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My PoPo came back to our house on August 24 after missing her flight on August 23 from Chicago. (I missed seeing PoPo one day sooner!) PoPo gives me the BEST baths in the world! Somehow, I don’t even whimper when she give me baths. While she’s here, Mommy also asked her to train my new nanny who will start taking care of me during the day next week.
PoPo just completed another “confinement” month of cooking for Auntie Annie (Daddy’s brother’s wife) who delivered my cousin, Nathan, who is exactly one month younger than me! Yes, PoPo did two straight months of “confinement” month cooking for Auntie Annie and Mommy. It’s A LOT of work judging by all the weird herbal smells that came out of the kitchen and all the soups Mommy had to drink. The soups sometimes had to simmer for one hour, not to mention the cooking of individual dishes on top of the soups for each of three meals.
Because confinement month is important in the eyes of the older generation, particularly A-ma, Mommy did what she could tolerate as much as possible. The idea is that after delivery, much “yang” or “heat” is lost and all of the foods eaten during confinement month is supposed to replace the lost “yang.” It is also equally important to avoid “yin” or “cold” or “wind.” Without replacing “yang” and avoiding “yin”, it could lead to early aging and many future ailments.
Not only was the food important, certain habits also needed to followed that month:
– No bathing. If bathing was necessary, it needed to be done with boiled water, preferably boiled ginger water. Mommy’s thoughts on this: Mommy didn’t really follow this because she thought that water needed to be boiled back in the day because the water was mostly well water, hence the possibility of getting infected with parasites and other organisms in the water. Nowadays, the water is purified and from the tap, so parasites and bugs rarely cause any problems. So, Mommy took a shower every 2 days and made sure she dried off very quickly after each bath to prevent catching “wind.”
– No hair-washing. Again, the reasons are probably very similar to “no bathing.” If it needed to be done, some people again would use boiled ginger water. Mommy has also heard some people of the older generation say that the water will seep into the scalp and cause headaches in the future. Mommy’s thoughts on this: Again, the water quality is good now so no need to worry about bugs. There are also hairdryers now which make it less likely to catch “wind.” Mommy washed her hair twice during the entire month and immediately dried her hair thoroughly with a hairdryer. PoPo says that it’s particularly important to dry the base of hair shaft. Mommy was not able to abstain from washing hair for an entire month. It was awful to live with gross, oily, stinky long hair, but Mommy really doesn’t want to live with headaches in the future.
– No trips outside. The idea is to prevent catching “wind” again which is said to be the cause of ailments. Mommy’s thoughts on this: Mommy certainly didn’t go any joy rides in the convertible or venture to the mall, but Mommy did go to my doctor’s appointments (of which I had many because of the bilirubin and carnitine problems) and Mommy went to YiMa’s house twice. Those trips to YiMa’s house were quick…house to car to house, so no lingering outdoors. By the way, since there were no trips to the mall, Mommy did all of her shopping online that month and LOTS of it. Banana Republic loved Mommy that month.
– No exposed joints. The idea is again for fear of catching “wind,” so ALL joints ideally should be covered. This means wearing long pants, long-sleeve shirts, socks, and probably gloves. Mommy’s thoughts on this: Mommy delivered me in June, i.e. in the middle of summer, so there was no way Mommy was going to wear socks or gloves. Mommy was good enough to wear long-sleeve shirts and long pants, but that was enough to kill her. Didn’t Mommy mention she was already sweating like a pig? Mommy resorted to wearing her hospital scrub pants because they were light-weight, but imagine how bad it would be to have to wear spandex or sweat pants in the middle of summer.
– No air-conditioning or fans. Again, this has to do with the fear of catching “wind.” Mommy’s thoughts on this: Again, it’s the middle of SUMMER. Mommy cannot live without air-conditioning, so Daddy turned the direction of flow of all of the air-conditioning vents so the air-conditioning wouldn’t directly blow on Mommy while she was sleeping. Daddy also kept the house at about 80 degrees F during the day, so you know Mommy wasn’t the only one sweating.
– No drinking plain water. This is because of the fear of water-retention in traditional eastern medicine. All liquids consumed should be the herbal soups and rice wine. Mommy’s thoughts on this: Mommy bought cases and cases of rice wine. Seven cases total and she still has 3 cases left. PoPo and YiMa used it in cooking, but Mommy never drank it as a subsitute for water because it didn’t taste that good by itself. Mommy never drank plain water although she craved a glass of ice cold water more than anything during that month.
– Minimal physicial movements. Some even believe postpartum moms should not get up from their beds to allow there bones to come together after expansion during pregnancy and delivery. Mommy’s thoughts on this: While it is true that the pelvic bones expand during pregnancy and delivery, it is simply not safe to stay in bed after delivery. It’s a set up for DVTs (deep venous thrombosis) which presents itself in highest frequency postpartum. So, needless to say, Mommy didn’t follow this much. Mommy was up and about on post-operative day #1.
– No straining of eyes, i.e. no TV, no computers. Mommy’s not sure what the exact reasoning is, but the idea is that you don’t want to cause damage to the eyes by straining. Mommy’s thoughts on this: As you can imagine, with all the online shopping Mommy did, Mommy really wasn’t paying too much attention to this rule. Not only that, Mommy checked her email and updated her status on Facebook like a champ. Mommy also watched a lot of Today Show and Animal Planet.
– No eating anything cold (ice cream, ice, cold drinks, etc.) or any foods considered “yin” (melons, bamboo, pickled vegetables, etc.). Eating such cold or “yin” foods would be counter-productive to replacing the body with more “yang.” Mommy thoughts on this: Mommy absolutely LOVES cold and “yin” foods, so it was pure torture to have to avoid these foods. Surprisingly, Mommy did follow this rule and avoided all such foods. It was particularly hard one night when Daddy was rude to Mommy and offered every guest at our house a mochi filled with green tea ice cream. Everyone got to eat one except Mommy. Not cool, Daddy. Not cool. Daddy has since redeemed himself and bought five boxes of the mochi filled with ice cream for Mommy. Way to win Mommy’s heart, Daddy!
Ironically, as a Western-trained physician, Mommy actually believes (or at least was scared into believing) lots of the traditions of confinement month. The last thing she wants is to not age well or to get some ailment with an unknown cause. Worst yet, Mommy does not want to have people of the older generation tell her that the reason why she got X ailment was because she didn’t do a good confinement month.
Mommy was sweating like a pig and I’d be the first to admit that she stank on most days that month, but thank goodness the hellish month is over. Thanks to PoPo, YiMa, Mrs. Zee, and many others who made it possible!
