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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

when's a good time to start mat leave?

26 replies

gingerwench · 10/12/2007 13:37

I'm trying to plan when to start my mat leave. On the one hand I want to maximise my time after the birth when I think I'll need it most (esp if the baby is late), on the other hand my manager and other people have warned me that I might need to start earlier as I shouldn't underestimate how tired I'll get when I'm big. I don't want to end up sitting at home too big to do anything useful getting bored for weeks. What are you all doing?

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LaylaandSethsmum · 10/12/2007 13:43

Can you tag any annual leave onto yet mat leave? I left work at 35 wks had 2.5 wks hols so mat leave started at 37.5 wks,I found it better to have more time afterwards but I guess it depends how long you are having off.

Original poster

gingerwench · 10/12/2007 13:46

I'm planning to have a year off but I may take some of that as paid holiday rather than unpaid mat leave. I have 30 days plus accrued bank holidays per holiday year (jan to dec) and I think I will be strongly encouraged to take as much as poss before EDD 29 may. I'm going to try and resist and put it to my manager that I take some short weeks in the run up, then 2 weeks hols, then straight into mat leave from 29 may to maximise time afterwards. The question is, when does being pregnant really start to cause issues at work- is two weeks prior to due date going to be enough?

OP posts:

pud1 · 10/12/2007 13:47

i am 32 weeks now and have booked my matt leave to start 5 weeks before dd. to be honest wish it was sooner. not being lazy but i am now starting to have trouble sleeping

WeAllWantSomeFluffyPudding · 10/12/2007 13:49

I guess it depends on how mobile you need to be in your job and also what sort of journey to/from work you have. Oh, and what other commitments/dc's you have as well...and all sorts of other things .

I'm working until 38.5 weeks - it was going to be 39.5 like with ds1 but I've been feeling more run down this time so have decided to stop earlier. But I have a desk job, a relatively short journey to work (and get to WFH quite frequently) and a full-time amazing nanny for ds.

My mother (who worked up until the day she popped with both me and my sister has been nagging me to start my mat leave since the 32 week mark .

Guess you have to go with what feels right for you, and maybe negotiate a bit of flexibility with your manager in case you want to start earlier?

meepingaroundthechristmastree · 10/12/2007 13:49

I worked right up to 2 weeks before my due date - I coped, but was shattered! I had really badly swollen ankles and the worst thing was trying to find a pair of shoes that I coud wear with a suit !

LaylaandSethsmum · 10/12/2007 13:50

Every pg is different and it depends on what jonb you do. I worked up to 35 wks with DD on a busy hospital ward yes I was tired but it wasn't the end of the world. Your pg shouldn't cause anyone else any problems and if you have a goog one and are feeling well and looking after yourself then theres no reason you couldn't work up to then end. I foyu took all your leave and had your mat leave starting on 29 may then you'd be leaving at about 34 wks is that right? Remember you do accrue holidays during your paid mat leave aswell so you don't have to save all this yrs up.

madChristmasmouse · 10/12/2007 13:51

It really depends on the nature of your job and the journey to and from work. I finished at 31+3 (week before last) and I could not have carried on much longer, as my commute consisted of 1 hour cycling and 3 hours train per day and my job was demanding in many ways (lawyer/manager at an immigration/asylum law centre). I get the best of both worlds as I am doing some work at home updating our very outdated operations manual. I am using my 'keep in touch' days for that (maximum of 10) so I get paid for the work I do but I am still on maternity leave. See if you can be creative.

turtleye · 10/12/2007 15:43

I am finishing up at 34 weeks - xmas holidays and then maternity leave kicks in - I need it - am soo tired and cant wait to finish up - the sooner the better. I def think 35 weeks is time to go - at the latest! You will be tired and when the time comes you will be glad!!

kelbel · 10/12/2007 15:50

I finished 5 weeks before due taking(taking 2 of those weeks as annual leave I'd saved up). I'm having nearly a year off, using accrued hols and paid parental leave. If you're having a full year I don't think an extra few weeks at the beginning would really make a difference. I was starting to get a little tired when I left but at 39+3 I still haven't hit that huge, fed up stage, however I have loved every minute of having time to myself, thought I would get bored but haven't let myself!

