Little House : Our Mini Studio

Since we got the news end of last year about my pregnancy, we've been moving and cleaning things around the apartment. Our favorite space is our small studio/playroom where we spend most of the time working, watching movies/series and playing games. We were just 2 people in a 3 bedroom apartment for the past 2 years (not including when we were living elsewhere), so we have the privilege to dedicate the whole room for this alone. 

Several months back we decided on moving the studio from the master bedroom to the second biggest room in the middle of apartment (that used to be our bedroom) - because 3 people sleeping in a master bedroom seems like a rational idea (we decided on co-sleeping for a few years). 

So we moved everything to that room and managed to get the most decent space in the apartment. There are enough light and very airy. But a little cram because we put our 13 year old huge L-shaped sofa inside the room as well.

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About the red awkward sofa :

The sofa is an old red-coloured sofa in the living room that never been used for years because it became Awan's play-space and I'm allergic to her fur. We've been ignoring the sofa for so long. But after the news came and we decided on 'really' put an effort in improving our space, I decided to only keep items that are functional in the apartment - that, including the sofa.    

So I called a guy from a cleaning service to professionally 'deep-cleanse' the sofa. The sofa cleaning service costed RM 150 and took around 1.5 hours to finish : 

Next, deep cleansing the 13-year old sofa and planning to change the cover • Moved the sofa to our studio room •

Sofa cleaning service costed Rm 150 • Very fancy 💅🏻 • And it took 1.5 hours 😬 pic.twitter.com/vo8ednIGhY

— azreenchan (@azreenchan) February 3, 2019

There are still old patches and stains that can't be removed, but as long as it is cleaned and sanitized, I can use it, Af can use it, so it can fill the purpose and be used instead of being thrown. We then moved the sofa to our studio room and we put behind our desk, where we spend the nights watching movies/series and playing games and sometimes napping in the afternoon. 

The only awkward thing about the sofa is : it is bright red, and our whole apartment is in natural soft colour (beige, chocolate, white). So I hate the colour of the sofa, but oh well. And we trained Awan to not step on the sofa anymore, and it worked for now.

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Our desks after moving on our first move (to the middle room) :

We had fun spending the time in this room throughout my whole 2nd trimester. One thing I noticed in this past 3 months : we no longer used the master bedroom except for praying and changing clothes (we spent most nights sleeping in the living room because I'm in the pregnancy phase where I'm super hot and sweaty all day everyday). 

I thought this was such a waste of space, because the master bedroom is huge and we no longer use the space. When I mentioned that to Af, he was thinking the same thing, so we decided to move back the studio to the master bedroom :D Haha.

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Pregnancy : It is Okay to Feel Weak and Ask for Help

I won't deny that since I got pregnant, I've been feeling a bit 'weak'. I mean, I'm used to feeling strong and energized. I did half-marathons, I ran 10km so many times I lost count, I can walk the whole day while travelling, I'm physically fit (or I used to). Now I can't even slow-walk 2km without feeling pain in my pubic bones, my back and feet.  

The truth is, all throughout my pregnancy I was either in pain, uncomfortable, or exhausted. The first trimester was awful internally and mentally, the second trimester was a bit mild (registering myself to the final months), and the third trimester was everything physical (there's pain everywhere, all over my body, every day). 

I'm not sure why people don't share much about this awful part of not feeling like yourself for almost a year (considering several month of early breast-feeding phase might feel the same way as well). People talk about how when the baby comes, you'll forget all the pain. But I think it is important to share with people about this phase as well because the experience is different for each pregnancy and it is okay to feel weak or to ask for help. 

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My mom mentioned about how when she was pregnant, she was still very active (compared to me) and she didn't whined as much. So I didn't really share much about what I feel with her because every time I said something about the pain, or how I can't sleep, or how tired I was, she brushed it off. I don't think my siblings understand this as well :F So the only person I'm sharing with about this phase is Af (and thank God he pampered me with attention and love and care throughout this uncomfortable phase). Yes, I whined because I am human and I'm not used to feeling pain and weakness every single day. 

So why I share this ? 

I want to say that it is okay to feel weak. 

It is okay to ask for help. 

It is okay to sit when people offer you to sit.

It is okay to say you need to get back home if you are tired.

It is okay to want to rest. 

This is a really weird phase where for some people, they will feel a lot of pain, uncomfortableness, exhaustion, weakness, and ultimately not feeling like yourself. You don't have to feel sorry for yourself or try to explain to others every single time. 

Just do what feels right to you and give yourself a break.  

