Week 18/52 of maternity leave
Beaconsfield services, a builder-baker and classic nan gifting
I’m hoping that committing to a weekly post of something that is quite literally nothing other than a summary of the week just passed will be a sure-fire way of holding myself accountable in posting here on Substack. Not only that, I’d be thrilled if it helps reset my Baby Brain Zero Short Term Memory because good lord I’ve felt useless in that department since 2023 before I was pregnant.
So, here’s my first round up of the last 7 days of my maternity leave…
Our first family UK staycation: Brighton
Okay, we’re starting with a slight fib because this happened the weekend before, and really it was Hove not Brighton, but it’s a super special milestone for us. We had the loveliest time visiting our best friends in Hove and Winnie smashed the drive down from Oxfordshire (who knew 3 month olds were good drivers ;)) with a couple pit stops for food and nappy changes.
Side-note: in the name of good old British topics of conversation, if this post reaches anybody - how about you leave a comment with your fave UK motorway services. Big-up Beaconsfield. You’ve got Nando’s, you’ve got churros, a noodle bar, Starbucks, WHSmiths, M&S… the list goes on. One point deducted for lack of bins. I can’t believe I’m writing this. Tell me you’ve hit your 30’s without telling me you’ve hit your 30’s…
When I was planning this trip (a whirlwind 24 hours, but a trip nonetheless) with my friend and she asked what we wanted to do, I said I just wanted Winnie to see the sea and for her to spend some time with her favourite Auntie and Uncle. So that’s what we did! The weather treated us to a sunny Sunday morning stroll starting at Hixon Green for breakfast and ended on Hove beach with a coffee. If Carlsberg did Sundays *chefs kiss*.
Arriving on the Saturday, our friend had a hankering for a Vietnamese sandwich from Earl’s and I can confirm it was special indeed.
All that paired with a home made lasagne for dinner, rosé, an impeccable cheesecake (more on that shortly), a crap rom-com (see ‘Cordially Invited’ on Amazon Prime) plus a clever little bab sleeping through even in her new travel cot - bish bash bosh, thank you very much Brighton & Hove!
Winnie is free!
This will probably form a post of it’s own someday, but long story short, Winnie had been in a Pavlik harness since 7 weeks old to fix her diagnosis of hip dysplasia. She’d been in her harness for 8 long weeks with just half an hour a day out of it for a bath or quick kickabout, and Tuesday was the day she was discharged and the scabby poop-stained harness went swifty in the bin. The change I’ve seen in Win since then has been both wonderful and emotional… my baby has long legs! For weeks she’s looked like a dinky little thing constantly in a frog-leg position to aid development of her hip joint, and now Winnie is lanky gal. She’s been so much more babbly, started grasping toys (maybe a coincidence but I genuinely feel she’s happier and more confident since being out of it), and doing great with tummy-time and assisted rolling. We had a couple fussy bedtimes that I can only put down to Winnie feeling less ‘contained’ and getting used to the sensation of legs on the ground when sleeping - but otherwise, I have a happy clever girl that suddenly seems to be growing so quickly 🥲.
Swimming class #1
Winnie and I dived straight in to life post-harness and attended her first swimming class the day after. There was something so silly and beautiful being in a circle of parents crab-walking in shallow water, singing songs and blowing bubbles all in aid of making your baby smile and gain confidence. I’m sure I will become desensitised to the silliness the more I attend parent-baby classes (I hadn’t been to any yet), but for the most introverted of people I can imagine it’s really hard to leave your inhibitions at the door and get foolish in public with your little one.
Cheesecake, lots of it
My other half does this thing every couple of months where he gets the bug for baking, which I find super cute considering he is a builder and loves nothing more than knocking walls down and mixing cement (get you a man that can do both!). So after our friend presented us with a banging home-made biscoff & galaxy cheesecake at the weekend, naturally he got in the mood for giving it a whirl himself and whipped up a nutella cheesecake a couple days later. With malteasers on top. We don’t mess around nor do we count calories.
He proclaims he has a good eye for measurements because of his job, and much to my friends dismay, doesn’t weigh out his ingredients. Talk about transferable skills.
Solo time at watercolour class
I have been attending a local monthly watercolour class for nearly 2 years now and getting back to it following a short break when I had Winnie has done wonders for me mentally. It may only be a couple of hours a month but doing something that is for nothing other than my own pleasure is just lovely and really hits different now I’m a mum. I’m not great, but I’m getting better, and most importantly I enjoy it. I’m hoping to take all of the woodland-themed pieces I’ve done over the years and get them framed for Winnie’s room. I’ll be forever grateful for Barry’s classes and reigniting the creative spark in me.
Recordings of Barry’s lessons can be purchased here, and art supplies from his shop here. Shop small business, people!
25 year old bibs
My partner’s grandparents came to visit Winnie and brought with them some bibs they found at their house that were used for all their grandchildren some 20-25 years ago. “I wasn’t even looking for them, I just came across them in the spare room…” very cute but they will be getting a thorough wash 😅. I lost all of my grandparents nearing 10+ years ago now, so it is bittersweet for me when I’m exposed to these sorts of textbook grandma and grandpa acts of love. I can just imagine my lovely, and favourite (soz nanny Kate) nanny Peg doing something similar. Along with the bibs came a gorgeous knitted cardigan which will be treasured.
Phew… whether this gets any reads or not, I have THOROUGHLY enjoyed writing this reflection and think I’m going to find this very cathartic to do week on week. Maybe not so much once I reach week 52/52 of maternity leave *screams inside*, but I’m sure I’m going to be very grateful to have made a record of how I spent my days in Winnie’s first year.
Until next time!
What a fab first post! And wow, Winnie sounds like she’s having a fab start to life. Brighton is one of my fave spots…! Love the watercolour too! Oh and favourite service station was one in the Lake District… the Harrods of service stations I’d say!
Gloucester services are first rate. If Carlsberg did service stations…I’m in Week 41 of maternity leave myself, and I’m writing loads (once I figured out how to use a pen whilst breastfeeding/with a sleeping baby on me). I forget the vitamin D drops many days!