My PEM Confinement Review

For our first pregnancy, we hired a confinement nanny to help as both of our parents were not able to help with my confinement. We really appreciated the additional help especially since I had undergone a caesarian surgery.

This time around, it was pretty much a no-brainer decision for us. With an active toddler who is only 2 years old, we would need all hands on deck.

Thus this time, we decided to hire a nanny from PEM Confinement Agency which is one of the most popular confinement agencies in Singapore.

I actually shared about my nanny often on Instagram and some of my friends and readers have requested for a PEM confinement review so here it goes!

Here are the main reasons why we decided on hiring a confinement nanny:

Our parents are unable to help with the confinement period. My mum is working whereas my mother-in-law can’t cook confinement food and is not confident in taking care of a newborn.
Having an additional pair of hands would help lighten our load and stress.
Going thru another caesarian meant a longer recovery to me. I also did not want to stress my wound too much and I was right in thinking so. My recovery this time around was really really tough.
We could concentrate on spending time with the kids instead of focusing on the chores.
Skai was unable to take one month of leave to be the ‘confinement nanny’.
Both of us had no idea on how to cook and prepare confinement food.

With these overwhelming reasons, our decision came really easy for us. We preferred to work with an agency rather than hiring a freelancer as we have heard many horror stories about freelancers. With an agency, if there are any hassles, we could always get a replacement or ask the agency to settle the problem.

We called PEM really early in my pregnancy as I remember how fast they were fully booked being one of the most popular and reputable agencies. Made our deposit and was given a reference number and briefed on the procedures. We were told to call them once I have given birth.

We were introduced to Auntie Wee Kin (#454). I liked that she was bilingual as she managed to speak Mandarin to my hubby and Malay to me. I’ll be breaking down my PEM confinement review into a few sections on how Auntie has helped us.

I guess as a second time mama, I kinda knew what I wanted to do. I discussed with Auntie and we discussed on a suitable routine.

Breastfeeding

For me, with the success of Aidan’s breastfeeding journey (he has been breastfed till now actually, more than 2 years!), I wanted total breastfeeding. Not only that, I only wanted to latch. No bottles or pacifiers were to be used during confinement. Auntie was super supportive of my breastfeeding journey and even helped to clear space in my freezer for when I pumped.

She also made sure I have adequate rest as she mentioned that happy and well-rested mamas would have a better supply. Not only that, she made sure to cook plenty of boosters for me to help with my breastfeeding journey.

We also had an arrangement where while she took care of Davina at night, whenever Davina was hungry, she will pass to me to latch and I will return Davina to her afterwards. Though it was more tiring for her as compared to feeding formula (where babies usually sleep longer) and that she would have to wake up more times at night, she was more than willing to do so.

Caesarian recovery

As mentioned above, my recovery was really tough. It was more painful than the first time actually. I was pretty much bedridden for the first week. Auntie helped to cook nourishing soups for me to help aid my recovery.

Also because I had a caesarian, I couldn’t eat chicken or eggs for the first two weeks. She prepared many various dishes that didn’t make me ‘sian’ of pork at all!

Food

I told Auntie that from previous experiences, I did not want breakfast. If really need be, a simple toast or cooked oats. I couldn’t stomach a very filling breakfast in the morning as this wasn’t my style. For lunch, I preferred a one-dish meal and for dinner, I was okay with a few dishes as Skai would be eating with me.

Auntie made a lot of yummy dishes and once she knew what I liked, she would replicate it in many various ways. I often ask Auntie to cook the same thing over and over again (like my fave beehoon soup, fried beehoon, salmon and pork trotters).

I liked that Auntie kept things simple. Soups were nourishing but not bitter. Drinks were tasty but not overpowering. She was scared that I would be sick of the longan red date tea so she made sure to alternate drinks. I would have longan red date tea for one day and fried rice tea for the other. She would also prepare tea breaks for me. She noticed that I had very bad water retention and made a point to prepare red bean soup for me often.

Skai and I really enjoyed her cooking and we really loved the homeliness of it. Reminds me of home cooked meals. While she wasn’t obligated to, she also cooked for Aidan who was a very very fussy eater!

Auntie also made sure I had sufficient hot drinks and would wake up in the middle of the night to replenish my flask!

Cleanliness

Auntie was seriously a clean freak! HAHHAA. And I mean it in the most positive and endearing way. She couldn’t stand having things messy or dirty. In the first week that she was with us, she basically gave my home a makeover! She helped me with the messy rooms and kitchen. She introduced a better organisational system for both the nursery and kitchen which really made things easier to find! She is also very particular about cleanliness. She would mop and sweep the floor everyday.

Skai and I also liked how clean and neat Auntie was. We felt at ease with her taking care of Davina as we observed her cleaning and bathing Davina.

Love of kids

While Auntie wasn’t obligated to take care or cook for Aidan, she did so. I noticed that she really loved kids and she love to interact with Aidan. She would entertain Aidan daily and play with him. She would also sing to Davina and chat with her daily.

Some days, she would help to feed Aidan so that Skai and I could eat at our own time without rushing through our meals.

I think one of Auntie’s favourite moments with us was attending Davina’s newborn shoot. She was going gaga over how cute Davina was. heh.

Temperament and character

What I liked about Auntie Wee Kin was her modern way of thinking. She did not restrict me from bathing and would prepare the herbs for me to shower with each day. She only asked that I would blow dry my hair so that I would not catch a cold. She does not nag and is not kaypoh. She keeps to herself when needed and is not a chatterbox. I really liked this aspect as for the first week, I was in tremendous pain that all I wanted to do is rest. She was a very motherly figure (without the naggyness) and was super caring.

I miss Auntie so much! We even celebrated her birthday as it was during the confinement period. We found out that she liked colourful and sweet snacks so Skai went out to buy a mini rainbow cake for her. We kinda barged in during her rest time and sang to her. She was so shocked! hAHHAA.

I highly recommend Auntie Wee Kin to anyone who is looking for a confinement nanny. If you are looking for her, you can quote her number #454 when booking from PEM Confinement Agency. I have a friend who has booked her for her confinement and I’m so glad to hear that! I intend to visit her and Auntie once she has popped heh!

Here are the last two pics of Auntie we took on her last day! Even Davina looked sian that Auntie was leaving LOL. She woke up that day at dawn to prepare plenty of food for us. Super touched!

Thanks for reading this super long PEM confinement review. If you have any queries, please leave them in the comments below. Thanks!

Do check out my pregnancy and baby blog posts here:

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My PEM Confinement Review

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