Work or stay at home?

mtusnow · June 2014

After your LO arrives will you..,

(I quickly looked and don't think we've polled this yet, apologies if we have)

Also, curious to know people's reasons for choosing special snowflake on this poll.

PennyLane26 · June 2014

Wow! First vote!

I consider myself a SAHM but I do work remotely (from home) about 25 hours a week. I can only work when DD is sleeping so it's a struggle some days but I'm glad I made the decision to be home with her. I can only imagine what it's going to be like juggling this schedule with two! Yikes!

missnacholover · June 2014

Not sure yet. We are contemplating moving away which would allow me to stay at home. However if we stay put, I'll continue to work as we will eventually want to send our children to private school as the public schools in our district are constantly in a state of flux.

JamieK1882 · June 2014

I'll definitely be going back to work full time. I know it will be hard, but financially we both have to work and I have a really great job I would not want to give up. I'm a professor at a university and if I can get tenure, my child would have free college education here. Totally worth it.

abbyful · June 2014

I work full time.

I would love to be a SAHM, but it isn't financially feasible for us right now.

mtusnow · June 2014

PennyLane26 said:

Wow! First vote!

I consider myself a SAHM but I do work remotely (from home) about 25 hours a week. I can only work when DD is sleeping so it's a struggle some days but I'm glad I made the decision to be home with her. I can only imagine what it's going to be like juggling this schedule with two! Yikes!

I thought for sure I would get the first vote since I created the poll. You're fast

Dimples0101 · June 2014

I voted that I work part-time. Right now I work 4 days (started this schedule when DD was around 7 months). I spoke with my boss yesterday about potentially moving to a 3 day work schedule once LO gets here. Hopefully it gets approved!

Amandakea15 · June 2014

I only work part-time right now. I stayed home with 8 month old DD for 4 months, then went back part-time. I plan to work as long as I can with these twins. Then hopefully go back part-time when we feel it's the right time.

mander82 · June 2014

Full time work

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creativesoul83 · June 2014

I will be going back full-time. after dh finishes college may go to part time. until then he and I do the full time grind

AnnieRoo13 · June 2014

I voted undecided. Since I'm Canadian, I have a full year of mat leave so I get to decide whether it's for me at that time. I'm hoping that I will only have to go back part-time, but I might choose to go back full-time. I think I will love staying at home, but you never know until you try it, right? DH would love for me to stay at home, but I'm not sure it's feasible financially yet.

MmmPopcorn · June 2014

I'll be working full-time. Even though I don't make a ton of money, I'm definitely the breadwinner in the family, so I'll never really have the opportunity to stay at home. Also, I'm getting a 6% raise next year! Fortunately, I'm a teacher, so I will have some chances to be at home during summer and winter breaks.

H works part-time, but he has great benefits even as a part-timer. He'll be reducing his hours to spend a day or two each week at home with LO, but we really need his health insurance, so he'll need to work about 25 hrs/wk. My MIL has graciously offered to watch LO a few days a week when s/he arrives, so between MIL and H, we have childcare covered. I'd like to put the kid in a part-time preschool after a year or two.

Part of me wishes I had the freedom to stay at home or work part-time (especially during the first year), but I will never really have that option. I envy all of you that have the choice!

Celticlass6 · June 2014

Special snowflake. Currently we're planning on me going back full time. We'd like to get another kid out of my job if possible (I have really good benefits including paid healthinsurance), and buy a new house with two incomes within the next year or so.

That being said if its too awful being away from baby, I do have the option of staying home, so we'll see what happens.

Lilwatz · June 2014

StacyMarie33 said:

I am a fulltime stay at home mom. However, I also work from home remotely and run a small shop on Etsy.

ZOMGsh I love Etsy.

lizgrace03 · June 2014

SS because I'm in grad school. I'm done with classes and have an exceptionally flexible schedule, so pretty much I'll be staying at home but also writing my dissertation. MIL will babysit as needed.

