No Luck

We went to interview the nannies on Thursday night. Both of them claimed to have 10-20 years of experience in babysitting. The first nanny is quite pleasant. She is taking care of two toddlers at the moment, a 2-year-old girl and a 1-year old boy (turning 2 soon). I don't mind about having other kids around. Her husband has just retired and help her out at home. She agrees to feed Ethan twice a day and wanted to charge RM600/month (Mon-Fri). The only thing that I don't like is the children will be confined to the dining cum kitchen area the whole day and they cook almost everyday. I asked her "What about the children when you cook?" She said "Oh, no problem one, we open the windows, so the smoke will go out". I was like *Errr, not dangerous meh? Children playing there while you cook. Somemore, the kitchen must be oily one mar because you cook so often*. I cannot imagine lar. Even at home we do not allow Ethan to go into the kitchen. No lar.

The second nanny is a very typical 'see lai' (housewife) and is a bit rough. Her husband has also retired and help her out at home. She is taking care of a 3-year-old girl. She said she just wanted another companion, that's why looking for another child to babysit. After saying that, she wanted to charge me RM650/month (Mon-Fri) including two times of porridge per day. Somemore, wanted me to pay deposit to confirm. She said "You know ar, things are very expensive now, gas, tomato, vege". No mention about meat or fish for the porridge. We noticed that the house was not so clean and I spotted her soles were dirty, greyish dark. Ethan is in the crawling stage now and likes to pick up things from the floor and put into his mouth. Aiyerrr, cannot lar. I also asked her "So, you cannot go out lor when taking care of the kids". She said "No lar, I don't go out during weekdays, I don't play mahjong also. Only that sometimes I bring the girl to the morning market". Errrr, something I don't quite like lor. I think I will tell her not to do it with my son if we ever decide to take her. But, judging from her personality, I think she will scold me back if I ever complain anything about her babysitting style.

So, in the end, we decided to reject both of them. In the meantime, we are giving Ethan multivitamins in the hope of boosting his immune system.

Nanny Hunting

Ethan falls sick frequently. I would say once every month on average. Every time he falls sick, my heart really ache and the question 'should I send him to a nanny instead?' always pop up. I know some will ask why we chose day care instead of nanny in the first place? I always got funny look from people when I told them I send Ethan to the day care. You know, that kind of look that tells you that you are a lousy mother, who doesn't bother about her child's welfare. I just brushed it off because I know what I'm doing. Me and hubby have discussed about it.

It's not that we don't want a nanny, but it's difficult to find a good and reliable nanny. I wanted somebody I know or at least someone recommended by somebody I know. I've came across a few advert at my apartment offering babysitting services. It's a piece of A4 paper pasted on the notice board/lift. It's very convenient because either hubby or me can send and pick Ethan up, no need transport. But then, I don't know these people. No doubt I can interview them and look at their place but who knows what happen when we are not around. You know people living in apartment hardly talk to their neighbours. Some more my place is new, just about two-year old. So, how well do we know our neighbours?

Ethan was under my late aunt's care in the first two months after my maternity leave. Then, she said she cannot cope. She was taking care of another boy of around 3 years of age. We were searching high and low for a nanny because I don't want to force my aunt to continue. I knew she had health problem so, I'm scared that something bad might happen. We asked her neighbour but she said she was committed to someone else. Then, my mother recommended me to her neighbour. She said ok at first but pulled out few hours later.

Then, we decided to put Ethan under day care. We knew from the very beginning that the only downside of it is he will fall sick more often. We also know that Ethan falls sick easily. He has a very sensitive nose. We endure that. Flu and cough is common I think. But how about viral fever? diarrhea and vomiting? Hand Foot & Mouth Disease? Ethan is only 10 months old (yeah, today he is exactly 10 months old) and he has been through all these. Is this common? I was told that children will fall sick eventually when they attend school and some said let them build up their immune system earlier because every time they are sick they will build up their immune system. But no parents would like to see a sick child so often. Furthermore, when our babies are sick, parents tend to quarrel more.

Of course, there are many other good things about the daycare. I'm not worry that he will spend the whole day sleeping or watching tv. I've heard stories about nannies as well. At the daycare, he mingles with other kids and has music class and other activities. I would say that Ethan is a very sociable and friendly baby. He is not scared of people.

In case you ask, how about grandparents? Well, my parents-in-law are living in a place across the sea. My mother has backache problem so, afraid to commit herself. I understand that. After all, she raised the three of us, me and my two younger sisters, and I don't want to tie her down again.

I've got two nannies, whom I'm going to see by today or tomorrow. I got the contact of one of them from the paed. She approached the paed. but the paed. told me that he doesn't know this lady personally but can give it a try. The other one from the Mead Johnson forum. I hope we will have better luck this time. I really want Ethan to grow up healthily.

