Deciding Where to Give Birth (Malaysia or Japan)

Deciding Where to Give Birth (Malaysia or Japan)

• 7.09.2018

I'm almost stepping into my 3rd trimester already and been getting tons of questions whether i'll be giving birth in Malaysia or Japan, to be honest both countries has its pros and cons. 

In Japan they do not practice the traditional art of confinement like how we Malaysians do, in fact from what i asked my Japanese friends who gave birth here there isn't much diet restrictions (no such thing as heaty or cold foods to avoid) in fact they were even served normal raw salad side dish during their hospital stay. They still turned out alright, makes me wonder if we Malaysians are still behind times or what. Resting is definitely needed of course but most mothers do it alone or occasionally with the help of their own mothers or mother in law. Talk about hardcore independence yo.

I don't think i'm mentally able to take care of everything on my own for the first month because i remembered how badly that turned out the last round until i had to last minute check myself into a confinement home because i was badly sleep deprived and lacking of proper food because no time to cook while caring for the baby. 

Till today i still get inquiries from soon mom to be about La Gracia Care center and i'm actually glad that my entry from 2016 helped alot of new mothers decide on their confinement home. It makes me really happy to know that my blog contributes back and right now i'm torn in between myself whether to fly back to Malaysia to give birth and stay in La Gracia for a month or to do it solo in a foreign land. And flying my mom over here to help isn't an option, she's still working and doubt the big baby old man can survive a month without my mom to boss around. Kns.

Also there are some factors for me to consider like lil penguin's citizenship, if a child born of a Malaysian mother and a foreign spouse overseas the chances of getting hold of a duo citizenship is NIL. Japan on the other hand allows these children to hold 2 citizenships until the age of 18 which seems fair enough for the young adult to decide his/her future. Malaysia is rather sexist that way because IF its the child of a Malaysian man and a foreign spouse in a foreign land, the kid is immediately allowed for Malaysian citizenship (i've mentioned this issue before in my previous blog entry). UNLESS i unload lil penguin in Malaysia (register at JPN) before registering at the Japan embassy and come back to Kyoto, that way 100% guaranteed lil penguin is entitled for duo citizenship. 

Being away from the danna almost 2 months sounds like torture and giving birth alone is scary, the only silver lining i can see out of all these inconveniences is the citizenship problem settled and i get to be treated like a queen for 1 month at the local confinement home lol. 

But i ask myself daily, is it all worth it for the danna to miss his firstborn's entering the world (who knows might be his only kid), i know deep down he would be very upset and being separated from us for nearly 2 months. 

Commercial break 

Bmama Maternity

Back aches has been getting quite bad these days compared to previous pregnancy and i seem to be carrying lil penguin a little lower than usual, according to my gynea that's because my core muscle walls had split during the first pregnancy therefore it's normal for subsequent pregnancies to be lower than the first. Seriously feel like she's gonna drop out any minute especially after long walks and i start to feel tightening below my abdomen. Note to self after unloading baby do plank everyday, don't be lazy because twice a week isn't gonna help much. 

My backache isn't caused by epidural (can't imagine if it was, pain die me) because i didn't have any with Mariko, could be due to lack of proper aftercare during my confinement period as i didn't use any traditional wraps until 2 months later (kinda abit too late).

Sitting down, lying down and standing up is becoming such a feat to the point i wonder what position am i supposed to be even in for myself to get comfortable, super frustrating sia. That's when i remembered that i got a pelvic belt from Bmama Maternity that i was supposed to review and what better time to do it than now since i'm pain all over.

It definitely helps me elevate the belly's weight so there is less pressure on my backbone and hips, it also aligns my posture in a proper position so i don't slouch when i sit. Makes me wonder why isn't every mother or office worker using this because we spent so much time sitting down at our desk/ car without realising our posture is very poor and in the long run lead to bigger problems.

