Confinement Centre Viewings - Care Nanny Malaysia

Hubby and I have been thinking about plans for when baby #2 arrives. Bump is already showing at 14 weeks. (Probably because I am bloated...) I don't remember showing so obviously with Chapati. Anyway, back to confinement plans. When Chapati was born, confinement was done in my parents apartment as they had two adjoining units. They lived in one and I stayed in the other. Before actually staying there we though that it was ideal because we would still have our own space and they could visit as often as they liked. Of course, it came with it's own challenges which I will save for later so this time around we thought that home might be best. The problem with having children later in life is that our home was renovated to accommodate us (Hubby and I and our stuff) and over the years, it has filled with just "us" stuff and accommodating a confinement lady and a new baby is going to be really tough...plus baby#2 might arrive just before CNY and I shudder to think of how much I am going to have to pay the confinement lady excluding food. Hence, confinement homes may be just the solution for us.

Asked Mr Google and voila! A list came out...albeit a slightly disappointing list. Found blogs about confinement and but very few said anything about confinement centres or their experiences with the centres.

Anyway I selected a few that looked promising and proceeded to send them all email enquiries. Most responded very quickly. The list that I decided to check out is as follows:-

Care Nanny Malaysia
http://carenanny.com.my/

Mom's Paradise Postnatal Retreat (Part of the Daveleen group)
http://www.moms2b.com/

Gina's Place
http://ginaspostnatal.blogspot.com/

Serenity Confinement Centre
http://www.serenity.my/


I then happily managed to confirm my first viewing  at the Care Nanny Confinement Centre. When we arrived at the location of the bungalow in Subang Jaya we just a teeny tiny bit disappointed that the garden was bare (we expected the place to be landscaped) It was clean and tidy though with little trees growing along the fence. We were then greeted by a very pleasant and jolly nurse who started to show us around whilst Carmen (the person with whom we had made an appointment with) would arrive shortly. We were pleasantly surprised that the centre was better than what we had envisioned from the outside. It had a new and homely kind of feeling. The kind that you have when you just move into a new house. It was also spacious and when we asked, we realised that the centre had just opened in the last one month! When Carmen arrived we started asking her a barrage of questions simply because we had never had any experience with a confinement centre before and she patiently explained and answered our questions. Hubby and I had a few things that we felt were important to us and we found out the following:-

1) Breastfeeding - Chapati was exclusively breastfed until he was 16 months old. When I got preggy with baby#2 and had horrible morning sickness I then had to supplement him with formula. So wanting the same for baby#2 it was important that I had the kind of support that I didn't quite have with Chapati. Brownie Point No. 1 the nurses will actually help you if you want to fully breastfeed your baby even at night. However Carmen did mention that they encourage the mummies to get more rest so they recommend that we leave the baby with the nurses during the night and resume direct latch the next morning. I however made it clear that I would like to direct latch my baby for the first month and would prefer that he or she is not out of my sight for more than 2 hours. (A little paranoid considering some of the horror stories you hear about caregivers)

2)  Brownie point no. 2 the people actually caring for the baby and mothers are qualified nurses. For me it was good that I had a choice in whether I wanted to subject baby#2 to some old customs and traditions...like rubbing their backs with flour and then giving them a shave...(aiya that is what happened with Chapati and didn't understand what was happening until it was all over)

3) Brownie point no. 3 the place is a new centre so everything still looks good, clean, new and even the beds looked quite comfortable. The best past was I told that Care Nanny has already another centre running in Puchong so they are experienced and know what to expect.

4) We brought Chapati with us and the nurse seem to like children because she wanted to play with him and carry him. (This is important if you are working with babies and children)

5) All the rooms had windows and natural light with the exception of the cheapest one.

6) The confinement duration is 30 days and not the usual 28 days.

7) They also allow hubby to stay if he wants and provides 1 meal for him.

8) They had rooms from RM 7,888- RM 12,888 and their opening promotion was if we decided to sign up and pay the deposit we would get RM 500 off the room price.

9) Brownie point no.4 the CNY surcharge was only 15% of the total price which we both thought was reasonable because when we thought of having to pay the confinement lady double salary...(anyway you get the picture) This was only applicable from the 27th of January onwards.

