Packing the hospital bag may be stressful, especially if you're far along your pregnancy; therefore, try your best to have most of your bag packed and by the doorstep on standby. Different hospitals offer different services and gifts for the mother and newborn baby; however, it's better to have at least the basics with you so you don't get stressed or overwhelmed..
For me, I researched a lot about the things I needed to have in my hospital bag and asked a lot of my family members and friends for advice. Of course, there were some things that I didn't use, but there were also some things that I had to get or send my husband to buy. Luckily, though, my parents' house (where I was staying at the end of my pregnancy) was very close to the hospital, and the hospital itself was in a neighborhood close to baby shops and pharmacies. I also ended up staying in the hospital for 3 days and 2 nights, and so from my humble experience, I put together a list of things I have used in my stay, to hopefully help you with your packing :)

1. Going-home Outfit..  
For me, I found it was easiest to stay in my pajamas, so I put on my hijab and abaya, and it was
very comfortable. My water didn't break at all, so thankfully, my clothes stayed clean for me to wear on my journey back home; however, just in case, make sure you have spare clothes in case anything happens on the way!

2. Small Purse..
Make sure to have your important documents and belongings accessible and easy to reach. You're going to be in pain through your contractions and you don't want to open your whole bag and look for what you need - simply put everything important in a cross-body purse, such as your passport, ID, phone, hospital documents... etc, to have easier and faster access to them.

3. Nightgowns/ PJs..
Of course you're going to need clothes to sleep in! However, as I stayed in the hospital for 3 days and stayed in my fancy nightgown the whole time, it got dirty and smelly and so I had to change into another set of pjs.. So make sure to have a couple of nightclothes with you, unless you know that your hospital stay won't be long.
Try to get buttoned up nightclothes or nursing ones as they will make breastfeeding easier and more comfortable.

4. Nursing Bra..
Now that I'm 5 months into breastfeeding, I can say that having nursing bra isn't very necessary. However, when you're new to breastfeeding and finding everything uncomfortable or uneasy, wearing a nursing bra makes your life.. well, easier.

5. Socks & Slippers..
During labor, your feet might feel cold! So it's good to have socks with you just in case.. I actually ended up roaming the room in my socks only as my contractions became stronger. The slippers are also necessary for when you want to enter the toilet or even walk around.

6. Disposable Underwear & Large Menstrual Pads..
Of course, after delivery, you bleed, and so prepare yourself (both physically and mentally) for the floods! Wearing large maxi pads and disposable underwear was very comfortable for me as I could just throw away the pair when it got dirty.

7. Make Up!
Not too much makeup - just what you need for photos and when you have guests over.

8. Toiletries..
A toothbrush, tooth paste, comb, deodorant.. are all very important things; I also needed dry shampoo as I felt too dirty but too tired to shower. A razor for shaving might also come in handy.



1. New Born Outfits..  
As I said, I stayed in the hospital for 3 days. Therefore, I needed a onesie for when my baby was first born, another after her first bath which was the next day, and I had a third one with me in case of a blow-out emergency.
If you don't want to get a lot of new born clothes, of course you can put your baby in 0-3m clothes, but they're going to be very baggy 😊

2. Mittens & A Hat..  For when their cute, little hands and head get cold.

3. A Blanket..  To keep them warm and cozy.

4. Diapers & Wipes..  
Some hospitals provide diapers, but grab some diapers and wipes with you just in case you needed more.

5. A Pacifier.. 
Even though a lot of people are against pacifiers, I found it very helpful to have one with me.
I didn't give it to my baby until she was like, 2 days old, and she loved it. Some babies won't take it, though, so of course, it's up to you.

6. Toiletries & Towel..  
Again, the hospital may provide them for your baby, but in my case, the hospital didn't provide a towel or wash clothes, so I had to get mine with me the next day when they wanted to bathe her.

7. Installed Car seat.. 
Even though I just carried my baby in my arms while I sat in the back, some hospitals won't let you leave until the car seat is installed, for safety reasons.



In the list below, I also added some things your partner may need and extras for you to remember.
Of course, experiences vary as well as hospital "policies"; however, being prepared for everything keeps your mind at ease..



Hope you find this helpful if you're a first-time-pregnant-mommy-to-be! 😜
If you've already been through this, share with us down below what you have needed or packed but didn't need 💚

Until next time,
Aya

On July 10th, my life started to change.. I was still 12 days away from my due date so my mind was somewhat at ease.. "It's your first baby - of course you'll last through your whole month!"
However, that wasn't the case at all!

