For me, I do not like the idea of having stranger to stay together with us. Thus, I do not engage confinement lady too for all 3 babies. I do not find there is a need for confinement lady as I will be the one latching baby throughout the night and I just need someone to cook confinement food for me. I got my mother to fly from Malaysia to help me during confinement period especially for cookings. We bought confinement herbs that comes with 30-days packs from Eu Yan Seng which costs about $300.
However, for first time mother and without any family member to help, it is good to engage a confinement lady. If you engage through confinement agency such as PEM, you can get free replacement if you are not satisfied with the confinement lady.