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i also feel my boy drinks lesser in ifc. The teacher can't be chasing every toddler to make sure they drink more.
I sent my boy to ifc when he was 5mo. It didn't work well and I employed a maid. As I do not want my mil to help, I installed an ip camera at home to monitor. Now that I feel my boy is ready for ifc, I sent him to ifc despite having a maid at home. It may be true that the maid will have less to do, but i tried it out and find that this is a good option for me. The IFC can help me to check if my maid didn't treat my boy well, and likewise, my maid can also counter-check on the IFC as well.
When my boy is not feeling well, i have the option of leaving him at home under my maid's care. Likewise, I can control the timing better. Instead of rushing him to IFC early in the morning, I now leave it to my maid to prepare his school bag and bring him to the centre. I do not need to rush to wake him up in the morning. He can sleep enough and have his cereal at home. When my maid picked him up at 4pm, she will shower him and also feed him porridge for dinner. Sometimes I ask her to fetch him at 2pm if he has running nose, so that he can sleep longer at home. With the helper, household chores and dinner are also taken care of. If me and hubby want to have some couple time, we just leave them at home haha. More or less, things are well controlled.
If you are looking at the option of getting domestic helper, look for one who has a child, preferably around 3-4 yo. My maid has a 6 yo daughter. At first, she is a little rusty taking care of a 5mo baby, but good thing is she is quite clever and picks things up fast. I can leave her to administer medication now. At night, my boy also sleeps with my maid, so at least me and hubby can get a good night sleep.
In the afternoon, my maid can catch up with some sleep when he is in IFC. Taking care of this boy is really not easy.