I'm almost reaching the end of my first pregnancy. How do I feel if you ask me. Eermm. Nervous, happy, scared, unknown. It's more towards:

'How will my life be after this little one is out?'
'Will my breast milk be enough?' 
'How do I plan to raise him?'
'Will he be healthy enough?'
'Which nursery do I want to place him?'
'Do I still have my ME time after having a baby?'
'Will I have enough sleep?'

The question are far more than what I listed and I understand that every women goes through a process of being a First Time Mother syndrome. I would say that I will definitely miss being pregnant. Being able to feel what it is like being kicked and punched from the inside. It's a feeling you can't explain. You'll even wonder 'How did I do that?'.

I've been through a smooth pregnancy for the whole of 9 months. Alhamdulillah. No complications or what so ever. Just the usual morning sickness, tiredness, sleepy, baby actively kicking and I do walk a lot throughout this process. I still do house chores as usual but at a slower pace because I didn't want to put unnecessary pressure on my body. As of work, I took it one step at a time. Whenever my work load is a lot, I'll take some break in between in order to not strain my mental and physical condition.

Juan has been supportive throughout this whole journey, so does my family. Whenever my parents come over, they would help me with some of the house work especially the laundry. Juan has been helping a lot in cooking dinner, washing the dishes, preparing my breakfast, He has been in charge of my diet for the past 9 months and making sure that I consume my supplement provided by the clinic like Vitamin B complex, Folic Acid, Vitamin C and Iron tablets.

I was away a few weekends ago with my parents. We traveled down south to Muar to visit my sister cause my dad misses her *but he was in denial*. I had the chance to step into her college and had the experience of how it looks like to be in med school *grine*. I wanted to be a doctor since I was small and that ambition has never changed until today but man, why must people create Maths??? Why oh why. I hate Maths to death and irony now is, I deal with numbers, day in and day out. Karma huh.

Anyway, on the day that I was coming back from Muar, Juan texted me, asking me to inform him once I'm at the border of Penang. It was weird cause he never does that. So I asked him if he prepares a surprise for me since my birthday is around the corner or perhaps he bought my favorite kuih? Neither both. So the next thing I thought was 'Habisla my car, sure accident'. It was not that too. I was too impatience that I asked him to tell me the whole story over Whatsapp. HE GOT INTO ACCIDENT a day before I came back.

So ten of thousands of question were thrown at him. Luckily he was not badly hurt although it left him with wounds on his knee, hands, stomach, elbow and a dislocated right arm. But he can't move a lot and that means, all the house chores are transferred to me *cry a bucket*. At least he's safe and nothing that was serious.

The first thing that came into my thick skull was 'Oh no, all house chores will be on me'. It's true. I don't blame him cause it was an accident.

I'm currently heavily pregnant so the rate of me doing housework? Don't even bother to mention. Even sweeping the house took me like 30 minutes. Let alone washing the clothes, cleaning up the kitchen, etc.

I'm grateful that although he's in pain, he never neglects his responsibility. I know it's hard and I can see that he's trying his best to help me out given the condition I'm in now. I can;t imagine if something worst were to happen to him.

Travel is not a reason that you can't put your makeup on, even the most minimal. You still wanna look good while exploring the world. But, bringing a bottle of makeup remover or cleansing oil can be leceh cause you need to bring that extra cotton face. Especially traveling with infant. You need everything to be fast and practical.

Women's body changes by time. Some will look pretty old for their age especially after you have had your first child. That's what I heard from experienced mothers. It scares me honestly. I didn't want to look like a 80 year old ah ma after giving birth to my first kid.

I've been pretty strict when it comes to taking care of my skin except for the past few months, I've been lacking of that discipline until I found myself carrying Gajah Jr. I knew that from that moment on, I can't be lazy. This mama gotta step up to her skin care routine.

I basically uses the same toner for day and night and Thayers has been my 2nd bottle. Each bottle could last me a year, usage of twice a week. It comes in a 375ml and I got them mostly from Lazada. This toner is great cause it's alcohol-free so it doesn't leave harsh effect on my skin. As for the serum, I have just started being a loyal customer to it. Serum is THE most important part of your skin care. As you grow older, your skin start to sag. Depending on your specific skincare concerns, you may need higher amounts of these valuable skincare ingredients with anti-aging benefits.

