Working Mum - Back to Work

Went back to work a week ago. The idea of going back to work initially stress the hell out of me. Thought of taking another month off. Or two. But there will always be a first-day-back-to-work-blue. Or red. Or black. Whatever.

Very leisure the two of them!

Unless I strike the jackpot. Overnight millionaire. Then no need to ever go back go work. But I'll be so bored at home, since I'd have a team of maids, personal chef, nanny, Balinese masseur, chauffeur, body guards and gunmen. Haha. Everyone will know me and hate me, I assume. 

"Doctor also buy lottery". 

"Doctor also want to fight a bowl of rice with us". Figure of speech. 

Our society presumed that all doctors are well-off. True or false? 

False la! Not all doctors. 

Anyways, digressing... Becoming millionaire also comes with its own set of problems. Living in fear with robbers, kidnappers and blackmailers constantly threatening your peace of mind. Therefore the gunmen are in my list. Haha. Maybe need to have snipers scattered on the rooftop also. With watchtower. Haha. 

If only these professionals can make Mainland Aunties stay away from my super mega rich husband (FYI jackpot was RM41millions the last time Le Boss told us). Those Aunties even more pro.

The thick-faced bulletproof ladies women-acting-like-twenties-wearing-like-eighteen-ugh! are notorious social leech. They don't mind balding fat-in-the-middle men (don't take this personally Dear Hubby haha), they will cling on tight and suck your money dry and obviously break your family up. 

Growing up, I've seen and heard the same old stories umpteenth times happening to my neighbours. 

Target: Old rich men. Victims: Defenceless timid wives. Results: Embarrassed children. 

That's why I better go back and work and earn a decent living. Being able to support myself financially makes me a stronger independent woman. Self-fulfilled. I can stand strong and confident. Walk also got wind (please translate into Hokkien). I'm sure many of you working mothers will nod and agree with me right. 

So, if Dear Hubby so stupidly succumb to the tricks and black magic of those tramps, cry also no use right. Cry until eyes drop out also no point right. 

Life goes on. Mine anyways. And Baby Maya's. I can provide for both of us. I can protect her. 

Though I trust Dear Hubby will never in a thousand year do that to us or betray our family and our vows, but... in case anything happen to him (Choy Choy Choy touchwood!), Baby Maya still has me. I can still bring the bread home for her. Or rice. Or chocolate. Or cupcakes. Whatever she wants. 

Oh my God. What am I blabbering about. 

All I want to point out is that I'm just freaking lazy to go back to work. Not that I don't ever want to work. Just the idea of going back. The first day is always the hardest. 

You know, when you have like, say two weeks, or maximum a month leave. You stay at home, enjoy the freedom of not having to set the alarm clock, the pure bliss of staying in after nine (though most time I'll suffer from headache if I go past ten. Yeah yeah aging whatever), hang out at cafe, window shopping, chitchat and the joy of nothingness. And I realise, that lasts only for awhile. My limit - one month. 

Then I'd be dying to do something, something else. Something useful. 

Other than nothing. You know?

Note: this theory applies to vacation holiday as well which I can stand travelling for two to three weeks only. Then I would want to go home. My wallet and bank account went back home even earlier. Haha.

But.... After three months, that desire and feeling fade away. Haha. Staying at home might not be adventurous or exciting or self-fulfilling as at work, but I love being with my baby girl. Super love the still-attached feeling. I feel very satisfied too if I managed to feed her, play with her and get her to sleep AND still had time to go online-snooping AFTER I had showered and expressed breast milk. Then, I did the household chores and can even ironed Dear Hubby's clothes. And cooked sometimes. And sat and watched Baby Maya sleep. Super good juggler. Damn domestic. *pat myself on shoulder 

So...yeah... I'd miss all the happy sweet moments spent with Baby Maya when I start working. Her sudden chuckling at sleep. Her cheeky smile that melts my heart. Her mischievous kickings whenever she is animated. Her frantic wailings whenever she is bothered. I'll even miss her naughty little fussy time in the evenings. And how her eyes light up when something excites her. How her legs go up whenever I change her diapers. How she enjoys her bath time now. How she adores the singing mobile we bought for her. The way her eyes twinkle and follow the characters. The way she sucks her pacifier. The way she holds her head up when I'm standing above her. The way she squeals happily when I blow on her tummy. Oh my. I'm pretty depressed now.

