Is Ultrasound Scan safe for my baby?

I know that most people would not hesitate to do ultrasound the second they know they're pregnant, and just assumed it is safe since everyone's doing it. Why would you ever thought otherwise?

I happen to do some research readings on ultrasound safety as i had to do a presentation on an ultrasound topic. I think some mommies out there might appreciate a few things that I found out. I won't mention basic things like the basis of ultrasound is soundwaves(obviously) similar like those blind bats use to find their way about (subhanaAllah..)

1. Ultrasound has been done to scan babies since the past 5 decades without any obvious effects noted to the babies1. That means researchers actually compare babies who had ultrasound on them and those who did not (yes folks there was a time where mommies did not have a sneak peak at the babies in their tummies) and did not note of any congenital defects, cancer, mental illness, cognitive or intellectual or developmental effects resulting from it.

2. However there were a few studies that noted there was a 15 % higher chance of babies who had ultrasound earlier in pregnancy (less than 19 weeks of pregnancy) to not be righthanded (in our word-kidal), after adjusting factors which may contribute to them being non-righthanded such as family members with non-righthandedness. Source:Ultrasound in pregnancy and non‐right handedness: meta‐analysis ...

So does this mean that ultrasound actually had some subtle effect on the developing brains of the babies? It has yet to be confirmed as the researchers do not know whether there is a causal relationship or not between ultrasound and the outcome of non-righthandedness. And the bad (or good?) news is i don't think they'll ever know as nowadays it is kind of hard to find mothers without ultrasound done by 18 weeks of pregnancy. But since it's proven to be safe, there's no harm in having a left-handed kid, is there? Plus the advantages of having early scans are numerous and should not be sacrificed for this worry.

And I actually did secretly wish to be lefthanded during my student years before, as I love to eat while writing!

So I think my second daughter Adibah would actually thank me later for not having time to go for antenatal checkups when I was pregnant with her (I was a pediatric med officer at that time) and instead did frequent scans with her father being an obs medical officer;)

My third toilet training

Toilet Training 101

 i've been pending this for some time..waiting for the right time..(more like waiting for me to be ready mentally and time-wise..heh)to toilet train my third child.

so from my limited experience for 2 kids, here's the checklist of the child being ready: 

- able to indicate she want to urinate or poo (heck, she can talk like 5 words sentences already) 

- enough common sense to know that PU (pass urine) supposed to be in the toilet - can understand simple instruction and steps (step up, PU, step down, wash hands) 

- able to walk to the toilet herself (sheesh..who am i kiddin)

okay..so the largest hurdle is yourself.. as the most important thing is persistence and your time to to the training!

my prev babysitter used to say

'boleh bah..tiga hari saja"

huhu she's the one who pushed me to toilet train my first daughter.. 2years and 8/12 not toilet trained yet
 so with increasing usage of pampers..mind you, almost 1 pack of 70 finished last week for both of em, for her n baby, i felt it was high time for me to do it..

well, so moms, it really is up to YOU..no ifs and buts about it..your child won't like be miraculously one day be off pampers without your help. so i planned..and actually took extra leave of two days during a prolong weekend holiday just to take this thing off the shelf.

Day 1 

9am 1st PU (pass urine) in toilet..yaayy 

10 am..2nd PU..few drops// 11 am.3rd PU well done i thought 

12 pm- she slept..so had to put on that nappy 1.20 pm woke up 2pm after off nappy, tantrum..dun want to wear pants after going to the toilet..nak pamperssssssss! felt like crap..no support from maid also..who basically waiting for chance to put on nappy back also husband like OIC..or PBB for the matter..watch onli..well who would want to be part of a child's tantrum rite?

Day 2 

10 am PU in toilet 

12 pm slept..put on nappy 

2pm woke up..refused to BO in toilet..BO in nappy changed nappy..then no pampers 

3 pm said want to PU..hurried her to toilet..but stained her pants with urine a bit..well. at least not on the foor, no cleaning up hihi 

4.30 pm 1st success!! said want to PU..off pants, went on toilet, and wallah..:)

Day 3 

no nappy 10.09am..surprise! she told me she wanted to PU calmly and off pants and calmly PU on the potty! subsequently PU in toilet with no accidents alhamdulillah :)

alhamdulillah..knew my sweetiepie could do it..it just takes a bit of push and lotsa praises like you're a big girl now, just like kakak n dibah iman big girl, clever girl, pandai shishi in toilet dah see..kakak n dibah also not wearing pampers like iman! so, all the best and goodbye nappies! (at least during the day for now)

ok now back to thesis writing:)