Serums shouldn’t contain sunscreen actives like a daytime moisturizer would or the emollients or light, texture-enhancing ingredients your nighttime moisturizer should have. Instead, serums use that extra space to pack in other beneficial ingredients such as more antioxidants or skin restoring ingredients—and these complement the other products in your routine.

A serum won’t replace your daytime moisturizer with SPF or your nighttime moisturizer, but they WILL boost your overall anti-aging results and overall healthy appearance when used morning and evening.

The Innisfree No Sebum loose powder is also something that I've been using constantly. It is a sebum control powder that allows for non-greasy, downy baby skin, Sebum absorption powder and mineral sebum control powder absorb excess sebum for a bright, downy skin as if presently putting on makeup.

It also contains Jeju natural minerals and mint for refreshing control of oil and moisture. Jeju natural minerals and mint restores an unhealthy balance of oil and moisture, leaving a refreshing finish. Absorbing excess sebum and oil for downy makeup and an even skin tone. This powder also absorbs excess sebum and oil to prevent makeup from becoming patchy, while correcting dull skin tone to keep the skin bright and radiant all day.

Day routine:


As I have been applying makeups a lot throughout my pregnancy, I had to get myself a good makeup remover which also a contact lenses friendly one. I found the Garnier during my trip back to Singapore last year. You see, when you're pregnant, not all pregnant women will have that glow you've always dream of. I didn't have that but I develop slightly dark circle. So I will pack my face with a thin layer of concealer or medium coverage foundation before applying my eye liner and blusher. Those are my go-to regime before heading out. I don't like heavy makeup but I would love to look presentable whenever I'm out. It makes me feel confident.

For night cream, I opt for the gel type which doesn't leave my skin oily especially on my T-zone. It feels light and absorb instantly into my skin. My skin doesn't feel dry the next morning and I love the scent too. Lightly scented.

Night routine:

I read somewhere from an online article that pregnant ladies will develop this 'glow' in their 2nd or perhaps 3rd trimester. I doubt it but one thing I'm glad that my hair fall problem is not severe like some mother-to-be. My hair is already thin since born, so I don't need those extra shedding.

I didn't really grow much except for my cheeks and my boobies (obviously it is due to milk production for the baby). I had to change my outfit size from S to M which for me, is still acceptable. I developed pimples especially on the chin during my 1st trimester but it wasn't that bad and soon it diminishes when I enter my 2nd and 3rd stage of pregnancy.

So far it has been a smooth ride, alhamdulillah. Except some slight discomfort at the abdomen, constipation problem (major!), slightly back pain, peeing more often than before (sometimes it's only a 5 minutes gap), trouble in sleeping cause the baby keeps kicking. Yeap, that's all I guess. And I noticed that I walked like a snail. I mean snail could be faster than me.

I've seen some pregnant women who's stomach is as big as a giant egg walk as though they're competing in a marathon. How do you ladies did that? I'm halfway panting here within a few steps from my car door. I wish I'd have requested for a maternity parking at the office. Okay, that part. The reason why didn't I get myself a maternity parking. I hate exercising which I know that is important for mother-to-be cause I love to sleep. So the only solution I can think of is walking to and fro from my car to my cube, twice a day. Or perhaps a brisk walk to our in-house mini mart. While weekends, instead of spending my time walking at the park, I'd rather walk at the mall, doing some window shopping or perhaps get myself 1 or 2 unnecessary stuff. Hahaha. Brilliant idea isn't it.

When I got married, I've always wanted to be one of those hot mama-to-be when I'm pregnant. I didn't want to be a pregnant lady who wears only baggy clothes, slippers and carry nothing on her hands. Let's use Marion Counter as our benchmark. Minus the Louis Vuitton bag, Chanel purse, Louboutin shoes that she always wear for her family outing. Can't afford those although I work my entire life.

So when I got into my 2nd trimester, the urge of beautifying myself was so intense that I started to purchase myself new makeup stuff. One of them is this Maybelline V face duo stick. It works wonder. Not only they practical but also easy to pack in my handbag. It is not oily and lasted the whole day unless you wipe them off.

Features one contouring shade on one end and a shimmering highlighting shade on the other, these retractable “bullets” are angled for precise application and the cream base delivers a natural, blendable finish. This product gives a precise contoured look fit for daily wear.

