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Getting sufficient rest can do wonders for your postpartum body. For starters, it enhances your post-natal healing, helping you get better faster. It can also help with boosting your body’s ability to produce sufficient breastmilk for bubba.

Unfortunately, right after giving birth, getting rest can be difficult as you’ll be at your kewpie’s beck and call. For many new parents, that’s where confinement nannies come in. Whether you’re receptive to traditional Chinese confinement practices like having herbal tonics to boost your postpartum healing or not, having an extra pair of — not to mention, experienced — hands to help you with baby care lets you prioritise your body’s needs at least for the month after baby’s birth. The basic responsibilities of a nanny include:

·         Offering around-the-clock care for you and your little one,

·         Completing the laundry for you and bubba,

·         Whipping up nourishing confinement meals,

·         Grocery shopping,

·         Giving you crucial support on your breastfeeding journey,

·         Simple household chores like sweeping or mopping.

While some of your mummy-pals may have gotten their confinement ladies through word-of-mouth recommendations, getting a nanny from an agency means you’re able to seek redress in the case of an incompatible nanny. Most of these agencies also assess their nannies to ensure they are trained and experienced.

Most confinement agencies recruit potential care-givers from Malaysia and the majority of them are Chinese, too.  If you’re worried about communicating with them, we’ve got some handy tips for you in this guide.

If you do find a nanny who’s a suitable fit for your family, most agencies offer you the choice to extend the nanny’s stay. Besides offering the standard stay-in period of 28-days, some offer 35 and even 42 day options. Scroll through our list of great service providers…

Do note that the prices on this list exclude miscellaneous fees, including:

·         Government levy ($55 for a Singaporean family; $245 for an expatriate family)

·         Work permit and administrative fees

·         The budget for grocery shopping,

·         The token red packets given at the beginning and end of the nanny’s term of service (On average it should be about $30 at the beginning; $50 at the end, or it may be dependent on your appraisal of the nanny’s service)

·         Goods and Services Tax (7%)

·         Public holiday surcharge (Prices tend to be higher around the Lunar New Year Holiday)

Main photo: iStock

Confinement NannySOS!

WHAT If you’ll only need help during the daytime with caring for your kewpie, Confinement NannySOS! offers a daytime confinement nanny service from 9am to 6pm, outside of the usual stay-in services. This will allow you to have some level of privacy as the nanny will return to her own accommodation in the evening. She will still carry out the typical responsibilities such as doing the baby’s laundry and preparing three confinement meals daily.

PRICE RANGE From $2,800 for 28 day stay-in nanny.

WHY WE LOVE IT The agency also offers a variety of extra services like a delivery service ($298) for prepacked confinement herbs, and red date tea for 28 days. A confinement catering service is also available. The offers range from catering one meal per day for a week ($250) to two meals a day for 28 days ($1,680).

PEM Confinement Nanny Agency

WHAT Towards the end of your confinement period, you’ll be able to gain invaluable tips and guidance on the trickier bits of baby care like bathing your baby or breastfeeding from PEM Confinement Nanny Agency’s helpers as they give you hands-on guidance. In addition to making sure you are well fed with nutritious food, your nanny will take over chores like mopping and sweeping your home up to twice a week. Prior arrangements can also be made for the nanny to take over the family’s laundry needs or grocery shopping.

PRICE RANGE $2,700 to $3,000 for a 28-day stay-in nanny.

WHY WE LOVE IT Prepacked herbs are prepared by a registered in-house TCM physician to maximise your body’s healing and range from herbal red date teas, herbal bath remedies and herbal soups. Extra services like pre- and post-natal massages are also offered by certified therapists. Additional charges apply for massages. Your therapist will also guide you on how to perform a simple baby massage routine on your newborn during the third massage session. This will improve your infant’s weight gain, aid their digestion and promote sleep.

ConfinementNanny.com

WHAT Customers will be matched with their prospective nanny based on their responses to ConfinementNanny.com’s survey, which includes questions around your lifestyle preferences. The agency offers a no-frills confinement service, which is a good alternative if you’re looking for basic services. The agency also offers a daytime nanny service if you aren’t keen on getting a full-day live-in helper.

