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.
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.
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