La Gracia Care Confinement Center Review

La Gracia Care Confinement Center Review

• 12.19.2016

So what's it's like to be in a confinement home and what do you even do there for 28 days? Been asked by countless of readers/ followers, friends and family members. To answer all of you one by one can be quite tiring (need to repeat so many times lol), so best i share my entire experience here on my blog so you guys can look it up anytime and anywhere easily :)

First of all i only did a 14 day confinement as i personally felt i was able to recuperate within this time frame because all i needed was rest, adjustment period and some guidance on how to care for my baby as i was really struggling with them as a clueless new mother.

At peace indeed, i had time and space to bond with my baby.

Seriously how i wish the prenatal seminars conducted around town would prepare us for the worse rather than just touching the surface of each topic which most of us can google easily these days. It's the same case of college/ school where what you were taught in classes isn't necessary used outside those doors, so basically you gotta learn from a scratch all over again and that's what we call "experience". Something the books can't teach us but gained from falling and climbing with our own efforts.

New moms who attended all these prenatal classes too would say, only a small percentage of the talk is useful and not all of it but when it comes to dealing with a newborn infant each has its own unique character and behavior making it difficult for each mother to apply the same trick taught during prenatal talks or advise by friends so everyday is a struggle for new moms to learn what suits her baby best but all those usually happen throughout the early months which the mother is obviously dead beat from giving birth and needs recovery before she is strong enough to tend to her baby completely. During this period new mothers shouldn't be focusing on learning baby sleeping tricks but to get sleep herself so that she can heal faster and also focus on increasing her milk production.

It is proven that stress does affect a mother's milk supply and i have many working mom friends who vouch on that fact. And as you guys know how stressful my life already is without the baby and after the arrival my stress level increased x100000000000000000 (or infinity la lol) and i am totally clueless at being a mother. 

Personally i thought i could handle everything on my own as i had equipped myself with baby caring knowledge obtained from books and online research but that too couldn't save me from the wrath of this tiny human being lol. From her having jaundice to ferrying her to the hospital daily for check up and not to mention the latching problems to the point my nipples were torn and bleeding. Yes that sound scary and it's painful but you can't do anything because your baby gotta drink every hour when they have jaundice or else they'll suffer from dehydration which accelerates the jaundice level.

Midwife Michelle, taught me hands-on on how to bath Mariko properly, tricks like put on her diapers first after bath to avoid unnecessary soiling which i wished i had knew on the first week i brought her home as she accidentally peed an poop all over my mattress, towels and where-ever she was laid on lol. Handling a real life baby is really different from bathing dolls during those prenatal classes especially when mine is such a squirmy lil worm. 

Thank you so much Michelle!

So imagine the amount of baby stress i have on my shoulders already while having to finish up my client's project and at the same time i couldn't even care for my own-self. This was the time how i wish i had a significant other to share the burden and give me moral support when i was at my most vulnerable state. Lost count of how many times i broke down and cried, wanting all this to just end because i underestimated the amount of stress i could handle.

That explains why i only checked into La Gracia on the 2nd week and not the first, by right i was supposed to check in directly upon being discharged from the hospital but because of WORK. 

Note to self, never pull this stunt ever again under any circumstances.

If you are lazy to read, watch my video instead!

By the time i stepped into La Gracia, you could tell i was THIS CLOSE to dropping dead from exhaustion, i even recall looking much better than this after giving birth lol.  At first i cringed at the idea of following the Chinese way of doing confinement with all those strong traditional herbs and GINGER, it's like everything MUST HAVE ginger and i am not exactly a big fan of ginger despite knowing its health benefits and why it's needed especially for new mothers (bleh).

But here in La Gracia it's actually a combination of both modern and traditional practices making it an ideal place for modern mom such as myself who don't necessary blindly follow traditional practices unless it is supported by medical researches. There are some mothers who are forced by their parents or in-laws to go through the traditional confinement method but i will not touch that area as it's a matter of preference for each individual :)

Just saying that if you are modern or purely traditional, you'll find the perfect balance here in La Gracia, in terms of food they can also custom according to your request like some mothers are vegetarian or do not eat certain types of food they may let the centre know upon signing up/ checking-in. Like myself who don't really eat much rice like an average Malaysian so i requested for lesser portion but an increase on the vegetable servings instead. That's one of the brownie points of staying in a low density confinement centre, they can focus on every individual mothers' needs compared to a high density one that basically just serve you according to their standardize procedure/ package.

Check out the amazing tons of food variety i had for the past 14 days, all those food served reminds me very much of home (mom's cooking) which i never had for quite some time now since i left to study in college. If you are worried that they'll be serving you ONLY Chinese style confinement food for 28 days straight, don't worry as like i said they offer a variety to make things more interesting and pleasant for the mothers staying here at the same time making sure its equally nutritious as well.

So healthy and nutritious home-cooked food is definitely a CHECK!

P/S: On the side note, i do apologize to my Muslim readers who are interested to try this place out for their confinement as the food served here are non halal, pork is used for some of the dishes. However i will let you guys know if i have found a halal confinement centre near future k? :)

Homemade cabonara from a scratch is amazing!

Types of  dishes your mom cooks at home

Clean, quiet and homey environment is what every new mother needs because looking at the pile of mess in her own home knowing she doesn't have the time and energy to clean it up just adds on to her stress levels, there's so many thing that can contribute to a new mother's stress and even the most slightest mistake can send her agitated which is perfectly normal as first of all they are in so much pain and discomfort from the healing wound (episiotomy or c-sec) and the hormonal transition they are encountering makes them rather unstable at this period of time.

