8 Tips For Enjoying Maternity Leave
Any woman who has ever been pregnant looks forward to the day her baby will arrive. They even more so look forward to maternity leave where they can kick their feet up and collect on the long awaited baby snuggles, the quiet house, the infinite rest, all the free time to catch up on DIY projects and Netflix shows, or maybe even read the books you have been using as decoration. Am I right or am I right? HAHAHAHA That's a fantasy!
If you have ever had a child and stayed home on maternity leave you may be laughing to yourself at the very thought of it being anything like a vacation. From crying babies and dirty diapers to sleepless nights and minimal time for proper self hygiene, you know its more like a job that never ends. That being said, I can definitely say I do not envy a single SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) out there. You ladies are the real MVP. But, with all that said, it can still be enjoyable. These are some things I found to be helpful during maternity leave and helped maintain my sanity.
***This contains affiliate links which I receive monetary compensation for. I only affiliate with products and services that I have tried and found to be exceptional.
It may seem crazy to think this would help, I know! But the truth is; IT DOES! If you force yourself to get up every day and put yourself together as though you are expecting company or you have somewhere to be it does two things for you. First, it makes you feel like you; normal, pretty, human. Second, it prepares you for those days you do have somewhere to be. Let's face it, they tell us not to leave the house with a newborn for 6 weeks but then they schedule 3 appointments within that 6 weeks. Nobody wants to go to the pediatrician looking like they just got off the hot mess express. If you have been getting dressed every day you won't find any new stress in doing it to actually leave the house. Consider it practice! And we all know practice makes perfect!
If you had a shower for your baby you probably received a ton of clothing. Chances are, that clothing is about 70% newborn or 0-3 months. You will be spending at least half of that 0-3 months at home with your little bundle of joy. You don't want all those adorable baby clothes to go to waste do you? Get that baby dressed as well for the day! This adds to that routine of getting yourself dressed. You will be so used to it that you won't stress when its time for you to return to work and baby to go to daycare. By the end of your leave you will likely have a solid routine for getting you and your baby ready.
If you have other kids try and have your SO help out. I have a 4 year old daughter and I actually knew this would be something that I would need help with so I had him start helping with her in the mornings while I was still pregnant to get them both used to it. He even does her hair. So now that I have returned to work, he takes care of my daughter from waking her up to kissing her goodbye and I nurse the baby, get him dressed, get myself dressed and get on my way with both kiddos! It's a flawless routine now because I did it every day on maternity leave.
A lot of women are afraid to leave home with a newborn. I'm not a big fan of it unless I absolutely have to. You still need some fresh air and sunshine. On the days when the weather is nice, put baby in the stroller and go for a walk. I live in a neighborhood with a lot of really pretty scenery so I really enjoyed my daily walk and the baby got some fresh air too.
Some tips I have for stroller walks:
Pay attention to the weather. If its hot keep baby in cool clothing and keep him/her shaded from the sun because they are too young for sunscreen just yet. I also bought this Adorable Animal Design Stroller Fan to keep my little munchkin cool on our walks since he was born in the middle of the summer. On the contrary, if it is cold make sure you bundle your little one up really warm as their little bodies don't regulate temperature too well just yet.
If you have a dog this is a good time to take them for a walk too! I walked my dog with us so that she wasn't running around the house with pent up energy while I was trying to get the baby to sleep. This is another important thing to keep your sanity during maternity leave. Wear those fur babies out so they aren't fighting for your attention as well.
A lot of times, family and friends will offer to help and many moms are embarrassed and decline the invitation. They feel as though they need to act as a host and this seems daunting. Set aside how embarrassed you are about the condition of your house or your person and graciously accept ANY and ALL of those offers. My sister had declined my mother's help with her newborn because she was so exhausted and the baby had kept her up all night. She didn't want to entertain my mom all day. I told her she should have let her come over and asked her to keep the baby while her and her SO got some much needed sleep. She felt pretty foolish after declining my mother's offer. This happens more often than you think. If their offer is genuine and they really do care about you, they aren't judging your home. They most likely have been through it already and they honestly just want to help you out because they remember the feeling themselves. Let them come over and do your laundry and your dishes or cook you dinner or just hold the baby so you can get a shower or bath in. These things are important! Don't be too proud or embarrassed to ask for help.
