Ish, Ani & Air

Last week has been one hell of a roller coaster ride for us.

The first half of the week was fun-filled. We went to Lombok for a family (plus girlfriends) vacation. Afif had so much fun swimming in the pool, discovering waterfall, playing with the sand and being chased by the waves at the beach. Everything was smooth-sailing. 

 Playing with sand and attempting to build sandcastle

Us at Sendang Gile Waterfall, Lombok

Until we board the flight home to KL.

He had a major diarrhea. We had to change his diaper twice on the plane and once at the airport. Later that night, the diarrhea didn't subside. He developed a high fever. The next morning, he's still sick. We brought him to the hospital and he was warded for 3 days. He was tested positive of rotavirus. (T_T)

It was challenging for me; being pregnant, having morning sickness and looking after a sick, whiny child who needs to go to the bathroom 10 times a day. i couldn't imagine how painful and tired he feels. My poor baby..

Tapi setiap kejadian, ada hikmahnya. Hari kedua kat hospital, Afif tengah tengok Barney and Friends kat iPad. Tetiba dia kata dengan excitednya "Aaniii!!". Pastu everytime bebudak dalam Barney tu jerit "Barney!", Afif pon akan kata "Aani!!"

Kat hospital jugak, dia belajar sebut "Fish". i showed him videos with fist in it, drew fishes for him.. Lama-lama, nampak je ikan, dia akan sebut "ish!"

As he needed to drink a lot to keep him hydrated during his diarrhea episode, i always made Ribena for him. Sambil buat air Ribena tu, mama akan cakap "Afif nak air? Mama buat air.. Air sedap.. Ok, nah air.. Minom air.." Lama-lama, dia reti sebut air. Bila nak mintak, dia akan tunjuk sippy cup and i'd say "Air. nak air?" dan dia akan cakap "Air.."

Kali ni, sakit ada hikmah untuk Afif. He learnt to pronounce not only one, but 3 meaningful words. The pronouncation might not be perfect but he'll get there. 

Mama and daddy are so proud of you, baby! We've got a feeling that you'll be blurting words after words from now on.

;)

House Visit by Dr. Basha

Last Saturday we had the pleasure of having Dr. Basha visiting us at home. Dr. Basha is Afif's speech therapist from TUTUR, Klinik Audiology UKM.

Objective of the visit is to see how Afif is at home. Where he always hangs out at? What he does at home? What are the toys he plays with? How do we, as parents, interact and communicate with him? Things like that. After making the observation she would sit us down and discuss what she sees and comments on what to improve.

She came at around 11.30am. Afif malu-malu pulak salam dia. After having a drink, we straight away went to Afif's playroom. Upon entering the playroom, Dr. Basha said "Wahh dah macam therapy room!" Hehe.

Afif pon buat la apa dia selalu buat. Main conteng-conteng buku. Dia suka bila Mama pegang tangan dia and lukis beruang sambil nyanyi lagu "Anak Beruang". Upon seeing this, Dr. Basha suggest pausing at some parts of the sound to encourage him to continue singing or asking me to continue singing.

Lepas tu main masak-masak. Main bola. Conteng dinding. Ada jugak time yang dia takmo main dah. Sibuk nak turun. So we took 5 minutes off and doktor suggests what to do with some toys.

After we're done playing, ajak Dr. Basha makan. Senang hati tengok dia selera betol makan. Lauk kampung je pon. Of course la bukan aku masak dah aku sibuk main ngan Afif. Baahaha.

She said my skill of interacting with Afif is good and she has no comment on that. Cuma kene banyak ulang-ulang supaya lekat dalam kepala Afif. Idzwan has to improve and needs to talk more to Afif. The key with interacting with a deaf child is to make everything fun. Bila fun, diorang automatic akan nak main dan nak belajar.

Dia jugak suruh kitorang gunakan laman rumah yang luas tu. Bercucuk tanam atau menebas, ajak Afif. Siram bunga ajak Afif. Aku gelak je sebab kitorang memang lah bukan gardener hoih. Tapi akan cuba lepas ni.

Aku suka betul ngan Dr. Basha ni. She is the kind of doctor whose involvement with her patients is not limited to working hours. Email aku tak pernah tak balas. Weekend ada je dia buat playgroup for certain group of children. Weekend jugak dia buat house visit kepada sesiapa yang dia rasa memerlukan. Doctors like her really make a difference. Whether she knows it or not.

Thanks doctor, for your time and patience.