Is confinement necessary??

[babybull]

I didn't do confinement either, as I'm not really convinced of the logic behind it. And I don't feel any worse for not doing so leh.. Have shed most of my weight and the tummy 1 month after delivery, now only about 2kg left which i'm happy to retain, cos I was too skinny pre-pregnancy. Now looking healthier too! everyone commented that I was 'glowing' at baby's full month celebration, even though I only had about 2-3 hours of sleep each day.

Basically I ignored all the confinement taboos - showered and washed my hair daily as usual (didn't bother with the herbs!). Had the fan and aircon blowing directly at me as I was sweating buckets too, and feeling so hot. Dressed in spags and shorts, and didn't wear socks/house slippers. didn't eat any confinement foods (hubby only knows how to cook pasta, so I had pasta, potatoes, bread, subway sandwiches, fruits, salads etc. Also drank lots of plain water (unboiled tap water!) cos I was also breastfeeding, so feeling thirsty all the time.

Only used boiled water for baby's formula at night. We don't have the habit of boiling water for normal drinking.

The only concession I made was to blow dry my hair, cos I normally I'll just wash and let it air-dry.

However, as hubby and I looked after baby ourselves even though we had no idea what we were doing half the time and what baby wanted, its very very tiring lah. But i blieve in caring for baby myself rather than entrusting her to a stranger no matter how experienced she might be. think we've emerged from the experience with a better understanding of our baby and a stronger relationship, cos we didn't have any family or help to depend on, only each other. =)

Only drawback is that my mum and whichever relative came to visit all nagged and nagged non-stop..

Personally, I believe body aches will hit you when you reach 40-50 yrs regardless of whether one followed confinement practices or not. Otherwise all those women who never had children, singles, etc would never experience aches! Men get aches too, and they certainly have never gone through childbirth.

 

[CanCanMum]

wahhhhhhhhhhh so many pple did not do confinement arhhhh????

my case was i followed wadever the aunties/ahhh mahhss told me to.....lOlsss.....i followed 100% all the NO lists and YES listss...lOLssssssssss = reason being i wanna be a guai kia and avoid all the "Next time deen u noe" words passed down by those 3-8s lOlzzzz.........itsss dammmm irritating lOlzzzz

i got an olden (before 1945) example :
hubby's grandma went to work in the rubber plantations on the 2nd day after she delivered, no confinement , rather no extra $$ to do confinement

and i got a retro (during 1970s) example :
my mum nebber experienced any backaches at all in her life because she said during her confinement, she lied down on the bed to rest most of the time :001_302:

modern example :
i m not sure about myself but i do experience headaches sometimes, not sure if its due to i always wash my hair late at night or waddd, but i did not wash my hair for 30 days during confinement worrrrr~~~

i ate all meat during confinement, but miraculously, i did not experience any constipation at all.....this one i really dunnO why, perhaps is becoz they keep giving me red dates to drink???

however the only thing i believe was about the "wind" thing. Actually i believe why the traditional no-logic belief about confinement is to make sure the "wind" does not get into your body after delivery coz our body is very weak during this period~~~

confinement is a belief, for well-being later on, so much so that it has turned into a traditional practice for all women (asian) after delivery. The post-natal depression, mood swings, stress levels that leads with it can be different for different pple. BUt seriously speaking, if situation permits, i would still encourage to do confinement .

 

[cmeilim]

very envious of all you mummies who have managed to shed your pregnancy weight and tummy so quickly. i still have a loose belly such that i still look pregnant eight months after delivery, and i am still 5-6kg heavier than pre-pregnancy! maybe it's because i put on a whopping 20kg during pregnancy!!!