my iman

RAMAI hamba Allah yang mengeluh: “Alangkah cepatnya hatiku berubah”. Sekejap kuat membara sengatan iman di hati, tetapi lama kelamaan pudar juga oleh sengatan syahwat yang berbisa. Jika dulu bersemangat mengkaji dan mengamalkan Islam, kini semangat itu menjadi surut disebabkan kesibukan dunia yang tak ada penghujungnya. Begitulah keadaan hamba yang semakin tenggelam ke dasar lautan duniawi tanpa menyedari nafas imannya semakin lemah dan akan mati lemas akhirnya. Beruntunglah sesiapa yang mahu memperbaiki imannya, menjaga dan melindungi iman seperti dia melindungi hartanya atau popularitinya supaya tidak musnah. Antara tanda punca kelemahan iman seorang hamba yang menyebabkan dia tersungkur di lembah dosa ialah: # Ibadat tidak berkualiti. Sesiapa yang berasa dirinya jauh daripada Tuhannya, terseleweng daripada jalan-Nya ataupun berhenti terlalu lama dalam permainan nafsu syahwatnya, kembalilah semula ke jalan Allah supaya dia dicintai Allah. Bawalah dua bekalan asas iaitu ibadat wajib dan sunnah. Mungkin ketika iman lemah dia tidak sama sekali meninggalkan kewajipan tetapi ibadatnya itu kurang berkualiti dan sedikit jumlahnya. Padahal, iman diukur menurut amalan wajib dan sunat yang boleh melahirkan jiwa hamba dekat kepada Allah. Rasulullah SAW bersabda dalam hadis qudsi yang bermaksud: “Allah berfirman: Tidaklah seorang hamba-Ku mendekatkan diri kepada-Ku dengan sesuatu yang paling Aku cintai selain daripada kewajipan yang Aku fardukan kepadanya. Dan hamba-Ku itu sentiasa mendekatkan diri kepada-Ku dengan ibadat sunnah sehingga Aku mencintainya.” (Hadis riwayat al-Bukhari). Ramai hamba Allah yang tertipu dengan amalannya sedangkan ia hanyalah umpama debu pada pandangan Allah. # Hati yang tidak khusyuk. Awal kerosakan amal ialah hati yang tidak dapat menghadirkan khusyuk. Penyakit itu akan bertambah teruk apabila ia meninggalkan karat kemalasan ketika beribadat. Berjumpa dan berhubungan dengan Allah tanpa wujud perasaan seolah-olah kosong dan hampa. Dia melakukannya sekadar mendirikan kewajipan saja, tetapi tiada kemanisan ibadat. Khusyuk hanya diperoleh dengan jalan mujahadah. Punca hilangnya khusyuk ialah hati terlalu keras. Cara melembutkan hati ialah dengan melemahkan nafsu. Sahabat membiasakan diri dengan sujud yang panjang pada akhir malam seperti mana sunnah yang diajarkan Rasulullah SAW. Baginda memanjangkan sujud dalam solat malamnya selama kurang lebih membaca lima puluh ayat al-Quran, begitu juga ketika rukuknya. Saat paling dekat seorang hamba kepada Allah ialah ketika dia sujud. Ia mampu melembutkan hati dan mengubat jiwa yang tenat tanpa iman. # Berlebihan dengan perkara yang mubah. Bercuti boleh meredakan ketegangan, menjamu selera dan membeli-belah baik untuk mengubat kebosanan, memakai pakaian yang indah dan mahal tidak dilarang, membeli perhiasan dan apa yang menyukakan hati boleh melahirkan kesyukuran kepada nikmat Allah Taala. Akan tetapi, perkara sebegini kadang-kadang membuat kita leka. Jika berlebihan segala aktiviti untuk memanjakan diri, dibimbangi akan melemahkan semangat perjuangan. Mengaburkan mata dan hati yang celik dan akhirnya larut dalam kesibukan dunia hingga melupakan akhirat. # Tidak menghadiri majlis ilmu. Manusia mudah lupa dan hilang pedoman hidupnya, tidak jelas matlamat, arah dan tujuannya. Siapa dirinya, berasal dari manakah dia, mahu ke mana dan apa yang mahu dicapainya? Semua itu memerlukan jawapan yang pasti tetapi manusia yang lemah iman sudah kehilangan matlamat hidupnya. Untuk mendapatkan kembali pedoman hidupnya supaya tidak tersalah jalan, dia perlukan hidayah iaitu ilmu Allah. # Mengalami gejala kesedihan dan kerisauan berlebihan. Apabila iman menipis, lupa kepada Allah, akan lahirlah perasaan sedih, susah hati dan murung. Benarlah firman Allah Taala yang bermaksud: “Hanya dengan mengingati Allah hati menjadi tenang.” Mengingati Allah maksudnya ingatan yang membawa kepada kegembiraan. Gembira dengan takdir-Nya, reda dengan jalan hidup yang dipilih untuknya, untung rugi harta, susah senang kehidupan kerana manusia lahir ke dunia dengan senario yang termaktub di Lauh Mahfuz. Setiap mukmin memiliki hati yang mampu berbisik mengenai keadaan imannya, siapakah yang paling mengetahui diri kita melainkan Allah Taala dan diri kita sendiri. Sumber: http://www.bharian.com.my/m/BHarian/Monday/Agama/20070708235051/Article/