Celebrating pooping and screening future boyfriends: First-time mum Jayley Woo on motherhood

This weekend (May 14), local actress Jayley Woo, 31, would be celebrating her first Mother’s Day as a mum. She and her non-celeb husband, Bryan Tan, welcomed their daughter, Jan, in well, January this year. 

Jayley appeared on the latest episode of #JustSwipeLah, where she spoke to host Juin Teh about motherhood and her plans for the future. 

PS: Baby Jan appears in this episode, too! You'll want to scroll down for a cute video of Little Fried Egg ("Jan Tan" sounds like fried egg in Mandarin). 

When Juin asked if she enjoyed taking care of her baby or having time to herself more, Jayley said she enjoyed both aspects of motherhood. “Yesterday, I spent five hours out of the house, having my me-time. I quite enjoy it.” 

While her parents take care of Jan when Jayley's out, her husband is in charge of “earning milk powder money” and “playing with [Jan]”. He also helps with changing Jan’s diapers and feeding her.

Jayley went on to recall an interesting scenario that happens whenever Jan does a Number Two.

“Once she’s done pooping, everyone will be very happy. My mum will say, 'Jan Jan has pooped, [she’s] so obedient!'. It’s really a celebration for us,” she said, while mimicking her mum’s exaggerated clapping.

Then, it was time for Jayley to think into the far future. “At what age can you accept [your daughter] having a boyfriend?”, asked Juin.

Although Jayley wished for her daughter to wait until she’s 18, she conceded: “I had my first boyfriend at 16, so I don’t dare to demand that she must be 18. If she matures early, I will accept it”.

What would happen if Jan told Jayley she had a boyfriend at age 15? “[I will tell her to] let Daddy and Mummy see how the boy looks like first. Grandpa (Jayley’s dad) also knows how to read faces,” said Jayley.

A curious Juin then asked: “What did Grandpa say about your boyfriend’s face when he met him for the first time?”

“With my previous boyfriends, he’ll look at them but not tell me [his opinions] until after we broke up. But it was different for my husband. My husband is like friends with [my parents]. Sometimes, I feel that my presence at home is not felt,” joked Jayley.

While on the topic of future plans, Jayley also revealed that she “definitely wants a second child”. She wished to give Jan a companion, though she was still not sure if she wanted to have more than two kids.

As for her acting career, Jayley planned to wait until Jan is “maybe 1.5 years to two years old” before she returned to work.

“I love acting. I will continue to act as long as I’m able to. But at this stage, she really needs me. I also have to breastfeed her, so I really can’t be away,” she explained, before expressing her respect for working mums.

This Mother’s Day, Jayley would have a simple celebration at home and she hoped to receive a very meaningful present from her husband.

“I want a travel voucher made by him and the voucher cannot have an expiry date. When Jan Jan is older, or when things become stable, the whole family can travel together.”

This story was originally published in 8Days.

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