Maternity leave boredom

[rainbow95]

Hey everyone, I've started my maternity leave and I know I should be making the most of having lots of me-time, but I'm finding it a little boring. Lockdown isn't helping either! Other than batch-cooking and Netflix, does anyone have some nice suggestions of things I could do to pass the time? Thank you

@Lostinspace23

As others have suggested, if there’s anything you need to do to house and garden then do it now. If you’re someone who likes being organised then get on top of everything you can think of in terms of personal admin - banking, finance, insurance, will, car etc.

Walk, walk and walk some more - I’m sure that helped me have a good birth experience. Read up on hypnobirthing and childbirth if you haven’t already. Antenatal classes are woefully light on empowering you to feel like birth will be a positive experience.

Talk to your husband about decisions you might need to make about baby now and make sure you’re on the same page. Also talk about what will happen in the first couple of weeks, months, how you might divide your time, the chores, tackle night wakes, give each other time to yourselves. Great to get ahead of these conversations before you realise that you have different ideas about the roles you take. I was VERY clear that being on maternity leave did not make me a housewife! Have you discussed finances and what happens when your earnings drop?

I would also be prepared for boredom after baby arrives to be perfectly honest, don’t watch all the best Netflix series now!

Great suggestions. Thanks!

In the same boat! Started mat leave on Monday and so far have had a bath with face and hair mask, cleaned the house (a room or two a day), done some yoga, watched some Netflix, batch cooked a little (but DH is the cook in this family so he’s been doing a bit every week) and I am BORED! House is fully organised as we’ve been doing it slowly over time. 39 weeks today so just hoping she doesn’t keep me waiting too much longer. Lockdown really doesn’t help, does it?! From Monday we can meet one other person outdoors recreationally so I might go for a walk with my mum and grab a cake to takeaway from somewhere afterwards but trying to not really see people in case either of us catches Covid and DH can’t be at the birth so wouldn’t want to do much more than that!
Hope you manage to fill your time - try and enjoy the relaxation while you can (easier said than done, I know!) xx

@SkyBlue20

In the same boat! Started mat leave on Monday and so far have had a bath with face and hair mask, cleaned the house (a room or two a day), done some yoga, watched some Netflix, batch cooked a little (but DH is the cook in this family so he’s been doing a bit every week) and I am BORED! House is fully organised as we’ve been doing it slowly over time. 39 weeks today so just hoping she doesn’t keep me waiting too much longer. Lockdown really doesn’t help, does it?! From Monday we can meet one other person outdoors recreationally so I might go for a walk with my mum and grab a cake to takeaway from somewhere afterwards but trying to not really see people in case either of us catches Covid and DH can’t be at the birth so wouldn’t want to do much more than that! Hope you manage to fill your time - try and enjoy the relaxation while you can (easier said than done, I know!) xx

You've done a lot within a week- that's impressive! No, lockdown doesn't help but hopefully things will be a little better next month. It's hard to fill the day without DP but I plan to meet my Mum next week too for a walk and a takeaway coffee/sandwich out . Our baby is due just after Easter so we will be very careful to avoid people so DP can definitely be there during the birth!

I organising 1000s of photos online from the last 6-7 years and working through doing photo books (organised by year or significant event - we take a LOT of photos 🤣) so I can get them printed as I think it's pretty depressing having so many gorgeous photos but they are only on laptops/phones to view and I want some lovely books to flick through instead

( I went to auschwitz a couple of years ago and there was a room just full of photos - all that was left behind of so many families and it's been playing on my mind that that is the only thing left in the world to show they existed - blame my pregnancy/new mum hormones)

Honestly just sleep and enjoy a hot drink while it's still hot! 😂 I have a 5 month old and I don't think I've had a hot cuppa the whole time! Definitely have long baths and slob out on the sofa with a good Netflix series! My LO was born very quickly and unexpectedly at 37 weeks and I regret not sleeping more before hand! Good luck OP! Xx

Seriously you'll never have a minute to yourself again so enjoy 🤣 I was the same 7 months ago, I was so bored I went to my DH office to help him with his work!
Have lots of baths, read a book, enjoy the silence, organise all your clothes drawers/wardrobe, organise baby clothes into size order and sit down!

Do anything in the house/garden that will annoy you when you still haven't done it in two years.

