Journey to Australia - with a baby

It was long time ago since I updated my blog. I have been so busy with Adellia's stuff recently that she needs my attention day and night.

Oh by the way, I am now in Malaysia. So I want to share here how's my life with my small family while we were in Australia.

Journey to Australia with 17-months baby sure not so easy, I guess? Haha. Please bear with me! I think this post is gonna be long and compact!

28 October 2022 - Flight to Australia

We got a transit flights to Australia. First flight - Kuala Lumpur to Singapore (7:00pm) and our second flight - Singapore to Gold Coast (10:20pm).

To make it interesting, our flight to Singapore was delayed by one hour. So we have less than an hour in Singapore before boarding to the Gold Coast. It was a disaster I tell ya!

It was the first time we had checked in a stroller. Once sampai ke check-in counter, staff cakap kena lipat stroller and bagi ke staff airport nanti untuk diorang letak bawah airplane. So okay lah. Sampai je Singapore, I tanya ke steward tu,

"Hi, may I know where can I claim my stroller?"

The steward said I can claim it at the baggage counter. Lepas turun je ke airport I pun tanya la pulak airport staffs, and they all gave useless information. Mind you, I was asking 3 different persons and each of them was giving me different solution. We had around 40 minutes before the next flight. Can you guys imagine how stress we were?

Cut the story short, Aiman had a good idea because we had to catch a flight, or else we'd be missed it!

Aiman suggested that me and Adellia go straight to the gate, while he goes to the baggage counter to claim the stroller. This process required him to pass the immigration counter in Singapore, and then check-in again for the next flight. WITHIN 40 MINUTES.

It was a stressful situation...

I had to run fast with Adellia in my arms. Penat sangat waktu ni because the gate is so far. Whoever been in Singapore airport will know how big this airport!

We made it to the gate and luckily we were able to board the plane. Disebabkan flight to Gold Coast malam, so Adellia was sleeping through the night. She was tired already because she was active before boarding. I was really relieved la sebab flight malam, so it was a bonus point for us.

Once we reached Gold Coast airport, the procedure is too leceh la for me. Why? Because there's no fast lane for those who had families. If you are in a departure section, there is a fast lane for families (I really like this!), but sadly there wasn't for those who arrived there.

Masa ni both of us dah penat, because we weren't get enough sleep on the plane. Kepala I dah tingtong jugak time ni cause I was really tired. Lepastu sampai pulak kena queue panjang gila. There were few kids/babies there, and all of them were crying. Yup, during the queuing time...

Ingatkan dah lepas imegresen dah lega, ohh nooo we had to go to the next lane untuk go through procedure of scanning luggages. Memang disaster betul masa ni sebab badan dah sakit-sakit and we had to queue for almost 2 hours before we reached the officers. And I saw most of us yang queue semua muka like Asians. Huhu, get what I meant?

Yang mana yang nampak suspicious have to queue to the next lane to scan luggages, yang tak kena tu can just go straight to exit section.

I was really disappointed la this time, because the officers saw we had a baby with us, but still they asked us to proceed with the next lane. Masa ni kesian sangat dekat Adellia. She was tired and started crying already. I had no idea to soothe her because I already know she was tired. So, what I did is, I asked Aiman to carry her. And she slept later. After that baru I letak dekat stroller to let her sleep comfortably. 2 jam tu for me memang lama la. We had to wait for them to scan our luggages. They'll see everything inside luggages and throw away anything they think are prohibited.

But we were lucky enough! Turn kitorang belakang-belakang so I think the officer is already malas dah, so they just scanned the luggages without us opening it. Nasib baik. Lega dah! If not, memang penat nak kena buka semua luggages satu-satu and then close back.

By the way, Australia is quite strict. If you are travelling there, make sure do research about the country of what and what not to bring there.

If possible, make a list. Masa ni I tak buat list, but the next time I datang baru I buat list and then because of the list, I passed without having to scan luggages. I terus ke Exit je bawak troli semua. Phew. Next time memang kena prepare macam ni. Senang!