 

[cmeilim]

oh yeah, i had terrible constipation during confinement. my mum, who did confinement for me, cooked everything with sesame oil. there was liver or pig's kidney at nearly every meal. i did hv veg though but even that was cooked with ginger. even omelette was cooked with ginger. i think the heatiness of all the food contributed to my constipation. but the heat and perspiration, and not being allowed to bathe as per normal - i could only bathe once or twice a week with boiling hot water with herbs - was worse. but perhaps the worst feeling was wanting to carry baby and cuddle him for a longer time after nursing him but being reprimanded and prevented from doing so by my mum (she would carry the baby away) and her raining story after story of how other people feed their babies with FM when i was struggling with stabilising my breastfeeding. i appreciate her wanting to help me, trying to relieve my fatigue so that i can recover earlier and better - they are all good intentions. but unfortunately i don't believe in most of the confinement practices are relevant for the Singapore weather. and the last thing i needed was discouragement from my own mum when it came to breastfeeding. i literally screamed at her in tears one day when i couldn't take it for the umpteenth time, before she stopped completely her stories.

 

[meiteoh]

cmeilim, don't worry. I too have about 4 kg left to go but I'm slowly losing it via exercise and BFing plus diet. I had nearly lost all the weight after my confinement but when I first moved back to SG, I was eating like crazy so put on weight again. Managed to lose about 3 kg in the last 3 months, so am happy.

 

[wenz]

hmmm i did my confinement but i was not 100% doing the NOs and YESs like cancanmum...
i only listen and do wat i felt like doing...

i bathe and wash my hair occasionally... thou with herbal water but i do add tap water inside cos the water VERY hot la how to bathe??!!

I never wear slipper or socks and i wear singlet and shorts, keep washing baby bottles with the tap water and always wipe myself every night with tap water so basically i'm in contact with water most of the time...
i slp in aircon and on the fan as well...

only tat i ate confinement food prepared by my MIL and also drink red date longan water...

not much prob now thou and after all my pregnancy i also manage to slim back to pre-preg weight and size....

so wat i felt is tat... follow only wat u believe is gd for urself..

 

[iwan2noe]

wahhhhhhhhhhh so many pple did not do confinement arhhhh????

my case was i followed wadever the aunties/ahhh mahhss told me to.....lOlsss.....i followed 100% all the NO lists and YES listss...lOLssssssssss = reason being i wanna be a guai kia and avoid all the "Next time deen you know" words passed down by those 3-8s lOlzzzz.........itsss dammmm irritating lOlzzzz

i got an olden (before 1945) example :
hubby's grandma went to work in the rubber plantations on the 2nd day after she delivered, no confinement , rather no extra $$ to do confinement

and i got a retro (during 1970s) example :
my mum nebber experienced any backaches at all in her life because she said during her confinement, she lied down on the bed to rest most of the time :001_302:

modern example :
i m not sure about myself but i do experience headaches sometimes, not sure if its due to i always wash my hair late at night or waddd, but i did not wash my hair for 30 days during confinement worrrrr~~~

i ate all meat during confinement, but miraculously, i did not experience any constipation at all.....this one i really dont know why, perhaps is becoz they keep giving me red dates to drink???

however the only thing i believe was about the "wind" thing. Actually i believe why the traditional no-logic belief about confinement is to make sure the "wind" does not get into your body after delivery coz our body is very weak during this period~~~

confinement is a belief, for well-being later on, so much so that it has turned into a traditional practice for all women (asian) after delivery. The post-natal depression, mood swings, stress levels that leads with it can be different for different pple. BUt seriously speaking, if situation permits, i would still encourage to do confinement .

wah CanCanMum,

u can dun wash ur hair for 30 DAYs!!!!! ?!?!??!

I cant tahan meh...ur scalp is those dried type non oily? Mine is so oily after 8 days and i wash after 8 days wor... wahahahaha!
i think confinement is very impt lo though, the practices is tough and some illogical....

 

[CanCanMum]

wah CanCanMum,

you can dont wash your hair for 30 DAYs!!!!! ?!?!??!

