To ask what you would do with a year off?

[bubblegumbottles]

Just a bit of fun really but could also be useful for some ideas!

Me and DH have worked our butts off the last couple of years to build our business. We're just finishing up a major project that has put enough in our savings for us both to take at least a year off work. The project will pay us dividends for the next 3-5 years also so we wouldn't be just frittering it all away.

Our first child is due in 12 weeks so I suspect we'll spend a lot of time just enjoying being new parents but my question is...

What would YOU do with a year off?

I'd do what you're doing and have a baby.
It is a year off. It's a year off work and doing something different. And if both of you are off you'll have so much freedom. Get the babe a passport and have a lot of fun. You are very lucky!

I thought I would accomplish so much with a newborn. Mostly I figured it would be my most artistic year ever. Some days I barely ate. Dishes piled up. The house was constantly a mess. A baby who screams every time you set her down sucks the life out of you. I didn’t complete a single project. Well, I did manage to take an old embroidery hoop, some ribbon and some black and white paper to rig up a mobile. It took me 2 days to finish. It was at most 20 minutes of work.

Right this second?

Sleep

Unlike BowBeau I found the first year with just one baby an absolute delight! I was in pain sometimes, but I definitely had time to read. Loads of it.
On my second mat leave I joined a choir and on my third I joined a book group.

I had a year off.

Might have had grand plans for the year but the reality was that with 4 DC and a dog I had very little time to do anything apart from the odd gym class.

If I had no family and unlimited funds I would have very different plans.

I'd wait two or three years then hammer into writing up my part time doctoral thesis then I'd go somewhere warm to recover.

I found mat leave long and boring particularly with my second when there was no novelty. If dh didn't have to work and we could have afforded it I would definitely travel.

I had quick recoveries from birth and good routine from the start and the second time round I think I watched the whole of buffy, charmed and angel and a lot of Maury povich...

I think some people might have misunderstood/ I might not have been clear enough.

Oh really? I thought having a newborn would be walk in the park and I'd be off having champagne brunches every day.
I know having a baby isn't a year off, it's very much a year on. What I mean is, neither of us have to work for at least a year, possibly upwards of 3 years in reality.
We've already done all the things we want to do in terms of paying off debts, doing the house up etc. We always planned to be working parents but now that there is the choice to not have to, it for me thinking what other people might do, with children or otherwise.

I'm currently having a year off. I'm living at my holiday house, DS is going to the local school and I'll be finishing the renovations here. It's entirely possible we may not leave.

Neither of us has taken a day off for at least two years so the prospect of not being tied to emails and calls all day and night is genuinely quite strange

Goodness me, what a lot of scaremongering.

I found parenthood incredibly tough - I had awful PND and a high-needs reflux CMPA baby. BUT a) it would have been so much easier with my husband around all year and b) after the first few intense months it got significantly easier and you DO get some time to yourself again, unless you're really unlucky with sleep. You'll be fine OP. It's a great time to have a year off, I think you'll really enjoy it. Plan some holidays for when baby is around 6 months, that's a really nice stage.

Anyway, if I had a year off I'd join a choir, start going to the gym, finally pass my driving test, read loads of books and maybe start writing. If I had a year off with money I'd do the same but also hire a personal trainer, do a cooking course and go on a few fabulous holidays.

First baby, only one baby- yup I would see it as a year off. We had something similar. Spent a fair amount of time camping (pre baby being mobile was easier)! Then lots of time out and about in the city we lived. A couple of overseas trip as well. I'd probably say wait and see- easy baby, easy time. Any issues with reflux, poor sleeping, etc may be more home based. Although with two of you there all the time, will be much easier to share the load! Without a child on the way- is probably do nothing the first couple of week, then start looking at where and for how long is like to go somewhere! Whatever you ending up doing (or not doing) hope you enjoy it.

@peachgreen you sound like my kind of person!

We have a holiday in the south of France booked for when she will be about 6 months old and I can't wait!

I love the idea of making a point of learning something, a new language or skill. Something I can confine to a set class time every week so that I'm motivated to do it

As long as the baby has no particular medical needs when they arrive and is a reasonable sleeper I’d get a big camper van/RV and tour either Europe or North America. You will have everything you need for the baby, no messing about packing and unpacking, can have whatever routine you want, accessible healthcare including vaccinations etc although you’d have to pay for them and you’d still get to explore. You could time the driving sections for naps and make sure they aren’t too long so baby isn’t in the car seat did too long.
It’s tricky though, if the baby is a dreadful sleeper being in the confined space of a van will quickly result in you both being utterly miserable and exhausted as no one can get any break from it.

