Maternity leave is a weird thing when you really think about it. I am incredibly lucky to work for a company that provides paid leave, so I know I’m one of the lucky ones, but you guys? Maternity leave is just a whole curveball in your life, especially when you’ve been through it before and know the end is coming all too soon. This time around, I know the craziness that awaits me when I go back to work in two short months and it’s weird to think about.
I wish I could say I’m savoring every moment of leave. While I do know just how precious this time is, I also miss my everyday routines. I feel like I’m in this twilight zone of my life and just waiting for it to restart. So, some confessions about my maternity leave:
- If I don’t get out of the house at least once a day I go stir crazy. I’ve been trying to go on walks, but once it gets really cold this is going to be bad for my wallet since I’ll inevitably be going to stores.
- I never realized just how lazy my cats are. They literally sleep all day long.
- My favorite part of the day is when Chris and Abbie get home. One day I literally handed Ella to Chris, told him she had a full tummy, and went to take a shower.
- I have done more laundry in the past week than I usually do in two. I think being home to look at it all just makes me want to clean it.
- That said, I have not cleaned my house.
- We also have yet to put up our Christmas tree.
- In an effort to keep Abbie occupied when we’re busy with Ella, we’ve allowed Play-Dough to become an inside toy since she loves it and it’s something she can bring over to me while I’m nursing so I can play with her. I’m totally going to regret this when it’s all ground into the carpet.
- Ella is a total mommy’s girl and I have a love/hate relationship with it. On one hand, I love that she’s such a snuggler, but it’s also really hard to get things done.
- I am so, so thankful this kid for the most part likes to sleep at night. It’s made my life SO much easier.
- I really want to go visit work, but I’m holding off until Ella gets her 2 month shots. With it being flu season and the holidays, I think it’s better to wait until January, but I’m still ready to go in and see everyone.
- I hadn’t even started thinking of an activity to do for Abbie’s birthday until my sister brought it up the other day. The perils of a birthday close to a holiday and getting a new sibling the month before.
- I need to stop buying the white chocolate peppermint pretzel crisps. So good I eat the whole bag.
- I have about 10 pounds of pregnancy weight left and every time I start doing well I sabotage myself (see above).
- I have watched more TV in the past month than I did the previous 6 months.
- That said, daytime TV is really terrible. And they really need to get Kelly Ripa a permanent cohost.
- I thought I’d be trying new recipes while I was on leave, but mostly I just eat the same things over and over again.
- There were two days I had Abbie home from daycare with me and it just really solidifies that I am not stay at home mom material. Two kids at home all day is so hard!
So that’s where I’m at – the weird place of being on maternity leave but knowing what’s coming when I head back to work. I’m doing my best to just enjoy this time with our newest family member since I only get it once.
Fellow working moms, how was your maternity leave? Did you feel in limbo like I do too?
3 Responses
Being home all day is tough when it’s cold or too gross for us to go outside. We run errands almost every day in hopes of getting us out of the house for at least an hour or so. Winter is hard and today we are stuck indoors thanks to snow and unsafe roads.
I just went back to work after almost 3 months maternity leave with my first baby. I was the opposite, I would see myself as a stay at home mom. Yes I did the binge watching, yes I have a mommy’s girl who loves long snuggles, but every second of downtime has been devoted to cooking, cleaning and planing. Maybe it is the cold MN weather and the fact that I can’t go out at any opportunity, buy still try, I just love being a SAH mom.
Going back to work has been hard. Great to see more adults regularly but also incredibly hard to be away from her. Makes me appreciate weekends all that much more.
Oh, Anne, I’m sorry you’ve had such a hard time going back! I agree, the weekends are so much more precious once you’re a mom! It’s so hard when you first leave them too. Hope things get easier for you or if it’s what you really want, you find a way to stay home!