For those who have adopted and work outside the home...

IRR

Children are a joy but also have a cost.  Just wondering what moms who have adopted did when they brought their son or daughter home. 

Did you become a full time stay at home mom? 

Did you go back to work and if so how long did you take maternity leave for? 

Did you decide you were going to stay home for at least a year or two and then reenter the work force? 

I am assuming (never good) that single moms had to return to work pretty quickly so that you could pay your bills.

I am thinking that I will be a SAHM for at least the first year, but I am currently looking for a new job and if it is a perfect job, I may have a difficult time taking a long leave of absence if I hadn't been there for at least a year.  

Art Teacher

I stayed home for almost the first year (I went back to teaching 2 weeks before Zoe had her 1st birthday.)  I was able to go on Child Care Leave and return to my position.

I wanted to stay home longer, but we decided that I should go back because of finances.  It was very hard for me to go back to work.  I missed dd so much.  I missed seeing a lot of her firsts (although I told her babysitter to not tell me when she did things because I wanted to pretend I was seeing them first!)  It was just really hard for me, and I felt like even when I was home, I just didn't have enough time with dd.  (Our evenings were so busy with riding home from daycare/dinner/bath/bedtime.)

After working for a year, I got a call while on summer vacation that they were moving me out of elementary and into high school.  I preferred elementary and did not want to teach at the hs level.  I looked into options and my school board granted me a 2nd child care leave. 

I have loved being home with dd.  I'm not sure what's going to happen for this coming school year.  My guess is that there won't be any openings in my district, and I'll be home again with dd.  It's been tough at times, but we've cut back on a lot, too, and made it work. 

Do what feels right to you.  See what happens with your job search, too.  You can find ways to make it work, either way.

 

silliestbunny

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. 

Adoption is often quitre

silliestbunny

I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. 

Adoption is often quite

IRR

I totally hear you.  Thanks for sharing your feelings.  I guess I will have to see what happens once we actually get matched with a child and then bring him/her home.  Being in the workforce for over 20 years I have seen mom's juggle both job and baby and I have seen them cry on their first day back after only 6 weeks, but they couldn't afford not to work.  We are hoping that financial reasons won't be an issue, but I guess time will tell.  So glad you have had the time with your DD.

MayDayGirl

I worked from home before we had kids so I never "went back to work", but I dd take 6 months off before doing anymore jobs, though I was a full time sahm mom with a part time self employed job

summergirl79

I was doing a lot of contract work for various organizations so I decided not to take any more work and continued my search for a permanent position.  I was extremely picky since I LOVE being home with DS! I am most likely starting a new position that I am excited about mid August when he will be about 14 months. 

nursesrh

I took 3  months off and went back to my job as an RN,

Mrs.Slick

Haven't been there yet but I plan on taking 12 weeks off and then going back to work full time. I'd love to stay home but it wouldn't be a wise decision financially. 

Amy720

It wasn't possible for me to be a stay at home mom, but I do have a job that is great if you have children. I am a teacher. Ben was placed with us the first day of my summer break so I had all summer and then took six weeks off at the beginning of school. Ben was almost  4 months old when I went back to work. My mom and husband took care of him while I worked so that helped a lot. 

kgs0505

I didn't really get "maternity leave".  I had two weeks of adoption leave and I took 5 out of 6 weeks of family leave.  I was planning on using the last week later on, and never did.

My DH then took something like 9 weeks between Family leave and vacation time after I went back to work.

As much as I'd like to stay home, I would be kidding myself if I didn't think I'd be crawling the walls looking for some adult interaction within a month.  I love my son very much, but he can be a handful and sometimes mommy needs a break.  I wish I could afford to work part-time.  I don't think I could figure that out with my current industry though.

kmkaull2

I am a teacher and took 8 months parenting leave.  I then worked part time the next year in a job share position.  My son just turned 3 and I've been a stay-at-home mom the last year.  We plan on having more children and me staying home until they are in school full time.  Then, I want a new career, lol.

It is tough at times, and there are days when I really miss working.  But overall things are working out well for our family.  Good luck!

IRR

Thanks everyone for your comments.

 

taparham

I adopted as a single parent and I took maturnity leave for 8 weeks.  My mother was the babysitter so I was comfortable going back to work.  I know 3 other people who adopted who are married.  All went back to work after their maturnity leave was over.