Vivian Pang

Beings a FTM and an introvert, I was initially very nervous and skeptical about the idea of bringing a “stranger” into our lives during such a crucial period. Yet, during her five weeks with us, Auntie Vivian proved that my worries were completely unfounded; she was truly INCREDIBLE!

Even before she officially started, Auntie Vivian was incredibly understanding and accommodating, especially as my delivery date shifted multiple times due to pregnancy complications. The moment she arrived, she immediately took the initiative to efficiently organize our kitchen and the baby room. Because our baby needed to stay in the hospital for an additional week after my discharge, Auntie Vivian dedicated herself to my well-being. She cooked nutritious confinement meals, took care of household chores (which weren’t even part of her duties), and most importantly, kept our spirits upbeat with her laughters amidst all the worrying about our newborn .

Upon our baby’s return from the hospital, Auntie Vivian promptly implemented a clear routine for both us and the baby. She approached the baby’s feeding and cleaning with meticulous precision, patiently guiding us through every step of newborn care. Though we were initially clumsy and apprehensive, she was a constant source of encouragement, always offering valuable advice for our improvement. No doubt she’s the absolute expert in taking care of babies – as soon as our baby’s in her arm, the instant stop of crying always amazed us! No to mention by the end we could even feel that our baby had developed a bond with her. Her genuine care for our baby and her deep passion for what she does were truly evident.

Beyond her other qualities, Auntie Vivian proved to be a very curious and quick-witted individual. She loved to learn about how things work in a different culture and respected the variances. To ensure my husband felt included, she made a clear effort to communicate with him in English, despite his lack of Chinese. She also quickly picked up her way around our neighbourhood, confidently taking charge of grocery runs. Her impressive capacity for adapting to new environments and tasks was truly a source of constant amazement for us.

It’s hard to find a great confinement nanny, but it’s harder to find an awesome confinement nanny that can be considered family. Vivian will always be part of our family and there will always be a room for her in our house!

Auntie Vivian was with us for 2 months – a total of 56 days. During her stay with us, she was an amazing addition to the family & she is sorely missed!

My recovery

On the last day of my hospital stay (first day of my confinement), auntie Vivian came to the hospital to join me because I live beside the hospital. I was so surprised by how she went into nanny mode immediately.

Throughout my confinement, I’ve looked forward to every single meal she made – breakfast, lunch & dinner. They were moreish, even her red date tea was refreshing! Not only did she take care of me, she took care of my husband, my 22 month old daughter &…. My dog! She would cook for my whole family & would give my dog his snacks. It was really adorable seeing her interact with him, I’m so thankful.

Auntie Vivian was also supportive of breast feeding. Initially, I was having a hard time with my supply & was feeling down but she kept reassuring me, cheering me on. I will miss bumping into her in the middle of the night while she prepared milk for the baby & I gathered my pump necessities.

Our baby

Auntie Vivian has taken great care of our newborn. She was gentle, meticulous & seemed to express genuine love for my baby. She was also extremely attentive to my baby’s needs. Whenever my baby would cry in the middle of the night, even the slightest peep, she would wake up & check up on her to ensure she was fine. During my baby’s waking time, she would talk to her all the time & sometimes play with her. After my baby’s bath, she would give her a quick massage & try to help my baby relieve some gas. I really appreciated this.

The thing I loved most was seeing auntie Vivian “sayang” my daughter – she would often stroke my daughter’s head gently.

My home

Auntie Vivian was very clean & hygienic, and at the same time was careful with how much water & cleaning products she used. After cooking, she would clean my kitchen leaving it spotless & cleaner than before she came. She was generally cautious with things she used, ensuring she didn’t blemish anything.

During her stay with us, we laughed, joked & had heart to heart talks. She even trained my helper for me who came mid way through my confinement – all baby care, cooking & laundry. She made me feel seen & I felt she truly cared for my wellbeing. My only regret is not finding her earlier, I would’ve loved to have her when I had my first child. Who knows, maybe I might have a third 🤣

I finished my 4 weeks confinement with Aunty Vivian and it was such a restful and relaxing one. So much so that I haven’t had much time to myself since she left my household around 2 weeks ago.

As a second time mother, I have certain views and beliefs towards taking care of a baby and breastfeeding. She respects it and guides me towards taking care of a newborn (since my elder kid is already almost 4yo). With the arrival of a newborn, my elder kid is also feeling insecure and constantly being needy and clingy. Aunty Vivian helped to play with her, read books to her and entertain her while I was dealing with meimei when breastfeeding or pumping; which I appreciate immensely. She took my elder like her own grandchild and even secretly bought a birthday present for her. Her thoughtful gesture made my elder felt really loved and even till now, 2 weeks later, my elder and I still miss her presence around our house. She also handles my newborn with plenty of love and care, and times when my newborn kept her up in the middle of the night with her fussing, I never once detected any hint of resentment and unhappiness from her. During the daytime, on some days when unforeseen circumstances arise when I had to go to see a doc during her resting hrs, she wouldn’t grumble or give any 脸色. Nonetheless, I did try and ensure my mother could be around to enable Aunty Vivian to take her nap and Aunty Vivian in turn would also assure my mother that in the event she can’t manage, just knock on her room door and she would be out.

