To only take two months off work?

[mollifly]

I am currently 11 weeks pregnant and I am starting to think about maternity leave.

My maternity leave package is not great, 4 weeks full pay, 2 weeks half then down to statutory.

Do you mean months or weeks?

The legal, statutory minimum is described above- it's nothing to do with your company, the government pay it. Go back to them with that information.

As others have said, when you go back to work, who will have the baby? If it's a nursery/childminder setting then it will cost circa £800pm (depending heavily on area) and so you'll need to think about how you can afford that now. If you spend that much less now, you can save it each month for the next 6 months until the baby is born, and then 'pay it back' to yourself monthly to top up SMP.
You can take up to 10 KIT days too, so after your full pay ends, why not take 5 weeks of 2 day weeks? You'll still get your SMP, but then nearly half your usual pay on top. You could also do this with holiday to increase your leave.
Many people throughout the world have to go back at 3 months and manage, but I do think 2 is just not realistic - at 8 weeks with DS I was literally at my lowest and most sleep deprived, and we turned a corner at about 12 weeks.
Good luck

For me, no way for so many reasons. But I'm a SAHM so that's my approach and it isn't everyone's.

The big issue for me that I don't think is anything to do with approach or lifestyle/parenting choice is that you might have a baby who isn't straightforward, or a birth that ends up being a bit of an event.

Plenty of people I know were all over the place at two months because of reflux, or allergies, or just a baby who didn't sleep... add to that the question of what physical and mental state YOU will be in and I think planning to go back to work at two months is taking a big risk.

I don't want to be overly negative and of course it might be totally fine, but if you can at least allow yourself some flexibility in your plans, it might set your mind at rest now and might save your sanity when the time comes.

You'll be paying a fortune in childcare for such a young baby

i don't understand this? It's no more expensive than for any other young child.
I would say that for such a tiny baby you would need a nanny or a childminder to give the more one on one attention. Not a nursery.

Hold up OP - four months full and two months half, or four weeks full and two weeks half. You said the latter in your OP!

I took a year off (you accrue hols while on mat leave) as added my hols to the end of my may leave. I was still breastfeeding (or trying to!) at 8 wks and v v v sleep-deprived. 2 months may be enough for you, but I'm glad I took the full year. (We couldn't really afford to but as a PP said, you don't get that time back and I didn't want to have any regrets)

Sorry ladies I meant weeks! Morning sickness brain!

I am sorry that they are being less then helpfull.
If your work has said 4 months full pay I would except that.

Are you feeling pressures to go back earlier then 4 months by them?

If they keep it up I would suggest that you tell them you are feeling discriminated against due to your pregnancy that should shut them up pretty quickly if not make a record of everything things there said you may need it.

Childminders in my area charge a lot more for under 6month olds strawberry, I assumed it would be the case in most areas.

OP you stated 4 weeks and 2 weeks in your OP and then 4 months and 2 months in your later post.

The latter sounds more like it.

sorry! x post!

OP you might find www.gov.uk site useful, just search for 'statutory maternity pay'. Your HR department seem not to understand the regulations.

Have you looked at childcare costs?

My employer did 4.5 months full pay then SMP then nothing.

Hi just to add a different view....I went back to work part time when my baby was 4weeks old. I am incredibly lucky though in that baby has been a brilliant sleeper since birth and I recovered v well. I find the break for 3 or 4 hours a day a nice change and really enjoy it. I don't think I'd like to go back full time yet (baby is 7 weeks old) but for me going back for a few hours was the right decision. X

To be honest my son is nearly 5 months old and I'm only just starting to feel like myself again, energy levels are going back up, getting (a little) more sleep and actually managing to have a few non baby based conversations with my DH. I definitely couldn't have gone back to work and coped... I'm off til February at least...

As others have said, 6 weeks at 90% pay is the statutory minimum. If you have some annual leave you can tack on use that (although not all of it if your holiday year has just started!)

When I worked out the difference between my usual net pay and the stat mat pay, it was easier to see how much I needed to save up to be able to take additional time off.

I went back to work when my first was 11 weeks. I still regret that decision, and he is now in his 20's.

I cried every day when I left him, which was ridiculous, I was clearly still hormonal, but it was not a happy time for me at all.
Take off as much time as you possibly can. Start saving now, every day extra will be worth it.

We are given 18 weeks paid, and most people add 4 weeks of their annual leave time to that to get 22 weeks paid. If you want to take more time, work allow you take up to a year, but it's unpaid after that 22 weeks.
Most people take between 6 to 9 months in total, though quite a few do take the year if they can afford it (I'm sure the astronomical cost of child care here is a factor).

At 8 weeks I had just physically recovered enough to be able to walk longer stretches and be exhausted from sleep deprivation.

DD also was not only coliky she also had silent reflux, we were still in the figuring-everything-out stage.

Depending on your birth which nobody can predict you may be able to bounce back, you may had a c-section which puts you on a 8 week recovery (it could even be mandatory sick leave, check this), you or your baby had complication causing hospital stay or frequent trips to a GP/hospital. All these things can't be foreseen and adding pressure by committing to an early return is not helping.

In the UK most childcare providers do not take babies under 3, so you would need a nanny which can cause financial impacts.

If you are in the UK don't forget you also have your annual leave running during your maternity leave. That can help extending your mat leave as you will be paid your normal salary. As soon as you tell your work about your pregnancy your HR should give you information of your rights.

My employer does not pay anything extra, just the KIT days even if you don't take them, we saved a lot during my pregnancy and used that to supplement the maternity pay.

The putting aside some money if you can now sounds a good option so you could have more time . I went back to work two days a week when mine was around 10 weeks old following a plans c/section then full time at six months . Grandparents had the baby for the first year until I got a nanny . So anything is doable and it's what works or at least what you think will work in your own family set up .

Completely depends how you are feeling. I had start a new part time job when my eldest was 9 weeks old, had to be actively looking from when she was 6 weeks old to receive benefits. I was absolutely fine.

I was unwell after my 2nd but returned when she was 4 months old, my 3rd had silent reflux and I couldn't wait to get back to work when she was 6 months old!!! Was on a career break when had my youngest but would have been fine returning when she was weeks old too.

The other thing to think about is when you stop working. I was considered staying late - I left around 38 weeks. If baby isn't then born til 42 weeks, you will be going back to work when baby is 4 weeks old.

With dS1 I wasnt fit to return to work at a year - I was a sleep deprived zombie. DS2 would have been ok earlier, as he only would only wake twice a night from very early on.

I went back when DS was 3 months. It was before maternity pay became more generous and I had to stop work at 6 months gone and was on bed rest, so only had 3 months left of my leave. It was hard but I managed, DS went to a lovely child minder then a nursery when I managed to get a place in my employer's onsite provision (i worked at a university).

Most childcare providers will only take them from 3 months onwards.

If you can, about 4/5 months is better