Maternity Leave and after.. (Plus questions for SAHM)

[king26]

Ok just out of curiosity.  For those of you on maternity leave:
1.  How long are you on maternity leave?
2.  How long do you have left?
3.  Do you think it's a good amount of time?
4.  Who will watch your baby when you go back?
5.  What is your job?
6. What's your biggest worry going back to work?

If you've already gone back to work:
1.  How long were you on maternity leave?
2.  Who watches your baby?
3.  How is it going so far?
4.  Any problems/issues?

If you are a SAHM:
1.  Have you had anyone watch your baby (besides H) yet?
2.   How long do you think it will be before you leave the baby with someone other than you or H?
3.  What's the hardest part about being a SAHM?
4.  Any concerns about being a SAHM?
5.  Do you plan on staying at home until your child goes to school?  For the first year?  etc.

[king26]

1. How long are you on maternity leave? I'm taking 12 weeks, half are paid, half are unpaid
2. How long do you have left? I have 7 weeks left
3. Do you think it's a good amount of time? We really thought long and hard about whether or not I could take 6 weeks without pay but I don't get paid for 10 weeks in the summer (teacher) and I manage so I knew I could budget for it. We actually paid the mortgage and car insurance through December by July so we wouldn't have to worry about those bills. I think 12 weeks is good though I'm going to have a hard time going back. There is no way I could go back next Friday though, I'm definitely not ready.
4. Who will watch your baby when you go back? DH works from home and will be with J during the day. We are looking into possible daycare 2 days a week just so DH has a break but we need to look at price and such (I think it's $100 per week for 2 days a week-which in the grand scheme isn't too bad)
5. What is your job? I'm a special education teacher so I work regular hours, have off on holidays, and will have all summer with my baby.
6. What's your biggest worry going back to work? I worry my H is going to have a hard time being alone with J all the time. He's an amazing dad and he does whatever I ask but he does ask a lot of things. I'm hoping around week 8 to start transitioning J to his crib for nap time so DH can get stuff done. I also figure I'll be EFF by 8 weeks so we can see how that goes as well and have 4 weeks of trial and error. I'm also hoping he starts having more regular naps by that time. That's a lot of hoping LOL. SO basically I know he'll be well taken care of I just hope DH is able to be at home with him and get some work done (he works for himself and his schedule is varied so he does a lot on weekends when I'm home). We plan to reevaluate this summer and see if we need daycare or anything after the first year.

[addymac]

For those of you on maternity leave:

1. How long are you on maternity leave? 4.5 months - 18 or 19weeks

2. How long do you have left? 12/13w

3. Do you think it's a good amount of time? I think I'm very lucky to have that long but wish I could take more.

4. Who will watch your baby when you go back? Ugh. Totally our biggest worry right now- trying to find a daycare or nanny that will be flexible with our hours.

5. What is your job? Night shift RN

6. What's your biggest worry going back to work? He won't sleep well through the night and DH will have to be up constantly, which, when he's working 80+ hours is really rough. That we won't find someone with flexible hours for what we need and I'll have to change jobs.

[yoshijo]

of you on maternity leave:
1. How long are you on maternity leave? 10 wks
2. How long do you have left? 8 wks
3. Do you think it's a good amount of time? Yes
4. Who will watch your baby when you go back? Daycare
5. What is your job? Training and QA manager
6. What's your biggest worry going back?
Lack of sleep. I don't do well witg it. Also how to manage sleeping, cleaning, bonding, and working out. Also daycare is expensive AF

[kristyw]

1. How long are you on maternity leave? 8 weeks
2. How long do you have left? A little over 3 weeks
3. Do you think it's a good amount of time? Not really, I wish it was longer
4. Who will watch your baby when you go back? She'll go to the same in-home care DS goes to
5. What is your job? Neuro ICU RN
6. What's your biggest worry going back to work? E's fussiest time is 5-10. I'm at work all of that time, so H will be on his own with both kids and need to manage meals and bedtime with that unless she grows out of that before i go back. He can only handle an hr or so of her fussing/crying before he needs a break. Basically, I worry how he'll handle both kids. He's only done it for an hr or so a couple of times.

[bsouls]

1. How long are you on maternity leave? 12 weeks
2. How long do you have left? 6 weeks
3. Do you think it's a good amount of time? I’m ok with it, but we’re not using day care and H will be with her. I think the US needs better policies for families. I’m using PTO, so mine is paid. I also earn about 3 Days a month, so I’ll have plenty of time to take off in the future.
4. Who will watch your baby when you go back? H works part-time nights, so he will be with the girls. I get out at 4pm and then he goes to work between 4-5 depending on how busy they are.
5. What is your job? I’m a case manager for seniors. My previous position was working with people with developmental disabilities, so this job is a lot less stressful.
6. What's your biggest worry going back to work? Getting to work on time. H is never satisfied with the amount of sleep he gets and I try to let him sleep as long as possible. I wish he’d wake up on his own, but he refuses because he says he will just snooze an alarm. He also is one of those people that grump in the morning and I hate that - I wake up in s good mood and I don’t like attitude in the morning.

Also, on Tuesday and Fridays my niece comes over. She’s almost 2.5 and I don’t know if three kids will be too much for H to handle. They also don’t drop her off or pick her up at the same time, so we never know what to expect. Sometimes it’s too hectic for me in the evening when I need to eat dinner. They pay us $60 a week, but we are not sure we will be able to keep it up.

[Deleted]

If you are a SAHM:
1. Have you had anyone watch your baby (besides H) yet? Only my MIL, but it's been only 15 mins or so while I ran to the store.

2. How long do you think it will be before you leave the baby with someone other than you or H? Once the baby has more of a schedule.

