DISCLAIMER: Please do note that this is my personal experience. I understand that everyone has different expectations and therefore different experiences. Please do ensure that you do your own due diligence. Please visit the center and ask the questions which are important to you. I am happy to share if anyone has specific questions. Please do connect with me on themummynotebook@gmail.com
This is my final installment
about my stay in Yuan Yuan Confinement Retreat Center for my one
month confinement after the birth of our little Murtabak. I decided to break my
review about my stay down to bite size posts so that I could cover in my stay
in more details as I have been getting request/emails and comments from my blog
readers on specifics areas. You can read my earlier reviews when I first
checked in for
some tips if you are going to stay in a confinement center. I also wrote about
the location and facilities in my Part 2
review. My Part 3 review covered
the food that I was served and now my final posting will be about the general
care for both Mummy and Baby!
My hungry little bundle of joy!
Slept straight after feeding. He is so tiny and sooo cute! :)
Mummy
The Call Bell
You can read from my first
review that upon check-in we
were all given a little call bell to get whatever help that we need whilst
staying there. The first 4-5 days for me were really difficult and challenging.
I literally did not leave my room and only either walked to the toilet or to the
dining table which was a few steps away from my bed. I used the call bell to
ask for help for everything, refill red dates tea, help to walk to the bathroom
because I was pretty unsteady, anything and everything to do with baby. So
after feeding I would get them to come up and burp little Murtabak, change his
diaper, take him for his morning sun, daily bath and checking. It was very
helpful indeed knowing that if you needed any help at all, there were ready
people to attend to you. I am also pleased to say that all the nannies and
helpers there were very friendly, polite and helpful. They were always ready to
cheerfully serve and assist where and when I needed them. I remember during my
confinement with Chapati and I had my confinement lady for two months, it was
pretty difficult to keep asking her to do stuff. One she is an elderly lady and
it kinda reminded me of my own mother. Imagine asking your Mum to do trivial
stuff for you. Two, she not has to look after you but the baby as well and cook
and clean...etc. There is only so much that one person can really do. But at
Yuan Yuan, there was always a few people around so if one was busy someone else
could help. Though, I heard some stories that people sometimes do abuse the
facility. Aiya...would attribute that to PPD maybe?
Bathing & Personal Hygiene
Every
morning,the caregivers would carry a pail of boiled herbal bath for each Mummy
should we choose to get cleaned up. Personally for me, I have to have a bath everyday. It's just
personal hygiene, what's more when you live in sunny humid Malaysia, you WILL
sweat. I remember my first week, for some reason, every time I would wake up
sweating and my pillow and bedsheets would be damp. Must be all the
"warm" foods that I ate to help with my recovery. Not to
mention the fact that if you had a normal delivery, you would still be bleeding
profusely for some time.
It as funny because on my second day there, I was wondering what all the pails
filled with black coloured hot water was. So I asked my room mate and found out
that it was for bathing! :) I was so happy that I quickly proceeded to have a
bath. Then I found out that the water was boiling hot and there wasn't any
water that had been cooled to add to the herbal bath. Traditionally our Chinese
customs dictate that we should only use water that has been boiled. I really
couldn't wait and decided to use the shower head there to mix the water so that
I could have a warm relaxing bath. I am not particular as long as the water was
clean. However, I do know another Mummy who was paticular and she was not very
happy. Simple solution, ask them
to leave a big pail of boiled for you the night before and voila! Cooled boiled
water will be available for you to use in the morning.
There was another important part of the bathing and recovery process that I
wanted to practice which is to have a Sitz bath everyday. It really helps in
the healing process and you also feel a lot cleaner. You can read all about
Sitz baths here. Taking the excerpt from the
Healthline website:-
"A sitz bath is a warm, shallow bath that cleanses the perineum, which is the space between the rectum and the vulva or scrotum. A sitz bath can be used for everyday personal hygiene. It can also provide relief from pain or itching in the genital area."