MrsTuna08 · June 2014

I voted undecided. We moved across the country about a month ago so I left my job there. I unpacked the house and I am currently caring for the new puppy that we decided to get now that we have a great backyard and enough time to devote to training. I still need to finish my thesis for my grad degree and it NEEDS to get done before baby gets here - I just need to sit down and focus to knock the rest of it out. My thinking is that by the time puppy isn't quite so demanding and my thesis is turned in and finalized, there won't be a lot of time left before baby gets here, and honestly I have doubts that anybody would hire me when I'm 7 months pregnant. Soooo, I don't know. My current thinking is that it would be really nice to spend the first 6 months home with LO and then look for a job. I like my field and I think getting out of the house for some non-mommy time would be good for me, but I also think the early months will just be easier if I can stay home for a bit longer.

krgriffin26 · June 2014

I work full time now and I will have to go back to full time 2-3 months after LO is here. We have found a great day care though and with my husbands schedule he will be able to keep her at home a few days every week too.

tugglek23 · June 2014

I'm going back to work and my hubby is staying home. Not gonna lie... I'm jealous of him.

sweetbabyrahe · June 2014

work full time- mostly a financial decision, but also I love my job and would at least want to work part-time if it was feasible. I am the breadwinner and carry the benefits, so it's back to full time for me.

jaminjeff · June 2014

I'd love to stay home, but I'm the insurance carrier and the nice pension holder. We could afford for me to stay home but I wouldn't be able to get back into what I'm doing / where I'm at after the kids were older.

dh2613 · June 2014

I plan on taking 10 weeks off maternity leave, after that I have to start half days for 2 weeks and then go back full time. Like some of you other ladies, I wish I could stay home but I have a great job and DHs salary alone would not be enough. Not looking forward to it though, I would love to stay home with our Son.

sparklingwhit · June 2014

I will work full time. Being a SAHM does not appeal to me at all.

SarahHeck · June 2014

I stay at home with my 4 year old now, but soon after baby gets here our living arrangement is going to change and I'll have to work part time.

kayd8 · June 2014

Glad to see other moms who manage to work from home at least part time. I currently run our own business from home, and hope to continue once the new year comes. I've figured it can work if I'm able to get 3-4 hours in each day.

kstirton · June 2014

I just want to say good idea on the poll. Really made me feel so much better about going back to work once I saw how high the numbers were. Even though sometimes I may feel like the only one NOT staying home full time, I know that's just not the case, and my baby will be just as loved.

Thanks for posting.

ShelleyElla22 · June 2014

I will continue to work part time as a teacher. The pay isn't fantastic but I get fully paid healthcare for the entire family and only work 17.5 hours a week! DH or my MIL watch the boys when I'm at work.

momtojad · June 2014

I will grudgingly return to work unless our current situation changes. My DH SAH now and I work full time and run an etsy shop. We can't switch unless he find a job that makes more than me and we have committed to one income so one of us will always stay home.

Deardra77 · June 2014

When we had DS not coming back to work full time wasn't even a conversation as we need to have IVF ISCI to get pregnant and it's about 15K a pop each attempt at pregnancy and it often takes several tries so our cost of living, mortgage, bills etc was a very small concern compared to cost of getting pregnant with a sibling in the future. Our focus was reducing costs of living and saving 45K to attempt to have a sibling so that makes not working not something to even think/talk about or consider. Now seeing how amazingly well he does in day care, how much he loves it and how well excited he is every day to be there I just couldn't remove him and have him stay home with my husband or I. It wouldn't seem right!

I'd love to have baby @ 6 or 7 months before starting day care though as developmentally I think it's best to be at least this age based on experience with my son. My employer will only allow me to take 4 months off so we will have to see what my husband can swing. He could do a few months but our insurance is through his work so would have to see if we would have to pay cobra , ouch! Obviously nothing compared to the cost of getting of getting pregnant but still a chuck of change (think like 1.6K a month or something)?

Day care has been wonderful for our son, he loves it. It also allows our family to be financial secure. He has a college saving fund, our 401K is growing so we will never be (touch wood!!!!) a financial burden in our kids as we get older. The values I get from my parents are strongly related to financial security and responsibility so it's a win win all around.

