I’m on mat leave at the minute: love being a Mum, am looking forward to being back at work. Covid has had a huge impact, as I was enjoying groups, being in cafes or the library with my little one, planned activities (gym etc.). I met local Mums and they’ve been great (walks in parks etc) but it’s still been isolating at times.
I’ve also missed my own income, and independence. Mat leave can be a bit monotonous. Everyday is busy, but not massively interesting or fulfilling.
I thought I’d be socializing, reading for fun, ticking ‘odd jobs’ and places I wanted to go off my to do list, but It’s not quite like that. Getting baba fed, played with, the laundry done and food cooked takes a surprising amount of time (especially in the early days when it’s one handed!).
I think a lot of it depends on your support network (my partner works v long hours so I’m alone with baba from wake, til bed), and on your babies needs (I’ve a frequent eater, poor sleeper, that is one of the messiest weaned babas I’ve ever seen) 😅 but most of my friends that are mums would say they’ve loved it but that it was very different/harder work than they expected.
I worried about being bored and thought about tasks that would distract me, which in hindsight I laugh at. The boredom is more that actually being with a newborn is both incredibly demanding and not very interesting. The early days, I found hard.
More recently, especially between 6-8months, I’ve loved mat leave, as my LO can play by herself for a few mins, Nights only have a few wakes, and I feel much more like me (and less zombie). Being able to hear my baby giggle, or watch her enjoy toys/activities helps a lot too!
I do think maternity leave is a balance between what you make of it, what support you have, what finances you have, and what your particular baby needs, which makes it hard to predict.
I know I’m lucky. And I’d love another, so it can’t be “bad” but it’s more a different type of ‘work’ than the “break” from “work” I thought it would be (if that makes sense?)