6 months maternity leave

[Iamthecrazycatlady]

Hi all

Im 28 wks, first pregnancy.

I initially thought I wanted a year off work for this baby but money wise its not going to work, plus re covid my partners job isnt 100% stable hes fine now but they keep making people redundant and changing things we couldnt rely on my mat pay alone, work have agreed a flexi working plan as of 6 months where i will be able to work a couple days from home so I can still spend time with baby and earn, my mum will be supporting me as well feel so weak admitting that but I am hoping it will work so the full maternity leave will be 6 months I feel like people are going to judge me for not taking longer think bad of me etc am i being to paranoid? Most people I know take a year just personally I cant do it

Just wanted to see how it worked for other people if they also didnt take a year, this is all new to me x

I only took 6 months mat leave - I felt judged by a couple people but honestly I just told them (in my head) where to go. It was mainly my NCT group who are all taking longer. Working enables me to give DS a great life and I want him to have a second home, private school etc. It also means I could continue to pay off student loan and carry on paying into pension for example. Both DH and I compress hours so DS is in nursery 3 days per week and he absolutely loves it. I got a promotion my first week back post mat leave and it's great to still have my career. DS is only 9 months now but I'm really happy with my decision. The first 2 weeks were incredibly tough though.

Will your mum care for the baby on days you work from home? If so then I don’t see anything wrong with it.
I returned to work during the first lockdown and wouldn’t recommend trying to do childcare & work simultaneously...
If you can have a good work/life balance whilst going back then it’s no one else’s business really. Good luck

Hi @campurp yeah she would be helping I would love to breastfeed so I'd need to do that part but she will be all hands on deck for me when needed, if ir doesn't work out I guess I will cross that bridge when it comes to it but I can only try

First mat leave I took over a year. Whilst it was lovely having so much time at home, mentally I struggled with adjusting to life as a working parent after so long off.

Second mat leave I was back in the office after six weeks, albeit on a very reduced work pattern. I found returning to work far easier that time.

I felt more judged the first time for taking so long. However that could also be attributed to giving less of a fuck what people thought the second time.