Starting maternity leave at 40 weeks?

[Pandora2016]

It's an easy office job which I enjoy.

I have SPD but the commute is 15 min on a bus and I manage with a walking stick so far (28 weeks). I don't think this baby is going to be small.

Am I mad? Should I bring it forward a bit?

First baby so know nowt.

Here in The Netherlands you legally have to start maternity leave at 36 weeks.

I was so pleased of that when the time came with ds. But if you think you're up to it, it's your call at the end of the day.

The reasoning is purely so I can have more time with the baby and delay the start of nursery as long as possible. According to our plans, child will go into nursery at 12 months for one day a week so not too traumatic.

Bear in mind, you don't use up holiday when on maternity leave, so if you're taking a full year off, that's a full year's worth of holiday that you could potentially add onto the start / end of the maternity leave. The holiday has to be used in the holiday year it's been accumulated in, though .

I'm not going on leave until 40 weeks, but I work from home and have a very understanding line manager who knows I am gradually winding down. If I was having to commute and spend all day in an office I would definitely want to go on leave early. I never understood why people went on leave before due date until I experienced late pregnancy! I'm achey, exhausted and not sleeping so need nap time during the day. My brain fog is also horrendous!

It is hard to balance up what your needs are with the realities of how much leave you can take and what you can afford. Could you use some annual leave to finish a couple of weeks early?

Don't assume your SPD will get worse though. I had SPD, was using a crutch, and thought that might mean I had to finish really, really early, but fortunately it seems to have cleared up now baby has dropped.

I'm a teacher. With my dd my boss convinced me that I should finish at 36 weeks due to the nature of my job. I then spen5 a very boring 5 weeks waiting for her. This time I'm going to go to 38 weeks. I agree with everyone who says try and give yourself time to rest before your due date though. Maybe 38 instead of 40?

Hind waters went the morning I started maternity leave (39w) and went into labour that evening. Only rest id had was the few days around Christmas.

Humph I'd start it then. At that stage you're not going to be skipping along stringing bunting in the baby's room. You going to be hallumping along, tired and big (yay for pregnancy 😀) Rather be paid and spend the time with the baby. I finished the week before my c-section and only because I do a very manual job. With my first I finished at 38 weeks and gave birth at 41+ weeks and completely regretted it.

I work from home but still finished at 38 weeks, thinking I'd have at least 2 weeks of sitting around watching box sets and eating my weight in chocolate. My son had other ideas and arrived the day after I finished work... I'm still slightly bitter about it all 14 months later.....

I started mat leave on my due date but took two weeks of annual leave before that so was off from 38 weeks. I was more than ready to finish by that point.

I manage a lady due late October but expecting she will come earlier. We're looking at her leaving mid September on annual leave as obviously maternity will kick in earlier if she gives birth early.

Gosh... I went on maternity leave at 34 weeks (because I had been born 6 weeks early and didn't want to be caught out) and went into labour naturally after only 2 weeks at home.

My friend tried working up to 40 weeks and went into labour at work.

You are classified as being at term at 37 weeks and many babies arrive that early naturally. I wouldn't be working later than that.

THe lady at my work (teacher) who tried working to 37 weeks ended up with all sorts of time off in the last couple of weeks because she had medical appts to attend. It would have been a lot easier all round if she'd have already started her maternity leave

I am finishing on Friday and I will be 37 weeks. I think it's how you feel but make sure you rest up and as other posts have mentioned they can come early!

I had to text work that I wouldn't be in after DD come early at 35+6 weeks and hadn't sorted out maternity leave.

I'd definitely bring it forward! I ended up having 5 weeks before DD was born (I finished at 36 weeks and she was born at 41), which in hindsight was a little too long, but it did give me time to sort things out.

Have you any annual leave you can use? That's what I'm doing this time (and did last time too).

I'm planning to start 2 weeks annual leave at week 37 then Mat leave from week 39. I had been skipping through pregnancy until about week 32, now less than 2 weeks later I'm exhausted, in pain a lot of the time and wishing I'd planned to finish earlier. There are a few more things I need to get ready at home and I just too shattered by the end of the day to do them so hoping that baby does hold off until roughly the due date.

Both of my babies have been early; first time around I was taken by surprise and hadn't finished work yet.

I wouldn't do it if I were you; it's better to rest a bit and get everything organised before the baby is born.

My second baby was born the night I I started maternity leave. I wasn't ready, physically or psychologically. The house was disordered but mostly I was physically exhausted when the baby came because working at 38 weeks is very hard. The body is tired, but surprising the mind wanders as well so it can be taxing just to concentrate. When DS was born, I wasn't really finished with work, and I don't have the kind of career where I can just walk away one day. I was still tying up a lot of loose ends in the weeks after birth.

Right now I am 39.5 weeks and 1.5 weeks into mat leave. Don't get me wrong, I am antsy and twitchy and bored. I want this baby out yesterday. BUT, I feel so much better than I did two weeks ago. I am rested and feel very ready. I am so ready. I am positively desperate with readiness.

I'd rather be ready than unprepared. When this baby comes, I will be able to give the newborn experience my full attention and at full strength.

(full disclosure, my first baby was born at 42 weeks and I worked until 40 weeks that was fine. I wouldn't risk it again).

I worked up until the week I was due with both of mine, to maximise the maternity leave afterwards - but that was when you only got 4 months (with my eldest), & 6 months (with my youngest).
I had both of them within 5 days of finishing work.

I had SPD with both of mine, and was fine working up to the 40 week point.

I worked to 38 weeks was very uncomfortable and painful by this point for me did contemplate bringing forward but like you wanted more time at the end I went to 41 weeks it was boring but with baby on sciatic nerve the last few weeks there was no way I could have gone longer. Do what's best for you I know when I told people I was working until 38 weeks they squirmed!
Good luck,,. Enjoy it too my DS is 4.5 months now and I'm due back in nov

First pregnancy I worked up to my due date and planned to do the same for the second. However, signed off at 30 weeks with spd for the second. I think it depends on how your body and mind are holding out.

Due date here then had a v boring weeks wait...would have preferred to be at work

Bring it forward, you need some rest time before bc comes along even if you don't realise it x

I would bring it forwards. I worked until 36 weeks and DD was born at 38 weeks. So many women in my office who worked later didn't make their last day at work as baby arrived.

I started mat leave at 37 weeks with d's but was off from 35 weeks due to annual leave. Far too early, he was born at 42+1 and I was born senseless for 7 weeks. Worked to 38 weeks with ds2 who was born at 41+3, it was great. Mat leave started the day ds3 was born (40+4) but I had taken the previous week and a half as leave. I'd want 2-3 weeks between stopping work and giving birth but no more.

To give another perspective, I and almost everyone else I know works till at least 39 weeks. Fixed term contracts (academia) with no cover, so if you don't do it before you go off, it doesn't get done, and you scupper your future career/chances of a job to go back to still further. I realise this doesn't apply to the OP, but shows how different different jobs are!