Maternity leave

[spiderbear]

Hi all, just need a bit of advice. Recently found out I'm pregnant with twins .. when I had my DS I started maternity when he was due - just used my hols for a few weeks off beforehand. This time I've been told it's hard to work past 26/28 weeks when pregnant with twins. Has this been the case for many of you? I only work 3 days and it's mainly sat down at my desk.. so not physically demanding but I would just like some advice from those who have been through it.
Thank you!

Thank you for all your replies.. it's given me a lot more insight into what to expect

I was in work on my due date with my son... I expected to be the same with twins but at 32 weeks I was so tired I had to take mat leave early. I tried to fight it but was falling asleep at my desk....

I'm 33 weeks with twins and I've just finished last week. Last time with my DS I worked until 39 weeks (he arrived at 41).

I have the easiest commute in the world and an easy office job but I just could no longer sit at my desk or concentrate - too slow, too sore. Also the mental load and knowing that if I had to disappear I would have left lots of stuff half way done... I'm glad to have stopped when I did. This week I've taken a turn for the worse and I'm really struggling with walking and breathing.

I worked til 31 weeks with triplets (office job so not that physical) and got signed off by my GP to rest for 3 weeks so I wouldn't have to start on maternity leave and maternity pay until closer to their birth. Made a big difference for me.

I have a job where I'm never staying down worked full time until I was 32 weeks and then used holidays to finish. Think I could've gone for another couple of weeks though. It totally depends on the person I had an easy pregnancy all the way through so guess I was lucky!

I worked till 37 weeks (v physical job) with DS and had four boring weeks till he arrived. With the twins I had an ELCS at 38 + 1 on a Monday and worked till the previous Friday. They are 3 weeks old now.

Sorry to hijack the thread. I'm a freelancer on a 6 month contract (due to end on 31st October). I earn a day rate so need to keep working 4 days a week (with Wednesdays off) for as long as possible as I'm only eligible for statutory mat pay.

Obviously everyone is different and nobody can predict the future but with DS I went into labour at 42 weeks. I'm hoping that I can work up to the 19th October (37+1) but appreciate that's a real push.

My commute isn't too bad but I'm already struggling with pelvis pain. I have a physio referral so hopefully that will help.

@villainousbroodmare what type of twins did you have and how big were you? I'm pregnant with di da twins and at the halfway point I feel I'm still a fairly average size for a singleton pregnancy but am expecting a growth spurt soon. Would be good to know how you kept in shape and what advice you have to make it to 37 weeks at work!

DCDA boy girl twins. I have no real tips as such, Marmitericecakes, was just lucky, I guess. I was pretty big but not outlandish. With DS I was 78kg at weeks. He weighed 3.8kg at birth. With this pregnancy I was 80kg and babies weighed 2.5kg and 2.7kg. (Placenta 1.5kg apparently!) I had a pretty easy pregnancy with the only issues being anaemia (was very tired until I got iv iron around 28 weeks but then fine again) and a touch of proteinuria around 29 weeks. Due to the proteinuria I had a 24 hr hospital stay and weekly bloods and bi-weekly BP checks to watch for pre-eclampsia which thankfully did not happen.
I'm a vet and am currently in small animal practice (with DS1 was in equine stud practice so an awful lot of driving, quite physically demanding). In small animal practice I get to sit in a chair quite a bit, and usually get help for lifting anything >20kg. I did get really fed up in the last week with all the aches and pains and the incredibly tightly stretched and itchy belly... but for me work kept my mind off it all. I found days at home with my toddler much harder work. I was slightly dreading the sleep deprivation esp as I'm bf but really the sheer joyous relief of not being pregnant any more utterly outweighs the squawky chaos of twin newborns!

My normal weight is around 60kg.

Thanks for the reply @villainousbroodmare - it's reassuring to learn from other people's experiences. Best of luck with your newborns!