Maternity leave so boring/stressful

[Splattmanchoo]

Does anyone have any routines for how they filled their days on mat leave? I have a hard to please 7 month old who doesn't nap well and I'm going nuts. I have 3 months left. I go out as much as possible but still feel like the days are sooooo long. What do you do all day? Help! Xxx

To the person who said soft play, how can you do that with an under 1 year old?

To the person who said soft play, how can you do that with an under 1 year old?

Some soft play centres have baby areas. DS is 8 months and will happily crawl (or more likely drag himself) around the ‘ground floor’ and pull himself up on the netting of the soft play at my gym, if it’s quiet.

Have you tried Mush or other apps? Lots of mums in the same boat.

In my first maternity leave I felt like this, especially with an unsettled baby who'd scream through classes. It does get easier as the months go by and they can crawl around a playground or sit in a swing while you play a bit and maybe chat to others, and as their routine becomes more predictable with bigger gaps between sleeps and feeds.

Now on mat leave #4 the days fly by, it really does get easier - and my old self would never have believed it, but now I wish I'd spent more time exploring the city or going to new classes or just relaxing in the park on a blanket with just one baby, I get so little one on one time now.

God I had a love/hate relationship with maternity leave. I went back 4 weeks ago, after 10 months, I couldn't make it to 12 months off I was losing the plot a little.
I did what other PPs have suggested and filled up days with groups or seeing family. I'm very lucky in that two of my NCT class mums live very nearby so I'd see both of them and their babies at least once a week.
Had phases where DD would only nap in the pram so we walked a LOT, like out walking for several hours in the morning and several hours in the afternoon.
Find your local children's centre, tons of free groups and meetings and mums there.
I spent a bloody fortune during maternity leave because I HAD to leave the house most days just to feel sane, so went to coffee shops and cafes constantly and so my credit card looks a bit eyewatering after multiple months with no income but lots of outgoings based on baby boredom.

DON'T feel guilty about setting baby up with toys and things to keep her occupied and just watching tv you want to watch for a little while, you can't entertain them all day xx

I was going mad on mat leave so went back to work pt at 4 and 5 months respectively.. felt so much better immediately, despite the crippling nursery costs at one point. Work saved my sanity. My DM was at work and we didn't see her from one week to the next anyway, and friends were working too. No regrets at all and now teens, they don't seem to have suffered for it.

I found maternity leave boring too - I never felt like I could admit it either!
I did quite a lot of work when I was on maternity leave. I do research for my job so there's always papers and grants to write.

I had to walk around the park for hours with mine too so I got an audible subscription and caught up on all the books I hadn’t got round to reading.

I'm so glad I'm not the only person feeling like this! 3 months in and I'm finding maternity leave a real struggle. I go to groups 3-4 days a week but still find that time drags. Especially on a rainy day like this one!

My DP has gone to see him mum tonight and won't be back till 9.30pm - god I'm knackered it's been a hard slog today. Very lonely.

I know. Rain makes it grim! It's like Groundhog Day. There's a woman on my street who's had a baby at the same time and keeps posting things on Facebook about how much she's enjoying it which makes me feel worse! She's even started a business making baby clothes! How does she do it? Is she even human? I can't even have a piss in peace. Highlight of my day - bedtime

I'm lying here and DS still won't go to sleep, he keeps drifting off then waking and chatting like a maniac, then crying, then wanting to play. I've been with him every second of today - goodness what a long day 😴 I just want a glass of wine in peace 😓

Sometimes the people who post the most and shout the loudest are the ones suffering the most !!

I used to do a four mile walk every day with the pram, gym with a crèche, helped set up and run a toddler group, various voluntary roles where I could take my baby (ie; delivering meals on wheels or driving old folk), coffee with neighbours (doesn’t have to be other ‘mums’, plenty of people like an invite to play with a new baby ), look out for activities in your local library etc.

