Keeping brain active on maternity leave?

[mimolette]

Just wondering what hobbies/activities etc others have done while on maternity leave?
I had a pretty full-on job before and, although I am loving spending lots of time with my new DD, I think in the long run I need to find something to keep my brain ticking over and give me some non-baby conversation topics. Ideally it would be something I could do (at least partly) from home, when she's asleep.
Looking for inspiration, and would love to hear others' experiences.

coming a bit late to this party but on the point of reading just wanted to add i've done quite a bit of reading around my new job, ie, being a parent. Stuff that is research based and often questions cultural norms etc. Comparing them with each other and the advice i was being given by others was very interesting...stopped my brain turning to mush for sure.

I automatically start doing crosswords and sudoku when on ML. It is not even a conscious thing, but it is nice to keep your mind active, especially in the early days.