(2008/02) Feb 2008 MTBs

[sweetpea]

Piglettail

I bot the food scissors from a previous BP in Jan..I like it very much coz its the right size to bring out, comes with a cover and of food grade. I use it outside and at home.

Soups - I also gre up in a cantonese soup family. My mom will usually buy lean meat coz its cheap, but the time when we buy the oilier cuts, she will boil them a few minutes to get rid of the "blood" and fats, and pour the first round of soup away, then add in more water and the other ingredients. For me, I will trim using kitchen scissors or filter with an oil filter.

Re eating woes - BX, u r not alone. I believe many of our kids wanna practice thier independence by self feeding. James has been self feeding for months, but its always a huge mess not because he can't feed himself properly, but he is exploring "creative" ways to eat his food, play with his food. Each time I get very pek chek because of the mess (I'm a clean freak), but no choice lor, wanna train him to eat by himself. He will sit on highchair only if he is distracted by what we are gonna give him so each time must lure him to his chair with drinks, snacks, etc.
My MIL feeds him if he's with her but he will also run all over, so no choice she will switch on DVD..not a solution I like but since she takes care of him I have to close one eye.

 

[sweetpea]

Bathtime - I had a showdown with J for 30 min after his bath yesterday. He simply refused to put on any clothes. He kept running about naked, and tried playing catching with him. When I got really angry, he could still give me the "catch me if you can" look. Then he got bored and pleaded with me to let him go out of the room coz I closed the door but I refused, so he started his wailing nonsense like he was so poor thing..argh. in the end must bribe him with the computer. Felt so lousy after that for giving way to him losing my control over him.

 

[lezyger]

SOUP:

My mother just told me..she bought this erm....kinda ladle/sift. It will let the water through and 'sift' out the oil.

 

[kitsune_sg]

Lezy, I have that oil filtering ladle too but I find it's not so good unless you are cooking a lot of soup. Don't really know how to explain cos the ladle is deep and takes in a lot of soup but sometimes, I don't cook a lot of soup to begin with so the ladle scrapes the bottom of the pot and the oil doesn't really go in. But it's definitely good for a big pot of super oily stuff like curry and stew.

Bx, sweetpea, RaeAnne also very naughty. My BIGGEST headache is she loves to beat or push the maid. I always scold her, make her say sorry to the maid and sometimes beat her in return but I really don't know what is the right way to deal with this. Beating her seems to be teaching her that it is ok to beat others. But not beating her, she plays deaf ear to me and sometimes, I can't catch her beating the maid cos I'm in the room BFing Mei Mei.

 

[bluegin]

Hmmm... Look like a lot of mummies are experiencing the same things from our kids. Channet also said "Bu Yao", after she attended cc now she said "No" "Don't want"

QL,
I had ever chilled ebm for 72hrs and let bb drank. Ok leh. Nothing happened. As long as the milk did not turn sour I guess. But this is just for my kid, might not apply to yours. Your decision is still final.

Child screaming at the top of their voices. How to stop them. It's kinda very irritating.

Lezy,
Ruth also likes Pringles? Channet too. We also hide the Pringles. When we go to supermarket, we would avoid the titbit corner. She will say "I want this and I want that" when we r there now.

 

[star70]

bluegin-me also sometimes feed bb milk with up to 72hrs, even though I try to clear it fast too by letting #1 drink it too.

 

[leila]

Morning mommies,

gar,
this pregnancy....aiyoh....always backache, always tired etc etc plus i had early contractions cos i "overworked", kena warning by gynae. wondering is it age catch g up

bkkgal,
sent ur regards to doc. She speaks fondly of u

did u bring SM back to visit her?

btw, wanted to ask u, how s ur latest maid? do u thk wid ur maid episodes, i shd approach Sheila to get me a maid? is sheila s attitude to ur changing maids ok? Ya, i finally cannot "tong" n need to get a maid in.

tubao,
"gong xi gong xi" on having twins, they r jus so v adorable

hope ur ms passes soon too.

iso,
love ur strength, m v sure bb feels it as well.

piggletail,
i have that scissors too n feel it s pretty gd. quite ergonomically designed, so not so tiring on the fingers when cutting the food up.

bx,
A s sibling still young mah....when they grow older together, A wld be protctive over her younger sibling liao.

