Jacqueline Lui
lead communications specialist, mother of two
"What is most rewarding about being a mum?
Hearing my kids laugh, and having conversations with them – priceless."
Describe a day in your life, as a mum to Luke and Diana.
It's...a lot. I can't even tell you when my day starts and ends because it's a continuous cycle (no thanks to a baby who wouldn't sleep through the night!). Mornings are usually a rush, trying to get both kids to school and us to the office, on time. Then, the day usually flies by with meetings, emails and work. On WFH days, I try to prepare dinner for my son at about 4 to 5pm. My daughter arrives home at about 6pm. It's now time to bathe her, have dinner as a family and put the baby to bed. Then I'll spend time with Diana reading, watching her favourite shows or having a quick night snack before she goes to to sleep. I'll then wash up and finish any remaining work for the day before I finally get to lie down. And well.. that's not long before the baby wakes for milk, again.
How do you juggle between caring for a newborn (Luke), a young child (Diana), and work?
You mean you haven't heard of the professional course that all women are required to take for juggling? Haha I kid. I obviously am no superwoman. On weekdays, I entrust my kids with their loving teachers and on weekends, I lean on help that family members offer so that my husband and I can still enjoy some time together. At work, I'm extremely fortunate to have very understanding managers and colleagues. In addition, our company's culture also highly encourages that meetings are scheduled between 10am to 6pm – nothing before or after for team members might have other commitments outside of work – which really helps!
How has your experience breastfeeding been?
Honestly, it's been a much smoother process this second time round – I'm now a well-oiled machine. For breastfeeding, the challenge might surface when one returns to work and finds it hard to take time to pump, or lack a conducive space to do so. Lucky for me at Love, Bonito, we have a dedicated nursing room that is equipped with fridges to keep the expressed milk cold too. It's the simple yet thoughtful set-up like this that really help mums continue to provide for their babies even when we are juggling multiple hats all at once. When I WFH, I'm able to pump while in meetings or drafting documents. Also, if the aim is to build or maintain yield, the key is to stay happy, eat healthy, drink enough water (Did you know that breastmilk is more than 80% water?) and pump regularly.
Any advice for our #LBCommunity about motherhood?
Enjoy the process, through and through. The good, the bad and the ugly. When I first became a mum, people would tell me that "the days are long, but the years are short" and it really is. At first, I couldn't see past the sleepless nights, but in the blink of an eye, my daughter is aleady turning 5 and can hold a decent conversation. I'm not sure how many more years I have before they start thinking that Mummy is too lame to hang out with so I'm definitely treasuring their "littleness" while I can.
