Week 21/52 of maternity leave
day drinking to national trust walks - it's all about balance
Reflecting on the week through these roundups is helping so much with my efforts to practice gratitude. As another week of maternity leave came to a close I realised how differently the week seven days prior had ended, and how important it is to take the bad with the good, the struggle with the joy, because it really does make the better times feel really great.
My cup was refilled this week thanks to the sun shining, quality family time and catch-ups and singing my heart out with my best friends.
Swimming class #4
I’m so proud of how Winnie is getting on with swimming. It’s a very beautiful thing watching your baby learning and playing, seeing their personality take shape. From making no fuss over getting her wetsuit on and off, to embracing gliding through the water face-down for the first time, I felt like this week I saw Winnie’s brave and laid-back personality come through in swimming,… reminding me more and more of her Dad!
Getting our Funkypants on
Our first dry-land baby class was a local one called Funkypants, that offers coffee and cake whilst you watch your little one boogie with a kind lady and some props. I went with a friend who has a 2 year old and whilst Win was a little young for it, she was all smiles watching the bigger kids singing and dancing. I don’t know if I’m being a bit feeble, but I did struggle to get out for a non-negotiable time of 10am twice in the week to get to classes (the other one being swimming). It’s definitely easier to get out and about after the first nap and second feed of the day. I will be kind to myself though and just gauge what works for us as we experiment with more classes.
Bottomless brunching - Go Wildcats!
In the post-partum haze I booked a bottomless brunch for my friends and I, I guess as a treat to future me for getting through the first few months of motherhood. I’m SO glad I did. We went for a High School Musical themed brunch in London which was my complete obsession when I was 11, so the nostalgia plus my first proper day out since having Winnie made for a veeeeery lively affair. It was my first time having a good few drinks since being pregnant (though the drinks were basically juice with a bit of prosecco).
It felt equal parts good and strange to be doing things that were more part of my life pre-baby, than part of my life the past few months. It did bring me some relief though to prove to myself that I can have both - even as a breastfeeding mum, which has felt like a bit of an obstacle at times in terms of reintegrating more back into society. I pumped twice whilst out in London; once before eating and once on the train home. I brought a little ice pack & cooler bag with me in my backpack and was so chuffed with myself for making it work so I could still go out for a full day/night and have a good time. It honestly felt like such an achievement and it’s really boosted my confidence.
A wholesome Sunday
The other half finally had a full day off, hurrah! So we got ourselves out of the house to Stowe Gardens in Buckinghamshire, a lovely National Trust venue, with the baby and the dog. Some family time was much needed, just the four of us. It was a lovely sunny Sunday and these lighter evenings are helping my mood massively.
A little gift from me to me
Since Winnie was born, I’ve been making photo albums each month through FreePrints Photobooks. It’s an app that offers one for free each month - you just need to pay for delivery (and any additional pages after 20, but you can do multiple photos per page and fit loads in). I thought it’d be a nice coffee table stack and a lovely way of reflecting on each month up until Winnie turns 1. I really look forward to making it, and then I forget about it until it turns up in the post!
What I’m reading: The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods & The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk
I had no idea that you get Prime Reading for free with your Amazon Prime subscription and I have no physical fiction books unread on my shelf a the moment, so I’ve dusted off my Kindle and downloaded The Lost Bookshop. I’m not very far in, but so far it’s alternating between narratives from Opaline, Martha and Henry, and are all following the same thread relating to a, well… lost bookshop. It seems like its going to be a nice inoffensive read to get me back in the swing of it. I’m trying to read whilst breastfeeding and before bed - if I can keep my eyes open long enough!
What we’re watching: Ted Lasso
Yes I know, late again to the party! We’re loving this. Charming and lighthearted which is just what I need really to wind down with my partner when he’s home from work. You don’t have to like/care about football to be into this - I’m finding it’s not actually the primary focus but more driven by the characters. Glad we got onto it!
I’m all ears for books and series to watch - new or old. Let me know your faves!
Pump talk
I’m thinking of doing a full post about what’s worked for me so far with breastfeeding and pumping. But anyway, a little piece of reality I faced up to recently was that I needed more than one electric pump. 1), so I could pump on both sides at the same time, but in all honesty the main reason being 2) - so I have enough that I don’t need to worry about keeping on top of washing and sterilising between morning and night. I couldn’t justify buying another Momcozy M5 (working great for me but just a little out of my price range now that I’m on statutory maternity pay…although I see it is discounted on Amazon at the moment!), so I went for a twin pack of the Nuliie wearable breast pump - meaning I got two for half the price of one Momcozy. I need to experiment more as I’ve only used them at night when Win’s in bed and still using the Momcozy in the morning during feeding directly from the breast. I’ve never collected much in the evening compared to the morning, but I want to switch the pumps up and just check if I’m capable of getting as much from them as the Momcozy. For now though at least, it takes the pressure off a bit in needing to have just the one pump cleaned and charged more than once a day.
I’m learning to assess what will make my day to day a little easier, and a lot of the time it’s small things that relieve the mental load just a tad.
See you next time!