What to do to stop myself getting bored on mat leave before baby arrives

[MrsBartlettforthewin]

Just that really. What have people been doing to entertain themselves?

I'm off from January which is a month sooner then I had been planning due to terrible SPD,almost cried in front of my year 10 class today the pain was so bad. Plus getting around on crutches with the ever expanding belly is just getting ridiculous.

So with the Christmas holidays and then my early start of mat leave I could have up to 10 weeks before the baby arrives- my first two were both late. So any ideas on what a not very mobile pregnant women who gets bored easily can do to fill her time?

Do you like craft things, e.g. sewing/drawing/painting? You could make things for the nursery.....lots of ideas online. Otherwise batch cook to stock the freezer, watch lots of movies & box sets, spend time with friends if you know folk who have days off....
I had wondered what to do with myself but time is flying past and I haven't done half of the things I intended to!

I would just sleep

Sleep is lovely

Have lunches with friends/family if you can manage it.

I did some cross stitch for both my children. Takes a lot longer than you would imagine!

Find a good tv series to watch.

Can you manage swimming or water aerobics?

Sleep is an excellent suggestion! I think I napped daily on my mat leave, though I didn't finish up until 37/38 weeks so you might not be at the daily napping stage just yet!

Go for a pregnancy massage/mani and pedi. Pamper yourself.

Read - I have this year caught up on the mumsnet bookclub for 2014 & 2015 after not having much time for reading with two young children. There are some excellent suggestions in those lists.

You must be very relieved to be finishing up - I hope you enjoy your time off and can relax and feel a bit better.

Crochet!

Are you going back afterwards? Could you get some planning done?

Write an education blog??

Start making and freezing meals.

Enjoy it!

Well think positively - it's Xmas so for at least 3 of those weeks you'll be busy so you only need to think of 7 weeks to occupy your time. Make meals, clean the house, lunch with friends, sleep. Give yourself a task a day.

Sleep. Definitely. Lots and lots and lots. Read a couple of books, you concentration won't be the same for a few years at least.

I had almost 7 months off work before DD arrived after being signed off work severely sick with HG using my annual leave and taking early maternity as I just wasn't fit to be at work.
For the first few months I had pyjama days snuggled on the sofa or stayed in bed. Is there any box sets you want to watch? Get in a few good books on days where your not too sore batch cook for the bad days or the early newborn days.

Mumsnet and online baby shopping also helped pass the time. Really try to enjoy it as since baby arrived over a year ago iv read half a book and far asleep during every movie or box set dvd....

Nap daily.
Read daily.
Cinema once a week.

When are you back to work? If September, could you break the back of your lesson plans for the Autumn Term?

I also would just sleep.

I have a 4 month old and wish I'd spent my entire pregnancy napping and mooching about as it's just impossible now!

I'd recommend batch cooking too so your freezer is full of healthy ready meals. Good luck!

Cinema, box sets and napping! I so wish I could get that time back. As, this time round, I have a three-year-old in the house, so I get to do none of those things on mat leave!

Cinema definitely. I have a 4 yr old and a 3 month old and have been twice sunce dd1 was born. Bake xmas goodies, watch telly, read. Take a long bath everyday, nap. Enjoy it as you probably wont get a noments peace again for a long time!

Spd with dc3? Sleep and watch box sets, that's what I did mainly in the same position. Plus the usual bulk cooking to fill the freezer.

What else? Oh yes got on top of the admin pile and printed a load of photos to go in the album's.

thanks everyone these are some great idea. I love crafting so liking the plan of getting some projects done/finished.

Going to get myself sorted I think setting myself something to do a day as well as building up on the sleep

I've sorted loads of photos - both onto external hard drive storage and into frames and canvases for the walls. I've sorted through the dc's clothes and mine and charity shopped lots, eBayed higher spec items, sorted Christmas, sorted linen cupboard (has needed doing forever) and organised all spare bedding. I've prepped freezer and cupboards, filed lots of paper work, gone through all the 'art' piles, typed address labels ready for Christmas cards and baby thank yous. I've got all baby stuff washed and put away, labour and hosp stay bags packed. I go to yoga twice a week and aqua natal/swimming. I've stocked kindle. I'm just getting to the point of napping/returning to bed with natal hypnotherapy on iPod.

I'm not on crutches yet but getting there. I find it so frustrating not to be mobile but am not sure boredom is a realistic prospect. Try and find time just for you before the craziness begins!

Also:

Am hoping I have time to have a finance day a la Martin Lewis and check all our tariffs and meter readings, insurance etc as I never do it day to day

I'm going to go into dc's school and listen to reading too (busman's holiday for you tho!)

There's a couple of national trust places i want to see the inside of as when we go with dc we just stick to the parks/gardens

I'm going to take my car to a valet place and get it cleaned properly before rearranging all the car seats

I have a 6 month old, thing iwish id done on mat leave before he was here:

Finish any diy jobs round house
Paint more (im arty)
Do some knitting (oddly ive just got into it and dont have much time for it!)
Read more

Things i wish i could do now, but ironically id had enough of or was too uncomfortable to do whilst on mat leave:

Long hot bath
Sleep
Oh my god sleep
I miss sleep.
(But you cant 'bank' sleep and your probably so uncomfy that you cant!)
Cooking nice meals that take a bit of time.

One thing that i would say is dont spend loads of time organising and reorganising baby stuff (i did!) And as soon as they get here it ends up in a totally differeng place thats more convenient!

Oo yes Charming I could do with sorting out my photos. Both my SD cards are practically full and spending some time sorting through what I want to keep, print and store on external hard drives sounds a good plan.

Spilly if only I could get comfy for some proper sleep I'd be there, normally I'm all about the nice long sleeps. How I don't keep DH away most of the night with my trips to the loo, adjusting of pillows, trying to turn over which always results in squeals or grunts of pain I do not know poor guy he is very good a suffering in silence . With you on the baby stuff did that with my first and all my careful sorting and organising was destroyed by the time she was a week old.

On the photo tip, we've slowly been helping both sets of grandparents with scanning and saving to hard disk all of their hard copy photographs, so that there's a back up. It has been great fun looking through old photos from the past 5 decades. I hope to blast through some more on mat leave as it is quite sedentary so good for any days where you don't feel up to moving around as much.

Just enjoy it!

Oh yes, and sleep