New Kid On The Blog

Dominic's Nanny is Maria, from Slovakia. She is only 22 years old but I didn't know that until after I hired her. Seriously, she looks way more mature than that. Anyway, she has had childcare experiences and she's the cheapest I could get.

Nanny Maria and her husband live with us, we provide them accomodation and I pay her only £70 per week - and frankly I find this very very cheap. Nursery would cost at least £200 per week and the hours are from 8am to 6pm. Nanny Maria works 11 hours a day from 8am to 7pm. A Malaysian domestic worker would cost £150 per week and I would have to provide both food and accomodation. However, a domestic worker would do all housework and cook for SM and I as well. Nanny Maria is just responsible for Dominic and doesn't do any housework at all.

Nanny Maria started a week before I was due to go back to work. It was the Monday we came back from Rome and Dominic fell sick. He was extremely cranky in the morning and we thought that it could be because he wasn't used to Nanny Maria. Later in the afternoon, I noticed he had a temperature. Dominic had fever for 2 days and we took him to his GP. It was just as well because I was going to introduce Nanny Maria to the GP anyway. The GP didn't detect any infection and said that it could possibly be just a cold. However, Dominic had a history of UTI and so she needed to test his urine as well. When we were in Sunway Medical Centre KL, the medical staff attached a plastic bag to Dominic's groin and we waited for him to pee into it. Here, they just gave us a plastic container. We had to go back home, collect Dominic's pee and take it back to the clinic. And mind you, it wasn't easy at all! It took us several attempts - Dominic just wouldn't pee into that thing! I must remember to ring the clinic for the results this week. In KL, the results was known immediately after about an hour.

It was like a one-week vacation for me while Nanny Maria did everything to care for Dominic. I showed her what to cook for Dominic, when to feed him, bathe him and put him down for naps. I told her to read to Dominic every evening before his bath. I showed her how to brush Dominic's teeth - he has 4 teeth now. :-) I gave her tips on entertaining Dominic when he wouldn't eat. I rearranged Dominic's drawers so that Nanny Maria would find his clothes more easily. I labelled all of Dominic's frozen food, as well as raw ingredients. I put up instructions, reminders and phone numbers on the kitchen's notice board. I did everything that I could think of. It's going to be the first time I leave my little baby since I stopped working in April 2006. It's going to be as hard for me as it is for him.

Here's a video of Nanny Maria giving Dominic his bath: http://sukye.multiply.com/video/item/31