It’s a girl!
My parents were graced with grand child #7 two days ago and this story is the journey of confinement #7 for sister #2. We welcome baby Ashley to the family and because she was early, our personal “Pu Yuet” – who is grandma, is still stuck in Toronto waiting eagerly to board a flight to Hong Kong to help. So both myself and sister #3 have taken over with my mom’s guidance to provide the ultimate confinement diet for my sister #2.
This journey is an inclusive “diary” of the discoveries of food, drinks, soups, teas, traditions and little knick knacks that normal people don’t follow.
For more information, you can read the story of Chinese Confinement #6 as a start and a base.
I will continue to add to this post as part of the whole story with subsequent posts. Stay tuned and thanks for your continued support. I also welcome any advice or guidance as well. It’s incredible how vendor A will tell you to do A and vendor B will tell you to do B. The knowledge of wealth comprised within that tiny wet mart near my house is incredible and part of my interest now is document it and share it with you.
The whole story
Yummy Mummy’s Confinement Diet
Chinese Confinement: The Early Days (Day 0-12)
Chinese Confinement: The Final Days (Day 13-30)
Thanks,
Lisa & Tracy Tong (your soup ladies)
I’m glad I found this website with such good information. Although I just hit 2 months postpartum, and your recipes are for the 1 month confinement, I’m wondering if your mother has given you a list of things you can and cannot eat And possibly Amy meanings behind it? I’d be very interested in learning what your mother says since mine doesn’t explain too much for me and/ or we have a language barrier and I’m not supposed to ask questions, just to behave and listen.
Some examples is not to eat shrimp, lobster, crab, or taro for X months because if we do it is thought to give the genital area itches. Other foods that are too ‘cold’ are not allowed to eat because ..?? And veggies will make your baby poop more or something like that. No beef, just pork in the beginning..
Dear Linda,
Yes, I heard the same things, but I just kept asking and asking and asking and still ask today! They are right about shrimp, lobster, crab – probably for the first 1-2 months as they don’t help “heal” scars (ie: the wound from a C-section) and actually may make them itchy. Beef, duck, goose are also other meats that are considered “poisonous” and not good for scars. Soy sauce is another thing to avoid because it colours the scars. There are so many! I will help where I can. At the beginning, usually first month of confinement, it’s highly recommended to have fish and chicken. Those are your staples, but pork should be OK too. Neutral vegetables, such as choy sum and broccoli are excellent as well. Happy to explain further if you have any questions to certain foods, but I’m trying to build the repertoire as it I come across more! Hope this is a good base, but always glad to answer where I can!! Congrats by the way! Lisa
Hi,
For the confinement double boiled soup, do you need to drink double boiled soup every day for 30 days or more days? Like drinking the worm grass with chicken double boiled soup every day?
Thank you
Dear Francia, I drank it everyday for the first month. I actually drank two different soups. One was a chicken, rich soup and one was a papaya fish soup. My mom just made them over the course of the month. Same with worm grass chicken soup. You can try a variety of double-boiled soups and they actually can be boiled and kept for a few days in a row. Hope this helps! Lisa
Thanks for all the wonderful information!
i have also just hit 2 months post partum and really am missing some of the confinement soup and drinks. Just wondering if I can continue to drink some of these soups and tea? And if there is anything i need to look out for?
In addition, what soup will you recommend for breastfeeding?
Dear Kelly, I apologize for replying so late! It’s been a very busy half a year! Of course you can continue to drink confinement soups and drinks! I actually continue to eat the pig’s feet in ginger and often have a red date, longans, wolfberry tea at work. The only thing to watch out for is what type of base you have (either heaty or cooling). People tend to lean towards one way or the other and drinking overly heaty stuff when you’re already heaty makes it worse. Try a bit at a time, if you feel yourself getting canker sores, sore throats, pimple breakouts often, then it could be too heaty for you.
For breastfeeding, always papapya fish soup found here: http://www.thechinesesouplady.com/papaya-fish-soup/ – it’s been wonder for me! I also drink a rich chicken soup as well – so in short, it’s an abundance of liquids constantly in my body to help with breastfeeding. Hope this helps! Lisa