GOING BACK TO WORK
I've been going thru a roller coaster of emotions for the past few days.
This job offer is good because it's a "step down" in position which means there's no management responsibilities and there's a boss above me to shield the "bullets" instead of me getting hit by bullets all the time at my previous job. And the pay is higher also. So there lies the dilemma. If it's not a good offer, i would have be so stressed over it.
There were many times where i felt that i should just go earn the money. Having the extra money is always good. And after that, the guilt of leaving Joshua in childcare will start to consume me. Plus when i ask him if he wants mommy to go to work, he'll say no. And each time i play with both kids at home, i keep thinking that i wont have this luxury again. Then i start having 2nd thoughts. And of course, there's the worry of how Joshua will adjust to childcare and fear that he will fall sick etc. Then i'll think i'll forget about the money, life still goes on. Just shop lesser lor.
It was really agonising. I'm supposed to give a reply tmrw morning. Most probably i will take it unless i wake up tmrw morning feeling guilty all over again.
But i know that if i don't take up this offer, I will be a SAHM permanently liao.
Mango,
Wah, what type of work are u doing? So shiok!
Emma will stay home with the maid while Joshua will go to half-day childcare and i will get my MIL and parents to take turns to come in the afternoons to help out.
shirley,
Congrats once again
Regarding playgroup in SK. The nearest one to your home would be the one at the community centre. They accept kids from 20 mths onwards. It's a 1.5hr daily playgroup. The curriculum is nothing fantastic but i put Joshua there mainly for the purpose of socialising and learning to be independent. Academic-wise i can teach him myself. Some of the childcare centres in SK offer those flexi-care program which is about 3 hrs a day so u can also consider those. Alternatively if u have a bigger budget, you can try Pat's Schoolhouse near Kovan. There's a daily playgroup and a weekly playgroup on weekends also. I went for a trial for the weekend playgroup, not too bad but it's too far for us and it's quite pricey which i feel that i would rather save the money and use it on other enrichment classes instead.
crystallized,
I'm very proud to say that i've only bought 1 stroller so far, even with 2 kids. Cos both hardly want to sit in it! haha!
Have u intro FM to R yet? I only pump 2x daily and my ss has dipped tremendously. I'm gg to wean Emma off my boobs at night soon but i think it's going to be difficult. These days, instead of latching her to sleep at night, I'll give her a bottle. But the problem is that when she finishes her milk in the bottle, she starts looking for my boobs to latch on. And she already rejected the pacifier ever since her teeth appeared. Looks like it's gonna be more difficult to wean her than Joshua.
BEST TIMING FOR #2
Like i mentioned before, there's no best time for #2. But somehow i'm glad that the age gap between Joshua and Emma is quite close. I was pregnant with emma when Joshua was 13 mths, so there's a 20 mth gap.
No doubt, this is the most difficult period now. If you think it's tiring now looking after 1 child, it's double the work when u have two. And worse still, with one child, at least there are 2 persons (husband and wife) looking after so it's 50% each. But with 2 kids, each person has to take one, so it's 100% of the effort. And i have not had a good night sleep for 2.5 yrs liao.
Joshua at 2.5 yrs old now, is easier to manage when we go out. I can bring him out on my own to take mrt and bus with no problem. Don't need to carry all the barang barang. In fact, he carries his water bottle, wet wipes and extra shirt in his own little backpack while I can carry my own small bag. No need to bring milk or porridge cos he can eat outside food. Don't need to worry about nap time cos they sleep lesser now. So if i don't have a 2nd one now, I think the inertia to try for one will be very high. The thought of starting all over with a newborn is scary.
My point is that there's no good time lah. Just need to brace yourself up for the challenge and enjoy the process. Now i'm waiting for Emma to quickly grow up so that it's less of a logistic nightmare when we go out. haha!