10) Finally we asked about the deposit and what happens to our deposit in the event something unforeseen happens. (Choi - choi) This was the only part that had some grey areas...ie..."we can talk to management....etc". Their initial deposit was a little steep though at 50% of room price. NOTE TO SELF: Clarify this point if we decide on their confinement centre.

Their photos are available on their website and it is a pretty accurate depiction of the place. (no Photoshop :))    http://carenanny.com.my/our-services/accommodation-facilities/

So went our first viewing and I must say we were both pleasantly surprised. The prospect of going to a confinement home finally did seem viable after all. I am excited to see and compare the other centres before finally making a decision.

Lastly Brownie point no. 5 is that they also provide confinement food catering services for 30 days with no delivery charge. That might also be something to think about...

I will be going for more visits asap as we have to make a decision very quickly. Confinement centre rooms are a little like the confinement ladies...they get booked up pretty quickly.

Baby#2 and Morning Sickness

Baby #2 is now nearly 14 weeks and well on the way after a check-up with my gynae about 2 weeks ago. Didn't get around to writing about it until today because, the only thing that is different this time around is the nausea, nausea and more nausea...and more nausea. That's just being polite... to be honest it should be shit, crap, hell on earth, downright depressing, bleak, nasty, absolutely horrible, dreadful...I am running out of words and don't even get me started on curse words.

Imagine having motion sickness or food poising (the symptoms are pretty similar) everyday from the time you wake up until the time you sleep. Yeah, really shit! Not being able to keep any food or water down and vomiting more than 5-6 times a day. Morning sickness for you! (I don't even know why they call it morning sickness, it was all day for me!)

I am now going to re-live the last 4-5 weeks though I would rather have amnesia about it. Not all bad considering that I think I am a slightly better and more compassionate person now.

1. I now have a heck of a lot of RESPECT, COMPASSION and EMPATHY for Mummies out there who are going through the same thing. You really don't know how bad it can get unless you really experience how bad it is yourself. 
2. I used to share with people how wonderful and sick free my first pregnancy was when they said that they had/are experiencing morning sickness. Can't believe how totally crass I was then, going on about how pregnancies are easy and wonderful...blah,blah,blah...I will NEVER EVER do that again. 
3. I will learn to listen and offer words of comfort and support! 
4. I will let them talk/cry/complain/lament about what they are going through and NOT JUDGE them.
5. I will share with them my own journey and hope that it makes them feel that they are not ALONE.

First thing that happened to me was that every little smell felt like an ALL-OUT assault on my senses. Nearly every smell drove me to running to the toilet (or for a plastic bag) to vomit or caused me feel sicker for the rest of the day. The list of things that I couldn't bear is just endless. Even now 5 weeks later it is still endless.

• Any kind of perfume
• My doggies 
• Antiseptic/antibacterial sprays, wash, hand wash, cleaner. The worse was the Euky Bear Eucalyptus Spray smell. A sniff would send me straight to the toilet no matter how I felt.
• Chapati's baby talcum, baby wash, shampoo, moisturiser, poor little fella. 
• Hubby after a long day's work
• BO
• My regular under arm deodorant so I had to buy the Crystal Stick deoderant.  
• My regular hair shampoo. Funnily enough my Loreal Hair Spa mask smell was still bearable
• All my facial products from Decleor Paris and Jeunesse. So my morning sickness arm twisted me to go on a shopping spree to buy new facial products. I finally settled on Kiehls because of the smell...or lack of it.
• Dish washing liquid - I changed so many and I still can't wash dishes. Thank God for hubby as he volunteered to wash the dishes as and when. Tried Glo, Oxy Glo and Joy two different flavours each and finally Cosway Dish Drops.

Then came the feeling of nausea from the time that I wake up till the time I sleep. The feeling that I can only describe like dizzyness, an upset stomach, heaviness, the inability to function normally, difficulty in breathing and the general state of feeling completely and utterly unwell. The constant vomiting and the inability to keep any food or drink down of course contributed to the comatose state that I was in for the next 3-4 weeks. I was completely useless at home, I could only drag myself to the toilet to vomit and clean up after that, shower and then drop into bed exhausted. I could not go to work for many days and when I did go to work, I could not do anything apart from trying to stay on my feet/my chair.  My energy level and focus was non-existent. I didn't even care about how I looked. Most days, as long as I was clean and showered I was content. Make up? Didn't even bother. Suffice to say that I looked terrible!

