Welcome to our world, little princess

She has arrived.... Our forever beautiful gift from God has been delivered on Monday morning.

Amaira Jasmine Prestaka

Bali, April 16, 2012, 8.38 am

The Overdue, Undisclosed Yearning Will Be Over

For years, my hubby and I quietly desired a baby girl. However, we understood, it will not be that simple. We initially plan to only have 2 kids. These boys are simply great gifts from God, they are good boys, smart and always make us proud. We often encountered people said to us, that we should have a third one, daughter that is. I would always said to those nosy people, nope, two is enough. Boys and girls are just the same, they are all responsibilities God trust us to take care of.

So, when after Eid last year, I found out that I missed my period and the test pack gave positive sign, our yearning for Daddy's little girl occur again. We've always pray for a healthy baby and not expecting that this little one will be a girl for us. Two USGs (2D version) showed that it's a girl. Still we did not want to believe it 100%. Last month, I had 4D USG, and the OBGYN clearly said it is 99.99% a girl.

After that confirmation, the shopping trip to Mothercare has been focused on girls' stuff. So many cute items there. Abdes has designed the room next door to be this little one's room, plus our working space, not very baby style, as we don't want it to be a very 'baby zone' :)

The two boys are so excited to welcome their little sister. Getar always wonders how this baby will look like and act. He's 12, a young man, sometimes shyly said that he wanted to feel the bump. Alarik has been imagining to carry the baby, he loves to put his head on the big bump and feels the baby's quickening. He even often acts as if he's helping me bathing the baby, and even feed the baby. He constantly reminds me to hold the baby carefully once she's born and I should take the baby to his school.

Ah well... Monday is the big day, by the way. As I could not deliver the baby in normal way, tried twice, but failed, c-section is the only option. We have scheduled it to be on Monday. Baby name? It's ready. We'll announce it soon she arrives to this world.

Wish me luck. Hope all goes well. I am hoping that post-op would not be too painful, and quick recovery for me. I hope I can successfully breast-feed this little one, just like my two other children; exclusively for 4-6 months, and continue until 2 years of age.

I just can't wait to hold and kiss you, baby Girl.

Make Love, not War… Make Kids, not Love?

This morning, I congratulated a good friend of mine who celebrated her wedding anniversary. She responded to me, said that she’s been married for 4 years, but with no kids. It’s a pressure, she said. I thought it was social pressure, which is very common to happen in Indonesia, or mostly in Asia and in any traditional society. Traditional society most likely views marriage as a gateway to family-building, not merely a holy unity between a man and a woman.

Oops, after I said to her it is common to face social pressure, she told me thankfully she has never received such conduct.

It is her biological clock that gives pressure.

They have tried many times to no avail; which should be the pregnancy positive result. She has always counted her fertile days, month after month, for years.

I told her she should take it easy. Make love, not war. Do it with no pressure. Think about those young love birds who bravely decide to do it, without thinking the consequence, then…boom, a shot gun wedding it is, or even without a gunshot, a ‘premature birth’ of first child would come shortly after the wedding.

I did not say those words in such a frank way, though. I did not want to hurt her feeling, or give more pressure to her. Imagine she would then have a new pressure; now not counting the fertile days, but trying to act like a teenager in love who would do it with no deep thought. I did not want her to say to me, ‘Easy for you, you have two boys’.

It is definitely a pressure when you are doing something that you have set a definite goal and deadline. Not just for having kids. This could happen to any of us in any circumstance. Think about our school days when final exam is just around the corner and our parents, or in tougher case, the scholarship board, await for our grades to determine the next action. Think about the final thesis deadline and the oral presentation exam which dates are set. Think about the deadline given by our boss at work or client who wants us to submit the proposal by a certain date.

“A goal is not always meant to be reached, it often serves simply as something to aim at.”

Bruce Lee once said the above words. Definitely true. It is our effort that counts. It is the process that means a lot. The world will see how hard we have tried. The goal would be a bonus. If in the end, we do not get what we have dreamed of, it will not be a bad idea to set a new goal, to have a new dream.

I told my friend who celebrates her anniversary to always keep the romance alive. Wasn’t that the reason we all got married at the first place, because of the passionate romance? Enjoy the ‘no children’ life while you can. Make love with the person we love. The ‘Invisible Hand’ will do the rest.

Parenting Lesson of the Week

Hey parents out there, do you think it's so simple being a parent? For those who think that having a kid who has passed the toddler years, do you think it'll be easier to handle an 8-year boy????

Again, I had a quarrel with my oldest son. It's just about simple thing, when I talked too hard to him (yeah, coz I was impatient with him)...and he exhibited his ego by shouting back at me. In just 15 minutes, we gave each other big hugs and said how much we loved each other.

