Coping

This is what I've been doing for the past one month (and why I've been such an irregular blogger):

• 5.45 am - Get V's milk ready. (Though she stopped with her bottle at 1.2 years, she still needs to start the day with a cup of warm milk. She uses a straw)
• 6.00 am - Give V her milk and start on getting the house straightened out for the day
• 8.00 am - Get V ready for school - brush, potty, bath, dress, breakfast, vitamins, pack lunch
• 8.45 am - Drop V off at school and rush to work
• 11.30 am - Leave to pick V up from school
• 12.00 pm - Take V home and feed her lunch
• 1.00 pm - Settle V down for a nap while following up on emails
• 2.00 pm - Leave for work
• 10.00 pm - Leave the office (the techie was going home for V's bedtime, though there were days when he couldn't make it and I had to fit that in as well)
• 11.30 pm - Catch-up on work with the techie
• 12.30 am - Relax with a book and cup of herbal tea
• 1.00 am - Crash
•  3.30 am - Get-up for a quick nappy change before crashing again (I have no intention of night toilet training till V's three)

Now that the new nanny is on board, this week should be easier *fingers and toes crossed*. Pray for me fellow mamas and bloggers.

How do you cope with a nanny/daycare/babysitter crises?

The Nanny Hold-Up

Happy New Year. I love fresh starts and the possibilities they promise. One possibility I would love is a proper vacation at an exotic location with some serious pampering. Right now I'm strapped for cash and time, so am trying to make do with virtual vacationing via the net.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but if I had to choose who came with me on a holiday, this is how I would think:
- baby free holiday (yeah, I wish), then definitely the husband. I mean we haven't had our second honeymoon yet!
- holiday with the baby:
   1. hmmmmmmm.....I can take the nanny and spend the whole day at the spa or
   2. I can take the husband (who is a great dad and will definitely make sure I get some time off to relax) but we won't get any couple time, as he's totally devoted to V

I think my holiday dilemma gives people an idea of how attached I am to my nanny. Ok, not my nanny as an individual, but the nanny figure in my life. I totally need her to get through the day, at least 6 days a week. If she has an emergency and calls in the morning to say she can't make it, I completely lose it. That's because I basically have to spend the next hour or so organizing my little one's day and I have to take the second half of the day off from work or work from home with a little voice asking "Mummy if I play quietly will you finish working quickly and be with me?". Then the guilt kicks in and I can't focus.

Since our business is a  start-up, I spend about 10 hours at the office and work 4 hours at home (after the munchkin's bedtime). So in an ideal situation I have a morning nanny who picks V up from school and takes care of her till early evening after which a babysitter takes over till I get home for bath and bedtime.

All this being said and done, I'm currently nannyless and juggling working and babycare with the hubby. Thankfully our babysitter is available in the evenings for her regular shift. I think our desperate straits are common knowledge in the nanny world, along with the fact that we run our own business. Every nanny who comes to us for an interview is asking a salary that's double of what the market currently pays. And the perks! Although at this point I'm pretty open to anything expect the nanny getting into bed with the techie.

On second thoughts, if she finds him attractive would she do the night nappy duty in-exchange and let me have a night of full sleep! Worth thinking about.