So today was my first official day of Maternity Leave. I kind of miss work already (I’ll explain in a sec…) but after driving three fairly hung-over colleagues home from Bournemouth (I made them get up and leave by 8am, after they crawled back to the hotel at 3.30am!) to Brighton I booked a cut and colour appointment for next week, then came home and dozed for the most of the day (I did have a sudden urge to clean the cooker and the wall behind it though, hello nesting!) before a lovely battered sausage and chips for dinner! We were in Bournemouth for a regional conference, which was a nice way to spend my last official working day, as I got to meet everyone from the other hotels that I don’t see often and will see even less often now! I was also given an outstanding contribution award and some vouchers to treat myself with, which was a surprise but I also can’t help think that it was a slight bribe to ensure I come back after the baby!
On Tuesday we had a little gathering at Julien Plumarts ‘Boutique Salon du Thé’ and the macaroons are literally amazing (We got through 48 in total!) Plus they’d asked him to make me the amazing raspberry and chocolate cake I’m posing with! (I shared, just about!) along with giving me some lovely jewellery and a some vouchers to buy baby things with!
It will be weird not getting up to go to work, or setting my alarm for 6am, but know I can find things to keep me busy and in a semblance of a routine, and then once the baby comes we’ll be following a proper routine, hopefully! I’ll miss the dramas and the urgency and the stress of work, BUT it will be nice to be able to actually TURN OFF MY PHONE if I want to (currently it just isn’t an option in case a catastrophe happens, and as I manage a very big hotel that’s open 24/7/365 that’s a lot of hours when things could potentially go wrong!)
Whether it be suicide attempts, fires, vandalisms, guns, drugs or other dramas (including sex acts and people crapping where they shouldn’t!) I’ve had a pretty entertaining 7 years at the hotel (11 with my company in total) so having a slightly slower pace of life with only a baby to talk to for a lot of the day (instead of all the lovely/crazy guests and team!) will be a definite change for me. I can take 12 months maternity, with another 28 days holiday from this year to carry over (so 13 months, a week and 3 days actually!) should I wish to, but I’m just not sure yet what I’ll do.
I am now currently filling the back of my filofax with lists, including the 14th (Well, at least 3rd) draft of the ‘hospital bag list’ (still not packed it!) and the other (very long) ‘things to do before the baby comes’ list. I have also got a mental list of ‘things I want to put/make for/do in the new flat when we move’ but I should wait till the baby comes before I think about that anymore really!
Talking of the baby coming, I’ve not really mentioned it on this blog (you can read my pregnancy blog here) but I fought long and hard (and got stressed and emotional on the way) for an elective C-section, which was finally agreed to last week. So I know the date my baby will arrive, and we’ll finally know if it’s a girl or a boy! Of course I could go into labour before the set date, but if that happens I should still get a C-section as it is now my ‘official’ birth plan. Fingers crossed the sprog stays put though as I’d quite like to enjoy the next week of maternity leave at least! Saying that I am really uncomfortable and have ridiculously low iron levels, so am tired beyond belief at all times, however the problem I had with my liver function seems to have cleared up (or at least the blood test results for it are creeping back towards normal levels anyway!) The picture below is about a week and a half old, but in all honesty I *think* I’ve stopped growing! phew…
So hopefully by the end of next week I will have written a few blog posts to schedule when I’m in hospital, packed up all the non essential things into the spare room (which is being vacated by lovely housemate today, so sad for her to move out!) ready for our house move (read my post here), so we don’t have to worry about so much closer to the time, seeing friends/mum, along with a cut and colour (I’ll post about it when it’s done, I’m going to Trevor Sorbie and cannot wait!) and a general tidy of the house, along with getting all the baby stuff out of the attic, and learning how the buggy works! not much to fit in then, considering I take at least a 2 hour nap a day! Wish me luck…
I hope all you teacher-type people have a lovely half term, and for everyone else that all the kiddies running riot for the week don’t get in your way too much, and more importantly that we get some nice weather, I could do with sitting in the sun and reading for a little bit before I lose the chance forever!
Ooh maternity leave, exciting. Eee the baby will be here so so soon, good luck 🙂
Sophierosehearts x
Ohhh how exciting!! Enjoy your “time off” although I’m sure there will be plenty of things to do and prepare! Good luck 🙂 xxx
Yay time off, sounds amazing!
Lovely to meet you today and good luck with it all 🙂 Can’t wait to meet the bubba.
Lyndsay xx
http://www.fizzypeaches.com
IM SO HAPPY THEYVE A-OKED YOUR C SECTION, SEE YOU SOON BABYYYYYYYYY x
This is such a lovely and exciting post. I can’t wait to see your little bundle of joy 🙂
justrach.com xo
Can I just ask… How did you manage a battered sausage supper?! By that point in my pregnancy, no matter how much I wanted chips, I knew it would equate to death by heartburn! Enjoy your time before baby comes – make the most of the peace! 😉
Eilidh (found your blog when you requested to follow me on Instagram) xo