Terrible confinement lady who you should avoid

[meiyachu]

Terrible confinement lady – Mandy (雯姐) from Malaysia

- My expected due date is mid-July 2012.
- I contacted this CL by at end January 2012. She said okay and she would come to Singapore to meet up in February to discuss the details and get the deposit (full payment is SGD2500 excl. red packets).
- I repeatedly told her that if she is not available or she suddenly could not come, she must contact me right away because I don’t have family backup in Singapore.
- I didn’t hear from her in February so I texted and called her. She said she was busy but she would come later. She even repeatedly assured me that she would definitely come in July as I booked her early enough.
- March passed, I didn’t hear anything from her.
- I felt something strange so I texted and called her yesterday but no answer. Until this morning, this CL’s daughter called me and told me that her mom has an overseas assignment and got stuck, thus cannot help me in July as promised.
- I asked this CL’s daughter why Mandy didn’t inform earlier or call me herself – no answer. I told her it is already April, not to mention that it is a year of Dragon, how am I supposed to find another CL? I asked if she could refer another CL to me – she said we can’t help you, you need to look for yourself.

This CL is totally irresponsible, unprofessional and her behavior is unacceptable. She should have called earlier but she didn’t. And she should at least have the decency to call me in person!

For those mums-to-be, her numbers below are for your reference. Wouldn't want you ladies to become a victim like me who got caught in such a terrible and helpless situation. Malaysia contacts are H/P: 016-513 xxxx, Tel: 05-312 xxxx, Singapore: 8150 xxxx.

 

[lev]

Blacklist Confinement Nanny - Mei Xiang jie from KL (m'sia number: 0207 5545077/ S'pore: 8166 7612)
 She has a bad attitude, rude, lazy and is very rough with the baby. Totally unprofessional and not properly trained. Had my confinement done 2months ago, worse and terrible. I engage this confinement lady thru a friend recommendation. As this is my first engagement and also a trust on my friend so I didnt request to meetup this confinement lady.

During confinement, She messed up my whole house and kitchen is so dirty, she doesn't clean well after cooking. Unhygienic with food and etc.  To cut the whole story short, please just do not take this risk to hire her or you'll regret and have the most stressful confinement month with sleepless nights worrying about the baby and yourself as I had this extremely bad experience with her and I'll definitely not hire her for my next baby in future.

 

[persimonne]

Cai Mei Ying or Aunty Mei Ying

A warning to mothers looking for confinement nannies, its better to go thru word of mouth rather than forum recommendations. I engaged a nanny, Cai Mei Yin or Aunty Mei Ying thru rigorous search on this forum but she turned out to be my worst fears come true. I am not sure if her services are still touted and recommended online, but if u are doing your research based on forum searches as I did, pls use your discretion!

- I did not heed the warning signs. When i met with her to place deposit, she criticized the mother she was taking care of at that time, that she never did 'tai jiao', that's why the baby now sleeps very late resulting in her not being able to sleep early too.
- she also said she has to nap every afternoon.
- I asked her what herbs I could buy in advance, for her to prepare tonics for me, she said oh, the usual. I told her I really have no idea so could she advice? Can she tell me some so i can buy first? I need to be prepared. She named about 2 herbs, then said I can ask any old people around me, like my mother or mother in law.. Don't they know? Else I can ask medical hall.
- I booked her way in advance for 2 months, but on the first day or work, she says she has a double booking and could not turn down the other party. So she could only work less than a month. She said she was sorry but I should have a mother or mother in law who can take over. !! Despite taking my deposit of $200 when we met before I delivered.
- Turns out, this nanny herself needs nannying. She says she can't sleep too late at night, complains that pillow cover is too slippery and she can't sleep well. She also revealed that her shortest stint is 5 days with a family cos they were boring people, they slept too early, around 8pm and did not watch tv. With her clear warning, we left the tv on specially for her, bought Chinese newspaper in case she was bored.. She still complained of boredom. Another of her warnings was that I had to giver her an ang pow on first day of work, else things would not go smoothly.
- in terms of caring for baby, she refused to test the temperature of heated breast milk before feeding baby. She would just hold the bottle with her fingers and deem it ok. She refused to test by having a drop on her wrist. Even when I tell her that different brands of bottles will feel differently, they may be different in thickness, material etc, so just touching the bottle is not an accurate gauge. She was wrong many times, and one time wrong is one time too many! That's one time of too hot milk into my newborn's mouth/throat/stomach!!
- she does NOT wash her hands after wiping baby's poo. Everytime. Despite repeated appeals. She got angry and offended as she says she has been doing this all along.
- she does NOT wash her hands after touching the broom or dustpan. She will proceed to handle baby, touch baby's cot sheets etc.
- at night, she watches tv and I vividly remember her scurrying when baby cries, cos oh, she forgot to wash the bottles again. So baby has to wait, AGAIN. Too bad for the hungry newborn.
- In terms of cooking, every meal was almost the same. She even says, it's not difficult to cook confinement food, its just frying everything with ginger and sesame. Only variation is the type of vegetable we provide, and whether it's rice or noodle version. After a few days, you will realize she is not a genuine confinement nanny. Tonics? Besides the pre-packed all-in-one tonics that we bought from eu yang sang, she was not able to offer more, neither in advice nor in brewing anything else.
- she revealed that she was all along a factory worker and only became confinement nanny cos of the good money and that it's nothing difficult at all.
- Btw, she is young. She is in her late 40s, a Malaysian but Singapore PR, husband works in Singapore and daughter studying in spore. Her contact number is 824301xx and 07-55931xx. Pls use your own discretion rather than rely on raving forum reviews. I paid for it with my health at the most crucial time when I hired and depended on her to 'take care' of me and my baby. She failed on every count.