3. What's the hardest part about being a SAHM? So far it's not having any true alone time.

4. Any concerns about being a SAHM? Making sure I still maintain a social life.

5. Do you plan on staying at home until your child goes to school? For the first year? I plan on SAH until he goes to school.

[jexxa]

For those of you on maternity leave:

1. How long are you on maternity leave?
12 weeks

2. How long do you have left?
5ish weeks

3. Do you think it's a good amount of time?
I say no now, but I was itching to go back to work at around 10wks with DS. So maybe.

4. Who will watch your baby when you go back?
Daycare

5. What is your job?
I'm a loan officer at a credit union

6. What's your biggest worry going back to work?
Pumping enough milk

[happyfeet9]

1. How long are you on maternity leave? 13 weeks

2. How long do you have left? A little over 5 weeks

3. Do you think it's a good amount of time? With twins, I wish I had more.

4. Who will watch your baby when you go back? I'll work from home 1-2 days per week. We also have a part time nanny.

5. What is your job? I'm a professor at a medical school.

6. What is your biggest worry going back to work? Everything - the nanny having to balance 2 babies, pumping enough milk, being productive at work while having enough time to spend with them, cost of childcare for the twins and DS1

[yellowcat]

1. 5 months from most responsibilities at work (summer break plus fall semester).

2. 3 months

3. Yes and no. I was only fully off for a month. I go to work twice a week to do admin stuff and research. It is a trade off because I do get a lot of time in some ways, but I am not really off.

4. My husband and I will split the time and we have a sitter to come a few hours a couple times a week.

5. I am a professor and luckily am at a small school where I can have a flexible schedule. My husband also teaches at the same place so we can work opposite days and avoid daycare.

6. Having enough time to spend with my husband. It is already hard for us to have an hour at night with his schedule and a 1 year old plus an infant. I know it will get easier.

[cwbh928]

SAHM--I have been a SAHM since my 1st born was 6months old.


1. Have you had anyone watch your baby (besides H) yet?

Yes. The first time was when I went back to work immediately following my maternity leave. I was a finance analyst for large manufacturing company. My director asked if I could get us through budget. I worked 3 months. My mom and my MIL split the week watching my first born.

This time around I have had my mom watch my kids when I was admitted back in hospital and during appointments.


2. How long do you think it will be before you leave the baby with someone other than you or H?

To be honest it was so hard to leave my baby with anyone but my husband. I was so resentful when I went back to work for those few months. This time around I just felt guilty that I had health problems that caused others to have to care for him.

3. What's the hardest part about being a SAHM?
Few things. Scheduling and keeping everyone busy. I try to make a schedule for the week, but it usually never works. I also try to make sure my DS1 is getting to do what children in daycare might get to do. I don't want him to be a couch potato. Also socializing him is harder since I am home with him. We have to go out and make an effort to meet new people. Finally, my patience. I am with the kids all day so I just don't have patience for them sometimes.

4. Any concerns about being a SAHM?

I think trying to make adult friends is my biggest. We are new to Delaware and have no family close. So it's always me and the kids. Also, somewhat concerned about being out of the workforce, especially in my field.

5. Do you plan on staying at home until your child goes to school? For the first year? etc. I do miss my job, I worked very hard to get my MBA and to get the job I had. I made sure I left on great terms. That being said my DH and I have talked about this and we are very fortunate that my DH makes the income he does. So I want to go back to work, but the reality is I don't know. There is a part of me that would love to be able to be involved in my kids school and sports without having to worry about working. On the flip side, I miss finance and currently live through my husband to keep up with it.

[jt2378]

1. How long are you on maternity leave? 16 weeks

2. How long do you have left? Almost 10 weeks

3. Do you think it's a good amount of time? I do feel lucky because it is longer than some but I still think more would be even better. I could get on board with some of Europe or Canada's leave policies.

4. Who will watch your baby when you go back? I WFH on Tuesdays and have fridays off, MH is home Mon, Wed and Thurs

5. What is your job? Project coordinator for a medical school

6. What's your biggest worry going back to work? Balancing it all with 2 kids, having to WFH with 2. Even though it's only 1 day, it was hard enough with 1 child.

[unicornsparkles]

I've been a SAHM for a year now. I used to work in research at a hospital, background is public health.

1. Have you had anyone watch your baby (besides H) yet? Oh yes! It's so much different with #3 and the fact that I SAH and don't have a 'maternity leave' aka I will be with her every day for forever so I don't feel guilty if I leave her with someone for an hour or two. That being said, we've just had family watch her. the ILs once, my aunt watched her once and DH's grandma has watched her a couple of times so I could run errands with the big boys because I feel guilty schlepping her around on all of our errands when all she needs now is snuggles and sleep.
2. How long do you think it will be before you leave the baby with someone other than you or H? See above. The longest I've been away from her was 3hrs last Saturday but that was for a date which was very much worth it.
3. What's the hardest part about being a SAHM? The feeling of having to be 'on the clock' or operating at full capacity from 6am-8pm give or take an hour. Just the endless responsibility of housework, laundry, and managing the home in addition to making sure my kids grow up to be decent human beings.
4. Any concerns about being a SAHM? No I feel like I do a pretty good job at keeping my circus in order. What being a SAHM looks like proves to evolve with the kids' ages. It's generally much easier to get out and do things now than it was even 6 months ago as the older kids have developed more independence.
5. Do you plan on staying at home until your child goes to school? For the first year? etc. Yes definitely. We would also like to be foster parents in a handful of years so I can see myself being a SAHM for the foreseeable future.

[muscari]

I love this thread! Didn't find it until late doh - def gonne write once I get a proper chance to sit down for catching up. Maybe later today -right now i just want D to go back to sleep after her 2nd MOTN poopy daiper (i prefer them during daytime lol!) and nursing session.