We have a holiday in the south of France booked for when she will be about 6 months old and I can't wait

^

See, now this is the kind of thing you could make into a real vacation - not sure how long you're planning on spending over there but with a baby that age a month would be super doable. Baby will nap, sit still longer than 10 seconds and should be weaning so should be a nice holiday.

If it's only a year I'd do nothing.
I took a 5 year break(was originally only planned as a 1 year gap) just because I felt I deserved it and had the savings to cover.

I loved the first year. Getting up on a cold Februray morning and settling on the couch to watch the winter Olympics.
Various trips camping in the summer. Loads of weekend night's out.
A couple of all inclusive holidays and a new pup because I could be in all day to look after.
Loved every minute of it...but it does go by quick, hence the repeated extensions

DP and I rented our house out and lived in Spain for six months - you could easily do that with a new baby, well, Brexit permitting. I don't mean necessarily Spain, of course.

You really don't know what your baby will be like or how you will respond to motherhood.
My first child was a really easy newborn. Easy to breastfeed, started sleeping through 6+ hours at 6-7 weeks (and then stopped at 6 months but that's a different story), developing well, no problems. I actually got to do quite a few things during my maternity leave.
Were my husband free too, I am sure we would have travelled (we did some travel anyway, and actually some serious travel when the second was a baby - he was a happy healthy baby too but a much worse sleeper).
Otherwise a year 'off' is perfect for projects such as writing a book/renovating a house/taking up a postgraduate course or learning a complex skill.

I would write a book and (to do something physical) completely redo my garden.

It’s wonderful that your husband will be around for the first year of his child’s life, and able to really help you. Maybe you’ll be able to get in a relaxed full shower each day - that would be a huge achievement.

Catch up on sleep ive missed for the past year, since i started working nights lol

You can still do things with a newborn. I had a year of walking and festivals when I wasn't in work for 12 months. I'm sure OP knows that she isn't just going to be a year off doing entirely what she chooses without thought for baby. It was hard but a good time

OP you could also look at it a different way. You said you could take three years off, but I would actually just you take this year off, perhaps your husband could take six months, then keep working and saving until your child is 7 or 8. Twelve months travelling at that age will give them so many more experiences and family time than you would get when they are just a baby.

You said "first" child, if you're planning more you might want to return to work after 12 months and bank the extra money to both take 12 months leave off with subsequent babies.

Or alternatively you could have 2 close together and take 3 years off now. As much as you can plan these things of course!!

Travel. For sure. Maybe a campervan so you can be all set up.

Wow, reading these comments, I've no idea how I survived 2 babies
OP, it sounds amazing and I'm incredibly jealous! I'd spend a year just chilling out and going with the flow. Fancy getting away from dodgy weather, book some flights. Want to curl up and watch junk tv? Do it. I'd have loved the chance for the 2 of us to just spend time bonding with each other and the baby. If your baby is chilled out, travel. Just enjoy not answering the phone to clients and dealing with work. Yes, I know it's not a plan but a year of living on a whim...sounds like a bliss! Whatever you decide. Enjoy it.

If I had a free year I would explore Australia....and maybe stop off in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka....just for starters. I would go skiing in Canada and Andorra. I would see the Northern Lights. I would go to Iceland. I would tour the west coast of the USA.....in fact I need about 5 years to do it all.

OP if you are in the UK and plan to send your child to school - rather than home school. You only have 4 years before you are on the treadmill. So enjoy this time. Firstly - and I know you will find this hard to believe.....make sure you are living in the right place for your child to get into a good school or ring fence money for their education and get them on a waiting list for private. If you are not in the right location then sell up and move. Once that is done.....make some rough plans to travel ...really memorable trips. Don't book until Baby is here...just in case you change your mind. Baby under 6 months very easy and portable as you feed them yourself. (If you end up bottle feeding them I would avoid traveling in very remote locations as access to sterilising equipment/electricity/clean water is a must). 6-18 month they still aren't that mobile so holiday can be focused on your needs and wants. Over 18 months it becomes all about chasing a toddler around and keeping them happy....you can absolutely still travel but your choice of holiday might change.

Finally spend lots of quality time with your nearest and dearest....if you have parents, grandparents or elderly relatives then visit them regularly. (In between your travels). Or travel with them for a bit.

Enjoy this special time together.