Gleeful Cheeky!

Kick kick kick early in the morning. Manja face... :) 

Mummy, Tiger bigger than me!

Scratch that. Not lazy. Melancholic. Argh. 

Hence. 

Before marching off to work, there are few things to settle. 

This is my WorkingMum-BackToWork checklist and I hope it can help you mothers out there, who are still relishing in maternity leave, later on.

1) Start expressing your breast milk (EBM) two weeks prior to starting work. I actually started one month prior. Freaking worry my babygirl no milk to drink. Haha. And keep them in the freezer - iced milk, anyone? They can last for three good months (according to guideline) - you don't always open and close the freezer door la. 

So, a good breast pump is crucial as you are required to start a relationship with it soon.

I used to use a single electric pump Phillip Avent because I didn't want to buy such an expensive pump like Medela (bloody RM1600++ okay!) in case I couldn't produce much breast milk - you know, due to stress or postpartum depression from unflattering body image or lack of breast feeding skill. 

No proper latching --> no feeding. No demand --> no supply. 

Phillip Avent was a good pump, served my need well in my first two months but soon, I want a double one. 

First of all, single pump is messy as in when you pump one side, the other leaked. Wtf. And time consuming. As I established my supply, I invested in Medela Freestyle pump. Really excellent effective pumping and I like that I've cut down my duration of pumping session to half. Very worth buying. 

My Medela

Even so, I saved the frozen milk merely as insurance. In case I fall sick or something like that. Baby Maya still gets "fresh" milk (feels like a cow now) that I expressed the day before and we still breastfeed at night time. Only the extra ones I'll freeze. I usually bring her "breakfast, lunch and teatime" in a cute pink lunch bag with ice packs. Haha.

Baby Maya's breakfast and lunch and teatime

A piece of advice (from Le Dasao): try to feed your baby with the thawed EBM at least once, see if your little one likes it. If she doesn't even want to drink it, no point you store a freezer full of iced EBM. If that happens, then you will have to make sure you pump enough the day before for her to bring to nursery or nanny. 

Le Dasao has stock up so much that Little Sleeping Beauty has the luxury of having milk bath spa. Say hello to silky smooth skin! I do not have that much to spare. Wtf. Haha. 

2) Find a good reliable trustworthy honest nanny. Doesn't matter how much or how far, as long as she takes good care of your baby right? I honestly think that this is NOT a case to be stingy. You cannot afford to skimp this budget. Your baby will be in the care of this person for most of the day (8am - 5pm; if heavy traffic: 7.30am - 5.30 or 6pm), so ascertain that you are leaving your sweetheart in good hands. 

Seeing so many abuse cases by maids and teacher and whoever, my heart just cringe. I can only pray hard everyday that TheNanny is not psycho. 

I will freaking kill anyone who lay her hands on Baby Maya. 

Thank goodness we managed to find a sympathetic kind nanny. TheNanny is a very friendly person. And she sayang Baby Maya so much. Always asking me to bring her earlier (okay maybe we were late in several occasions). And Baby Maya has her own cot there. All her stuff is neatly arranged in a corner. TheNanny's house is a little dilapidated but as long as it is clean and orderly, we are fine. TheNanny seems hygienic so I'm glad. She washes Baby Maya's clothes and bottles for me too. And she offers to help cut Baby Maya's nails (I have phobia. Don't ask). So lucky me. 

Also remember to send your baby to the Nanny's a few days earlier. To help baby adapt to new environment as well as the nanny to get to know your baby's pattern and routine. As usual, I do things very Kia Su. We had our trial weeks before I came back to work. Haha. 

