How to Plan for a Confinement at Home in Singapore

So, you’re pregnant right now, or perhaps you are the partner to the mother-to-be, and the baby is due soon. Other than the delivery and labour pains, you would be thinking of what comes after that too, which is confinement. The confinement period typically lasts from 1 month up to 100 days, depending on your religious background and preference. These few weeks are a time for new mothers to rest their bodies and focus on recovery after childbirth. If it is your first time, you might be unsure of how you should go about it. Fret not, because here are some steps for you to consider when planning for your confinement.

1. Deciding where to spend your confinement

First things first. Will you be staying at home for confinement or at a confinement centre? Sure, the confinement centre would be very convenient as there will be people tending to your needs and helping to take care of your newborn. However, with the onset of Covid-19, the circuit breaker, and current restrictions, many had no choice but to, or opted to, go through their confinement at home. And if you don’t have family members who are available to care for you during this period due to various reasons like travel restrictions, your next step would be hiring a confinement nanny.

2 . Hiring a confinement nanny

There are two kinds of confinement nannies that you can hire – freelancer or from an agency. While either option is good, hiring through an agency has its perks as the agency will guarantee you a nanny, and you will get notified of any changes should there be any. You may even request for a replacement if the nanny assigned to you isn’t up to your expectations. Also, if you have any enquiries or concerns about the nanny, there is the customer service team that will assist you so you can put your worries and doubts to rest.

3. Preparing for when the confinement nanny comes

Once you’ve decided on your nanny and when she will be coming, it’s time to get ready for her arrival and stay. As she will be staying with you, prepare a private room for her. This is where she will be sleeping and changing. She might be a live-in confinement nanny, but everyone needs their personal space to rest or just to take five.

4. Going through confinement

Now that your nanny has settled in with you, you can concentrate on your health and recovery process. Work with your confinement nanny to know what you need to do and eat. Discuss and chat with her about baby care. There will be a lot to learn especially for a first-time mom.

Things to take note

1. Respect the confinement nanny and have boundaries

A confinement nanny’s job is to take care of your newborn and you while you are recovering from childbirth, not to be a personal assistant or a maid. She is not there to shop for your groceries or look after your other children (unless this or other nanny services have been agreed upon beforehand). Sometimes couples are very busy or new to the process that the lines get blurred. If you really need her help for something, or if you aren’t sure if what you need is within or out of her job scope, always ask her first, be respectful, and do not take her for granted.

2. Return the favour

As your nanny will be with you for quite some time, you should arrange to make her stay just as comfortable as she’ll be making you feel during her temporary stay with you. Prepare the groceries that she will be cooking meals with, be friendly with her, and don’t simply chastise her if you can’t understand her methods. By doing this, it will create a healthy environment for every party involved. After all, no one likes an unnecessarily stressful working environment.

3. Show appreciation

If it has been a sailing journey for you, know that it wasn’t easy for her. It just means that she had done her best to make those few weeks amazing and comfy for you, and you should definitely show your thanks. Although monetary gifts aren’t the answer to everything, a little token of appreciation like giving angpao could show her how grateful you are for having her with you, albeit temporary, to end on a good note. She would appreciate the gesture too.

Why should you hire a confinement nanny?

Confinement can be a stressful and confusing time despite mothers needing to relax and rest after the ordeal that is childbirth. Having an extra hand to guide you through it would be an extremely fruitful experience for your body and mind. Even if it is not your first time having a child, sometimes there are things that you might forget as the years pass.

With a confinement nanny, you have a caregiver, a friend, an emotional supporter, and a teacher. Confinement nannies have valuable experience, personal and professional, that they can share with you as they attend to mother and child. With one around, you can put your mind at ease for you know that you are getting healthy meals and your baby is getting attentive round the clock care. Not only that, she can even help prep you for when your confinement period is over and she’s left.

If you’ve decided on having a confinement nanny, it is never too early to do some research to know what you’re looking for. For starters, you can start going through confinement nanny review Singapore to select which agency you would like to hire your nanny from. You could hire your confinement nanny Singapore from us, PEM Confinement Nanny Agency, the largest confinement nanny agency in Singapore. With more than 30 years of being in the industry, you can expect skilled nannies with expertise that can’t be denied. Trust that you will be in good hands throughout the whole process. So what are you waiting for?