Her cooking was good too as she takes effort to understand my palette and yet stays firm to her beliefs of what food would not be suitable for my recovery. Another thoughtful gesture she did was that, she would remove all the skin of the fishes I am to consume before storing them as I absolutely dislike fish skin and would choose not to eat fish if possible but she kept emphasising how important fish is for breastfeeding as she is also aware that I’m v firm on being exclusive breastfeeding too. She would then use the fish skin as part of cooking for her own meals which I appreciate her efforts to cut down on food wastage. She knows I advocate recycling and green efforts, she also takes the effort to join me in recycling while she was at my house, again, another sign that she is adaptable to the household she works at.

I was initially apprehensive about her as I didn’t see much reviews about her on MOT but Yvonne Khoo recommended Aunty Vivian to me and told me she would fit the criteria that I look out for. True enough, Aunty Vivian surpasses what I expected and I was really sad when our 28 days were up. I even told her, too bad I only got to know her now for my second (and last) child, else if I had her as my nanny for first time round, I would def reserve her once I found myself expecting the second time round 🥲🥰

Would like to share my reviews about my confinement nanny Vivian Pang.

She took great care of my little one while at the same time being attentive towards my needs and gave me a lot of assurance/useful advice as a first time mum.

Additonally, she cooks really well! She puts in effort on food plating which makes every meal more enjoyable and appetising.

Glad that we had Vivian as our confinement nanny. Would recommend her to mummies who are looking for one!

My confinement ended in mid-February 2023 with nanny, Vivian Pang. Please see my review of her service as follow:-

Communication and Alignment of Expectations

· She communicated with me on my expectations before the confinement. During her confinement service, she did her best to align my expectations

· She offered her suggestions when we shared different views on how to take care of baby. She also taught me some trick on the easier way to do things (baby related) as well.

Taking Excellent Care of Mother and Baby

· She provided excellent care and support to the me. She always reminded me to have adequate rest and not lift anything heavy / overstrain myself. She would always help me out with any chores I needed to do.

· She always prioritized baby first regardless of what she was doing and talked to baby joyfully. She took great care of my baby so that i could focus on resting and recovery in the first two weeks.

Experienced and Knowledgeable

· Baby’s daily logs – She kept track of baby’s daily logs (feeding, diaper change etc) diligently. The daily logs not only helped us to keep track of feeding and diaper change but also helped us to provide a quick summary to the doctor when we went for baby check-ups.

· Breastfeeding – It was overwhelming for me as a FTM and I was struggling with latching. She provided maximum support in educating and helping me to cope with breastfeeding/latching issue and breast engorgement. After knowing my preference of breastfeeding, Vivian was very supportive and always brought my baby to me for latching every 2 to 3 hours. She also washed and dried all my pump parts without asking so that I could have a better rest.

· Dealing with Jaundice Issue – She would highlight her observation on baby’s skin condition (jaundice) and gave suggestion on how to better resolve baby jaundice issue (topping up of formula milk).

Cooking Skill/Style

· Vivian checked with me on my dietary requirements before the start of my confinement. She would always ask if I liked the dishes she prepared and seek feedbacks on how she could help to improve my appetite. She also made adjustment to her cooking after knowing that my husband is allergic to certain ingredients.

· Thorough the whole confinement period, she cooked nutritious food with less oil and/or no sugar. She also decorated the dishes to make them more appetizing. She even made the effort to cook special dinner (from scratch) for my husband and me on Valentine’s Day.

· I slimmed down quite fast after eating her confinement meals. Her daily confinement meals and red date tea also boosted my milk production. I do notice a significant decrease in the volume and creaminess of my milk production after my confinement ended.

Hygiene

· She was very particular about personal hygiene especially when it came to handling of my baby. She also taught me how to bathe my baby and take care of baby’s personal hygiene.

· She kept my kitchen spotless which I am very impress with. One particular incident was her using the cardboards from my grocery order as protection against the cooking stove back splash. Right before the end of confinement, she cleaned the kitchen and the rooms/tools she used, making sure things were how they used to be.

Personality

· Patient and Genuine Love & Care for my Baby – She talked lovingly to my baby when she interacted with my baby. She was very patient and always calmed my baby down every time my baby became cranky or screamed.

· Responsible – She was responsible and took good care of our baby when we had to go out to run some errands.

· Flexible and Easy-going – She got along well with my husband and chat with me daily to keep me entertained and make sure I feel ok. She was also flexible to make changes in the routine when we needed to go for medical appointments or had visitors.

Overall, it was a very good experience as I managed to get adequate rest and recover well from child birth. Vivian taught my husband and me how to take care / calm our baby. We are very satisfied with her confinement service and will definitely recommend her to anyone who is looking for a confinement nanny.