Four Weeks

Little Bambi is exactly four weeks old today! She is very cute and she never ceases to amaze me! Here is a recent picture of her. I sent it to Little-Miss-Whats-For-Lunch and she said "Oh my, gravity is pulling her cheeks down" hehe yes, my daughter has incredibly chubby cheeks.

Apart from Little Bambi being four weeks old, I was quite excited myself as it marks the end of my confinement period. I cannot wait to eat normal food and resume back to being a normal sane person! But much to my disappointment, my mum said the confinement does not end today, it ends on Saturday, which is Little Bambi's full moon celebration. My immediate reaction to that? AH PUTAIN!!!

If you are wondering how the confinement period went, let me tell you it is bloody awful. God only knows how all the chinese women in Malaysia did it, and especially for those who have many children! The hardest thing for me.. and for most people I know, is that I was not allowed to wash my hair for FOURTEEN DAYS! As I knew this was the case, immediately after Little Bambi was born, I kept my hair tied up high in a bun, even in the hospital. I slept with my hair tied as well, to keep my hair clean as possible. Also, as it is right in the middle of winter now in Melbourne, and considering how dry it is here, I guess my hair and scalp did not feel too bad the first couple of days. I bought four cans of dry shampoo, but I only used it on weekends when visitors were around. I found that dry shampoo causes the scalp to get a bit itchy after a few days. 

The first two weeks, my mum did not allow me showers as well. Instead, she gave me a bucket of boiled herbal water, and that was all I got. How miserable I was...cleaning myself in murky water. Considering how cold it is in Melbourne, I kept reminding her that using a bucket of water to clean myself is a million times colder than taking a hot shower with running water. After I would pour some hot water on my body, I would stand in the shower, freezing my arse off. I told her, this might work in Malaysia where it is 33 degrees Celcius every day, but it is now 6 degrees here, Mum! Finally she gave in, and I won the rights to taking a nice hot shower, like how people normally do in today's day and age. 

The food during confinement is not as bad as I expected, however, I was so conscious of my weight because my mum fed me six meals a day. Somehow I do not quite agree with the confinement diet as I did not find it very well balanced. The first week, I only ate pork, pork and more pork. No vegetables or fruits. The second week, I got a mix of chicken, and minimal vegetables. By week 3 and 4, I was able to start eating apples and kiwifruit, but no oranges. My taste buds have changed a bit, considering how much ginger and chinese rice wine I consume in the food. 

Drinks? I was not allowed to drink plain water. Instead, my mum boils me herbal tea every single day and I drink this most of the time. This tea is nice, it is not too bad. How about DOM? Ahhh, many people have told me that they refuse to take any DOM at all because of breastfeeding. I did not want to either, but my mum insist I drink a tablespoon each night before I go to bed. I resisted at first, but after a couple of days, I found that I actually liked it. DOM makes me feel warm, especially during winter. After that, I increased the amount to a bit over 2 tablespoons each night. Some people have told me they drank four bottles of DOM during their confinement and they were breastfeeding at the same time. Their children are fine. Apparently, DOM, like Redbull, gives you wings strength.

Going out? The house arrest part did not bother me much at all. This is where my mum was a bit more lenient. If I had some errands to do, I would quickly sneak out after her feed, while my mum watches her. The weather is cold and wet here, and as Little Bambi feeds every couple of hours, I preferred to stay home during the first couple of weeks. We did go out together at Week 2, to visit the Maternal Child and Health Nurse.

Apart from that, there are some little 'luxuries' (as I call it). I was not allowed to do any dishes, or any house work at all. My parents would do most of it. Once Little Bambi is asleep, I would get sent off to my bedroom to catch up on sleep as well. I really do appreciate my mum's help and support on this, as it was all very overwhelming during the start. My mum would also take care of all the washing and cleaning of Little Bambi's clothes, towel, bibs, mittens, baths, etc. She has also taken charge of food shopping in the house, cooking all the meals for Grumpy, my dad and Dopey. Sometimes I really wonder how the average Australian mum copes, as many of them have minimal or no help at all. I am really blessed, considering how caring my mum is. She drives me insane most of the time, but regardless, she is very good with Little Bambi, and she settles the baby so easily.