At long last, in a little over three weeks and at almost 39 weeks pregnant with baby number three, I’ll be going on maternity leave.

I can’t wait.

Apart from the fact it means the pregnancy will nearly be over (I’m one of those people who finds pregnancy jolly inconvenient) and we’ll be welcoming a new arrival in the not-too-distant future, it also means I can be ‘just’ a mum.

I know everyone says there’s no such thing as ‘just’ a mum – but I really think there is. And I don’t mean it in a derogatory sense at all.

Why I can’t wait to be ‘just’ a mum

1. I can’t wait to be doing just one job. I know being a mum is a far cry from just one job, and can be more like 10, sometimes 20, all rolled into one, but you know what I mean. As a working mum I feel like I’m constantly being pulled in two completely opposite directions, and I’m looking forward to a break from all that juggling to focus on just one role. The phrase doing too many things and none of them well springs to mind.

2. To be able to say ‘what shall we do now?’ Right now there isn’t a moment of our working week that isn’t accounted for. From the second we wake up to the moment we go to bed life seems to be a whirlwind of Things That Have To Be Done to a pre-existing schedule dictated by work, school and nursery. With my work out of the equation we can go off-schedule, and I’m looking forward to being able to turn to the children and say ‘what would you like to do now?’

3. To cook. With the exception of Christmas dinner, I honestly can’t remember the last time I cooked a meal from scratch, for either us or the kids, without the help of some sort of packet/sauce/bottle combo. There just never seems to be the time, and what Misery Guts and I are going to eat is often the last thing thought about at the end of a long day.

4. To play. Again it sounds awful, but I honestly can’t remember the last time I sat down and played with the children either. The fact I’m always trying to do two things at once is a constant source of mum-guilt.

5. To bake. When BB was little we used to bake often, but again there never seems to be the time these days. She spent all December begging to make mince pies, and we finally did it on Christmas Eve, when Misery Guts and I had finally finished work. The enjoyment and satisfaction on her face was priceless, and I’m looking forward to more of that.

Better late than never! #mincepies #baking #christmas #christmaseve #homemade #family #fun #childhoodunplugged #letthembelittle #simplychildren #simplepleasuresoflife #our_everyday_moments #documentyourdays

A photo posted by Natalie Brown (@confessionsofacrummymummy) on Dec 24, 2016 at 8:51am PST

Of course I’m forgetting one small matter: the fact we’re going to have a newborn baby on our hands and when it comes to the adult/child ratio we’re going to be well and truly outnumbered.

But I’m still determined there’s going to be time for some of the above.

Are you a stay-at-home and/or working parent? Do you find life a constant juggling act too?

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