Undecided on when to start maternity leave 😕

[Mummysun12345]

I'm nearly 31 weeks and haven't had the best pregnancy , I have been getting verh sick from the beginning ans signed of work numerous times and I have found it much harder this time around .
I've also had covid and my grandfather passed away so i had to travel to and from Ireland so its been quite difficult and stressful for me , along with some other issues which have been on going

I planned on working up to 2 weeks before baby is due (with there being a half term week in between them 2 weeks ) I work in a school

I am now debating if I should go earlier I have some personal circumstances which are really stressing me out at the moment and I'm finding it pretty difficult to deal with . Don't really want to go into it on here

I know if I go of sick from 36 weeks they will send me on maternity leave anyway. I'm currently on 2 weeks easter break thankfully

When I had my 1st it worked put perfectly for maternity leave as I left 1 month before baby due which was 2 weeks before summer holidays started , so it was perfectly timed for them returning back to work

Can you afford to go on maternity leave sooner? As in can you afford the cost of nursery at only 8 or 9 months after giving birth?
For me this was a major reason why I needed to work up to 38 weeks and then I took annual leave until my due date, but I know that's not possible for teachers!
I'd try and take Easter hols to chill a bit as it sounds like you've had a really rough time, and then make a decision when you've had a bit more rest.

I finished at just over 33 weeks. I'm sleeping really shitly and still have so much prep to do that I didn't want to feel all rushed and flustered when the time comes, wanted to prioritise myself for the last time in life possibly. And I think being rested and relaxed when baby arrives will be beneficial for us both.

Originally was going to go no later than 4 weeks before due date, but then thought I may as well finish at the end of the month than half way through.

There are no prizes for struggling on, if you're not coping then I think you'll be really glad to be off if you start leave early. Or can you get signed off until you're 36 weeks when mat leave automatically starts?

It’s definitely a personal decision but it sounds like you’d like to start earlier, and if I had my time again I’d have started my leave earlier so would say go for it and start your leave as soon as you can.

I had a tough pregnancy but wanted to ‘save’ my maternity leave for when baby arrived, so started my leave at 38.5 weeks. I only got 3 days off work before I went into labour (Id even booked a spa day which I had to cancel because my waters went the morning of!) and I now wish I’d had a few more days rest before baby arrived.

Pregnancy is hard even without sickness or complications, if you can get some rest and take your leave earlier I would!