Boob Juice.

Since I got to know I was pregnant, I’ve made up my mind to breastfeed. How hard can it be right? Just shove it up his mouth and he’ll be contented. Boy, was I wrong!

Within my first hour with him, the nurses had guide me on how to nurse him. Seems pretty easy during the first 48 hours. It was painful but bearable. Somehow, it became more difficult for him to latch on. On the second day, my milk started to come in. I was extracting colostrum using a syringe before that (nurses taught me how! it’s kinda amazing). I was getting full syringes and on the second day, my milk started to come in. Alhamdullilah! And then I started to get engorged and the syringes weren’t cutting it. So I requested for a breast pump and pump, I did! I was still trying to latch him then. Only once in a while, we would feed him expressed milk by using a syringe. Nipple confusion and all. He was more contented.

So that was when my journey as an exclusively pumping(EP) mum begins.
God knows I tried to latch him so bad even when we were home. He would just cry and choke. Probably because the flow of milk was too fast for him.

Avent Single Electric Breastpump

This  was the first pump I used. It works pretty well. It can be used as a manual and an electric pump. It was working so well untill the third day we were home. I couldn’t switch it on. So I have a baby that wouldn’t latch and rock hard, aching boobs. How now, brown cow? Hubs and I headed to Kiddy Palace and bought ourselves a new pump.

Medela Swing

This was my mistake. I should have bought a double pump instead. This single pump is better for mummies who direct latch. It is time consuming for EP mums. So that it why I’m trying selling my Medela (comment if you are interested!). I used it for about 2 months because now, I’m currently using…..

Medela Pump In Style Advance

Cuts my pumping time to half, strong suction. Life saver. Recently, I’ve also purchased Freemies to use with my PISA when we are out. We took a roadtrip to KL recently and I was able to pump conveniently using them Freemie.

So instead of using the funnels, these babies are placed inside your bra and you can pump away. Granted, you look like you had a badly done boob job. But it’s definitely better than exposing your boobies.

I’m glad to say that I have not purchased even a can of formula for my baby.
I’m blessed to be able to breastfeed him, even if it’s not direct from the source.
Not all mummies are as fortunate.

My short term goal is to breastfeed till he is 6 months.
My long term is to be able to do it till I eventually dry up.
I’ve invested time and money to this EP thing.
Honestly speaking, I would have given up if not for the help that I get with baby.
I am able to pump while my parents take care of him.
I would have resorted to formula a long time ago if I was the only one taking care of him.

My main priority is to maintain and increase supply of milk.
But I shall save that for another entry!

BabyA’s Milestones: 10 Weeks

Baby A @ 6 weeks.

Yes, I know that my entries have been all about my precious little munchkin. But hey, I’m an obsessed mother, like any other first time moms.

At 10 weeks, he is able to ‘talk’ in his own baby language. He has been able to respond and make eye contact with the person who is talking to him or a toy that we waved in front of him.

At 10 weeks, he has been waking up lesser at night. Mostly, he would wake up once at about 3am and 6/7am. But for the past 2 nights, he had been sleeping for 8 to 9 hours straight. Alhamdullilah! While I’m glad that he is sleeping through the night, it also means that I’ll miss my middle-of-the-night pumping session and wake up engorged with a wet patch on the bed. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. I’m not complaining. A happy baby is a happy mummy.

He has made a routine for himself, which is good. I kinda know what to expect. Fortunately for me, he is very easy to please. He rarely cries. By crying, I mean full-on-highest-octave-shaking-tears. He usually just whimper and ‘complains’ in his baby language. My dad very pantang to hear him whimper the slightest bit. He will surely carry and entertain him.

I’m glad that he doesn’t cry at the sight of people that he doesn’t meet often. I know babies his age who does that. We make it a point to let him spend time with my in-laws at least once a week so that he will be familiar with them. Last weekend, we even left him with them while we ran some errands.

He is very much loved by both families. I’m glad to know that I am able to trust my families to take good care of him.

And you know what’s the best part of my day?
It is to be at the receiving end of his first smile of the day. I kid you not. He will flash me a megawatt smile the moment he wakes up and sees my face. It is his brightest smile.
Super precious!

My handsome prince @ 9 weeks.

Till the next entry, much love from me and Baby A  ❤

Staycation: NUH!

