Confinement lady - A nightmare from Hell (Part 4)

Continuation from Part III

When we engaged confinement ladies, we expect them to be a knowledgeable professional with years of experience handling new born and mommies who have just delivered. But seriously, how many of them are really that knowledgeable and is the knowledge that the claimed to have proven or are they just so mid wife's tale......

We have bought a whole new range of Chico BPA free baby bottles for Chenya before her arrival and of course we were excited to pass them to the confinement lady to feed baby Chenya when she arrived.

Barely 2 days into job, Mdm L complained that the nipple holes were way too small and baby Chenya were having a tough time feeding. She insisted that we get her nipples with bigger holes. We went hunting but Chico outlets are difficult to find unless you are prepared to go to shopping complexes that I really don't have the time. Hence, we opted for Avent 4 month old nipples as an alternative. Mdm L seemed to be happier with it but complained constantly that baby Chenya is vomiting milk after feeding. She claimed that Chenya's stomach is `too shallow' and hence can't take that much. She insisted that 2.5 oz is sufficient.

When Mdm L left, it was our turn to take care of Chenya and to feed her. No doubt, the Avent 4 month nipple works wonders and Chenya did finished the milk in no time but we realised that she was not sucking but literally `drinking' since the flow was too fast. At times, we noticed that she literally had to stop to rest because she was just too tired. And we noticed that she vomit quite a fair bit after each feeding. The moment we changed the nipple back to the original one meant for new born, she vomited less and seemed to be enjoying her milk more. Of course the time taken to feed her is much longer as she now has to suck for milk.

Why did Mdm L insisted on a faster flow nipple? Because it is much faster to feed and get it done with. Once we switched to the original nipple, we are able to give Chenya 3 to 3.5 oz per feed without much problem and less vomiting. `Shallow stomach' theory? We dare not even mention this to our paed when we brought Chenya for her regular check up.

So, are all advice given by confinement ladies sound? You will have to be the judge to that.

Another thing we find that confinement ladies would always insist. Firstly, they would insist that we give the baby the pacifier whenever they cried. Honestly, we are seriously against it because we are afraid that the children will be so used to it that it becomes difficult for the baby to rid the habit later. We were adamant that Ryan would not have to use it with our first confinement lady and we shot down the idea the moment Mdm L brought up the subject. Why? Because the pacifier is obviously an easy way to pacify the baby. The problem is after they left and we have to deal with a baby addicted to the pacifier....

The second thing that we have seen confinement ladies likely to suggest was to allow the baby to sleep on the bouncer (sarung). We are again seriously against this idea because we really do not wish to have a baby that can only sleep in a bouncer and not the baby cot. Can you imagine travelling with a bouncer because your baby just can't sleep on a normal bed? The moment Mdm L brought up the subject, we shot it down and she was not at all happy about it.

The question that I tend to ask after this experience is that are confinement ladies really that knowledgeable and will do what is best for the baby or do they recommend methods that will best suit them for the next 28 days?

Well, so much for the confinement lady. We were truly glad that the confinement period is finally over and we could resume our normal life without the intrusion of a stranger in our home....

Would I consider a confinement lady if we should have another baby (not that we are going to since are are pretty sure that we have enough)? I certainly don't think so. In fact I think I could be a better `confinement lady' after going through two confinement ladies (and one from hell).....

And one last thing....she actually opened and counted her `ang pow' the moment we gave her in front of us!!! The ang pow although has become customary to give at end of her service is but a token of appreciation.....but Mdm L has obviously been led to believe that that form part of her charges and I am absolutely certain that she would question us and ask for more if we have given her something below her expectations...

Confinement ladies are certainly not cheap and they behave as if they are queens the moment the come on board.....