Returning to work after mat leave

[wishuponastar1988]

My baby is 10 weeks old and I think I might have to return to work around March when she will be 7 months old. Has anyone gone back to work around this time and managed? I guess my mental health has been up and down the last couple of months, had a traumatic birth where I thought I was going to die so waiting on support for that - everything feels so overwhelming.

The thought of leaving her is absolutely consuming me already, I have no choice to go back early as finances have taken a battering due to our dog being very unwell and costing us a significant chunk of savings (we cancelled insurance as the renewal for her was £240 PER MONTH).

I will be going back 4 days and baby will be in nursery but I am full of dread. Will she cope in nursery? I'm so worried it will impact our bond and feel like I'm letting her down by leaving her so early (I know people leave their babies much younger and we are fortunate to have this time but it's still so hard). Guess I just need reassurance that it will be ok!

Hi, just posting to say I have no advice but I'm in the same situation, my son is 5 weeks old and I'm going to have to go back 4 days when he is 6 months old, I also had a traumatic birth but I thought my baby wasn't going to make it not me. He's so attached to me I literally can't put him down so how on earth I'm going to be able to leave him nursery I have no idea. I'm struggling to enjoy the time off I've got with him for thinking about leaving him too.

I guess I just wanted to say you're not alone in this x

I went back full time when DT’s were six months old - normal maternity leave then. It caused no problem - happy and healthy children. They stayed at the same nursery until they started school and we used two of the nursery staff as our babysitters.

It's so hard isn't it. I've cried this morning because same as you I just don't know how she will be without me. She wants me to settle her to sleep although she will take expressed milk from a bottle. It's just consuming me and wish financially we could afford for me to stay off work for longer but we can't 😖 x

Thank you that's good to know

I'm in the same boat - I'll be going back to work at 6 months because I can't afford to be off any longer (I only get 2 months paid mat leave and will be taking a £4k drop per month for those I get SMP, spent most of savings on buying a house last year so no money left to see me through). My DH will be able to take an extra month off through shared leave which will help and I can WFH so still be around to breastfeed, but really dreading the time baby will have to go to nursery as it feels so young!

A lot can change by 7 months and with support your mental health should improve but make sure you ask for help if you feel you need it. I went back to work eary with my eldest. We tried nursery but she didn't settle after 3 weeks so switched to a childminder and that worked much better for her. She bonded well with the childminder and seemed so much calmer and happier (most days but she did go through some clingy phases as expected). All in all she has been very happy and I'm glad we switched to a childminder as not only was it cheaper but she got a lot more 1:1 attention from just one other person and just one other little one to play with plus a few primary age chb after school. Defo worth looking in to if you feel nursery isn't right. X

It's completely normal to feel this way. I felt like it first time round and after a couple of weeks I realised I actually enjoyed going to work and couldn't be a stay at home mom!
I go back in 2 weeks after having DS and I am dreading it.