After working full-time for 21 years I must say I was filled with trepidation about commencing my 12 months maternity leave six weeks before my due date. What would I do with myself? Would I sloth about on the sofa watching Oprah all day long? Would I get bored? How would I find the motivation to complete all the things I had to do before my baby’s arrival? Turns out I needn’t have worried and six weeks was the perfect amount of time to adjust. With two weeks to go – and a funny feeling our baby will arrive sooner rather than later – here’s how my first four weeks have panned out:

WEEK 1 Overcome with the excitement of being “off” work I schedule something in my diary for every single day and become completely exhausted. Who knew ladies lunches could be so demanding?! Feeling like I’m on holiday, haven’t thought about work AT ALL!
LESSON Schedule no more than two to three external appointments per week so you have enough time to chill out at home. With enough “relaxation” time, the motivation to do the tasks you need to complete at home starts to emerge.

WEEK 2 Try to get out of bed before 10am and just. can’t. do. it. Would rather sloth about and surf Facebook all morning long posting inane updates than do anything remotely productive. Husband has passed me the responsibility of bills – seeing as I now have ample time on my hands. Realise I quite like being in control of the household finances and start e-banking and filing in earnest. Suddenly I’m struck with the urge to clear clutter and shred everything in sight. 16 hours and 8 bags of recycling later – hubby and I celebrate with cheese on toast. My new domestic goddess status is in question…
LESSON A little sloth time leads to greater productivity when you do get motivated.

WEEK 3 Meltdown time. I hear it hits all “parents-to-be” at some stage. For us it was a scary birthing class with way too much detail on forceps and episiotomies followed by a stressful scan where due to our son’s increasing size it’s getting harder to locate certain body parts for accurate measurements. The result? Trying to survive on 2 to 4 hours of sleep each night leads to a tearful phonecall to my mother, who assures me I will be a good mum and yes of course my son will love me – most of the time. A visit from my oldest friend who I’ve known since I was five ­– and can send me into fits of giggles with a look – also lightens my mood.
LESSON Help is there if you ask for it and a phonecall is sometimes just as good as a hug. Having friends and family all over the world means someone is always awake for advice or a reassuring chat.

WEEK 4 I am truly hitting my groove. Hospital bag is half-packed and each day brings another domestic challenge to soothe my Type A personality. Who knew scrubbing kitchen cupboards could be so satisfying?! Host a coffee morning where everyone comes to me! And each person brings something to eat! One friend even brought the coffee filters! Realise this is definitely the way forward rather than running around having loads of lunches etc. We all bring books to swap/give away and some of us end up with more than we started with… Leftovers are being donated to the New2U Thrift Shop at SCWO. So pleased we can share our love of the written word with other women and hopefully generate some funding in the process.
           Hire three men to help shift furniture throughout the house (contact Nigel: 9270 9182). Baby’s room starts to take shape and hubby finishes Pip’s cradle, which we then set up in our room (toys will be removed upon occupance). With somewhere for him to sleep, milk (hopefully) and love on tap – we’re ready and waiting…
LESSON Hiring help is worth it! What would have taken my husband and four of his mates hours of grumbling about, three guys moved in one hour with smiles on their faces. They didn’t even complain when I said, "Actually, I’ve changed my mind - I want ‘it’ there." Rising early and getting busy in the mornings leaves me time to relax in the afternoons: read, watch what I really want to see on TV (thanks to Starhub’s HubStation – fab invention) and fall asleep to a hypnobirthing CD.

Now if I only I could sleep through the birth…oh yes, that could be why drugs are an option!