Id say have a good sort of out cupboards/wardrobes, nice to have an organised house ready for chaos to arrive.
I second walking each day, I swear it made my birth easier and baby come on time.
I also made sure I was on top of eyebrows and hair was washed a lot and curled, I didn’t give a crap about how I looked for the hospital but the first few weeks you’ll have no energy for any of it so better to have a few early days of clean hair- helps you feel semi normal.
I also went through upcoming birthdays and got cards/presents sorted.
But if you wake up and can’t be arsed then sod it, enjoy the rest! 😂

@daimbar2030

Honestly just sleep and enjoy a hot drink while it's still hot! 😂 I have a 5 month old and I don't think I've had a hot cuppa the whole time! Definitely have long baths and slob out on the sofa with a good Netflix series! My LO was born very quickly and unexpectedly at 37 weeks and I regret not sleeping more before hand! Good luck OP! Xx

Thank you 🙂. I'm sure the next few weeks will go quickly so I do need to enjoy just slobbing out more. X

@squirrelnutkins1

Seriously you'll never have a minute to yourself again so enjoy 🤣 I was the same 7 months ago, I was so bored I went to my DH office to help him with his work! Have lots of baths, read a book, enjoy the silence, organise all your clothes drawers/wardrobe, organise baby clothes into size order and sit down!

Thanks 🙂 I'm definitely going to start organising my wardrobes next week!

@ivfbeenbusy

I organising 1000s of photos online from the last 6-7 years and working through doing photo books (organised by year or significant event - we take a LOT of photos 🤣) so I can get them printed as I think it's pretty depressing having so many gorgeous photos but they are only on laptops/phones to view and I want some lovely books to flick through instead

( I went to auschwitz a couple of years ago and there was a room just full of photos - all that was left behind of so many families and it's been playing on my mind that that is the only thing left in the world to show they existed - blame my pregnancy/new mum hormones)

That's a good way of keeping busy!

@whatswithtodaytoday

Do anything in the house/garden that will annoy you when you still haven't done it in two years.

Some painting and light garden is definitely something I could do, thanks 🙂

@Piccalily19

Id say have a good sort of out cupboards/wardrobes, nice to have an organised house ready for chaos to arrive. I second walking each day, I swear it made my birth easier and baby come on time. I also made sure I was on top of eyebrows and hair was washed a lot and curled, I didn’t give a crap about how I looked for the hospital but the first few weeks you’ll have no energy for any of it so better to have a few early days of clean hair- helps you feel semi normal. I also went through upcoming birthdays and got cards/presents sorted. But if you wake up and can’t be arsed then sod it, enjoy the rest! 😂

Some great ideas, thanks. Yes, I'm sure I'll have days when I just can't be bothered! I've had one or two already 😜

@whatswithtodaytoday

Do anything in the house/garden that will annoy you when you still haven't done it in two years.

THIS 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻

Actually related to getting anything done, if stuff needs to be done regardless look up getting someone else to do it.

In June last year, baby was weeks old when I realised there was no way I could maintain our large garden. It’s a B and B so guests arriving meant it needed to look semi ok and less jungle like. Luckily we found a gardener last minute who saved the day and came once per week through the summer. In hind sight, I should have booked someone before. ( although I had booked cleaners who then couldn’t come due to Covid restrictions..)

Just had rooms painted by a painter for the first time, usually always diy it myself. Not realistic right now

@Caspianberg

Actually related to getting anything done, if stuff needs to be done regardless look up getting someone else to do it.

In June last year, baby was weeks old when I realised there was no way I could maintain our large garden. It’s a B and B so guests arriving meant it needed to look semi ok and less jungle like. Luckily we found a gardener last minute who saved the day and came once per week through the summer. In hind sight, I should have booked someone before. ( although I had booked cleaners who then couldn’t come due to Covid restrictions..)

Just had rooms painted by a painter for the first time, usually always diy it myself. Not realistic right now

That's a really good point. It takes the pressure off feeling like we have to do everything ourselves before the baby arrives (especially the garden). Good to support local businesses too. We have done lots since we moved in but there's always something that needs doing!

Thank you for your suggestions so far ladies. I have started the day with cleaning the conservatory and I'm already exhausted! Need to do a little bit at a time I think! 😴😜