Things we talk about..

As we grow older and mature – so do the topics of conversation.  When we were all younger and in High School, the topics consisted of boys, crushes and college.  In college it was of thesis and what we wanted to do with our lives.  When joined the workforce it was of salaries and where we saw ourselves in five to ten years.  Then after a few years the topics were of getting married, managing a household and having kids.

I swear, I never thought of the day that I will have problems managing my household.  I’ve had my share of helper problems - and just recently, yaya problems.  I’ve shared them with you – and from what you’ve read, it has been stressful!  And since I am purely breastfeeding my baby, things are more complicated.  There is no definite feeding schedule (as compared to the baby being formula fed), I feed by demand which means, when the baby is hungry – that’s the time I nurse my baby.  This method is unpredictable – the baby can ask to be fed in as short as hourly to a maximum of four hour intervals.  When your hired help is not used to purely breastfeeding – things can be hard, but with much eagerness to help, the adjustment becomes a lot easier.

Case in point – my new yaya.  Yaya D was supposed to be my friend Kath’s yaya – but Yaya wanted to work immediately, but she was willing to wait since Kath was going to give birth end of May or early June.  When I was having yaya problems, I sent Kath a text message asking permission if I could have the Yaya that was reserved for her by our agency – and she said yes.  I asked my mom to do the interviewing for me (as she can intimidate and knows more what things to look for and ask)  but the only thing she asked the agency was who the last employer of Yaya D was.  Fortunately, the last employer was a supplier of ours!  My mom then immediately called the supplier and asked how Yaya D was with them.  My mom learned that Yaya D stayed with our supplier for nine (9) years – yes, you read that right!  Nine (9) freaking years – taking care of a newborn, and then eventually taking care of the three kinds (2 girls and 1 boy).  Our supplier was all praises for the yaya, he said that the only problem they encountered was that they were living with his parents who meddled with the yaya’s method – but still, can you imagine staying for nine (9) years?  My mom did not bother to interview the yaya because she thought it was useless – my mom believed in trying them out for a few days to see their capabilities.  And so when Yaya D came to the house – she immediately took the baby from me and took care of her.  As I was watching her, I was impressed because for a person who took care of a newborn some nine years ago – she still knew what she was doing.  I asked her – if she still knew how to take care of a newborn since it nine years ago – she said yes, these things she said – a yaya doesn’t forget.  But the proof would be in her work – and work she did, and she was good.  I did not need to teach her what to do – she already knew them all!  I informed her that I was purely breastfeeding my baby – to which she said that with her previous employers they were mixing breastmilk and formula – and that I’ll be her first ever breastfeeding only employer.  I also informed her that our schedule will depend on the baby as I feed by demand.  I told her that we might be up all night, and that when the baby is hungry – she’ll have to knock on my door so I can nurse.  She was really nice and attentive.  She took care of my baby very well – what impressed me the most was that how she cleaned my baby’s bumbum with rashes!  I did not need to teach her what to do – she knew what needed to be done (which was to use running water)  the impressive thing was that – she did not bother fetching water and putting it in a wash basin, what she did was carry my baby and turn on the faucet and voila!  Baby’s bumbum was clean – baby did not feel the ‘hurt’ from the wet cotton’s contact on the rashes, this made me realize – why I never thought of bringing my baby to the sink for clean ups!  I then tell myself – first time mom, walang alam!  Haha!  Also she asked me if she could do the laundry in the bathroom since she couldn’t be away from the baby – another ‘why didn’t I think of that’ moment!  Smart and practical right? 

So now, it’s been almost three weeks since she’s been here with me and I have to say – she made things a LOT easier for me. I’ve also semi stopped using the baby monitor during the day.  I’ve been able to go out without worrying if my baby is in good hands, I knew that if I gave instructions, Yaya D would immediately understand and know how to execute them.  She’s proven her worth in as early as the first three days to me.  Yaya D and I are good, we’re good.  I really like her and I see how she lovingly takes care of my baby.  She told me there are two kinds of yayas – kind one is the yaya who just works for the salary; kind two is the yaya who has compassion and love for her work and kids, she said that these two traits cannot be taught but is innate.  And she is the second kind – you can see how she likes taking care of babies/kids – her patience is long and she never loses her cool even if the baby cries endlessly.  She’s also very enthusiastic and good with ‘pakikisama’ – she’s the exact opposite of YFH.  She gets along well with everyone and is very polite and courteous.  Since her former employers were Chinese, she knew what to call my parents and my in-laws.

I think that’s why I haven’t been ranting of yaya woes, I’m happy with her.  I consider myself lucky that I found her – and I think she also feels the same way, well – I hope she feels the same way too!  I can actually say that I love her J  Hahaha!!