i-Kare Confinement Agency (Bliss) - NOT recommended!

I am totally not impressed with this confinement agency.

For my first child, I used a freelance confinement nanny who was recommended by a friend. I wasn't very comfortable with her, but looking back, I think it was because I was a first-time mummy and preferred to do everything myself. Probably there was nothing wrong with the nanny la, given that my friend had used her for all her three children!

For my second child, I decided to try out i-Kare. Can't remember why I chose them, probably just a random choice based on online reviews. The nanny who was allocated to me was ok la. I felt that she was a bit lazy... my hubby and mother-in-law didn't like her very much either... But I felt she really did care for the baby and she liked children, so ok la.

Then another mummy who engaged i-Kare had some problems with them. Can't remember the details, but it was something like the nanny came late and the agency did not compensate or even apologise or something like that.

Now that I am having my third child soon, I decided to use back the same agency and the same nanny. Only because I would rather go for someone familiar - she might not be very good but at least I know she is not terrible or too jia lat. Especially now that I am a seasoned mummy (ahem), I think I will be more hands-off and sui bian. And of course, more assertive and clearer about what I expect, so I shall have no qualms informing the nanny what/how to do.

But it has not been a very pleasant experience thus far. I contacted the liaison person May when I was about 17 weeks pregnant. She said she would contact me when I was 20 weeks. But by 21 weeks, there was no news from her. I texted her and there was a lot of ding ding dong dong till today, she finally came to my place for me to sign the contract - at 25 weeks. Being a very time-conscious person, I did not like it when she failed to confirm our appointments and I had to chase after her.

Then, the best part. I told her at our very first contact that I wanted the same nanny and she said ok. When I contacted her again at 21 weeks, I asked her whether she had remembered to reserve the same nanny for me and she said yes. But when she finally turned up today, she told me this nanny might not be able to make it..!! What the..?! Of course I never expected the nanny to be always free and waiting for me la, but this May had promised me twice!

I am so not looking forward to my confinement now. I am confident that I can cope pretty well, as I plan to take care of the two older boys myself anyway, and the baby will probably be spending a lot of time with me since I will be exclusively breastfeeding, and I think any confinement nanny should be able to cook my meals and bathe the baby. But I dread having to interact with the liaison person and potentially have unpleasant encounters if I do need to replace the nanny. Blah.