Settling into Confinement Period After Delivery

Taking care of your infant while also taking care of yourself after childbirth sounds like…a lot to take in.

The reality is, while the postnatal life may seem tough, it is still possible to go through it smoothly. The same goes with the confinement period.

There may be a notion that the confinement period after delivery is solely for applying and following strict rules that do not allow you to do what you want, but that cannot be further from the truth.

In fact, there are many mothers whose confinements went incredibly easy and free of stress. There are also others who wish they had followed certain confinement practices during their early stage of postnatal.

Then, how to settle into life after birth if you are taking up confinement practices?

Believe it or not, it is not half as troublesome as you may think! Most mothers who adhere to confinement practices normally receive help from a supportive companion, but you could choose your own way.

Read up to find out how you can plan your confinement to enter this period hassle-free!

  • Getting a Confinement Nanny
  • Panning a Confinement Diet
  • Choosing a Postnatal Therapy
  • Stocking up herbs
  • DIY-ing the Confinement

1) Get Your Own Confinement Nanny

Surely we can’t talk about the tradition of confinement practices without mentioning the experts!

Hiring a confinement nanny is one of the most popular ways to go about it. A confinement nanny is a skilled and knowledgeable nanny who will take care of you and your newborn right after you deliver.

She will prepare daily confinement meals for you. Every day, she would prepare tonic or herbal drinks so you will receive all the extra healing benefits and antioxidants your body needs. If you request it, she would also prepare herbal baths.

In addition, your confinement nanny will make sure your baby is well-fed, changed, and bathed when needed. When your baby is up at night crying, who would wake up to tend to them?

If you manage to pump some milk, you may never even have to wake up at all! Your confinement nanny will feed your baby, burp them, and put them back to sleep. This way, both you and your partner can get more sleep.

The laundry is another thing you need to think of. Your baby’s clothes should not be mixed with the others’.

Hence, a confinement nanny will normally hand wash your baby’s clothes and other fabrics used for them separately while also taking care of your laundry on the side.

You may have your confinement nanny live inside your house or live outside. Whether you are opting for the former or the latter, there are varying costs you have to take into account.

The period of their service depends on you, but couples normally have them for the whole confinement period – some even extend their confinement lady’s service up to 2, 3 months!

Keep in mind that it may be difficult to extend the service if you are going with a freelance confinement nanny, so weigh your options carefully.

2) Plan Your Confinement Diet

One of the most physically-taxing works that needs to be done during confinement is preparing your everyday confinement meals. Your meals need to be well-balanced, fresh, and filled with ample nutrients.

Hence, coming up with a proper diet plan is a must. A confinement nanny can take care of it for you.

However, if you are not getting a confinement nanny and you do not want to deal with the planning and cooking up processes, your next best solution is to opt for confinement food delivery.

With this service, you do not even have to step into the kitchen! They will make sure your freshly-cooked meals are sent to your place on time so you will be served the food as if they come out of your kitchen.

3) Choose Your Favourite Alternative Therapy

While resting and eating good food should be enough, there is no harm in getting more where you can. Besides, who can resist a good, relaxing time for themselves?

When choosing an alternative therapy, get one that will not make you put a strain on yourself. There are certain exercises that would help your uterus to contract like Kegel exercises and you can also consider yoga.

However, you may be advised to just rest and lay in bed most of the time, which you would most likely prefer as well.

If you truly want therapy that does not require you to perform any sort of activity, get a postnatal massage. With this treatment, you are simply resting while someone else gets the job done for you.

A massage can help tremendously with getting rid of your water weight and relieving your body aches. Yes, body aches would still be there after your pregnancy ends. Dealing with body pains while trying to heal from labour is simply not ideal.

Therefore, it is important that you find a treatment that will assist you in going through the postnatal recovery better.

You May Also Read this : Foods To Avoid In Your Diet During Confinement Period

4) Stock Up Your Herbs

One of the things that distinguish Chinese confinement from the rest is the use of specific herbs that are meant to cleanse and replenish the blood.

Having a confinement nanny around will make things much easier as they can be your personal teacher and chef when it comes to such matters.

If you would like to take it into your own hands, you can do a bit of research on what herbs are new mothers most advised to consume.

In case that is still more work than what you are willing to put into, you may get an herbal package in which the herbs are separately packed for daily consumption.

You would only have to take them out and boil them to get your refreshing bowl of herbal remedy.

5) DIY Your Confinement

Even if you are not getting your own confinement lady, you could still get into confinement period on your own. You could learn the practices and incorporate the rules into your life.

The good thing about doing it completely on your own is that, well, you’re doing it on your own! No one will interfere with your progress or try to impose anything on you. You can shape it to be as contemporary as it can be.

That said, most current confinement nannies are used to living a more modern lifestyle so that should not be a concern. If you want to do it on your own, you have to make sure all of the stated above are taken care of.

There is the confinement diet, the baby’s laundry, and also the regular consumption of herbs. If you are certain you can do these all on your own and there is no present family member who can help you with it, go on.

Closing Words

All in all, keep in mind that your recovery is as important as your newborn’s growth.

The point is, while it is not impossible to go through your confinement period alone, you do not have to. You just went through labour and there is now an infant needing your constant care and affection.

Get a helping hand where you need one to give yourself a better time resting and let your body heal properly.

To know more about Chinese confinement nanny or Chinese confinement lady services, you can learn about Singapore Chinese confinement practices with us at PEM!

Feel free to also go through our confinement nanny recommendation testimonials left by the happy mummies we’ve helped over the years (over 30 years, to be exact).

Author

  • PEM Confinement Nanny Agency

    We are a group of frontliners and support team members who are passionate about sharing our knowledge and experience in confinement care. Representing the largest confinement nanny agency in Singapore which has served over 250,000 mothers in over 30 years, we are all about sharing useful and insightful information based on our experience to help new parents navigate this exciting chapter of their life better.