I know this may sound mean and a bit unpopular, however, it is important to separate yourself for short periods of time from your newborn. This benefits both of you. Especially if your are breast feeding. When you are home all day with a newborn you can feel a bit enslaved to that little person. You have to be at their beck and call every second of every hour of every day. The first week or so this is great. Your heart is bursting with love and you can't get enough of it. Then the luster wears off a bit. You still love your baby but those well known "baby blues" start to hit you and you just want a small break. Take it! Don't feel guilty either! Your SO or friend/family member is well equipped to care for your little one. I started pumping at 2 weeks postpartum because I knew I was returning to work, so I had saved up a small stash. This allowed me to go get a massage in the evening when my boyfriend returned home from work. He sat with the kids and I got some much needed mommy time. I came back home feeling brand new and ready for all the baby tasks again. It's important for you to take some "me time". I even went grocery shopping by myself just to get out of the house and away from the baby for an hour or so. This also helps baby get used to other care takers which is a huge bonus if you are returning to work. We let my parents and my in laws watch him so we could have a date night and it went great. His first day at daycare was no big deal because he was already used to a bottle and already used to other people taking care of him.
You may expect to be one of those super human moms that gets the house completely reorganized, the bedroom repainted and completed all the DIY projects on her list. That's great if you do it, but don't make it an expectation of yourself. Sure, you can set goals but they need to be really small ones like "I'll try to take the trash out today!" or "I'm going to wash my hair today!" Don't use your maternity leave to attack the list of things you have needed to get done for the past year. It waited a year it can wait another few months. Setting those high expectations will mentally mess with you and make you feel like a failure every day because you can never know what to expect from a day at home with a newborn. I did good to eat a balanced breakfast every day. Most of the time I was in a hurry to feed a screaming a baby so I scarfed down some cereal or a protein bar. Then I would fall asleep after feeding the baby and wake up 2 hours later to him screaming again for more milk and I haven't done anything but sleep. I kept feeling like a failure because I didn't clean the kitchen, I didn't take a shower and I hadn't gone for a walk! Each day I got upset, my boyfriend would say, "You may not have done all that stuff but you cared for the most precious thing in the world and that's far more important than any of those other things! You are not a failure!" Always keep in mind that you are caring for another life and that in and of itself is pretty amazing.
I know you get tired of hearing it. If you are anything like me you think when the baby goes to sleep is prime time to get your chores done. DON'T DO IT!!!! Rest! You may not get another opportunity to rest. Don't gamble with your sleep! If you have a moment to nap you need it! I kept trying to clean when the baby was asleep and then I would try and lay down after I cleaned...well guess what?!?! The baby would always wake up as soon as I laid my head on my pillow. I finally realized, my house will just have to be dirty for a day or so. I actually found that if I slept when he slept he would actually let me do some chores while he was awake. I could put him in the swing or on the mat for some tummy time and get the kitchen clean while watching him. This benefited us both because I was well rested and not cranky and he was well rested and not feeding off my cranky energy and I got some cleaning done!
Some babies want to be held constantly and we have all been told you can't spoil a newborn. I would beg to differ! Mine is very spoiled but I did that and I knew what I was doing. I didn't want to put him down because I couldn't get enough of his squishiness and that baby smell and all the wonderful cuddles. I knew I would pay for it later but I didn't care. So what do you do when you're stuck at home with a baby that just wants to be held and you can't even set them down long enough to use the restroom without them screaming? You wear them! Kangaroo style baby!!! I used the Ergobaby 360 All Carry Positions Carrier to wear my little man around the house. This freed up my hands to make lunch or dinner, to fold laundry or to do pretty much anything without having to put the baby down and let him scream. This was great for both our sanity and I also found it useful in the grocery store when you don't want to haul in that huge car seat carrier that takes up the whole cart anyway. Plus the Ergo has a flap that covers up the baby's head so you can protect them from other people and germs. Nobody can even see them in there and you can use that as a privacy cover to nurse a fussy baby while you grocery shop without anyone knowing!
These are all things I did during my maternity leave and I really ended up enjoying my time at home. I returned to work after 7 weeks at home on maternity leave and I am happy to say that I got the most out of my stay at home with my kiddos. I hope you find these helpful and can enjoy your time at home as well. Please remember to subscribe to our mailing list below to stay up to date with new content, giveaways, and special offers!
