Review of PEM Confinement Nanny Agency

About PEM Confinement Nanny Agency

PEM Confinement Nanny Agency was established in 1987 and has been in the industry for 30 years. They provide Mummies with the upmost confinement care in Singapore. PEM Confinement Nanny Agency is the largest confinement nanny agency in Singapore with over 400 nannies and is the first confinement nanny agency to be licensed by Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Why I Chose PEM For Both My Confinements?

The first time I hired a nanny from PEM was 2 years ago when I had my first born in 2015. I was really lost at that point but Hubby helped to find out about popular nanny agencies in Singapore and was recommended PEM by several friends. It was only after booking the nanny that we knew how popular PEM was. Popular in the sense whenever Mummies talked about confinement nanny agencies, most would first bring up the name PEM. So at that point I thought it was a safe choice since they're really well known & reputable. Hubs & I always felt safer to have a nanny from a trusted agency rather than a freelance nanny even if she is recommended. The rationale behind it is that we feel even for a nanny that is really well-received and highly recommended, if there was anything that happened in her personal life that she had to attend to and miss the job, she would have to. Even if she could get a replacement, that would defeat the purpose of booking her since you set out to have her as your choice nanny isn't it? Moreover usually the salary of freelance nannies are higher. So without a thought PEM was still our first choice when we got pregnant the second time round.

Why Confinement Nanny?

It really depends on your household arrangements, whether you have enough help with the baby, cooking of confinement food, and house chores. For me even though I have a helper, I wanted someone who's trained in taking care of newborns look after my baby. At the same time wanting someone who is equipped with proper knowledge of confinement rules to assist me with recovery during this period. Anyway I see my helper and my nanny as two separate roles. My helper takes care of my toddler, does house chores and brings my tott to my MIL's place during the day. My nanny on the other hand takes care of my newborn and myself, cooks for the family, and prepares anything else that is required for my confinement during this month.

Here's a nice picture with my nanny and both my girls.

Hehe, baby enjoying her milk bath here.

Main Duties Of The Confinement Nanny

• Brewing of TCM herbal tonics & red date tea
• Washing of clothes for Mummy & newborn
• Preparation of confinement herbal bath water for Mummy
• Nannies to assist Mummy with breastfeeding if needed
• 24 hours care for baby
• Cooking of confinement food for Mummy
• Simple cleaning of the house (sweeping & mopping)
• Sharing of useful tips on a smooth confinement

For more details on the full job scope of confinement nannies, please click here.

The Daily Routine Of my Confinement Nanny

1. Every morning she'll make me breakfast. I always have my breakfast at a standard timing 'cuz of my body clock. Yes, even during confinement and all the lack of sleep from breastfeeding baby. #sleepwoes
2. Then she proceeds to boil the red date tea and herbal bath water for me and sets it aside to cool before I take a shower after lunch.
3. She'd have her meal, sun my baby ('cuz baby had jaundice) then bathe baby.
4. Before noon came, my nanny would prepare lunch for the family. The nannies are supposed to prepare meals for Mummies as well but as I had my own confinement food catered, I didn't need her to cook for me. You might be wondering why would I order confinement food catering since I have a confinement nanny already. Well my helper brings my elder girl to my MIL's place during weekdays and I'm home alone with the nanny. Would prefer for the nanny to have full focus on my girl that's why.
5. After lunch she normally would wash up the place, do some light sweeping and mopping, then hand wash baby & my clothes. She normally does this twice a day before taking her bath. 
6. When everything has been settled she'd take naps in between the afternoon while looking after baby so I could get some rest. But b'cuz baby is breastfed, most times baby ends up sleeping in my room especially on days where she cluster feeds. 
7. About 5pm or so my nanny would sun my girl again, let her cool and rest, then wipe her down before preparing dinner for the family. 
8. The rest of the time at night is pretty free & easy. She'd help with the baby like changing her diapers, coaxing her to sleep and take baby to me when she needs to feed.
9. Again b'cuz baby is breastfed, her sleeping arrangements changed quite a bit on a week to week basis. So when baby sleeps with nanny, my nanny brings baby to me when she needs to feed then I'll take baby back to her room when I'm done. Some days baby just sleeps in my room 'cuz she feeds every hourly so might as well I just keep her in my room. But I take her to my nanny when she needs a diaper change. So this should be discussed with your partner and planned before nanny comes just to be prepared.