Pregnancy : All Things Fabric Related

Here are some of my experiences during my pregnancy phase - whether you'll be needing more clothes or not, it is entirely up to you and your body. As for me, I stayed at home most of the time and not so fancy with my clothing styles, so I don't need that many. I wore the same thing repeatedly all the time :D

By the third month of my pregnancy, I can't no longer wear my jeans (so I stopped wearing them). By the 5th month of my pregnancy, I can't wear most of my loose shirts - so I washed, folded and kept them in my cloth packs (because I know I might not be wearing it for another 6 months). So there is no surviving without having to buy new clothes - even how hard you try, your body will change during this new phase. I hate having to buy new clothes, especially after I've done so many cloth-filtering and donated most of my old clothes throughout the year since I got married. But I had to adapt with my new body.

Roughly by the end of my 2nd trimester, I think I gained almost 5kg. Still skinny on some parts, but gaining weights on important parts that play roles in pregnancy : middle area. 

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About clothes :

1. Maternity friendly shirts : I don't think I bought any maternity shirt, but I bought several loose shirts on Lazada/Shopee tho. Previously, my clothes were mostly loose with linen-like-thin fabrics so I got to use most of them half of the pregnancy phase. Eventually I slowly stopped wearing some of my favorite shirts because my tummy got bigger. 

I bought 3 cotton t-shirts in different colours (they are big loose style, non-iron, and airy material + cheap) and another 1 loose red casual shirt for more formal event (if needed). Keep repeating the same clothes over and over again when we go out. Even still using them during my 8 month of pregnancy. 

It is advisable to buy something that you would wear even when you are no longer in a pregnancy phase so you wouldn't be wasting fabric & money.

And I can imagine wearing this with slim jeans after the pregnancy, so, this works. 

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2. The maternity pants : Most of the time, my favorite pants so far is the Uniqlo drape jogger pants (black) that I bought long ago. I think I've been wearing it in my first and whole second trimester because it is loose and comfortable. It is not even a maternity pants - just a normal casual pants :

But eventually I had to buy maternity pants with stretch rubber on the abdomen area because why la everything become so uncomfortable during pregnancy phase :F The cons about wearing a maternity pants is when you are having rashes around the abdomen area due to the stretches, it will become uncomfortable and itchy :(

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3. The maternity undergarments : I wore the same set of my normal panties throughout first and 2nd trimester, did bought some for the third trimester but not wearing them as much. I guess all my old panties works just fine. Whether I didn't gain that much on those area, or they are now super stretchy and huge by the end of the pregnancy.
Bra is a different story, you need new bras or at least a bra extension clasp (definitely - by the 2nd trimester). Earliest investment. Goodbye flat-chest, hello adulthood. 

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4. Comfortable house wear : I bought 2 men's singlet at a second-hand shop in Raub, as huge as what Af would probably wear because they are comfy, loose and huge (like a skirt). You have no problem with the abdomen area and you know this is just a phase, why not buy something used to be more eco-friendly? It only costed RM 4 for each singlet and I wore it everyday.
Sometimes I even wear Af's shirt around the house because they are big, and they smell like him ♥️

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5. Raya wear : I decided to not buy any Raya clothes this time. I wanted to wear something that I would like to wear that felt like me. Plain, clean, natural colour. Normally, we don't have the freedom to choose our own Raya clothes because we had to wear the same thing - or almost the same thing. But this time, I told them that I'll be wearing something that I already picked months back (and due to the pregnancy, my clothes choice is quite limited so I want the freedom to choose).

So I chose to wear a long linen top in lightest green and wear it with the dark green skirt that I sew back in the sewing class. For the first time in my life, I get to wear something that felt like me during Raya :D

I felt like myself, I look exactly like how I wanted to be seen - plain and natural :

View this post on Instagram

Selamat Hari Raya everyone ! ❤️✨ • #teamtakbelibajuraya

A post shared by azreenchan (@azreenchan) on Jun 4, 2019 at 8:23pm PDT

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Extra :

Thoughts on Pregnancy Pillow -

I would love the idea of having the pregnancy pillow (the G/U-shaped one) but reluctant to buy it due to the ugly design and knowing that this phase will only last for only 9 months (or even less). I hate the idea of keeping such an ugly thing on my bed afterwards - even how comfy it might look. 

My solution, I have a lot of square-shaped thin zabuton (Japanese sitting cushion) that my mom made for me. I slept on my left side most of the time, so one cushion below my abdomen on the left, one cushion behind me (on my right), and a bolster for me to hug. Sometimes I even put another zabuton beneath my legs to make my legs higher (during the night-cramp phase). The perks of having a lot of zabuton in my house :p

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