Tuesday 1 July 2014

Confinement Center 101: Jo's Bonda Villa Experience

Hi there moms, mom's-to-be, dads, dad's-to-be AND of course those that have stumbled upon our little prenatal yoga Surya Yoga blog by chance. I made my way to visit Josephine (or Jo as all of us at Surya Yoga studio affectionately call her) at Bonda Villa, this rather surprisingly homey confinement center in Kota Kemuning.

In truth, the journey to Kota Kemuning from Aman Suria I thought would be difficult, but with my 'waze' on hand, I made the journey and arrived in one piece . This time, I arrived early and my first impression of Bonda Villa? - WHOAH... Nothing about this place screamed 'confinement'. It was this huge bungalow (but I feel I need to call it a mansion to do it justice) with a lovely manicured green lawn.



Lovely quiet location. It's located in a more private housing area.


So, after I handed Jo a little congratulations card that everyone at Surya Yoga signed AND sat down on the comfy huge black sofa and asked her all about Bonda Villa and how they have been treating her. I made a few points below of what she expressed to me.




Jo and Baby Jolie, both doing great (and paparappapa lovin' our card!) Note the McDonalds theme reference *grins*



Interesting stuff about Bonda Villa

Shirley and Christine (co-owners of Bonda Villa and their own unique line of prenatal/postnatal apparel, the first and original - WearHouz) strongly advocate breast feeding. In fact Christine is also a dedicated breast feeding consultant and is always checking up on moms and their little ones in Bonda Villa. Shirley, equally as vibrant ensures that things run smoothly making sure the mommies (max 8) are comfy, happy and are taken care of. Their approach is really hands on and you can see how genuine they are in assisting all the recuperating mommies (including Jo).



Jo, Shirley and the'chef 'Pinky



Not the conventional menu for moms in confinement BUT all ingredients are carefully chosen and picked - anything that will cause discomfort for moms are banned from the kitchen. They may be more conventional, but they hang on to the ones that truly are effective.




The 8 moms at Bonda Villa eat their 5-6 meals together at the dining hall. Moms are definitely not confined to just their rooms. Tons of workshops and activities as well are held at Bonda Villa to keep everyone happy, informed and focused on recuperation and baby care.






Each baby has his/her meal plan book. Every detail is meticulously jotted down. These folks take their job seriously! It goes beyond a 'job', it's a passion!


Two words - Organic. Food - These lucky mommies get the best of the best! They get beautiful 'hormone-free' organic food made with love by Shirley's very own sister. I was around the dining hall during lunch hour, and yes, I would compare Shirley's sister's cooking to a high class fusion restaurant. Even the 'plating' was beautiful! Attention to detail! Jo and all the moms get a set of organic goodies including toiletries when they first enter Bonda Villa. In my opinion, this might be the best welcome gift ever!



Organic product are provided to mommy and baby here !


The lovely and also skilled and certified nurses are on 24 hours 'on call' care - for both mommy and baby. Even the use of diapers is a big no-no unless absolutely required. The use of cloth diapers is preferred - to me, I know them as 'kain lampin'. Diapers (the non-cloth type) as I found out from Jo is not comfy and not breathable.



Confinement lady? Wait, confinement certified nurses! (on call 24 hours)




Worthy of mention, Christine and Shirley's Wear Houz apparel! Just a 'print screen' of their dress collection. Their versatile clothing is for all stages of pregnancy and even postnatal. Comfy, flow-ey, stretchable material with 'discreet access' for breast feeding. From pregnancy to project runway? Christine and Shirley come up with their own designs too!



How loving is the Bonda Villa team?

Baby has rashes? Showing signs of eczema? Both Christine and Shirley and the team of nurses are right on it! Did I mention the 'emergency buttons' they have installed in the resident's rooms? Much like a hospital (or actually airplane flight as well), when the emergency or 'assist me' button is pressed, their room number/location is shown on this huge LED panel in the dining hall (followed by a 'ding ding ding' which I would compare to the usual shopping mall announcement music intro).




Mommy Jo and Baby Jolie (AND the comfy black sofa I was talking about)



Baby Jolie's little jaundice experience

So on with the story, on the fifth day, Jolie showed signs of jaundice. As any mom would be, even if jaundice is not uncommon, Jo panicked at the thought of baby Jolie having to stay in the hospital for photo therapy sessions. The hospital, surprisingly and conveniently nearby, has the machine for it. So there were plans to get baby Jolie to the hospital and Jo made plans with Christine and Shirley that they take her every 2 hours to the hospital for breastfeeding. Naturally not an enjoyable or comfortable experience for a mother in confinement.

This is the part where Jo expressed with much gratitude and emotion that Christine and Shirley actually rented the photo therapy machine from the hospital for baby Jolie! Jolie didn't have to be admitted and Jo got to breastfeed Jolie every 2 hours and still get some well-deserved recuperation time! The nurses, certified and experienced had zero problems helping out with the photo therapy.



Christine and Shirley brought the hospital to Jo! Jo didn't have to make trips to the hospital every 2 hours for breastfeeding. It could have been a very stressful period for both baby and mommy but thankfully the Bonda Villa team went all out to help.




Living room area with little baby cots. All the wee babies tucked in nicely and I imagine, enjoying the lovely soothing music. The place was filled with the 'new baby' smell!




Something about the interior design feels 'just like home'


The bungalow was very spacious and had this hint of 'traditional kampung nature' feel. Lots of nice dark wood around the rooms. Perhaps the term 'traditional kampung' may not sound appealing. Okay, I'll compare it to a fancy resort/spa feel. If you have a look at the list of services they provide, I guess I like the mix of modern and conventional feel to the place. Bonda Villa also provide post natal massages, mandi bunga baths and their intensive list of post natal service.


Postpartum Depression?

Christine and Shirley brought it up in our little heart to heart conversation. Apparently mommies, especially those that have to go through confinement have a very high tendency to develop postpartum depression. It doesn't help that even sometimes, for those at other centers or decide to stay at home, can't get a long with their confinement lady. Sometimes wrong advice is give and wrong information is given too.




O' sweet child of mine...

So the Bonda Villa dynamic duo has a super strong policy of always being around and available at Bonda Villa to lend a ear, shoulder and sometimes, a bowl of lovely desert to turn any frowns upside down. Bonda Villa has so many great activities for the 8 moms which keeps everyone pleasantly distracted and between the post natal massages, treatments and the every two hour breastfeeding, the moms really don't have the time to focus on any sadness brought upon by nasty changes in their hormone levels.




Comfy spacious rooms. 





In the living room is a little clothes line of baby names and mommies. I reckon it's Bonda Villa's version of a 'guest book'. I'm sure many mommies come back (more than 1x!) for the rest of their little litter.


More about Bonda Villa to come! 


Namaste
Elirus

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