Other Things My Nanny Helped Me With

• On days I had my postnatal massage sessions, I would pump so nanny could feed & take care of baby while I enjoy my massages.
• I did a newborn shoot for my baby at home around 2nd week post-delivery. That was great help b'cuz it takes a couple of hours to get the shoot done. Nanny was around to assist with pacifying & calming baby. 
• Even though I had catered confinement meals, my nanny would still make me small portions of nice confinement dishes every now and then. She'd also make anything that I requested, e.g. red bean soup 'cuz I heard my Mummy friends saying it helps with water retention. Not that I had it, but I just thought a little dessert would be nice.
• My nanny plays and interacts with my toddler, which is something quite nice 'cuz I see my toddler having fun with her.
• Once or twice a week my nanny would do some grocery shopping for the home.
• And one of the important things, washing and sterilizing of my pump parts.

Here are some of the yummy dishes my nanny made during her stay with us. Above on the left is Oatmeal cooked in Mom's Milk and it's a great milk booster, it's one of my favorite breakfast meals. I added some Flaxseed Meal for extra fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids, plus topped up with an Apple to have healthy bowel movements. On some days my nanny would make me Pork Mee Sua cooked in Red Rice Wine. Its not something I'll usually eat but it's really very yummy..! Plus the Red Wine I was really delicious. You can PM me for details to order the Red Wine if keen.

Clockwise from top left: Kampong Chicken with Pork Stomach Soup, Stir Fried Pork Belly with Ginger, ABC Soup and Red Wine Chicken (Fav!!). Before tasting the Red Wine Chicken made by my nanny, I never thought I liked this dish. Now That I've tried, it's officially one of my favorite confinement dishes. The ABC Soup isn't a confinement dish 'cuz it was cooked for the family, but I took a bowl just out of greed. : P

Clockwise from top left: Vinegar Pork Trotters (All time fav!! and again prob the best I've had!), Stir Fried Pork Stomach with Oyster Mushrooms in Red Wine Sauce, Sesame Oil Chicken with Potatoes, and Stir Fried Chicken with Onion Shoots and Black Fungus.

Clockwise from top left: Again Red Wine Chicken on the last day of my confinement before the nanny left. She cooked this big portion of Red Wine Chicken for me and my friends who came over. We've got Red Bean Soup and also Stir Fried Vegetables. Overall I really liked my nanny's cooking. It was tasty with just the right amount of flavors.

A very important thing my nanny helped with, the tracking of my girl's pee pee & poo poo as well as her feeding timing. This was really helpful 'cuz I myself forgot that I had to keep track. So in the end I let my nanny do the recording for the entire month and I only started after confinement. So much easier for me!

In the initial week of my confinement my nanny cup fed baby at night. On the last week of confinement, I asked my nanny to help try out the bottle on baby just to see if she'd take it 'cuz eventually we'll have to start her on bottle feed when my MIL takes care of her. It took my baby about 1 whole minute of crying and fussing before taking the bottle in peace but now she's quite a pro. It's good to get nanny to help with anything you lack in confident of before she leaves just to get you some idea or started with something. Like bathing of baby, feeding, burping, etc. Just try to get help if needed especially if you'd be on your own after confinement.

Other Services From PEM For Your Confinement Needs

• Confinement Herbal Package - Herbal Red Date Tea, Herbal Bath, Herbal Soup. These all comes in a 28-day set. They are packed individually, one for everyday's use. And the Herbal Soup packs are labelled in sequence of days for the aid in a particular recovery everyday. You can see an example of the Herbal Soup pack in my previous blog, click here.
• Prenatal Massage - helps relieve muscle aches and joint pain, reduces swelling, as well as improving labor outcome.
• Postnatal Massage - this is definitely a must-must for every Mummy who just given birth! I swear by it. The massage helps to expel wind from the body, remove engorgement, push womb back into place, tighten abdominal area, and helps Mummies relax and feel good.

The Booking Process

1. Upon inquiring and setting appointment with a customer service officer from PEM, an email was received shortly regarding our tele-convo as well as detailed brochures about their services.
2. A representative from PEM dropped by our place on the date of appointment to explain the entire service in details as well as the things that we need to know before hiring the nanny.
3. Once the booking was confirmed, a deposit was paid to the rep on the spot. The remaining amount was to be paid to the nanny on the last day of her service.
4. My hubby called PEM the day of delivery to notify them of the day of discharge, then nanny came on the afternoon of my discharge.