List yang I cakap ni you all boleh terus guna Words je and list la satu-satu apa yang you all bawa. Just a simple document. Once you have arrived and go through custom, just show them the list. Simple.

Next part I will share with you guys my convocation ceremony! Stay tuned...

What To Bring if Your Child is Warded?

Last month Adellia warded lepas we decided to take Nebulization in Hospital because her breathing was quite fast. Mulanya I did not expect that she'd have to be admitted. Tapi lepas Doctor decided to do second Neb after her first one did not improve her breathing rate (also her SPO was not at a normal level), masa tu I dah ada uneasy feelings.

At first, I macam positive je lah maybe it will improve after her second Neb ni. BUT, NO. Doctor asked for her to be admitted malam tu jugak because her SPO level was not satisfied even after her second Neb. I terkejut juga la. Masa tu 11pm dah lepas nama kena panggil masuk bilik Doctor. So, we were shocked la and decided to go to other hospital sebab nak tunggu insurance and so on.

About this one, I felt really regret la sebab keluar dari Hospital Az-zahrah malam tu when we can just admit her there when the Doctor asked. Tapi sebab Prudential did not cover for that hospital, Aiman asked to admit her to other hospital. So we called few hospitals that night just for an empty room. Semua penuh ye guys! At last, Aiman berjaya call Tung Shin Hospital in KL and they got empty rooms for children. Sigh, finally.

So, passed 12am we travelled to KL. Adellia was sleeping in the car. Nasib baik sampai sana, all the other procedures for admission macam tak lama sangat. We reached there around 1.30am and wajib la buat Covid test dulu. Adellia punya banyak test. The Doctor asked to do Covid, Influenza and RSV test. And all these tests were negative.

Also, Aiman convinced the Doctor that he was sure this is not about Covid because we had no symptoms 😂 Masa ni I gelak je la dengar dia cerita.

And then kena tunggu 2 jam before the results were out. We have to wait in the emergency ward, so masa ni I kena tunggu dalam dengan Adellia. Aiman kena tunggu luar.

While in the emergency, it was a bit struggling there! I nak tidurkan Adellia because I know she was really tired, masa tu dah nak pukul 3am. Adellia was really scared of the environment. Bila dia nampak nurses keluar masuk untuk check her lagi la dia nervous and anxious. So, she cried everytime Neb sessions. And Doctor decided to use Oxygen to help her breath. Ahh sudahh, pakai O2 dekat hidung pun dah mengamuk ye.

We have to wait until the results were out lepastu I have to do RTK test. So I let her sleep in my arms. To let she feel safe. Bila nak letak atas katil hospital je, dia terbangun. Dia macam tahu taw yang dia sekarang bukan dekat rumah haha.

Until it was my turn to do the test, I have to put her on bed. Masa tu nurse masuk and said,

"Takpe puan. Tinggal dulu, saya jagakan"

Nurse pun dukung la dia sambil sooth. I tergelak la pulak time tu sebab dia memang nampak takut! So cepat-cepat la I pergi buat test and masuk balik ke emergency ward tu.

Until around 4.30am macam tu, dah dapat bilik and nurse pun tolak la katil tu ke bilik. Dengan I sekali duduk atas tu. Time tu I memang dah barai dah sebab satu hari tak tidur.

So, I think it is really important for mothers to prepare everything you can if your child needs to be admitted.

Here is the list that I prepared last minute:

1. Mykid and your IC too -- this one is important for registration. Don't forget!

2. Clothes (baby) -- I bawak lebih for 3days just in case. Walaupun awal-awal susah sikit nak mandikan anak sebab ada wire semua, tapi I mintak jugak nak mandikan dia sebab I yang rimas! Lagipun kesian, mesti dia tak selesa.

3. Long sleeve shirts (baby) -- I packed around 3pcs because hospitals are cold!

4. Pampers -- bawak secukupnya untuk 2 atau 3 hari (usually admitted around 2 or 3 days). If possible, lebihkan je pampers because you never know!

