Ideas to enjoy the last few months of mat leave

[AleaEim]

I have had a good mat leave so far, I have three months left and starting to feel sad about going back to full time work, I’ll miss my dd. I’m looking for your fun ideas to make the most of the last few months . We go to a lot of baby groups already, they are hit a miss. We live in the suburbs of south east london, willing to travel.

Bumping

I loved baby cinema (a proper film for YOU but you can take the baby along and no one minds if they cry). Trips to the zoo or aquarium get better and better as they get more aware of the world.

I wrote a little hit list of things I wanted to do with baby in the last few months. Things on my list included: trips to the farm / aquarium / local stately home/garden with farm / indoor play centre, a pumpkin patch, going on the swings, trip on a bus, trip on a train, a class he hadn’t yet been to, hosting my NCT group for a play date and taking him running in the running buggy.

I also wrote a list of things I wanted to do personally before going back to work. This list included getting hair done, a back massage, running a 10K race and booking my health MOT. Also included some boring stuff like sorting out my wardrobe and taking clothes to the charity shop.

Oh I love these ideas and the ideas for myself too.

Oh and on my list I had a bra fitting - after months of wearing random sized nursing bras because I didn’t have the time or inclination to do much else I decided to book a bra fitting so that I could go back to work wearing underwear that actually fits!

If I had my time again I’d have gone on a little holiday, anywhere really, with baby DS. Sadly the money wasn’t there and I hadn’t got him a passport at that point but a few days in the autumn sunshine somewhere would have been amazing. He was such a good traveller too, I know it would have been no harder than being at home and a lovely change of scene for us both.

So if I were in your position and you can I’d looked at some cheap breaks somewhere.

Can you afford to travel? I took my youngest to Barcelona at 8 months just the two of us and had a wonderful time. I wish I’d done it with my first. It was just such a lovely time to spend together and I have really fond memories of those few days. We went to playgrounds and tried lots of new foods and rode buses and trains and went to museums. It was great.

Omg yes I need to do this!

Sounds wonderful

Love these ideas, especially the one about the solo trip! I’m on what is likely to be my last mat leave with baby 3, and I now wonder if I might take him away for a few days... It would be nice to give the littlest one my full on attention for a day or two. 💭

Bra fitting is a great idea. I’d also recommend taking your little one on some fun “dates” doing stuff you would like to do, before they get a bit older and everything gets a bit more toddler-centric! I like to take mine on days out to a new coffee shop or lunch place or an exhibition - they love the public transport and the change of scenery, and I get a little pal to accompany me.