32 weeks twins and still at work

[penguin1986]

Hi. Newish to MN and a new mum to be to twins. Im 32 weeks on tues and plan to stay at work for another 3 / 4 weeks in an office job. Im feeling fine at the moment (no problems touch wood) and think that if I start maternity leave earlier ill go mad at home by myself. My husband thinks that I should finish asap. AIBU to stay at work ? Views would be much appreciated Thanks x

[CunfuddledAlways]

No yanbu unlesd a health proffesional has told you you need to finish earlier for any reason, i would guess office job is a lot of sitting still so as long as you stretch your legs every now and again i dont see a problem as long as you feel up to it.

I am going to be 39+1 on what i plan to be my last day in a job where i am on my feet walking around all day and this is my third baby, people think i am nuts or shouldnt be doing it but realistically the worst that is going to happen is that i will go into labour at which point my manager would call an ambulance. I akways taje my mat notes ti work and on a bit of paper attatched to front i have contact details for my husband and mum what medication i take my allergies, why u am under consultant care, when the baby is due and my dob just incase i need medical help and i cant say these things. Just a thought.

[Bangkokbaby]

Im currently 30 weeks with twins, and am planning on finishing up when i'm 32 weeks. I'm now mostly office based, but am finding that i'm getting really tired! I also have no focus or concentration, so don't feel that i'm getting much done!
I want to take time off before the babies come so that I am a bit more rested, I can imagine how difficult the first few months with the twins are going to be, so want to make sure i'm as rested as I can be!
I think everyone is different though, so as long as you are listening to your body and have the option to finish up quickly if need be then I dont see why you shouldn't keep going.

[Flexibilityisquay]

YANBU, do what feels right for you. The longer you stay at work before the babies arrive, the longer you will have off afterwards.

[jerryfudd]

Only you know what's right for you.

I was office based and left at 34 weeks thinking I'd have some relaxing time but they had other ideas and arrived 2 weeks later.

[penguin1986]

Thanks for your replies I was worried that I was doing the wrong thing but your comments are reassuring me tthat I am not completely crazy. Iam definitely going to add the emergency contact details to the front of my notes though that's a good idea and may reassure my husband a bit more ! X

[slightlyinsane]

Hi penguin, congrats on the twins!!
You are doing well to be at work at 32 wks. I was lucky in that I am a sahm but noticed a massive change around 32/33wks ish in the way I felt. it came on fairly quickly, I couldn't sit without being in pain struggled sleeping and really tired carrying around a huge lump of a bump. I would say carry on aslong as you can but be prepared incase you hit a brick wall and need to rest. don't fight your body when it tells you it needs to rest because it really does need it. carrying twins is hard on your body I carried on doing all the rubbish that I was involved with at the time and looking after 3 dcs it was only after I had had them that I realised I wasn't feeling ok before and was actually completely exhausted and should of slowed down wks before, I had mine at 36+2. oh and don't forget twins are very unpredicatable and like to surprise people by arriving early.

[lamprey42]

I had planned to start my maternity leave at 36 weeks as I thought I would get bored at home. In the end I got signed off sick with pre-clampsia and stuck in hospital for a month :(. However, the silver lining to this was that the time off sick isn't counted as maternity leave (unless it is within 4 weeks of your EDD which is normally full term 40 weeks) so my maternity leave only started the day after mine were born at 34 weeks - meant I could save it all for after. I'm not very good at resting so probably good someone made me. However, if you are feeling fine and it is a sedentary job I don't see why you shouldn't go on working.

[TeenyTwins]

Hi, you should do what feels right for you, but bear in mind a couple of things. Average pregnancy length for twins is 36 weeks (though this is for dcda - other types will be shorter). What type of twins are you having? Also I agree about suddenly hitting a brick wall - I hit mine at 30 weeks, but it wasn't my first pregnancy.

Employers need a month's notice to change your mat leave start date (although it will start automatically when you give birth if you've not started mat leave), so have a think about what you could do if you suddenly feel differently and you're still working. Can you take annual leave at short notice? What happens if your employers won't let you change dates at short notice, etc?

Finally, a twin pregnancy is very different to a single one, so don't compare yourself to others at work or friends who worked to 41weeks with one baby!!

[parallax80]

I worked til 34 wks, had 2 wks annual leave then started maternity leave at 37wks.

FWIW I suddenly got huge in the last couple of weeks (had a section at 37+2) and would have struggled to do my job safely.

[lauraw1987]

I worked until ten days before i was induced at 37 weeks you dont go the full forty weeks mw dont allow it and when i asked about going back part time to work i wasnt allowed to go back so i left

[MsBug]

Is this your first baby?

I had dd at 35 weeks so before I finished work to go on mat leave. It was a bit of a nightmare as nothing was ready for the baby, and I felt like I missed out on my last chance to rest and put my feet up for a looong time.

My advice would be to make sure you factor in some time to get everything sorted for the baby. Maybe you have the energy to do this in the evenings but I didn't.

[penguin1986]

I have dcda twins. Yes this is my first :-s . Most things are sorted but I still don't feel very prepared. My work have been piling on alot of pressure / work because im going on mat leave because they have decided not to arrange cover for me. I suspect therefore I might not cope with it all and last another three weeks. We shall see !