The night before I couldn't sleep. Worried that she will cry and cry and TheNanny couldn't manage to comfort Baby Maya. Then the day came. And we left her there. My heart JUST broke and tears welled up in my eyes. Horrible detached feeling. I rather endure a knife in my thigh than this pain. Really. The first few hours was unsettling. I was very perturbed and keep wanting to call TheNanny and ask about my baby. Seeing me so flustered, so Dear Hubby did. I felt only slightly better after she assured me that all was well. Half day came and we went there and saw Baby Maya lying smiling to us from the cot. She accustomed well. Good girl. You can't believe how relieved I was!

You can't be feeling this crazy on your first day back to work. So, help yourself and your  baby and your nanny learn and cope. 

3) Go frenzy shopping for new work clothes. Why? You still have your old ones? Let me tell you why. Many reasonable reasons to do so. 

Chances are some, if not, most of your old work wear no longer fit your post delivery figure. True story. 

Three main areas - your boobs, your tummy and your hips. After the initial painful engorgement resolves, I'm still a whooping size bigger. Although I have OFF-loaded 15kg (kudos me, I know!) in just three months, my abdomen remains a flabby flap. Not so firm, not so taut. A lot of abs exercise needed. And hips. Hips don't lie. With proper coverage and flair here and frills there, I know I have successfully camouflaged it. Haha. Everyone say I'm back to my old body. *gleaming 

This new top is supposed to say CatalogueMum. Baby Maya agrees with her 'peace' sign! LOL.

And OLD workwear is OLD. Donate or sell them and get yourself a new ones. After nine months in unattractive maternity clothes, and feeling unattractive, it's time for a revamp! Plus, you are holding a new role - mummy. You should dress the part, don't you think? Haha. SuperMum, PowerMum, HotMum, SexyMum, CorporateMum, CatalogueMum, ModelMum, PTAMum, whoever you want to be. 

Besides you deserve a shopping spree after all that you have done. No reason needed. Wtf. Just go crazy. 

Oh yes, get some toys for your little one too. By now, she should be quite interactive. She can respond to voices and sounds and songs and moving objects. Super delightful to play with! So geram! So try to stimulate her as much as you can by talking or singing or dancing with her. Baby Maya is the only one in this whole wide world who appreciate my awful singing. Haha. 

Bright colours captivate her attention.

4) Packing. Other than your workbag, pack for your baby to bring to Nanny's and pack your own pump bag. I usually pack her clothes for the whole week. The wet tissues, diapers, handkerchiefs, towels, blankie and other necessities are, of course, nicely folded and arranged in the bag as well. Don't forget her lunch bag! And as for my pump bag, Medela Freestyle comes with a bag of its own. It's very convenient and I won't run the chance of misplacing my pump (if I change my bag every other day). 

By now, you should have a rough idea of where you want to express and pump at work. It should be somewhere private la obviously. Wtf. And quiet. In order to avoid awkward situations and in case you have difficulty in letting-down. I have a sink in the clinic where I can wash my pump easily and Medela comes with its own ice cubicle (very thoughtful right) so I don't need a fridge.

You can keep your pump in the fridge, if your office has one, for the next use if you are lazy to wash all the parts. Just dab dry the pump. This piece of information also comes from Le Dasao. I tell you, she is really resourceful and knowledgable in this - breast milk, breast feeding stuff. Unless your male colleague decided to play with it. Which will be lame. Or accidentally drinks the milk you keep there. Which will be tragic. But funny. Tragic for him, you and your baby, funny for everyone else.

5) Lastly, spend every minute with your baby. Not like you won't play with her again. Choy! But your bonding time will shorter - only in the evenings from then onwards. So, cherish!

Daddy's little sweetheart

And remember to set your alarm clock, ladies! No more snoozings!

Oh yes. Any of you who like to have my old Phillip Avent single pump, let me know. I have sterilised it already. 

Work? What work? My job is to sleep, feed and poop!

Happy working, Mummies!

.