Aunty Yuki couldnt do for me so she introduced the below aunty. So just in case anyone of you came across her, below is my experience with her, just a guide to you who is reading this.
It’s only Day 7 and I fired my confinement lady. Below is her detail in case any of you come across her name or she is referred by her friends.
Her name is Aunty Heng Jie, 60+ with short curly hair and she previously stay in Cheras before moving to Kolam Air Panas. She has a brother staying in Shah Alam (Jln Anggerik) and Aunty Heng Jie just got back from Perth (did confinement there) Her mobile number is: 016-277-942. She asked for RM3,800 plus an angpow upon leaving.
Hubby and I interviewed her beforehand as she requested for RM500 deposit and asked me to bank in immediately. Hell no! Why would I wanna bank in money for a stranger I never met? I also read a lot of horror stories that mummies pay money to book the confinement lady only to realise these aunties disappeared the moment mummies are due to deliver. So we met up one month before delivery (Oct 2013) and I sort of interviewed her for over an hour.
Below are the questions that I asked:
1. How many years have u been a confinement lady?
2. Do u sleep with the baby and how u showered the baby?
3. How do u take care of the umbilical cord? (This is the most important!)
4. What do you cook for breakfast, tea, lunch, tea and dinner?
5. What are the food that mothers supposed to eat and drink daily?
6. How pro are u on breastfeeding and formula?
7. Do u do housechores (light)?
8. Usage of nappy instead of diapers for newborn?
9. Personal questions so I get to know more about her and I can share with u all
10. Cleanliness and hygiene
I am very satisfied with her answers. In fact I thought I was really lucky to able to find such a god confinement lady since it was so last minute. She also told me all the mouthwatering food that she can cooks. After we proceed to nearby medical hall shop to buy herbs because I have no clue what to buy and upon reaching, she acted like a boss instructing the owner to pack red dates, black dates, some Chinese herbs I don’t know the names , sesame oil, ginger wine (stone brand) and she wants most of the herbs to be around 1kg if not more. I keep stopping her and tell her that we will buy again when it run low cos I don’t want to stock up my fridge. In the end she obliged. Spent around RM500.
We picked her up around noon (she took bus down from kolam air panas approx. 2 hours journey) and when she reached we told her where all the things are (bottles, hot water flask, her bedroom, etc) and I didn’t tell her anything at all about food because she is a confinement lady and as one she will know EXACTLY what to cook and what to do right? Well, we are SO wrong about that.
The next day, she slept till 9am. I woke up at 8am, her door is still closed. I knocked and went inside, she is still asleep with the baby. And my mom has cooked. Already bad impression.
Noon, she insisted on cooking sesame chicken using 1 whole chicken! My mom told her nicely that no need to cook for her and my bro, and only to cook for me alone so there is no need to use 1 whole chicken because there will be too much leftover and to prevent wastage. She is not happy. She told my mom if she didn’t cook whole chicken, she don’t know how to cook, furthermore cooking quarter of chicken will have no taste and bland. My mom ignored her and told her to make soup for me. That’s when she instructed my mom to cook.
Around 2pm, after she has eaten, she came up and slept with the baby until 6pm. She didn’t take out the chicken or veges, and she expect my mom to do it and also expect me to eat the leftover from lunch. I didn’t want to voice anything because I know it could be quite tiring and it’s her first day and probably she is still trying to get used to everything.
But NO, she has this attitude until Day 4. So I had a serious talk with her in the kitchen telling her what I expect from her. She showed me her black face and said “I know I know” (her fav word EVERY SINGLE TIME when we tried to advise /tell her)
I also pen my thoughts on dayre.com/jojochua on my daily encounter with this confinement lady.
On Day 5, she woke up early to prepare breakfast for me which is inedible. I don’t know how she cooked the pork kidney and pork liver, the soup was bland and the pork was just yuck. I couldn’t swallow at all and not to waste, it took me about 2 hours to finish eating them leaving still few pieces in the bowl. Thought I take the bowl down and throw away the pork, and guess what? SHE ATE THEM !! *horror
Then she proceeds to cook lunch by 12pm and at night by 9pm she is already in bed. So I jokingly said to her, Well, if u plan ur time well we can all retired by 10pm. And yesterday at this hour, u are still preparing ingredients to cook in the kitchen. She just smiled and said yes yes.
She is a dishonest lady too. When my mom bought home all the meat and ingredients she unpacked and put everything in the fridge. Today after she left, we organised the fridge, my mom found ‘hidden’ pork liver/kidney and meat stashed in aside and wrapped up in a very small plastic bag (twist the unfrozen meat in plastic bag and make it into a ball ) in hope that we will not found out. No wonder she spend so much time downstairs (3 hours and the meal is either half cooked or not cooked), looks like she has been cooking and eating my food. Luckily I stopped her from opening my DOM / Martell because from the very first day she already insisted on using ONE BOTTLE OF DOM to cook the chicken.
Oh and she said I should get her the plastic mat to put on bed because every time baby pees, the bed is wet. (Baby is on nappy) So I decided to test it out myself. I brought baby over to our room and I checked on her every 10 mins or so and changed the wet nappy. In that one hour, I think I changed like 6-7 wet nappy. So I bought all the wet nappy to her room (there is a pail for nappy in her room) and as usual she is in the room ‘resting’ and she said wah so many nappy? I said of course and my bed is not even wet. U didn’t change the wet nappy that’s why it leaked out. U let her pee like 5-6 times then only u changed, that’s why the bed is wet. Imagine a baby’s pee, how many ml? Tiny bit only right? And to get your bed wet, the baby’s clothes wet, imagine how long the nappy has not been changed?? Again she kept quiet.
AND im on the verge of scolding her but I kept my calm.
So I had a discussion w hubby that night and we decided to terminate her service. So this morning when I told her, she was shocked and asked me to let her try out another week. She said “ I will do whatever you want me to do”. Well, too bad the damage has been done and I have given you chance but u didn’t treasure it. When I passed her the due money, she asked me “You don’t want me to try again” I said NO.
So hubby sent her off. I called Aunty Yuki and told her the whole story. She is shocked and said Aunty Heng Jie is actually her friends’ friend. I strictly warn her that not to intro this Aunty Heng to anyone as this will tarnish her name on the internet. She keep saying she is very very sorry and keep apologising the whole time and thank me for telling her.
*Phew, what a long 7 day