 

[ephlinz]

Hua Jie 花姐

This lady that I've confirmed did not show up on the actual day. Instead, another lady showed up late and only told that she was not Hua Jie 花姐 much later!

This Hua Jie 花姐 did not even inform me that she was not coming and that someone else will be taking her place! In fact, a few days before my delivery date, I had her confirmation that she would be coming! However, on the actual day when she was supposed to come, she didn't pick up any of my calls!

It was later that I found out from the replacement confinement lady that she had to pay commission to Hua Jie 花姐 who actually she herself did not know!!! She got this job from another confinement lady friend who might be Hua Jie 花姐's friend!

I believe that this was a scam from the very beginning!

BEWARE OF THIS PERSON! Do not engage her as your confinement lady, you wouldn't know if she would turn up even though she said she would and if she doesn't turn up, you wouldn't be sure that the person who turn up would be good! Don't risk it!

 

[valebelle]

     
Hi Mummies, 

I have engaged Auntie Siew Hoon (SGP HP: 84203549, Msia HP: +6011 1628 4086) 2 weeks ago & it was a TOTAL NIGHTMARE! 

PLEASE DO NOT ENGAGE AUNTIE SIEW HOON if you do not want to go into depression! 

I engaged her after reading a few good reviews on her online too but she disappointed me greatly! I nearly went into postnatal blues. 

On her 1st day, she was very proactive & kept telling me that she doesn't like to be free & likes to keep busy, so she offered to vacuum & mop our house. On her 2nd day, when we woke up, we saw her did our laundry and ironing so we thought she was good! Note: We DID NOT ask her to do laundry, ironing for us. She did it on her own will. 

She started showing her true colors after the 1st week & flared up at me on her 8th day, saying that she was unhappy & wana leave on the day, making both my husb & I helpless as we are new parents! 

Below are the trauma she caused me during the 8 days when she was with me. 

1. My 4 days old baby caught a flu & vomited milk from his nostrils & mouth. Auntie Siew Hoon blamed it on the quality of my breastmilk! She said I took too sweet & heaty food and caused my baby to be heaty. She kept saying my baby is hot and shouldn't be wrapped up so much & guess what, that worsen his stuffy nose. I was so sad seeing my baby suffering from a blocked nose! 

2. She kept saying my milk supply is little, cannot satisfy my baby & so, making the baby cry. 

3. She offered my baby pacifier when he's crying! Have you seen a 4 days old baby taking pacifier? It's really a heartpain for me. I know it's wrong but being new, I let her do her way. :"( 

4. I asked her if there is still enough cheese and bread. If not, I can get my husb to buy more bread, cheese, ham or jam so that she can have some varieties or she can cook mee sua or macaroni for her breakfast too. Then she got SENSITIVE & replied rudely, "I only took 2 pieces of cheese a week & you all are saying I eat alot!" I told her, "Auntie, I'm just asking you if you have enough to eat. I'm worried you are sick of eating bread all the time. We don't care how much you eat as long as you feel comfortable in our house." AM I NOT being nice to her? And she became defensive & asked to go out to buy bread and biscults. I stay in a private & there isn't any supermarket or bakery within walking distance from my house, so I told her to tell me what she needs to buy & I will get my husb to help her buy. And she told me off rudely that "You condo people are so hard to serve. Next time I won't accept any assignment from Condo ppl. You guys won't even allow me to go out to buy bread. So heartless."???!!! Mummies, what did I do or said wrong?? 