Eating woes
L too!!! Goodness!!! he wld run all over the plc, take one mouth, lie on the sofa, take one mouthful, take another toy etc etc n this goes on for at least 45mins. I hate this method too but when i put him on the high chair, he wld protest/cry so much n refuse to even open his mouth. Only time he wld guai guai sit down n eat is when he is really hungry n gobbles up everything quickly or when he finds the food yummy, n wid that he wld self feed, else he wld tell me his hands r busy hold g things, cannot eat by himself. ARRRGH!!!!! Actually i find he can tolerate hunger pangs v v v well cos i don t feed him anything in between except fruits, so it's really breakie, lunch n dinner. But recently, he chute new pattern : SUPPER n it's not milk he wants but cheese n bread!! Tell u, we wld be done read g in bed, switch off the lights n he suddenly say he wants to eat cheese n bread. If don t give, will cry so pitifully, macham like the mummy starve him like that! n the thing is, he really polish off one slice of bread wid cheese spread. I really hope this phase ends soon too, cos it s really getting too tiring esp now when i sooooooo look forward to my sleep.

tong,
can u send me ur blog again pls? i thk i need help on natural remedies for cough.

 

[tongtong8]

Tute, maybe you should find out how to improve C’s appetite?

BX, ashton is still so young, and ashlynn hasn’t really “bonded” with him yet leh, I think they will eventually change when they hold hands growing up together..

Blueginger, screaming à try to distract them with other things, like show them the scenery outside the window, or sit them down tell them a story, etc..

Leila, will pm u my blog, but I think I din organize my blog properly, so you need to search thru the archive ok..

 

[babyxan]

leila, tong,
i see, still too early to see the diff in A.

btw, how many times do u bathe ur 1 month old babies? i bathe once in the morn and wipe body in the evening. thinking of changing to bathing twice a day. dunno isit too much?

 

[tubao]

qingling,

hehe…..her pork trotter standard varies every time.
I stopped puking last Monday, PHEW! started to recover weight, maybe will go back to work in 3 weeks' time.

leila,
This pregnancy? Did I miss any news?
Congrats!

Thanks,my MS is over.

—uncooperative toddlers
E can self feed and finish her lunch at Childcare. But at home she will stay at dinner stable for 5mins, then run and play. She doesn't want to self feed at home other than her favorite dishes. My husband last time carried her back to dining table again and again, whenever she was off to play. But it discontinued, lost effect after he worked late and E had her early dinner.

First 2 weeks E was in Childcare, she was angry with us sending us there, beating my husband, me and helper after school and complaining us that WE are not nice! Now it is ok. Last week she was hit by a schoolmate, a scar just under her left eye, she told us the incident, but didn't say badly of that hitting kid, said "that kid said sorry to me".

Last time E never failed to have meltdown whenever she needs to wait for something——fruits/yogurt to be less cold; papa taking bath. One time my husband scolded and let her cry for half an hour. Now she seemed having learnt her lesson.

E had milk at bed time, after storytelling, brushing teeth and light is off, she asked milk again. This habit continued for half a year? when MIL was here at weekdays, and slept with her at night. When E went to CC, and my husband took over bedtime routine, he patiently explained for half an hour for first 3 days not to have milk for clean teeth, but E wailed, jumped and insisted. And on 4th day my husband lost calm, shouted very loud to E when E threw her tantrums. Every body was so shocked, but E immediately said sorry to papa, and asked water instead of milk since then.

Still felt her very naughty, and uncooperative, especially at downstairs where she fights with her good friends—"Gaojiao "them, occupy slides and doesn't let younger ones to play. My husband will carry her back home immediately when she is uncooperative, but he usually could make it to accompany her at weekends. Now I didn't have strength to carry her back home yet; helper not really willing to make efforts. …….don't know when she will be more ok…….

 

[bkkgal]

Hi Leila
How many weeks are you now?

I didn't bring SM to see Prof the last visit but when she heard my maid woes, she said anyone would've gone into depression and gave me 3 weeks hospital leave to work it out.


I would still recommend Sheila as an honest agent which is truly an anomaly in this industry as every bad maid is a losing proposition for them. Hence all agents will try to market the "transfer" maids so that they can recoup. However, at this moment, Sheila's supply of maids is really really poor. So poor that she herself had to take from another agent for her own use. Hence, if you need a maid right now, she won't be able to get you one.


I don't have a maid until now. I am going to another agent liao.

