[CONFINEMENT] Post-Natal Care : 7 Days Post-Partum Massage Therapy from Madam Partum

A mother's body went through massive changes during the nine months of pregnancy and even more stress and trauma during child birth. A post-partum massage is able to aids in helping mothers to recuperate, recover and return the body to the pre-pregnancy state.

It is advisable to start post natal massage 5 days after normal delivery and massage should preferably be done on consecutive days. I started my first post-natal massage session with Madam Partum of Chien Chi Tow, Clementi Branch on 8th April. 

Madam Partum is part of Chien Chi Tow, a well-known TCM in Singapore with close to 50 years of expertise. 

With 12 Chien Chi Tow outlets islandwide, treatments can be booked conveniently at the outlet closest to your home or you may even enjoy the treatments within the comforts of your home by paying an additional $21.40 transport charges per trip. 

Staff were nice and friendly and I was asked to fill up a questionnaire to understand more about my health conditions.

Made myself comfortable at home and changed into this slip-on slipper. 

Tian Jiao was my therapist in charge. As this is my first visit, she went on to introduce herself with her certifications. I'm assured to know that the therapists here are professionally certified and have undergone more than 350 hours of intensive training. 

After her self-introduction, Tian Jiao went on to explain about the massage procedure that I will be having. My package is a 7-day 60 minutes Qi-Boosting Post-Partum Massage Therapy. It's a 1-hour customized full body massage from head to toe including the breast with the use of complimentary lemongrass essential oil. Why I say it's customized because the therapist will assess your body and condition before focusing on areas that need more attentions. I decided to top up a small amount of $48.15 to get the 90 minutes session this time round as the additional 30 minutes would be used for back massage which I needed due to my epidural injection. 

I was also introduced to these two optional products that can be purchased. On the left is a slimming oil (S$29.90) that will be used during the massage to help detoxify and break down cellulite problem once purchase. On the right is a 3-piece body sculpting corset (S$78.00) to shape the body and provide better support after childbirth.

Was brought to the room upstairs for my massage. A mask was wore all the time and disinfection was done at the breast area. I'm pleased with the standard of hygiene practiced here and I look forward to every session of my massage. 

Tian Jiao was able to make my massage sessions enjoyable as she shared with me the different benefits of the massage as well as some of her post-natal tips and personal stories. My main concern before I start this massage session was having difficulties breastfeeding my newborn, which I will share more in another post on breastfeeding. After just one session of massaging, I can feel my milk ducts cleared, engorgement issue resolved and I experienced a good milk flow when baby latched on. 

Another problem I'm facing is constipation, which was also managed after the massage. I can sleep much better at night too. Other benefits includes improve blood circulation, reduce swelling and lochia, help in uterus contraction and the body to slim down. Massaging also helps relax the whole body, and this 60 minutes away of my time helps to bring post-natal depression to the minimum. That's what I was telling my friends too, asking me to be confined at home for a whole month, I think I might get depression. Thus, I still went out but I do wear jackets and pants to prevent wind from getting into my body which is actually the main reason why the confinement is about. 

Sweet drink after my massage. It's black sugar drink and during my first session, I didn't eat breakfast before my massage as I'm not sure whether I'm allowed to or not, so drinking this prevent me from feeling faint. Learnt that it's ok to eat small meals an hour before the massage.

Tian Jiao assisting me with the 3-piece body sculpting corset.

Helps getting the body in shape! 

Front and side view of my after pregnancy tummy. I still look like 5 months pregnant, no wonder people still offered seats to me when I'm on the train.

After wearing the 3-piece body sculpting corset.

Demonstrating the setting up of the portable bed should there be a home visit massage. Some of my friends have asked me if bed is provided and yes, a high portable bed like this is provided instead of just a mattress to be placed on the floor. 

Overall, I'm 100% satisfied with the services rendered to me. This massage was kindly extended to me for review and my review is purely based on personal experience. Thank you!

For more information, kindly visit 

Website: http://www.madampartum.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/madampartum/

XOXO

[CONFINEMENT] Post-Natal Care : 28 Days Herbal Soup from Madam Partum

The confinement period of 28 to 30 days after giving birth is the essential period to rest and allow the body to heal while replenishing with plenty of nutrition. Instead of finding a reliable confinement nanny, I decided to handle confinement on my own with the help of the family members.

Diet is one major part of the confinement period. The right food and herbs enables me to recover faster to my pre-pregnancy state. Since I've agreed to let my Mother-in-law cook for my meals, I choose to get the 28-day confinement herbal soup from Madam Partum to supplement my post-natal recovery diet.

