Wednesday, February 24, 2010

MY LIFE AT DE-GARDEN (11/1/10 - 7/2/10)

After the discharge from Pearl Maternity Hospital, I was sent to De-Garden Confinement Center for a 1-month stay. At first, I really got home sick although my hubby came to visit me & my baby everyday. Later on, I got used to it already.

My life at the confinement center was quite routine: eat, sleep and feed.
Chinese believes that a lady after delivery cannot take bath for at least 12 days.
We have people cook for us, do the laundry for us and taking care of our babies.
What else can we do at the center?

We have 5 meals per day:
8:30am Breakfast
11:30am Lunch
2:30pm Tea Break
5:30pm Dinner
8:30pm Supper

It's really hard to loose weight during the confinement month and also it's not advisable to be on diet on this particular month.
Chinese will eat a lot of herbs to recover the body and all the herbs are the heaty type.
My body was not used to the heaty herbs so my nose was bleeding a little bit.
This is so called 虚不受补.

This confinement center has wifi provided.
We can go online any time.
However, my hubby only brought me my notebook after 2 weeks.
His concern was I must spend my time to rest for the 1st 2 weeks as he knows that once I go online I'll be spending my time playing games.
He is right actually.
I understand his concern is for my own good.

Luckily I have nice room mates (Seok Foon & Sarah) to chat with, not that boring.
Not only that, I know new friends like Xuang Xuang, Yuet Kit, Josephine, Esther, Xiao Qi.
We had mama talk and stories sharing.
Miss the moment actually.

Another activity for the mothers is suntaning the babies (those who got Jaundice).
See the pictures below.




I'm sharing some pictures of my confinement center and you can see the environment of the center. Quite comfortable & clean.

My Room (3-Bedded Room)

Our Closets

1st Floor Living Room

1st Floor Living Room

2 Bedded Room

2 Bedded Room Closet

1st Floor Waiting Area (You can see the wireless router on the table)
1st Floor Walkway to Balcony

Baby Room

Baby's Changing Area

My Baby's Cradle (6A)

48 comments:

Terry said...

Not bad...Look like staying in a hotel...How much?

ec said...

mana tempat?

Angie said...

Terry: I was taking a 3-bedded package RM 3,388.00 for 30 days.

EC: The address is 5U, Lorong Delima 3, 11600 Penang.

josze said...

the place looks really nice! and glad you're doing all fine & happy now =)

Lydia said...

Hi Angie,

I came across your blog as I was searching for a confinement home; thanks for sharing your experinece and taking the pictures.

May I know if the food they served are seperated out individually for each mothers or everyone eats from the same bowl/plate (like wedding dinners)? Want to check out as I heard certain centers do it the latter way.

Lydia said...

Hi Angie,

I came across your blog as I was searching for a confinement home; thanks for sharing your experinece and taking the pictures.

May I know if the food they served are seperated out individually for each mothers or everyone eats from the same bowl/plate (like wedding dinners)? Want to check out as I heard certain centers do it the latter way.

Angie said...

Hi Lydia,
Thanks for dropping by. We do not share food. The food is served individually. More hygienic.

ChittyChat said...

Thank you so much for sharing, mine is due this December..wondering how many months in advance shall we make booking? How's the food?

Angie said...

Christine,
First of all, congratulations!!!
Mine was due in Jan 2010 and I placed deposit in August 2009.
Normally year end is a peak season. Once finalize should do the booking fast.
I'm not particular on food so it was OK for me. However, some of my friends were complaining about the food.
Also it's advisable to visit the center personally and compare at least 3 places as our preference is quite subjective.
Anyhhow, good luck!

ChittyChat said...

Angie,

Thanks for your wishes.

I am wondering why everyone said that year end is peak season? Does that mean everyone looking for year end to give birth? ha ha ha.

Angie said...

One of the reason, many people getting married every year end. Take a few months for "honeymoon or 二人世界" then start making babies.So due another year end. This is what I thought. heheehe....

mooipeng said...

Hi Angie, i'm looking for confinement centre as well. May i know whether Klinik Kesihatan nurse visit the centre regularly ( check up for mom & baby)?

Angie said...

Mooi Peng: Yes, once you reach at the confinement centre the staff will contact the nearest Klinik Kesihatan (Taman Tun Sardon)to visit you. During my time, almost everyday they came as we had mothers coming in different days.

Unknown said...

yup not bad i run all penang island
then the final decision is this de garden
and some more the boss ah bee i know her .
last time they all from bkt dumbar cross down to batu lanchang kfc 1 of confinement now the house is locate for pink teddybear nusery.

Unknown said...

yup not bad i run all penang island
then the final decision is this de garden
and some more the boss ah bee i know her .
last time they all from bkt dumbar cross down to batu lanchang kfc 1 of confinement now the house is locate for pink teddybear nusery.

Unknown said...

yup is nice parking too

Anonymous said...