It's been 2 days since my nanny has left. Overall I'm very pleased with her services and stay at our home. Kinda miss having a nanny as a companion to help take care of baby and cook me good food already. But now it's back to reality, oh wells. I do have some friends who hire their nannies for 2 months, super shiok can! Anyways I'd definitely recommend PEM Confinement Nanny Agency to every Mom or Moms-to-be if this is something you're thinking of having during your confinement. So far I've used them twice and the experience both times were good.

So that's all for today and I hope you liked my review for the day. Do feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any question/s regarding the topic and I'll try my best to answer them if it's not already stated in my blog above. And that's all for today, bye~! ; )

If you'd like to find out more about PEM Confinement Nanny Agency and their packages, visit them at their:

Official website @ https://pemconfinement.com/
Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/PEMConfinementNanny/

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Thank you for reading my blog, until next time.. : )

Media Event_Ju-Ju-Be Sea Punk Launch By Mums & Babes Singapore_26 June 2017

Did you know that Ju-Ju-Be x Tokidoki's latest product launch is 3pm today (27 June 2017)? Yes! Sea Punk! It's like the version 2 of the previous print, Sea Amo. I was really excited that I've been invited to the media event cum trunk show organised by Mums & Babes Singapore (MNBSG) yesterday at United Square. A trunk show is usually organised by by distributors a day before the official launch and open to public via a que system. Sometimes VIP passes are handed out and I was stoked to get one of it. It was the first media event & trunk show MNBSG held yesterday and I'm happy to share about it! Let's see! : D

Mandatory selfie with the gorgeous blue backdrop to start the day.

Super stoked! VIP access! Yays!

Everyone was waiting for 2pm for the doors to open for VIP pass holders. There wasn't any que to enter but there was a random draw system to determine who's allowed to purchase first. But not to worry about not being the first in line as we were only allowed to choose the PP (placements) of the bags between 2 pieces for each design, so the last few doesn't mean it's gonna be anything with lousy PP. It's quite a fair system.

2pm came and the doors were open, I was immediately captured by this dreamy unicorn-themed display. So pretty!

A very lovely dessert table set-up indeed by Abite. Although there were lil' snacks and cakes for guests to have, they were too pretty I didn't wanna start eating them off to spoil the complete look. LOL.

Spot the Donutellas! : P

Besides Ju-Ju-Be products, there were other cute products with Tokidoki prints from various brands to be purchased.

Like the very cute Baby Moccasins from Itzy Ritzy, love the Donutella ones.
And Toki wet bags which you can use to keep your baby carriers or use them for swim sessions with your kiddos.

Toki plushies, Latte & Donutella are so kawaii! I think there were also blind box Toki figurines as well. Some Toki Mummy fans were going crazy choosing by feeling the packets 'cuz its a blind buy.. Haha. I know some friends who collect the entire set of figurines on its own, while others convert them into bag charms by adding embellishments together with the figurines onto key chains.

There was a balloon station where this really talented lady was making balloon sculptures for kids & Mummies. How cute is this Bunny. In this picture she was making A unicorn out of the balloons. Didn't manage to snap a pic later on 'cuz I was too busy shopping . LOL!

Names of the VIP guests were drawn with a random name drawer and I was quite lucky to get the first 5s. There were friendly staff at the selection counter to bring you 2 PPs of each design of your choice. Each guest could purchase 2 big bags and 1 small bag/item. You'd get a free coin purse for purchases above $250. Same thing, choose one from 2 PPs given.

Met many familiar faces at the event and Jasmine was one of the pretty Mummy friends there. She was there to do a live demo for packing of Ju-Ju-Be bags. That was one segment of the event and I don't have a photo to show 'cuz I was busy taking videos for my IG stories. You can pop to my IG @Vannytelly to have a look, the vids will only be there till 5pm today, I think? Otherwise you can always find it on Youtube k.

Pretty Mummies need more mandatory photos can. Hahaha. And the dessert table makes a very lovely backdrop! Oh ya, I was wearing my nursing cover most of the time 'cuz Baby H. was crying alot and I had to nurse her on and off. I think she's going through another growth spurt man, went back yesterday and nursed her 3 hours on and off non-stop and today still the same pattern! : O

So these were my loots of the day and I'm very happy with the PPs!! So chio can! Twin uni at the centre front of my Superbe with double Donutellas behind, and Donutella in the middle of my Be Set!! Consolation for a Donutella on the corner of my Minibe. Yays! Also had a free coin purse and cute Toki stickers.