Comprises of 28 packets of Chinese herbs that are conveniently packed according to different days. It's a hassle-free method as it only requires us to boil with either chicken or pork ribs except the first day soup (Sheng Hua Tang) which comes with a special instruction. The day, name of soup, ingredients and the benefits are clearly stated on the packaging.

WOUND HEALING AND UTERUS RECOVERY

Herbs to aid in wound healing and uterus contraction for optimal uterus recovery.

DIGESTIVE WELLNESS AND BREASTFEEDING

Boost the milk supply for breastfeeding and also to warm the body and improve digestive functions.

VITALITY BOOSTER

Managing the mother's constitution is vital for prevention of getting 'overheated' caused by the frequent eating of tonics that promote energy and blood circulation.

This is how my everyday confinement food looks like.

Of all the soup that I've tasted so far, there's only one soup which I totally cannot accept the smell and taste and one of my favourite soup is the Blood Nourishing Black Chicken Soup which I can finish at one go.

Bought this at the Supermom Baby Fair with a 10% discount off the usual price of $258 so I only paid $232.20. They provide free delivery for orders above $150. Not only do they sell this 28 days herbal soup, they also have the 28 days herbal tea and 28 days herbal bath. Madam Partum is part Chien Chi Tow, a well-known and only TCM in Singapore that provides a complete post-natal care for the ladies. I will be going for their post-natal massage and will share my review in my next post! Thank you! 

For more information, please visit

Website: http://madampartum.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madampartum/


XOXO

[REVIEW] T.Grand Launches Refreshing Chia Seeds Juice Drinks

To meet the ever-changing demand of the consumers, T.Grand International, the leading ready-to-drink beverage brand from Taiwan has just launch two new refreshing drinks, Pineapple & Orange Fusion with Chia Seeds and Apple & Kalamansi & Lemon Fusion with Chia Seeds to their collections of beverages. 

Over the years, T.Grand International Co. Ltd. has also successfully penetrated into several foreign markets and has presence in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Guam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Hong Kong. This is a major step to expand their market reach worldwide. 

T.Grand is widely known for its Assam Tea and Milk Tea ranges, as well as green tea, iced lemon tea and oolong tea, all of which are brewed from quality Assam tea leaves from the eponymous famed plantations in India. 

I tried their Assam Tapioca Milk Tea and I fall in love with this upon the first sip. It's like enjoying my favourite bubble tea but without the pearls! Incidentally, pearls are made from Tapioca. 

Love the idea of combining fruit juices with Chia Seeds which is recognized as a modern day superfood consumed by health conscious people all over the world. Look at that substantial amount of Chia Seeds in the bottle of juice! I expected the fusion between pineapple & orange to be very sour but in fact, it's not and is really quite refreshing! Can't wait to try the rest of the flavours too. 

Just to share, T.Grand Pineapple & Orange Fusion with Chia Seeds and Apple & Kalamansi & Lemon Fusion with Chia Seeds in 500 ml PET bottles are available at Redmart.com, selected Cheers, FairPrice Express and Sheng Siong supermarkets at $2.40 each.

For more information, please visit

www.facebook.com/tgrandassamteasg

XOXO 

[DBS] Binge-watch DBS Sparks mini-series with Deliveroo Vouchers Giveaway

Last month, I blogged about catching the premiere of episode 6 of SPARKS, a Mini-Series by DBS. I've finished watching all the 6 episode of DBS SPARKS previously which is about a group of young, high flyers bankers and how they deal with work challenges and personal lives. 

All the stories in SPARKS are inspired by true stories that happened and it's really interesting to know that beside just banking transactions and paperwork, the bankers actually go the extra mile for their customers so that their dreams can be achieved. 

Being stuck on confinement, I decided to binge-watch all the 6 episodes of Sparks again, in the comfort of my home with my husband and Stefanie who pop by to visit. The whole 6 episodes is about 48 minutes.

To watch all 6 episodes of Sparks :

https://www.dbs.com/spark/index/en_sg/sparks-miniseries.html
https://go.dbs.com/bingewatchsparks

Enjoying our lunch that was delivered to our home from Deliveroo. What a perfect way to spend the rainy Saturday afternoon! 

This is how we enjoy our lunch while watching the 6 episode series. The motto 'Live More, Bank Less' emphasizes that people bank to live and not live to bank and DBS is inspired to make banking simple to clients so that they have more time and energy to do what truly matters to them. The series touches on different aspect like friendship, relationship, ponzi scheme, social enterprise, technology and more.

My favourite episode is none other than episode 6 which features the bankers travelling overseas to help change the education system of a village by implementing Zaya, social enterprise. 