Angie,
During your stay, do you think that they do "encourage" breastfeeding ? Some nannies will prefer to feed with formula as it is more convenient to them. I visited the place last week and seems like there are 13 babies under caring of 4 nannies and i wonder if they are able to send all for breastfeeding timely.

Angie said...

breastfeeding is very much depends on the mothers. not all mothers will breastfeed their babies. if you request to send your baby for breastfeeding on time, they have to do it.

Anonymous said...

Angie,
Thank you for your advice.
i have had my decision made last weekend on where to go to after much considerations of various factors.

Joyce said...

My experience on staying at De Garden was not very pleasant as compare to my previous stay 3 years ago at other confinement home. De Garden service on taking care baby need to be improve, a lot of expecting mothers before decide on the confinement home, will have a look on the center environment, bed room condition, and food etc...and only by the time we stay, we will discover how our baby being taken care of. My baby got rashes all over when staying there until the doctor advise us to pay attention onto it. I also notice some baby got flu when staying there. There is no temparature control in the baby room as compare to other confinement home. Food wise for the mother, mostly fry food and for my 1st week of stay, a few of us will feel hungry at night because they only provide one roti bun for your supper. I would advise for those going through c-section mother who really want to get rest and without much walking (up and down the staircase etc), i will prefer to look for other choices, my previous stay at Ai Xin was a good experience to me, just that it's a bit far from where i stay, and that's the reason i switch to De Garden for my second one. To all expecting mother, wish you all have a good rest after your smooth delivery.

Angie said...

hi Joyce, ya my fren told me her baby's private part got rashes too. i'm not sure whether the same nannies taking care of the babies. but i'm blessed that every thing was fine during my time. anyway, there are many choices to select a confinement center now. hopefully the mothers out there could make their right choices.

nikki85 said...

I just checked out from De Garden and now sort of miss the home there. I think it was the friendship I had with the other mothers. Basically we become friends and will continue to keep in touch. In De Garden, I could rest well because nannies there is quite nice and local. No Indonesian maids to care for them. Nanny Judy was quite helpful and she is one of my favorite. Food was good as the cook was excellent. I will not hesitate to recommend anyone who is loooking for a nice home to relax.

nikki85 said...

I just checked out from De Garden recently and it was comfortable. I must say that I rested well as nannies were nice and helpful. I was not comfortable sleeping there because I miss my home and mostly my bed but my room mate makes it comfortable and we made friends and will continue to keep in touch. After all, we can share notes on the growth of our babies. The food was good because Ah Bee were creative and make us western food. I love her fish and chips and chicken chop. Talking about the food, I miss it already. Well, I will recommend this centre to anyone who is looking for a centre. =)

Shirley said...

Hi, I am checking out the confinement home just now and have been to i confinement home, Jia Yi and De Garden. Well, I think Jia Yi is quite ok but I checked with my friend and they said Indonesian is taking care of the babies as well. I am quite concern with them taking care of my baby. As for i, it's cheap but my friend said the food is not tasty at all. On top of it, mothers are not welcome in the room as nannies will show face whenever we are there. I just visited a friend who is there and she said the room is spacious. De Garden looks nice and comfortable and I was told the food and the baby care is good. What is your experience there in terms of food? Good variety. I am concern as I am choosy when it comes to food. Read about cook Bee quite clever in cooking... kindly advise what you have been eating...
Thanks

Angie said...

Hi Shirley, thanks for dropping a message. The food was OK to me but maybe I'm not that choosy on food. During my time, all babies were taking care by local nannies no indonesian nannies but only the maid was an indonesian who was doing the housework. I will consider to go back there for my 2nd baby in future.

helenliew said...

Hi Angie, May i know is maid take care on baby or experience nursing care?

Angie said...

hi Helen, there were a few aunties on duty everyday and didn't have a specific maid taking care of each baby.

STong said...

Hi Angie, thanks for sharing information regarding confinement center,my due date is Jan2012 and I have already booked de garden 3-bedded package. since this is my 1st time, i would like to ask about breastfeeding during ur stay in the confinement center, is it convenient to provide brestfeed to our baby in 3 bedded-room?seems like nt so convenient..wat is ur advice?thanks

Angie said...

Congratulations STong!!! I went to an empty room when I was breastfeeding my baby. Hopefully, there will be an empty room during your time. I did breastfeed in my own room when other mothers are around. That's OK and nothing to shy about as they were breastfeeding in the room as well. ^_^

Regretful Mum said...

