Started work since 21 Jan

I've started work for a week plus now. Thanks God Clement has been cooperative and wakes up around 6am every morning. With the daily routine below, YS and I are able to leave our house at 8am and reach office by 8.30am. We've made a point to reach office early, and leave office latest 6.15pm (without short-changing our earthly employer) so that we are able to reach home play with Clement before he goes to bed and sleep for hours.

Morning routine:
1. Clement drink milk (1st half)
2. Clement on potty for big business
3. mum go take bath while daddy play with Clement
4. mum prepare baby bath tub, warm water, soap, towel...
5. dad bathe Clement then dress up Clement while mum groom herself
6. mum play with Clement and ends the session with milk (2nd half)
7. dad brings Clement downstairs to handover to mother-in-law. Usually Clement is sleeping by then
8. mum continue expressing milk since Clement may not have emptied them. Dad will have his breakfast and prepare breakfast for mum
9. Mum packs breastpump and accessories, then have breakfast while dad sterilizes the used accessories which mum needs to bring to office.
10. Mum will continue her breakfast (usually 2 slices of bread) in the car and daddy drive the car

Sounds like daddy is doing many things. Am really blessed with a lovely husband. Most of my time is on feeding and pumping... Sometimes I do feel that I want to spend more time with Clement, hug hug Clement more, but for time efficiency wise, the above routines looks compacted already. Probably some sacrifices to be made while I'm still blessed with breastmilk, the best food for baby. Thus my best bonding time will be his feeding time, though he's mostly half awake and half asleep during that session.

In office, mum is always looking at the clock. 11am and 3pm is the time for mum to report to her 2nd full time job. Mum is blessed with a very efficient pump (Medela Pump-In-Style), loaned from a close relative. This pump saves her much time and mum is really happy about it. As the pump is in a backpack form, it's pretty easy to have outsiders thinking that mum only arrive work at 11+am or leaving office around 3+pm... Haih... Should I put a big tag telling that "I'm not going home" or "I'm in office since 8+am"... haha... some mothers did tell me that the breatfeeding room is safe enough to keep your belongings there so that you dont have to carry to and fro. Well, majority of them are using manual pumps, but the pump I'm using is pretty pricee, and it's not mine... Better take good care of it. Occasionally there are meetings that clashes with mummy's 2nd job. So need to make adjustments here and there. Really pray hard that I'll not have strings of continuous meetings, and also will have understanding colleagues and bosses. Haha. After all I'm just sacrificing my teabreak time for this 2nd full time job in office. Mummy almost forget to go collect her breastmilk from the room yesterday. (The place will be locked at 6pm).

After arrive home, dad and mum has very little bonding time with Clement as he usually is awake since 5.40pm and his awake time is pretty limited. When reach home, depending on what time, and also depending on the awakeness of Clement, the routine below is done flexibly (not in sequence):

1. mum and dad to eat dinner if Clement is not showing crankiness
2. mum will bathe Clement since in the morning dad does it
3. mum will feed Clement and express out the remaining
4. mum/dad will put Clement to bed
5. mum/dad will take turn to eat dinner we did not have it earlier while the other party stays upstairs with the baby

Weekends are very precious, and I understand why many new working parents say that. Am glad this coming weekend is a long weekend (with Monday as replacement holiday for Thaipusam). Really looking forward :)