BX
You will see the difference later when bb A starts to be more responsive. Ashlynn will enjoy sayang=ing her lil bro. SM will squeal in delight when she sees her cheh cheh. K is quite protective over her sister. When I ask her can I bite mei mei's toes? She says no no no, kiss only!

Bathe babies
I used to bathe once in morn and wipedown in evening until SM became 2 months old then I bathed her twice a day.

Bluegin
K will go to supermarket Yakult section and grab and put in my basket without asking! aiyoh, kids nowadays man. In order to avoid buying and avoid a meltdown, I will discreetly tell the cashier "this one dun want".

 

[kitsune_sg]

Tubao, the only person my gal dun dare to beat is me, but sigh, I am also getting tired of scolding her all the time. Wonder if it is because she enjoys the attention sometimes.

Bkkgal, which agent r u going to? U wanna try mine? The staff is quite fierce to maids but the boss is nice so it's one good cop n one bad cop style.

 

[garfield9]

hi mummies, long time never post liao! silent reader hehe...

wanna ask - when do we stop using baby detergent / laundry and use the same as adults ah?

challenging 2-yrs olds,
am reading this book which is quite good. its called "setting limits with your strong willed child". i have put the method to practice and find it pretty effective.

bx,
don't worry. my A was vvvvvvvvvvv jealous of her mei mei initially. nowadays she can say mei mei is part of family must sayang mei mei. every morning she will insist on coming downstairs to see and talk to mei mei. at night, she wants to sleep in the same room as mei mei. but she is still very possessive of my mom, so we still have to coax her to allow my mom to carry J. try to involve Ashlynn in your daily activities with Ashton. and brain wash a bit about family, love between siblings etc. jia you!

leila,
you poor thing...i can empathize with the backaches. i think you and i about the same age right? i had horrible ones for #2 as well. can try prenatal massages (i had weekly sessions at rustic nirvana). pretty effective at relieving the pain and it lasts for a few days. dunno how you can cope without a maid for soooo long *RESPECT* i had hb to look after A during my pregnancy cos really too tired to do anything. everyday come home from work lie there like beached whale

 

[star70]

maid agent - i went to this 2nd level at holiday inn, who specialise in philipino maids, i must say i am quite impressed with his strict training and sincerity, so perhaps if any of u interested to get philipino maids can try him.
My mymammar maid i got it from the same building,but at b1, JLK employment.

 

[piglettail]

Morning!

wow quite a number of posts since yesterday evening...

Scissors
Thanks to all mummies for your feedback! yes I'm getting a pair to try...

Soup
Lezy,
keke i was just thinking there must be some 'soup sieve' gadget out there, so it really exist!

Kitsune,
can u let me know how the filter paper looks like - like a sheet of kitchen towel? have never seen it before and couldn't find it at NTUC yesterday. not sure if i missed it or that NTUC don't stock it.

Mummies with FDW that has no off days
Can i ask how often do u take your FDW out and where do you go? i have only taken my current out once (she's been here 1 month). other than than she commutes between my house and MIL house everyday and goes to the market/kopitiam with MIL/me. not sure if she will 'go mad' by being couped up in the 2 houses all the time or not.
the reason why i haven't brought her out much is:
1. Hb, i and G usually just go out for meals on weekends. it's a bonding time for us so we have a good dinner and chat so don't feel comfortable having a 3rd party around. Since we feed G ourselves (or he's learning to self feed now), there's nothing for FDW to do anyway. that time when we brought her out she just ate her dinner, was done in 20min and sat there and doing nothing for rest of time.
2. Due to her personality (the 'smart type'), i don't really wish to 'stimulate/expose' her to too much external influences. as it is she's already very well versed in the major shopping centers of Singapore from her last employer - she could even lead me around Carrfour Suntec to where the things are displayed! also her eyes will be rolling about everywhere looking at everything once she is out (applies during the Suntec trip and our marketing/kopitiam trips) - not the guai guai just keep to her own business (if given the opportunity) type lor.

 

[tongtong8]

bx, newborn bathe once enough already la.

Garfield, i'm still using bb detergent leh, because i dont mix his loads with ours, and i only wash his once a week after i accumulate enough loads hehe. BTW, the bamboo BP is cancelled la. And just to remind you that your books are still with me hor.

 

[piglettail]

terrible twos..

