Worries about mat leave

Once your baby is born, you will be so preoccupied that work will be the last thing on your mind - probably

I didn’t have these worries but I literally worked right up to my induction date (I had to tell my boss I had to finish earlier than originally planned as wasn’t due to start Mat leave till my due date) as I heard ‘most firsts come late’ then once babies here any routine goes out the window!! Hahahaha so if you wanted to start mat leave early (as seems you are) find yourself a new routine. As they say ‘enjoy the peace and quiet’ because the new born trenches are the trenches 😅😅🤣

Yes this was me with my first. I’m not going to lie, I struggled massively with the change and lack of routine so much and in hindsight realised that I suffered with PPD. At the time I didn’t realise as I coped by going out every day and lying to myself that I was ok, but it did get better. I’m not saying this will be you - this was 4 years ago and I’m just the same now, loving a routine and being a bit of a workaholic, but my second mat has been completely different and I’ve been so much more chilled and just taken each day as it’s come. The births were also completely different so I’m not sure if this had a bit of an effect too. Sorry if I sound negative! But I just wanted to share my honest experience and say I could relate.

Your priorities will change

Also don’t worry if you miss your job whilst on mat leave! I have! It’s pretty ok, and human to miss something so important to you. But now I’m a month away from starting back and I’ve sobbed today at the thought of leaving him 😭

Yes I was the same. The key is to go out A LOT in the first few months. I would go to 2-3 baby groups a week. I basically tried them all and would do the ones where you go and play rather than having someone run a structured class. That way you just sit and talk to other mothers. I made a big effort to meet new people (this doesn’t come naturally to me) and now I have know SO many people and I rarely have a day where someone isn’t free to meet up, go for a walk ect.

I also found when they turn 6 months you get very busy with weaning, making food and freezing food, still giving milk and doing play and nap times that any free time I had was taken up by housework.

I went back to work last week after a year and I didn’t want to go back.

You can still have routine when on mat leave, but it looks a bit different to what you're used to most likely. For me, I made sure I had things I could go to each day, but not necessarily booked and paid for. So Monday was feeding support group, Tuesday was a walk round the park, Wednesday was a trip to the inpost lockers and coffee shop for a brownie, Thursday was rhyme time in the library, Friday was seeing a friend or family member.

In terms of routine at home, it's going to look different to usual I won't lie, it is hard to get used to for most people,but you will find your groove.

This happened to me and 2 months postpartum I couldn't for the life of me wait to go back to work. Now she's 8 months old and the feeling isn't gone, can't wait to go back

Oh my god this is me too!

Ftm/ routine queen / job lover as well. I felt the same before I went on mat leave in December but being a mum is my 'job' now (challenging but I'm enjoying it) and 'routine' revolves around the baby.

It took a while to figure things out and establish some kind of schedule and it changes all the time. When I was working, I made a 'to do' list for the week and I do the same now except the tasks are a bit different lol. Tasks can range from having a shower 😂 to putting a wash on.

Initially, my baby was feeding every three hours so I made a three hour rolling routine which I liked to follow, i.e. 1 hour feed, 1 hour simple task, 1 hour relax, repeat - sometimes worked and sometimes didn't. Babies can be so unpredictable and I found this really hard at first, but you'll figure out what works.

Take time to chill before your new boss arrives in May 😉, invest in a sling (for the tasks that need two hands) and savour every moment because it really goes so fast! I hope this helps xx

A new routine will emerge. I remember being surprised at how little down time I actually had while on mat leave. Don't be afraid to accept help when it's offered. You deserve rest and recovery time.