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..

Belated eid mubarak lovies! and AH it's been so long!!!!! X.x
Hope you're all doing okay :3

For this post, imma show you the three outfits I wore on Eid <3 Tell me what you think and tweet me your outfits for eid! ;)


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DAY NUMERO: ONE!

I invited my in-laws and my husband's family for lunch on the first day of eid, and so in between cooking and making the house look neat, I barely had time to choose an outfit! So I went with this dress which I have featured in this post on eid long ago - I actually bought it a couple of years ago but barely wore.. and so I threw on this ensemble as I had to keep it modest:

Dress - Splash White Shirt - Burberry (I just went for the first white shirt I could find!)  Hot pink chiffon scarf

Alhamdulillah, the lunch went good as planned :') and we had a great time..


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DAY NUMERO: TWO!


We spent this day with my family who came from Abu Dhabi to see us and my aunt. We all had lunch in a Syrian restaurant (hehe), we then visited my aunt's house, and finally we invited them over to celebrate my dad's birthday.. and this was my outfit for the day:

White skirt - a Syrian store that was named 'Elle' Blue Shirt - Bursa Turkish store, Sharjah Floral jacket - a replica of an apparently very expensive brand :$ Shoes - Shoe Mart

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DAY NUMERO: THREE!


The final day I spent with both my in-laws and my parents, as my in-laws visited my folks in Abu Dhabi.. It was an evening visit, so this is what I wore:

Black skirt - Marks and Spencer Black twins - hand embroided from Lebanon Scarf - handmade in Syria Shoes - Milano

For that visit I wore an all black outfit which made me look thinner (yay!), and the shoes were so high I had to take a picture of them like this!

Overall, my eid was amazing, Alhamdulillah.. I spent it with all my family members, to whom I thank Allah for allowing us all to be together, safe, and happy..


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How did your eid go? Tell me all about it in the comments below <3


Until the next blogpost! Salam! <3

Subhanallah, how time flies! Ramadan is once again nearby, exactly when we, I especially, are in need; for its blessings in time and actions, as well as its spiritual flows and energy.
As the days until we meet our beloved month become less, I decided to plan my month ahead as I usually end up coming up with my own schedules and plans spontaneously but run out of time to actually accomplish my goals. Therefore, I wrote down seven things I want to focus on or start doing this Ramadan. Of course accidental changes of plans may occur, but never the less, planning how I want to fill my days beforehand gives me a clear view of where I'm standing now and how I want to become 30 days later.

Also, I chose these focal points based on things I have started but stopped doing, as well as wish to start doing to improve my health, both spiritually, and physically..



1. As I usually focus on reading Quraan and finish the biggest number of khitmas I can do, I decided to focus on memorizing Quraan as well.
In fact, I have already started memorizing the Holy Book, but sadly, my enthusiasm and will slowly started to diminish, until I eventually stopped. That's why, inshallah, I'm planning to start memorizing again this month and finish memorizing at least 3 parts!

2. Other than improving my five daily prayers and taraweeh at the end of the day, Inshallah, I'm willing to pray an 'extra day' every day; meaning that I would pray Fajr, Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Ishaa every day instead of those that I previously prayed incomplete, like if I wasn't focused well, and so on.

3. Not only does paying 'sadaqah' improves and purifies ones physical well-being, it also improves their gifts and blessing from Allah, as the Prophet PBUH has taught us. In fact, I strongly believe in improving bad situations and good ones by paying even a very small amount of money. And so, I decided, to train myself on paying daily, especially during Fajr for its many blessings.

4. The number 400 just jumped to my mind and so I thought, why not!  Zikr, or the mentioning of Allah's name as well as praying upon the Prophet PBUH are also my focal points this Ramadan, and inshallah I'll try to do as many as I can..

5. Inshallah, I will start watching less Youtube, and therefore reducing my addiction to it. However, that doesn't include watching beautiful series and videos such as the ones I previously mentioned here, as well as a new set of episodes set to be released in Ramadan like the ones of Alhabib Ali Al Jifri and Ahmad AlShugairi.

6. Praying with the same terms and for the same intentions may lead to feeling bored or unenthusiastic about praying anymore and asking God for His blessings. Therefore, Inshallah, I'm intending to start changing my prayers, phrases, and intentions every night to increase my 'dictionary', and prabably find more beautiful ways to praise God and ask Him, Al Mighty, for His blessings.

7. Lastly, but probably most importantly, repentance. Ramadan always leaves its impact on me by reconnecting me to my beautiful religion and Merciful God, and inshallah this Ramadan I am planning to do the same, by repenting from what I have done before and starting a new chapter..

I guess this will become a checklist and a continuous reminder of what I want to change and accomplish this Ramadan, so.. may Allah help me and you by using every second of this holy month to please Him and improve our lives to the better, inshallah..

Salam lovelies! and happy mothers day to all of you mothers and mothers-to-be <3
Today's blogpost is about the four dresses I recently bought from Annah Hariri's online store ... Thankfully, they also had a branch here in Dubai which made it so much easier for me to edit the dresses to fit me perfectly!


