Maternity leave: Things to do.

[Bellyrub1980]

Apologies if this has been done a million times before but always keen for new suggestions!

I have a week left at work and then I'm off!! So looking forward to it!

What do you recommend doing in your (potentially) last month as a child free woman?? Both fun and essential baby things :)

Definitely catch up for a coffee/lunch with as many friends as possible, as it'll be a while before you can, as you settle into motherhood.
Rest, rest, and rest some more.
Have long baths and lie ins.
Do the things that you like, take time for yourself - read, go to the cinema, take a nice walk, or gallery, or anything where you can take your time, mooch about as slow and as uninterrupted as you please.

Enjoy some peace and quiet!

Fill your feezer with portions of bolognaise, cottage pie, curry etc.

Get a slow cooker if you havent already and start deciding what you fancy.

Print off meal plans from love fod hate waste so you dont even have to think about the shopping list.

Set up online shopping accounts. Is it possible to set up a regular shoping list on supermarket sites?

Get everything unpacked and ready for when you came home. We had everything in boxes and trust me, it was a long 2 hours unpacking and unwrapping everything when we got home from the hospital with newborn ds.

Update ipod with playlists, podcasts, audio books.

Nest. Any corners of your house that arent quite sorted out, sort them out.

Get a pedicure, haircut.

Get ontop of household administration.

Enjoy long showers. Enjoy blow drying. Enjoy doing anything alone!

Sleep.

Sleep. That is all.

I would do everything that redexpat suggested but in the first few weeks. I'm 40+4 now and for me everything is that now uncomfortable and a struggle. I'm so glad that I batch cooked/stocked up and saw friends in the early days of mat leave because I am finding it harder to do things now. Everyone is different though and that is only my experience.

Batch cook.

Thank you! All of those things have been added to the list!

Deffo the get on top of household admin one - I was so bored by the end I did my accounts, which was great as otherwise it would have been stressful, come tax return time. I also wrapped all the Xmas presents, which was lucky seeing as DD started to arrive on Christmas Day.

A top tip I read somewhere was to get any niggles in your house fixed, as you will be in your house a lot. Also, set up a couple of changing stations with nappies, wipes, nappy bags and mat (we used a big basket) - saves a lot of faffing when LO poos everywhere. Get a bigger bin and an extra laundry basket and airer - DCs create unbelievable amounts of washing!

If you have a garden, you could stick a few bulbs in pots. It is cheerful to have daffodils coming up in the spring and you will have no time for gardening probably.