almost lost our nanny

a week from today (last monday), i was IMing with mik.  he told me that he almost gave the nanny a heart attack with that night's dinner instructions.  they were texting back and forth regarding the dish....  didn't think much of it.  next thing you know, nanny texts me and says it's not working out.  that she's giving her notice and we have 2 weeks to find a nanny.  WHAAAAA?!!!!  i was speechless.  i can't go through that process again... my heart started beating super fast.  i thought i was going to have a heart attack!  i told her to call me as soon as she could.

she said there were a couple of issues... 1) cooking and 2) hours.  maki hasn't been napping well during the last couple of weeks. today he took 2 fifteen-minute naps (mondays are the worst for julie) and she got frustrated because she had to fit in cooking dinner while he's napping (she cooks us dinner 3x a week). she also cooks filipino dishes so if you're familiar with filipino cooking, you know those can take long. she's puerto rican and not familiar with the dishes so it takes her a little longer to prepare it. she never wants to leave the baby unattended but she also feels the need to finish everything (even though we've told her dinner is secondary - baby is 1st priority).  i can only imagine how stressed out she was.  i remember when i stayed home alone with maki, all i could count on was his long naps to get things done and when he didn't, i would get so disappointed.  i couldn't even shower or eat lunch.  now thinking back - when i got home from work one day, julie was just eating her lunch!  she must have been so stressed trying to cook for us and maki wasn't cooperating.  the 2nd issue is that she wants to get home to her family earlier to cook dinner. when she took the job, she thought it was ok.  but her 6-yr old daughter sleeps at 8:30 and they end up eating too late. anyway, i started crying.  i couldn't help myself.  i don't want a new nanny for maki.  he's already familiar with her and i can't be home with him to get used to a new nanny.  all i could think about was my poor baby!  he's so young and introducing a new person now will be hard on him...  mik and i were willing to compromise to make it work.  when we got home, we told her not to cook anymore until maki's naps become regular and i'll leave work at 5 so she can be home by 6.  i just need to talk to my mgr and make sure he's on board with me getting to work early and leaving early.  asked her if there was anything else that bothered her.  wish she had told me about her frustrations and not just quit like that (and scare the bejesus out of me)!  i feel like the nanny has the upper hand now and i don't like that feeling...  but the thought of interviewing nannies again, calling references, doing trial days, onboarding them - it's just sooooo much work. plus i can't onboard them now that i'm working and i can't stand the thought of maki having to get used to another nanny!!!!!  we spent 4 weeks with julie before i started work!  he would have withdrawals for sure.

it has been a week now and julie seems happy.  we're working on maki's feeding to be every 4 hours because everyone tells me that's the first step to having a nap schedule.  we also worked on his nap this weekend.  no sleeping on the bed with mama (makes me sad!), no falling asleep at the boob and no holding until asleep from papa.  julie said today didn't seem like a monday.  it wasn't especially hard on her and maki napped well.  she's not ready to get to work earlier and leave earlier until next month because of her kids' summer camp schedules.  i really hope she stays with us.  she's really into child development and she's very caring person.  she's very good with maki - she stimulates him physically and mentally.  UGH good nannies in new york are so in demand.  they call the freakin shots!  lots of super rich people who want only the best nannies for their kids.  ARGH!  we're not rich - time to move back to california!!!

here are maki's latest pics:

"this is where mama went to school"

"julie, i can't smile...  i miss mama and papa"

ugh maki, you are off the gymini mat

"whatcha lookin at willis?"

his favorite thing to do right now......  he won't stop until it's perfected.

loves playing on the bumbo with his caterpillar

TWINS!!!!!!!

showing me how his exersaucer toy works

sort of holding his own bottle (baba)

look at all those folds!  so cute!!!

nanny needs a better camera on her phone...

sometimes we let him hold his own bottle.....

... and this is what happens when we let him do that

mr. cool with his monkey pacifier.  hahaha

"how does this light work?"