DBS #BINGEWATCHSPARKS FACEBOOK CONTEST GIVEAWAY

Good news! I had the chance to collaborate with DBS and Deliveroo for one of my readers to win a S$30 Deliveroo voucher from me and enjoy binge-watching DBS SPARKS in the comfort of having the food delivered to your house by Deliveroo. 

********************

Double your chance to win when you join in this public giveaway. Simply follow the steps below: 

1. Snap a picture to show how you enjoy binge-watching SPARKS with your favourite snack.

2. Head over to DBS Facebook Page and leave your entry as a comment.

3. Remember to tag me @chewyjas so that I can track your entries and pick the winners.

4. Contest closes on 30 April.

Giveaways contest is only for those residing in Singapore only. Good luck to all and I look forward to see your food submission! 

XOXO

[EVENT] ARTBOX Singapore 2017 : Extra perks from title sponsor, DBS Bank

Bangkok's famous creative market Artbox will be in Singapore over two weekends from 14th to 16th April and 21st to 23rd April, 3 pm to 11 pm at the Bayfront Event Space beside Marina Bay Sands. 

Admission to Artbox Singapore is free and I was there today in the late afternoon, squeezing around with the crowds in my poncho and umbrella. Instead of using shipping containers like the ones in Bangkok, booths here are set up using modular scaffoldings made of metal.The experience is more like walking in an over-crowded Pasar Malam.

There's a mixture of food and beverage booths and some fashion and art booths. There are a lot of interesting and unique booths but due to the rain and crowds, I could only watch from far. The vendor line-up for each weekend will be different, so you may wish to go down on the two weekends. 

Some of the interesting highlights include:

- Chill Out Hammocks

- Chang Beer Garden

- Free Tattoo by MTV Asia

- Busking Performances

- Vintage cars and Kombi Vans

- Thousands of fairy lights (official light up on 14 April, 7pm)

- Live Radio Broadcast from Power 98 and 88.3 fm

- All vendors are equipped to accept payment by cash, NETS or credit cards

Happy to catch-up and explore the place with @ck.chai ! 

Extra perks from title sponsor, DBS Bank: 

- All DBS/POSB cardmembers have access to the DBS Live Fresh zone - a super chill zone to hang out with friends amidst the hustle and bustle.

- First 50 tertiary students (Universities and Polytechnics) per day to flash their student passes and DBS/POSB cards at the DBS Live Fresh zone will get a special Artbox Singapore tote bag.

- DBS is also running a Facebook contest to give out Artbox goodie bags with over S$30 worth of items in each bag. Details: https://www.facebook.com/dbs.sg/videos/1305911526189760/

Official Hashtag: #DBSxArtboxsg

Goodies from various social enterprises (Boxgreen, EDEN + ELIE, human nature) supported by the DBS Foundation. Do check out their booths at Artbox too.

XOXO

[Personal] Pregnancy Journal #5 ~ The Arrival of Baby Rena

This post will be the last post for my Pregnancy Journal. It has been a wonderful 9 months and my baby girl has decided to see the world today which also coincide with April Fools' Day, so that makes her a April Fools' Baby.

Actually, a few of my friends have already predicted that baby would come out on 1st April because they say the real labour day is usually one week earlier of the EDD the hospital gave. Way back during the early stages of my pregnancy last year, bestie Lis already did a calculation of my EDD to be 1st April based on my last menses. Yesterday, as I was chatting with Ivy about my symptoms of having some brown discharge, she too mentioned that labour should be tomorrow, which is today. She asked me to download the contraction mobile app to record my contractions duration. After downloading the app, I went on the night as per normal to finish up all the pending work on hand that needs to be submitted before going to bed.

It's as if my baby knows that I'm ready as I've settled most of the important tasks. I started to feel the contractions early in the morning at around 6.30 am. The contractions feels like strong menses cramp with tightening of muscles in the lower part of my tummy that won't go away. There's also a feeling that I need to poo and it's just so uncomfortable no words can really describe. I was sweating profusely and complaining while trying to bear with it at the same time. Timed the contractions and it was about 10 to 15 minutes apart. Went back to sleep as I don't want it to be a false alarm. Hubby was at a loss, and asked if I want to go hospital or want any breakfast or not but I just told him to wait a while.

One hour later, I called up NUH delivery suite hotline. The nurse asked the few standard questions like how far is the contractions duration? Any bleeding? Waterbag burst? In the end, she advice me to wait until my contraction is 5 minutes apart before I go down to the hospital otherwise they might have to ask me to go back home if it is a false alarm. Tried to go back to sleep again but was tossing and turning in bed instead.

At around 9.30 am, I couldn't stand the on and off contractions feeling anymore. Woke hubby up and told him I had to go to the hospital now otherwise I scare that I may not be able to walk later if the contractions is 5 minutes apart. Straight away I booked an Uber down to NUH. At this point, my waterbag has not burst yet. Was only feeling the contractions. Luckily, I have packed my hospital bag before hand and only need to put in a few other important belongings.