BellaBear · 10/12/2007 15:55

I'm starting ML at 36.5 weeks, but have two weeks Christmas holidays before that last week (am a teacher) (So, working for one week of the final six). To be honest, if I was forced to start now (at 32 weeks) I would be so relieved. I am so so tired and I am not sleeping at all well and it is getting difficult walking around, climbing stairs etc.

aberdeenhiker · 10/12/2007 15:59

I left at 38 weeks with my son, and gave birth two days later. The last couple weeks were hard, but I appreciated the extra time with him before I went back to work. In my experience, those of us who are planning to go back to work stay at work as long as possible, because we want every day we can with the babies. Friends who've planned on staying at home went off earlier - since then it's just a matter of affording a few weeks without a salary (which you'd be planning to do anyways).

I'm now pregnant again and am planning to work until at least 37 weeks - but will probably say 39 on the forms and plan on taking two weeks of vacation.

bluebell82 · 10/12/2007 16:06

I am leaving on Friday and I will be 34 weeks, taking a week annual leave and starting maternity at 35 weeks, have used 8 days annual leave over the past 8 weeks by having a day off in the week- I am only just coping as very tired and short tempered now x

Haylstones · 10/12/2007 16:18

It depends on your job really. I'm 29 weeks and am having 2 weeks holiday over Xmas and New Year then going in for a couple of days before starting mat leave (I work term time so no leave accrued)- this means I will be about 33 weeks when I offically start but won'th ave done much work since 31 weeks. My job is quite physical and involves evening work (with children/tennagers)so this coupled with my insomnia means I am struggling already!

didsnbump · 10/12/2007 16:21

I would really recommend not working to close to your due date.
I finished at 34 weeks, which was 2 weeks ago now. Yes it can be a little boring some days, but i feel 10 times better then i did while i was still at work. I think because you struggle to sleep at night, being able to lay in when you need it makes the world of difference to how you feel for the rest of the day.
I know it shortens how much time off i have with my little one, but i would rather be less tired and ready for my new arrival!!

Original poster

gingerwench · 10/12/2007 16:50

That's really helpful thank you all of you. My commute is an easy 25 min drive in rush hour, my job is mainly desk or meeting, no travel for business required. And I can work from home or dial in for conference calls too and be flexible about start and end times. This is my first child and I have a well house-trained DH so I'm not expecting to have to do much round the house in the last month or so!

My current plan (just had meeting with manager)is to have my last day at work on 9 May which is 37 weeks, then 2 weeks hols, before mat leave kicks in on the week before I'm due. He's agreed provisionally for me to carry forward the rest of my holiday and bank holidays that accrue and use them at the end of my maternity leave along with some of the 2009 allowance that will have accrued. So I'll be away from work for a just over a year but not all of that will be mat leave. This is important because otherwise last 10 weeks are completely unpaid which could be tight for us.

Of course it could all go pear-shaped as I approach the size of a whale....

OP posts:

Sarahjct · 10/12/2007 17:10

I'm just starting mine at 35 weeks but I had a round 3 hr drive into London every day. From about 30 weeks I really felt that I couldn't cope any more and it was very hard to stay productive when I felt so sorry for myself. As Dids said, it can be boring but i feel so much better having time to myself now.

HayleyandRoo · 10/12/2007 17:16

I don't want to be a hero. I'm not due til May and I have one job that's a bit difficult and one that's easy whilst pregnant, plus i'm doing my PGCE.

I'm putting in annual leave and then mat leave from my harder whilst pregnant job from January 20th and I'm going to continue with the other until end of feb, beginning of march. I'm going to carry on with the PGCE until April. This way it means that I can start back in September, and carry on with my teaching and PGCE. I'll only get 4 months with baby, but I'll only go back part time anyway. Hard with a baby but I'll manage.

