When did you go back to work?

[LoveYouHoneybear]

Just that. If you did go back to a job after having a baby, how old was your baby? Thanks!

My baby's currently 5.5 months and am still on mat leave. I would be a SAHM if I could, but we can't afford for me not to work

At 9 months with both children, working three days a week. It’s hard at the moment thanks to the pandemic, drop offs and pick ups feel rushed as I am conscious of the queue of parents waiting in the rain outside.

First KIT day at 6 weeks old. Returned to work at 17 weeks. Just happened to coincide with a pandemic and working from home.

11 months. I’m a teacher, and that was the start of the new academic year, so made sense.

For the first week, I didn’t feel ready and it seemed so strange being away from DD. After that it felt totally normal. DD took it in her stride and could drink from a cup and eat by then, so it wasn’t such a big deal for her. I was lucky enough to have family support though, so she was being looked after in my home to start with.

12 weeks - I hated mat leave with a passion, largely because I hated the newborn phase.

We did shared parental leave so DH took over and then she went to nursery at 6 months. We both work p/t so she has a mix of nursery and being cared for by either me or DH.

I went back after three months - but basically we split our week and alternated looking after DC. I definitely found maternity leave isolating so was sort of glad to be able to interact with other people. But it was definitely too young to send DC to the nursery at 5 months. For my kid it would have been much better to have waited till they were one year or even older, but maternity leave was only four months were I used to live

When DS was 13 months. I’m lucky to have generous Mat pay so took the whole year and then accrued annual leave. I’ll be doing the same with DS2.

6 months, working 4 days a week, some late and some night shifts. It's stressful but possible. Had to start work then or it would have meant deferring my post for another year.

7 months which was hard as she wouldn't take a bottle or cup of milk and wasn't eating alot of solids. She settled amazingly with the childminder though who she was with 5 days a week term-time till she went to school. I would have liked longer off though.

I'm hopefully going to take longer off when I have my next baby (in 6 months). Ideally a year but it depends on finances and I worry it would be harder to settle at childcare at that older age.