My Weekday Routine

Little N is turning 10 months soon.

I think that one day, I might actually forget this so I thought I should write down how my daily routine has been like since I started working.

On weekdays

• Wake up at 6-ish to her whimpers in the other room
• Feed her and then play with her until 7, when The Husband takes over for 15 mins whilst I shower
• The Husband leaves for work at 715
• Continue playing with her until about 8, when my mum comes by after her morning exercise to pick Little N up to spend the day at her place
• Do my laundry or some other housework (pick up toys, clear the diaper bin..) and then leave for work
• Eat breakfast as I navigate through the morning traffic to work
• Clear my never ending emails (what do people do before emails?), administrative stuff and some actual work if I'm lucky in the morning
• Have a meeting with my team
• Go to the nursing room at about 11am for 15 mins and then rush back for meetings
• Go out for a good lunch at about 1230pm (I insist on having a nice lunch on most days - it keeps me sane. On the days that I can't help but have to pack lunch in to work from my desk, I feel miserable. There are other days when I'd spend my lunch running some errands.. but even that helps me take some time away from work in the day, so I don't really mind)
• Start my meetings from around 2pm
• Use 15mins of the 30 mins I've set aside in my calendar to go to the nursing room again at around 3pm. Spend the other 10mins or so following up on some matters from my earlier meetings
• Continue with more meetings (over the phone)
• Finish off my last call in the office at 6pm. Try to resolve some issues or send out a last email from office and leave by around 630pm
• Pack chilled milk and drive home 
• Say hi to my parents and Little N at home.. Change and get a run down of Little N's day from my mum before she goes home
• Spend some time reading to Little N and then feed her before she sleeps for the day
• The Husband usually returns after she sleeps with dinner and we'd have dinner together before I start my calls again at 830pm
• On days where I have calls starting from 8pm, I'd have dinner after my calls end
• Most days, I'd have about 1-1.5 hrs of meetings in the evenings
• Take a shower if I didn't have time to do so before my meeting starts 
• There are some evenings where Little N will wake between 9pm to 12 midnight. If she wakes, carry or feed her so she goes back to la-la land
• Spend some me-time surfing the internet, reading or just lazing around before going to bed
• Wake up around 1 to 2 times in the night.. bad nights I'd wake up to 3 times..
• On good days, she won't wake and I'd get at least 6 hours of continuous sleep. The frequency of good days though over the last 2 months is about 4 nights over the entire 2 months.

I am very impressed by mothers who can cook, bake and still maintain their hobbies... or even serve in church.

My plants are dying, I have not cooked for the longest time (not for adults), my house is messy and my laundry is piling up all the time.

I do wish I have more energy to do other stuff.. I suppose you just have to make yourself do it.. no matter how tired you are.. to break out of the normal routine.

To be continued..

Taiwan in October

We are going Taiwan in October!

I'm excited to be going on a holiday. Our last vacation was more than a year ago - Switzerland last May.

And I really like the food in Taiwan so I'm glad we are going there.

I'm worried at the same time though, because we'd be going there with Little N.

She'd be slightly over 1 year old by then..

What if she doesn't take well to the flight?

What if she can't sleep in a hotel?

And if the travel tires her out too much and cause her to be cranky all day..

Oh dear. Our trip is 10 days - will I end up wanted to fly back on Day 3?

So I have been asking around for travel tips from friends and reading up on some tips from mums online.

Here are a few I find particularly useful:

Feed during take-off and landing - Babies don't know how to pop their ears, so it's helpful to feed them - milk or water when the plane takes off + just as the plane begins to descend, to help ease the ear pressure.

Sit apart on the plane with your spouse - so if you switch the baby between the 2 of you, you each get some time off in between and are not on co-baby duty throughout the whole flight.

Ask for a baby cot at the hotel - so that you don't share the bed with your baby during the vacation and then end up having to do that when you return. Particularly if you don't sleep on the same bed at home. If you can't get a baby cot, invest in a travel cot.

Consider renting an apartment - it'd give you more space and you can have a meal in the dining room or watch TV in the living room whilst the baby is sleeping.

Do you have other tips for travelling with a baby/ young toddler to share?

 Passport photo shots of Little N - I love the photo on the bottom left! Hahah..