Selepas minum susu, bayi itu menguap lalu tidur semula dalam buaian.

Malay often leaves out the subject when it is obvious from context.

In Selepas minum susu, bayi itu menguap..., the understood subject of minum is the same as the subject of the main clause: bayi itu.

So this means:

• Selepas minum susu = After drinking milk
• understood as After the baby drank milk

You could also say Selepas bayi itu minum susu... if you want to state the subject explicitly, but it is not necessary here.

Both can be possible, but minum is very common in everyday Malay, especially with familiar objects like drinks.

• minum susu = drink milk
• meminum susu = drink milk, but more formal or written in tone

In many real sentences, Malay uses the shorter base verb where English would still just say drink. So Selepas minum susu sounds natural and idiomatic.

Bayi itu means that baby or, depending on context, the baby.

In Malay, demonstratives usually come after the noun:

• bayi itu = that/the baby
• rumah ini = this house

So the order is different from English:

• English: that baby
• Malay: bayi itu

Very often, itu and ini can also help make a noun definite, so bayi itu may feel like the baby in context.

Yes, selepas means after.

In this sentence, selepas introduces an earlier action:

• Selepas minum susu = After drinking milk

Other common Malay words with a similar meaning are:

• setelah = after
• sesudah = after
• lepas = after / later / once finished, often more casual depending on context

Here, selepas is a very normal and natural choice.

Menguap means to yawn.

It is a verb formed with the meN- prefix:

• base/root: uap
• verb form: menguap

The prefix meN- often forms active verbs in Malay. Its exact shape changes depending on the sound at the beginning of the root. Here, it becomes meng-.

So:

• uap -> menguap = yawn

Here, lalu means something like then, and then, or after that.

So:

• bayi itu menguap lalu tidur semula
  = the baby yawned and then went back to sleep

It links two actions in sequence. It suggests that one happened and the next followed.

It is slightly more narrative than a plain dan:

• dan = and
• lalu = and then / then

Semula means again or back.

So:

• tidur semula = sleep again / go back to sleep

In this sentence, semula shows that the baby had already been asleep before, woke up, drank milk, and then slept again.

Malay adverbs often come after the verb, so:

• tidur semula = sleep again not usually
• semula tidur

Malay often avoids repeating the subject when it is already clear.

So in:

• bayi itu menguap lalu tidur semula

the subject of both verbs is still bayi itu:

• the baby yawned
• the baby went back to sleep

Malay commonly links verbs this way when the same person or thing does both actions.

Both may be understandable depending on the situation, but dalam buaian emphasizes being in the cradle, as if enclosed or situated inside it.

• dalam = in / inside
• di = at / on / in (general location marker)

A buaian is a cradle or swing-like bed for a baby, so dalam buaian is very natural when talking about the baby sleeping in it.

Buaian means cradle, baby swing, or swinging cot, depending on context.

It comes from the idea of something that can be rocked or swung. In this sentence, it refers to the place where the baby sleeps.

So:

• dalam buaian = in the cradle

Yes:

• Selepas = after
• minum = drink/drinking
• susu = milk
• bayi = baby
• itu = that / the
• menguap = yawned / to yawn
• lalu = then / and then
• tidur = sleep / slept
• semula = again / back
• dalam = in / inside
• buaian = cradle

A natural English rendering is:

• After drinking milk, the baby yawned and went back to sleep in the cradle.

The structure is:

Time clause + main clause

• Selepas minum susu = time clause (After drinking milk)
• bayi itu menguap lalu tidur semula dalam buaian = main clause

Inside the main clause:

• bayi itu = subject
• menguap = first verb
• lalu tidur semula = second action in sequence
• dalam buaian = location phrase

So the sentence flows like this:

1. first, the milk-drinking happens
2. then the baby yawns
3. then the baby goes back to sleep
4. the sleeping happens in the cradle