00:00Hi guys, welcome back to the channel. My name's Mandy and in today's video I want to share with you
00:05sort of what my experience has been being a new mother here in Thailand. So I just had my first
00:12child back in October. I had my daughter Lila with my husband Lloyd. It was a pretty crazy experience having
00:19a baby overseas and I would love to share it with you guys. But before we get started, don't forget
00:24to hit the like button and subscribe to our channel for all future content. Alright, let's get into it.
00:28So I want to start with healthcare and sort of just like the support that I had throughout, I guess,
00:34pregnancy, giving birth and then postpartum as well. Overall, I've had a really, really great experience. The hospital was incredible.
00:42I had a beautiful female doctor. There's so much access to Chinese medicine and alternative medicine here as well. So
00:49I've been able to get acupuncture, massage, prenatal massage, Thai massage has been incredible for postpartum as well.
00:57So the access to healthcare here has been great. Just also the nurturing nature of Thai women in general. I
01:05have been so well looked after by just strangers and just, yeah, random people wanting to help and loving babies.
01:12And it's been very positive experience with that.
01:16The next thing I want to touch on is sort of what things cost. So one of the contributing factors
01:21was that it is quite expensive for, you know, your startup costs for getting things like the bassinet and the
01:30changed
01:33and the change table. Those types of things have been so affordable. I wasn't really sure what I was looking
01:39for or what we needed. To be honest, I hadn't spent a whole lot of time in the baby atmosphere
01:45before having a child.
01:47So I didn't exactly know what sort of things I wanted. So I kind of went on the lower end
01:52for like a more affordable pram or stroller, whatever country you're in to call that.
01:58I went on the more affordable end. And honestly, I was able to get everything I needed and more like
02:04an outfit for Lila, a full outfit is about $10. Just things like that.
02:10I found so affordable, even more affordable price to get like organic cotton diapers or nappies has been even more
02:18affordable than just regular nappies.
02:20So we've been able to get like organic, good quality things for the same about the same price that you'd
02:25be paying for the lower end of things back in a Western country, for example.
02:29So that's been really nice as well. It's kind of felt more luxurious. Also, one thing I wasn't really sure
02:35about was like getting things ordered or delivered to the house.
02:38I wasn't sure how good like the postage service would be here. It's incredible.
02:43Like we literally can get anything delivered to the house within 24 hours, pretty much.
02:47So for running like low on formula or diapers, that sort of thing now, like it comes 24 hours later
02:54and yeah, it's pretty convenient.
02:56So the lifestyle here has been so incredible for being postpartum for me, the heat, first of all, and just
03:04being able to heal in a warm place has been great for me.
03:07Being postpartum, you want warmth, you want sunshine, you want warm meals like curries, that sort of thing.
03:14So getting access to that sort of stuff postpartum and when I'm just learning how to be a new mom
03:19has been great.
03:21We've been able to go to the beach in the morning with her every day, which has been really great
03:26too. We love the beach.
03:27So as someone who doesn't have a lot of family around here, I have had family come and visit, but
03:33Lloyd and I are pretty much doing this on our own here.
03:37Every time that we leave the house, I have someone helping. So like when we go to the gym, the
03:41lady that runs the gym is holding Lila for me so I can run.
03:44Like that I I'd never seen anything like that, let alone her being allowed to come into the gym.
03:50She's welcomed and like they want to hold her at the whole time, which just says enough about the culture
03:56here.
03:57Having a child growing up in Canada, I don't think children are really allowed into the gym.
04:01Maybe not all gyms obviously are like that here, but where we live, everyone wants her in no matter where
04:08we're going.
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05:43Our experience has been wonderful.
05:46Of course, there is always the flip side to every situation.
05:51There also has been some struggles that we've had, some things that I haven't really thought about.
05:57So one thing that I do get DM'd about a lot is the Zika virus.
06:02So there are a lot of women or mothers that want to come to Thailand or travel here and they're
06:06quite worried about Zika virus.
06:08So Lloyd and I actually did a deep dive into Zika and understanding how likely is it for a child
06:16to get it,
06:17what happens if they do get it, that type of thing.
06:20And after doing our deep dive, we've come to the conclusion it's not as common to get Zika as you
06:26think it is.
06:26I believe the percentage of the amount of people there are in Thailand to the amount of people that get
06:31Zika virus.
06:32There was 400 cases out of 80 million people last year.
06:37It's quite rare to get Zika.
06:39I honestly wouldn't make that a reason to not bring a baby here.
06:43I think it's one of those things like every country has their thing.