G is also like that! the word that he uses most often now is the famous "NO". everything also no, no, no. i was telling hb it's like when ourselves first started learning about swear words in pri/sec sch, we found it so 'cool' and kept trying to use it on all possible instances. hahaha..
G has never been able to stay still to change his diaper/clothes. yes, he will run around naked and now includes screaming 'NO NO NO'... i will usually call out 1-2 times but will go and grab him and change him with him trying to wriggle out all the while...
i'm quite rough with him, dun really have patience to wait for him to come over (he will never lor) so anything i want him to do, i will just 'chase-grab' and do it to him. e.g- plonk him in high chair, put on his clothes...

 

[babyxan]

thanks ladies for ur input.

tong,
wah, ashlynn's clothes so dirty cannot wait once a week then wash. S must b a clean boy

gar,
i'm still using bb's detergent. shun bian wash together with ashton's stuff.

re: 6-in-1 jab
u bring ur kids to pd or polyclinic?

 

[tongtong8]

bx, for dirty clothes, i will wash off once with water first, then hang in the toilet or window's grill to let it dry then throw it into the basket, wait for every weekend then wash, hehe.

 

[julyclover]

hi mummies! my #2 is a .... boy again! a lot of my friends + myself has the same gender from the previous kid. i was hoping for a girl neh, but its ok lah. i will love #2 the same. =)

genice, no worries. coping better?

 

[genice]

Hello mummies,

Wow.. so much discussion abt our 2 yr old tot..

Bx.. i think u are not alone, also have a hard time feeding G. It really depends on her mood one but one thing for sure, feeding her at home is easier than feeding her outside. everytime she eats, the whole floor will be littered with her food, feel so paiseh esp when we outside and when she dun want to eat she will vomit out or she will hug her father or whoever .. so irritating...when other pp c, they will think that she's a spoilt brat.. sigh.. sometimes dun like to bring her out for food.

Piglettail, G can self feed quite some time ago but she3 very lazy, want us to feed her but recently she dunno why sudddenly got interest in self feeding again and enjoys sitting at the table with us to eat food, she eat a lot these few days which i am quite happy cause she has lost wt over the past 1-2 months. But of coz, it will be messy lah but dun forget u got a helper so can ask ur helper to clean up, its necessary to train their independence so ma fan a bit also bo pian.

RE:scissors and oil paper

What scissors?? and what oil paper?? I really think i nd the oil paper.. the confinement soup so oily....

RE; milk ss

bx.. i think cause i drink a lot of red date water leh.. i din do anything in fact my ss has dropped, only 150 ml now every 6 hrs with latch in between but i am comfortable w this amt cause i dun wnat to store too much frozen ones , dun like fishy smell.

clover, i am coping better, this time round more experience already plus no CL to stress me..

wow.. ur boy will have a playmate.. 2 boys also gd.. can recycle the clothes and toys..

tubao.. read abt ur wt loss and vomitting in ur blog.. poor thing u, must eat more nutritous stuff to built back ur health k.

 

[genice]

BTW, anyone go out during confinement..? i went Giant 2 nights ago to do shopping brought both kids and now i planning to go ikea too.. erm.. am i only one flouting the 'rules"

 

[babyxan]

Genice,
i also drink a lot of red date water. I guess the ss is inborn. Btw, planning to stop latching le. Coz bb A keep suckling for awhile, lose interest then unlatch. Less than 2 hrs start screaming for neh neh again. Very sian. Coz he doesn't empty breast and I lazy to pump, hard to maintain ss. And also I very Suay. Sometimes just pump then he wants milk again. Offer him empty breast like so poor thing. Sigh.. Dilemma of a mother.

I went so many places. Parkway, tampines, fetch Ashlynn from cc everyday, hang ard east pt, united sq. Join the no-govt during confinement gang

 

[star70]

genice-keke..i flout all confinement rules..i only had red date tea for 2 days. every week also go out..haha..already had sashimi by the 3rd week/4th week..

bb clothes - they r handwashed everyday by the maid..keke..and we dun mix with adult clothes so still using bb detergent.