5. White noise machine -- if your child uses white noise to sleep, bring along. It may help them to sooth because the environment may cause them to feel anxious. 

6. Toys -- yup toys are necessary because we might need them to distract baby! Aiman packed toys yang dia selalu main dekat rumah. Masa ni I rasa lega jugak la Aiman masukkan sekali haha

7. Blanket -- please bring along blanket just in case! I tertinggal padahal dah ingat dah nak bawak. Last-last I guna my sweater to cover Adellia.

8. Towels -- for you and your child too

9. Shower gel -- yup I packed this one too! Hospital mana ada sabun. Nasib baik I bawak shower gel for baby

10. Toiletries -- for yourself and for baby too

11. Botol susu -- bring 2 bottles just in case

12. Extra foods, i.e. biscuits, breads -- I brought along simple foods just in case we might get hungry!

13. Telekung and sejadah -- easier for you to pray in ward. There's no time for you to go to surau because you got to watch your child for 24-hours.

14. Wet wipes -- just in case if tak boleh mandikan, you have to prepare wet wipes because you might need them a lot. Especially if they poo!

So, apa lagi benda kena ada kalau anak warded? I hope this would help mothers out there to have an idea of what to bring to hospital if your child is warded. If ada tertinggal, boleh suruh husband hantarkan. Some hospitals are very strict. So kena la ikut rules and policy hospital tu.

Mothers, It Is Okay To Not Be Okay

Moms, have you ever feel like you are burning out that you didn't want to do anything at all? Have you ever woke up in the morning and think 

"Please, I just wanna lay on my bed doing nothing"?

I bet all of you must have felt the same. Yup, that was me today.

But the thing is, I started to feel like that today when I was at an event (my makcik's engagement event). Boleh bayang tak macam mana I rasa tengah duduk sembang-sembang, and suddenly what I wanna do is just sleep...

So I started to feel lemau sangat when the folks were talking chit-chatting. I was like... Please, I just want to sleep, NOW!

So, as usual, if I ever feel like this, usually I'll let my husband handles Adellia. Like, please give me time.

Aiman was very understanding. He'd entertaining, feeding, playing with Adellia when he saw I sat there in silence.

I just said to Aiman,

"Please take care of Adellia. I mengantuk".

Little did he know I was just feeling burned out....

The burned out feeling bawak sampai ke malam, that Aiman handles all Adellia's needs. Until now.. (I typed this when Aiman and Adellia were in front of television watching Adellia's favorite cartoons).

So I discover one of the ways that can help moms out there overcome this "burn out" feeling:

1. Give time to yourself

This really helped me out A LOT. Usually when I feel I don't want to do anything, Aiman can read me. He'd usually take Adellia with him. He'd usually say 

"Let's play together, Adellia"

I akan play with my phone, reading, watching kdrama sampai melepet untuk bagi I masa. And sometimes I akan keluar alone untuk me-time.

Trust me moms, it helped! You are also a human being, you are not a robot.

2. Talk with your partner

Ladies, it is important to communicate with your partner how you felt. Kalau macam I, I memang sejenis kalau takde mood I akan diam je. Aiman knew me, so he'd usually asked me if I was okay etc, and I'd usually replied

"I need time alone"

So dia akan faham and gave me space. So he took Adellia with him to give me time and space. 

Ladies, please, it worked! Sometimes, all you need is just TIME & SPACE. That's why I said, talk with your partner.

3. Acknowledge and let go

If you find yourself too bothered with the feelings of burned out, LET GO. Just let it go. Dia macam... you know that this is just for a while. You'll be okay and it is okay to not be okay :')

4. Sleep for how long you want and come back stronger

Sleep is the solution to all problems. I couldn't deny that. Go to sleep. And don't forget to come back stronger tomorrow :')

5. Forget about today and preserve your mental health

After I did all of the above, I'd forget about yesterday and start to feel okay. And please, after you had your time & space, come back to your baby and kiss them!