Tag - 6 Weird Things About Me

The title says it all. This tag came from Nadia, one of my favourite blogger mummies (or mummies blogger?). Sorry for the delay. I was on EL yesterday as Ethan was down with fever. Furthermore, this tag got me think very hard. Not that I don't have any weird things to tell but these weird things have become so routine to me and it took some thinking for me to realise that it's weird. So, here they are:

1. I like to peel the skin around my finger nails and sometimes until it bleeds. I notice that my father and my sister do it as well. I guess it's in the gene...hehe.
2. I must cover my feet with blanket when I sleep, even when it's hot. I can wear shorts but I must cover my feet.
3. I love day dreaming, especially when I'm caught in long and boring meetings or conversations.
4. I love to mix ketchup into my instant noodles.
5. I'm scared of worms, all types. The sight of it can make me go mental.
6. I like to grit my teeth, especially when I'm nervous or trying to control my temper.
   

Alone with Ethan

Like any other mother, I love to spend quality time with Ethan especially when only two of us are at home. I love to play with him and teach him new words and new tricks. I have taught him the sign language on how to say no more and bye bye, holds the blocks with two hands and knocks them together to make sounds, etc. He also learnt how to wink. I don't know who taught him that. He will wink and smile to us. Very cheeky. This morning, he saw me dressed up and quickly crawled over to me, grabbed my shirt, stand and asked me to hold him. Then, he waved bye bye to daddy ;-)

But...I'm scared when I need to attend to him alone for long hours especially on Saturdays, when hubby needs to work. I used to do the laundry, washing, cleaning, etc when he sleeps. But now, he takes very short naps. The most is 1 hour, twice a day. Sometimes, I only take my breakfast at 10 a.m. when Ethan takes his nap. Mind you, he wakes up at 7 a.m. I used to put him in the walker and lately in his cot when I need to go to the bathroom. Even then I will put him in front of the bathroom so that I can monitor him. He always wanted to climb out of his walker and cot when he was bored but did not managed to do it because he was not strong enough or maybe he was too short.

Recently, I saw him climbed out of his walker successfully when I was feeding him porridge. He will put his hands on the walker's tray, push himself up, body on the tray, one leg step on the seat and climb out. Phew! What a view. Then, one or two weeks after that, he climbed out of the cot. Same method. Luckily, I was there at that time and can grabbed him before he lands on the floor. He always try to push himself up by holding on to the cot's rail and I knew he will fall out of the cot one day if we do not keep an eye on him. Now, I really don't know what to do when nature calls and I cannot leave him unattended. Can you imagine if I put him in the cot infront of the bathroom while I poo and then suddenly he decided to climb out of his cot????

Leaving My Two 'Boys' in KL

I'll be going to Singapore for work on 14 & 15 March. This means I have to leave my two 'boys' in KL. It's not the first time I travel since the arrival of Ethan but somehow I always think of bringing him along wherever I go. Just some wild thought. The first time, the trip took around 10 days. Ethan was under my aunt's care at that time, day & night. So, I was not so worried but of course I felt so so reluctant to leave him and I really missed him a lot. He was only 4 months at that time. The second time was a 2 days/1 night trip. Ethan was in the day care and hubby fetched him after work and dinner. Ethan did not had porridge on that day. I did not request hubby to cook porridge and feed him coz I don't know if he can handle it or not. I'm the one who is cooking porridge and feeding Ethan all the time. Hubby helps to distract and play with Ethan, otherwise he will not stay put in his walker. This time, I've requested M, the day care owner to feed Ethan with porridge at 5pm for two days before hubby goes and picks him up. I think it will not be much of a problem like what I went through the other day. Keep my finger crossed.

Strange Poo Poo Pattern

Ethan has strange poo poo pattern for the past two days. On Tuesday night, he poo-ed while I was feeding him porridge and it leaked. What a mess! I quickly cleaned him up while hubby helped to wash the walker's seat and floor. Poor hubby. He was halfway through his meal..hehehehe. Luckily, I've finished mine. Then, I continued to feed Ethan porridge after the cleaning session. He poo-ed again in the midnight. At first I didn't noticed until he cried. I thought he was hungry so I fed him water. I'm training him to sleep through the night now but the method doesn't work all the time. The poo was rather loose. So, twice on Tuesday.

Then on Wednesday morning, there were two sessions during the day and two sessions in the midnight. He only poo-ed in the midnight when he was one or two-month-old. It's rather strange for him to poo while sleeping. There was another session this morning when I sent him to the nursery. It leaked again. This time, on the car seat and my sleeve. I have to wash my sleeve at the nursery and went to work with a wet sleeve. Sigh.