 

[sweetpea]

genice, I went out on my birthday and has sashimi. And shopped the day before my birthday (4 days before confinement ends)..didn't feel guilty about it at all. I also had to run errands like buy the Bengawan Solo cake vouchers, cut hair, settle bills..shunbian did some shopping hehehe

Clothes - I handwash bb clothes almost everyday but for Korkor's clothes, throw them into the washing machine (separate load frm ours) and wash 2-3 times a week)

 

[kitsune_sg]

Piglettail, I didn't take a pic of the oil blotter but little gastronomy did. Her blog has lots of recipes and cooking tips. Can take a look there. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2PCgmY3Keus/RvVAxUxoVmI/AAAAAAAAATE/3DRF4cKCTDg/s1600-h/CIMG9604.JPG

By the way, I bring my maid almost everywhere even on holiday (but only because it's to Penang)because if just both hubby and me, then we can't bring Raelynn out then I will feel guilty for neglecting her. But if after dinner on weekdays/weekends and we go out just to grab some stuff from NTUC or Tampines Mall then I leave her behind with Raelynn so that she can do some housechores when Raelynn sleeps. With RaeAnne in the house, it's difficult for the maid to vacuum, mop and wash my toilet.

 

[tongtong8]

clover, congrats! then ur boys can kick ball together wor! hehe

bx, just pump and when ashton wants milk , offer the expressed milk lor, why offer him ur empty breast leh.

 

[kitsune_sg]

Bx, if I just pump and Raelynn wants milk, I'll still let her latch usually give her the side that she last latch on cos that side will have more milk. I got maid so will get her to stand by and heat up EBM so that once I finish, she goes to the maid for second round. But sometimes, warm up EBM but she doesn't want anymore. Bo bian lor, wait for her to cry again then I latch again then.

 

[bkkgal]

Hi Pauline, QL
Thanks for the recommendation but I"ve selected a maid liao.

Clover, congrats again

Boy or girl, as long as bb is healthy, that's most impt

Bb's clothes
i just throw them in together with K's clothes and wash with bb detergent. You ladies are so hardworking by handwashing.

Breastpumps
Would like to check whether are there any special deals during this GSS that you all have discovered? I think my old Ameda is going to give way soon.

 

[toot]

tong,
actually we give him multivit/appetite booster since he turned 1 because we noticed his appetite was not that good even when he was fully on milk so i guess he is a small eater. I also cut down his usual afternoon snack where we usually give fruits to just milk. Weekends, mostly he drink 1 serving of milk. C is not too adventerous with food and only likes sweet stuff..

gar,
i mix C's clothes with ours for most of the wash since long time back, at least for 6-8 mths already.. easier this way and as long as you see the child's skin is not sensitive i think it's ok... and i can wash more often with 1 cycle combined rather than waiting to accumulate C's clothes...

clover,
congrats on the 2nd boy! the 2 boys can share a room now.. heheh..

bkk,
i can recommend my agent as well and my colleague's one - both i think pretty honest just that i didn't go with my colleague's because he doesn't bring in indon maid. let me know if you want their contacts and do hope you can find help or settle your child arrangement

piggletail,
i bring my maid out at most once a week. usually saturday i just go out with hb+C, but sometimes I will take her as well... not consistent. every sunday - if she has completed all the housework - mostly i will take her when i go to church so that she can accompany C at sunday school. i make it a point to bring her out at least once a month or once every two weeks otherwise she'll be very bored at home.

 

[piglettail]

hi kitsune,
thanks! i will go and look for the oil blotter. u mentioned u just lay it on the surface of the soup and lift up the whole piece with a pair of chopsticks and throw, am i corretc? cos the packaging shows need to pour soup out and sieve thru. so sorry, i'm like an complete dummy requiring step-by-step instructions when it comes to cooking...

yes i've visited her blog before and tried some recipes..but all turned out disasterous ;p sigh... think i really no talent in cooking.

maid - yes hubs and i also concluded she'll be more busy and we will see the need to bring her out when there's 2 kids. cos she will definately be 'occupied' with looking after 1 of the kids.

Genice,
ya..i already pre-emp my maid we are going thru a period of self feeding so expect lots mess and cleaning up. so far, it's been managable. G tends to be more well behaved outside cos we always order his favourite- french fries! this food, he got NO PROBLEMS eating and won't drop any piece on purpose. hahahah...
i just ordered the scissors to try out, maybe can cut food faster than my current $2 art-and-craft scissors. think this BP ending tonight, u may want to take a look

 

[babyxan]

Kitsune & tong,
ok, will take up ur suggestion on giving expressed milk if he wants milk again. While waiting for the milk to heat up, let him suckle first.

Clover,
congrats for the second boy!

 

[star70]

congrats clover!

