What to do with my last month on maternity leave?

February 2, 2013 1:32 PM

I don't want to miss out on things in my last month of being home with my daughter before going back to work. Is there anything you wish you did before starting work full time? Anything that you wish you didn't do?

Suggestions on things to do with the baby. Or for myself.

My daughter is two and a half months old if that makes a difference.

posted by derivation to human relations (10 answers total)

I wish I didn't worry so much about going back. The anxiety made me crazy! And things are going so well, the daycare is great and work is, too.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 1:37 PM on February 2 [1 favorite]

Doing something for yourself: I wish I had hired a sitter and taken a spa day (or insert your favorite relaxing activity here). I was so sure my baby would be upset if I left, but after he started daycare at 3 months old I realized that it really would not have been an issue. I walked tearfully away the first day I dropped him off, but he was just chilling in his crib completely unaffected. A couple of weeks after he started, my mom came for a visit and watched him for us while we went out, and same thing - as long as there was milk for her to feed him, he was just fine.

Doing something with baby: I loved putting him in a carrier (like a Moby or Ego, not an infant car seat) and taking him with me to run errands, go shopping, etc. He loved being so close to me for extended periods of time and was such good company. He's 15 months old and while he is still good company, he's also a lot more demanding. If you think your baby would enjoy it, I'd recommend just getting outside and doing things you might normally do, just with a baby strapped to your chest :)
posted by DrGirlfriend at 1:56 PM on February 2

You might want to go and visit day care (if you're using day care) for a few hours at a time so that your daughter and more importantly you can get used to the idea. I did this and was particularly glad that I got to know the teachers before leaving the kiddo there.
posted by medusa at 2:05 PM on February 2

Also, if you're planning to feed breast milk at day care pumping as much as you can now to build up a supply is a good idea.
posted by medusa at 2:07 PM on February 2

My family and my in-laws both live 1000 miles away in opposite directions. So I spent time traveling. The families agreed to provide all the diapers and baby supplies on each end, so I didn't have to haul anything with me. An overnight bag with a few sets of underwear/shirts for me, one extra diaper and a small pack of wipes.
posted by CathyG at 3:14 PM on February 2

If you're breastfeeding and haven't yet trained your daughter to use a bottle, I highly recommend doing so. We didn't make a concerted effort to make sure my son could use a bottle; he had successfully done so a few times with the babysitter so we figured it would be fine. Wow, were we wrong, and that made the first few weeks of daycare way more fraught and difficult than they needed to be.
posted by forza at 3:36 PM on February 2 [1 favorite]

My favorite memory of my time off with my first daughter are the walks we took through the neigborhood, carrying her in a Baby Bjorn with a big coat over us because it was winter. I still think of those times when walking through the neighborhood now, and she's 8.
posted by kirst27 at 5:58 PM on February 2 [1 favorite]

If you can, cook and freeze some meals so that will be one less thing to do when you're back to work (more time to spend with baby!). Also, I shopped for some new work clothes (just a few new pair of pants) toward the end of my maternity leave and it was nice to have some new clothes that fit properly. Also, seconding pumping and introducing a bottle if you're breastfeeding. Good luck!
posted by Hop123 at 6:07 PM on February 2

Transition the baby to her crib now if she doesn't sleep there already - we did it at 3 months and it went smoothly; I've heard it can be harder if you wait. Just one less thing to worry about during the 4-month sleep regression ...

Get a babysitter and do some yoga classes or whatever, because you won't have time when you go back to work.

Have fun with your baby, and like TPS said, don't worry too much!
posted by yarly at 7:02 PM on February 2

seconding cooking & freezing meals -- i did that before the baby was born, & that was pretty great, but it was so much more helpful to have those meals after i went back to work, too -- especially b/c people were bringing food by when she was first born, but not so much by the time she was 3 mos old & i was back at work!
posted by oh really at 8:00 AM on February 3