I've struggled too. I feel bad even saying it. It took 5 years ttc + ivf to get a D.C. and here I am moaning about boredom. Sigh . Anyway back to work in 4 months

How are you doing this week OP?
Have you set up a toddler group, volunteered in 4 different jobs, solved world hunger, run a marathon and been to the gym today?
😂
Genuinely though, thought of you today, I work part time and today was my day off and we struggled a bit to fill the day x

For me getting out is absolutely key. My DD is 8 months and is very busy so being in the house all day would drive us both nuts. We go to a class every day; baby yoga, baby massage, baby beats, baby bookworm, baby crafts etc. These classes only last 1-2 hours so then we normally go for lunch or have a picnic at the park (weather permitting).

To stretch the days I take her to pram fit with me which is an exercise class where you can being babies, I do that 3 times a week, I take her swimming once a week and sometimes take her to my personal trainer sessions if I’m in the park working out.

We also go food shopping together if I need to pick up bits and bobs and I take her into central London a fair bit for some retail therapy and also take her to art galleries and museums because it’s free.

On average we are out of the house everyday from around 9-4.

I've joined an app called peanut and so far this week I've met up with a mum for coffee who lives down the road and gone out for a walk in the park with 4 other mums, all through the app. Warning, the language on the app is horrible. All 'mamas' and 'huns'.

My NCT group has died so I needed a new way of socialising

Today we have postnatal Pilates then I'm leaving DD with DP (who's working from home today) while I go and do the food shop.

It can get a little much at times , especially when your child starts knowing what they want 😂🙊
Our routine is:
Monday: Rhymetime
Tuesday: Stay and play
Wednesday: Swimming lesson
Thursday: meet local mums & babies
Friday: Fitness class then Hartbeeps

My mat leave is flying by! My DS is now nearly 8mo and I don't want to go back to work, can I have your mat leave if you don't want it? I don't know where the days go, it's Friday again tomorrow. I find a routine really helps so that I can plan things. I have something on 3 days a week, plus arrange to see friends quite a lot (I know a lot of people with under 2s). Our little routine is:

7:30 Wake up, change nappy, go downstairs for independent play for a bit while I get breakfast ready/unload the dishwasher/pack the bag for the day etc
8 bottle then breakfast followed by a shower. Play till naptime (or sometimes do some chores like fold laundry or clean the bathroom)
10-10.30 Naptime. I either nap or clean, depending on how perky I'm feeling.
I usually go out after the morning nap, to meet friends or go to a class
12 bottle followed by lunch
1-3 nap. I do some sewing! (This more often than not sometimes doesn't pan out and he wakes early but at least I've got some me time)
3 bottle
Either play or run some errands, sometimes meet friends. He needs a 15 min nap between 4 and 5, sometimes we go for a walk to achieve this.
5 dinner followed by some playing. If I'm lucky, daddy comes home to conduct this bit
6.30 bottle followed by bath then bed at 7.

He was a really bad napper - it was all cat naps conducted in my arms - but I spent a couple of months working really hard on it (and getting him into a routine). Can you improve the napping?

I struggled like you so we went out all the time!! I joined every group/class going. I had just moved to a new town and didn't know a soul so it was quite lonely and a bit overwhelming being a first time mum - I didn't have a clue. Baby/toddler groups/swimming lessons/baby sensory/heartbeeps/soft play with baby areas, urban farm with animals etc. The good news is that I met a lot of people which then turned into playdate, park meet ups, night outs etc. I skipped back to work and then when i had number 2 - she just tagged along with the toddler - they can do so much more when they get a bit older and it gets soooooo much easier - mine are now 4 and 2.5 and it's a breeze compared to the early days. They play fight with each other nicely.

Baby groups, library groups, play centres, aquariums, walks in the park, garden centres, pets at home looking at the animals and fish 🙄, baby music groups, walks round town. Yep its boring and really hard work :(

Swimming too