall. After visiting 2 or 3 stores , i didn't believe how lucky i was , finding only one piece !

What i really like about this pillow is that it could be used by both of us . First , I will use it to comfort you when you still inside my tummy ; then , when you come out to life , the pillow would be used as a seating support for you .

Just had the best Walk ever with your Daddy

Yesterday Daddy was invited to a fish trip with some of his friends . He got off around 10 pm , which means your mommy had to spent the rest of the night alone with you . And that was more than enough for me as if you knew that nobody is around so you started imitating the show program " so you think you can dance ?" and you danced in my belly for more than 15 min , which was the longest period for you till now .

Daddy showed up this morning looking miserable ! smelling FISH !! (the worse smell Ever )!But for sure i didn't mention it as he was so excited while telling me exactly what he did , and how this trip came in the right time to refresh him (as he said ) . Then he fell asleep all the day long , while i watched 6 or 7 episodes of Ugly Betty on YouTube . When he woke up , he figured out how bored i was feeling ; and as a compensation , he offered to go for a walk at the Pearl !

The ambiance was really nice , almost walking on the moonlight beside the sea , a foreign solo singer was singing romantic songs , the air was really so refreshing . You were quite active as if you really enjoyed the walk .

Thank you daddy , it was one of my favorites , Love you.

Week 22

It's hard to believe i am already 22 weeks . Doesn't it feel like just yesterday that i broke the news ?

Now that I officially look pregnant and people I don't know aren't afraid to mention it, I'm getting the"So how far along are you ?" question all the time . Unfortunately, I still don't know what the proper answer is . Depending on my mood , my responses vary :

1. Twenty two weeks ( generally only to women who've had children )
2. Five months ( since , based on the view that a pregnancy is 9 months , that would be 2 weeks past the halfway )
3. Six monthx ( because some books count every month as having 4 weeks and therefore a pregnancy is 10 months )
4. "I'm due the first if August " (that's usually for not very nice people; I love watching their foreheads wrinkle as they do the mental math while trying really hard to look like they're not doing the mental math .)

Shoes Size

Even though I can't fit into any of my pre-pregnancy clothes , I still have my shoes, right?! NO0O0

Since I started with my 4th month of pregnancy , i am experiencing swelling in my feet and non of my current shoes or sandals are suitable anymore . So i had to start searching for a new pair of shoes with larger size to fit with my swelling feet .

And as I am living here, the options were limited to two stores : Scholl and Birkenstock !

Most of women who experienced pregnancy before advised me to get them from Scholl. I went to the CityCenter where the store supposes to be located . I dont remember exactly how many hours i spent turning in this mall ,visiting all the shoes stores it has but still for - god sake- couldn't find it !!

Here i decided to try my second option : Birkenstock which is located at the Royal Plaza Mall next side of the City.

There was a wide range of shoes and sandals of all colors but i decided to stick with the black as it goes with everything . I chose a black adjustable sandal in which made me more comfortable than others and it had to be a sandal instead of a shoe taking into consideration the summer months .

Gaining Weight

This is the first week where my size has begun to really shock me . Depending on what I 'm wearing, sometimes i look bigger or smaller ,but when i see my bare belly I sometimes can't believe it is mine !

This week's photos reflect my gaining of weight :

Leana first sport' shoes

Here is your first shoes that daddy got it for you !!

Stretch Marks

It doesn't matter how much lotion you use . Stretch marks happen !

Lotions and potions , while great at keeping the pregnancy itchies away, will not prevent the stretch marks . You'll either get them , or you won't . And apparently , I'm getting them :(

Leana - week 21

Little Girl ,

Welcome to the end of our 21 week together ! Tomorrow is my monthly doctor's appointment , which means Daddy and I get to listen to your heartbeat again . It is on of my favorite things to do !!

The best part about this week is that Daddy felt your kick for real ! I was lying on my side and you curled up in the crook of my hip and under my side and then .. Bop, Bop, Bop !!!

He was so happy to feel you and it gave me the warm fuzzies all day . It is becoming more frequent now , and every time he can feel your kick it puts a big smile on his face .

You've become quite active. and are kicking around most of the day . You do quiet down in the car , though, which makes me think you'll fall asleep as soon as the car starts moving. Fine by me !

My letter to you ends with a little advice : As you get older , people will not always be nice . So no matter what people say to you in your life , you are already an incredible little girl and we love you with our whole hearts.

Ignore the meanies , angel .

I love you , Kicking girl !

Sleep during pregnancy

Most of the pregnant women i have met during the past 3 years where complaining of two or three symptoms at least . Some were facing problems with breathing , body swelling , fatigue , morning sickness , headaches , backaches or even food cravings .

But the most common symptom i have noticed is having the Sleeping problem !

From my early pregnancy , i find myself tending to sleep more and more everyday which is affecting my daily life process and especially that i am a worker . So i made researches to get some tips for sleep during pregnancy in order to direct my body's need for sleep maybe it would make my life much easier .

1. Most of the time i 'm tossing and turning at 3 am , it is because i 'm hungry . Thus i tend to keep some high protein food by the bed such as almonds , peanuts ..


2. Some afternoons i 'm so tired that i swear i could sleep for hours ..only to find myself wide awake again at night. So lying down for 30 min seems to do the trick ( of course i have to set the alarm!!) and allows me to push through the afternoon and fall asleep at a decent hour at night.


3. When i am at work , I always try to find a place to close my eyes for 20 min , even if i don't fully fall asleep , my productivity increases when i return , making the break worth it ( at least that's what i tell my boss )
   
4. Light exercise .. Ugh! if you're like me , fatigue and nausea make exercises sound like torture right now . But every doctor recommends it , so i fought the urge to lie around like a sack of potatoes and tried it . Turns out , it actually makes me feel better and lethargic! Even 15 min walk brings up my energy and can help with sleep.


5. One of the hardest parts of managing pregnancy sleep is the societal norms that dictate what we should do . Who says i can't go to bed at 6:30 pm ? we are conditioned to feel that napping every afternoon makes us lazy and unproductive , but in reality its what our body needs and is asking for . This is a special time in our life and it requires special circumstances . From what i understand , as soon as the baby is born it stops being all about us and we are going to need all the sleep we can get !!
   

So husbands , Please understand !!!

Leana - Prebirth (week19)

Here is the first picture of my lovely coming Girl ( LEANA) !

I really can't describe my feelings while seeing her moving, sucking her finger,smiling..and all that is inside my tommy !! Incredible!!

I didn't sleep that night , thinking about her sweetness , and how beautiful she is , even with her incomplete features and bones , I still find her gorgeous! And how i cannot , she is my little princess whom i was waiting her for almost 3 years !! she is finally growing inside .. she is finally coming to cheer up my life .. She is my Miracle !!