See how cute the stickers are. Can I paste on my luggage? Hmmmm....

And an OOTD shot to end my post.. Thanks MNBSG once again for the invite, I had fun!

For those of you who missed the trunk shows yesterday, there'd be official launches on some local websites at 3pm sharp today (27th June k) where you can try your hands on FFF (fastest fingers first) to get some Sea Punks. Good luck!! ; )

**Give-Away Alert**

I'll be holding a give-away for one of the items from my loot stash yesterday, *wink wink**

do check my FB/IG for updates. ; )  

So that's all for today and I hope you liked my blog post for the day. Do feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any question/s regarding the topic and I'll try my best to answer them if it's not already stated in my blog above. And that's all for today, bye~! ; )

If you'd like to find out more about Mums & Babes, visit them at their:
Official website @ http://mumsandbabes.com/
Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/MNBSG/

Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/mumsandbabessg/

P.S. If you'd like to see my future posts, follow me on Facebook and Instagram...
FB: www.facebook.com/vannytelly/
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Thank you for reading my blog, until next time.. : )

Mummy Product Review_Medela Freestyle Breast Pump

It is now my second time breastfeeding but really just the first time I'm using a breast pump. Before my first born arrived, I already knew and planned to stop breastfeeding early at 3 months postpartum so I was hesitant of getting a breast pump knowing how expensive they can be. I wanted to give it a go to try and see if I could make do with total direct latching and eventually it worked for me so I was rather lucky I would say. Baby F. was on mixed feeding since the night she was born b'cuz my milk hadn't kicked in and she needed more so we supplemented 30% of her feeds (night feeds) with formula milk. I did have engorgement the first few days but was quickly regulated with the regular feedings and the lactation massages cleared out all the blocked milk ducts so everything went well.

This time I did the same thing again, tried out direct latching but 100% breastfeeding. B'cuz Baby. H. was born prematurely, she was really sleepy the first few days and didn't really wake up to drink much though I still kept trying to feed her every 2-3 hourly. This helped tide thru the initial 2 days before my milk kicked in on the 3rd day. Everything was going fine until she failed her jaundice test on her 1st week check-up and had to be hospitalized for photo therapy that very same afternoon. Even though knowing that jaundice is really common in newborns especially breastfed babies, the thought of having her away from me was terribly heartbreaking I cried. I really couldn't control myself 'cuz the separation anxiety was real, plus I guess the postpartum hormones was taking a toll. I went home all worried 'cuz I had no pump with me and my little human pump was at the hospital, so immediately I sought advise on good breast pumps from my Mummy friends. I was recommended two brands in particular but majority of my friends recommended the Medela Freestyle Breast Pump. I got to know through a Mummy friend that Mums & Babes was having a 20% promo for the pump so I ordered it and Hubs collected it from their Toh Guan office right away since it was urgent.

Hubby came back with my brand new set of breast pump after 6 hours since I last fed baby, boobs super full already but lucky I had no engorgement. I was excited but nervous to try 'cuz it was my first time expressing my BM through pumping. Since Hubs was the one who collected the set, he was taught how to use the pump so we opened up the set together and he taught me how. 

This was how the brand new set looked like when we first opened up.

And these were all the items included in the box set:

• 1 Freestyle pump
• 1 Lithium ion battery (rechargeable)
• 1 AC adaptor/charger
• 1 Double pumping kit - includes: (2) breast shield bodies, membranes and back caps, (1) set of tubing connector
• 1 Set of 24mm PersonalFit Breastshields
• 4 5oz/150mL breast milk bottles and lids
• 2 Multi purpose bottle lids
• 2 Bottle stands
• 1 Portable microfiber carry bag
• 1 Medela cooler system including ice block
• 1 Calma (feeding device)
• 1 Medela breast pad sample (4 pcs)
• Instructions manual and warranty

You will find general and useful breastfeeding guidelines in the instructions manual.

This was especially useful for me since I'm a first-timer to storing breast milk.

Parts of the pump were all taken out, washed, sterilized and dried first before using. The pump motor unit had to be charged first but I used it while charging 'cuz I couldn't wait out any longer. So far after using it for more than 2 weeks now I've charged like 3 times? I would say it takes charging every once a week and I've been doing 3 pumps a day.

Tah-dah.. all ready for use. 

