So- I knew when I got pregnant, I was going to battling with 2 cultures...
my mothers culture vs. my husbands...
so we compromised...
Lets just say, Vietnamese superstitions can sometimes freak anyone out... this is what I thought would happen:
no showers for a month
a strict diet of rice, porridge and basically nothing...
no leaving the house for a month..
NO SHOWERS FOR A MONTH...
But that wasn't the case. Vietnamese culture believes in the "Sitting Month". “Sitting month” is a folklore ritual observed by many postpartum women in Vietnam.. Traditionally, its pretty strict... but we did a modified version.
I did the following:
1. Avoid All cold food and drinks including ice water- just room temperature water... no juice or soda
2. Sour food and fruits- I don't know why- but I followed it for 30 days.
3. All fresh fruits and vegetables- I ate cooked vegetables but my mom wouldn't allow salads or anything.
4. no beef or seafood- Strictly chicken or pork.
5. rice, vietnamese pho noodles.. rice noodles- I ate brown rice with most of my meals... ALL meals must be served hot. NOTHING COLD..
6. Bathing restriction was a struggle with my mom- who tried her best to encourage me not to shower everyday- but lets be honest, parenting was pretty difficult and there was little time to shower.. I did sponge showers every other day and I washed my hair once a week...
7. Restrictions in physical activity- well its not like anyone would run a marathon the first month anyways- but vietnamese traditions believed one should NOT leave the house for a month... We talked about this for MONTHS with my husband and our Pediatrician who felt that exposing our baby to people is more harmful then taking little strolls around the neighborhood... We kept it simple, because I was still healing- we only went out for 1-2 hours at a time.. and it wasn't everyday...
8. Lots of rest... I took a lot of naps and rested while family came to hold the baby.. we had some rules tho- people who came had to wash their hands- kept their shoes outside (shoes carry 99% of bacteria).
9. Vistors- Since Landon was a premie- we were very strict on visitors. Mostly immediate family- my parents, grandmothers, siblings and josh's family. All extended family had to wait a month to see our baby. Anyone who held Landon had to lay a blanket on themselves first.
that was basically following "Tradition" without giving into crazy demands... and to be honest, I'm healthy so I do believe that most of it worked.
Thanks for the insight. My daughter-in-law also straddles both cultures. I try to be sensitive to the dynamics having lived in Asia for years. JA
ReplyDeletethank you! it was very helpful to follow the method. I feel like I healed easier!
DeleteIm half vietnamese and my dad wants me to follow the food and drink rules but he doesn't know why hours culture tells woman to do that after birth. Does anyone have insight as to why the culture says we should do this post partum?
ReplyDeleteIm half vietnamese and my dad wants me to follow the food and drink rules but he doesn't know why hours culture tells woman to do that after birth. Does anyone have insight as to why the culture says we should do this post partum?
ReplyDelete