That's why doctors do mental evaluations on new mothers to see if they are showing any potential signs of postpartum depression before being discharged from the hospital but for my case was different as i had a severe depression medical history record in the same hospital i delivered Mariko, so they felt it was necessary for me to visit the shrink again as a follow up =_= it's been 2 years of clean bill, oh ye' of lil faith.

La Gracia's concept of making their confinement home low density was so they can have a better quality control over their operations and also spacious room settings for mothers and their husbands to stay in. Yes, if i am not mistaken they are on of the first confinement centres that actually allows husbands to stay with their wives overnight before heading to work the next day. Food isn't served for the husbands but they can easily get access to the nearest commercial area which is SS2 Chow Yang that's filled with hawkers, cafes, convenience shops and even have night market every Thursday night. Pretty much a strategic location for people who resides around PJ area!

Comfortable strategic home environment CHECKED!

No mess, no fuss. 

House keeping is done in the morning daily to ensure cleanliness

Breastmilk booster snacks are unlimited supply in the common area outside the rooms, there are wheat biscuits, milo and oats incase you are also feeling abit peckish. We breastfeeding moms eat alot that it scares me sometimes as well because prior to giving birth i was still on a strict food intake to watch my overall figure but at the same time making sure my baby is getting enough nutrients la. Right now i am like heck it, eat all i want *cries*.

Lil angels when their eyes are closed lol

So with your mind away from thinking of what to eat everyday or who's gonna cook for you and the mess at home, that's already got you feeling more at peace but what happens when your baby starts crying 24/7 ever since you brought them home. Sounds pretty overwhelming to hear their cries and not being able to soothe them at all makes any new mother feel like they are an ultimate failure already :(

Well that's how i felt la..but since i handed Mariko to the nurses upon checking in they managed to console her giving me time and space to rest before her next feed. And for the first time since i left the hospital i am able to have a good night's rest without having to worry about getting up to feed a fussy hungry baby while being half asleep and being worried i might drop her half way from nodding off. The night feed seriously takes some time getting used to it, every mother is sleep deprived at some point but after the routine is set, things starts getting better from there. 

And all we need is a lil help on the adjustment period, hence i am thankful for the nurses at La Gracia for giving us mothers that "help".

If it weren't for the nurses observing them 24/7 i too wouldn't have known today on how much Mariko actually needs to drink in order to be full lol or how regular are her bowel movements or even how much Mariko actually enjoys bath sessions!

The nurses and midwife not only cares for the babies but also provides full support for the mothers there like checking our surgical wounds to make sure it's clean and not infected (feels weird someone looking down there haha!), checking our blood pressure and body temperature daily as well and if you were to hire the usual home confinement lady she's not gonna be able to do all those except cook traditional herbal meals for you and just tend to the baby.

Though the nurses here can provide cup feeding whenever it's necessary (like mother needs more rest) but they always encourage direct latch on whenever possible. By the time most mothers are ending their confinement period they are already adjusted to night feedings. Also with the mother's permission they will bottle train the babies once they hit 3 weeks old this is needed especially for working mothers who would soon need to leave their babies at the care of others while they are at work. But i am actually guilty of bottle feeding my baby from the first week already due to medical observations on how much we have to force feed her every hour (no thanks to her jaundice).

They care for each baby like it was their own :)

The road to motherhood is definitely never an easy one, there's so many obstacle and changes we gotta face overnight and sometimes all we want to do is give up and sleep. I first discovered painful engorgement during my first week here at La Gracia as my milk supply suddenly increased tremendously and i did not pump it out on time as a result it harden on certain areas so warm compress or massage if needed to get it flowing again, just as you thought you can withstand any type of pain after giving birth, try having engorged breasts lol. I remember crying as the nurses tried their best to gently massage but yea learned how to do it myself in case it occurs again (now i set time reminders on my phone lol).
And midwife Michelle even taught me how to properly let Mariko latch on, prior to this i found breastfeeding agonizing and dread every moment of it because of the pain and even asked my friend for a lactation consultant contact because it came to the point i "beh tahan liao" :(
Also it turns out despite Mariko "looks" like she's latching on properly she's actually not getting enough milk hence her cranky behavior.  After that breastfeeding is a breeze already, can't thank you guys enough for saving me from the pain T.T

How many of you actually know how to use hand to express milk? Because clearly i didn't till Amanda (one of the nurses) showed me that with proper technique and positioning milk would flow out easily. Takes a couple of times till i finally got a hang of it, seriously it's a life saver when you are trap at work and forgot to bring your pump out. Most of all i would like to thank them for giving me a break when i needed them the most, without that time out i might have suffered from exhaustion and stress.

Knowledgeable staffs available, CHECKED!

Ah..my daughter's progress is just drink, sleep, pee, poop and repeat lol.

What a life! She came in here weighing only 2.9kg and checked out at 4kg!

They even have a nutritionist who came by to educate us on the important facts we new mothers need to know and even got some of our curiosity verified during this session lol. Every information obtain from the internet or word of mouth, take it with a pinch of salt or even better get them clarified with a practitioner.

Even made a new friend, Mommy Fan and baby Tao Tao!

Mariko and i look forward to visit their pottery studio one day

Within 2 weeks i managed to accumulate this much of milk thanks to the nutritious food and sufficient rest i've gotten at La Gracia Care Confinement Centre!:)

Thank you all so much La Gracia Care Team, we will miss all of you dearly!

Our gratitude goes out to Regine, Chloe, Mr.Tan, Bryan as well as Michelle, Amanda, Iqah and Miyra for the amazing confinement experience. 

 La Gracia Care Confinement Centre

No. 6. Jalan SS2/8A
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

018-763 3669
lagraciacarecenter@gmail.com

If you would like to find out more about La Gracia Care Confinement Centre and their facilities you may read my previous entry here: picking-perfect-confinement-home-la.html

XOXO,