We’re coming up to a month full of changes, which is impacting my August thoughts this month…
August is the end of Summer and sets us off into the ‘ber months. I’m already thinking ahead to colder days, movie-watching, autumn candles. My Instagram is already full of others feeling the same way. Reels sharing what parts of the next few months everyone looks forward to the most. It’s so exciting! It’s taking me back to our Boston trip, which was right around Thanksgiving. I don’t know if you’ll find anywhere that has more of an Autumn aesthetic than Massachusetts.
We’ve also been going through lots of changes in our house. We’re in the last stages of getting ready for our newest addition to arrive, so things have become very different. I’ve just finished my first week of maternity leave, which has been lovely so far. I was worried I’d end up just relaxing all day and feeling underwhelmed, but it’s been productive. One of the things I’m talking about below actually.
So, for this week’s post, I thought I’d share a few of my August thoughts as the month comes to an end, and the ‘ber months begin.
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0.1 We’re expecting an even bigger change than the weather in our household. We’re now in the last week leading up to our due date, so at any moment it’ll be all new. I’ve definitely felt in the final stages of pregnancy in the last couple of weeks. I’ve been lucky that I haven’t suffered with swollen ankles, but the rib pain at night has been quite intense. Even the cushion isn’t working anymore. The only thing I’ve found that helps is sitting up for five minutes and letting it all sort itself out. Then I can lie back down and get another hour of sleep before I have to sit up again. To say I’m relieved that I’m no longer battling no sleep and full-time work is an understatement – the two weren’t mixing.
I’ve noticed also that everyone tells me how quickly my pregnancy has flown by, but I feel like it’s been forever. You might have read my story about this already, but I found out that I was pregnant while getting ready to go out on New Year’s Eve. It’s a strange feeling when you go from getting ready for a night out, then in a moment that’s completely changed – for the better, of course. But it does feel like that was an age ago for me now. I can’t wait to move on to the next part of it all.
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0.2 Productivity has been big on my mind, especially with maternity leave starting. But it’s also been something that’s now on my mind for when the baby is here. I’m not putting too much pressure on myself, and I’m in no way expecting to have as much motivation for everyday tasks. I’ve been managing myself by writing down all my daily tasks, but also including things like ‘breakfast’ and ‘shower’ that I know I’ll achieve. Then when I start ticking the easy things off I feel like I’ve at least achieved something in the day.
But I have surprised myself in the first week. During the first day of maternity leave I cleaned and tidied the entire house from top to bottom. And to be honest, I think that’s something that’s given us both motivation to keep it going. Especially when we reached the weekend, our usual cleaning day, and there was nothing left to do. I then prepped all our meals for the week following our new arrival, so the freezer’s now full and ready. Then managed to go on a few walks to stretch out my legs. By the time I’ve reached the weekend the productivity has slowed down a lot, but I think I’m evening out into more of a consistent routine now. Well, for now.
0.3 Me time has also become something big on my daily tasks list. I’m very aware that my ‘me-time’ will drastically reduce once the baby arrives, which I’m fine with, but I’m also making the most of it while I can. This weekend I dedicated the morning to a bit of a pamper. After breakfast and my morning decaf, I did a Body Shop Charcoal face mask, sat on the bed while it set, and read my book. Then I showered, washed my hair, put hair oil on, and did a bump mask. Who knew those existed?
Because I’m also currently not using my usual skincare routine – there have been a few things I’ve read you should avoid – having a bit of a treat day is making all the difference.
0.4 And finally, and on a completely different note, I’m now already starting to think ahead to the cosy seasons. I mentioned this at the start of the post, but I can’t wait to get my home all Autumn ready. My Instagram feed is already filled with people getting out their Autumn decorations. I’ve also made one of my trips to TK Maxx to stock up on their Autumn candles, I came home with a few pumpkin-themed scents for the home. And I’m sure there’ll be more trips to come.
I’m going to start my annual list of cosy afternoon films to watch under a cosy blanket – before I’m watching children’s films again. When Harry Met Sally is top of the list at the moment.
