My mum suffers from insomia where she manages only a few hours of sleep every night at her house, and it gets worse whenever she travels to an unfamiliar place. In spite of her slow adaptability, she still went ahead to pack a few belongings and came over to my house to do confinement for me.
We went through all the tired nights of waking up together every 1-2 hrs to feed Charis, and she was the one who goes to market everyday early in the morning at 7plus am to buy fish, chicken, vegetables, pork etc to whip up the confinement dishes for me.
Some confinement dishes she cooked for my lunch and dinner:
"Tang Cu" Pig Trotters / 糖醋猪脚
Ginger & Wine Chicken / 姜酒鸡
Minced Pork "Mian Xian" with Ginger (ginger, a must ingredient for confinement!!) / 姜丝肉碎面线
"Hong Zao" Chicken / Red Yeast Chicken / 红糟鸡
Brown Sauce Fish with Ginger / 姜炒鱼
Green Papaya Soup w/Fish Head (for more breastmilk.. hee)/ 青木瓜鱼头汤
Yellow Wine Chicken with Black Fungus / 黄酒鸡炒黑木耳
Double Boiled Black Chicken Essence with Herbs / 药材炖乌鸡汁 (for this dish, do note that no water is to be added. The soup comes from the essence of chicken through steaming.. yummy!)
Red Date Drink / 红枣水 (this is to be consumed as water throughout the confinement, so no drinking of water allowed)
Sounds very nourishing right?
All the above dishes serve to replenish the bodily heat loss after labour. Come to think of it, I did feel cold easily when I had to go out four times during my confinement - once for Charis's jaundice at Mount Alvernia, second time was to see the Lactation Consultant again at Mount Alvernia, third time for Charis's jab at paediatrician's, and fourth time was to my gynae's for postnatal follow-up.
Thanks mum, for cranking your head to think of more dishes to cook cos I was getting so tired of the confinement food midway through my confinement...
And thanks mum, for helping with all the cooking, laundry, ironing, the "da feng ye" water for me to bathe and wash my hair.
I know it's your first time doing confinement and I know it was difficult for you adjusting to my place so much so that you contemplated the idea of me going to your place for confinement on the 2nd day!!
But the one month passed really quickly... Thanks mum, from the bottom of my hear (tears welling up my eyes as I wrote this)
*A note of thanks to my mother-in-law for standing in my mum to cook for me every Sun morning. I know you were so stressed thinking of what to cook, and struggled in my kitchen the first week when you were yet to familiarize yourself there. Thanks mum no.2 :)
Well, here are some pics that I took during confinement:
A 4-day old Charis..
She was still quite skinny..
Ha ha.. The mittens still looked rather over-sized.
That's Ah Ma visiting Charis during her 4th day at home...
Alongside with Ah Gong and 2 Ah Cheks...
An 8-day old Charis..
Daddy holding Charis girl girl..
Soundly asleep.. Charis appeared tanned from the phototherapy she did to treat her jaundice.
A 24-day Charis...
Hi darling!
My dear girl..
The moment with daddy..
Sleeping with hands clasped over ears..Hee hee
Po po with Charis on her full month celebration on 25th Oct 2008... before all the other guests arrive.
Po po, Yee Po and Charis...
Ah Yee and Charis...
Jie Jie Sharie and Charis...
From Left: Daddy's Da Yee, Po Po and San Yee
Buffet at the corridor.
Ah Gong and Ah Ma with Charis.
My mother-in-law told me that my father-in-law seldom carry or play with their three sons when they were young, and it's interesting to see how he'll talk to Charis and carry her and play along with her just to see her smile. Guess it's a grandparent thing:)
Aunty Say Li and Charis... Quite pro in cradling baby right?
Aunty Say Li, Aunty Ah Leng and Jie Jie Jamie with Charis
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