Kim the Nanny

Now I'm lying on a clean sheet on the bed with the fan and the aircon. The bed seems minimalistically empty. Bernard's in his cot. It's funny; he seems to like it more than he did the moses basket: he gives a sort of smile when he's lowered into it that he never did with the moses basket. I like the cot too: it's got a custom-made mattress and a soft yellow fitted sheet like the ones we used to have on our beds as children.

Nicholas is away in Laos. I'm a single mother for the week. But the mission of finding a nanny has kept me busy; the first two were hopeless: buck-toothed Rose was rather lacking in - well, anything, really - and the second was a real strict Madame with tight lips and a hatred for the male species. Yesterday I interviewed the third candidate, Kim, who is younger, much more intelligent and speaks English very well. I felt sheepish when she started speaking fluent English at the end of the interview - I'd just assumed she wouldn't because her Vietnamese accent is rather countryside-ish. She's young so not very maternal, but I think I need someone I don't feel shy about ordering around, and older women have a higher status in the Confucian order and therefore can't be told what to do.

The last few days Bernard has been colicky late into the night but today and yesterday, touch wood, he's been positively happy and relaxed. Today he was content just to sit and I didn't worry about putting him down in his chair or on the bed while I did the chores. I also spent a long time just cuddling, playing, wiggling his arms, smiling and so on. I'm going to have to appreciate every minute of this short maternity leave because life's gonna get a lot more complicated when I start work again.