Okay..so m back! Hopefully this time with mommy stories that resonate with all u first time mums out there:)
So the first(and the best) thing my MIL did for me was book a maid for the baby in my 5th month of pregnancy. Yes..u read it right! We booked her coz good baby maids with experience for baby massages these days are rarer than blue moons! After diligently following up to make sure she did not take up new jobs she finally met my daughter at 2 and a half months of age. The nervous bundle of anxiety, paranoia and sleep deprivation that was me was desperately hoping for someone with at least a bare minimum sense of hygiene and common sense to follow baby routines. What i got instead was this amazingly well trained,sensitive and clever lady who was actually predicting my baby's behaviour and to some extent preparing me for what lay ahead! As the days passed by the three of us developed an unlikely camaraderie and settled comfortably in our schedule. I was astoundingly even managing labours and emergencies just because I had her at home with my daughter and I could never have been more grateful!
As the days passed by my daughter got so attached that seeing her arrive every morning generated an excited squealing that I only got after an extended absence due to work and compensated breast feeding! At first it made me happy that they had bonded so well that it enabled to take time off for work, gym and the husband but somewhere I began to wonder if the maid had me a lazy mother who was offloading her baby on the maid. Now before u read too much into that statement I was still making all of my daughter's meals and feeding them to her 3 times out of 4..and pretty much alternating looking after her so the maid could get her chores done. But seeing my daughter so happy with another woman who admittedly was just as much in love with her left me with a feeling that maybe this is the way it will always be if I want it all..the work,the exercise and the date nights! My daughter is potty trained at 8 months, is mostly not a fussy eater and has very rare cranky spells..all this I attribute to my maid because she helps calm me down and together we have handled many a baby catastrophes!
In my little ones world I would like to think her Maushi ranks a close second to me but there are days that I wonder...and those are the ones I drop everything to just be with her for reassurance. But I am not sure I want to ever know the answer!
It's rare to be blessed with a maid of such foresight and fortitude and for now I am counting my blessings..a second mother or an omniscient Maushi; she can be anything my daughter wants as long as bliss reigns in her tiny kingdom!
So true. Can't imagine life without a nanny. She enhances not only my quality of life , but also my sons. Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi put it beautifully when she called it seamless parenting. Earlier even I was not so keen on what I called 'outsourcing ' my parenting, and thus took the first year off to be their for my son, all the time. But when I restarted working I wanted someone who loved him as much as I do, and I am glad I have that now.
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