I think I would have found it a lot harder to make the choice on stay at home parent versus day care if we didn't have the looming expense or IVF ISCI in the future. It all worked out really well thank u universe! :-)

Bethyboo26 · June 2014

I'm going back 12-15 hours a week, which is considered half time in my field.
DH and I are trying to work my schedule where his mom watches him one day for 6 hours, and then my husband is home alone with him 6 hours one night.

lincoln79 · June 2014

JamieK1882 said:

I'll definitely be going back to work full time. I know it will be hard, but financially we both have to work and I have a really great job I would not want to give up. I'm a professor at a university and if I can get tenure, my child would have free college education here. Totally worth it.

Same situation here, but mh is going to stay home 3 days/week and work 2 days a week. I voted SS.

@JamieK1882 - when will you go up for tenure?

Maelara · June 2014

I voted part time. I'm a dog groomer and I have my own set up in my home. Because of this, I only groom Fridays and Saturdays. My mom and DH watch the little miss.

jlove253 · June 2014

I currently work just a couple hours a week tutoring (less than 10) but will take an extended break when LO comes. I am only doing it now to pay off my student loans. DH is a teacher so we live a very simple life to make it possible for me to stay home with dd. No cable, no car payments, very small home and mortgage payment. The fanciest we get is smart phones, and we will cut back dh's as soon as our contract is up because he hardly uses the Internet while not at home.

PandaCon · June 2014

SS here:

I work full time BUT part time from home and part time in the office.

DS goes to daycare two days a week and I go into the office on those two days. Since I work for the church, Sunday is another work day for me and DH takes care of DS and brings him to church etc.

I get the rest of my work done the other days during nap time. It's mostly finishing lesson plans and maybe some play dates with volunteers if they have kiddos. I love that I can fit in play dates as work sometimes. Saying thank you to a volunteer over coffee at the park is great!

I do take Saturdays completely off except for checking email a few time in case a volunteer is sick or going to be gone on Sunday.

It took a long time to get this schedule down and comfortable. I completely worked from home until a few weeks ago and would not recommend a full time position from home. While it was doable, both DS and work lacked focus most days.

Autumnsnow · June 2014

I will have to go back for I think a month just so I don't have to payback anything but then I will be a SAHM. My salary would be totally wiped out with daycare expense so it wouldn't pay. Plus if there was ever an emergency I have over an hr train ride in two work. I'm going to try and see if I can transfer into the stores again and maybe work daytime part time (DH works nights) but that is up in the air. We'll have to do a lot of cutting back.

Allyvaughan86 · June 2014

I will unfortunately go back to work full time! I'd love to stay home or work part time but financially it's not an option with buying a new home and husband going back to school full time this fall... Maybe once he's done with school, I'll be aw to cut my hours back!

carafern · June 2014

lizgrace03 said:

SS because I'm in grad school. I'm done with classes and have an exceptionally flexible schedule, so pretty much I'll be staying at home but also writing my dissertation. MIL will babysit as needed.

^ This is me too! I ended up clicking part-time work…but I probably should have clicked SS. I'm taking the fall term off, which unfortunately falls mostly before my EDD. So my PP "leave" will only be about 6 or 7 weeks.

Theoretically, I will hire a babysitter for about 15 hours a week and write my dissertation and do the work and grading that I'm being funded with….

staugustinewedding · June 2014

I'm taking three months off for maternity leave and then I'm planning on going back to work part-time ...I can't wait to be at home cuddling with our baby during the cold winter months

turtles7 · June 2014

I have to go to work if we want to keep our (*ahem* dh's) expensive lifestyle. Luckily we will have our parents helping out a couple times a week so we only have to put baby into daycare 2-3 times a week.

CPM13 · June 2014

I consider myself stay at home but do work occasionally on a freelance basis. Probably I average about 12 hours a month. Some months more, some not at all. Not many hours, but enough to keep my foot in the door in case.

kimberly_ann81 · June 2014

I've been a SAHM since Sweet Pea was about 6 months. Lost my teaching job due to budget cuts and couldn't find another in the area. I had have a very small daycare business in my home, 2 full time boys and when school starts 2 after school kids. With soon to be three of our own the 2 extra all day is the most I'd want right now.