5. She complained we stretched her to the max & made her do so many housework. BUT we didn't ask her to do housework at all! I told her I have a part time helper who comes every wednesday! And she still has the cheek to tell me that she did the ironing only out of good will. I said we didn't ask you to do ironing at all. WTH?!! Now she's putting ALL the blame to us for everything. I even kept asking her to go take a nap & rest whenever the baby zz....Isn't that not good to her enough? 

6. Everyday she cooks almost the same dishes for my husb & me. Not much varieties & seems like she only knows fish & papaya soup can boost milk supply. Other than that, she can't make or offer to cook other dishes or soups that can help in my milk supply! 

7. She complained that we treated her like a maid. Need her to bring the red dates drink to me & collect the cup after I finish. She said why can't I "zhi dong" bring the cup out to the kitchen after I finish. I thought CL's role is to help mummies recuperate & don't make the mummies walk too much during this 1 month confinement? Is my understanding wrong? If I need to do all these, bring the cups & dishes into the kitchen after I finish & walk so much, I might as well do my DIY confinement. After all, it's my few days after delivery & my wound has not healed!! 

8. On her 8th day, she asked to leave on the day itself or give me 3 days notice! OF COURSE, anyone with a sane mind would ask her to leave on the day! AND guess what, she dumped alot of unwashed baby clothes in the pail & really left me in trauma!

9. That's not the end of her. When we asked her to leave, she said we have to pay her 1 day advance payment, meaning we have to pay her salary for 9 days of work, instead of 8 days! What logic is that???! I told my husb, give the money she needs & asked her PACK & GO! 

10. When my new CL came, she was shocked that my baby's umbilical cord is still intact, damp & smelly. She said it will cause infection if it is not cleaned well. My new CL felt sad for baby and me that the previous CL did not do a proper cleaning of the cord for my baby & left me depressed. My baby's umbilical cord has now dropped off just 2 days after my new CL took over, whereas Auntie Siew Hoon just gave an excuse that my baby's cord did not drop off because it is a big cord. Stupid reason! 

I thought confinement is a period for mummies to recuperate & relax & be happy. But she has really left me crying & putting blame on myself. 

Thankfully, I managed to engage my new Confinement Lady from my friend's recommendation. We call her "Chen Tai / Auntie Chen". She's from JB and when she heard my CL left me helpless, she immediately called me a few times to say she will come out immediately to take care of me & baby. 

I highly recommend Chen Tai if you need a good CL. My milk supply has since increased from 30ml to 100ml just 1 day after she arrived. She helped me so much, cooked so well, kept talking to my baby & said "Auntie loves you, sayang you..." and encouraged me in breastfeeding. 

Chen Tai / Auntie Chen's SGP HP: 84558025 or Msia HP: +6012 3840288

 

[valebelle]

Hi Mummies, 

I have engaged Auntie Siew Hoon (SGP HP: 84203549, Msia HP: +6011 1628 4086) 2 weeks ago & it was a TOTAL NIGHTMARE! 

PLEASE DO NOT ENGAGE AUNTIE SIEW HOON if you do not want to go into depression! 

I engaged her after reading a few good reviews on her online too but she disappointed me greatly! I nearly went into postnatal blues. 

On her 1st day, she was very proactive & kept telling me that she doesn't like to be free & likes to keep busy, so she offered to vacuum & mop our house. On her 2nd day, when we woke up, we saw her did our laundry and ironing so we thought she was good! Note: We DID NOT ask her to do laundry, ironing for us. She did it on her own will. 

She started showing her true colors after the 1st week & flared up at me on her 8th day, saying that she was unhappy & wana leave on the day, making both my husb & I helpless as we are new parents! 

Below are the trauma she caused me during the 8 days when she was with me. 