I agree that I should not be too hard to him. No, it's not like I act that way to him every time. It's just there are times when I felt too tense after work, he is tired after school. I have a thought that he's big enough where he should act and think in certain ways, that of course he couldn't...coz he's just 8! Hhrrgghh....

Parenting is about being patient to our child. Parenting is also an art how to communicate and 'listen' to our child's character.

Look at his cute face. I love him dearly. ...















"I apologize for hurting your feeling. "

Brothers Forever

Cute pic of my two sons

More Videos

This is a video clip of Alarik (yes, he is still the super star) exploring the house.

video

*Mrs. D-Eby, you can have a glimpse of our small resident :)

YouTube posting

Please check out my YouTube posting... all about my boys who creatively found way to have fun at no cost :)..
video

Time Flies...

So true.... I never really realized how time flies so fast! It was just like yesterday when I felt him in my tummy, and breast-fed him for the first time. Now....look at him, he's 9 months young!! He has started to crawl, enjoying Michael Buble's tunes, laughing to my silly face, grabbing Dad's glasses or even pulling Big Bro's hair.

Suatu hari di bulan September 2007

Sudah cukup lama saya tidak posting di blogger ini. Kenapa? Alasan klasik: sibuk. Saya tidak sempat membuat tulisan, baik yang layak maupun tidak, karena waktu saya dalam sehari sudah habis dikonsumsi untuk kegiatan lainnya. Dari bangun tidur, sejak masih dalam mimpi, Alarik sudah berseru untuk digendong, dibersihkan dan diberi makan. Abangnya, Getar, juga ribut minta sarapan. Ayahnya? Kebetulan tidak terlalu rewel :) tetapi tentu saja, saya berusaha menyiapkan (atau memberikan instruksi) sarapan. Setelah ritual sarapan kelar, lanjut ke ritual mandi. Abang seringkali keasyikan bermain, atau kelamaan makan, sehingga harus berulang kali diingatkan untuk mandi. Ritual ini berlanjut dengan prosesi berpakaian dan dandan. Tentu, mama mereka, yang paling cantik sendiri, harus mandi juga. Proses pakaian dan dandan juga tak kalah seru dan heboh dibandingkan dengan tiga lelaki Prestaka.

Setelah itu, acara berikutnya adalah pemberangkatan yang kadang terjadi dalam satu kloter, atau bahkan dua kloter. Getar bisa ikut ayahnya ataupun mama, lalu dijemput lagi oleh Mama (atau Ayah). Bulan ini Getar ikut dua kegiatan ekstra, yaitu English course di EF Bali, dan karate di sekolahnya SD 08 Dauh Puri Denpasar. Dia sudah berhenti les sempoa, karena bosan mengulik-ulik bulir-bulir sempoa :)

Nah, di kantor kampus, saya sekarang sedang mengerjakan sebuah penelitian yang dibiayai oleh kantor Organisasi Kesehatan Dunia, setelah sebelumnya banting tulang mengerjakan seminar internasional desentralisasi kesehatan. Saya juga mulai aktif berkontribusi dalam KITASATUBALI, kantornya Prestaka. Di sini juga pekerjaan menumpuk, mulai dari urusan keuangan, administrasi, laporan dan printil-printilnya, apalagi setelah kelar project penyelenggaraan seminar internasionalnya Bank Indonesia di Le Meridien Bali. Internet di kedua kantor saya ini broadband, tetapi belum sepenuhnya bisa saya manfaatkan untuk blogging :) Paling banter, chat di y!m, atau update profile di friendster. He..he..he...biarpun emak beranak dua, gaul di dunia maya jalan terrrusss....

Sampai di rumah, pada waktu yang tidak menentu, saya kembali berurusan dengan rutinitas hidup bersama Alarik, Getar dan Abdes. Minggu lalu, acara malam kami di rumah selalu ditemani oleh Wentworth Miller dan Dominic Purcell.... Gila seru banget! Kami sudah habis melahap semua DVD musim kedua film mereka, dan tidak sabar untuk menonton musim ketiga, yang baru akan diputar tgl 17 ini di Fox. Nah, minggu ini, acara malam kami adalah membaca dan memutar otak soal denah rumah. Ooopss, belum saatnya bicara soal yang terakhir ini. Biar Yang Di Atas yang mengatur semua, sambil kami mengerahkan energi agar MESTAKUNG alias semesta mendukung.

Begitulah hari-hari saya dan keluarga Prestaka. Dua hari lagi, kesibukan akan bertambah di pagi hari, karena bulan Ramadhan akan dimulai hari Kamis ini. Rutinitas lainnya sih belum berubah, dari acara untuk Alarik, Getar dan Abdes, juga KITASATUBALI, kampus dan JRP. Syukur-syukur masih ada job ngemsi juga. Serrru...

