Camo Wife Chronicles

At what point in pregnancy should you start maternity leave? It’s one of those questions everyone seems to have an opinion on. It makes sense that someone with a physically demanding job might finish earlier than someone who works from home and rolls out of bed 5 minutes before the working day starts.

At our recent antenatal classes, a midwife suggested that everyone should stop working at 35 weeks. At the time, I thought that seemed unnecessarily early. My job isn’t physically demanding, I can work from home occasionally, and I’d always heard it was better to “save the leave for the other end” so you get more time with the baby.

But now that I’m approaching my final couple of working weeks, I’m starting to understand exactly what she meant.

Even though I work in an office, my 45-minute to an hour commute each way suddenly feels like a trek across the country. And at this stage of pregnancy, you become tired simply from existing. You don’t need to exert much energy before it feels like you’ve run half a marathon. Afternoon naps become a lifestyle. Everyday tasks feel like hard work, and work itself honestly just becomes an inconvenience.

I mentally checked out weeks ago. I’m still showing up in body, but my brain is 90% baby-related thoughts. I’m half keeping a mental checklist of things we still need to buy, and half worrying about whether the baby has moved enough today. Meanwhile, the idea of focusing on spreadsheets or emails feels laughably unrealistic.

I always imagined the final weeks before maternity leave would be a gentle wind-down. Handing things over, tying up loose ends, and slowly detaching from responsibility. Instead, it feels like everyone is trying to squeeze every last drop out of me before I disappear for a year. I’ve had more stress in the last few weeks than I’ve had in months. Even though I care far less than I used to, I’m counting down the days until I can finally step away and switch off.

I’m ready to focus on myself, my wellbeing, and the huge life shift that’s about to happen. Which brings me back to that midwife’s advice. Maybe she was right. Maybe I listened too much to the people saying “maximise your time with the baby”. Maybe I underestimated how much I’d need (and deserve) a few quiet weeks before the beautiful chaos begins.

Surely we should cherish these last moments of calm. We should allow ourselves time to unwind, nest, rest, and prepare without outside stress. If that means finishing work a little earlier, I don’t think I’d regret it for a second.

– Your Camo Wife