If you are a first-time mom and at the same time a working woman, maternity leave can be one of the most significant adjustments in life.
The first days can be a blur to you since you are used to having a very substantial social life, and then all of a sudden, it’s just you and your baby at home.
I’m sure you have heard women complaining about how dull their maternity leaves were, but I am sure that others enjoyed their time.
Things you can do when you are on your maternity leave
If you know what you should do during your maternity leave, you will find the time a fantastic opportunity, and you will always look forward to having such days. However, you have to plan for this time to not run out of things to do.
For this reason, if your maternity leave is nearing and you are wondering what you will be doing all alone or with your baby, worry no more. This is because I have come up with several things that you can do to ensure that you maximize your time and get the chance to live your best life during your maternity leave.
1. Take a nap
This is one of the essential things that you can do during your maternity leave. However, if you have never been on maternity leave, you may not know the essence of taking a nap. During the night hours, babies tend to be awake, and therefore, they disturb their mothers. For this reason, be sure that you will not get adequate sleep during the night, and even if you are very sleepy, you will have to wake up several times to feed and breastfeed your baby.
Even if you are not falling asleep, you should lie down and get some rest. Whenever your baby sleeps, take a nap during that time since the chances are that you may never get time to take your nap whenever the baby is not asleep. Taking a nap makes you get enough time to rest, and therefore you will be able to take care of your kid when you are sober.
2. Leave your house with your baby or alone
Most women find maternity leaves to be isolating, especially those recovering from C-sections and cannot lift heavy objects. Therefore, spending the whole day indoors can be boring and monotonous since you have to do it every day for some months. The good thing is that you are not limited to leaving your house whenever you feel like it.
This is why you should leave the house for a few minutes. During this time, you can decide to wander around, go shopping, or even take a walk on the streets. The target is to leave the house, and therefore, you do not have to plan on a location. You can decide to leave the house with or even without your baby. This depends on whether you have a caregiver or not. However, most women love going with their kids since they may not be comfortable when away from these young babies.
3. Go for a massage
After giving birth, your body becomes very tight and sore as a result of this process. This is what makes most of the moms on maternity leave feel fatigued at all the time. However, it would be best if you did something to make your body feel better again. This is why you need to have a postnatal massage when you are on maternity leave.
4. Explore your city
Most people think that boarding a plane with a very young baby is terrifying; however, there are many ways in which you can use it if you want to explore your city. Most cities have discounted or free days to visit zoos, museums, aquariums, art galleries, etc. Therefore, you have the chance to select farms, beaches, and parks if your maternity leave comes during summer. On the other hand, winter moms can get ice rinks, indoor playgrounds, indoor pools, festivals, parades, and other events taking part in the city.
In most cases, you may never attend all these events or even visit all these free places due to your daily activities. When you are on maternity leave, you have the best opportunity to do all these things. Therefore, you should consider exploring one of the things you can do when you are on maternity leave. It would be essential to take advantage of the activities that happen during the daytime and not in the nights since this will be impossible with your young baby.
5. Meet some mom friends
It can be challenging for you to survive during maternity leave if you do not have mom-friends. Some people think that they can do it alone, but it is tough for them. Meeting mom-friends can be among the best things you can do when you are on maternity leave. During my pregnancy days, I met some women at the clinic, and since we regularly met for your clinics, we became friends.
When delivering, I came across many women, and before leaving the hospitals, we exchanged our numbers. Later on, we started group chats with these women, and we would talk about the baby and caregiving-related topics. You may not believe this, but the discussions were very resourceful.
I believe that not every woman can meet friends during the clinics or even when delivering. Despite this fact, you are required to have conversations with people who will understand you and your condition. When you meet some mom-friends, you can share ideas or even talk to them whenever you are faced with any challenges when raising your baby. Therefore, if you do not know what to do when you are on your maternity leave, you should get out and meet with several mom-friends, share your ideas and get to learn from each other.
6. Hit the gym
When you are pregnant, you get cravings for different types of foods, making you add weight. When you give birth, things become worse since you have to ensure that you feed well to ensure you have enough milk for your baby. For this reason, you will gain more weight with time. Living indoors makes you gain so much weight, become inactive, and lead to different health issues.
This is the last thing you would wish to deal with when you are on maternity leave. Many women will look for pills that will help them lose weight after childbirth, but this has so many consequences. However, you can spend some of your time in the gym doing some exercises which help you become physically fit with time. Exercising also makes you active, and after spending some time in the gym, you will begin to feel better.
7. Start blogging
When you are on maternity leave, it does not mean that you cannot think. Therefore, you need to start something that will make you become active and also earn some money. This is why you are advised to make sure that you begin blogging. There are so many topics that you can write on as another despite being on maternity leave. Some of the blogs you can write about include mom blogs, parenting blogs, travel blogs, pet blogs, fashion blogs, and cooking blogs.
If there is something you have always wanted to share with the people out there, this will be time for you to do it. You only require capturing several photos depending on the topics you are talking about. You can also record and upload video blogs on youtube on the issues you find amazing.
8. Start your own business
When most moms go for maternity leave, they are not usually sure whether they will get back to their job. However, the good thing is that women have so many more options than you can imagine. You may lose your job after leaving for your leave, but there are other things that you can do to earn a living.
This is the perfect time for you to start a business and become your boss. This will give you the chance you need and the freedom you require to stay close to your child and, at the same time, pursue your passion. When you dive into this new field, you must ensure that you work hard to ensure that your business becomes successful.
9. Go for a leisure class
A woman on maternity leave spends her day feeding, cuddling, and taking care of her child. However, this does not mean that you should forget what you love doing during your leisure time. Whether you live painting, taking photographs, cooking, singing, or dancing, it is not bad if you enrolled in a class that will help you do what you love doing. When you register for a leisure class, you have time to be around other adults, which reminds you of your social life.
10. Visit different child care facilities
If you are to go back to work, you will require taking your kid to a child care facility with caregivers who will care for your baby when you are working. For this reason, you have to look for the best child care center where you will be taking your child. This is one of the hardest things that most parents find themselves doing, but you have to do it since you have to go back to work. This means that you have to do it before you return to work, and therefore, you should do this when you are on your maternity leave.
11. Post maternity planning
The last thing you need to do is prepare for your life after the maternity leave is over. The time you spend on your maternity leave can be very great but be sure that it will end. Therefore, you need to make use of this time and prepare for your life after the leave ends. Some of the things you need to do are preparing to go back to the workforce, raising finances, mental preparations, catching up on office work, organizing childcare.
Just Have Fun
With all the above things, I’m sure you will have the best maternity leave.
Nothing will make your life dull, and you will love every minute you spend during your maternity leave.
When your maternity leave ends, you will wish that someone extends your maternity leave to continue with what you have been doing.
