Postnatal confinement help (Chinese nanny / helper)

[stu83]

Hi,

My wife is due to give birth on May 15th to our first child. We are both super excited but naturally anxious.

It hasn't helped that my Mother in law cannot get to the UK from China due to the COVID travel restrictions.

As you can imagine my wife is devastated and apprehensive about coping "on her own" (I will of course do as much as I can to help in every way).

She was banking on her Mum coming to help cook meals and give her advice on the baby etc.

Since she is Chinese she was planning on following the Chinese postnatal confinement process after the birth.

Does anybody know of any Asian nannies around the London / Essex area that might be available help?

Either a live in nanny or even just someone to help prepare meals would be ideal.

I know there is a service advertised based in central London called "healthy mummies" that delivers meals which are in line with the confinement practice.

Any ideas / info would be much appreciated.

maybe try a local chines community FB page?

Chinese!

From what I understand, the Chinese 'sitting in' only involves staying indoors, resting, not bathing much and resting, while eating particular nutrient-rich foods. Surely even if your mother-in-law can't come, you can facilitate the rest and cooking the traditional dishes? Don't you have paternity leave, if you're WFH?

Can't you take your 2 weeks paternity leave then some parental leave (you have a statutory right to have up to 4 weeks per year) or even some annual or unpaid leave so you can have a month off and do all the cooking and cleaning and whatever else so your wife can rest?

Thanks for your replies.

Cleaning for sure is not a problem.

Of course if it comes to it, I will be trying for sure to make the dishes etc. but believe me getting it right/authentic taste is actually quite hard....

Sadly I don't have paternity leave as I have recently started a new job so am still within the probation period. However if the lockdown continues then this will allow working from home so will give me plenty of time to help out.

If anyone reading this does happen to know of any Nannies then please do let me know.

@stu83

These guys specialise in confinement nannies www.themandarinnanny.co.uk/news

And The Little Ones agency in London places Mandarin/Cantonese speaking nannies too. Don't know if either are working atm.

Foods vary from region to region (even towns) so you or she may need to ask her Mama for advice on what foods to eat. There may be some dishes you cannot recreate without visiting the Chinese market. But generally lots of warm broth soups are helpful - check out Woks of Life. They have loads of soup recipes that might be suitable. No ice or ice cold foods and drinks are allowed - that seems to be common across China/Asia.

@namechangingisnoteasy12345

Thanks for this - much appreciated!

@stu83

How are you getting on? Did you find someone?

My Mama made lots of steamed eggs and soft rice after my sister had her eldest. Neither is hard to make, although steamed eggs can be tricky. I make them one or two eggs at a time in a rice bowl in a 'normal for the UK' steamer. We ate lots of chicken soup and green veggies too.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

@namechangingisnoteasy12345

Thanks for your message. So we had a chat and I insisted she would jot down some recipes for the different porridge soups etc. and she made one or two of them in front of me.

We also bought a pressure cooker to make the soft rices/porridges and soups.

I'm going to give it a go - she might hate everything I make but at least she can rest and focus on recovery and the baby which I think is what the confinement (I really hate thus term as it makes her sound like a prisoner!!!) is really about.

Fingers crossed!!

Sounds perfect. Just do your best and it will be fine. It's very sweet that you are trying.

Take lots of photos for your MIL, who will be really worried. Especially if they are close, she will be worried about you all.

If you can wechat her, you could ask for any favourite childhood recipes. Or even dishes that you have liked.

Good luck