~(˘▾˘~) The first dress is the beautiful White Tobe Abaya which I instantly fell in love with!
It has a black fabric belt which you can choose to wear or not, and it zips from the back... It fits like a dress eventhough it's an abaya, which makes it very light to wear and go out with.. I'd usually wear this with a black scarf, a black bag, and black shoes - However, it would also look beautiful with red accessories and detailing.


However, with the advantage of it fitting like a dress, what you should wear underneath it should be somewhat light and thin so that it doesn't show under the white, nor does it puff your chest up...



~(˘▾˘~) The second dress is the Dark Blue Aka Dress, which is super elegant, super comfy, and even has pockets!!
I wore this dress to events like my sister-in-law's graduation and it looked amazing as I styled it with the Beige Jersey Scarf I bought from the same store, a beige clutch, and beige/brown shoes.


I also wore my gold watch, and put on very simple bronze makeup to match the whole scheme.
As much as I love this dress, the only 'disadvantage' is its cut which makes it look like a maternity dress eventhough it's not - I guess that means I'll get to wear it when I'm pregnant inshallah, but for now, it does give me a puff in my belly area...



~(˘▾˘~) Because I loved the previous dress, I got the exact same one but with a different color: the Red Aka Dress.
It has the exact same cut which means I have the pockets (yay!), but also a small 'pregnancy puff'. I would wear this dress with either white accessories, such as a white scarf etc., or black with touches of gold, which gives it more glamour.


Because of the bright color, I can't really wear this dress outdoors by its own, so I'd usually wear a black abaya over it just to draw less attention to myself and the dress...



~(˘▾˘~) The last addition to my wardrobe is the Aksel Dress which my husband actually picked out for me!
I  was a bit hesitant to wear it at first because I thought it would make me look plumper, but it - thankfully - didn't... We added a belt of the same print as a statement peice, and I'd match the dress with a blue silk scarf, blue shoes, and a white clutch whcih I got from Nine West.


The dress fits beautifully and - I know it's weird - but I love it's sleeves (hehe). I also like how wide it is from the bottom, and the colors really look lively, especially that it's almost Spring and afterward Summer.


Hope you guys liked my choices, and make sure you check Annah Hariri's amazing creations and collections, as they represent modesty, as well as beauty and elegance <3

Assalamualaikom everybody and I hope you're all having a great day/evening/night! This is a new series I decided to start as I am getting used to cooking now - or so I like to believe - and therefore I can share with you some yummy recipes I am cooking at home.

For this blogpost, i'll share with you the simplest and easiest salad you can make, as well as the delicious 'Greek' chicken platter I made yesterday ~


(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ Green Salad :


This salad is the easiest to make - seriously. All you need is your favorite vegetables, chooped and tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and salt! The portion and dressing depends on how much you eat and how you like it.. My husband and I usually have one tomato, one cucumber, and about five leaves of lettuce, with the juice of half a lemon.



(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ Greek Chicken Platter:


I found this dish online and instantly wanted to make it as it looked so delicious! All you need is:
❃ Chicken - I had 7 skinless chicken drumsticks.
❀ Potatoes - I cut two big potatoes into quarters and smaller pieces.
✿ Garlic - for the seasoning, I used about 6 cloves which I cut very small
❁ Olive Oil - for the seasoning, just to mix everything well.
✾ Lemon juice - for the seasoning, I squeezed half a cup of lemon juice which was about two and a half lemons.

Salam peeps! I'm back with another DIY project, one in which I really love and wanted to share with you <3
Melting crayons has been a trend for quite some time on the net, and my friend, Jana, and I once created beautiful canvas using the technique of sticking bare crayons on the top of our canvas and a quote of our choice using foam core board the way we wanted, and melted the crayons vertically using the blow dryer... Mine's on the left, and Jana's on the right:




The end result was quite adorable, not so perfect though, but it doesn't matter! It was so much fun to make that I decided to create another canvas using a different technique, and this is how I did it ~







The things I used were:

(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ A background to work on as this project is a bit - very - messy. I first used a black A2 paper, later to find out that I needed more coverage of the floor as the crayons splashed everywhere!
☜(⌒▽⌒)☞ A canvas, of course.
☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜) Crayons, and I used the colors green of different shades, same with the red, and white.
☜(⌒▽⌒)☞ A plastic knife to hold the crayons in place as I heated them.
(☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞ I chose to have the word 'DREAM' on my canvas, and so I traced and cut it from a foam core board. I also doodled a little bit on the letters, but you'll see how I changed that later on.
☜(⌒▽⌒)☞ Finally, of course, a blow hair dryer..








☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜) It truly looked beautiful especially as I tried to blend in the colors together, but I then decided to use the previous method as well to add more color and direction to the canvas. So I placed the colors in the direction I wanted and heated them up, later to remove the pieces and place the letters in their positions to hide the traces.
















☜(⌒▽⌒)☞ At first I was happy with how the letters looked, but then I decided to carry on with the flowing concept I had created and drew dripping shapes on the letters.

I then filled the shapes with glue using a hot glue gun to create a 3D effect and painted the letters in white acrylic paint.

Alhamdulillah, it turned out beautiful as I set it near my bed on a wooden holder I got from from a cheap Japanese store called Daiso.





If you liked this DIY make sure to try it yourself and tweet me your creations! Until the next blogpost, keep dreaming x