Little A is peacefully sleeping beside me.I shall take this time to blog about my experience in NUH. Like many mother-to-be, choosing the right hospital and the right gynae is crucial. I mean, come on, you are entrusting this person to bring your child into the world. So after finding out I was pregnant (I was about six weeks along when I first found out), I started reading up on forums about childbirth experiences in the different hospitals, be it private or public hospitals. My first check up was at Raffles Hospital. Saw the gynae and confirmed our pregnancy. We had to pay more than $150 for a 5 minute consultation. I wasn’t too keen about how much I had to pay. Since it was still early in the pregnancy, I did more research and in the end, we decided to go public. We chose NUH for several reasons.

1. $$$ – Having a baby is not cheap. We all know that. We wanted to save every penny that we could. Therefore, why not max out our benefits in a public hospital and get the best out of it? Also, what if there was some complication with the pregnancy? It will cost more to be at a private hospital.  I chose to be a ‘private’ patient with NUH. Private meaning that the same gynae will be with me throughout my pregnancy and labour. From my understanding, subsidised patients will see the gynae on duty that day instead of having a fix gynae.  We had financial counselling during my 32nd week check up. During that session, the staff explained to us the different components of the cost like how much deposit we have to pay etc. Another important point to note is that the hospital allows patients to downgrade in case of any complications. For example, even though I booked an A-ward, I could downgrade to a B/C ward (more subsidies) in case of a complication during labour or with the baby. Alhamdullilah, everything went well and we spent lesser than we thought we would.
2. Location– 10 minutes drive from home. Very accessible via public transportation. Less than $10 by cab.
3. Gynae– I probably would still be switching to another hospital if I wasn’t happy with my gynae. But Alhamdullilah, I was more than happy with her. My gynae was Dr Su Lin Lin. Initially, I requested for another doctor. But she wasn’t available. Again, after reading forums and reviews, I requested for Dr Su. She is very soft spoken, motherly figure who is willing to answer any questions you have. The only downside is that she does not have weekend clinic and therefore, all my check ups have to be on a weekday morning.

So with that, we began our journey with NUH! The first 2 check ups, I remembered that I had to wait for 1 to 1 1/2 hr to see Dr Su. It was because she had to go to deliver some babies. Subsequently, the waiting time was shorter. Like many preggos, the best part of my check ups was listening to baby’s heartbeat. It gave us a peace of mind to know that little bubs was doing great. Fast forward to after delivery, like mentioned in my previous entry, the A ward was full during my first night. Therefore, I was at a B ward which was a 4- bedder. The pain started to seep in then and I was running a fever. After everyone went home, I was left with the baby. I was quite scared because, well, it was my first time being alone with the baby. The nurses checked up on us a few times. But mostly, it was just us. It is the hospital’s policy for the baby to ‘room in’ with mummy as to bond (first 24 hours is crucial) and to breastfeed. I panicked every time he makes a noise as I was afraid of waking up other mummies and babies in the ward. But luckily he wasn’t wailing or anything. The night passed and soon a nurse came to take out my catheter. I was told that I have to pee a certain amount within the next 6 hours. Let me see. How do I describe my first time pee-ing after delivery? It wasn’t painful. It wasn’t pleasant either. Just a little ngilu. It’s more psychological than it was physical. I was afraid that it will hurt. But no lah, not that bad. I realised I hadn’t shower in more than 24 hours. So I waited for hubs to came and he assisted me. Again, I was afraid that it was going to hurt. But it was one of the best feeling ever! Hubs then left for Friday prayers. Time tu jugak they wanted to transfer me to the A-ward(which was in another building). So they had to wheel the baby, me and my barang-barang!  A few of my colleagues and friends visited. My in-laws all took half day to visit us(AWWWWWW!).

The first night, the hospital prepared a ‘candlelight’ dinner for the hubs and I.

Candlelight la sangat. My mother, my brother and my SIL was with us. My niece was running around and climbing everywhere. Not that I mind. It was nice to share. Although I could choose my dinner, it was still hospital food. It was still pretty tasteless. But ‘A’ for presentation! Here are some meals that I had.

This was breakfast. Milo with almost every meal. Pancakes were soft and fluffy.

My favourite meal of my stay. Chicken chop with rice, side salad, soup. Eclairs and a fruit platter(dragonfruit and honeydew) for dessert.

Lunch before I discharged. The tiramisu was awesome!

I will totally go back to NUH if I was ever pregnant again. It was my first ever stay in a hospital and it was a good one. I shall leave you with a picture of Baby when he was less than 48 hours old =)

My Aydin; My Strength ❤

Dulu lain, skarang lain

Before baby
Midnight movie? Okay go. Lepak till late? Okay go. Upon reaching home after said activity, shower, maybe even watch a movie then we called it a night.