Reached NUH at around 10 am, when the contraction starts, it was so bad I could barely walk. Thankfully again, there's room in the delivery suite, got admitted and was put on belt which is connected to the foetal monitor to monitor the baby's heart rate and oxygen level. The doctor and nurses is able to monitor all these from the outside and they came in to check on me every now and then. Because I was on subsidize, I do not have a fixed doctor. Happened to get a male doctor that day.

At 10.43 am, Bestie Lis whatsapp me "Apr fool's baby? Hope not. xP" to which I replied, "think so" and tried to keep myself occupied by chatting with her. At about 11.20 am, the doctor did a check and I was 4 cm dilated. Was feeling more and more uncomfortable and stressful. Was informed of the different pain relieve options - Entonox most commonly known as laughing gas, pethidine or epidural. I was hesitating with the epidural option in my heart.

The nurse came in again to put on the drip as well as to draw three tubes of blood from me, the standard procedure as I'm donating my baby's cord blood to the Singapore Cord Blood Bank. She mentioned about epidural again as they need to get a certified anaesthetist to do the injection and it also will not be effective if the dilation is too big already. After a brief discussion with my hubby, I decided to just go for the epidural.

The anaesthetist came with a nurse to carry out the epidural procedure. Signed a form of indemnity or whatever that is which I can't be bothered to read anymore. The nurse applied cold numb to the whole of my back. After which the anaesthetist have to find the correct place in my spinal cord that is close to the nerve to inject in a small tube or something like that. Dosage was set to the maximum of 10 and I was numb way down from my tummy to my toes.

Epidural side-effect kicks in shortly. Some people experience vomiting, headache and mine was shivering. My whole upper body was shivering badly as if I'm on drugs. Tried to watch TV but couldn't concentrate. Fall asleep instead. Can't remember what time, the doctor came in and burst my water bag for me.

The nurse came in on and off as baby was inactive inside due to the effect of the epidural. At about 3 pm, I was 6 cm dilated baby was still drowsy and oxygen level was low. I was given an oxygen mask to put on.

At 3.32 pm, received a Whatsapp from Jessie to meet up for Tim Sum before I deliver. Replied her that I was in labor ward already and chatted a while with her. Somehow, whenever I am met with something, she will happened to be the first few to know. After a while, doctor came to check again and I was informed that I'm already 10 cm dilated. Pushing would start one hour later as they are still monitoring the baby's condition. Hubby went for his late breakfast cum lunch and I faster whatsapp him to inform. Don't want to be alone during the critical period. Haven't eaten anything since morning too.

At 3.40 pm, the nurse reduce the epidural dosage to 4 so that I can start feeling some contractions. Blood pressure and temperature was taken and I had a low grade fever of 37.8 degree which the nurse say is due to epidural.

At around 4 pm, the team of doctor, mid-wife and nurses arrived in my ward. The mid-wife taught me the technique to push and estimated the pushing to be about 1 hour. Mid-wife is able to tell when the contraction is coming and I just had to listen to her signal as I still can't feel anything below. Hubby's duty is to support my neck and lift me up to position when I push. The technique to push is the inhale deeply, hold the breath and push while they count to ten. After my first push, the mid-wife exclaimed that she can already see a twenty cent coin size of my baby's head. Was motivated to push harder upon hearing this. With every push, they can see more of the baby's head. Tried to increase the counting to 15 but I was out of breath at 10 and felt like chocking. Doctor had to cut down there to allow baby's head to pass through. The whole pushing process took about 30 minutes and at last, we heard our baby's first cry!

As I held my baby in my arms for skin-to-skin contact, I got so emotional that I broke down and cry too. Super can't believe that I actually gave birth to this small little baby weighing at just 2.56 kg upon delivery. All is not over yet, as I still have to push out the placenta. Push and push and finally the placenta was out but a scrap of the placenta was still inside. The doctor tried to remove it but couldn't. In the end, they have to get another doctor and she have to use her finger to remove it. The doctor then proceed to stitch up my wound. Goodness, hubby say the whole process is so bloody and gruesome but I couldn't feel anything. The epidural when removed can still last for about 1 to 2 hours.

Because of the epidural, I had a smooth and easy labour. No wonder the anaesthetists calls it the "Happy-dural". Not trying to promote using it but I think if you want a stress free labour, this is one option to choose. I'm really grateful and thankful to the NUH team whom helped me deliver my baby safely. I was warded to the 6 bedded ward at about 7 pm and this is my labour story.


XOXO