Maternity Leave is OVER!!

I had such plans for my 7 months of maternity leave. I'd go on little shopping trips all over the country, have regular coffee mornings with friends, I could experiment with new recipes and bake lovely buns and cakes, maybe redecorate the house and spend time on my crafting, perhaps join a yoga class to help get my figure back,,, the only thing I didn't factor in was the actual reason for maternity leave-the baby!! And how minding a baby takes sooo much time and effort!!

Looking back I was in cuckoo land, many a day I was lucky to get dressed and put something (not necessarily nutritious) on the table for dinner, never mind actually leave the house!!
I do feel I got off to a bad start, I had an emergency c-section so really my first 6 weeks recovery knocked me for six! I got so used to being at home home in comfy clothes ie. tracksuit bottoms and baggy tshirts, that when the time came that I could leave the house I nearly didn't want to! I plodded through the first 12 weeks of sleepless nights and was quite reluctant to leave the house with the baby, it seemed like more hassle than it was worth! He fed every three hours so it seemed like I was always stopping to feed him and never actually getting much done in between!
When he did start to fall into a routine of his own accord things felt like they were getting back to some sort of normality. We have had highs and lows, sleepless nights and smiles and giggles!
I'm sad to be going back to work now that he can interact and notice what's going on around him. I feel terrible that he knows when I leave the room, I wonder is he going to spend the day wondering where I have gone! But I cannot wait to walk in the door and see the smile on his face and give him a big cuddle and kisses after my days work.

Baby related highlights of my Maternity Leave:
1. Holding TJ for the very first time.
2. The first time he slept for 8 hours!
3. Watching TJ fall asleep on his Daddys chest.
4. His Christening day, having so many friends and family to share his special day.
5. Watching TJ and his brother play and laugh together.

Baby related Lows of my maternity leave:
1. Finding breast feeding so difficult I had to give up after 6 days.
2. The sleepless nights!
3. TJ and me being sick the same week-torture.
4. Watching TJ get blood samples taken to check his iron levels.
5. Recovering from an emergency c-section, I found it very difficult.

Non baby related highlights of my Maternity Leave:
1. My first night away without the baby, staying in a hotel in Dublin, going to dinner an a show with Enda.
2. Completing a 15 mile run in Monaco!
3. Going to Paris with my 2 sisters.
4. Starting a blog!
5. ALL the coffees I got to go for with friends.

Non baby related maternity leave lows:
1. Having wardrobe meltdowns when so many of my clothes didn't fit (and still don't!), it can be tough adjusting to a new body size and shape.
2. Losing so much of my freedom. My older boy is 8 so I was used to just hoping in the car and going here and there without much effort or fuss!
3. Never knowing when my next sleep in might be!

Overall it has been a great maternity leave, I got to spend so much time with my gorgeous baby boy, but, with lots of sprinklings of me time thrown in-to keep my sanity!
But I can safely say I am in no rush to have another maternity leave anytime soon! (if u know what I mean!)