Author: nabilaasad

How Our Love Story Unfolded (not) at ITB

nabilaasad Leave a Comment
Processed with VSCO with preset

We finally visited ITB after we got married

In the past two days, we had been celebrating the 100th anniversary of Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB), which also marked the 100th year of engineering study in Indonesia. As an alumnus, a daughter of an alumnus, and a wife of an alumnus, I, of course, had been joining this celebration (later I refer to as #100TahunITB). On social media platforms, #100TahunITB came with a myriad of nostalgic moments posted by its alumni — ranging from their unforgettable (shameful) moments, graduation days, till their love story.
Continue Reading >>

My Motherhood Journey in the Last 21 Months: Guilty as Charged!

nabilaasad 4 Comments

Photo by Artur Ihnatov on Unsplash

I remember clearly the moment I encountered when I put my baby, A, to her daycare last Monday: a mother was hiding behind the wall while her husband calmed their toddler-age son. The caretakers were trying to persuade the mother to come upstairs, “it’s okay, mama, come here and hug your son.” But she was still there, behind the wall, holding on her tears.
Continue Reading >>

One Mama’s Review: I Sent My Baby to a Daycare

nabilaasad 1 Comment

The picture was taken from here.

When I figured out I was pregnant at the beginning of my Doctorate study, I was left with a big question: Who will take care of my baby?

The answer wasn’t that simple because as you might have known already, my husband and I currently live abroad, and our families are in Indonesia. In both of our families, children were taken care of by the mother since both of our mothers were a housewife or the grandparents in the case of some of my cousins. However, those were not the option for us. The only option for us was a daycare. The final decision of which daycare was taken with much of considerations and of course, long discussion.
Continue Reading >>

Introducing Baby A to the Joy of Traveling: Our First Attempt(s)

nabilaasad Leave a Comment
  I heard this: traveling with a baby — famously known as a demanding tiny human being— could be quite challenging. Yet, my husband & I couldn’t leave our passion for traveling way behind with the excuse of having a baby. Although we haven’t brought her for a long-haul flight — ps. her home country is a 20h flight away from Portugal– we have been introducing her to the joy of traveling bits by bits. Continue Reading >>

Is #BreastfeedingAnywhere Really OK?

nabilaasad Leave a Comment
#BreastfeedingAnywhere while waiting for a tram. Baby A was inside the jarik

An indoor venue like a shopping mall is not my preferable place to wander around. I prefer to go outdoor below the sun’s shade or the moonlight. This fact doesn’t change after I have a baby. But as a new mama of an almost 8-month-old baby girl and a still-in-learning-phase breastfeeding mama who loves wandering around, I find that breastfeeding is quite challenging. Especially in an outdoor setting where there isn’t any nursing room available (most of the times!).

Continue Reading >>

My Youth Crushes, a Contemplation on “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”

nabilaasad Leave a Comment
 Taken from imdb.com. Image courtesy of Netflix. 

Who has watched Netflix’s movie adaptation from a best-selling novel with the same title, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”?

Who did get the euphoria after watching it?

Who did go back in time to teenage life and its sweet time of having a crush on boy(s)?

Continue Reading >>

The Day Aisha was Born

nabilaasad 3 Comments

Dear Aisha our firstborn,

February 8th, 2018 is one of the most memorable days for Mama, Papa, your Grandparents, and those who love you. This date will be celebrated as your birthday later in the future. You will receive congratulatory messages from your friends, a celebratory family dinner, and sometimes a surprise party.
Continue Reading >>

Being a Pregnant Woman in Portugal: the Administration & Check Up

nabilaasad Leave a Comment

Maternity Book or Boletim de Saudé da Grávida

I came to Portugal when I was in my second trimester of pregnancy. I had had several checkups at the OB/GYN every month when I was in Indonesia, but then I need to continue my checkups here in Portugal. Having said so, different country, different rule, and standard. I was lucky that I met some Indonesian friends who had given birth in Portugal several years ago and they helped me a lot during my pregnancy. Therefore, I want to do the same through this blog post. Hopefully, it could help anyone (foreigner especially) to have safe and joyful pregnancy here.
Continue Reading >>