Tell them how much you loved them and thank you for understanding.

Source: Google

Ini apa yang I buat whenever this feeling appeared. Yes, I usually felt this way every once in a while. That's why sebenarnya it is very important for mothers to preserve their mental health into a good level. Because you are taking care of another human. You are also a human being. You have emotions and feelings. You deserve time alone too. Nothing is perfect and you don't need to be perfect for your child. Because humans are not perfect. And can't be.

There are many ways that you can do to overcome the "burn out" feelings. Discover which one is your preferences and no need to feel guilty if you do that. You don't have to feel guilty if all you need is time for yourself.

And remember, come back stronger, Mothers! 💓

Preparation Before Let Baby on Plane

Masa mother-in-law balik Malaysia itu hari, they planned a last minute trip to Penang by flight. That was a really last minute plan. MIL nak jumpa all her adik beradik since dah lama tak balik sini for 3 years plus.

Jadi disebabkan I dengan husband kahwin zaman PKP and I tak pernah jumpa sedara belah Kedah sana, plus with Adellia dah setahun pun, we never meet them, so I join la naik plane untuk ke Penang.

So, that was Adellia's first flight (which I was quite nervous la walaupun sekejap je, less than an hour). I am quite busy that week so I tak prepare la apa benda should I do before letting baby on flight. Sehari sebelum flight baru I read what should I prepare etc.

On the way to Penang, while waiting for flight, Adellia dah tertidur dulu sebab bangun awal pagi. Masa tu I dah nervous sebab I want her to sleep on plane! Tapi dia tidur sekejap je.

Things I did:

1. I talked to my husband, let she played around. Before boarding, I bagi dia main puas puas, jalan sana sini sampai penat.

Masa ni I tak bagi susu and boleh tahan lama la dia bertahan. Yang penting let baby/toddler played sampai penat. Penat yang sampai boleh tertidur atas plane. Which means, berlari sana sini, jalan jauh-jauh etc.

2. Change diaper before fly.

Masa tunggu nak boarding I changed her diaper. Ni penting jugak sebab nak biar baby selesa.

3. Make sure baby is full. Untuk baby yang dah boleh makan, give them foods before fly.

Tapi disebabkan flight to Penang dalam 40 minit sahaja, so I dah bagi makan light je before fly. Sampai Penang baru cari makan berat.

4. Atas plane, I ada baca, masa pressure dekat telinga tu, bagi susu untuk kurangkan pressure.

Tapi apakan daya, masa baru je nak fly (to Penang), she was grumpy so I terpaksa bagi susu masa belum berlepas. Kiranya, masa landed tu, she felt the pressure on both ear and menangis ye. So I had to calm her, tepuk-tepuk, and stand untuk dukung. Masa ni nasib baik all the passengers calm and no one was looking la haha.

(LESSON I LEARNED: patut bagi sebelum fly, and bagi lagi masa landed to reduce the pressure).

So masa nak balik KL, I berjaya buat macam ni. And flight balik KL, she was ok, not crying. Siap boleh main dengan stewards and passengers. Nasib baik ada orang nak layan main hide and seek haha.

To Penang

To KL

Untuk flight balik boleh dikatakan berjaya la buat dia tenang. Keluar je dari plane, dia dah tertidur sebab dah penat sangat main masa boarding tu. So I think all the steps above is important bila nak fly with baby. Can use the tips for next trip pulak!

Post VIVA Things

Continue from previous post, what you need to do after you have passed your VIVA session. So, after you have heard 

"Congratulations, you have passed/completed your Master/PhD study"

There you go! It's time for a correction thingy.

Correction ni depends on what status you got for your VIVA. If you pass with minor correction, UPM will give 3-months for you to do correction (during COVID19 period). If you pass with major correction, then you will get 6-months to do correction. You can check further on UPM's website.

