My Confinement Lady

It was my mum's suggestion to hire a CL and I am grateful I did took to her advise seriously (okay, maybe just partially)

Minus the confinement rules that I was forced to follow, other thing was manageable. As in I have someone to take care of Baby S at night (changing diapers) and my daily meals.

All I need to do during my confinement month was eat, sleep, feed and feed the baby.

This is the life I had been going through for the whole 28days of my confinement.

0800 : Breakfast is served

0830 : Feed Baby

0900 : Personal Hygiene routine (brush teeth, wash my face and tidy up my stinky hair)

0930 : Rest (CL bath Baby S)

1000 : Feed Baby

1030 : Rest

1130 : Wash up

1200 : Feed Baby

1240 : Lunch is served

1300-1800 : Rest and feed baby intermittently. Most of the time I couldn't sleep and keep looking at FB. (CL change baby S clothes and diapers)

1830 : Dinner is served

1900 : Rest

2000 : Feed Baby

2100 : Supper is served

2130 to next morning : Sleep and Feed baby intermittently (CL change Baby S diapers)

The cost for hiring my CL for 28 days is RM4,200 + RM300 (Ang Pao). This have not include the cost of buying ingredients for my meals. All in all, we spend closed to RM5.5k for the whole confinement. 😱

This might not be a super deal but at least the CL did not FFK me last minute.

It is definitely not easy to live with a total stranger for a month. Especially if you are those who have special requirement or very particular when come to handling baby. Unlike me, as long as I have my meals served and my baby well taken care of, I am fine.

I had heard all kinds of complaints and review about CL. Some CL rejected the job last minute despite the deposit because they have got better offer or even job in Singapore. Some keep chatting or playing with their phone. Some is non hygienic when they handle the baby. While some just can't cook a proper meal?! I mean, anyone can be a confinement lady as long as she's a lady! there's no hard and fast rules. WTH

I wouldn't say that my CL is the best but at least we manage to work together (most of the time due to my ignorance). She's those auto-pilot person and get things done for me. Well, who knows that CL actually washes baby and your clothes if she didn't ask? Since I am those species who do not know how to demand for stuff, having an auto-pilot is a plus for me.

Things did get very complicated at times and it's really disturbing to recall them. Here are some instance that I can never understand.

1. She came to me few times questioning about my MIL comments and kind of like get me to approve her decision instead. 😰. The way she talk did made me felt like she's trying to create tension between me and my MIL.

I find this a bit ridiculous and bothering. Please just do whatever you were asked to even by my MIL or mum cos they are my MUMs.

2. There was once she came running up to my room, panting, and told me this 'I had lost a chicken!!!'

Hello, those are frozen chicken. They can't just runaway. She even forced me to call my mum instantly to clarify how many birds she bought the other day.

Again, is she trying to indicate there's a thief in the house? Weirdo.

3. Things are getting more weird when she came to my room one evening and asked this 'Did you search my bag?!'. I was like (WTF) 'why do I want to search your bag?!' And then 'Bang!' She slam the door TWICE (my room and hers)

4. The weirdest part is that she asked my MIL if she believe in 'oil ghost' or whatever you called it, that they loves to steal. Scared the hell out of my MIL. Yaya..the only ghost in the house that might steal could be just you Ms.CL. She either suffering from Psychotic Hallucinations or just over imaginative.

5. Oh, and she's also kinda like suffered from short term memory lost too. There was once I asked her to feed baby Sean with EBM while I will be away for few hours. I had about 7-8oz and I am pretty sure. I asked how much did he drank cos I don see the balance in the fridge and she said only 3oz. Okay, is it me or she with a problem now?

6. She might be kind of modern for a CL but she's definitely not when it comes to thinking. I mean she's so tied up to the traditional confinement rules and worst still she never listen to others suggestion. Whenever things screwed up, she's just give lame reasons that is so lame an idiot would disapprove.

7. There was once my mum came to visit me with her home cooked chicken. Of course that tasted so so so much better than what my CL prepared. She came in my room, reminds me that I can't eat dunno what and asked if she could see what my mum cooked for me. Weird! The next day, she cooked an almost same dish. Of course mum's cooking is unmatchable.

8. She said letting baby cries sometime is good for their organ development?. I'm sorry, which organ are you referring to?

9. She is so into her routine job that she can totally ignored my crying baby because she want to get more information on her next working schedule. She did interrupt when I am feeding my baby because of the same reasons. I was like 'Can we talk later?'

Seriously?! 9 weird occasions that I actually faced in less than 28days?! OMG how did I manage to pull through?

After some deeper thought, suddenly I realised there are actually more loopholes :-

1. Would you please take care of my crying baby while I am having my meals.

2. Why must you serve me food when I am feeding my baby. The food will be cold by the time we are done

3. Did you just stuffed my baby with my breasfmilk?

4. Aren't you supposed to look after baby in the daytime too?

5. Please don't charge your iPad nearby my baby

6. I want to bath in lemongrass water and not herbal water!

7. I want to wash my hair, everyone does it on the 12th day! Why can't I ?

8. Please don't talk bad about my MIL. If you have any comments please communicate with her directly.

9. Why can't I eat vege when even my mum allows me to?

10. I am getting really bored with your food. Both my mums cook better!

Have I mentioned about the breastfeeding topic? This is another topic to talk about and having a breastfeeding friendly CL is really important. Having her around at night to bring me Baby S for feeding really did saved me some time to sleep (Maybe). But I was so stressed whenever there's a knock on my door because that means feeding time.

Well, she did missed the 2-3 hours feeding a few times and rely heavily on Baby S to wake up by himself. I have to wake her up for Baby Sean a few times when he overslept. Weirdest part is that she will gives me silly reasons which I totally ignored (hello, it's middle of the night. Just get me my baby and let me feed him.

I am going to treat this a slow/partial takeover of a full time mummy job, to prepare my self when CL is not around. Wish me luck with the poops and fountains!