06:47You know, like Canada's got bears and cougars and Australia's got sharks and spiders and all that and snakes.
06:53And then here, maybe that's the thing you get told about is like, you know, Dengue or Zika, that sort
06:58of thing.
06:59And I really don't think it should be a reason that holds you back from coming here with children because
07:04it is just a paradise.
07:06One of the biggest struggles for myself has been, I guess because I grew up in a colder climate as
07:13a child,
07:14getting used to not really being able to go out in the middle of the day, especially with a baby
07:18that sleeps at night.
07:19It shortens the window that you can bring your baby outside.
07:24For us especially, my baby is quite Scandinavian and white.
07:29So she's quite sensitive to the sun and gets hot quite easily.
07:32That's our genetics.
07:33And, you know, I should have probably known that prior, but I'm great with heat.
07:38So I just assumed that she would be the same, but unfortunately she's not.
07:42So something to keep in mind that especially during, you know, April, May, when it gets really, really hot,
07:48kind of a limited time to go outside, even at seven o'clock in the morning, it's already too hot.
07:53Something to keep in mind there, there is a section of the year that you probably don't want to be
07:58here
07:58or you at least want to have a good area in the house with air conditioning or a good fan.
08:04So you're not in the heat with the baby.
08:06So I grew up, again, in Canada.
08:08I grew up going to parks and running around on the grass and, you know, running through the woods.
08:13And there isn't really, like, parks here.
08:17With it being that it's too hot in the middle of the day, it does limit, I guess, the places
08:21that you could put a park
08:23because it would be too hot with the sun on it.
08:25But also there just isn't, like, grassed parks anywhere.
08:29So there, that's definitely a downside.
08:32We do have the beach, but the beach also does wash away from time to time.
08:37It's not really available.
08:38So we found ourselves hanging out inside more than we thought we would.
08:44I thought with the sun that we would be outside more.
08:47But the heat, honestly, like, after you've been here for a while, it gets to be a lot.
08:52And with a baby, when they're a lot more sensitive, it can be a bit full on.
08:58So it is something to think about.
08:59If you're not someone who absolutely loves heat, I wouldn't recommend it.
09:03If you're just sort of like, yeah, I like when it's warm, it can get to you.
09:07So I did go with a more affordable option with our stroller or pram because I didn't really know what
09:13I was looking for in it.
09:14And I didn't know for sure that we'd even use it here because there are not really sidewalks anywhere.
09:20They have started adding some on the main street in Hua Hin, I will say that, which is very good
09:24for Southeast Asia.
09:25But in Southeast Asia as a whole, there's not really sidewalks.
09:30So pushing the pram around, I've seen other mothers like committing to it.
09:34And it's like, it's a, it's a trek and you're, you know, you're kind of going over rocks and trees
09:41and or whatever else.
09:42The footpath isn't always reliable or you're just on the street.
09:45I found that just having a baby carrier is a lot easier.
09:49It would be nice to be able to use a pram or a stroller as well.
09:53So another thing to keep in mind, if you are someone like that, that uses a stroller or pram all
09:58the time, it's not convenient usually here.
10:01Overall, my experience has been extremely positive becoming a new mother here in Thailand.
10:06I'm really happy that I did this here.
10:09I think I've had more access to the health side of things that I needed for myself.
10:14I was able to have a quiet, peaceful place that is surrounded by banana trees.
10:20And I've been able to have a house cleaner help me when I, you know, haven't been able to clean
10:25my home.
10:25I've been able to afford to have that.
10:27So yeah, it's been overall a wonderful experience having a baby here.
10:31So whether you're traveling here or maybe you are also thinking of having a child in Thailand, I would recommend
10:37it a hundred percent.
10:39I feel like it's made me a mentally stronger person.
10:41I also feel just super grateful to have witnessed what it's like when women help each other out and look
10:48out for each other.
10:49I maybe didn't really witness that much growing up, maybe just the circle that I grew up around.
10:56But getting to just see how other women help each other and it's been really inspiring to me.
11:02I think Thailand sort of can like set the bar for how treating babies should be or treating, you know,
11:09new mothers should be.
11:10Because I, yeah, I've been treated like royalty and so has Lila.
11:14So if you're thinking about it, feel free to send us a message on Instagram if you have any questions.
11:18I'm always happy to answer.
11:20Thank you guys so much for watching.
11:21And as always, we will see you in the next one. Bye!
11:23Hey!
11:25Hey!
11:26Hey!
11:28Woo!
11:32Hey!
