Our Confinement Nanny Experience in Singapore: The Rosy Start and the Real Learnings

Confinement is one of those phases you often hear about before giving birth. We heard good and horror stories from friends, family, on Tiktok and Instagram, but nothing quite prepared us as first-time parents. We wanted to share our honest confinement nanny experience: the good, the comforting, and the lessons we only fully understood in hindsight.

A Great Start: The Arrival of Our Confinement Nanny

We hired our confinement nanny through PEM agency, one of the more well-known confinement nanny agencies in Singapore. The standard duration is 28 days, but we extended for another 6 days due to other commitments. The price for extending is just pro-rated directly, and we really appreciate the clean and flexible arrangement!

We were discharged from the hospital on 30th October, and their terms agreed, our nanny arrived promptly at 2pm the very same day. That first impression mattered. She came wearing a mask, had her temperature taken without us even asking, and immediately checked in with us on our preferences—everything from meal timings to whether we wanted a super traditional confinement or a more relaxed approach.

Needless to say… we chose the relaxed option without hesitation 😄 At that moment, we felt reassured. Safe. Taken care of.

The Rosy Beginning: The First Two Weeks of Confinement

The first half of confinement honestly felt like a dream.

We loved her cooking. The meals were not just nourishing but genuinely delicious—and she even took the effort to plate them beautifully. Those small touches made a huge difference during those early, foggy newborn days.

As brand-new parents starting completely from ground zero, we leaned heavily on her experience. We listened to almost every piece of advice she gave, especially around baby care.

One key recommendation was to feed formula initially so we could clearly track how much milk our baby was drinking, with the intention of helping reduce jaundice. Eventually, this transitioned into pure pumping and feeding breastmilk.

The logic she gave was very convincing for us. Knowing and controlling the exact volume the baby consumed felt safer than direct latching, where intake is less measurable.

Beyond feeding, she was incredibly helpful in teaching us:

• How to carry our baby properly

• How to burp her

• How to bathe her confidently

• How to establish a simple morning routine that included baby showers and laundry

  
  

Looking back, that learning phase was invaluable. For a couple navigating newborn life for the very first time, it felt like we were being gently guided step by step.

Learning the Ropes—and Finding Our Own Voice (Second Half of the Confinement Period)

As the days went by, we naturally became more confident in caring for our baby daughter. With that confidence came our own thoughts, instincts, and preferences.

There were two areas we started feeling strongly about:

1. We suspected our baby was being overfed

2. We really wanted to move back to direct breastfeeding (latching)

This was where our experience slowly shifted from smooth sailing to internal questioning.

Overfeeding: When “More” Isn’t Always Better

By around 3 weeks old, our baby was consuming approximately 1100ml of frozen breastmilk a day.

We understand feed volume is subjective and based on needs. However, her tummy was almost always bloated, and after each feed, her stomach looked uncomfortably full. She was also extremely gassy.

Our nanny encouraged waking the baby up at night to feed. Each feed was typically 130ml, but during night feeds, our baby was extremely drowsy and often drank only about 50ml. Despite this, we were told to wake her repeatedly to finish the milk.

This resulted in night feeding sessions that stretched up to 1.5 hours—something we now realise was unnecessary and exhausting for both baby and parents.

The real wake-up call came during our one-month check-up, when we found out our baby was in the 90th percentile for weight. We were genuinely shocked.

Direct Latching vs Bottle Feeding: Convenience Meets Resistance

From the beginning, we felt that direct latching would eventually be the most sustainable option.

Pumping, sterilising, freezing, thawing, reheating—and then feeding—took more effort than direct breastfeeding.

However, this was where we faced some resistance. Our nanny was understandably uneasy about not knowing the exact volume the baby consumed through latching. Without a baby scale (and realistically, no one weighs before and after every feed), there was no way to quantify intake.

Because of this, direct latching was subtly discouraged.

We vividly remember one day when we latched directly for the evening. Our baby didn’t fall asleep immediately after it, and that was interpreted as “not drinking enough”. A quarter portion of frozen breastmilk was then prepared and fed on top of that.

Our baby ended up vomiting.

Our Personal Opinion on How Nannies Operate

• Confinement nannies generally need structure and schedules, especially in the beginning when they are juggling cooking, cleaning, and baby care.

• Feeding every 2–3 hours is their default, and they really want the baby to fall asleep after each feed so they can move on to other chores.

• In our experience, if a baby didn’t sleep post-feed, the assumption was always: not enough milk → increase volume.

• This mindset can unintentionally lead to overfeeding.

Direct latching, especially in the early days when supply and demand aren’t fully synchronised, disrupts this schedule.

Imagine having to bring a crying baby to mommy every hour—it’s understandably stressful for the nanny.

There’s also another unspoken layer: when feeding becomes the main interaction with the baby, direct latching reduces the nanny’s hands-on time. This can limit bonding, which may not align with what some very baby-loving nannies enjoy.

Our nanny genuinely loved our daughter, and we are so thankful for that! Just look at her patiently feeding babywith a spoon during the first few days!

We believe that most nannies mean well, but as parents, we must also think beyond the first month and ask ourselves if their practices are something we would like in the long run.

Our Honest Advice for First-Time Parents in Singapore

Know your preference and stand your ground!

Ensuring milk volume did not significantly improve our baby’s jaundice—it still took five weeks to clear. In hindsight, the strict volume control wasn’t the solution we thought it was, but we are sure it did help.

After our nanny left, we had to reintroduce direct latching when our baby was already very used to the bottle. We started our post-nanny journey on a back foot, wishing we had established latching earlier—especially when there was an extra pair of hands to help.

Confinement support is invaluable, but no one knows your baby—or your intuition—better than you.

We hope our confinement nanny experience helps fellow Singaporean parents ask the right questions, set clearer boundaries, and feel more confident making choices that work best for your family during the confinement period.