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My Postpartum Confinement + Tips to Remain Sane When "Sitting The Month"

Melissa Gold

30,351 views

Hi everyone and thanks for tuning in! Today's a bit of a different video. I don't usually do vlogs but I thought I'd share with you my experience doing a traditional Chinese postpartum confinement following the birth of my son Maxwell - also known as "sitting the month". Hopefully this helps anyone curious about this cultural practice or interested in knowing more. This isn't meant to be a comprehensive guide on how to do one, this is just me sharing you how mine went. Feel free to ask any questions you might in the comments below!

Thanks for watching x

Ikebana arrangement thanks to:
Instagram: jotan8

WELCOME TO MY CHANNEL!
I'm Melissa Gold and makeup is my creative outlet & hobby. Most of my videos are makeup & beauty related and feature things that I like, in particular Japanese makeup and indie brands, as well as tutorials such as the ones in my 10 looks 1 palette series. I aim to get one video up per week. Thank you so much for watching! Subscribe here:
@melissagold2559

FIND ME HERE:
Instagram: melissagold_

PRODUCTS MENTIONED:

Taste For Life Australia
https://www.tasteforlife.net.au

MUSIC:
Lovely by Amine Maxwell SoundCloud: aminemaxwell
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/lovely-amine-maxwell
Music promoted by Audio Library Lovely – Amine Maxwell (No Copyright Music)
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Fly by Pold SoundCloud: pold-music
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/fly-pold
Music promoted by Audio Library Fly – Pold (No Copyright Music)
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Merry Bay by Ghostrifter Official SoundCloud: ghostrifter-of..
Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/merry-bay
Music promoted by Audio Library Video

DISCLAIMER:
Everyone's skin is different and wherever possible, you should test them out prior to purchasing. All products mentioned were purchased myself except for products marked with a '*' which were sent for my consideration. This video is not sponsored.

#Sittingthemonth #Confinement #PostpartumCare

20 Comments

@melissagold2559 Creator 7 years ago Pinned

Hi all! I hope you found this helpful or insightful! I'd also like to open a discussion below - if any of you have practised confinement, what was your experience like? Is there any tips you'd provide or things you'd do differently?

@jessxzaff 7 years ago

This was super interesting! I’d never heard of confinement until I started watching your videos.

I cant believe your hair still looks that good after so long without a wash. That’s insane!

@Lisa-xf7ko 7 years ago

Thank you so much for sharing! Confinement seems like a wonderful ritual for mother’s health and recovery and bonding with baby.

@JessEllinVlogs 7 years ago

I'm so glad you did this video as I was super interested in learning more about confinement

@Oneisonekon 4 years ago

For those of Muslim faith, it’s recommended for 40 days to recover, stay at home and not to pray.

@AlejandraLisette 7 years ago

I learned a lot. And it’s so wonderful that you have help. I unfortunately did it all on my own. You would think I had no family around but that wasn’t the case. It was hard and only had my husband to help but his job is so demanding he did the best he could.

@katiej.5229 7 years ago

I love your rambling! Your voice is very calming (is that weird?) so I love just chilling out and getting ready to your voice.

@jaycreswell7008 7 years ago (edited)

I really do love confinement when it is not based on a belief that a person is "unclean" as opposed to a self care and baby care confinement which is wonderful.

I wasn't aware that it was so widespread. I am familiar with the Jewish version.

@jennym007 7 years ago (edited)

Congratulations on baby!!!🎉

I wish I had heard of this when I had my children.
It seems like a wonderful system of self-care, internal/external nutrients and rest.
And a chance to be calm around baby while you get to know each other.

Western society would benefit from these practices as modern women have so many expectations placed upon them.
It would be nice for the pressures to stop for a month of dedicated self care.

@Randilynn66 7 years ago

I’ve never ever heard of this. Interesting.

@kati_craig_ 7 years ago

Thank you for sharing your experience, and congratulations on the new addition to the family! I had never heard of confinement, so it was very interesting to learn about the practice, even just a little bit. I’ve chosen not to have children, and while most of my peer group is past that phase of life, it’s still really wonderful to learn about how others experience life, culture, parenthood, etc. You’re using the internet for good in creating curiosity and empathy! Health and happiness to you and your family! 😘

@kadyliang5646 7 years ago

I did this for all 3 of my kids. I also didn't wash my hair when I was sitting the month - even now, I only wash my hair once a week as a result of the training. Your binding is so much fancier than mine was. I just used the Velcro binder. There are confinement centers now where you live for the month. I agree with you, I feel like there were lots of long term benefits to sitting the month.Your baby is gorgeous. He totally perked up when he heard your voice.This was a great vlog.

@thatsallmarta 7 years ago

Hi Melissa, welcome back and welcome to this world to your newborn. This video was super interesting. I loved hearing your thoughts and feelings. I was talking about confinement with my mum and she actually told me this was very common also here in Italy back in the day. Nowadays not many women have the opportunity to do it, it's 40 days here.
You look great and seem very balanced and serene.

@egbertsmith2435 7 years ago

A really informative video- thanks for this insight into this practice. I appreciate you allowing us to see glimpses of this special time.

@dominika096 7 years ago

I bow to you, the queen of ultimate patience!!! Your hair looks so good and you managed to increase the time between the washings so well! I always give up because I'm self-conscious of my hair + I'm scared of using too much dry shampoo :D, I don't know why. And are those oblique abs I am seeing?????? I'm jelly :D. Honestly, thank you for being real and sharing your first-labor story, I don't think there is enough information out there about the afterpart difficulties. I definitely agree, changing from your pajamas is so helpful, you feel a bit more ready to face the day! Routine keeps you sane - that's very true, I recently got into a routine, I'm struggling less. I definitely enjoy these grwm, vlogs and tangents! Also, that look with the naked palette is great! Simple yet impactful. Thank you for sharing this experience, what a great video. Hopefully, the cold will go away :)

@Sonoembee 7 years ago

Finally had a chance to watch -- I knew nothing about confinement until you mentioned it in prior videos. This was so interesting & really appreciate your willingness to talk/demonstrate various aspects of it, thank you!

@helen37x 7 years ago

I'm half way through the video and 1. I find this so interesting! 2. Your little ones are so cute 3. Your current black hair looks super flattering on you :)

@beans2159 7 years ago

Thank you so much for sharing with us. It’s really interesting and special to be able to learn about this practice!

I hope you and your loved ones are all feeling good today, and that tomorrow is a good one too!

@violetajeffers7759 7 years ago

I did this will all three of my kids and only left for doctors appointments, I loved it!

@megankirby8965 3 years ago

You’ve helped me so much! Living in the UK from Malaysia and no family over here. Confinement is something all my friends and family at home have done. Taste of life have a UK store too ladies btw. X