Can't believe Ramadan is here now! I know I haven't preparing this Ramadan quite well this time around because I have been feeling overwhelmed with the pregnancy. Yes, this Ramadan is different than the usual Ramadan for me because I will pregnant while fasting! So I do have to be very mindful of my health and baby's health, hence why planning a routine is very crucial to keep baby healthy and still fasting without any issue.
I can still remember how my last two Ramadan went like - exhausting. Usually in Ramadan I will be all out in giving my best effort in everything e.g. prayer, reading Quran, i'tikaf, tarawih at the masjid, etc. I never mind being too tired because Ramadan is such a precious month that you don't want to pass the time just doing nothing. This is the special time of the year where the rewards of all your deeds are multiplied by multiple multiple times! This year, I have to be very realistic... make sure I don't get too tired so I can still be fasting during the day.
EAT HEALTHY AND DRINK MORE
It is important that your body is getting enough food to feed the baby. Don't worry about gaining weight due to midnight snacks or meals, you have to eat and store some fat so the baby can stay healthy while you're fasting at daytime. I eat a couple of times throughout the evening which consists of snacks and big meals. Because we always break our fast on the road, I always packed a light snack for ifthar, like croissant or bread with chocolate sprinkles. Then when we reach home, we'll have a light meal that doesn't take long to prepare (or you can also make a big batch beforehand to avoid extra cooking time), for example scrambled eggs with red bell peppers or spaghetti bolognaise (eat in small portion of course :)).
And don't forget to drink lots of water because baby needs water to keep his 'home' comfortable and also to keep you hydrated. I'm really bad at ensuring that I drink at least 8 glass of water, but I can get quite close to that. So, I usually drink one glass at ifthar, another glass or two after light meal, another one or two after the big meal or while reading the Quran, another one when doing midnight prayer, and another one at sahoor.
SORRY, I HAVE TO MISS TARAWEEH AT THE MASJID
Taraweeh at the masjid is one of my must-do thing during Ramadhan. I will try my best as much as possible to follow the taraweeh prayer at the masjid. I remember back to when before I got married, usually after work I would run to the nearest masjid from my office follow the taraweeh prayer. And last year I tried to do taraweeh at IQRO as much as possible in the cold winter nights. But because now I'm working full time, pregnant, and I didn't want to get overly tired, I now prefer to have taraweeh prayer at home. Sometimes my husband would become the imam if he couldn't make it to the masjid.
GOAL: KHATAM DURING RAMADAN
This month is one of those crazy month at the office. I'm really afraid I couldn't complete the Quran like last year. Last year I think I was pushing it too hard on trying to do everything at the masjid (taraweeh, listening to the lecture, etc) everyday and at the end I got very exhausted so I wasn't able to keep up with my Quran by the end of Ramadan. It made me really sad and disappointed. So, this year I want to make sure that I khatam the Quran during Ramadan. What I've planned is... while doing taraweeh at home, I will just read the short ayat from the book which this will help me to complete the Quran (it's like sekali menyelam dua-tiga pulau terlampaui). In 8 rakaat I can finish 8 pages, and then the remaining 16 pages I can read throughout the day/evening like after subuh or before bed.READ QURAN AT TIMES WHEN I'M ALLOWED TO EAT
Perhaps this is only me, but I my throat can get dry easily by reading Quran and I would have to drink after reading a couple of pages or otherwise my reading pace will slow. Also, I tend to get really sleepy when reading, thus if I don't have snacks with me I will just fall asleep. My problem with reading Quran while fasting is that I can't drink or eat! And somehow daytime just pass really fast and I don't quite have time to read during the day due to my workload during this month (like I've mentioned, it's one of the craziest month for me!). So, the only time I have is night time, so I try to complete my juz for the day at night and before fajr.
SHIFTING WORK HOURS
I'm fortunate enough that my workplace is quite flexible. So during Ramadan I opted to come early to the office (8am) and leave early (4pm). Why? Because sunrise is at 7am and there's no point of sleeping again after subuh which is now starts at around 5.30am! So, I thought I'll just leave for office early at 7am. And since we also need to catch up with maghreeb, isha and taraweeh (all within a very short time window!) which is around 5pm - 7pm, it will also be good if we can leave the office early so we don't have to look for a masjid or prayer place while on the road.
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Planning really helps to achieve your Ramadan goals and helps you to make the most out of your time. Just bear in mind that you have to be realistic. If you're pregnant, don't push yourself too hard because you need to think about the baby too. If you're single, don't forget look after your health, because you don't want to get sick during Ramadan in these winter days as it will definitely affect your ibadah!
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