 

[julyclover]

tks ladies! =) when i prev asked alex is it di di or mei mei inside, he said its mei mei n for quite many times. I asked another 2yo boy n i got the same answer. I tot small kids have this instinct thing, but turned to be all wrong. Lol.

Hope #2 also likes thomas the train then we will really save a lot of $. Lol.

 

[sweetpea]

Mummies with maids..where do your maids sleep? Do they sleep with your kids? I am considering getting a maid but I am really put off by the idea that she might have to sleep with no. 1 in his room..and the lack of privacy at home.

BKKgal - My Ameda which I used for no. 1 died during week 3 of my confinement. Now using a 2nd hand Ameda from my colleague. Sigh..tot it can last me through 2 babies. Everyone tells me Medela is the best..but soooo expensive

 

[bkkgal]

SOS!
My Ameda really died on me!!! How am I going to last the night without a pump? aiyoh...baby is with MIL for the night, I need my SM pump *sob*

Sweetpea, I oso thot Ameda can last me through 2 babies! I think have to buy a Medela liao..no choice.

My maid sleeps in the storeroom. It's absolute NO no for the maid to sleep with my kids. Kids will become closer to her, get used to her voice, her smell.

 

[julyclover]

bkkgal, i have an ameda pump which i havent used for a long time. u wan to borrow?

 

[bkkgal]

clover, where do u stay? prob is tonight......tmr first thing shops open i will run out to buy liao.

 

[bkkgal]

Thanks Clover for the offer! I have a fren living 5 mins from me, she's lending me her Avent manual. Sending my hb down to get it from her liao. *phew* really helps to have a network of mummy frens!

 

[julyclover]

ok. i dun think we stay that near. i'm at amk.

 

[kitsune_sg]

Piglettail, not sure if you tried the oil blotter yet. Yup, can lay on top quickly to absorb oil but of course filtering with funnel is most effective cos usually got other food poking out of surface and some soup will also be absorbed if use the filter paper directly. Also the NTUC oil blotter is a bit small, only Daiso sells those big sheets. If I cook chicken stock then will use funnels cos need to take out the chix bones, onions and carrots anyway.

What's your son's name by the way? Oops, I forgot liao. Too many G and A and after 2 years plus, I forgot most of the kids' names and the abbreviations do nothing to jot my lousy memory.

Bx, jia you! As long as Ashton is willing to latch, that's half the battle won to increase SS.

Bkkgal, my maid and RaeAnne sleeps in the same room but until now she doesn't like the maid, keeps beating her. Raelynn is better cos the maid took care of her since young but she's starting to recognise faces and recently she is extra cranky. Once I was putting RaeAnne to bed and Raelynn wailed in the living room for 45 mins even though maid was carrying her. Hubby said she started crying since I said good bye to her and went into the bedroom with Cheh Cheh.

 

[leila]

Genice,
Congratulations!!!! i didn t realised u delivered!!!

clover,
congrats!!! 2 boys, then everything can re-use n can share. ummmm.....to be truthful, i was hoping for 2 boys for myself but now, i really thk as long as the bb is grow g well n is healthy, it doesn't matter.

tong,
thks so much! i received ut PM liao.

gar,
ya, we r the same age that s why i also need to quick quick be done wid #2, else i wld luv to space the kids age gap further apart. As it is, i really feel L is at such an adorable age, jus that i m in not right frame of mind to enjoy him all that much ever since i got preggy. Ai, what is there to respect, u wk outside n i wk at home mah...it s the same.

bkkgal,
m in my 25th wk, not sure how long more i can wait... ya, seems like sheila doesn't have any maid to recommend as of now cos when i spoke to her, she ask if i can wait till end of the mth when she goes to indo to source again.


maids
indo vs filipino. can mummies wid maids help?? m deciding which nationality shd i get. indo maids = man problems , filipino maids = hp, off days, more daring. I was think g of indo maids, but m really unsure since most news in the papers r actually abt indo maids n their weird doings.

tute, pauline
can share ur agents' particulars wid me jus in case....

bathing
may i knw what item do u ladies use to wash ur kids' body. m currently using a wash cloth but i don't find that it is an efficient way to do it.

 

[kitsune_sg]

Leila, pm you Liao.

