The working WoMOM's support group

I am a working woman, a wife and a mom to an almost 2-year-old girl. Come October, I will be a mom to 2 kids as I am due to give birth that month.

Being a working mother requires not only superhuman (ala Wonder Woman) abilities, but a strong resolve to make everything work according to how you want to have everything done.

These past few months have been especially hectic. I am not only preparing for the coming of another baby; I am also launching new work projects. I am literally giving birth to a lot of babies.

I have long accepted stress as a part of my life and as if my work and mommy duties are not enough, my husband and I just learned that I have gall stones.

A lot of people have been asking how I cope. My reply is: always BREATHE!

My first pregnancy helped me learn to control and focus on things at hand. I took pregnancy yoga that prepared me for the daunting task of giving birth to a life. The yoga exercises helped immensely. So every time I am in a tough fix, I always tell myself to breathe!

Having a strong support group is also vital. A working womom should always have one. My life will be in total disarray and so will my sanity if I don’t have such.

Being a working mom is really hard especially since my work is not the usual 9 to 5 job.

I work for an online gaming company. Some people may think I have one of the coolest jobs as we operate the top online MMORPGs and casual games in the country.

Being in the online game industry, the pace is super fast! This ensures that not a day in the office wouldn’t be action-packed and exciting.

Who composes the support group of a working mom?

• Husband
• Yaya
• My Mom
• Driver
• Strong Team at work

My husband is my rock. He has been and will always be a sounding board to my ideas and a listening ear to all my gripes. He resolves my cramps and gives me comfort whenever there are problems along the way.

Having the opportunity to work also required that I hire somebody to watch over my precious baby while I’m in the office. The yaya is a very special person for a working mom. Not only do I leave my daughter with her, I trust that she will always champion her needs while I am away. Distrust is never an option. I will never leave my baby with somebody I don’t trust.

When my daughter Pimpy was still very young, I had a fair share of yaya changes. My mom said that it is quite normal as I am a working mom, thus guidance and training were not given to the yaya from the start, only high expectations. Therefore during periods of search, I was left with no yaya.

This meant that I badly needed my mom to help me watch over Pimpy. This also meant that I had to go to Marikina from Quezon City to bring my daughter to her place before going to work in Makati. This also meant that I, after work in Makati, have to go back to Marikina to pick up my daughter and go home to Quezon City. Those who would hear about this route would roll their eyes in surprise. This looks like… well, a tour of Metro Manila! For some weeks, this was my daily routine. Imagine the cost for the gas and other miscellaneous.

Another person in a working womom’s support group would be a trusty driver. My trusty driver has been with me for quite some time, ensuring that I get to work and go home to Pimpy and my husband safely.

My Mom is the best support from the team. I don’t think I can live without her. She has been my advisor and all-time ally as she completely understands every situation I am in. She used to be a working mom as well, so she knows what I am going through. She has the extra hands to help me especially during crunch time.

On the work front, a strong team is a requirement. I am really blessed to be working with a handful of very talented and dedicated group who works with me to achieve our goals. The team I am working with has been very solid (having gone through a lot). Together, we have combined decades of experience in gaming, marketing, product management, sales and operations. I am actually more confident to go into ML (maternity leave) as I know they will be able to take care of things when I am out.

The daily grind of a working mom is like clockwork where everything should be well thought of and implemented well (same as when launching and implementing projects). Though there may be bumps along the road, there should always we room for adjustments. Mastery in adapting and adjusting should be primal in every working mom.

Through all the stress, hardships and never-ending challenges, the little success, my daughter’s smile and the comfort that everything will turn out as planned or will at least be okay make my life as a working mom worth it.