Wednesday, July 10th, 4:10 am..
I woke up with my family to pray Fajr, and that was when I saw it.. the 'mucus plug'.. A wave of mixed emotions flooded inside but I was, mostly, surprised. Through out the last months of my pregnancy, my husband would talk to the baby and ask her to wait until the 10th of July had passed! He had a lot of things to do and tasks to finish off before the baby's arrival, but I thought that wasn't the case. To make it even more complex, reading about the plug and what it means, articles on the web said cramps could start right away or after a few days!

10:00 am..
I didn't get much sleep thinking about what I saw earlier and what it meant..
I was going to meet my baby soon - what is this weird thing I'm feeling, is it a cramp or am I imaging things - will my husband be able to drop everything and come right away if I went now into labor  - SO many thoughts running through my mind but thankfully, being with my family distracted me a bit and so I was able to relax.
I was feeling inconsistent cramps which I considered to be braxton hicks.. They were very similar to third or fourth-day menstrual cramps, but they were nothing like what I had read or heard about, which made me really confused, so I contacted my doctor to see if I should pass by to get checked, and she advised to wait until the cramps got worse, but if I was still worried, I could pass by the hospital on Saturday to get checked and figure out what's happening.

5:00 pm..
My mom and I set a list of things to do every day until my due date and one task-to-do was to visit a friend of hers before she traveled and left the country for good. Luckily, she was also our neighbor, so the journey to her apartment was fast and short.
Standing at the door, I got my first strong cramp, but still, it was different from the cramps I read about and thought I should be having. The cramps started getting more consistent, but the pain was tolerable, and we stayed at mom's neighbor's place for a good hour or so..

8:00 pm..
Cramps are getting stronger and more consistent, like first or second-day menstrual cramps.. But then again, are they really cramps?! I read that they should start from the back and then move forward within my tummy, but I wasn't feeling that at all.

10:00 pm..
Dinner time!
My family and I sat down together to have dinner, and I decided to have a cup of instant noodles.
The cramps are increasing, and so I decided to start timing them on a app on my phone, and to my surprise, they were about 5 to 4 minutes apart. The pain was still tolerable, though much stronger than before, and so I decided to worry about it later and finish off my dinner (lol!)
On my way into the living room, I felt the strongest cramp yet. It was so painful I had to stand still and close my eyes until it passed. My dad saw me and he immediately called out to my mom, "honey! put your hijab on, we're going to the hospital", apparently he recognized that look from when my mom would go into labour, and so we both started to get dressed.
I prayed Isha', called my husband, and Alhamdulillah he was just done with his meeting and was headed my way.
And off we went to the hospital..

11:30 pm..
Cramps are getting closer, stronger, and 4 minutes apart. I got checked into the room and I was 4 cm dilated.. To manage the pain I kept walking around the room, and because I wanted to have a fully natural birth, I knew I had to manage my pain tolerance as much as I could, but it wasn't that easy after all.

Thursday, July 11th, 2:00 am..
There's something wrong - why are my cramps getting less painful?! I was still 7 cm dilated and so the doctor wouldn't see me just yet. I was now able to get up from the bed and walk around the room some more, and my mom and husband would take turns in staying up with me and taking a snooze in the prayer room downstairs.

3:30 am..
The pain was back - much stronger than before, and it would last longer, too.
I wasn't 10 cm dilated yet, but I kept on feeling the urge to push..

Then, the moment finally came.
I was 10 cm dilated.. The doctor came and I started to push..
My mom would encourage me by telling me I had a few more pushes until I'm done and I'm relieved..
The pain was unbearable.
I felt like I wanted to rip something open with my bare hands - or scream at the top of my lungs.
I wanted to bend down, hold my baby's head from inside me and pull her out so I could be done with the pain!
One second it was there..
The next, it wasn't.
An instant relief.

All the pain and hurting and the pushing; it all came to an end, and it was a beautiful feeling.. But better and more beautiful than that feeling was hearing my baby's first cries.
I wanted to cry, but no tears would come.. Laugh, but I was too tired to crack a smile!
All my birth plans of holding my baby right after the delivery or cord clamping delay went to waste as I didn't care anymore.
Is she okay? Does she have ten fingers and ten toes? What does she look like?
I looked at her and tried to soothe her as soon as I held her onto my arms and put her on my chest.
The nurse quickly ripped my hospital gown open from top so I could breastfeed her - or at least, attempt to.

