Everyone is sleeping now – my wife, baby and nanny. But I’m up squeezing in some time to blog before I go to sleep. It’s time for another work week and I should get some rest before starting it. Having a purpose is important in ensuring you don’t dread Mondays.
If anything, my wife having our baby sharpened my focus and objective at my job. It’s time for me to step up in these 2 years and gun for my promotion and pay raise. Got to know when to go into the next gear and make things happen. And when to maintain the gear to rest and relax. Have to close the wage gap between my wife and I.
We went out for coffee and waffles with ice-cream today afternoon at a nearby cafe. We try to find some time for ourselves every weekend just to chat and catch up with each other without any distractions. It was nice and I miss just talking to my wife without having stuff happening in the background or things to do at the back of our minds.
We asked about each other’s lives, how we are feeling and dealing with the ongoing massive change in our lives (having a baby). And what’s the plan going forward as well as the upcoming transition of the secondary caregiver of the baby from the nanny to our helper/parents. Plus my wife is thinking of taking a month of unpaid leave to spend more time with the baby.
This would stretch my wife’s existing 5 months of maternity & annual leave to 6 months with the additional month of unpaid leave. Extending her time away from the office. It’s a tricky time to be absent because her bank is likely to go through another restructure in the next few months.
My wife knows this from catching up with a good friend/colleague visiting from overseas during lunch. Once again, the importance of maintaining a professional and personal network in the corporate world should not be underestimated. Make the effort because it could save your job.
Which leaves my wife in an interesting position. Would taking the additional 1 month of unpaid leave make a big difference to the outcome? It’s not like she can influence the decisions of senior management. Though she can fight for the interests of her team and herself if she’s in the office.
But my wife is weighing this up against being there for the baby when he needs her the most. It’s a difficult decision and I can already start to see the challenges that face her as a working mum. My ability to help her in this case is limited because it’s a personal decision.
My wife has to choose what’s important to her and I will support her decision. There is no right and wrong here. The only thing that matters is making sure what she chooses works out. And I’m on standby for her call to action. Otherwise, I have to keep focused on my goals as well to achieve them so we can both get what we want.
Anyway, I had a nice surprise in my letterbox this weekend when I opened it. Another baby benefit provided by the Government. A notification letter saying the CPF Medisave Grant for Newborns of S$4,000 has been credited into our baby’s CPF Medisave Account. This is going to be useful for his medical expenses.
I think the next baby benefit from the Government is the 2nd instalment of the Baby Bonus Cash Gift of S$1,500. When he turns 6 months old, which is in May 2020. Something to look forward to. Small wins should be celebrated after all to keep ourselves happy.