If you have ever had a child and stayed home on maternity leave you may be laughing to yourself at the very thought of it being anything like a vacation. From crying babies and dirty diapers to sleepless nights and minimal time for proper self hygiene, you know its more like a job that never ends. That being said, I can definitely say I do not envy a single SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) out there. You ladies are the real MVP. But, with all that said, it can still be enjoyable. These are some things I found to be helpful during maternity leave and helped maintain my sanity.
***This contains affiliate links which I receive monetary compensation for. I only affiliate with products and services that I have tried and found to be exceptional.
Get Dressed Every Day!
It may seem crazy to think this would help, I know! But the truth is; IT DOES! If you force yourself to get up every day and put yourself together as though you are expecting company or you have somewhere to be it does two things for you. First, it makes you feel like you; normal, pretty, human. Second, it prepares you for those days you do have somewhere to be. Let's face it, they tell us not to leave the house with a newborn for 6 weeks but then they schedule 3 appointments within that 6 weeks. Nobody wants to go to the pediatrician looking like they just got off the hot mess express. If you have been getting dressed every day you won't find any new stress in doing it to actually leave the house. Consider it practice! And we all know practice makes perfect!
Dress Your Baby Every Day!
If you had a shower for your baby you probably received a ton of clothing. Chances are, that clothing is about 70% newborn or 0-3 months. You will be spending at least half of that 0-3 months at home with your little bundle of joy. You don't want all those adorable baby clothes to go to waste do you? Get that baby dressed as well for the day! This adds to that routine of getting yourself dressed. You will be so used to it that you won't stress when its time for you to return to work and baby to go to daycare. By the end of your leave you will likely have a solid routine for getting you and your baby ready.
If you have other kids try and have your SO help out. I have a 4 year old daughter and I actually knew this would be something that I would need help with so I had him start helping with her in the mornings while I was still pregnant to get them both used to it. He even does her hair. So now that I have returned to work, he takes care of my daughter from waking her up to kissing her goodbye and I nurse the baby, get him dressed, get myself dressed and get on my way with both kiddos! It's a flawless routine now because I did it every day on maternity leave.
Get Out of the House!
A lot of women are afraid to leave home with a newborn. I'm not a big fan of it unless I absolutely have to. You still need some fresh air and sunshine. On the days when the weather is nice, put baby in the stroller and go for a walk. I live in a neighborhood with a lot of really pretty scenery so I really enjoyed my daily walk and the baby got some fresh air too.
Some tips I have for stroller walks:
Pay attention to the weather. If its hot keep baby in cool clothing and keep him/her shaded from the sun because they are too young for sunscreen just yet. I also bought this Adorable Animal Design Stroller Fan to keep my little munchkin cool on our walks since he was born in the middle of the summer. On the contrary, if it is cold make sure you bundle your little one up really warm as their little bodies don't regulate temperature too well just yet.
If you have a dog this is a good time to take them for a walk too! I walked my dog with us so that she wasn't running around the house with pent up energy while I was trying to get the baby to sleep. This is another important thing to keep your sanity during maternity leave. Wear those fur babies out so they aren't fighting for your attention as well.
Invite Family/Friends Over to Help!
A lot of times, family and friends will offer to help and many moms are embarrassed and decline the invitation. They feel as though they need to act as a host and this seems daunting. Set aside how embarrassed you are about the condition of your house or your person and graciously accept ANY and ALL of those offers. My sister had declined my mother's help with her newborn because she was so exhausted and the baby had kept her up all night. She didn't want to entertain my mom all day. I told her she should have let her come over and asked her to keep the baby while her and her SO got some much needed sleep. She felt pretty foolish after declining my mother's offer. This happens more often than you think. If their offer is genuine and they really do care about you, they aren't judging your home. They most likely have been through it already and they honestly just want to help you out because they remember the feeling themselves. Let them come over and do your laundry and your dishes or cook you dinner or just hold the baby so you can get a shower or bath in. These things are important! Don't be too proud or embarrassed to ask for help.
Take a Break From Baby!