I remember when I signed up at, a sitz bath would be provided at the Center. But somehow that didn't materialise. I don't know if it was just because of a lack of execution or they simply forgot about it. Once again, I was not shy to ask. When I did ask, the answer was rather vague almost as if they didn't know what it was. There was also no facilities to have a Sitz bath. So I asked my Mum if I could borrow a shallow plastic container from her and I had already bought a lot of specialty salts during a Country Farm Organic warehouse sale specifically for this. So my Sitz Bath consisted of Himalayan Rock Salt Epsom Salt and Portugese Sea Salt. Come to think of it, I spent a whole lot of money to buys salts to soak my bum in! Arrghh...(story for another time...) I would ask the caregiver to bring me a pail of boiling water every night and mix the salts for a soothing soak. Tip: Bring your own container, it is better hygiene anyway.
Picture of My Salts
My Salts!
Laundry & Room Linen
The shared room had a shared laundry basket whilst the single VIP & Deluxe rooms had their own laundry basket.
Shared laundry basket in the Sharing Room
Laundry is done on a daily basis which is very good. They will collect your clothes to wash every morning and usually you can collect your folded laundry from a table in the general area upstairs. So please don't pack your whole cupboard! I packed about 7 sets of clothing, ie. pants, button down blouses (for easy breastfeeding) and underwear and I would rotate wearing them. I think I didn't even wear some of the clothes that I brought with me. Believe me it's a pain when you are packing to go home, so really only pack the minimum! I brought 2 towels with me so that I would always have one when the other was bring washed. In hindsight, I would bring 3 because there times when I dirtied the towel and both were being washed, I had to run downstairs get the one that had been washed and dried earlier.
Tip: Bring your own washing nets to keep your delicates like bras and underwear and remember to pack it when you go home. I left mine behind. (Sob...)
With regards to room linen, they don't have a schedule to change them and it was based on your request. I didn't know that but because I was sweating a lot and leaked a lot of milk when I breastfed little Murtabak lying, I asked them to change the sheets fairly often. It wasn't until nearly the last week that I realised because my sheets didn't get changed! :)
Tip: Ask them to change your sheets if you feel that it's dirty or you usually change your sheets weekly.
Doctors Appointments/KKIA Nurse Visits/Sneaky Home Visits
I wrote a post back in March about
Murtabak's severe jaundice at birth and because of this we had to go back to the doctor for blood tests during his first two weeks. So contrary the notion of confinement, I actually went out quite a bit! Secondly, the KKIA nurse home visits were to our own home, so every few days during the first 10 days of checking into the center, I would have to go home for a few hours to wait for them to come and check on me and baby.
I discussed with them that I had these appointments to go for and I was so pleasantly surprised that they offered to prepare and pack food for me. They shared that I should not simple eat any outside food because it could be detrimental to my health as I had only just given birth. I feel that they went over and above in their service to look after me. They would pack the entire meal for me with soup! On top of that they also packed a flask of red dates tea so that I also had something to drink whilst I was out. It was complete with cutlery and serviettes too!
My wholesome and nutritious take away lunch whilst I was out and about
I would let them know my schedule the day before and they would have everything ready for me before I left. It was pretty awesome!
Tip: Bring your own thermal flask for the soup and tiffin carrier for the food. I for one prefer to not put hot food in plastic...chemical leaching and all that jazz...
Baby
I brought only one set of clothing for little Murtabak. This is to dress him in when we go home. During our entire stay at the Center, they provided disposable diapers and clothes for him. This is so awesome as you don't have to spend extra money to buy disposal diapers! More savings! Newborns in their first month really go through a lot of diapers! What's more, the center used good brands like Huggies and Pet Pet.
Breastfeeding/Feeding
I shared with them when I checked in that I have decided to fully breastfeed my baby via direct latch so that I could build my milk supply. I didn't bring any feeding bottles at all, I wanted to make sure that they didn't "accidentally" feed him with the bottle. :) They were very open and supportive of this. Nearer towards the end of my stay there I started going out a lot more with Hubby and Chapati, they would then help to syringe feed Murtabak. One of the helpers there is actually a qualified staff nurse from the Phillipines.