So after you already finished with the corrections, there are a few documents that you need to submit along with the correction thesis.

- GS-16a form
- GS25 form
- GS17 form (for graduation, along with RM200 fee)
- 1 copy of Thesis (corrected)
- List of correction
- 1 copy of Abstract (in Malay & English)
- Manuscript (accepted or published)
- Text Similarity Report (under 20%)

During my time, I just sent through email to SGS. Masa tu still PKP and UPM is closed except for urgent matters. So I was told to send all the documents online.

I even got all the signatures online (by email). Mulanya risau juga, tapi fuh nasib baik UPM staffs efficient. So I got all forms signed and verified. After that, you will get email saying that all documents were received.

Actually, I have to submit hardcopy after PKP ends. But I didn't. So I went to Counter 4 SGS and told them about this (cause it was almost 1 year after I submitted the correction). So they just took GS25, GS17 and GS16a hardcopies form. I pergi sini lepas I dapat email from Senate that requires me to do one last step (which is hardbound).

So SGS terus suruh hantar B5 Thesis format. REMEMBER, you have to submit B5 format ok. They will not accept A4 format (I submitted A4 format and got rejected). So bila dah rejected tu, they asked to follow the format exactly as the guidelines.

You will get Approval Sheet to insert in your thesis during printing later.

Once you submit the B5 format, you have to wait for 2 working days. They will review and comment for further correction (this one correction after senate approval). Once you get your thesis, please do correction exactly as told. They will mark and write down any corrections there.

So, you will need to do the corrections again and send back to them for final check. SGS was very strict. They will check the margin and spacing as the guidelines. Once they are satisfied, then you are ready for hardbound printing.

For Masters, you can print 5 copies of hardbound. 2 copies are compulsory (1 for library and 1 for faculty). Another 2 copies for your supervisors and you can keep 1 for yourself.

Once your hardbound is ready, you need to get your supervisor committee's signatures and stamps before you can submit the thesis to Counter 4 SGS. Next, submit your hardbound along with GS16b form + 1 CD to SGS to obtain Dean's signature. Usually you may collect your hardbound after 2 working days.

But, I dapat my hardbounds on the spot. They signed it immediately there. They will take 1 copy of your thesis (so they can send to library). SGS baik hati untuk send the copy themselve to the library. Then they will give you a "Green form". You have to collect the signature from your faculty and submit 1 copy of your thesis. After you bagi 1 thesis copy to your faculty, then they will sign your Green form.

Ok, then you are almost there! After that you have to go to SGS Counter 3 to claim your transcript and Dean's letter (to clarify that you have completed your Master study). Then they will signed the "Green form" and keep it.

Masa I submit this Green form, the staff tiba-tiba asked for my GS17 form (which I already submitted all of the forms before). They asked if I have another copy. Of course I have but that one is my copy. Tapi I terpaksa la ambil my copy dalam kereta and gave to them sebab I don't want to delay the Transcript and Dean's letter. And then I heard one of them said "form tu mungkin dekat xxx". And immediately asked me if I have other copy. Adoi. I think they should clarify with their staff first before asking another copy from student. But what to do lah, I already gave them. Hmm. Hope there is no issue later.

They will give the transcript and Dean's letter in the envelope. And then, congratulations! You have completed your Master study :)

Boleh tunggu convocation, which UPM will inform you in the email later.

Phew, what a journey I had! I settled all the process above in 1 day, which took me 2 hours and a half. Tapi seriously penat gila drive ulang alik to 2 different places sebanyak 4 kali. Hahah. Dah lah my faculty and SGS consider quite far la jugak. So it was a bit renyah to those yang have no transportation. Tapi sebab I nak settle semua in 1 day, so I rush sangat-sangat ulang alik my faculty and SGS 4 kali. Lucky me that I successfully submitted all the forms above in 1 day.

To those who are continuing your Master degree in UPM, I wish you goodluck and all the best. It was a bitter sweet memories to further my Master degree in UPM. Thank you UPM :)