 

[tongtong8]

leila, i dont use wash cloth to bath the kids for very long time ever since we can use the shower head to shower them.. i only use wash cloth to wipe him down before bedtime if he is very "sticky" or perspires alot,as recently he doesnt like to shower at night and wanna wipe wipe only hehe

 

[babyxan]

leila,
for me, i will still use wash cloth to wipe her body after i apply soap and also wipe the face after washing her hair. but now mil is staying with us, she is the one bathing A, dun think she uses the wash cloth to wipe her body, just the face i think.

 

[piglettail]

hi kitsune,

thanks for all the info and tips

no leh, i have not bought/found the oil blotter. will go to another NTUC/supermarket today. Funnel - any will do or is it the oil sieve Lezy was referring to (that you also have)?

My son's name is Gyan. Hb and I have been pronouncing it as "Gee-yan" but some people have been telling us it should be "Guy-yan". Not sure which is the correct one....?

Wash cloth
I find using a wash cloth very clean...but half the time lazy just use my hands to soap him all over and rinse off.

Maid sleeping arrangement
Mine sleeps in the bomb shelter/store room alone.

 

[julyclover]

leila, yrs is girl hor? My hb has 2 bros n no sister, so i think the boy genes is strong. I'll also look for a domestic helper in 2m's time. Prefer filipino as there's no language barrier. I dun mind transfer maid but cant be fr expat family with no kids or 1 kids. Haha. the helper will prolly sleep in study n i dun like the idea of a non family member sleeping with my kids.

Tubao, u know yr twins' genders yet?

 

[bkkgal]

Maid
Pauline, that's cos you are SAHM mah...Your 2 Rs still spend most time with you. For FTWMs, this is a concern when the maid is the main caregiver and is there for the kids 24/7.

Leila, different people have different views and experiences but you are right, it does seem that the Indons are doing more against their employers. I suspect a few factors:

1) The indon loan repayment period is longer than the Filipinos - 7-9 months (I) vs 4-6 months (F). This means the maid does not start to earn the money until after 7-9 months which is seen as "bondage" period for them. During this time, they can be very unhappy. Imagine this is like working for no pay for more than half a year. What do you do when you hate the employer yet you can't leave? You resort to other means of getting back at your employer.
2) The Indons tend to be more superstitious as evidenced in the cases of "black magic" that they employ against the employers e.g. putting urine in the drink so that they obey them.
3) Indon maids come from training centres in Jakarta. All of them go in there for a period of time for "Training". They are not allowed to leave the trg centres during this period. Even phone interviews must abide by the timing of the centre's opening hrs. What this means is they all get to meet other maids, exSIN, exHK, exWhatever and talk, discuss about prospective employers, share techniques on managing employers.

Alot of pp like Indons cos they dun want hp, dun want day off. These 2 things are the Achilles heel of the Filipinos - on days off, they go out and meet other maids and get into trouble. With HP, they are also up to all kinds of nonsense.

Personally, after my brief experience with an indon maid, I think they are very non-communicative which makes it difficult for me to tell whether they are happy or sad. My last maid, everything I ask her, will say ok, nevermind but actually it's not ok and she minds. The Filipinos tend to wear their hearts on their sleeves which means more drama from them but it's ok, I can tahan. The Filipino character is more extroverted, more easy-going, cheerful. My last Indon was a sullen character, even when asked to play with K or bb while we quickly makan, will just stand there and shake the toy at my bb's face. The Filipinos, from what I observe, could sing nursery songs with K and entertain her.

It's difficult for someone to work without day off. Even I can't stand seeing her in the house all day, all month, all year. So I used to ask my maid to go out so that we can have family time on our own at home.

Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[bkkgal]

Wow Tubao, E knew about your pregnancy before you did? Children have such great instincts. K also kept patting my tummy before I tested. So is it one boy, one gal?

 

[garfield9]

leila,
i find it tougher as a SAHM due to the emotional intensity of motherhood. told hb i'm not as cool a mum as i thought i would be. so as a FTWM - it gives me a time out from all the stresses of mothering.

maid,
last week - my family finally agreed to consider hiring a foreign domestic worker. but after one weekend, everyone had the chance to rest and chickened out again. after reading all your posts, i don't think i am suited to hire one as well. i think the maid and i will drive each other up the wall!!

end of ML,
i go back to work 21Jun. i tot i'll be looking fwd to it, but recently A has been really sweet. she will hug me and says she loves me, cos have been spending so much time with her these 4 months. last nite i looked at her sleeping (my favourite activity - looking at my babes when they are asleep) and felt so sad....hai...wanna do part time but don't think can.