Less than six weeks ago, New Zealand's prime minister introduced the world to her newborn girl and then took a step back from politics.
At midnight, Jacinda Ardern took back the reins, officially ending her maternity leave.
Working from Auckland for the next few days, Ardern - who turned 38 last week - partner Clarke Gayford and daughter Neve will settle back in to Wellington life over the weekend.
The return to Wellington will end a year in which Ardern's gone from deputy leader of a Labour Party struggling in opposition to a global star of the political left.
And while she has still been receiving briefings and watching from the sideline as deputy prime minister Winston Peters sat in her seat, her six weeks off marks a first for an elected political leader.
During that time, she has only publicly dipped her toes back into politics on a couple of occasions: to launch a pet policy and signal her upcoming return.
Both were live-streamed from the comfort of home, Neve on hand.
Earlier this week, she assured the nation she would be hitting the ground running, flagging upcoming policy while simultaneously rocking her baby and admitting they had "absolutely no routine to speak of".
In Ardern's absence, Peters has steered a reasonably steady ship, although domestic politics has been far from quiet.
The country's nurses have been on strike, teachers appear to be next, business confidence has fallen to a 10-year-low, unemployment has ticked up and political tension with Australia has grown.
Ardern is likely to face those issues and more when she arrives at the Beehive on Monday, along with questions from the opposition in a parliamentary sitting week.
"(Life) is obviously going to be a little bit different," she said this week.
"Ultimately though, that first week back, I am going to be focused on getting straight back into it."