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am here to inform you that is this confinement center named O'hana Resorts Sdn Bhd located at 213, Jalan Macallister,10450 Penang,have not been managing the center well.
After my dellivery, I thought I have make the right choice for spending my confinement at the most expensive confinement center in Penang.
But, after my staying in the confinement center, my baby was infected with conjunctivitis. I had advised the person in charge (Cheryl) to isolate the infected baby. But she took it for granted and given me the reason that the baby already recover, no need to be isolate in another room. And I got to know that this infection have been started since 3 months ago and they never take futher action to do any treatment like "pembasmi kuman" to clean the room. Because of no further action have been taken, the virus and germs have been staying in the nursery till it spread to some babies. Not only my baby was infected, there are also a few conjunctivitis case. You may check with a few mothers in the list staying in the center in the month of Nov2011, Dec2011 and Jan 2012 and the person in charge of O'hana. Moreoever, some nurses whom so call the care taker for baby are not registered nurses . Some are just trainee without experience. Please don not let your patients taking the risk.


Yours sincerly

Most Regretful Mum for choosing O'hana (the most irresponsible confinement center with 0% medical knowledge)
http://www.ohanaresorts.com.my/

Ivy said...

Hi Angie,

Thanks for sharing the information. May i know anyone have stay in sierra confinement centre before and how was the food, baby care service?

Hope can get some info from here. Thanks and good day !!

Anonymous said...

Hi angie. thanks for sharing. Anyone heard of sunrise confinement?how is't?is de garden stil good?how about ai xin? tks.

Anonymous said...

May i know anyone have stay in sierra confinement centre before and how was the food, baby care service?

Anonymous said...

Just for sharing, De garden now should not that good now, they have change management since last year and will change again in end of this year.
Foods is salty & sweet. Room still fine. Nanny who take care our babies you better go offen to see the chart that your baby feed milk , they might overlook/forget or feed extra oz of milk that your baby take.
might be some nanny are old and do thing slow motion and some keep talking with other nanny and did not care your babies are crying.
This is my experience on my stay there.

thank you!

Anonymous said...

Sierra Confinement Home had closed down since 2011

Anonymous said...

Omg so sad to hear De Garden food n service has drop as when I was there n 2008 the aunty is really a good cook she very creative and all nanny also very experience type n nice. It was a lovely confinement centre before

Anonymous said...

Start missing my stay at De Garden. Loved the environment, foods n helpful nannies. We were served with variety of confinement foods from Chinese to Western style. The cook was so creative n food was tasty, Tq Ah Bee.

Like to sembang with Nannies when entered into the Baby room, they were very helpful n caring. Learned a lot from Nannies especially on taking care of baby. Aunty Judy is the one I approached the most. I preferred here bcoz i can enter into baby room to learn from experienced nannies n further more the nannies are all chinese.

Heard Nannies said they have changed for a better management and just upgraded the baby room n some facilities, no wonder everythings were like new.

Really a good experience for me staying with De Garden.

Anonymous said...

Just left De Garden for few months. This was my 2nd time staying in DG. A lot of changes compared to my first stay. Nannies like Aunty Judy, Lily, Cai Er, Babe, Ah Sim were still there, chef also still cooking her tasty foods and Niti still helping to clean up.

During my 1st stay, a "big box" TV was placed in the bedroom n air con sometimes leaking, Internal wall painting looked slightly old. I were surprised when I entered to DG again, every things looked like new. New air con, new TV, new painting n new baby room n new management as well.

They were upgrading DG to a better living environment and strictly enforced on hygienic matter. I still remembered during my 1st stay, my husband n my parents were allowed to carry my baby when they paid a visit but now they don't allow us to carry and baby can only be seen in the baby room through the glass wall due to hygiene purposes. Anyhow, we were still allowed to enter into baby room.

Hoping that nannies n living environment are still the same when I come again in the future.

Anonymous said...

How much is De Garden charging now?

Evelyn said...

RM4300 for 2 bedded

Anonymous said...

How about Ebell confinement centre in Pulau Tikus?My parents in law have placed a deposit for my baby there but later my govt doctor disapproved me being parted of the baby being sent there alone.

YJLEE said...

Called de garden, the ppl very rude...I told them my due is Feb next year & she said is full & keep saying cannot talk anymore... I just want to ask how many single rooms the have as my friend due in Apr. She keep saying no room in Feb & hang up the call...so puss off

Unknown said...

Hi anyone knows abt Sunrise confinement?

Unknown said...

Can someone share about Sunrise Confinement centre?

norlaili.scandar said...

Hi Angie...how r u? I'm Laili...hope u still remember me ;)
I'm looking for the confinement center for myself and my baby. But...all the centers are non-halal and not suitable for Malay;(

Angie said...

Hi Laili, of course I remember you.
Ya, all the confinement centers in my blog are for non - Muslim.
I don't have any source of confinement center for Muslim thus far.
I doubt if there is any in Penang.

norlaili.scandar said...

I called up almost all the centers yesterday. All not suitable for Malay. But there's one...behind Tzu Chi center, near to Island Hospital, that center can still accommodate for Malay food. Which I would like to consider. Only problem is little far from my house.

Tq Angie. 😘

Angie said...

Great to hear that you finally found one. Do share with me the confinement center contact detail so that I can share in my blog too.

Thanks ^_^