Lonely on maternity leave?

ellie7620

Anybody else surprised by feelings of loneliness during maternity leave?  I totally did not expect to feel as isolated as I do.  My husband works two jobs so there are some days where I am home alone for almost the entire day.  I love my son to the moon and back, but I miss my job and being social.  Anybody else feel this way?

haylo33

I get lonely at times during the day because my whole family and DH work 9-5 jobs. My best friend used to be available during the day which was great but now she has a new job. I felt this way before the baby though because I work 3 12hour shifts a week and work night shifts half the time so I'm home a lot during the week. I try to get out and go to the store or something to have some adult interaction.

lamdmk103

So comforted by this post! I thought I was the only one that felt this way. It's tough being so isolated-I have tried to do things during the day like showering and leaving the house that make me feel more normal.

ns1

Yep! DH just started back at work. We have no family in the state, and somehow all my friends have recently moved. I've developed a bad habit of online shopping. Somehow that is comforting. Oops.

shaunamw

I felt that way with my first this time I'm busy with DS so it's not so bad. Our hospital has a new moms support group and a breast feeding support group which helped with the loneliness last time. Even though it only met once a week for an hour it gave me time with other moms that were dealing with the same issues as me. Try looking into that.

dlproctor

Preach!! Hubby works from home.But is very committed and doesn't come out of his office unless he needs the restroom. It's very lonely especially when little one is sleeping

jsaffer01

I hear ya.. My hubby works overnights so it's lonely at night time in my bed by myself and during the day when he is upstairs sleeping and I'm down stairs doing baby things. My MIL doesn't work so I could always ask her to visit with me, but I can only take so much of her. And she just talks about the same stuff.. Which is boring to me.

gutsysneakers

Lonely here too. I love being home with dd but I also miss the gratification from my job. I'm so lucky to be able to take 13 weeks off and be paid for my time off. I know I'll never have this time with her again. Then I feel guilty for missing work. Ugh. Terrible cycle.

Jerzeygrl329

Feeling better seeing this post! I've been feeling lonely at home as well. Our families are in other states and my only friends in the area are work friends. So there is nobody around. I can't wait for school to get out so my neighbor will be home during the day.

tbiscuit18

I'm in the same boat, but I'm struggling bc DH and I have decided I'm not going back to work in the fall. So I'm battling the lonely feelings, as well as grieving my career. I want to be home, but the lack of adult conversation is hard. I'm looking in to mommy and me groups, and I do have SAHM friends. They just live in different suburbs.

britab

I'm lonley and DH is still home with me! I'm a teacher, so I'm used to people around me all the time and being crazy busy. I'm hoping once DH goes back to work that some of my teacher friends will come visit or we can go visit them. We're doing some small things like heading to music in the park and Target. That's helping.

mcnava

I definitely feel this way.  I work in a school so my maternity leave is extended because of summer vacation.  At least then, I can see my friends from work.  Right now I have a friend who is due in a week. but even if she has her baby then, it'll be a bit before she feels well enough to get out. 

Have you looked into mommy movies?  A lot of places have movie theaters that will show movies during the day...movies we want to see, not kid movies...The lights are not as dark, there are changing tables.  Its there for moms to bring babies. I am seeing The Fault in Our Stars tomorrow. Here is the website for my local one just you know what to look for: 

https://www.showcasecinemas.com/programs/kids-and-families/baby-pictures

It at least gets you out, into a baby friendly environment, and also keeps you updated to the world.  

pandadair

YES. I feel like I will be able to enjoy my baby so much more when I'm back at work and my every waking (and sleeping, really) moment is not dedicated to being at his beck and call. I don't think I was fully prepared for just how monotonous my days would be with a newborn. And I'm always second guessing myself, too. Like am I spending his awake time correctly, waking him when I don't need to, not waking him when I need to, etc. Sometimes I get very jealous of the relationship between him and my husband.

stina76

Yes!!  All of my family & friends visits/stays have come and gone so I am feeling lonely!  Like those of you that work in schools, I am a counselor so my whole day usually consists of talking to people and now I talk to someone who can't talk back!  I feel like I'm in Groundhog Day! : ) Also feel guilty for feeling like this!  

pandadair -I second guess those things all of the time!  

ksyknelvr73

I struggled with this big time with DS1. I was at home by myself all the time, DH is a teacher and a coach and it was baseball season so he left at 6:30 am and didn't get home until 7:30 on pracrice days and not until 10-11:00 pm on game nights. It sucked so bad. I was so ready to go back to work.

This time is better b/c I have a toddler to look after so that helps, and since DH is a teacher he is out for the summer, so I am not actually by myself. However, I do find that I really need to get out of the house at least a couple times a week or I feel so couped up.

ellie7620

I'm so glad to see all the responses to my post.  It makes me feel SO much better to know there are others out there who feel the same way I do.  Thanks everybody for telling your stories!