After Baby
Reach home before 9.30pm. The earlier, the better. This is so that his sleeping schedule won’t get screwed up and mommy and daddy don’t get screwed up by his grandparents(very protective of their grandson, you know). Upon reaching home, we have to settle him first. Bath, feed and try to put him to sleep. While mommy does this, daddy is busy with the logistics. He will be unpacking the diaper bag, washing his bottles and putting the extra expressed breast milk that we brought along. After that, daddy will shower while mommy pumps(no, not lifting weights. Pumps milk la). Then mommy showers while daddy makes sure baby is fast asleep. After all that, we can finally have a good rest for about 3-4hours before he wakes up again for milk or diaper change.

Don’t get me wrong. This is not me complaining. This is me reflecting on how this tiny person have changed our lives.

I thrive for wet or poopie diapers. It means that my baby is healthy. I am proud that I’m responsible for every milk roll that he has. It has only been about 9 weeks but I have so much love for this little guy. I’m embracing motherhood. We’re lucky to have my parents to help out. I could easily see how a mother could fall into post natal depression if she does not get the proper support. Again, I’m lucky.

So. Very. Lucky.

Baby A: His Birth Story

Hello everybody!

 

The last time I typed an entry, I was still heavily pregnant with him, And no, he didn’t come out in time to watch the World Cup finals as Daddy has wanted him to. Baby A decided that he was ready to face the world on 17th July 2014 but not before 15 hours of labour. Indeed, it was love at first sight. We are so blessed to have a smooth pregnancy and delivery. So here goes the birth story of Baby A.

On the 16th of July, I had started to feel contractions. Being a first time mummy, I didn’t know how a contraction feel. Abdominal cramps was a norm. But on that morning after Sahur, these cramps (which feel very much like period cramps) started to get a little more intense than usual. But, it was still bearable. But just to be sure, I timed them. They were irregular. After about an hour, I went to the loo and saw that there were a tinge of blood and some mucus discharge. It was what I was told to look out for when I read about signs of labour. It wasn’t much but I called the delivery wardjust like how my doctor had instructed me to do if I see any bleeding. I was told that I might be in the early stages of labour and was told to wait it out at home. The husband was wondering if he should take the day off but I told him that this might take a looooooong while and he should just go to work. So, to work he went. Throughout the day, the contractions came and went. I didn’t tell my mum as I didn’t want her to worry.

It got more intense after Maghrib that night. It became more regular and lasted longer. By 1am, they were 5 minutes apart and could last up to a minute. I waited it out as long as I could. We decided to call the delivery wardand they told me to come down. So we changed, added some stuff to out hospital bag and told my parents. My mum wanted to come with us but I told her that it might just be a false alarm and I might be sent home. I promised to update her once we had confirmed things at the hospital.

The drive to our hospital was a smooth one (duh, it was 2 am in the morning and it took us about 10 minutes to reach NUH). The delivery wardwas located at the Main Building but the carpark was under construction. So, we had to park quite a distance away which means we had to walk further(and hospitals are creepy at 2.30am =/ ).

Once we reached the delivery ward, we were ushered to our delivery suite. The room was cosy and there was a recliner for the hubs. The nurses came in and started strapping me up to the CTG machine to monitor my contractions and baby’s heartbeat. Everything was fine. The doctor on duty then came in to go a vaginal exam (VE) to see how much I had dilated. If I have not dilated, he would send me home. And ladies, the VE hurt like a b**** (for the lack of a better word to describe how uncomfortable and painful it was). I was already 3cm to 4cm dilated. And with that, the show began.

Hubs getting comfortable in his recliner.

Basically, there was a lot of waiting around but we were comfortable. The nurses were very nice. I was given the gas mask as the first level of pain relief. I knew then that I would skip the second level (the jab) and go straight for the epidural.  

Hubs went to get sandwiches for Sahur that day. We told our families and our close friends that we’re already in the hospital. My gynae, Dr Su Lin Lin,  came in at around 7am to check in with us and do another VE(ouch!).My gynae is such a gentle and soft spoken lady. An example was when she was doing the VE, she kept apologizing to me.Not because she was doing it wrongly,it was because she knew that it was painful for me. Anyway, I was 5cm dilated and she said that she will burst my waterbag in about 2 hours. I consulted her on when should I get my epidural and she said that I could do it then. So the anaesthetist came in and did her magic. No, I didn’t see how big the needle was (I was told that it was quite huge).Yes, it was inserted to my spine. Yes, they scared me by saying that any slight movement can cause paralysis. No, I did not change my mind despite that warning. And till now, I felt that it was the best decision for me. I slept like a log. Probably the first good sleep I had since I was pregnant and the last good sleep I had as a mother. Hahaha. The side effects? Vomiting. I vomited after they administered the epidural. I vomited after giving birth. 

