I'm a working mum to 2 children, a boy coming to 5, a girl 19 months, and I just got "unexpectedly" pregnant again (due in mid Sep '07).
Before I conceived my first child, I registered for a Master's degree to upgrade myself with ambitions to climb the corporate ladder.
Just a few weeks into the first term of the course, I got pregnant with my son.
I had thought of putting on hold my studies but also thought since I already started to see how things go.
Fortunately, I did graduate together with the class while working, studying and having a baby. It is a feat I wouldn't dare do again.
I've been with the same company for more than 6 years now, and have many a time contemplated to move on to more challenging roles after graduating with my Masters as my current role does not require a Master's degree holder.
In my current job, projects are predictable and I am able to have control over timelines but the prospects are not great.
Yet, each time after applying for a job and going for 2nd interviews, I will secretly hope that I do not get the job as I am not sure if the new job will allow me to leave the office on time, have to frequently work late or on weekends and so on. Time with my children is already very limited.
Although the current arrangement is that my son attends kindergarten for 3 hours in the morning and I just enrolled my daughter is in full day child care at a centre within my office building, I still have the luxury of my parents help look after my children, together with a domestic helper.
But as we live in the North, and my parents in the East, I have to move my family to stay with my parents on weekdays and only go home on weekends. This is to cut down on the stress of travelling as well as to keep the family together.
As I'm pregnant again, I will have to put off ideas of changing jobs.
And with 3 children, I don't think I will have career ambitions anymore as long as the job can draw a reasonable income to pay the bills and the installments for my HDB flat, with some savings should I execute my plan to stop working when my children start primary school.
And more importantly, let me have the time to spend with my children while they are awake in the evenings and on weekends.
I'm currently enjoying the sight of my 2 children playing together as my daughter has become more independent and mobile, even if it's just them chasing each other around the house or them playing together in the bath tub.
And because the children have gotten the habit of waking at 7am on weekdays for school, sleeping late on weekends has been a thing of the past for me and my husband.
So I take this time to just sit with them while they play with their toys. On weekends, we also bathe the children ourselves.
My husband will bathe together with my son, and I bathe my daughter. We will also take them outdoors, if weather permits, like a picnic at the beach, reservoir, or swimming at SAFRA club.
It's fortunate that both my husband and I have a 5-day work week even though my husband does work from home some evenings.
On times when either of us need to work late, have to entertain guests after office hours, or travel for work, we will try to have at least one of us be around for the children.
For now, I want to spend as much one-on-one time with my 2 children before the arrival of the next baby and continue to work for as long as I can to supplement the household income so that we can have some savings when I do leave the workforce to look after my children full-time.
For me, the children will have priority over my career.