This was my yield after the first pumping session which took me 12 minutes. It was easy and hassle-free to use, even for a first-timer. Totally no complains at all! Now I understand how Mummies feel after pumping, to see what wondrous liquid gold we're able to provide our 'lil ones with. I felt a sense of achievement though my supply was not that full yet, and I feel happy having soft boobs again. Haha. Medela Freestyle Breast Pump, my total life saver!!

My little humble stash after 2 weeks of pumping and collecting of let-downs. I latch my girl in the day and my nanny cup feeds her at night thus keeping some fresh milk in the fridge for the night every day. 

Finally after 2.5 weeks postpartum, my first bag of liquid gold ready to be frozen.. ahhh.. the satisfaction was explainable. Now I understand why lactation consultants always say that a good breast pump is very important b'cuz it helps Mummies build confidence while 'doing our jobs', I couldn't agree more. B'cuz the breast pump was so easy to set up and use, I was totally stress-free. Definitely recommend this to any Moms who's looking for a reliable, sturdy and compact breast pump. The size is totally portable to bring out and battery life sustains pretty well. Thumbs up!

Oh yes just to share that Mums & Babes is the official distributor for Medela products in Singapore and you can find many other Mummy & Baby products on their online website as well as their stores. When you purchase your Medela breast pumps from the local authorized dealers, you are entitled to attend a breastfeeding workshop organised by Medela Singapore. The workshops are held on a monthly basis and I managed to attend a session with some of my EDD Mummy friends before we popped. We thought the workshop was really informative even for a STM (second-time-Mom) like me. I would definitely recommend Moms and/or Moms-to-be and also Daddies to attend this workshop especially if the whole breastfeeding topic and pumping is new to you. Get yourself equipped with some knowledge to prep for the day you really need it practically. For those who are keen in the workshops you may visit Medela Singapore's Facebook page where they update the workshop details on a monthly basis, or click here for the direct link.

So that's all for today and I hope you liked my review for the day. Do feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any question/s regarding the topic and I'll try my best to answer them if it's not already stated in my blog above. And that's all for today, bye~! ; )

If you'd like to find out more about Mums & Babes, visit them at their:
Official website @ http://mumsandbabes.com/
Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/MNBSG/

Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/mumsandbabessg/

P.S. If you'd like to see my future posts, follow me on Facebook and Instagram...
FB: www.facebook.com/vannytelly/
IG: www.instagram.com/vannytelly/

Thank you for reading my blog, until next time.. : )

Maternity Photo Shoot By Inessa Studio

I got to know about Inessa Studio 'cuz my June EDD Mummy friends & I did a group maternity photo shoot when we were 8 months preggers (blog post here). And we were pretty happy with the photos so I decided to have my personal maternity shoot with them. For my first pregnancy I wanted a unique shoot which little have done so I did an underwater maternity shoot (blog post here) with the help of a friend. This time I wanted something simpler and classic so I went with a studio shoot. Here are the photos of my maternity shoot for your viewing pleasure. : P

Typically the maternity shoot would take about 3 hours in total if you're gonna have your make up done at the studio. The shoot itself takes about 1.5 hours and the makeup another 1.5 hours. The Maternity Photoshoot is charged at $250 and cost for makeup is separately charged. For more details of the rates and charges, please click here to find out.

Up till date I have worked with both photographers from Inessa Studio - Haru who did the group maternity photoshoot as well as my personal maternity photoshoot with Hubs, and Steve who did the newborn shoot. Both photographers were easy to work with and follows up very quick & efficiently. Overall all 3 sessions were great and I have no complains. I'd recommend to anyone who's looking for a place to get their photos taken at affordable rates.

So that's all for today and I hope you liked my short photo sharing session. Do feel free to leave comments in the comment box below if you have any question/s regarding the topic and I'll try my best to answer them if it's not already stated in my blog above. And that's all for today, bye~! ; )

If you'd like to find out more about Inessa Studio and their services, visit them at their:

Official website @ https://www.inessastudio.com/
Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/inessastudio/

Instagram @ https://www.instagram.com/inessastudio/

I'll be posting the next photo showcase of my Baby's newborn shoot taken by Inessa Studio shortly, so do stay tuned!

P.S. If you'd like to see my future posts, follow me on Facebook and Instagram...

FB: www.facebook.com/vannytelly/
IG: www.instagram.com/vannytelly/

Thank you for reading my blog, until next time.. : )