At about 4pm, my wonderful midwife (she’s like my personal cheerleader), Judith, told me it’s time to push. Let me tell you something. This was the most difficult part of labour for me. Since I was on epidural, we depended on the monitor to tell me when it was time to push. I ended up pushing for almost 2 hours. It was probably the most tiring thing I’ve ever done in my life. It seemed to be taking forever and I was starting to lose faith on myself. But the doctors, the nurses and hubs kept telling me how well I was doing and told me how close I was to seeing my baby. So the last push, I summoned every ounce of energy I had left, and with a little help (an episiotomy, where gynae made a little incision so that it’s easier for baby to pass through), Baby A was born!

First thought: My baby is sooooo hairy.

Baby A is blessed with an abundance of hair. Everywhere. Head, face, arms, legs,back. Hubs said he looked like a mini Wolverine. But as the days passed, the hair around his face and back became less visible.

Anyway,  we had skin-to-skin as soon as he was out. Hubs then had the honor of cutting his umbilical cord. After that, the nurses took him away to get cleaned up and to clean me up too. Daddy then got a chance to do skin-to-skin with baby (he even had to take out his shirt. Lol). After I got cleaned, I nursed him. And then, I started vomiting. Yes, I almost drowned my baby with my own vomit not even an hour after he was born. But hubs managed to get him out of the ‘danger zone’.

Then, the long wait for the ward began.

–

My family, my in-laws, my aunt&uncle and my besties waiting in front of the nursery while we’re still stuck at the delivery ward. I felt so guilty for making them wait for so long and only got to see Baby A for less than 10 minutes.

We booked a one-bedder prior to our delivery. But apparently it was full that night so we had to stay in a 4-bedder ward and husbands are not allowed to stay in. So after everyone went home, it was only me and baby A for the night. And with that, we start our 4 days 3 night staycation at NUH. 

“Why so long?!”

Details about our stay in the next entry! 
Till then, mommy duties continues. 

On reaching 37 Weeks.

 

Alhamdullilah! Baby A is now 37 weeks plus.

Why is it so crucial that babies reach 37 weeks while in their in our bellies?Only then, they will be considered full term and have lesser risk of complications should the mother go into labour. However, from my understanding, in the west, a baby is only considered full term at 39 weeks. Bottomline is, even though my gynae has given the ok-go should I go into labour now, it will better if he stays in the belly for a little bit longer. Yes, it has been frustrating. Yes, it is causing me a lot of discomfort. Honestly, I have even thought about induction. I’m a very impatient person and I absolutely hate waiting.  But I know this time, it will be worth it.

Hey Baby,
Daddy and I can’t wait to see you. We can’t stop smiling when we saw you during the scan yesterday. It’s getting snug in there, isn’t it? Just so you know, we’re ready for you! Nenek had already washed all your brand new clothes, our hospital bags are packed and your bed is ready! Your daddy, the most patient man that I know, has been counting the days till he sees you. I see the gleam in his eyes whenever he talks to you, whenever he feels your kicks. He even talks about watching the World Cup finals with you around! Come out soon okay? 
We love you!

32 Weeks Update!

About a week ago, we went for our 32 weeks check up. Alhamdullilah, everything was well.
Baby is growing as he should be and everything else is still….intact (for the lack of a better word, lol).

I’ve been experiencing really bad backaches even when I am sleeping. But the husband kept reminding me that it will all go away soon.

Currently on holidays with absolutely nothing to do except for prepare the room and I should get around to packing my hospital bag soon.

We have booked a resort for a little short babymoon next week but it’s still very much tentative as it depends on how I might feel on that day. Don’t wanna take any chances. So we might go or we might just cancel our booking.

Baby A, you’ve been very active lately and I love that about you! Continue to be healthy and let mummy and daddy go for that little trip next week ,okay ? 😉

30 Weeks

I’m currently 30 weeks and 5 days pregnant. 60 odd days before we get to meet the love of our lives. A colleague of mine just gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Makes me all excited to see Baby A!

So the past few nights have been quite terrible for me. I had major backaches, heartburn and just plain uncomfortable. I propped my pillows up, I twisted and I turned and it was impossible to find a comfortable position to sleep. Plus, my sinus was acting up.

But my husband is god sent. He tried his best to make me comfortable by giving my back massages and just staying up with me although I insisted that he goes back to sleep. So so blessed!

Oh, and I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I had a consultation with a dietician and my conclusion is, my husband should be the one pregnant! Why? Because now, I have to eat foods which are rich in fibre and protein. The dietician recommended things like oats and stuff (husband’s favourite). Also, I am not gaining enough weight. I am supposed to gain 7-11kg, according to my BMI. So far, it has only been 3kg. I still don’t get seats on trains, by the way.  Bottomline is, I have to prick my finger 7 times a day, twice a week to keep my sugar level in check. This is to make sure that baby doesn’t grow too big and that I can have a normal delivery.

I’ve been reading forums and stories about mummies giving birth as early as 28 weeks and I scare myself silly thinking about it. I kept asking myself if I am prepared to go through labor now. And the scariest part? Losing my baby as it is risky to have a baby that early. *shudders* I salute mummies of these little soldiers. I can only imagine the emotional rollercoaster that they are on.

Baby, we can’t wait to see you and kiss the day lights out of you. But before that, you’ll have to be strong and healthy like daddy okay? Take all the time you need, love.

And then, there were THREE.

As the title of this post suggest, you might have guessed it by now.

YES, WE ARE EXPECTING!

God knows how many drafts I’ve deleted regarding this topic. I’ve always wanted to blog about it but never really got around to finish the draft. It’s that or that I’ve lost interest to blog halfway through. Anyway, here I am, 30 weeks and 5 days along in this pregnancy. So, to catch up on things, I shall break this post down into a few parts. Let’s hope that this time round, I’ll end up publishing this post. LOL!

1) Reactions

We found out that I was expecting in November 2013. It was the last few weeks of Term 4. And teachers, you would understand how hectic those last few weeks are. I had trouble sleeping, my appetite wasn’t good and I was tired ALL THE TIME. And of course, Aunt Flo was late that month.  I attributed all those problems to me being stressed out. But something tells me that I should just pee on a stick and get that nagging feeling out of me.

And what do you know, it was positive! The first test I did, I used the cheap $2 test kits I bought at Mustafa. I wasn’t satisfied, so I did a second one with another $2 kit and it was positive again. So, being the kiasu Singaporean that I am, I went to get a more reliable (and expensive) test kit at the nearest petrol station near my place. And finally, I was convinced.

My husband’s reaction? Well,he was calmer than I thought he’d be. In fact, he acted like he knew he had it coming. Good for us because I was a little freaked out. Freaked out not because we didn’t want this. Freaked out because I knew for that past few weeks, coffee had been my best friend and I know caffeine is a big NO NO during the first trimester.

We didn’t want to tell anyone yet till we had a confirmation from the doctor. So, we set up an appointment with a gynae and went for the check up! Alhamdullilah, the gynae confirmed that I was already 6 weeks along. Hearing that little heart beat for the first time seems surreal. God is Great.

Our families were thrilled, to say the least.  This was especially great for my husband’s family as it is gonna be their first grandchild. A few of those that I told burst into tears of joy and I couldn’t help myself (hormones, ya know?!) but to join in as well.

We are very blessed to have people who never stopped praying for our well-being. Alhamdullilah.

2) First Trimester

So my first trimester wasn’t so bad. Yes, there was nausea, excessive vomiting and also fatigue. But luckily forr me, it was mostly during the December holidays. I managed to rest and we even went to Hong Kong with my in-laws (probably would blog about this in another post). We did go to Disneyland and all I could enjoy was the kiddy rides! But I’m not complaining. It was quite an uneventful first trimester, which is a good thing.

 

3) Second Trimester

Work started  and thank god, I had more energy this time round. I needed it. I was given a brand new class of 6/7 year olds. Yes, a class of Primary 1 pupils. The first few weeks were the hardest as there were many loose ends and keeping my sanity in check. I had an episode of gastric flu which sucked the life out of me. I was having diarrhea and vomited my guts out every time I eat or drink some thing. It was pretty bad.  I wasn’t showing much until probably my 25th week. I had a great time with the hubby at the Bruno Mars concert (yes baby, that was the first concert you went to when you’re still in my tummy!)

