Parents - how would you spend time on mat leave before baby arrives?

[jamie980]

I finish for mat leave soon and have a few weeks off before my due date. If you have kids already, how would you spend the time bearing in mind I can’t go out and do anything bar a bit of exercise? Any mundane stuff you’d savour, in hindsight? None of the usual advice about going out and enjoying a last bit of freedom, getting a massage, catching up with friends, can be done at the minute (and I’ve already completed Netflix ) so not entirely sure what I’m going to do with myself!

I’d love to know too. Been off a week and a half and absolutely nothing to do. Baby stuff all set up, cleaning done. Literally sat here waiting for labour to start and so far absolutely nothing is happening. Due Wednesday so hopefully movement soon. I think this has definitely been the biggest impact COVID has had on the pregnancy so far. It’s been hard to relax when all I can focus on is the labour

Sleeeep

Sleeping.

Batch cook meals and put them in the freezer.

Sleep, watch tv, do some batch cooking

Sleep

Savour your evenings, long baths, movie, book, sleep, sleep and more sleep! Just enjoy your time take some walks. Batch cook and freeze some foods. Get the nursery sorted and anything else that needs doing. I rearranged all our wardrobes the week before lockdown 2 because there was nothing else to do but it felt great!

Sleeping, batch cooking, napping while said batches are cooking, solo toilet trips. Also snacking. Going for a waddle walk without taking 100 years to leave the house, and embracing the freedom (in a socially distant way).

Sleep, batch cook ready for when baby arrives (honestly I am SO glad I did this), take a nice long bath and savour any peace and quiet you can, cherish leaving the house without having to remember anything but your keys, spend time with your partner and have lovely conversations. Having a baby is the best but at the start you feel like you've had the rug pulled from under you. I would also save up some good TV so you've got something to watch, I loved the cooking channel!

If you feel up to it, tidy and declutter the house (only if you have somewhere to take the decluttered stuff though!). Definitely agree with batch cook and sleep.

Batch cook lovely meals you like. Takeaways and supermarket meals aren't a patch on them when you're tired and hungry. If he isn't a good cook, make sure he can do at least 5 meals that you like.

Sleeeeeep

Leave the house with nothing but whatever you can fit in your pockets

Organise your home, Marie Kondo style, get rid of anything you can so it's easy to keep on top of it all when baby comes. Or get
your partner to do it!

Have a look at the TOMM method for keeping house clean once it's organised.

Put all your baby outfits for hospital into individual ziplock bags, nappy, vest outfit, hat, mittens etc. Have a mix of newborn and 0-3 months, makes it so easy in hospital.

Practice putting car seat and buggy in and out of car! Awful stress when baby is actually there!

Read lots of lovely books. My concentration
was dreadful after having babies.

Really appreciate a long bath or shower and also the ability to a eat a hot meal or drink
a cup of hot tea! It's only a little thing and the baby more than makes up for it, but
just savour them for the next while and store the memory away!

Sleeping

Sleep. Just sleep.

Do your online grocery deliveries in advance for the next few weeks. Not very exciting but you won’t want to be messing about with it when baby arrives.

Sleeping!!

Just relaxing - sleep, read, watch films, lovely bubble baths. Avoiding speaking to anyone who will ask ‘has that baby arrived yet’

If you want to do practical things - batch cooking, washing baby clothes, organising the house. Anything that’ll make your life slightly easier once baby arrives.

You can't bank sleep unfortunately! But if you're struggling to sleep at night try to nap in the afternoons if you can. It's very difficult waiting for baby, beyond tedious, and I found I got more clumsy and more irritable the nearer 42 weeks I got so don't try to do too much. If you're all ready for baby in terms of nursery etc I would recommend focusing on one thing per day like making a new recipe or reading a new book. I would also recommend cleaning one room in your house each day (just general cleaning not a deep clean unless you feel like it) as it will keep you occupied for 30 mins and keep your house ready for baby to arrive. I also liked giving myself a pamper - making sure I had painted toes and nails, hair masks etc.

I just did what i do on weekends but all week. So had lie ins, lazy starts, watched my box sets, just enjoyed the me time.

Oh another thing - dig out some clothes you think might fit you in the weeks after birth. I'm talking leggings and jumpers, nothing fancy, and it might be some of your earlier maternity wear. You'll be rushed trying to get dressed with a newborn and it's good to have your "uniform" ready to go!

Agree with previous posters...
house/garage clear out..just take it easy.
Deep clean... Especially the less frequent jobs.
Batch cook
Any annoying jobs you have put off....
Online food order
Go to supermarket and buy all the cards you will need for next 6 months...

I savoured the time with DS as much as I could. Our last moments as a family of 3. They were wonderful 🥰

I stayed in bed extra with him, even after he'd fallen asleep. Lots of activities. Garden picnics. Lots of cuddles. Daily walks where he wanted to go.

Then the usual savouring evenings with DP. Bingeing on TV shows. Baths when I could still fit in it 🤣

Thanks everyone some really good suggestions here! Will definitely be batch cooking, cleaning and decluttering what I can and savouring some baths! Would love to savour some sleep too but haven’t had a decent night’s sleep in months already (must be my body’s way of prepping me for what’s to come !)

Lots of love and luck to anyone else about to go on mat leave too!

Sleep. Watch tv. Enjoy silence. Drink tea while it is still hot. Enjoy no one having any demands of you.

I would sleep. Have sex. Batch cook. Sleep. Declutter. Sleep.

Order all the stuff that you might need in the middle of the night.

Calpol. Infacol. Snufflebabe. Gripe water. A feeding cushion. More wipes and nappies than you’d think possible.

If your house is stocked like a corner shop, you’ll be sorted.

(Obviously also sleep/batch cook/enjoy strolling without it being a mission etc).

Good luck! It’s hard but amazing!