Day Off

Some people believe being on maternity leave is kind of like being on a long and relaxing holiday from "real" work. After all, you get to spend your days hanging out with your bundle of joy, merrily gossiping with your fellow mummies and generally having a splendid time, thank you very much - right?  It is indeed possible to drink lots of coffee and spend the afternoon chatting with your mum-chums, as I've written about before in this blog (for example here and here).  Those kind of get-togethers are really important to help keep you sane and in touch with other people going through the same shit as you, because looking after a little baby can be as isolating as it is awesome. 

Day to day life looking after a baby is pretty prosaic and revolves around such thrilling events as NAPS!  FEEDING TIME!  DIRTY NAPPIES! And, most importantly, ENTERTAINMENT!  Babies don't just sit around whilst you read a book, do the cooking or surf the net.  When they are awake they need pretty much constant stimulation to keep them from getting bored, grumpy and whingey.  Some days they are content to play happily by themselves (a skill they only start to develop at 6 months or so - Zoë can now play happily on her own sitting on her playmat or in her exersaucer for 10-20 minutes).  Other days they need to be carried around constantly, which is like a day long wrestling match with a wriggly, 10-armed limpet (although my arms are now fairly toned as a result).  In short, you are on duty 24/7, and everything else has to fit around that, including gossip/coffee sessions, trips to the supermarket, dental appointments, blogging, going to the loo, etc. 

Yesterday Zoë went to daycare at Eamon's office building.  I must say she seems to love it there and regardless of the time it gives me to do other things it's a great experience for her and will hopefully prepare her for when I go back to work and am away from her all day. 

In the days of yore I might have spent such a free day reading or making inroads into my Sharpe DVD box set.  These days I feel I should use the time more constructively.  So here's what I did:

I shampooed the carpet

I did all the laundry

I did the shopping

I found shipping companies to get our stuff back to the UK and requested quotes

I prepared dinner

I also:

went to the chiropractor

got a pedicure; and

spent 2 hours by the pool sunbathing and reading. 

That last activity was my favourite (the shampooing came a close second).  I thought about feeling guilty as I lazed on my lounger whilst my husband was slaving away over a hot PC, but then I thought bollocks, and started the next chapter of my book, secretly looking forward to my baby coming home so I could get a few of those wriggly cuddles in before bedtime.