1. My 4 days old baby caught a flu & vomited milk from his nostrils & mouth. Auntie Siew Hoon blamed it on the quality of my breastmilk! She said I took too sweet & heaty food and caused my baby to be heaty. She kept saying my baby is hot and shouldn't be wrapped up so much & guess what, that worsen his stuffy nose. I was so sad seeing my baby suffering from a blocked nose! 

2. She kept saying my milk supply is little, cannot satisfy my baby & so, making the baby cry. 

3. She offered my baby pacifier when he's crying! Have you seen a 4 days old baby taking pacifier? It's really a heartpain for me. I know it's wrong but being new, I let her do her way. :"( 

4. I asked her if there is still enough cheese and bread. If not, I can get my husb to buy more bread, cheese, ham or jam so that she can have some varieties or she can cook mee sua or macaroni for her breakfast too. Then she got SENSITIVE & replied rudely, "I only took 2 pieces of cheese a week & you all are saying I eat alot!" I told her, "Auntie, I'm just asking you if you have enough to eat. I'm worried you are sick of eating bread all the time. We don't care how much you eat as long as you feel comfortable in our house." AM I NOT being nice to her? And she became defensive & asked to go out to buy bread and biscults. I stay in a private & there isn't any supermarket or bakery within walking distance from my house, so I told her to tell me what she needs to buy & I will get my husb to help her buy. And she told me off rudely that "You condo people are so hard to serve. Next time I won't accept any assignment from Condo ppl. You guys won't even allow me to go out to buy bread. So heartless."???!!! Mummies, what did I do or said wrong?? 

5. She complained we stretched her to the max & made her do so many housework. BUT we didn't ask her to do housework at all! I told her I have a part time helper who comes every wednesday! And she still has the cheek to tell me that she did the ironing only out of good will. I said we didn't ask you to do ironing at all. WTH?!! Now she's putting ALL the blame to us for everything. I even kept asking her to go take a nap & rest whenever the baby zz....Isn't that not good to her enough? 

6. Everyday she cooks almost the same dishes for my husb & me. Not much varieties & seems like she only knows fish & papaya soup can boost milk supply. Other than that, she can't make or offer to cook other dishes or soups that can help in my milk supply! 

7. She complained that we treated her like a maid. Need her to bring the red dates drink to me & collect the cup after I finish. She said why can't I "zhi dong" bring the cup out to the kitchen after I finish. I thought CL's role is to help mummies recuperate & don't make the mummies walk too much during this 1 month confinement? Is my understanding wrong? If I need to do all these, bring the cups & dishes into the kitchen after I finish & walk so much, I might as well do my DIY confinement. After all, it's my few days after delivery & my wound has not healed!! 

8. On her 8th day, she asked to leave on the day itself or give me 3 days notice! OF COURSE, anyone with a sane mind would ask her to leave on the day! AND guess what, she dumped alot of unwashed baby clothes in the pail & really left me in trauma!

9. That's not the end of her. When we asked her to leave, she said we have to pay her 1 day advance payment, meaning we have to pay her salary for 9 days of work, instead of 8 days! What logic is that???! I told my husb, give the money she needs & asked her PACK & GO! 

10. When my new CL came, she was shocked that my baby's umbilical cord is still intact, damp & smelly. She said it will cause infection if it is not cleaned well. My new CL felt sad for baby and me that the previous CL did not do a proper cleaning of the cord for my baby & left me depressed. My baby's umbilical cord has now dropped off just 2 days after my new CL took over, whereas Auntie Siew Hoon just gave an excuse that my baby's cord did not drop off because it is a big cord. Stupid reason! 

I thought confinement is a period for mummies to recuperate & relax & be happy. But she has really left me crying & putting blame on myself. 

Thankfully, I managed to engage my new Confinement Lady from my friend's recommendation. We call her "Chen Tai / Auntie Chen". She's from JB and when she heard my CL left me helpless, she immediately called me a few times to say she will come out immediately to take care of me & baby. 

I highly recommend Chen Tai if you need a good CL. My milk supply has since increased from 30ml to 100ml just 1 day after she arrived. She helped me so much, cooked so well, kept talking to my baby & said "Auntie loves you, sayang you..." and encouraged me in breastfeeding. 

Chen Tai / Auntie Chen's SGP HP: 84558025 or Msia HP: +6012 3840288