Nur Zahra Aisha

25 September 2018, at exactly 8.52a.m (GMT+8). My wife and I witnessed the birth of our first child! She’s named after our prophet Muhammad ﷺ and wife Khadijah’s daughter. We decided to name her Zahra Aisha as it is such as beautiful and blessed name. We hope that she will be filial to her elders and parents as well as being morally upright. I know these are what every parent want for their child. God-willing she will be guided well.

Big smile for the camera!

So, on to our little baby. Yes she was born small. Weighing roughly 1.92kg at time of birth. She was put into Special Nursery Care for 4 days where she was fed and taken care by the caring nurses of KK hospital. Mummy had to go through a planned C-sec. The doctors knew of the best choice to deliver our baby. We wanted the best for our baby and decided to go with their advice.

On the day of delivery, mummy had to be wheeled into the operating theater and I had to wait for the operation to be over. I wasn’t allowed to witness the whole process. Nevertheless, i had all the confidence in the world that mummy was brave and strong. She could overcome any odds. She did a skydive when she was totally against it during our honeymoon. I figured she will do just fine delivering our baby.

Wanna punch those cheeks.

And so she did, the c-sec took about close to half an hour. I expected it to be roughly around 1-2 hours. I was caught off guard when the nurses asked me to see my daughter. Imagine the delight and surprise i had when they asked me that.

It was truly a sight to marvel at my own daughter. She bore resemblance to both of us. She had mummy’s eyes and mouth. A little bit of mine and mummy’s nose. Her smile though, is genuinely similar to mine. Just take a look at those cheeks. I had to rush to take my “wudhu’ (ablution) and perform a small call to prayer to my daughter. I got that done and my next concern was my wife. Thankfully, according to the doctors at that time, she was well and healthy. That was what i needed to hear. Both mummy and daughter safe and sound. The very first moment when i held Zahra was the moment when i became a father. It is nerve-wrecking at the same time exciting to see what the future holds for my little family. Insha Allah, we aim and strive to please our creator and be good members of society.

The whole pregnancy journey was a wild one. There were lots of highs and lows. The anticipation and build-up to 25 September 2018 was worth it. We are truly blessed and thankful for everything we have. Today Nur Zahra Aisha or “Rara” is close to three months old! She’s been smiling alot lately and the whole house is filled with her laughter whenever we change her diapers or play with her in her very own little gym. Trust me, we dedicated about half of our living room just for her. Sacrifices have to be made to make our little one happy and safe at home.

Hello there.

A special mention has to be made to mummy, where she had been caring for Rara whenever and wherever we are. She has been the most perfect mum so far and i couldn’t be more happier knowing that she is the best mum for our little kid. I am blessed to have her as my wife. Insha Allah she will be rewarded with abundance of “pahala” or good merits from god.

Lastly, i wish all the best to new mummies and daddies out there. Its going to be a tiring, but at the same time all worth it.

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What Happened After All These Years + Marriage Prep!

My blog was in a very long hiatus.

This space has been kept in the dark close to 4 years. Right after I lost all motivation to write. There were many significant distractions or should i say goals at that point of time; finding a proper job to fund my marriage, finding my own identity and reshuffling my priorities. There wasn’t just much time to sit back and write.

But all is about to change. I managed to strike a balance between giving time for myself, my job, my hobby in digital arts(photography/videography) and the people around me especially now that I’m married. I have lots to write about how i got into photography and videography but i’ll leave all that in another blog post in the future.

Talking about marriage, I’m finally someone’s husband! I got married recently. I tied the knot on 19 March 2017. Approximately at 8.10pm, i officially pronounced my marriage with Nur Aqidah Bte Latif. At that exact moment in time, i managed to heave a sigh of relief, mainly because the buildup and anticipation of getting married is stressful. Since i didn’t opt for a wedding planner, my wife and I had to properly choose the vendors for our big day. Safe to say, the event went smoothly and I was grateful to those who came to grace the event.

The real heroes of the day were the vendors, my groomsmen and my family members. Without them to coordinate the event, it would have not been gone to plan. To those wondering which vendors i engaged, here is a list of them. Quick review to all of them as well.

• NAFimages (Photographer) – Nuruddyn knows his stuff, i have been following his works on instagram. Wont leave you disappointed. You can check out at @nafimages on instagram.
• REDTAPE(Videographer) – A high profile video and editing company. They shot for Suria before. Highly recommended for wedding shoots. Check them out at @redtapeprojects on instagram.
  
• COMEL & MOLEK (Wedding Caterer and Decor) – Exceeded my expectations in every way. They blew me away with their designs. They made my void deck feel like a hotel ballroom. Check them out at @comelmolekwedding on instagram.
  
• CHERRIESMITTEN (BMW Rental Car) – Car was in tip-top condition. Driver knows his roads and drove very smoothly throughout the event. On the expensive side though. There are cheaper alternatives.
  
• THE WEDDING BROCADE (Bridal) – I need not say more. Im sure this came up in your list if you are planning your wedding. One of the best in Singapore when it comes to malay weddings.
  
• AKRAB (Kompang & DJ) – Their energy and gusto in their performances is second to none. I thoroughly enjoyed their performance. They make your wedding 10x better. The crowd was highly impressed as well.
  
• LYDIA’s OVEN (Pulut Wedding Cake) – Recommended by my cousin. Yummy is all i can say! Very fast and efficient when they set up the cake!

As you may have noticed, most of them are top-tier vendors and they are the best in the field. With such high-profile vendors, one would expect to pay much. That is the price i have to pay. I had to save up close to 1.8k monthly in order to reach my goals. I had to sacrifice my time with friends and give up a lavish life of buying the things i want. It was all for a good cause and i had no regrets of doing so. Of course there were dates with my wife(fiancee at that point of time) but it was a rare occasion and we limit it to about once a week. Lucky for us, our jobs tire us after work and we will mostly rest up at home and message each other. Our jobs occupied our lives so we wont feel empty. We had a simple endgame in mind; being together at the end of the road.

We got together on 12 October 2013. We got engaged on the 11th of October 2015. Married on the 19 March 2017. From the day we were engaged to our big day, we had a year and a half to prepare. The time allocated was more than sufficient for us.  We just have to keep track of our savings. Just a few tips for those who are saving:

1. Don’t spend more than what you need. Tempting yes, i have been seduced a lot of times but my wife prevented me from buying what i want. 
2. Buy things that you only need. Necessary things such as food and drinks to keep on surviving.
3. Do OT if your organization or company provides the facility to do so. I’m not a fan of doing OT but i’ve seen my colleagues save up faster because of it.
4. Limit your dates. This is a killer if you date often because if often involves lots of money for transport, food, and or movie.
5. Stay at home often. This is a no-brainer.
6. Pick up a simple, no-frills hobby to fill your free time. Recommended and provided if your hobby does not require you to empty your pocket.

Last but not least definitely, there will be challenges headed your way from the time you are engaged till the day both you and your partner exchange vows. They will come in many forms. I found the challenge of saving up for marriage the most hardest because there are just so many distractions. Especially so considering im a techie and a videographer. So many things to upgrade and purchase. If you are reading this and finding a challenge to save, just wait a little bit longer till the day comes. After with every hardship, ease will come.

All the best to all who are planning to get married!