To ask for suggestions of what to do on mat leave?

[mum2Bomg]

It's my last day at work tomorrow and I'm a bit scared of being bored. Might sound stupid but I do 12hr days and a long commute and I'm worried I might struggle with things to do. Even considering cross stitch! Help!

All your Christmas shopping, all your Christmas cards, with stamps. Wrap the presents.

Batch cook nice meals and freeze them.

Any little job around the house, because if you don't do it now, you have to wait til they go to school.

Sleep and relax.

I had 5 weeks and it flew by!

I mostly nested. So shopping, housework, went swimming, sorted baby clothes, reading baby books, surfed forums, met antenatal friends to discuss how excited we were etc... Towards the end when I felt like a beached whale I got into jigsaws and watched a few box sets.

However, in hindsight I should have done more stuff that is just impossible with a small child - cinema, meals out, going into London to the galleries, sleeping..... yeah I should definitely have slept more!!!

Sort Christmas out. Batch cook like a bugger. Have a nap with a film every afternoon. The time will fly in.

Definitely batch cook and freeze, you will appreciate it sooo much. Just do your favourite meals, don't try to be extra healthy.

Just be in your own and get bored, you won't again for a long while. Make the effort to see baby free friends, you may find you don't find it as easy to chat when you are totally focussed on baby 24/7.

I started my maternity leave 3 weeks before DD was born. Really looked forward to relaxing and pleasing myself. However, she had other ideas and was 2 weeks early!

Oh some other good ideas from other people - getting everyones address in a handy spreadsheet or list to send thank you cards. Hell, actually, you might as well buy and write them now too ready to post later ;-) I only ever got round to writing about 2 and I'm not sure I even got round to posting those!!!

Buying all Christmas and birthday presents for your nearest and dearest and wrapping for the next year or so also a great idea. I had an October baby and that year everyone's Christmas present came from Sainsburys as going Christmas shopping just wasn't going to happen!

Oh and get pampered or anything that requires an appointment- pedicure, hair cut, nails done, dentist whatever. It could be a while before you get another chance.

Suggestions if you haven't done these yet:-

• get organised for baby i.e. set up nursery/pack hospital bag/wash clothes etc
• get house organised ie spring clean, clean out kitchen cupboards, clear our old clothes look out winter wardrobe and your pre-pregnancy clothes for when you will fit back into them!
• catch-up with family and friends that you haven't seen for a while
• get organised tor Christmas by ordering and wrapping gifts so you can chill out and concentrate on the baby

• get pampered, get your highlights done/manicure etc

• give yourself some chill out time, read the books you've not gotten around to reading or TV shows you've been recommended.
• look into childcare if you haven't already. I began looking into nurseries just before my DC was born, but left contacting many of the nurseries and the actual visits until after he was born. I found some nurseries already had restricted dates for 2017 registration so recommend you look into it sooner than I did!

Most of all enjoy whatever sleep and relaxation you can before your wonderful bundle arrives. Motherhood is absolutely amazing but tiring! I ended up with 6 weeks maternity leave before my DC arrived and found myself rarely bored just desperate to meet my son when he arrived late!

woops please ignore the partial bold above!

Different from other opinions on this thread, but I actually wouldn't do anything at all in the house, I'd get out as much as I possibly could to all the places it's harder to go to with baby in tow; cinemas, boozy lunches, etc.
I saved all the in house stuff to do once baby arrived, which worked for me, as I could do all that whilst they slept. I've learnt from mn though, that not all babies sleep, which I didn't know before and wasn't my experience tbh.

Sort all of the Christmas stuff - if two weeks late and a week in hospital you could be getting home only a few days before. Cook & bake a lot and fill the freezer, go out as much as you can, go away at the weekends (although this can alarm the hotel reception).

What do you do when you're not at work? I just did that. Pottered around house. Watched films. Read books. Folded baby clothes again and again. Went for walks. Tea and cake out. Slept.

Boozy lunches?!

Batch cook, jobs in house, Christmas shopping / cards.

People keep saying Sleep... who the hell can sleep at 37 weeks pregnant? I certainly couldn't, also couldn't get comfy enough on couch to relax and watch Tv.

Whoops, good point kaytee, forgot she was pregnant!

Rest.
Sort Christmas.
Research local baby groups for the New Year.
Go to the cinema.
Cook and freeze as much as you can.

Rest, for the last time in 18 years, and start enjoying how lovely it is to pee alone.

I had two weeks before DD came along. I watched boxsets, cooked meals to freeze for when she came, went into town and met friends for coffee (ones with tiny babies or those off work!). I also spent some of this time visiting childminders and nurseries and was able to make my decision about the type of childcare I wanted, and put my feelers out for anyone that might have a space in 8 months time. I ended up using one of these childminders for 2 years so it was a worthwhile use of time.
Rest if you can, you won't have the luxury for a while when your baby comes

Enjoy the quiet. Stroll around shops if you feel up to it. Watch hours of tv without being interrupted. Long baths. Go to the hairdressers. Maybe clean and organise in the house.

Crochet is more satisfying than cross stitch. You could whip up a few baby blankets in 3 weeks very useful for the cold winter months ahead!

Eat kit kats, watch crap TV, have lots of naps...

I only got to have 1 week of mat leave on my own before DS turned up 9 days early but I slept, read, waddled to the shops and watched box sets.
It was lovely

Read all the books that you've meant to read but not had time to because it may be 3 or more years before you can pick up a book again.

I had time off before both babies. I filled the freezer with my fav foods. I made a blanket for my first, he's three now and still loves it. I also did a big clear out. Took some long baths.

Cinema, sleep, reading bed all afternoon. It's a wonderful time. Enjoy!

Go to the cinema

Have at least one meal out. ( you'll understand why when your baby is a toddler and your fed up of high chairs in restaurants that they climb out of, and when they cry and throw things because their food takes too long, and then it's too hot, and then you have to cut it up, and then they need a new nappy because they have done a giant poo... And all you want to do it eat your food before its stone cold and have a nice family meal out )

Mooch around the shops - even if u don't buy anything, it just isn't the same when you've got a pram / buggy / child with you.

Just sit and be lazy and drink tea and watch tv / read

Try and get as much sleep in as you can

And Enjoy it!

I was 38 weeks when I went on mat leave so didn't have much time but I did do a lot of batch cooking which came in very useful in the first couple of months. I even made a few cakes and biscuits and froze these which were useful for the many visitors we had after the birth. I also cleaned the house, including the fridge and all the kitchen cabinets and majorly decluttered -to make room for all the baby crap- as our house is very small.

After baby I went to some baby groups (mainly the free ones!) and have gone on lots of long walks and watched a lot of Netflix. Am now 6 months into mat leave and starting to get quite bored and actually missing work. I love spending time with my baby but it can be very boring and lonely. Will probably not feel that way in a few months when I go back!