Oh yes, finding the gender of our baby! That check up was pretty exciting for us. Of course before that, people have been trying to guess according to the shape of my tummy. But I was barely showing so, only god knows right? The sonographer was happily scanning and she did not know that we did not know the gender. But she didn’t have to say it. We saw it in all its glory. We knew we were having a boy! The  husband was ecstatic as he had always wanted a boy as his first child. I was quite indifferent. As long as he/she is healthy right?

Also, in this trimester, I have started to feel his kicks! At first, I wasn’t sure. It was like a fast ripple. But as the weeks past, it started to become more obvious, especially when I am lying on my side.

 

Since I am in the third trimester now, I’ll blog about it in a separate post.
But for now, this is it.

Will add in more if I remember any other significant things that happened in the earlier parts of this pregnancy.

And yes, we have a name 😉

Favourites: Skincare

Watching a lot of beauty videos on YouTube has somehow influenced the products that I buy (suckers like me feed on these type of advertising LOL). So this entry is just to share some of the products that I’ve been using/liking/been buying.

Let’s start with skincare. Like many teenagers, I had problems with breakouts. Although mine is not severe, it is obvious, especially around my forehead area. Anyway, I started to invest on skin care the year before my wedding. Before that, I’ve been using random products. Until I decided to take the plunge to invest on something which is a little more pricey. I started using CLINIQUE 3-step system.

Step 1: Cleanse
I’ve tried their version of the cleanser. It is mild and smells medicated. It was just okay. So, I decided to get my own cleanser. I started with Neutrogena’s Oil-Free Acne Wash. I coupled it with the scrub(once/twice a week).

It was drying for my skin, especially with Step 2. But I realized that my breakouts are getting lesser! Yeay! I used about 2-3 bottles of the acne wash before I switch to a milder cleanser, also from Neutrogena.

Also, I stopped using the acne scrub and got this one instead. It’s also milder and is suitable for everyday use.

Step 2: Exfoliate
Still on the Clinique 3 step system, I highly believe this is the step that makes the system so effective. When you visit one of their counters, they will do a review on your skin type. Apparently, mine was combination of dry and oily. So as for the exfoliant, I’m Number 2.

This works like magic! It’s 30 odd dollars for a bottle but it goes a long way. It’s like a toner. You basically use a cotton pad and rub it all over your face. You can actually see all the grime on the cotton pad once you’re done. It smells like nail polish remover and if used too much, it will dry out your skin. But that’s hardly an issue for me because Step 3 makes everything better!

Step 3: Moisturise!
I used to neglect this step when I was growing up. When I did start to do this, I experimented with many brands. Some were too thick for my liking and I started to break out more. In the end, I got Clinique’s Dramatically Different Gel moisturizer.

Now, this comes in a gel and cream form. The cream is definitely thicker. It caters more to dry skin. I didn’t want this as like I said, creams make me break out even more. So I’ve been using the gel version and I love how moisturized and smooth my skin is. It absorbs very well and I can apply my makeup a minute after applying it. Definitely worth the money and a bottle of it lasts for almost half a year! This is definitely my HG moisturizer.

Facial Masks
I’m sure every girl would love to put a mask on every now and then. I love using sheet masks. I don’t use any particular brands as I like to change it up. But I’ve been liking My Beauty Diary masks and Garnier’s Sakura masks.

I’m also using Freeman’s masks. These comes in a liquid form. They’re sold in tubes. I’ve been using Clay Mint and Golden Grain.

Let me start with the Clay Mint. Ladies, I’m sure we all suffer from breakouts on monthly basis because of Aunt Flo. This mask helps me to dry them right up! Because of the fact that it’s a clay mask, it’s quite drying at times. So instead of putting it on my whole face, I just smeared it on affected areas(which is usually my forehead). After washing it off, I will use Body Shop’s Tea Tree Oil.

It being an oil(duh!) I only use it at night, right before I go to bed. The smell is a bit overwhelming, but it does the job. It kills the bacteria and helps in healing the pimple without scarring. I swear by this! Just put a drop on the pimple and let it do its magic!

Sunscreen
Many people neglect this step. But do you know, exposing yourself to harmful rays will just speed up the aging process? The horror, right?! I’m sure everyone wants to age gracefully. So don’t forget this step! While the sunblock that we use for the beach is thick and seems to just sit on your skin, facial sunblocks have a thinner texture and absorbs faster. Use those specially designed for the face. I’m using Clinique’s SPF 50 Sun Protection. I use it right after the moisturizer, before putting on my make up.

These are my personal opinions about these products. Obviously, different people have different opinions and reactions. So take it with a pinch of salt ya?

Now, who has a good eye cream to share?!