I know this may sound mean and a bit unpopular, however, it is important to separate yourself for short periods of time from your newborn. This benefits both of you. Especially if your are breast feeding. When you are home all day with a newborn you can feel a bit enslaved to that little person. You have to be at their beck and call every second of every hour of every day. The first week or so this is great. Your heart is bursting with love and you can't get enough of it. Then the luster wears off a bit. You still love your baby but those well known "baby blues" start to hit you and you just want a small break. Take it! Don't feel guilty either! Your SO or friend/family member is well equipped to care for your little one. I started pumping at 2 weeks postpartum because I knew I was returning to work, so I had saved up a small stash. This allowed me to go get a massage in the evening when my boyfriend returned home from work. He sat with the kids and I got some much needed mommy time. I came back home feeling brand new and ready for all the baby tasks again. It's important for you to take some "me time". I even went grocery shopping by myself just to get out of the house and away from the baby for an hour or so. This also helps baby get used to other care takers which is a huge bonus if you are returning to work. We let my parents and my in laws watch him so we could have a date night and it went great. His first day at daycare was no big deal because he was already used to a bottle and already used to other people taking care of him.
Can Your Expectations!
You may expect to be one of those super human moms that gets the house completely reorganized, the bedroom repainted and completed all the DIY projects on her list. That's great if you do it, but don't make it an expectation of yourself. Sure, you can set goals but they need to be really small ones like "I'll try to take the trash out today!" or "I'm going to wash my hair today!" Don't use your maternity leave to attack the list of things you have needed to get done for the past year. It waited a year it can wait another few months. Setting those high expectations will mentally mess with you and make you feel like a failure every day because you can never know what to expect from a day at home with a newborn. I did good to eat a balanced breakfast every day. Most of the time I was in a hurry to feed a screaming a baby so I scarfed down some cereal or a protein bar. Then I would fall asleep after feeding the baby and wake up 2 hours later to him screaming again for more milk and I haven't done anything but sleep. I kept feeling like a failure because I didn't clean the kitchen, I didn't take a shower and I hadn't gone for a walk! Each day I got upset, my boyfriend would say, "You may not have done all that stuff but you cared for the most precious thing in the world and that's far more important than any of those other things! You are not a failure!" Always keep in mind that you are caring for another life and that in and of itself is pretty amazing.
Sleep When Baby Sleeps!
I know you get tired of hearing it. If you are anything like me you think when the baby goes to sleep is prime time to get your chores done. DON'T DO IT!!!! Rest! You may not get another opportunity to rest. Don't gamble with your sleep! If you have a moment to nap you need it! I kept trying to clean when the baby was asleep and then I would try and lay down after I cleaned...well guess what?!?! The baby would always wake up as soon as I laid my head on my pillow. I finally realized, my house will just have to be dirty for a day or so. I actually found that if I slept when he slept he would actually let me do some chores while he was awake. I could put him in the swing or on the mat for some tummy time and get the kitchen clean while watching him. This benefited us both because I was well rested and not cranky and he was well rested and not feeding off my cranky energy and I got some cleaning done!
Invest in a Baby Wearing Device!
Some babies want to be held constantly and we have all been told you can't spoil a newborn. I would beg to differ! Mine is very spoiled but I did that and I knew what I was doing. I didn't want to put him down because I couldn't get enough of his squishiness and that baby smell and all the wonderful cuddles. I knew I would pay for it later but I didn't care. So what do you do when you're stuck at home with a baby that just wants to be held and you can't even set them down long enough to use the restroom without them screaming? You wear them! Kangaroo style baby!!! I used the Ergobaby 360 All Carry Positions Carrier to wear my little man around the house. This freed up my hands to make lunch or dinner, to fold laundry or to do pretty much anything without having to put the baby down and let him scream. This was great for both our sanity and I also found it useful in the grocery store when you don't want to haul in that huge car seat carrier that takes up the whole cart anyway. Plus the Ergo has a flap that covers up the baby's head so you can protect them from other people and germs. Nobody can even see them in there and you can use that as a privacy cover to nurse a fussy baby while you grocery shop without anyone knowing!
These are all things I did during my maternity leave and I really ended up enjoying my time at home. I returned to work after 7 weeks at home on maternity leave and I am happy to say that I got the most out of my stay at home with my kiddos. I hope you find these helpful and can enjoy your time at home as well. Please remember to subscribe to our mailing list below to stay up to date with new content, giveaways, and special offers!
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