Hi there,
I had a bad experience with this confinement lady staying in Woodlands. Her name is Eileen, claims that she has a lot of experience in doing confinement, to be honest she drove me to my post natal blues and my mother in law to be very unhappy. I am suppose to be the employer to her and it seemed the other way round.
First Week: We had a bad start. She agreed on the rate at S$ 1800 to start 28days from 8am to 8pm. Since I decide to breastfeed full time, I see no need to hire a full time confinement lady. Thank God, I made this choice since she is a confinement lady from HELL!! When I gave birth my mother in law contacted her, she told my mother in law
direct translation in mandarin) " Mouth is commit 8-8 but I come at 930-6pm. My mother in law was thinking if she is very good its okay with such arrangement since she also can help me with the chores and take care of baby. She was quite free as I do direct latching on first week. To our horror, she wash both mommy and baby's once every 2 days(machine wash not hand wash).The BIGGEST horror was she mix both mommy and baby's clothes to wash. Despite telling her a few times, she turn our words to deaf ears, in the end my mother in law has to wash the clothes. As baby sleep during the noon, seeing my mother in law hang the clothes she can turn a blind eye and continue watching tv. She can watch TV from 2-5pm throughout the whole confinement. In terms of food, she keep boast she is a good cook. What on earth is she thinking cooking fried bee hoon and Thai Tau Hu Salad with RAW cucumber and carrot? As my baby has jaundice I warn her not to give me too much ginger in my diet.
Week 2: She starting to tell my mother in law she needs to do marketing. Before I gave birth, I have bought the necessary herbs worth 300 over. My mother in law did marketing but she claims not enough. Everyday she claims 30-40 from my mother in law. This made her even bolder, she claims even 100plus, with pork that cost 75 bucks. The best part, I can confirm my diet doesnt justify the amount of meat she cook. Even I have my lunch opposite the chinese mix rice, the amount of meat is more than what she cook. She cooks the meat that is thinly sliced pork. She served me loads vegetarian meat. I told my mom my first week diet, she was horrified. She told me during confinement I need to have more nutritious food.So I told her not to fry any bee hoon anymore, instead it got worst, she went to fry mee pok with bak Ting (canned meat).<- to justify the 75dollars worth of meat, why is she doing this. Clothes wise my mother in law continue to wash and she dont even care. She treat herself to our kitchen of coffees, biscuits, cakes etc..whatever she could find. Often she dig out stuff from out 2 fridge, she wasnt trying to tidy the fridge for us but to find whatever that is available. 2nd week she mess out and stuff all the food in one of the fridge until it wasnt cold and almost spoilt. Lucky we detected early. Very often, she blast 2 fans in front of her while feeding baby (this builds up and later my baby girl had a lot of wind). Yes, after 2nd week, I decided to buy breast pump to express milk and let her feed my baby. Else she is very free. FYI her routine everyday is as follows:
10am come, 11 am cook for me ask me eat 1130 bathe baby, 130pm prepare tea time for me,2-5 watch TV, 545pm go home. We were told to buy a box 11 kg worth of ginger. During that week my mil was horrified she used oyster sauce to cook and tell her not to do that anymore. I had the urge to fire her but I couldnt do so as my mil will be tired from all the work, afterall this lady was recommended by her friend. Our stove apprently from the high heat she turn on to cook was damaged.
Week 3: I am starting to get suspicious that there missing herbs and she got cheek ask my mother in law to buy dang gui when I bought 2 big box. I started questioning her where is my du chong and stuff and she claims she used it to cook in my red date tea. We let it go and buy more. Every day she come she will turn on very high heat in the kitchen to cook as if she is doing zi char at home. She is calculative as she only cooks for me and hubby. My mother came to visit on week 2, my mother in law wanted her just cook extra mee sua since she is cooking for me during tea break. My mil wanted my mom taste and comment on her cooking. She told my MIL off and said her duty is to take care of mother and baby. My baby was starting to lift her head while burping and learning to lick her mittens and this confinement aunty, let my baby lick her dirty clothes. Even at 545pm my baby is sleeping she wakes my baby up to clean her. When my mil tell her not to do it, she answered back " Dont expect me stay up until 7pm til she wake up". In the end, me and my mil clean our baby every evening. In order to go home early she waskes me up by 530 order me to eat and instruct me to clean my baby as if she is the employer.Despite my mom bought gor he this while, we question why she didnt cook and instead do marketing on cheap fish and claim from my mil. All she can say was you cannot eat fish, fish gives you smelly discharge. Who was she to make such comment when she didnt wash the clothes and I wore disposable underwear. Usually fish is encourage to boost milk supply. I was utterly angry when I caught her not washing and sterilising the bottles when I confronted her she wasnt even in any apologetic mood and tell me she dont like tell people off. She even played politics using my mil name to do things. My mil went out she bath in my milbathroomm, I told her not to do so. She told me I took off my clothes half way what do you expect me to do?Anyway your mil give me permission to bathe. I was very unhappy when my mil back she was so smart and tell my mil (knowing I will complain) hey i use your bathroom to bath just now. During the night I told my mil she told me she didnt give her any permission, we checked our valuables nothing was missing but later part we realised that cheapo aunty stole the hair clips from my mil bathroom.
Week 4: I thought both me and mil could tolerate her until confinement is over. I am very easy with food and have not complaint a single bit she cook. There was one night I drank the soup that tasted so sweet that I felt I could have diabetes soon. We asked her following day she could tell us she add dom as soup and cook with dried longan, isnt this combination SWEETEST to the max? She decided be lazy not to cook and make sandwich, I didnt complain and eat what was served. My last straw I make " noise" she made sandwich with egg and melted cheeze, mock meat and NUTELLA. I eat until want to vomit and this crazy woman was trying to test my patience all this while. Saturday was my baby first month, we beforehand told her to cook for me was usual as I cant eat the buffet food. She got the cheek not to cook until 5pm, pretend and ask me again if I want to eat buffet line. She was even lazy to cook rice and ask if I can eat glutinuous rice. I thought I could tolerate her until confiment is over,but what she did on Saturday really pisses me off badly. We decide to fire her even I had 4 more days to finish. My mil didnt want me to get upset she told me sshe will settle with her. The confinement lady had the cheek to be angry say I am the Ki Tao Hong woman. I have not even raised my voice nor I even tell her off more than 10 times of the things I listed above.
Despite this happen, to our horror. There are more things to come after we fired her.
There were items missing from my mil room, kitchen and a significant increase in utility bill.
The gas which usual rate was 10 plus increase to significant 68 until SP services hads to call us up to verify.
As I breastfeed, I was surprised she could finish 2 bottle DOM, 1 bottle hennessy, 1 bottle XO and 3 bottles hong zhao jui.
Please do not engaged this terrible confinement lady. To me she is lady from hell.