confinement lady contact list

I've finally managed to secure a confinement lady, whew, what a relief!!! She's recommended by my neighbour so hopefully she turns out to be as good as she's claimed to be.

For those still searching for CL, I've actually compiled a list based on recommendations from friends as well as fellow mummy bloggers / forum readers. Since I've not had any first hand experience with any of them, it's better you vet them yourself by calling and speaking to them directly, or arranging an interview.

List of recommended confinement ladies (in no particular order)

1. Aunty Sabrina            016-4681225
2. Aunty Foong              016-5155382
3. Aunty Ah Tai             017-9187383 (highly recommended by a few blogger moms)
4. Har Yie                      012-5221913
5. Mui Jie                       016-3945709 (supports breastfeeding)
6. Mei Lian                    017-6355077 / 016-5604842
7. Lian Jie                      016-5363251 / 016-6385219 / 019-9939483
8. Aunty Alice               016-6730103
9. Ah Peng  Cheh           016 9481739
10. Swee Kuan                 016-6269873 (supports breastfeeding)
11. Aunty Joanne             012-3541339
12. Aunty Kim                 017-2729885 (supports breastfeeding)
13. Ming Cheh                 010-766546
14. Aunty Siew                016-687005
15. Aunty Yuki                013-3574899
16. Aunty Agnes              016-4900565

Unfortunately I can't yet share with you the CL I booked in case she FFK or bail on me... hehehe...

Good luck!!

searching for a confinement lady

I've been procrastinating the search for a while until my mom called me the other day in the office asking if I was going to have a CL for our baby #3. My original intention is not to have one since the two previous CLs I had were only so-so. My idea was to get my current nanny to help double up as a CL and pay her more. However, it turns out that she has no experience with newborns. In fact, she's more kan cheong than I am and have been asking my mom about it.

I've since been scouring the internet to get reviews of good CLs. So if anyone has any good experience with their CL, do drop me an email. Your kind gesture will be much appreciated!

toddler talk

My little toddler L is growing up too fast. She's turning 3 in a month's time, how time flies! I really miss those baby talk, now she's like a little lawyer in the making, always twisting and turning her words...

1. I'm not running, I'm skipping
L was running near the fish tank and daddy was afraid she'll bump into it and hurt herself...

Daddy: L, no running near the aquarium. Remember what daddy said!
L: I'm not running daddy, I'm just skipping!

2. When I say x, it means y
During breakfast one morning L said she wanted milo milk (i.e. milo + milk) so I made her milo milk. After more than 10 minutes, she still hasn't touched it...

Me: L, why aren't you drinking your milo milk
L: I don't want milo milk, I want fresh milk
Me: But you told mummy you wanted milo milk when I asked you
L: Mummy, when I say milo milk I mean fresh milk, fresh milk means milo milk

3. I like cold I don't like warm
Whenever L asks for fresh milk, aunty will warm it up for her cos she doesn't want her to take it cold from the fridge

Nanny: There you go L, your fresh milk
L: It's warm, I don't like warm I want cold!

And she'll refuse to drink it. So after many failed attempts, aunty gave her cold milk one morning

Nanny: Here you go, your fresh milk
L: It's cold
Nanny: You like it cold right?
L: No, I don't like it cold, I want it warm

4. It's not me it's baby
Whenever L does something wrong and we reprimand her for it, she'll blame it on her baby (her make believe baby in the form of her pillow)

Me: L, stop spinning the chair
L: It wasn't me it's baby!

Me: L, didn't mummy say not to bite your tit-tit (bottle teat) anymore? I'm not going to buy new ones you know?!
L: It wasn't me
Me: If it wasn't you then who can it be?
L: It was baby!

Me: L, why are you making such a mess (throwing kor-kor's monopoly money all over the floor)
L: It wasn't me, baby did it!

how much does it cost to raise a kid

After scouting around for the right school for H, we've finally landed on a decision, and I must say we're pretty happy and confident with our decision. H will be off to another international school January next year, and will be starting Year 1.

We've never thought much about the cost of education but after paying the registration fee, we got a little jittery. It's fine if you only have one kid, still ok if you have 2, but now we'll be having baby number 3. So it was time to really do some serious budgeting.

Based on my estimates taking into account inflation, to put a kid through 12 years of international schooling and 4 years in a top university overseas (I used UK as a benchmark since I'm more familiar with the system), it will cost us a whopping RM1.6 million. And this is just for the first kid!!! Lest you think we're wasting good money for early education, i.e. the primary and secondary years, the bulk of the costs is actually for tertiary education (>75%).

It's high time to put our investments to work. And I guess there also goes my early retirement plan!

book smart vs. street smart

H is as straight as a fiddle. He does not lie (not that lying is a good thing) but having a little craftiness is important when you face the real cruel world. Can street smartness be taught, or is it something of an in-born trait? L is the total opposite. She speaks with confidence and conviction, even if it's not true.

A while back I devised this incentive system for the kids. One of the chores they have to do to earn stars is to put away their toys after playing. Every night before going to bed, I'll ask the kids if they did what they were supposed to and rewarded them with stars.

Me: Did you put away your toys after you play?

The response I get will be totally different. For H, unless he's absolutely certain he did, he will always hesitate. "I'm not sure, ask kakak"

For L, she's always certain. "Sure I did. Look around you, it's so clean!" Of course we all know it's not true, cos by the time I get home, kakak would have already cleaned up the place for the night. Kakak, on hearing L will shout out "No you didn't!", to which L will rebuke, "Yes I did! You cannot say I didn't." That's my bossy little girl in action.

I also have this rule that the kids are not allowed to play with the i-pad on weekdays. One day as soon as I got home, H came running to me apologising, "I'm sorry mommy!" I was shocked and asked him what was the matter and he said "I played with the i-pad at po-po's house." That is really taking honesty to a different level - i.e. self confession!

Me: Did you play with the i-pad too, mei mei?
L: Nope!
H: Yes she did...

Honesty and integrity are great values that should be encouraged. I need to teach L about honesty, while instilling some street smartness into H. The former should be easy, but I have no clue whatsoever on how to tackle the latter.