I cant tahan meh...your scalp is those dried type non oily? Mine is so oily after 8 days and i wash after 8 days ... wahahahaha!
i think confinement is very impt though, the practices is tough and some illogical....

ermmmmmmmmmmm

i m clean person!!!! lOlzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

i bun up my hair looooo

den when itchy i put those powder lOlzzzzzzzzzzzzz

i din manage to buy the dry shampoo thooooo

ermmmm hahhahahaha~~~~~~~

i washed my hair 3 times with shampoo when i hit the 30th day, SUPER Buaytahanzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[cmeilim]

hi meiteoh,

bfg makes me eat more than my usual during pre-pregnancy times. in fact, my whole palette changed over the course of the pregnancy! i couldn't eat oily and spicy food in the past - will get irritable bowel syndrome, even diarrhoea. but now, i can and even enjoy it a lot!

i am concerned that dieting during bfg will have negative impact on my boy. he's already starting to lose some of his baby fat in the past two months.....

 

[Koala bear mummy]

My hubby is very supportive of the idea of confinement mainly because hopefully I will be able to really rest while someone looks after the newborn..Taking care of NB throughout the night as I understand from so many people is no joke...super tiring and I'm pretty sure mummies who took care of their babies overnite know better...

As for those traditional practices like not washing hair and shower might be a little too testing for our sexy (HOT) weather for me...Food wise, I'd rather stick to confinement recommendations...eating well with MODERATE amts of herbs can't be too bad....:001_302:

 

[lovelymother]

confinement is a period whereby you let the body gain back the strength i supposed.

i mean there are several reasons on whether to do confinement or not. personally i did it for my first child. the second child i just did what i can. i think i'm lucky enough to have my mil to help me take care of my child during the second time.

but it can be quite a torture not to shower and wash hair for the confinement period. nearly gave up in the hot weather.

i guess if you want to save money, can just eat simple dishes and well, buy a bottle of the waist tonic or something to help gain back your health.

the only problem would be the new born. especially when you're tired throughout the day. you just have to be really patient with the baby .

but well, do take care. just do what that voice in your head tells you to.

 

[megtan]

I did my confinement for 3 weeks. Was quite hormonal towards end of 2nd week that hubby and I decided to end it by end of 3 weeks. We just weren't comfortable with a stranger taking over the household and with all the restrictions. Felt loss of privacy and freedom as I'm used to managing my own time and schedule, and don't like someone checking me out all the time (even when I'm doing personal stuff like internet shopping, home massage and BFing)

During confinement, had to follow the rules
- can only drink warm red date herbal drink
- must sit down to eat and drink, cannot stand
- must wash face and hands with cool boiled water
- must use da fong ai to wipe body or bath. Wipe body daily, bath once a week. Start to wash hair after 10 days, thereafter once a week, but must blow dry immediately
- must wear slippers, cannot barefoot
- eat food cooked with ginger and sesame (told CL that my body heaty type, so she tried adding less)
- drink tonic soup before bedtime 2nd week onwards
- cannot help baby clean poo or bath coz cannot touch tap water. (I felt ok after 1 week of rest and really keen to hands-on)

Things allowed
- Selected veg (rich in iron type)
- Selected fruits, mainly apple and dragonfruit 2nd week onwards
- oscillating fan during BF coz I was sweating nonstop. Sleep air-con at night.

I do believe that the confinement restrictions (loss of freedom, the heat) + CL (loss of privacy, different culture background) added to the blues such that I became ultra-sensitive and weepy. To me, confinement is even tougher than pregnancy and delivery! And if I have known (nobody told me), would possibly opt not to have CL or just daytime help, and follow the practices selectively.

 

[eissacsirhc]

I did my confinement too and it was torture! I know it's supposedly good for me or watever but den to have to eat only certain food is really tormenting.. The worse part is not being able to bathe..
Plus my confinement nanny was.... sigh... terrible.. I'm now wondering whether to have a confinement nanny for my next preg..