They provide a fridge and freezer to keep pumped breast milk. So I started to build my supply and keep for the future. They will give you a container and you can put all your bottles or milk bags in there so that it doesn't get confused between Mummies.
I was pleased to find out that they help to wash and steam all the feeding and storage bottles, teats, storage bottles and pump flanges to ensure cleanliness. It was very helpful as I could pump and not worry about all the washing and steaming of equipment
Bath/Morning Sun
Every morning they will usually come up and bring little Murtabak down for a bath and during his first week or so, they would also take him out for a little sunshine due to his jaundice. It took about nearly two weeks for him to really get over it. Considering how bad he had
jaundice at birth this was already very good.
Their baby toiletries were also of reasonably good quality and they also put on diaper rash cream for him every time he had a diaper change. Of course it wasn't the equivalent of Buds but Johnson and the likes of it is pretty acceptable.
Jaundice Meter
I believe that the center wisely invested in a Jaundice Meter. It is quite accurate and all you had to do was touch the metal tip to your baby's chest and the jaundice reading will appear on the LCD screen. I felt a lot more assured that he was slowly getting better and we didn't have to keep going to the clinic to get his little heel poked for blood to test or the need to worry about trying to estimate how bad his jaundice is by guessing his shade of yellow by the hour! :)
The Jaundice Meter
Baby Monitoring
Another aspect of baby care that I was quite please with was that they actually keep track of baby feeding, diaper changes, temperature and jaundice levels. Essentially, they keep a clipboard for each Mummy and baby.
They also write down the colour of your baby's stools and even the name of the helper that attended to your baby just in case you need to check on something.
As I was breastfeeding on demand, they didn't really do a good job of tracking my baby's stats. They only him tracked for a few days and then gave up. I think it is was also because the center has less Mummies and babies to attend to.
Tip: If the center is full, please do insist that they at least track your baby's feeding time and jaundice levels consistently. You can also ask to see your chart to make sure that they do not overlook something that may be of importance.
This was my clipboard. I took a picture of it a few days after checking in.
Doctors Appointments/KKIA Nurse Visits/Sneaky Home Visits
I was pleasantly surprised when they handed me a little paper bag which was care kit for my Murtabak the first time we went out for a doctor's appointment. It was a mini diaper bag equivalent for Murtabak! Again it was very thoughtful of them.
The paper bag contained:
1) 2-3 pieces of diaper depending on how long you would be away from the center
2) 2 little face towels for cleaning up Murtabak after feeding
3) 1 spare set of clothes
4) 1 baby napkin to wrap him up in
5) 1 small packet of baby wipes
Luckily hubby remembered to take a picture. ;)
Special Care for Murtabak's Elective Medical Procedure
We took Murtabak in for a small medical procedure when he was about 2 weeks old. After the procedure was completed, we were given medications to apply and paracetamol. I took special care to share with them the kind of care that he needed. During the first few days, I was rather anxious and would check on them every time he had a diaper change and remind them when the medicines were due. I am happy to say that they were extremely gentle with him and diligent with the medications.
Overall, the one month experience for me was positive and it helped me to recover after giving birth. Time flew by really quickly and before you know it, Murtabak is almost turning 1 month old. It was time to go home!
We decided to leave after dinner, so I got to eat one more wholesome meal before going home. We were pleasantly surprised that the center got us a small cake to celebrate and also gave us a set of new baby clothes as a present for him turning 1 month old.
Family pic!
HOME SWEET HOME!
Update: 30th December 2016
The center has been rebranded to Culture Romance Confinement Retreat Center. You can reach them on their Facebook page at
@cultureromance
I have been keeping an expense log since November 2015 till March 2016. I stopped updating our monthly expenses report till today as I felt it was a tough job tracking every cent that we spent. Recently I have taken some time to think about some important questions like what does being financially free/independent mean to me? What is my attitude towards money? Why do I continue to track our spending? Why be frugal and prudent? To what end?