It comes in 2 colors. medium or light. You can purchase it via Hermo Malaysia.

With our all year round hot weather in Malaysia, a good sunscreen is important in our daily skin care regime. Not just that, make sure that most of the products you used are made from natural ingredient. Zaman sekarang, everyone is so health conscious. So semua orang nak beli produk yang natural.

Suncreen is important because it protects your skin from the harmful rays of UVA and UVB that could lead to skin cancer, freckles, sunburn, over a time period due to long exposure to this elements.

I have sensitive skin and prone to breakouts if I use the wrong skin care. But surprisingly, this sunscreen doesn't give me all that. Instead it helps make my skin more refine and my pores are getting smaller. My skin doesn't feel sticky or oily after application. So I don't need to apply any foundation, just some dash of blusher and lipstick. It also doesn't leave this off white effect on your skin. Unlike certain sunscreen, after application, you can see that you skin tone is 1 or 2 tone lighter than the original.

What's good about Koqipop sunscreen?
1. It moisturizes your skin
2. Instant whitening and glowing effect
3. Covers up scars and freckles
4. Contains SPF 50++ that will protect your skin from the harmful UVA and UVB

I've been using it only a week plus yet I've seen some slight improvement on my skin. Imagine if continuous usage. I love the small packaging that could fit in your handbag. Light enough to put in your pocket too. Easy to carry around and it smells so good too.

For more info, visit byalexablue_instantshawl page today.

*Results from the use of Beauty product above may vary depending upon the individual and will depend on multiple factors, including your age, gender, skin type and condition, use of other products used, health history, lifestyle, diet and others

When I found out that I was pregnant at 6 weeks, the first thing that came to my mind was 'Okay, who's gonna take care of this kid when I'm away at work?' Yeap, even as early as 6 weeks, this question came to my mind. I hate last minute planning because I prefer a Plan A that comes with Plan B and Plan C. Call me psycho but that's how I am. Planning revolves around me.

Getting a REALLY GOOD child care center today are hard, let alone a nanny itself. Getting an old aunty to take care of an infant, you worry that they might be too old to attend to your child (although they have more experience in handling a baby). If you find the younger ones with a 2 year old kid to take of your baby, your child might not get the attention needed. Taking care of an infant requires a lot of your time because feeding time can be very often compare to a child who is on solid food.



Secondly, not everyone has the patience to take care of a baby. Even if you send to a professional child care center, an employee will need to attend to at least 3 babies per individual. It might sound reasonable. But the cost of a child care center is also not cheap. You want a good one, then you need to forget about the monthly allowance you kept to buy the latest Chanel handbag. I'm talking about the medium income wage earner here.

Thirdly, when the kid is big enough to feed himself, sit, walk all by himself, it gives you some slight sense of relieve because you know that they know when they're hungry or when they're full. Slightly independent stage. Unlike babies, they don't know how to hold their own milk bottle which sometimes can cause choke and death. Nanny or caretaker can't watch them 24/7 can they?


So I spoke to my mum on this and she suggested that she'll take care of the baby until he's like 1 year old, then we'll send to a nursery where the cost is slightly cheaper compare to the cost of an infant. They varies according to age. Plus I wanted to send my kid to a good nursery where I know he will not just sleep and eat. At least, there are some activities for his motor skills, learning other languages, learning about basic courtesy or perhaps a swimming class would be great. I'm a kiasu mother-to-be, yes, I am.

I've never really agree to send my kid to their grand parents as we know they can be spoil in certain ways but when I access the pros and the cons of sending my kid to a child care center at a very young age, it's better for the baby to be at stage where he can be slightly independent. Plus, I've witness how my parents took care of my sister, I know that my kid can be discipline from young. I want my kid to have a good foundation like sleeping time, potty trained, disciplined eating time, someone to read bedtime stories, someone to teach basic courtesy. A more systematic kind of discipline.

With both husband and wife working and with the ever demanding increase in cost of living, we can no longer rely on single income. The basic needs of a household can only be fulfilled with both spouse working. You no longer have the privilege to let your spouse be the only sole bread winner.

So sometimes, it's okay to get help from your parents or family members, if they don't mind. Discuss and get their consent before agreeing to anything.At least you know your kid is in a good hands.