One of the best decisions we made prior to the birth of our twin girls was hiring Aigoul Bollweg, whom we call Gulya, as our night nurse. In the interview, Gulya appeared knowledgeable, competent, with an unassuming, gentle, and peaceful aura about her. With the chaos and confusion that comes with a baby (or two in our case), we wanted someone knowledgeable and capable yet also gentle and caring. We felt Gulya was an excellent fit. Gulya worked with us from early February to early May of 2015. And indeed, she turned out to be an exceptionally competent, capable, and loving caretaker to our twin girls. She was also like family to myself and my husband, as she guided and educated us during the first three challenging months with our girls.
Prior to the birth, Gulya came to visit us to check out our nursery space and gave us extremely helpful advice about what things to buy (and not buy), saving us time from doing extensive research, hassle from not having all the necessities on hand, and money from buying unnecessary things. On the first day returning from the hospital, my husband and I felt rather overwhelmed, suddenly home with two babies and myself physically incapacitated. We couldn't have been more relieved when Gulya arrived a few hours later and took over complete care in the evenings and gave reassuring answers to all baby related questions. And, as first time parents, we had many.
Gulya is a "baby whisperer." Our home is small and loud noise travels to all rooms. Virtually every evening she was with us was a quiet and peaceful one, allowing us much needed sleep. The girls were clearly happy in her care and responded, even at a young age, to her beautiful voice and loving touches. We also woke up to clean laundry for the girls, a neat nursery, and all baby bottles and supplies cleaned and ready for our day. Gulya even did any dishes that were left in the sink!
Gulya is also a born educator and part of her mission is to educate parents. She set up a system of recording feedings and routines for what to do with the girls day and night which we continue to this day. She gave us a lot of invaluable advice. To this day, when I have some baby related question, I still go to Gulya. As would be expected, we were extremely worried when the time came close for Gulya to leave us. Gulya assured us we would be fine and that the babies would be sleep trained by then. And indeed, as promised, our girls, who sleep in the same room, were sleep trained by the end of 3 months—with no crying throughout the process. They were able to sleep one 4 hour stretch from 8:30pm-12:30am. After the midnight dream feed, they would sleep another 6-7 hours straight.
Integrating into a household with two newborns is not an easy job. Gulya made it look easy. In addition to her professionalism and exceptionally high standards as a caretaker, Gulya is a warm, beautiful, and caring personality. We continue to miss her.
By the time Gulya left, I had recovered more physically, but also had learned so much from her about how to take care of my girls. I feel like a competent mother and I can truly say that Gulya enabled me to become the mother I want to be. My husband and I are ever grateful for Gulya's help and care and recommend her absolutely.
Cheng Family (Eileen J. Cheng) — Part 1/2