 

[jean1986]

I agree confinement is like the worst days of my life.I ate the same old food for the past 10 days,11 day onwards can eat chicken but still with the same old Ginger n sesame oil.
no plain water is ridiculous.I still sneak some fruit juice n water m other drinks everyday.
mother in law dun let me shower,so I had to shower aft my feed @ 5am when everyone is sleeping.
didn't bother wear socks n all.always in tees n shorts or speg
tops.n I on the aircon almost 24/7 otherwise when get hot,temper become bad..
this confinement thing is killing me.haha

 

[Ivy Miao]

I agree confinement is like the worst days of my life.I ate the same old food for the past 10 days,11 day onwards can eat chicken but still with the same old Ginger n sesame oil.
no plain water is ridiculous.I still sneak some fruit juice n water m other drinks everyday.
mother in law dont let me shower,so I had to shower after my feed @ 5am when everyone is sleeping.
didn't bother wear socks n all.always in tees n shorts or speg
tops.n I on the aircon almost 24/7 otherwise when get hot,temper become bad..
this confinement thing is killing me.haha

Hahah!! Im like you too.. Still drink plain water, no socks and on air con 24/7. After birth already having post-natal blues. With all these confinement thingy, not able to shower, my mood was........ TERRIBLE!! So i decided to shower everyday with Da feng chao after 3days of not showering.. Haha!

 

[CanCanMum]

shower can mahhhh, wad irritates me is cannot wash hair!!! lalalalal~~~~

my hair smells like BO x 999 times buaytahanzzzzzz

 

[jean1986]

my mother in law say cannot bath even with the dài feng cao,can only wipe body.but once in the toilet,I jus splash all over la. haha

 

[bong]

Hi mummies,
i love reading the confinement threads.It was an eye opener to me.But i never had any confinement.I am wondering does confinement really help you get back in shape faster n health faster?I didnt get the chance to go for the pre or post natal massages as well.
Healthwise i am in better shape n health than i was pre pregnancy.hmmm..wht about those mummies who did not have any confinement?How r you guys feeling?
Seems like a great way to rest but then when i read about the problems with confinement ladies etc..i think it just adds on to the stress.
I looked after my babies myself with the help of hubby.
Wldnt have minded some nice massages though..hahahha..!

can u tell me more about how can u do without any confinement...?
cause i am thinking of not doing my confinement too!!!

 

[WinnieL]

can you tell me more about how can you do without any confinement...?
cause i am thinking of not doing my confinement too!!!

confinement is really just a period for you to rest your body after carrying a baby for 9 months and delivering the baby. i didn't have a confinement lady. my mother-in-law cooked the confinement food for me, which she learnt from recipe books. other than staying at home, i didn't really follow much of the so-called rules
- bathed 2 days after returning from hospital
- cleaned myself nightly, so was in contact with tap water
- bathed with the hot herbal water, but mixed it with tap water
- drank red dates water, but started drinking plain water by 2nd week
- husband quietly gave me sips of cold apple juice or orange juice when mother in law not looking
- slept in air-con room

key thing is to make sure you don't get a chill during that time, and to build up your body's strength again. this is especially important if you're breastfeeding.

 

[apollo]

to many chinese, confinement is a MUST! i did mine under the help of a CL and my mum. But mine wasnt so strict cos both my mum n CL are very open-minded. they allowed me to on fan and even AC. though cannot really shower but I was allow to use warm water to clean my body esp my breast (cos bf-ing, hygience is v impt, imagine bb smell and suck our smelly boobs). i started to shower on the 12th day onwards with herbal water.

initially they dun allow me to drink water they said will cause water retention (sry but i think this part is really bullshit!) and they want me to drink longan red date tea and milo only. but i got v bad constipation and cried badly, nearly got into depression, then they gave in. I drank as much water as I could.

as for food, during the 2nd day aft i delivered, my hub brought MAC brekkie for me to eat in hospital, CHK somemore.. many told me not to have chk during the 1st 2 weeks aft c-sect, as will cause infection but i dun believe since the hospital menu alrdy have chk porridge. and i also ate curry puff, bak chor mee, drank lemon barley (pkt) & ice lemon tea during confinement.

To me, what's more impt during confinement is to REST!! Resting well is much more impt than anything. if you have enough rest, your body will be healthy =)