PRICE RANGE $2,680 for 28 day stay-in nanny.

WHY WE LOVE IT The agency also offers a weight management program which will arm you with smart eating habits to help you shed the kilos in 10 days. The program — which includes no crash dieting — is tailored to meet your body’s nutritional needs without sacrificing your ability to breastfeed.

Peranakan Confinement

WHAT Nannies from Peranakan Confinement are trained in the art of using traditional Malay and Indonesian cooking techniques to prepare wholesome meals using traditional Chinese ingredients. Your helper will also take over the basic house chores like cleaning the kitchen top and mopping the floor at least twice a week so you can focus on getting the rest you need.

PRICE RANGE From $2,600 to $3,200 for 28 day stay-in nanny.

WHY WE LOVE IT If food is your top priority during confinement, then the menu on this agency’s website will entice you to sign up. You can expect to tuck into scrumptious yet nourishing dishes like rice wine Mee Sua (rice vermicelli noodles) soup with lean pork for breakfast or a double-boiled pork tripe and spareribs soup for dinner. These nutrient-rich dishes are known to relieve water retention and strengthens your body to boost recovery.

JIA Employment Services

WHAT If you are looking for a fuss-free agency which offers basic services like tending to your baby, cooking confinement dishes, JIA Employment Services has you covered. You can even make prior arrangements to have the nanny do the laundry or cook for the rest of the family.

PRICE RANGE From $2,600 for a 28-day stay-in nanny.

WHY WE LOVE IT Instead of communicating through the phone or filling up a survey, an associate will be sent to meet up with you at a location of your convenience to have a discussion on your needs and expectations. This will help you save time and the effort required to travel to the agency’s office to understand more about their services. And the company guarantees that regardless of your delivery date, a suitable nanny will be brought to your door and on time.

Confinement Angels

WHAT Besides the usual round-the-clock care offered by a stay-in nanny, Confinement Angel’s helpers will tend to the family’s laundry and grocery needs. They can also whip up nutritious confinement meals and prep the right bath time herbs you should be using during your confinement. A couple of celebrities like Mediacorp actress Joanne Peh and local singer Hong Junyang have given their thumbs up to the agency’s services.

PRICE RANGE From $2,950 for 28-day stay-in nanny.

WHY WE LOVE IT Confinement Angels’ nannies have gone through rigorous training and assessment by trainers from Thomson Medical’s ParentCraft Centre to ensure they meet the syllabus and guidelines meted out by the hospital. It’s not uncommon for some prospective nannies to have to sit for the assessment for three times before being able to become a certified nanny. So, you can put your mind at ease, knowing that your baby is being tended to by a trained expert.

Supernanny Services

WHAT All throughout your confinement, your helper from Supernanny Services, will give you guidance and support on the right baby care techniques by highlighting the proper dos and don’ts based on their experiences. The nanny will also be able to prepare vegetarian meals at your request when needed. They will also take on simple toilet cleaning tasks outside of the usual house chores such as sweeping an mopping the floors and cleaning up the kitchen.

PRICE RANGE From $2,780 for 28 day stay-in nanny.

WHY WE LOVE IT If you’re looking for something other than the usual traditional Javanese post-natal massage, Supernanny Services also offers a manual lymphatic massage routine ($168 per 75 minute session). It’s a five day intensive treatment regime where the trained therapist will perform the massage and wraps daily to restore your uterus and abdominal muscles to your pre-baby state. It even includes a sea salt detox scrub session to leave you with radiant glowing skin.

STAR Confinement Nanny

WHAT While most confinement agencies only offer to cook confinement herbs for women, STAR Confinement Nannies will also cook for your spouse! The nannies will also keep a log of your little one’s feeding and diaper changing times. You can refer to the log when deciding how to implement a routine for your mini-me.

PRICE RANGE From $2,600 for a 28-day stay-in nanny.

WHY WE LOVE IT The company’s website includes a page filled with pictures of the nannies so you can request for a specific one if you like to. That way there will be no surprises about who will be turning up on day one. Each nanny also has an average of more than five to seven years of experience so you know you’re leaving bubba in relatively well-trained hands.