Mohon maaf lahir dan bathin ya! Terutama karena kami sering malas untuk menghubungi teman-teman lama di negeri seberang. Keluarga D-Eby yang sempet main ke Bali (nengokin Omanya yang ultah) tidak sempat kami temui :( , thanks for the SMS. Maaf lahir bathin yaaa... Nandya dan bebe, selamat berbulan Ramadhan di ATL. Semoga bisa ketemu Nandya dan Ahya di Bali setelah Lebaran nanti. Riatu, apakah masih rajin menghadiri acara buka puasa bersama? Mencari masakan Indo di rumah-rumah pengajian? Jangan lupa ajak Renata, tuh! Re, we miss you!!! There are no thrift stores in Bali!!!! Frank & Telly, selamat puasa, thanks for your kindness to take my friends staying at your place this week. Mamanya Michael dan Ryan di ATL, how are you doing? Belum ada rencana ke Indo?


Bulan September 2007, Bulan Ramadhan 1428H...semoga membawa berkah bagi kita semua, mengawali bulan-bulan yang lebih baik lagi di waktu mendatang. Chao!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD!!!

This was my baby, 7 months inside my tummy:

And, this is him after getting dressed on his birthday, March 16, 2007:

Welcome to this world, ALARIK PRESTAKA.
It was so hard finding the name of our second child. We decided to give the first name only, plus his Daddy's last name (Prestaka). It follows the international standard of name, so it will be easy for him to
Alarik actually means the noble leader, named after a famous king in Germany. We, his parents, wishes him to grow up as a noble gentleman who will be a great leader for his family and community!!!

School registration

I'll talk about school registration now. No, not my school. I've done with that by now ... *dunno for the next stage, though*

It's about school for my son. He was lucky *alhamdulilah* that he was old enough to go to Pre-K in Atlanta. He came in December 2003, he turned 4 on March 2004, just in time for Pre-K registration. We had to search for public elementary schools that have Pre-K. Public schools are basically free at the States, right? That's why I said my son was lucky *as lucky as I was, because I also got the chance to go Kindergarten in Sydney*. The quality was good!
But, to get to a good public school *not all public schools have excellent quality, it depends on the district funding*, you have to reside within the respective school district. That means, you have to choose where you live beforehand. It that means, you might end up paying higher cost of residents. But that's fine, right? Social lives cost, too!!

So, we registered him to two public schools nearbuy where we lived. Required documents were birth certificate, proof of residency (got this from Rental Office), and proof of immunization (got this from public health office). The school applied drawing to select the kids. So, finally my son got the best school. No tuition fees, just lunch money if my son decided to have lunch at school.

That's all for now about Pre-K registration in ATL. I do hope my Indo friends in ATL who are going to register their kids to school find this info useful :) Chao!

My Boy

Attarilan's happy face!

Vaksin & Autisme

Tadi dapet message dari sohibku di Bali. Dia ibu baru, lagi seneng2nya...dan sedang dalam tahap 'fully concerned' dengan segala sesuatu yang berhubungan dengan sang baby. *i know how you feel, dear!*

OK, inti message yang saya terima via friendster, dia minta dicariin rekomendasi akurat ttg bener-gaknya vaksin Hep B dan Hib (Haemaphilus Influenzae type B) yg wajib buat bayi2, bisa bikin autisme. Katanya, zat thimerosal (yg terkandung sejumlah kecil di dalam vaksin sebagai preservative) yg jadi biang keroknya. Hmm....

Menurut website-nya American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), ternyata ada satu paper yg jadi pemicu munculnya kabar korelasi vaksin dengan autisme. Sialnya, paper ini (diterbitkan di Journal of American Physicians Surgery, tahun 2003, edisi 8, halaman 6-11) tidak berdasarkan konsep dan dasar ilmu yang jelas, fakta yg tidak jelas, tidak akurat dan menampilkan pernyataan yang keliru. Lagi2 menurut AAP, sampai saat ini, sejumlah controlled study pada populasi yang lebih besar tidak menunjukan korelasi antara thimerosal dalam vaksin dengan autisme. Namun, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, AAP, National Institute of Health dan U.S. Public Health Services tetap melakukan penelitian utk memastikan korelasi antara thimerosal dan autisme. Info lengkap ttg thimerosal dan vaksin, liat di sini (bhs Inggris).

Jadi kesimpulannya, Ibu2....dan Bapak2 para orang tua bayi2, vaksin Hep B dan Hib masih direkomendasikan oleh pakar2 kesehatan anak di Amrik.

OK, sekalian deh, mumpung lagi ngomongin autisme, ternyata April adalah bulan kesadaran utk autisme. Kalau khawatir ttg masalah ini, baca info lengkapnya di sini.

Attarilan's Driving

Zoom...zoom...zoom

Icing Atlanta

Attarilan on icy Atlanta