What Maternity Leave REALLY Looks Like

Maternity leave is often a challenging stage in parenthood. Here’s an honest view of what maternity leave looks like during that time.

I was more than ready to leave work that Friday afternoon.

Pregnancy had taken its toll, and I was looking forward to staying home for three months. I understood the demands of a newborn baby, but I figured I’d have time to tackle a few tasks and hobbies. To a new mom as I had been, maternity leave looked enticing.

I wasn’t alone, either.

Many people—from first-time moms to childless kids—assume maternity leave is vacation time. A relaxing time to bond with the new baby with nothing else on the agenda. You imagine strolling with your little one, maybe meeting a friend at a restaurant for lunch. Piling books on your nightstand to fill long stretches of time.

What maternity leave looks like

The truth? Maternity leave is nothing picturesque.

More than likely, you’ll have a running countdown of when you can leave the baby in the care of someone else, even for a few minutes. Everything is new to you, leaving you in uncharted waters. And even when he’s taking a nap, you’re either cooking or cleaning, hoping to finish before he wakes up.

Take a look at what maternity leave looks like and what you might really expect:

1. You have no time

Babies sleep most of the day, around 16-18 hours total. Given that they sleep for at least two-thirds of the day, you figure you might need to find things to do to fill up your time.

Except they sleep in erratic stretches, typically no longer than two hours at a time. More realistically, your baby will likely sleep in short bursts, like 30 minutes to an hour and a half, all through the day and night.

The hard part? Newborns need help falling asleep. They can be picky about where and how they fall asleep, and most of that responsibility falls on you. It’s not uncommon to spend an hour rocking only for your baby to stay asleep for 30-45 minutes.

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2. Your baby doesn’t just “sit there” or sleep all day

A few lucky times, your baby might sleep on his own, but more than likely, he’s draped over your chest or tucked in your arms. You’re too afraid to move even an inch because he might wake up. So, you’re stuck in that position, kicking yourself for not bringing your iPhone with you or the remote control closer.

Once, my first baby slept for five hours straight. I couldn’t believe it. My husband and I actually got to watch an entire movie on DVD as we folded laundry. Every parent has that “One time my baby slept for five hours…” story because you’ll probably never forget it!

Check out 11 things moms do with the first baby we don’t do with the second.

3. You look terrible

A friend of mine visited me when my eldest was five weeks old. The minute she saw me, her face said it all: Wow.

Because yes, maternity leave can take a toll on how you look and feel. You’re cycling through your mom uniform of nursing tops, leggings, and yoga pants. Old t-shirts you got for free at some random event now make their daily appearance.

Getting dressed, much less brushing your hair or putting on makeup, feels like a waste of time. Especially with nowhere to go and spit up galore, you’d rather use that time to sleep.

4. You feel clueless

No mom wants to go on maternity leave, or parenthood for that matter, feeling clueless. But if you find yourself unsure, you’re not alone.

Parenting is a lot to take in and challenging to prepare for. You’re thrown into a world you may have been unfamiliar with. You might talk poop color, temperatures, and safety measures. Even breastfeeding might seem scary. (If you’re scared to breastfeed, check out my tips on how to cope.)

I felt so unsure of myself that I was too terrified to even take my baby on a stroll. Just when I talked myself into it, I panicked when I realized I didn’t even know how to unfold the darn stroller. And once I did, I panicked when my baby kept crying in what I first assumed would be a leisure stroll.

For many moms, maternity leave isn’t only a time to care for the baby—we’re also learning to become new parents.

5. You’re in survival mode

With a newborn, every second counts. I remember wishing we had a refrigerator with ready-to-go water because even those 20 seconds to fill a water filter seemed to take forever.

You’re shuffling from feeding to burping to wiping spit up. Your baby can’t communicate, and you have to decide whether his cry meant hunger or an itchy onesie. Everything that had once been a priority has been long ignored.

And so, your house hasn’t been vacuumed for three months and you look away when you realize your toddler didn’t wash her hands after using the potty. Forget home-cooked meals—you’ll likely rely on take out and frozen meals.

At this stage, you’re not aiming for perfection, but getting through the day.

Learn how to survive the first few weeks with a newborn and toddler.

Conclusion

A real vacation is getting to do what you want to do. As you might guess, maternity leave isn’t the vacation others assume it to be. Your emotions are all over the place and you don’t know how to get your baby to sleep. Every moment is a battle between yet another task and actually getting some rest.

What maternity leave really looks like can be a shock to many moms. I returned to work after 12 weeks of maternity leave not refreshed as someone might feel after taking a vacation.

Except here’s the thing: Sure, I had to come in to work at set times and do work others told me to do. But I could also make a cup of tea, one I could drink as long as I want, without interruption. I could use the restroom whenever I wanted to and eat lunch without having to finish it off in five minutes.

Because tasks, coworkers, your boss—they can wait a few minutes. But a baby during maternity leave? Not so much.

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