Liwen worked with us for almost 11 weeks. During that time, she took excellent care of our baby and me. As a first time mom, I was nervous about bringing home a newborn, but as soon as she arrived at our house, I felt at ease that we were in great hands.
Experience: she has a ton of experience and knowledge of taking care of a newborn and a new mother. Our baby had many skin issues and she was able to recognize them early and recommend products that that may help. She was patient in talking through different solutions and very respectful of methods I was comfortable or not comfortable in trying. She got our baby on a great feeding and sleeping schedule -- by the time she left, our baby was able to sleep 9-10 hours at night with 1 night feed. In terms of caring for the mother, she made traditonal chinese medicine remedies that helped me heal. She was knowledgable about lactation and breastfeeding and helped me establish a good milk supply and resolve clogged ducts with herbs, broths, and massages. She also knew how to use all the various pumps, which I didn't know, and set them all up for me.
Gentle and sweet with the baby: she was always gentle and very sweet and loving towards the baby. She would sing nursery rhymes, recite poems, and talk to the baby all the time. She played with the baby to encourage growth and development -- looking at black/white cards, tummy time, kicking, gentle exercises etc. Our baby loved her! She would recognize Liwen's voice and smile or calm down if she was being fussy.
Thoughtfulness and anticipates needs: she is thoughtful and would anticipate my needs. For example, in the beginning when the baby hadn't estalished a feeding schedule yet, it was often tricky to squeeze meals in during feedings. She would recognize the baby's hunger cues and proactively play with the baby or give them a bath, so I have time to eat my meal and have energy to feed the baby.
Flexibility and willingness to try new things: I was very appreciative of her flexbility to try new methods. She was always open to experimenting to see if something will work and trial/error a new approach to adapt to our family's needs. For example, she helped us test whether a "dream feed" would work with our baby. For a couple of weeks, she helped us tweak the feeding and sleeping schedule until we found an optimal one for our baby and family.
Cooking: her cooking is delicious! I knew I wanted someone from Guangdong because of their expertise in bone broths. Her bone broths were delicious and healing. Each day would be a new type of broth (if you hire her, please ask her to make the chicken/coconut broth!). She continously adapted her cooking to my husband and I's taste. She was open in trying new recipes I showed her, which she learned super fast.
I feel grateful to have had Liwen during my confinement period and the newborn stage. She helped me heal and learn so much as a new mother.