What age was your baby when you went back to work?

[indigo27]

Hey all
I'm 12 weeks pregnant and shouldn't be worrying about this already but i am 🤦🏽‍♀️
I'm stressing like crazy about how I'll survive on maternity pay so will need to get back to work ASAP really which makes me sad but don't have much choice!
How old were your babies when they went back - just looking for reassurance really so I don't feel awful ❤️

Baby 1 - just under 1 year old. (I went back 3 days/week). I had good mat pay and had a couple of months unpaid.

Baby 2 - didn't go back to work.

DC1 just under 6 months

DC2 9.5 months

3 months. Only had limited mat leave available and had to start it early due to problems with the pregnancy.

@SteakyBreakyHeart I wish I could take a full year but I'm a teacher and the maternity pay is shocking 😔
Feeling really crappy about it tbh

Baby 1; 4 months. Baby 2; 4 months.

Here in Switzerland, that’s how long maternity leave lasts. If you want longer then you need to give up your job.

I'm going to try and take 6 months off if money can stretch that far but that just doesn't feel very long at all. It's nice to hear some of you ladies didn't take a full year and everything turned out ok!

I'm a teacher too and the pay does drop fairly quickly so I understand. We managed to save a fair bit during pregnancy and bought some things second hand so that I can be off a bit longer.

If you go back quite early though just remember it's only ever a max of 8 weeks and a half term will roll around so you can spend the week with baby

9 months with DC1
1 year with DC2
Really had to cut back though to make it possible.

6 months - I was ready for the return to normality and she loved nursery

9 months. I only got SMP and we couldn't afford for me to take the unpaid leave. Otherwise would have took the full year if we could have afforded it. Having said that, I loved going back to work, it was great for my MH and it was probably much easier to settle DD into nursery than if she had been 1.

Where are you @indigo27 when does your school term start back after summer?
Also teacher.. With ds I went back whe. He was 3.5 months - but it was the last week of term before summer.
Currently 16 weeks I'm hoping to not start maternity until due date which is in the middle of summer break and then start back just after Christmas so about 5 months - hoping to have the first day of Christmas break as my first day back at work.

@DollyP23
Thank you so much I didn't even think of that!! That's so true the holidays do roll around quick.
I'm going to try and save as much as I possibly can over the next 6 months and just cut back on every thing I can.
Just worrying a lot at the moment about everything really!
I don't know what my works pay policy is (no one can seem to find it which is worrying) and I am panicking like mad that they won't count my previous years service at other schools as I'm now at an academy (only been there since September)
Just a big ball of anxiety atm!

DD1 - 11 months
DD2 - I was a sahm by then

I’m an ex teacher. You can return to work on the Monday of a holiday and get paid from then. A few colleagues timed it right with babies born in the first few days of September.

DD1, 9 months. DD2 will be just going a year. I am a teacher too, maternity pay is shockingly bad (in my home country they get 6 mknbs FULL pay, compared to our 4 weeks). But, it costs so much to put both into childcare I cant afford to go back earlier than I am. We would be paying 400 more than I earn a month. Doesnt make financial sense for the family. No benefit.

@Thatwentbadly could you explain a bit more on that as my baby is due 1st September so would be great to understand that a bit more? Thank you xx

Almost 18 months... I just kept eeking it out

@Smurf123 hey hun x
I live in south London and teach at a Sutton academy/trust.
I am due 1st September so trying to work out a plan before I go and speak to my boss so he doesn't freak out as I am a Key Stage Leader and he is not going to be happy at all about me being off 😔

First: 3 years 10 months
Second: 2years 5 months
Third: 6 months

You do what you can do and what you have to do for the child and the circumstances in front of you.

My first: 9 months
My second : 13 months

Without a doubt worth all the time in the world if you can afford it. I took the three months unpaid and all of my leave available before going back

[quote indigo27]@Thatwentbadly could you explain a bit more on that as my baby is due 1st September so would be great to understand that a bit more? Thank you xx [/quote]
So instead of starting your maternity leave 3 weeks before baby is due you can start on the 1st of September and have 6 weeks off fully paid before the baby arrives. And then if you were able to take the full year off you would say your return date was the first Monday of the summer holidays and you would be paid for that summer holiday. The same applies to other holidays, so if you wanted to return after the Easter holidays you would say the first Monday of the Easter holidays is your return date.

I'm taking the full year off, for the majority of it I get statutory with no enhanced pay at all and then unpaid for 3 months.

Our eldest was less than 7 months. I only got 6 months paid leave and then took some accrued holidays before returning.
Was made redundant when pregnant with 2nd and became a sahm after my maternity allowance ended.

@indigo27 that's fab timing, as Thatwentbadly says you'll have the summer holidays while you are heavily pregnant, and then can start mat leave when term starts. Always schedule your end of mat leave for the first Monday of a holiday whether that be Easter or summer. I had my baby in March and returned for a week before the summer. She was 6 months old when I went back properly. You might feel happy to go back - I love my daughter but missed teaching!

Baby 1 -6mths

Baby 2- 6mths

Baby 3 - 2 weeks!!

8 months old