I always thought that getting pregnant was supposed to be a happy and joyous occasion. Hubby and I all glowing and loving because of the new life growing inside me. Sincerely, I couldn't feel more different than that!

Pinching...Job wise

Is that we are all relegated to at the moment? Pinching? Stealing people from one company to another? Then there is this H2H hiring...Hiring to hurt? I read the article below today and felt really bad.

http://www.humanresourcesonline.net/this-is-where-google-and-apple-scout-for-talent/?utm_campaign=20150318_hrdaily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=MY&utm_content=topstory


A quote directly from www.humanresourcesonline.com
“The name is clearly indicative of its chief goal, which is to identify key talent and then hire them away to the point where your H2H hiring actually hurts the competitor’s business results.” 

Why can't we all live and let live. Really, is the pie so small that we have to do things to each other just to gain the upper hand and make that little much more? What's more horrifying to me is that...is there really so little talent out there? People with good potential and abilities? People who are willing to put in the time and commitment to do well in their jobs? Really so few out there?

Vomit free day!

Thank God that 28th July 2015 was an awesome and unprecedented day! I did not vomit...not even once! I only felt sick twice and for very short spans of time.

I even managed to eat a meal in the evening which was the Papparich fried bee hoon and a cup of ice cold water. Although not all of it, at least half! Best part was, I felt normal, I felt like myself for most of the day!

I could think, I could feel, I could taste the noodles, I could enjoy a normal conversation with people! I could actually sit down for one and the half hours and not feel sick.

Is this my turning point in carrying baby #2? It has been a really difficult and challenging 4 weeks. Hubby says it might just be the best for me that God works in ways that we don't understand but brings the best for us. Losing 4 kilos of weight brought me back to my previous pre-prenancy weight with Chapati. I have been complaining about how I haven't lost the weight from carrying Chapati and now I have to put on some more weight. I did say that I didn't want to become a giant hippo.

Time to eat healthy and put back in all the nutrients and both baby and I need. Praying that I can start exercising too. I tire so easily now and am well aware how unfit I am physically.

Well, I am going to enjoy today...

An Introduction to Water Kefir

Yum yum, who doesn't like the idea of drinking "healthy soda pop"?? As of recent months I have been getting more and more interested in eating more healthy raw food, juicing, fresh food...etc for both adults and babies. Josh is growing older now at 11 months and is a healthy-not-fussy eater. (Thank God!)

Anyway, came across quite a few postings on fermented foods and eventually came across Kefir. So my interest was piqued and I decided to do a little more digging. I was blown away by the amount of stuff on fermentation and how it affects health. Anyways, I decided to zero in on Water Kefir as making and drinking my very own probiotic soda pop sounded like fun. More fun than popping probiotic pills, cheaper (I hope...) then buying Yoplait yoghurt and Yakult!

So spent last Sunday afternoon learning about Water Kefir and doing a hands on preparing and flavouring. I was obviously bombarded with more information than I could comprehend so I consoled myself with the fact that everything is now available online so all I had to do was ask Mr. Google. I learnt that water kefir grains are alive! We also learnt how to prepare the sugar solutions and how different sugars were needed for the grains to thrive. We even talked about the type of water to use and how to give them a coconut bath every two weeks to help them grow and multiply. Lastly we also discussed how creative we could get with flavouring our water kefir using fresh fruits, flowers and greens. Blueberry lavendar or longan goji berry water anyone? Finally we also discussed a little about how traditional Jamu could go hand in hand with water kefir providing a more comprehensive detox and obviously the subject closest to a woman's heart came up. Someone asked the million dollar question, "Can lose weight ah?" Someone testified that by just drinking kefir and jamu everyday, she lost 6 kgs in one month plus. We all sat up and paid a heck of a lot more attention after that. :) 

 So we to trudge on and after nearly 4 hours.I was a happy camper going home with a cardboard box full of goodies as below:-