Love how it's easy to use after learning from them (their staff will demo on you), and i can use it before and after my pregnancy, it's also a more cost efficient product compared to other brands selling similar product, their quality and functionality is definitely there. Last time during my breastfeeding days i was using their comfortable nursing bras, this time i'm back to try out their best selling "Love Cradle".  Bmama Maternity is a local grown brand that definitely doesn't disappoint from being budget friendly and offers variety of quality imported products. 

Though i have easier excess to maternity brands like Inujirushi and Pigeon in Japan, for mothers looking to get Inujirushi in Malaysia can also find them at Bmama Maternity store as they are the sole distributor for Malaysia.
They do occasionally have impressive promotions ongoing, so make sure to sign up as a member on their website so stay in touch!

Website: bmama.com.my
Facebook: www.facebook.com/bmama.maternity

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He understands that sometimes sacrifices are needed for the better, it was difficult for me to even explain to him the concept of confinement homes lol until i had to bring him to one during Bmama Maternity Mother's Day celebration & La Gracia SS16 branch's soft opening. This was totally new to him because like i mentioned earlier in this entry that Japan's style of confinement is totally different from Malaysian style (our pantang-larangs, put Japan to shame yo).

From here at least he got the gist of it, why a new mother and baby's comfort is very crucial during the first month and that kinda questioned himself whether he is able to help out (or cakap jer, jantan macam tu bila masa datang mesti lupa punya, cheh!) like how the confinement home does it. Is he actually ready to wake up like every hour at night to feed the baby so i can sleep while having to go to work the next morning lol. Doubt so.

Normal person sure loose their marbles already.

Bmama Mother's Day celebration & La Gracia SS16 Soft opening (May 2018)

Soft launch introduction

Local skincare brand Wunderbath, teaching how to use their products and DIY body scrub

Their products are all natural and paraben free, suitable for expecting/ just delivered mothers who have extra sensitive skin.

You can also customize your own baby shower or full moon gift box with Wunderbath as they do customize orders for their fun size soaps. 

Mommy Charmaine from UnisonCA teaching how to baby wrap and the importance of it during a child's early development stage.

Master brands that made the Mother's Day & soft launch successful! 

Thank you Bmama, UnisonCA, Wunderbath & Hanil, not forgetting location sponsor La Gracia Care Center, though it's my 2nd time being pregnant i still learned tons of stuff from this event :)

I kinda like La Gracia's new branch in SS16 because it was near the hospital i last delivered at PPUM (semi gov but affordable, RM600+ only, don't expect top class treatment la), it's much more spacious than their SS2 branch so they can house more mothers at once! There's also a pool there, not sure if it's gonna be used as pond or for swimming yet.

One feedback sent to me from a friend who stayed with La Gracia too made me smile because she felt La Gracia team really put their heart into caring for the mother and baby's well-being rather than those commercial confinement centers that not only charge you cut throat package prices but also try to sell you everything available. Which can be quite annoying when your purpose there is to rest instead you get staffs trying to sell you this and that, recommend is one thing but pushy sales people is another. 

Food in La Gracia is definitely very generous, i for once have trouble finishing my portion daily because i'm not such a big eater but it definitely helps you produce more breastmilk!

They key is to never stress out even if you can't pump any out, just latch on your baby as frequently as possible. I recalled Mariko was only with me for my boobs lol, for diaper changes i usually get help from the nurses and while she sleeps i get to rest abit and catch up on Netflix. I don't have to worry about laundry, cleaning the house, bathing/ changing the baby for a whole month lol, just a milk machine for the baby.

Makes me want to seriously book a room for this October, and i need to decide fast too or else rooms might be full! How le....so torn right now 😢😢😢😢

For mommies looking for a trusted (certified) confinement home please drop by La Gracia SS16 for viewing, their staffs are very friendly and helpful, so if you have any inquiries don't hesitate to contact them.
Website: www.lagracia.com.my

XOXO,