First Time Mom needing urgent advice

[HailBop]

Hi ladies, I will try to keep this brief! I'm currently 24 weeks pregnant and have been offered a part time (2 days a week) job managing an art gallery in Mayfair. I haven't accepted yet because I am worried about post-pregnancy- how long I could take off work before going back, and also how to manage breast-feeding. Is 6/8 weeks too brief? Any advice or strategies are appreciated!

[Perigrine]

IMO 6/8 weeks is FAR too brief. How long would you like to have, not off but taking care of you baby solely?

[Desiderata]

You adjust to your circumstances, HailBop.

You'll find a way.

[Spidermama]

Can you tell them you will be taking your baby to work in a sling. They're so portable for the first five months or so. Perhaps your job might lend itself to that?

[madamez]

Little babies are portable (mostly) - are they happy to have your baby there? Will they be happy to have a playpen? I had a shop unit between DS being 6 months and 12 months, gave it up because it was not working out financially, but had a playpen in the shop and DS' carry seat and let him crawl on the floor when it was quiet.

If your job will be dependent on you not having your baby with you, most nurseries will not take children under 3 months - do you have family/friends ready to take on childcare?
Good luck anyway.

[mimi03]

i would say as it is only 2 days a week i wouldnt be too concerned about leaving your baby, as long as you could leave him/her with family or friends. you can expresss your milk and leave it with baby, and work places have to provide new mothers with a private place to express your milk if you need to do so during work hrs by law. I dont know how much maternity leave your entitled to part time???

[WanderingTrolley]

You won't know how you feel about going back to work until you've had the baby.

[motherinferior]

I went back to work when both my babies were four months old; but I have to say I'd have found it very hard at six to eight weeks, especially as you don't know when your baby will in fact arrive and it could be four weeks. (I couldn't have managed a long walk at four weeks, let alone a day at work.)Could you push it to three months combined with taking the baby in?

[HailBop]

Hi everyone, just wanted to give a big thank you for all of the advice! I think I will accept the job and see how I feel once the baby arrives. I will be able to work from home for some time and then only 2 days a week so I think we will be ok... hopefully this doesn't turn out to be totally naive first time mom talk though
and it seems my husband (who runs a private practice and has flexible hours) is secretly looking forward to having some time to care for baby by himself!