1. 2 tablespoons of donated water kefir grains in a small glass jar
2. 2 bottles of pear flavoured kefir
3. 1 bottle of cherry flavoured kefir
4. 400 gm packet of Country Farm Organic Raw Cane Sugar
5. 1 small plastic sieve
6. 1 mason jar with handle
7. 2 pieces of cut "Good morning" towels to cover the mason jar while fermenting
8. 1 small glass jar of Tumeric Asam Jawa Jamu to try
9. 10 glass bottles measuring 300 ml each to do flavouring (bought them cheap at RM1.20 per bottle)

I was obviously excited about my "little monsters" and couldn't wait to get home to stare at them and hopefully see them multiply and thrive. Someone else likened them to the popular digital Tamagochi pets which exploded in the 90s where you had to raise an alien egg into and adult creature. Like my little monsters, I am sure they will go through several stages of growth and will develop differently depending on how I care for them. Since I already have an 11 month old son....ala I tak hairan la...hahahaha

Anyway, will continue to write more on my water kefir-ing sometime later this week! Have a good one!

Nursing Bra frustrations!

I have been breast feeding for 11 months now to the dot and it has been really frustrating for me to find good nursing bras. To start with, I was a 34C/D pre pregnancy and since then have gone up a cup size or two. I think that I have normalised back again to to a D.As with all breast feeding mums the typical complaints are saggy or heavy boobs. So I can't go without a bra even at night when sleeping.

I find that most bras I have come across just don't seem to provide enough support for heavier/chestier mummies like me. I have tried Marks & Spencers nursing bras, Fabulous Mom bras, Autumnz, every brand in Mothercare...sigh... even a search on the internet on nursing bras in Malaysia doesn't yield very promising results. Most online shops only show similar brand bras and a lot of them stop at C cup size!

Anyway, my breastfeeding journey for Josh is only halfway and we are hoping to welcome more new family members to our little family...I need to find good supportive nursing bras! So I am determined to go on a little hunt to find suitable, supportive and reasonably priced nursing bras... really really soon!

Happy New Year 2015! Being INTENTIONAL

Thank God, I finally get to sit down and pen down some thoughts. I hope this doesn't become a habit. (It is 1.30 in the morning...hahahaha too late)

Anyway, I was just thinking about the new year. It alwasy brings hope and excitement. From the numerous messages and well wishes from friends and acquaintances on whatsapp to videos and facebook postings of "Happy New Year 2015!" Wishes of health, prosperity and happiness...advice on leaving the old and embracing the new, exhortations to make every day count, blessing and abundance...

Cute advice from Dr Seusse (posted by a friend) 

Flight advice from an uncle that starts like this:- (The rest of the message was too long so won't bother to post it here)

The Boarding on Flight 2015 has been announced Your luggage should only contain the best souvenirs from  2014 ..... The bad and sad moments should be left in the Garbage. The duration of the flight will be 12 months. 
So, tighten your seatbelt...etc...

But the best one that I liked the most was this picture.

I really thank God for the opportunity to start a New Year, walking in his ways and his promises. I know that He has so much in store for us.

Hubby and I have been spending some time talking to each other and asking questions, throwing ideas about what we were looking forward to this year. Somehow or rather it was difficult for me. I thought and thought but somehow they were all not quite there. What to do, being the super kiasu person and wanting to have everything and every base covered, I struggled to decide on how I was going to move forward this year.

I did decide thought to read to Chappati 1 Proverb and 5 Psalms every night and I started yesterday. Just before putting him to sleep today, I picked up my phone and starting reading to him again. He then went to sleep and I came out to write. I really felt that I needed to write, wanted to write...then a word came to me INTENTIONAL! Bible reading really can inspire I tell you!

So I have decided that this year I WILL BE INTENTIONAL vs living life on autopilot. Whatever happens this year, I pray that I will be intentional about everything and that God will give me the wisdom and strength to walk through the year ahead, to be a blessing to those around me and grow in my relationships. Whether at work or at home, with friends, family and loved ones...I will be intentional. 

Many say that this year will be the most difficult year yet. So to start, I will stand on His promise and declare in my life and family the following from Jeremiah 29: 11-13

Blessed New Year 2015 to everyone!