Stomach in - chest out : Ikat bengkung

I don't have to wear bengkung (traditional tummy binder), instead I only use the abdominal support/binder recommended by my gynae. Frankly, it's cheaper than the commercial binder for mothers who had to undergo C-sect. Surprisingly, it's as effective as the traditional solution and more convenient as it doesn't have tali-tali yang berjela-jela - it's using velcro for fastening.

The result can be seen overnight - seriously. The gynae made me wear it on day 02 of the op and then on day 03, my tummy has became noticeably smaller. It also helped the uterus contracting back to it's original size. On the next follow up session (day 09) my uterus has only a few more cm to go.

Using a modern binder was one of the things I discovered that can be safely used by moms who underwent C-sect. After 2 births and a lot of asking around (yeah, gossip sessions benefit me a lot!!), I have also discovered that some traditional treatments can be done contrary to some beliefs that C-sect will prohibit the mommies from being touched by tukang urut.

After discussing with my girlfriends I decided to hire a Confinement Lady. I asked a few friends for recommendation and participated in a few forums to read other people's experience. It was quite scary at first when some people wrote about their CL who didn't allow them to sleep with the lights on and they had to eat nasik sejuk because the CL malas masak.

I decided to hire this blogger punya makcik. Her makcik's contact number can be found on that blog. I chose her for one simple reason; if the CL's niece and sister are pretty, there must be some treasured beauty secrets in the family. Hehehe. Dengan harapan, kalau dia jaga aku, akupun jadi 'ganteng' jugaklah...

You know what, trusting your own instinct is the most important thing when it comes to making decisions. When I first met the CL, I knew I could trust her. During the first meeting, she briefed me on the types of treatment and the rest of the services she's providing e.g cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and taking care of the baby.

On the day I was discharged from hospital the CL came to my house and started with all the treatment. I hired her for 14 days, so I had herbal bath, bertangas, bertungku and massage everyday. Her package also include twice mandi lulur (traditional scrub), air kunyit and air bandrek. The two 'out-of-this-world' drinks were not easy to gulp. I'd rather have the whole bottle of Scott's Emulsion than to drink those two.

The CL cooked simple meals for me for lunch and dinner. I only have hot milo and Jacobs crackers for breakfast, tea break and supper. Besides that she also helped prepare meals for my family to break fast and sahur. My family enjoyed her cooking especially Wazif because she cooked the best nasi lemak (menurut pendapat Wazif la, sebab favorite dia memang nasik lemak).

Since this was the first time I was getting such treatments I can't do much comparison. However, I noticed that I was feeling a lot healthier during this confinement period than my previous 2. The herbal bath helped a lot to rejuvenate the body and calm the mind. Bertangas helped to burn the extra calories and good for blood circulation. Her massage was very good (tapi terjerit-jerit jugak menahan sakit). Her philosophy is simple, we don't need to get too many sessions of massage. If there's a problematic area/vein/muscle etc, it should be tackled on the spot. Although the massage hurt a bit but I could sleep well at night. I didn't feel the usual soreness. My hubby asked whether she had any 'baca-baca'; I didn't think so because during every treatment session what we did was gossipping. (Oh man... sapa-sapa pun boleh jadi aku punya geng gossip).

I loved the mandi lulur very much simply because I'm the type who usually spend less than 10 minutes in the shower. Imagine how much 'daki' has accumulated. After being scrubbed (dengan bahan lulur yang sangat wangi - bau macam biskut raya) I felt clean and my skin was as smooth as model iklan Lux.

All in all, she's highly recommended for her professionalism, skills and quality of service. If you decided to hire her or any CL, make sure to have a meeting a few months before your EDD to discuss the arrangement. What worked for me might not suit you. Early understanding should be established between you and the CL to avoid miscomm and to set your expectations right.

Sekian, terima kasih.

Oh, BTW... my baby boy's name is Muhammad Zarif Lukman. Here's 21 days' old Zarif: