WFH - when did you start your maternity leave?

[Tryingandhoping2020]

I’m a FTM and have had a quite hard pregnancy with a lot of sickness early on and exhaustion throughout.

My plan at the moment is to start my mat leave on my due date but take 2 weeks holiday before. Does this sound sensible? Should I go off earlier? I don’t want to waste any time I could have with the baby but also want some time to wind down before baby comes and batch cook/nest etc!

I’m in the easier bit of pregnancy at the moment (24 weeks) but still suffer from extreme tiredness some days so it’s hard to know how I will feel at the end of 3rd trimester!

Any advice/experiences appreciated

I'm a FTM and have set my leave date to currently 9 days before due date ( I'm wfh). However I'm taking a months leave before start of Mat leave and at end so although due Sept Mat leave won't officially start til Oct. I've basically kept a load of AL so if I need to finish up sooner I can. Many folk have said likely to be tired and uncomfortable so may need to nap during day etc and have some time to self. Depends how flexible your workplace is if you can play it by ear and adjust as necessary in terms of AL rather than changing Mat leave dates if that makes sense.

I had about a month off before my first. I wish I had had a bit less because as it happened I felt more well than I had throughout the whole pregnancy. I would go for 2 weeks, you can always go off early if you feel too exhausted.

With my first I finished work at 35 and a half weeks. The baby arrived at 40+4. I really enjoyed those few weeks. I batch cooked, cleaned, got my hair done, read books, went to pregnancy yoga classes… but if I’m honest I wished I’d worked a couple of weeks longer - maybe up to 37 weeks - and had a couple more weeks with him on the other side.

This time, I’m going to try and work a bit longer I think. It should be easier - I was commuting last time which is one of the reasons I went off when I did - but we’ve switched to 50% home working now so I hope it’ll be easier this time.

But it’s a really personal decision and there’s no right or wrong

@xsjrx not sure if I've misread your post but your company's policy is highly likely to state your mat leave has to start on date of baby's birth or earlier. You can take A/L before this but not after. Might be worth checking.

I've done the same as you OP - planning to start mat leave on due date but taking 2 weeks A/L before. My mat leave date will be brought forwards if baby arrives early and my leave would luckily be carried over to next year. I can't see the point in finishing work a lot earlier, as I'd rather have more time off when the baby is here, but I think this is a very individual decision depending on work role and individual circumstances.

@MGee123 Thanks, all checked though via HR and People and Wellness Team before I put my request and docs in. I'm in government so am allowed to request when I wish the leave to start and any annual leave on either end is at the discretion of my manager which has all been sorted. Realise I'm lucky in this respect.

I'm pregnant with my second at the moment.

With my first I intended to work up to my due date. In the end I had a load of complications and DS arrived at 33+2 so my maternity leave started then.

With this one I've said the same and am due to start the day before my due date. If the baby arrives early my leave will start then. If not then I'll have anything up to 2 weeks until the baby arrives once I'm finished with work. I don't want to waste a single day on maternity leave without my baby if I can avoid it but we'll have to see what happens. If I end up struggling then I'll need to speak to HR about bringing the date forward.

It's difficult because you don't know what will happen or how you will feel but I'd say your current plan sounds fine and you can adjust nearer if needed.

With my first I finished at 35+4 and gave birth unexpectedly at 36+1 weeks so really felt like I had missed out on those days to relax and get organised. I'm current 39+4 with number 2 and have been on mat leave since 36+1 so it is a complete guessing game! The time off has been so lovely but if I had some way of knowing then I would have worked an extra week or two this time.

@MGee123 sorry I was confusing myself, should have said that it's date of birth but it's not an issue as I'm allowed to add leave at end. So if they come before my intended start date then it would start then, as it's a first baby they night be late which would work out, if not like I say I'll add at end....just excited for them to be here, still time to wait though ☺️

I went off at 36 weeks with my first, and same with my second but I ended up taking leave to do 4 day weeks for the 8th month. With working from home that should be easier though.

I'm working from home and finishing at 38 weeks.
My daughter will be off nursery waiting to start school, so I don't envisage my maternity leave being remotely relaxing even if I take longer off!! ;-)

I'm currently on maternity leave, 38 weeks pregnant and finished at 37 weeks. I'm taking two weeks annual leave and starting actual maternity leave next week at 39 weeks. I also was wfh and originally planned to finish a week later but a few weeks ago was so exhausted I decided to give myself an extra week. With my dd I was induced at 38 weeks which was last minute and so this time wanted to make sure I had a week or two to rest before baby comes.

@xsjrx glad you're all sorted! I'm the same in that if I have to start mat leave early I can add annual leave to the or carry it over. Certainly very helpful!

@MGee123 Good stuff, as if we don't have enough to think about eh! 🤣

I've just started my maternity leave at 38 weeks and I do think an extra week would have been good. I'm too exhausted to nest/meet up with friends etc as I'd planned, and just lie about and sleep a lot.

I'm finishing about a month before my due date. First two weeks of which will be annual leave. I'm going back when baby will be about 11 months old which is non-negotiable for various reasons, but this seems generous to me because I had to go back at 9 months with my first for financial reasons. So I am not so bothered about eking out every final day of the end of mat leave this time, but I am very bothered about ensuring I have a good few weeks prior to this baby's arrival to rest and get jobs done, and want to ensure I still have this even if they are on the earlier side. My DC1 was born bang on time so I'm expecting this one to be slightly earlier if anything so can't envisage having to hang around for induction or anything anyway (although of course anything is possible!). I am also envisaging being more tired this time than last time as though I was office based last time and am now WFH, I have a toddler to look after around work which is much more physically demanding than a desk job and also means I get much less sleep than I did last time what with occasional night wakings and all the early weekend mornings too. Therefore I think I'd rather finish a bit earlier to rest.

I'm finishing at 38 weeks all being well. I am WFH and basically not being relied upon after 36 weeks for any of my normal role, my company are brilliant. I might have two weeks of very little (hopefully) other than being on call to my maternity cover.

Before this over August I've got a weeks leave and then enough annual leave left to only work three day weeks. So work for me will really wind down at the end of July and I'm not due until September 25th.

You can always start it earlier than planned on medical grounds if you are really struggling.

I started it the week before my due date and took annual leave for 2 weeks before, plus used extra leave to make my last few weeks 4 day weeks.

DS was two weeks late, so I basically had 4.5 weeks of leave before he arrived.

I worked from home all the way till due date, but used some annual leave every week to make a four day week. First trimester, when I worked 5 days a week, was horrendous because of tiredness but I felt fine in the last trimester. I had flexible employer who only cared the work got done, so I was able to take 2hr naps if needed at day time and i made that up in the evenings or early mornings. Worked well for me.

I’m finishing on Thursday at 38 weeks, my mat leave starts the following week. I’m working from home but issues with pgp have made things difficult (having to stand a lot of the day). I had quite a bit of annual leave to use and I used it to go down to 3 days a week for the last few weeks rather than finish any earlier. That’s worked really well for me. I’ve been home so much over the last year I didn’t feel too much time off before would be that beneficial but I’ve still had time to do other things. I’m tired now so if I was still working full time I wouldn’t be doing much else other than working!

I was working from home, self employed so could reduce load as needed. Realistically I hardly got anything done after 35 weeks as it just knackered me. Up, breakfast, shower, then max 1hr concentration time and I was ready for a nap!

I had four weeks at home, feeling enormous and sluggish, with hip pain and a very tiny bladder! I went on mat leave though and kept paid annual leave for the end so that I had money coming in before I need to shell out for travelling back to work.

I’m due tomorrow but working till Friday. I wfh and am finding it ok. I’d be bored waiting weeks for the baby and work keeps my mind off waiting. I did the same with my first and gave birth 3 days after finishing so had max time with new baby. WFH has made a huge difference this time. Don’t think I’d want to still be working if I had to go in to the office. I love a lunchtime nap!

I went off at 37+6 and had her at 38+1 so you may not get the time you want if you leave it that late.

Thanks everyone if only babies came with an eviction date!