breaking the rules of confinement

After giving birth, some women go through a period of confinement. These ranges from 40, 44, 60 or sometimes even 100 days of living a certain way of life and eating a certain type of diet which apparently will affect us in the later stages of life. Different people/cultures have different rules and ways of going about these 'pantang' days.

Because my mom was with me in Melbourne during the birth and 4 weeks after, I have to follow her rules. And because my sister-in-law just had her baby 13.5 months before me, the rules her Chinese mom made somehow influenced my pantang.

Some make sense and some are just a bit too restricting. Lucky my mom is not one of those hardcore mothers who won't even let a toe out of line. Because if she is, I'd probably go crazy.

Rule #1; Confined to the home for 44 days/ Tak boeh keluar rumah 44 hari.
Why - It's cold and would affect your bones and joints when you get old (somehow). Babies are not fully acclimatised with being outside the womb.

I broke this rule - We first went out on the 15th day to have the 2nd part of our Verve Portraits photoshoot. We've gone out a couple more times after that but mostly for Leah's check-ups which are neccessary. But after each 'neccessary' outing, we'd take the opportunity to go elsewhere. Like, Kopitiam for dinner, Highpoint to do some last minute shopping and the tailor's to get my baju raya done. The most ridiculous thing someone in their pantang could do is to attend a wedding, and I did it. Oh and also boarding an 8-hour plane ride. I
did that too.

I'm paying for it - After the first outing, I can actually feel my joints aching. But I partly blame the winter chill.

Rule #2; Only eat certain food / Makan makanan yang tertentu.
Why - Your body is still recovering from a major process, and certain food prevents your body from healing properly. So no spicy or fried food, nothing with oil or sugar. I've been confined to eating steamed chicken or fish with rice. The seasonings are limited to ginger, garlic and black pepper. It's not that bad but imagine eating the same thing for lunch and dinner everyday.

Hmm, yum.

I broke this rule - I had chocolates. Two tiny bites, but still. I was too hungry, nobody was home, Leah wouldn't give me a break so the only thing edible without me needing to warm up or prepare was a snack size Cherry Ripe. Not the best thing you would cheat on something with but
beggars can't be choosers. Oh, and did you think I could go to a wedding and sit there quitely? No, neither can I. I was good with the drinks though.

I'm paying for it - I've only lost 13kilos. And my tummy? Buncit! Okay fine, I weigh less than I was pre-pregnant days, but I need to get down to my wedding night weight. But the buncitness is still NOT fine!

Rule #3; No cold drinks / Tak boleh minum air sejuk
Why - Body needs to heal and making it colder is not a good thing. Apparently hot drinks make everything (read; pelvic bones, uterus etc) shrink faster. And what kind of hot drink? This slow-cooked dried longans, dried red Chinese dates, dried black dates, dried tiny seedy fruits that I have never seen before and dried fingers akar kayu, among other stuff.

Verdict; NASTY!

I broke this rule - like nobody's bussiness. But it wasn't my fault. The hospital kept giving us iced water. Crushed ice. In other words, heaven on earth. And I found out where the machine was.

I'm paying for it - My perut still buncit! 'Nuff said

Rule #4; No bathing for 2 weeks and washing of the hair for 1 month / Tak boleh mandi untuk 2 minggu dan basuh rambut untuk 1 bulan
Why - Again with the cold.

(Photo ada but kena censor, sorry!)

I broke this rule - I was not going to have my photos taken without shampooing! But in 44 days, I only washed my hair 4 times, a stark contrast of my daily shampoo pre-partum(?). Thank God it was winter in Melbourne so it wasn't too gross but 2 days in KL and I couldn't take the heat and humidity.

I'm paying for it - Hmm, maybe it's the joints too?

Rule #5; No house chores / Tak boleh buat kerja rumah
Why - Well, duh. But it's the only one I like :)

I broke this rule - I washed dishes too give my mom a break (whenever she didn't notice) and because I couldn't wait for AY to do it the next day or the next week :p. I cooked for AY's birthday and also for his meal storage while we were away.

I'm paying for it - Still bleeding and backaches.

There are lots of other rules - that I break - like, always wear warm clothing including socks (thank God it's winter in Melb!), no pants - always kain batik, which AY loves, very perempuan ayu sort of thing - which became comfortable after a while, walk slowly and sit properly, no kangkang kangkang. No potong-potong. Hair or nails, I mean.

I broke one trying to get BabyBjorn off. Or on.

Excuse the pudgy (and senget) fingers!

Why 44 days? Apparently that is how long it takes your body to heal after a major change and on average, your lochia should stop flowing around this time. I guess it makes sense. But it's day 56 for me and there are still a speck of blood every now and then. I'm just glad they don't make the pantang as long as you still bleed!

Just pantang for THAT part! :( But being long-distance is already taking care of that, LOL.

Off to have Nasi Lemak with Paru and Blackforest Cheesecake and Air Kelapa! Toodles!