Bit Anxious about Mat Leave?

[Sastra]

Okay, I know this is going to sound silly, especially as I was excited about starting maternity leave, but I'm now feeling a bit anxious. I've got six weeks before my due date and it just feels like a chasm of time stretching before me. I've got no routine, nothing to do! I'm not used to it and I'm worried i'm going to hate the next year. I also have zero energy, which doesn't help

Oh god me too! I got very down about not being at work. Still am really. Hopefully when the baby arrives it will fill the void. 15 years of working really hard to get to where I wanted to be, I get there, then it feels taken away again. And that's when I know I am in a wonderful position to have it all back in a few months.

Looking forward to the baby loads, but finding that void in between very hard.

I totally get you

I'm so glad it's not just me! I am dying for the baby to be here, but I think the time before with nothing to do is giving me time to over think things!

I remember feeling so lost the first day of my mat leave while I was still pregnant....I actually cried the first day(!) trust me....it gets so much better! I know is a cliche but enjoy every min of yor mat leave pre baby - go to the cinema, shop, rest, watch films, clean etc because your entire world changes when baby arrives. I used to hate ppl telling me this and I love dd with all my heart and wouldn't change a thing but I really enjoyed my mat leave pre baby and so glad I made the most of it. Have afternoon naps as well!

I do a veryt physical job working with horses and had to get signed off from 10 weeks due to hyperemisis and a few stays in hospital, by the time i was well again i was gone 17 weeks and a bit of a risk with the work i do so havent worked since then - now am 26 weeks. Very bored as 2 older children at school and OH works long hours sigh officially on maternity leave at 29 weeks.

Is there a project or something that you can get stuck into? I can imagine it must be wearisome having the weeks stretch ahead of you like they are. I have this mad idea that I'll finally get round to some furniture decoupage that i've been meaning to do for ages, but ha ha let's see about that shall we...

I can completely emphasise! Mat leave starts in 2 weeks, have been career orientated always so feeling a bit lost for purpose without work, experiencing all kinds of feelings of worry and stress about going on leave, along with a degree of paranoia as to if they'll want me back when I have a baby, will I be taken seriously etc. Taking comfort in that when baby is here will be new purpose and work will be the least of my worries!

I feel like this too! I know I have a tendency to get down if I'm doing nothing and have no routine. My last day at work is next week, I'll be 34.5 weeks, and hope I don't get bored...

Luxury! I am on mat leave with dd2. She isn't here yet. I am
Knackered looking after dd1. Enjoy the peace!!! Rest, buy done baby stuff, rearrange the baby room, read some books and go to the cinema because these things are hard with kids.
Don't watch OBEM it will scare you!

That said I had dd1 a few weeks after I graduated on 2nd degree. I was so used to being busy if I didn't go out and do something every single day I got v anxious and unsettled. Imagine it's something like that op. hang in there

Many years ago I went from working full-time in an office to going freelance. Those first few weeks of working at home were awful - I felt directionless, lonely, depressed and missed social interaction. I should imagine starting mat leave is similar - it's a massive adjustment if you're used to a structured day surrounded by other people.

The key is to put some structure, even if loose, into your day and leave the house, even if only for a bit, each day. Also, make sure you have some tasks, or things to achieve, each day. That could be seeing a film, going for a walk, re-organising your iTunes library, whatever. Just stuff so that you feel you've achieved something each day. And try to see or speak to at least one person (check-out person at shop doesn't count!) during each day otherwise you'll find you get verbal diarrhea the minute your partner walks in the door from work in the evenings.

But also, I think it's quite good to get used to just your own company and to try to look at being on your own as a positive and a luxury, which I think it is. After a while you get used to it and now, even though I'm no longer freelance, I still work at home a lot and much of my work anyway involves me, my brain and a computer in a quiet space. The only days I really go stir-crazy are the ones when I don't leave the flat.

I have ended up with 3.5 weeks of maternity leave. The first few days I was busy finishing a project in my own time but since then it has been bliss. I've been finding the days just slip away - don't know where they are going - so don't be surprised if it starts flying in.

I've been just hanging out with friends and family, doing some nesty stuff, filling freezer, MNing, watching TV box sets :o It has been bliss and I only have 9 days left. Could quite happily have an extra week or two of pre-bean time :o

I've just fnished my first week of mat leave...i've made sure that i've got something organised/planned every day, but also leaving time to relax.

So far i've washed all the baby clothes, done a baby first aid course, met a couple of friends for lunch, gone swimming, for a walk etc. Tomorrow i plan to cook a load of stuff to stock the freezer, and i have another couple of lunches planned. Any days i don't have anything planned i'll make sure i still get out and go for a walk or go swimming.

Saying all that i am usually back in the house by about 3 or 4pm and tend to have an afternoon nap (good to get used to sleeping during the day so you can sleep when baby sleeps)

I think that's exactly it - I need to make sure I do something each day else I will get down. First day was Friday - I thought I'd indulge myself by having a PJ day on the sofa. Quite simply, I felt disgusting!!

I think a rough plan for each day is a good idea. I want to try swimming each day, but I wonder whether I'll have enough energy (swimming pool is a mile away up and down hill), so maybe I should aim for every other day.

I don't have much ready for the baby, I keep getting overwhelmed with all the millions of choices there are for everything, so I give up looking after a while!

I'm sure I'll be fine once I've settled into a routine. I guess I'm just realising that everyone I know will be at work during the day, and that I'm about to go through the world's biggest change - exciting, but pretty massive deal...

It's the main reason I'm working until 39+1. I'd be bored senseless. Fingers crossed baby doesn't have other plans.

Job such an important part of life and also most crucial time of year is October. Didn't want to let colleagues mess it up for me to have to fix on return let colleagues down!

Last week was my first week of mat leave - I had mixed days. The first two I was out seeing people so they were pretty active. The next day I basically did nothing at all as I was knackered, then Thursday & Friday I did tasks in the house - got a man out to look at the roof, ordered stuff on the Internet, watched TV.

I'm too knackered to do much more than this. Had hoped to go for walks & go swimming but my pelvis is agony so a lot of mooching is occurring instead. C'est la vie.

I do have a to-do list which I tick off but I seem to be adding stuff as quickly as I can cross stuff off. Got far more done this weekend when DH was off work!

Maternity leave with your first baby is the only time in your lives someone will pay you to look after you for a period extended beyond usual holidays. When the baby arrives everything changes.

So potter a bit, prepare a bit, if you've got some painting you can do whilst listening to the radio do that, maybe do some Christmas shopping - because doing it with a 2 month old won't be anywhere near as easy. Follow women with babies in prams around if you like and see where they go . Rest - yes NAP and adjust to a different pace.