My yayas are leaving....

Yayas (nannies) are essential for a working mom like me. I have a very active four year old boy and a 9 month old baby girl who is starting to stand up and try to walk. I try to attend to their needs as much as possible, but I do need help because I have to work too, both outside the home and in the home.

However, they have both expressed their desire to leave. My boy's yaya of more than 2 years said that she wants to take a breather from yaya duties and wants to go home to her hometown. My little girl's yaya for the past 9 months said she wants to go back to school.

It's certainly a pity, as I have gotten used to them. I was even thinking of inquiring about night classes for them so that they can have another career outside of domestic help when they leave us. Something they want, like maybe a secretarial or IT course or maybe a beauty course (of course, nothing as sosyal as a cosmetology school in Minnesota coz I can't afford that for them), something basic that they can use for furthering their own lives. Now the cosmetology course would be very useful if they want to set up a business in the near future. Persons wanting to have a haircut/hairstyle change or manicure/pedicure or makeup would always be around, whether it's in the countryside, the big city, or even if they decide to go abroad.

But for my yayas, that's all moot because they are already leaving.

It's Going To Be A Challenge...

A 3 week old and a 3 year old.
Me recovering from a Cesarean operation.
No yaya (nanny).

For 2 weeks.

Will we adjust? Well, I've been rather spoiled actually, being in the Philippines and all, so I haven't really tried that out. But others have been doing it.

And it's not as if I totally don't get any help. There's hubby who can bring our 3 year old to toddler school (about 5 mins. drive away -- or even less). There's my mom, who can -- and wants -- to cook traditional Chinese ge-lai food for me. There's my mother's laundress, who has volunteered to take over washing my kids' clothes and my mother's all around girl, who I can call in when I need some assistance.

And, of course, there's me, who is able bodied and can do mommy tasks. I've been taking care of my baby 99% of the time anyway.

Just need to get my bearings. Just need to simplify our life. Just need to know how to manage our free time. But we'll make it.

To Get Or Not To Get Another Nanny

Now that I'm having another baby, I'm contemplating on whether I should get another yaya (nanny) for my newborn this coming June. I'm lucky that it's relatively easy and inexpensive to hire a nanny here in the Philippines. I'm in awe of mothers who can juggle a demanding career and still be able to care for their kids! For a working mom like me, having a nanny makes life much easier, as my 3 year old demands a lot of attention that I may not be able to give him while I'm working.

Another nanny might be able to help me with my newborn, but then maybe the one nanny that I have right now may be adequate already. She's not perfect, but then nobody is. At least she takes good care of my kid, is patient with him, does not ask for cash loans too often, and does not take too many days off. I'll be on maternity leave for at least 2 months anyway, so the first month is probably not that crucial, as I'll be home most of the time. I'll be doing most of the work anyway, the feeding (since I will breastfeed again, so no bottles to clean in the meantime), the bathing, the diaper changing and all.

The problem is when I have to go back to work. Good thing it's also class opening by then, so my eldest will be in school for the morning.

Guess I'll have to play it by ear and see how it goes.

Yaya Talk

Since my husband and I are working, we have had to hire a full time nanny for our child. My little boy already had four official full time babysitters since he was born. He's now almost three. His present nanny, Yaya C. has been with us since January of this year. We have trust issues, though. We do not leave our little boy with just the nanny. Usually one of us is still around to supervise (and of course to keep Ethan company). If we are not around, my mom, mother-in-law, brother, sister-in-law or whoever is available among our immediate relatives is. We've heard a lot of horror stories about "bad" nannies and since our kid is not old enough to report anything bad that might happen to him, we do not really feel comfortable completely leaving him with any Yaya.

It's really difficult to find a nanny. They are either too young (not serious with job, may not watch your kid enough, entertains suitors/boyfriends) or too old (finds it difficult to run after my toddler, does not want to do things my way). Too experienced (has a set way already and does not want to follow what I want) or too inexperienced (has to be trained). That's why it is no wonder that although there are a lot of applicants for the position of yaya, there are still a lot of babysitting jobs unfilled!

I guess it's even more difficult for people in other countries who do not have the luxury of hiring nannies since they cost much more than nannies here. The issue of trust becomes even more glaring since parents will have to look for different strangers to stay with their kids when they have to go out. Good thing there's now actually a way for parents and babysitters to actually interact online, and for parents to get a higher ranking one based on the previous experience of the other parents. Pay is also standardized and schedules are a tad easier. Do check them out if you need to find a babysitter.

Yaya's not coming back....

Remember when I blogged about my son's yaya's taking a vacation leave in this post?

Well, yaya called up today and said that she won't be coming back because of issues within her family.

So far, we've been yayaless since December 24 and we've survived. It was difficult at the beginning but we got used to it already. Since it was the Christmas season, we were home most of the time anyway, so we were able to take care of our son. We have been hands on naman ever since, with yaya as a secondary caregiver, but we've generally given the tedious tasks to her. Also, having a yaya does free a lot of time off our hands so we can do other stuff, like work! :D With yaya gone, it was a little difficult to insert the things I usually do, like blogging for instance! So if I'm remiss with my bloghops, you know the reason. :) There are also other people in the house/s willing to assist with taking of my son whenever we need to something, like my mother, my mother-in-law, brother, the maids in my mom's house, so it was not as difficult as I expected initially.

And, it's been actually enjoyable :) although quite challenging to juggle work and childcare!

Now that we've survived 2 weeks without a yaya, we can say that we're still okay :). But, we still have to look for another one since we do have to work, albeit, part time. There's a yaya applicant I'm interviewing on Monday, she's a referral of my mom's cook. I hope she'll be okay and my toddler will like him.

Yaya's on vacation....

That is the main reason why I hardly have time to myself. My little 27 month old son, it seems, has turned "terrible" and without a yaya, we have to look after him almost full time. I really need to have another yaya (or hopefully yaya comes back, she isn't sure at this point) before my brief vacation is over. Today, I already have to go to clinic, and my husband is dreading taking care of him alone while I'm away (for half a day). You see, my son has always been difficult to feed and the easy way out has always been to let the yaya do it. He's also very active, and being an older parent means that my 37 year old body just can't keep up with his 2 year old "Energizer bunny" one.

I really admire full time moms. I do know that this is just a stage, but really, I can't get anything else done. In fact, this is the first time I've blogged since yaya left, and that's just because the kid is sleeping and I find myself awake! :)