A is 9 months old today, time really started flying once she turned 6 months old, it feels like the quickest summer ever!

Back in October, my first day of maternity leave, I really didn’t know what to expect, one thing I was totally wrong about was thinking my baby would be on time ” I am convinced she is trying to escape so I don’t think we will have to wait until her due date of November 12th to meet her”, I had to wait until 2 weeks after her due date to meet her!!!

One thing I was right about was that things would change at work “I do wonder what I will come back to, how the company will have changed and how I will have changed, who knows how I will feel in months to come”. I don’t go back until November 2nd but I know things will be different. My brain is definitely different and not in a good way!

As for me, have I changed? In what way(s)?

My addiction to social media has gone through the roof, it’s all that spare time you see…Also my blog has gained a lot more readers and some exciting things have started happening (the Mirror published an article about my experience of tongue tie, its been shared more than 300 times!), I really need to make sure I stick to it when I go back to work. its the one thing that has just been “mine”, I know I write a lot about baby related things but it gives me “me” time.

Unfortunately I don’t think blogging has stopped my brain from shrinking 😦 maybe I should stick to making tea the first week I am back at work because I am seriously unsure of how fast my brain can process things nowadays. The lack of sleep doesn’t help, I can really feel like it has slowed down. This morning I thought we were being burgled and then realised it was the cleaner coming in…I had forgotten we have a cleaner that comes every Wednesday, she was off last week and boom: my brain completely forgot about her! I kept thinking: who has the keys? who could it be? Embarrassing.

I’m less judgmental now, once you’ve had a baby you learn not to judge a book by its cover and unless you’ve been in the same situation you can’t always understand people’s actions.

Here are some other things I’ve learnt:

• I don’t actually need to buy as many clothes as I used to nor spend as much money as before to be happy
• Never moan about bras again, maternity bras may be comfy but make your boobs look awful
• Having a husband that cleans and is tidy is life changing
• Love for your child is not something you can imagine until you have one
• I think I’ve become more assertive and would stand up for myself more than ever
• My body is stronger than I ever thought
• The importance of friends and family is much greater once you’re a parent
• Parenthood can be all consuming and affect you more deeply than anything else
• Instincts are seriously powerful
• The sound of your baby laughing is the best in the world

Happy 9 months Bella-Roo! Looking forward to making the most of the end of maternity leave together!