How to survive maternity leave in 10 easy steps 

Jeni Dibley-Rouse - 7 Mar 17

Before you have a baby you visualise maternity leave as a year off and it can’t be that hard looking after a baby? I optimistically signed up for a tastecard as I thought I would be lunching out all the time, needless to say I never used that card once. Here are my tips on how to survive maternity leave.

Prep up

I stocked the house with everything so I didn’t have to leave the house in the early days, ok so this feels a bit over kill but it really helped, mainly because a trip to the shops with a baby can take all day and needs to be planned between feeds, nappy changes and general exhaustion. We had enough food and toiletries for 6 weeks!

Get yourself some Mum mates

You are not going to like everyone it’s best to find the ones that are similar to you and that make you happy. Unfortently your children are not going to always like each other and that’s ok too, this is normal. There are local Facebook groups, put yourself out there, what have you got the lose. Recently apps similar to Tinder for mum’s now exist like Mush, also playgroups are good, try it out it might not be your thing but hey you’ve given it a go.

Box sets

On maternity leave number two, I re-watched the whole of Desperate Housewives and all of Game of Thrones. At 1st I found the time whilst I was waiting for number 2 to arrive and then all the feeding and late nights provided more than enough time. 

Bath treats

I’m a massive bath person, I love laying in the bath relaxing but treat yourself to some really nice products, one of my favourites is Arbonne detox spa bath, my theory was I’m not going out so a long bath was all I had to look forward to after a long day. 

Exercise

This can be hard with a little one but even a walk with a pushchair is good, fresh air for you and baby can make you both feel so much better. In the early days a small walk would exhaust me but I built it up slowly and now both myself and husband exercise regularly and believe me if you knew us before kids you would not think we would be capable but everything changes when you have kids. Also it’s a break, an hour to yourself.

Getting drunk

Yep the 1st time you get drunk after having a baby can go two ways but DEFINITELY do it as you will feel so much better after if not a little hungover, it’s your me time even if it’s only a couple of hours, I recommend fizz ONLY (don’t stray on to the emergency booze cupboard) as you can still function the next day okish.

Don’t stress

The 1st time round I stressed about everything and always told myself everything is a phase and it really is; you just have to ride it out and I promise you things do get better. Try not to compare too much but that is easier said than done. No one is super mum!

Tea and cake

Never drank tea before but now I can’t live without it and I quite enjoy a bit of cake too. So you want to lose the baby weight but don’t stress it took 9 months to grow a baby how amazing is that and now it’s going to take time to get your body back, that’s what a big jumper and maternity jeans are for. Forget the celebrities bouncing back it’s all fake, trust me I know.

Social Media 

Now I’m a strong believer that social media got me through some darks days as funny blogs (hurrah for gin) made me laugh and see the lighter side of things. However, follow the ones that make you happy not the ones that make you feel shit about yourself as no one needs negativity in their life. The way I see it every mum has had to clear up mess regardless of who you are and what you have. 

Get something that makes you smile

It doesn’t matter what it is but it needs to make you feel good about yourself. Maybe your favourite food, a card that makes you smile or even a saying that you stick on a post it note somewhere you look at everyday. Mine was my Tiba and Marl rucksack with its leopard print changing mat so every time I had to change a nappy we did it in leopard print style, here is my review on the bag “happiness is a leopard print changing mat”. 
It’s great we have the opportunity to take a long maternity leave so enjoy it.

Jeni Dibley-Rouse

I'm a mum of two children, Joe (5) and Grace (2), married to the husband and I quit my job of 15 years in post production TV (mainly working in advertising with a few documentaries) to run the family full time. I enjoy laughing through every phase of being a parent with the Joe and Grace.   I look on the brighter side of life 99% of the time. I'm aways on Instagram doing an insta story of our day to day life so if you fancy it come and follow us over there too @everythingisaphase

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