How to find free time during maternity leave and organize better
1. How to Find Free Time During Maternity Leave and Adjust to New Routines
When you return home from the maternity hospital, you will probably initially dedicate your time completely to your baby during those first days. However, as you slowly get into the routine, you will have more time to dedicate to the rest of your family, and as time passes, also for necessary house activities, your friends, and last but not least – for yourself 🙂.
Finding free time during maternity leave and learning how to organize it well is essential for your well-being and happiness. In this text, we will share practical tips on how to make the most out of your maternity leave, balance responsibilities, and enjoy moments just for you.
Depending on the type of person you are, you may enjoy sharing all your time with your family and the baby during maternity leave. However, if you were more active before pregnancy, had a very developed social or business life, loved to travel, play sports, or pursue hobbies, you may start to miss all those things you used to do normally before and feel a bit “trapped”.
2. How to Organize and Balance Your Time for Yourself and Baby Care
✨ Over time, the time reserved just for yourself will increase bit by bit. It will definitely not be like before when you did not have a baby and a family, but it will be enough to recharge and feel good. Try to organize yourself the best that you can so you can use free time during maternity leave as effectively as possible.
If you’ve ever thought about any of these questions – this text is for you.Â
🌿How to find time for yourself as a new mom?
🌿How to survive maternity leave alone?
🌿Feeling overwhelmed with a newborn – is it normal?
🌿How to balance baby care and personal time?
✨ You are not failing. You are adapting. And it takes time.
👉Let’s tackle this challenge together and find ways for you to carve out time just for yourself during maternity leave. In the following sections, we’ll share practical tips and tricks to help you better organize your time, reduce stress, and balance caring for your baby with personal time.
How to Use Free Time Wisely During Maternity Leave?
đź’«Use your “free” time wisely!
If you analyze your time a little, you will surely realize that a part of your time has gone “nowhere”. It may seem ridiculous, but try to write down your activities and keep records for a few days, so you will see that such time really exists. Of course, it’s perfectly okay and desirable to rest when you have free time and feel tired, but why not use your remaining time in a wiser way?
đź’ŽWhy not replace queuing at post offices, banks, and stores with online services and shopping?
đź’ŽWhy not dedicate the time you spend surfing the Internet to something more productive or planned?
đź’ŽWhy not wake up a little earlier than the baby, to do a couple of exercises, a facial spa treatment, or simply relax by drinking coffee while listening to your favorite music?
✨ Everything depends on good organization and proper planning of your day!
How Can You Get Help to Free Up Time on Maternity Leave?
đź’«Seek help from the side!
🔶It can be a person who will babysit for a certain fee or help with housework and other household chores, so sometimes you can save your time this way.
🔶You can consider getting or buying food prepared (help from parents, catering, deliveries and restaurant services, express cuisine), and prepare only meals for your baby.
🔶You can hire a service to do some of the work for you, such as washing and ironing clothes or washing carpets. It is usually affordable, and it saves your time because it is a service that usually comes to your home address.
💫 Don’t refuse the help that is offered to you!
Family members and friends are always there for you, so they will be glad to help you, in a way that you can realize some of the other ideas and activities that you planned.
If the baby is big enough, you could ask friends to help you by babysitting when you have some urgent obligations or when you leave the house for a little longer period of time.
You Are Not Alone: It’s Okay to Feel Overwhelmed
🎀 If you sometimes feel like you don’t have a second for yourself – know that you’re not alone. Many women experience overwhelming emotions during maternity leave, and that doesn’t make you less of a mom. The truth is, maternity leave isn’t a break – it’s a different kind of full-time job.
🎀 You may feel like everything depends on you and that there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. And when you hear phrases like “Small children – small worries, big children – big worries”, you might start believing that it only gets harder. But the reality is: things do get easier – and you will have time for yourself again.
🎀 Even a five-minute walk alone can change your whole day. If your partner is home, leave the baby with him and go to the store, take out the trash, or just walk once around the block. You don’t need hours – you need a moment to breathe.
🎀 Give yourself permission to pause. You are allowed to say: “Right now, I need five minutes for me.”
Quick Tricks for Finding Time for Yourself
Here are some small yet powerful ways to create moments of peace in your day:
🔷 Set a daily “non-negotiable” moment for yourself – even if it’s just 10 minutes for tea, a shower in silence, or stretching.
🔷 Use naps to recharge – not to catch up on everything. Rest is productive.
đź”· Prepare things the night before: Lay out clothes, prep meals, or make a to-do list. That buys you morning space.
🔷 Say yes to help – and ask for it. Even just someone bringing you coffee or lunch can make a difference.
🔷 Create “baby-free zones” (e.g., one room or time of day where you’re just you).
Final Thoughts: This Phase Will Pass – and You Will Return to Yourself
Yes, this is hard. Yes, it feels endless at times. But no – it won’t last forever.
There will be time again – for your thoughts, your hobbies, your coffee, your walks. You will feel like yourself again, even if today that seems far away.
You are not just “someone’s mom.” You’re still you – and you matter.
Finding a few minutes just for yourself is not selfish.Â
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✨✨ We hope that by reading this text you got some ideas how to gain more of free time. ✨✨
You might also be interested in the post suggesting what you can do during maternity leave and how to use it in the best possible way — click on the link here.