I'm not good pregnant so I can't be arsed working along with feeling awful and having sciatica. It all fits together perfectly this way.

tyaca · 10/12/2007 17:33

today for me!!!

well kind of.

my contract finishes end of this week and today basically finished so just back in office for some clearing up. am 28 wks, which is way early, but am a freelancer and thats just the way its worked out.

hurrah! bring me those baking books, i'm about to get all 50's housewife....

Hersetta · 10/12/2007 19:00

I wanted to maximise my paid maternity leave and baby was due August 23rd and I commuted to london by train and tube right until August 17th.

Did have a nagging fear at the end though that my waters would go on the tube. needn't have worried though as she was in no hurry and didn't arrive until August 31st.

LOVEMYMUM · 11/12/2007 12:37

Going by your due date, are you three or four months pregnant? Am asking cos now you may have energy and be small enough to be able to sleep at night. Am finding it harder to sleep at night cos baby's kicking (29 weeks) and i'm just more tired generally. If you work up to 2 weeks before EDC, will you have time to get nursery ready? Am glad your manager seems supportive, s/he is right - this is my first pg and i had no idea of how tired i would be. I leave my job at Xmas (perhaps going in to train my replacement) but am stopping at 32 weeks. You may find that you need days off simply cos u are knackered!

mitfordsisters · 11/12/2007 13:14

SLight hijack, but it's kind of related. I am planning to go on mat leave at 36 weeks, but thinking maybe go at 38 weeks now, as I feel quite well.

This is also because I've just been told that you can expect to have your babies according to the schedule your relatives followed, and my mum had 6, and they were all late. So I reckon I might go to 42weeks so don't want to rush to leave work. What do you think?

Original poster

gingerwench · 11/12/2007 13:22

I'm 16 weeks and you are right I'm sure it will get much harder (I'm not sleeping much at night anyway since I've had bad rash/eczema for the last 3 weeks). Still if it comes to being too hard then I can always use up some extra holiday earlier - I just want maximum flexibility. I'm not planning on doing anything particularly nursery related -a baby won't notice how it is decorated and will be in a moses basket in our room for a few months anyway. If the nesting instinct kicks in then I'll only need a week to turn it around I think. I think I'm more concerned about getting bored and depressed waiting for baby to arrive if I leave more than a couple of weeks ahead of due date! I'm miserable when I'm not working and I'd have thought I'd be too big at that stage to enjoy the time off. Thanks again for all your input because it has helped me to work out what my plan A and B should be!!

OP posts:

Original poster

gingerwench · 11/12/2007 13:24

Hi mitfordsisters - if you feel well then why not?! How many weeks are you?

OP posts:

mistlethrush · 11/12/2007 13:25

I was luckily in that I planned my maternity leave to start at 39wks, and had the easter holidays followed by 1.5wks leave before that - ds arrived a week early so maternity leave started at exactly the right time. (Effectively left at 37wks)

My job is mainly desk-based, but with some site visits and travelling around. The only things I had to change was leaving for meetings 30mins early so that I could pull off the road and have cat-nap if necessary, and arriving early at work, have 20min cat nap in car before starting - absolutely fantastic thing to do if you can, and will also help with coping with a young baby!

Ds was huge (10lbs 5oz, 1wk early) - so I was large for a lot of the time. Main problem was swollen ankles - had to sleep with feet up on pillows at night, but only problem with this at work was ruined work shoes as they stretched.

ImBarryScott · 11/12/2007 13:31

Just wanted to add that it really does help to have some flexibility. Despite worrying about how knackered I would be, I managed to work right up to 39weeks (week of a/l before starting mat leave on due date). I had plenty of energy and still managed to commute 45 mins by bus, as well as travelling to client appointments by tube. I'm not pooh-poohing those who have found things difficult in the third trimester, it's just that you have no idea ahead of time how you'll feel. I would have gone mad with boredom if I'd had too much extra time beforehand .

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