James's Blog: My wife recently returned to work

My wife recently returned to work following the end of her maternity leave.  We wanted to delay sending our daughter, June, to nursery for a while, and I wanted to spend some quality time with her, so I decided to take a summer sabbatical.  While I am having a wonderful time with June, it's not exactly as I imagined it would be so I thought I would share my top lessons learned so far:

1)  My wife wasn't lying.  My wife wasn't shy about letting me know how difficult it could be looking after June on a daily basis.  I did wonder, foolishly, what all of the fuss was about and why my wife wanted to sleep whenever possible.  Reality hit pretty hard during that first week of me being in charge (or, more accurately, June, being in charge and me wondering what the hell I was doing).  I'm used to working long hours, but I found this to be even more exhausting, and funnily enough I'm no longer so averse to going to bed early!

2) Men can't multi-task.  Before my sabbatical started, I compiled a list of all of the things I wanted to achieve during my time off, such as losing (more than) a few pounds, doing some DIY etc.  I soon realised that I had over-estimated what I could juggle with looking after a baby; if both June and I can survive my time off then I will consider my sabbatical a success!

3) You need a support network.  I had expected that I would have no problem coping on my own, but I soon found that some adult conversation is essential to prevent you from going crazy.  June is getting more and more interactive, but singing "Hickory Dickory Dock" to her 30 times in a row is not always a match for a chat with an adult, and so I've set about making friends at the local mother and baby groups.

4) Making those new friends will likely be more difficult when you have problems dressing and feeding yourself!  First impressions really count, and mothers are not likely to warm to you if you arrive in a state of semi-undress (fly undone!).  Second impressions also count, and arriving to the second class covered in freshly spilt coffee is also probably also not a great idea.  Thankfully I've now managed to go to a few classes with no hiccups on my part, and the mothers there are at least starting to talk to me now!

5) MasterCard weren't lying either.  There is no denying that taking time out of my job has put a bit of a strain on my family's finances.  But there are some things more important than money, and having the opportunity to spend quality time with my daughter is definitely one of those.  It's a tiring job, and there is a sense of relief when I get her settled down to bed.  But I soon start to miss her and can't wait to spend the next day with her.

James is in his early 30s and father to a beautiful one year old girl.  He works in the legal profession but has taken a sabbatical when his wife returns to work from maternity leave, to provide childcare and spend the summer with his daughter, before returning to the office at the end of the year.