Could it be teething again? Rather unlikely because he alreday has 6 teeth now. But I still hope it's teething rather than other causes. I haven't brought him to the clinic yet because it was not so serious compared to the last time when he had diarrhea caused by some virus (around November/December 2006). That time, I think he poo-ed more than 5 times in the midnight plus few times of vomitting. When every episode ended, three of us had to change clothes and the bedsheet. It was a sleepness night. The next day, all the 3 of us were down with diarrhea and vomitting.

Ghost Protection Tips

I post this just for fun. My friend send it to me. She had an encounter with the 'thing' not so long ago. Don't blame me if it doesn't work, ok. Happy trying.

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OK, here's some news from my friend who works in hotels for 20 years. Every single hotel, there shall be at least a permanent room which should be left vacant at all times. No matter how full the hotel is, they are not to sell that room(s) to any guest. It is said that the special room was "reserved" for those "special visitors". So, if you plan to stay in some hotel, always book in advance. Try to avoid walk in. If the receptionist told you there's no more room available, do not insist one anymore or try to bribe them to give you a room. If you do that, most of the time the room you have will be that "special room". Sometimes those "special visitors" might go to other rooms also, so here's some tips on how to protect yourself:

• Before entering your room, always knock on the door first, even you know the room is vacant.
• After you enter the room, if you feel very cold suddenly and have "chicken spores", leave the room quietly immediately and go to reception to request to change room. Most of the time the receptionist will understand what's happening.
• After you enter the room, immediately switch on all of the lights, and open the curtain to let the sun light in.
• Before you go to bed, arrange your shoes so that one of them is upside down. Some say this is representing yin& yang to protect you while you're asleep.
• Always leave at least a lamp on while you're sleeping, preferably the toilet's lamp.
• If you're staying alone and they have given you a twin bed, do not sleep with the other bed vacant, try to put your things like luggage on the other bed before you sleep.

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Tag-Why I Blog?

I got a returned favour from Elaine. Sorry lar Elaine, I promised to do it last Friday but didn't have the time until now. The 5 reasons for Why I Blog are:

1. Ethan. I think all the mummies here have this same reason. I want to record down his journey of growing up. I never have the habit of writing diary but I think it's worth doing it now for my little precious. I hope he will read this blog when he grows up and appreciate the efforts we have put in to raise him.
2. Ethan. I want to learn from others on child upbringing and to raise Ethan in the best possible way I could.
   
3. Me, myslef. I think childbirth and memory loss are very closely related. Who agrees with me? I'm afraid I can't remember most of the things I've done now when I'm in the forties and beyond. I want to remember the hardship and joy of being a mother and wife and to share the ups and downs of motherhood with other mummies. Most important of all, where do we get so much support and well wishes if not from the blogging mummies.
4. Me, myself again. To make new friends lor especially the mummies. 90% of my friends are still single and the common interests between us are so different. I like to talk about my son while they like to talk about their 'boys'.
   
5. Money? I've been thinking hard about it. Lets see what happen when I'm qualified :-)

Ok or not Elaine? Pass? This time, I'm not going to tag anyone lar.

Ear Infection

My my....you see lar. Just recovered from the HFMD got ear infection pulak. Me and hubby were having dinner at a restaurant yesterday after picking Ethan up from the day care when I suddenly saw Ethan's right ear had one thick layer of yellow-brown wax. It was like 1mm thick and looked like the little yellow tube for bicylce tyre. If you know what I mean. So I immediately called up the clinic and made an appointment for Ethan at 6.45 pm.

The paed. said it was ear infection and is one of the complications caused by flu. He explained that babies ear tubes are horizontal and the fuid from the nose can easily flow to the ears. The fuid/mucous will break the ear drum and it is very painful. Eventually the fluid will come out from the ears. When the paed. clean Ethan's ear with a cotton bud, the inner layer of the fluid, which I initially thought was wax, was greenish in colour. It looked exactly like the mucous from his nose. Previosuly, when Ethan had flu, there were yellow-greenish things coming out from his eyes especially after sleep. So, this fluid from the nose can flow to his ears and eyes lar.

Now I know why he was super super cranky during the last weekend. Crying and wanted to be carried all the time. I have to shake him in my arms until he felt dizzy before he can calm down and sleep. No other methods work. Hubby cannot make him sleep. I don't know whether it was because he was lazy to shake Ethan like what I did or Ethan does not like Daddy's arm. Mummy's arm more flabby mar, more comfortable lor.

I was supposed to attend a gathering at my classmates house on Saturday night but I was too exhausted to attend after entertaining Ethan and cleaning the kitchen for the whole day. Can you imagine I have to listen to his cry while cleaning the kitchen for at least 3 hours. Hubby just cannot pacify him....ARGHHHHHHH....I also cried out of frustration after that. Almost wanted to pack my stuff and go to my mother's house with Ethan. But then, I thought why want to let him enjoy and stay at home leisurely ler. Want to suffer, suffer together lar. Right or not?