Thursday, July 11th, 4:32 am.. My baby arrived into this world.
Thursday, July 11th, 4:32 am.. My life changed forever.
Thursday, July 11th, 4:32 am.. Was the day I understood how powerful I really am.
I appreciated my mom that day more than ever.
I felt God's blessings wash over me through out the whole day.
How? When? What happened?
Memories of that day would now flash across my eyes as I would look at the photos,
The pain? I only remember that I was actually in pain, but how bad? I don't remember at all!
How has time passed by so fast? Malak is four months old today but it doesn't feel like 121,667 days have passed.. 121,667 memories.. 121,667 new lessons I would learn everyday..

Alhamdulillah for all His blessings that I could never count 💕 
Alhamdulillah for all His blessings that I do and don't know 💕 
Alhamdulillah for the day that changed my life forever 💕 

One of the highlights of 2018 was visiting Europe with family twice.. The first time was with my in-laws and in the beginning of Summer where we visited the beautiful countries Austria and Slovenia 💗 The second time was with my family a few months after where we visited multiple cities in romantic France 🗼 and as both visits were filled with activities and places to visit, I'll breakdown the things we did in multiple posts so that I get to write the most I can without you getting bored 😉

Starting with our first trip which was in May and lasted around 10 days, we arrived in Munich, Germany where we met with the whole family and rented the cars. At the end of the trip we all traveled back to our countries from Munich Airport, so our trip was almost like a round trip through Austria and Slovenia then back to Munich through this route:


An important step prior to traveling, though, was to plan ahead 💡 (that's a light bulb, lol) and I mean planning everything, especially because we were traveling as a big group.. This phase took a very long time and effort from my husband and his brother-in-law who took on the mission of researching the cities we'll be visiting, the hotels we'll be staying at, the restaurants we'll be eating at, even the car we'll be renting - and we all sat down at the end and voted on what we'd like or not like to do, until we came up with the plan and schedule that would please all.. And even though it took a long time, it was absolutely worth it! And here are the best things to do and places to visit, starting with Austria:

Starting this post hasn't been as easy as I thought it would be..
Perhaps it's because it's bringing back so many memories of the 9 months that have passed, or even the 3 and a half years of marriage before them.. Maybe it's because being a mother has always been a dream of mine, and I still can not believe it happened!
Anyhow, my pregnancy journey started in October 2018, in the exact month my gynecologist told me I might have to take some kind of medication because my "eggs were too small".. TMI, I know, but I'm just mentioning this to show how much of a blessing it was to get pregnant, in that month, and before even starting that medication! Subhanallah.. Right then and there it fell in my heart that "Verily, when He intends a thing, His Command is, "be", and it is!"


However, we didn't know until mid November and what an unexpected, delightful surprise!
My husband and I told our families and we I guess that's when it started to sink in..

Alhamdulillah, I didn't suffer from any morning sickness at all - maybe it's because I was busy with my internship to even think about it, or maybe it's a genetic thing as my mom didn't have it as well - either way, I was pretty happy and blessed to have a smooth start.. However, I did feel tired most of the day, which was very normal..
A couple of months into my pregnancy I stopped interning and stayed at home where I rested better and focused on obtaining a healthier lifestyle in general, so I ate better, drank more water, and took my vitamins and all .. I also focused on memorizing Surat Al-Baqarah and made it my goal to finish it before the baby arrives 💖
As the months rolled by, I started noticing mild changes in my body, like my bust size and fast hair growth, I felt less tired, and acid re-flux started kicking in.. At first, it was rare and would go away once I take an Antacid medicine, however, as I was encouraged to drink lots of water through out the day, it became more irritating and harder to get rid of, and that's definitely one of the things I do not miss from my pregnancy :')

At 17 weeks, we visited the doctor for a routine check-up, and we got to know the gender of our baby! *yay* And when the doctor told us that "it" was a "she", so many thoughts and emotions ran through my head! I was so happy and excited; however, a bit nervous as I think I have "better experience" with dealing with boys since I have three younger brothers.. As for my husband kept calm and quiet for the rest of the visit but I could see his wide, shy smile whenever I looked at him..

So, since I'm here - again - and hopefully going to stick around for a little longer, I decided to give my blog a complete makeover!
The old posts and photos might clash with the new concept, but hopefully the new ones will get along better and give you a pleasant experience as you and I go through them..

Here's to a new beginning,

Bismillah <3

So it's been a year and a half since my last blog post, and SO many things have happened during that time.. I tried a few jobs and internships as a graphic and interior designer, traveled to Europe twice with my in-laws and once with my family, and both trips were amazing.. I guess I'll put up a couple of posts regarding those trips, especially that they were filled with activities and moving around countries and cities instead of sticking around in one place..

Yay! I finally graduated! - Well, I kind of was a graduate when I finished uni in May :P but the official ceremony was last week and everything was just perfect..