When I found out that I was pregnant at 6 weeks, the first thing that came to my mind was 'Okay, who's gonna take care of this kid when I'm away at work?' Yeap, even as early as 6 weeks, this question came to my mind. I hate last minute planning because I prefer a Plan A that comes with Plan B and Plan C. Call me psycho but that's how I am. Planning revolves around me.

Getting a REALLY GOOD child care center today are hard, let alone a nanny itself. Getting an old aunty to take care of an infant, you worry that they might be too old to attend to your child (although they have more experience in handling a baby). If you find the younger ones with a 2 year old kid to take of your baby, your child might not get the attention needed. Taking care of an infant requires a lot of your time because feeding time can be very often compare to a child who is on solid food.

Secondly, not everyone has the patience to take care of a baby. Even if you send to a professional child care center, an employee will need to attend to at least 3 babies per individual. It might sound reasonable. But the cost of a child care center is also not cheap. You want a good one, then you need to forget about the monthly allowance you kept to buy the latest Chanel handbag. I'm talking about the medium income wage earner here.

Thirdly, when the kid is big enough to feed himself, sit, walk all by himself, it gives you some slight sense of relieve because you know that they know when they're hungry or when they're full. Slightly independent stage. Unlike babies, they don't know how to hold their own milk bottle which sometimes can cause choke and death. Nanny or caretaker can't watch them 24/7 can they?


So I spoke to my mum on this and she suggested that she'll take care of the baby until he's like 1 year old, then we'll send to a nursery where the cost is slightly cheaper compare to the cost of an infant. They varies according to age. Plus I wanted to send my kid to a good nursery where I know he will not just sleep and eat. At least, there are some activities for his motor skills, learning other languages, learning about basic courtesy or perhaps a swimming class would be great. I'm a kiasu mother-to-be, yes, I am.

I've never really agree to send my kid to their grand parents as we know they can be spoil in certain ways but when I access the pros and the cons of sending my kid to a child care center at a very young age, it's better for the baby to be at stage where he can be slightly independent. Plus, I've witness how my parents took care of my sister, I know that my kid can be discipline from young. I want my kid to have a good foundation like sleeping time, potty trained, disciplined eating time, someone to read bedtime stories, someone to teach basic courtesy. A more systematic kind of discipline.

With both husband and wife working and with the ever demanding increase in cost of living, we can no longer rely on single income. The basic needs of a household can only be fulfilled with both spouse working. You no longer have the privilege to let your spouse be the only sole bread winner.

So sometimes, it's okay to get help from your parents or family members, if they don't mind. Discuss and get their consent before agreeing to anything.At least you know your kid is in a good hands.