What do you wish you had done during maternity leave?

[Misswrite89]

Is there anything you wished you had done during your maternity leave?

I'm back at work in 3 months when DS will be 9 months. He's our first. I don't want to go back to work but needs must. So is there anything you wished you had done on maternity leave or anything you did which you are glad you did?

I was thinking about just enjoying the time with plenty of cuddles - I'm sure he'll be too big for them soon and just want to run around and play? But I'm going back to work full time and I appreciate my free time will be very limited working 9-5 and looking after DS (and DH!) so I was wondering whether I should do things that I won't get chance/time to do when I'm back at work?

Any suggestions?

Just enjoy it. Lots of lunchtime picnics now the weather's improving. Lunchtime naps too, if your baby allows it.

I was going to say go to the cinema, got the wrong end of the stick from your title and thought you were waiting to have your baby!

Splashing about in our local swimming pool always goes down well with mine, as does romping about on the grass in the park. Not really any useful ideas, just don't stress and enjoy it!

Enjoy it, but also start getting things organised - work with dh to set up meal planning, online food shopping, an e calendar with peoples birthdays on and which you both put things into (late meeting, nursery party etc), and starting to get into a routine like the one you'll both need when you are back at work. It has to start from a point of both adults taking full responsibility for the house, your ds and his needs. A friend of mine used to say that the final equality barrier was men taking responsibility for the packed lunch bag, change of clothes and party presents!

Watching as I'll be in a similar position in September!

I wish I had done more for myself actually. The older kids get, the more you have on in your life (work, elderly parents, more children)... The thing that suffers most is time spent on you. So do whatever makes you happy, be that relaxing, taking the baby to visit friends around the country, getting into shape, having dinner parties, treating yourself to massage etc or just getting back into some good books... That's actually what I would love to do again. Your baby is young enough to do many things with you if that's what you want but at this age, they're not going to know whether you took them to the V&A or the Queen Vic quite honestly!

This is going to sounds pretty "yaaah" (I promise it isn't) but... baby yoga. I did one 6 week set of sessions before going back to work and I wish I'd done it every week since he was born. It was a lovely thing to do with ds; he loved it, I loved doing it with him (they can't do much at that age) and all in all in was the enjoyable thing we did together in the whole time I was off.

Baby sensory was just brilliant at that age. I think partly because our local lady was very, very good. The babies genuinely reacted to it as opposed to most baby classes where honestly it was for the parents (still a good thing!) rather than the babies really. And these next three months will be just wonderful because your little one is old enough to properly make the most of being outside. As a PP said, picnics with other mums and babies, we spent hours under big shady trees, popping babies into baby swings, picnics for wee ones, mums hanging out. Ahh the memories. Enjoy. It's a very special time. :)

I loved baby yoga and baby cinema (morning, cheap showings of current films that you can take you baby to and no one cares if they cry). I wish we had gone away more, in laws have a property abroad and I was too much of a nervous first time Mum to go but looking back babies are so much more transportable than toddlers!

Going back to work after DS1 I really missed all the classes we went to but the things that used to pop into my head were the little things - walks, feeding the ducks, DS 'chatting', snuggling up for naps. When I went on maternity leave with DS 2 I focused much more on those things and I'm so glad I did, I feel like I made the most of enjoying everyday life with my baby and toddler rather than doing loads of 'things'. I agree with the pp who suggested parks and picnics and baby swings :). Ah I miss those days!