working til "the end"?

flymansWife · April 2011

so what did "the end" really mean for you?? due date? sometime before? you left one day and labor started so you didn't go back in? left in the middle of work?

i've been telling my boss i'm working up until "the end" because i don't want to waste vacation time but not sure how this will actually work. kinda just thinking out loud... Smile

Chandley · April 2011

it was sorta the end with me - worked on friday, that night we bought our car and the next day (saturday) i went into labor.

christym0606 · April 2011

My due date was on a Tuesday, so my scheduled last day at work was the Friday before. Went into labor on Saturday, the day after my last work day. Would have loved to miss some work though! :P

bobcatsteph · April 2011

I worked until my water broke in the bathroom at work..my co-worker had to take me to my ob's office and I never even got to shut down my computer (I was 36 weeks 6 days and completely caught off guard).

balihaigirl · April 2011

i worked until 2 days before my due date. i kind of wish i had worked until i went into labor though (although i was so miserable!) because i only had an 8-wk maternity leave. so it kind of put pressure on me to get the baby out so i was induced at 40w2d. otherwise i would have maybe waited a little longer to see if he would have come on his own.

mrs.wildman · April 2011

I worked almost till the end. By the last month, I was doing half days at the office and half days from bed as I was having really bad swelling and back pains. I knew I was being induced on 4/7 unless DD would arrive sooner, and I had to still be active in payroll on the first of the month to accrue PTO. The 2nd was Good Friday, so I basically took my leave starting 4/5 (monday) and had a couple of days off to clean/watch movies/sleep prior to DD arriving.

SaraLouiseBride08 · April 2011

I told my boss I'd work until "the end" also. About a week before I went into labor, getting dressed and driving into the office was wiping me out, so I started working from home. Two days before my due date, my water broke at 4:50am. I had planned on working that day, but sent my boss an email letting him know I wasn't going to make it Wink

I was to a point where I think if I'd gone past my due date, I would have quit working shortly there after. I was physically and mentally exhausted. However, I had no problem with having enough inspiration in working up until my due date. I really wanted (and was glad to have) as much vacation time as possible after the baby was born.

thethomps · April 2011

I worked up until the Friday before I went into labor. I was a week late so everyone was on notice that I might just not be online one day and, if that happened, I was probably in the hospital. I was supposed to be induced the next Tuesday, so Friday was going to be my last day regardless. I'm glad I worked right up until the day I gave birth b/c it was a needed distraction.

Temp13436125005166 · April 2011

With Megan contractions started at night and the next day I didn't go into work the next day (contractions were like 8-15 minutes apart). We went into the hospital that evening and Megan was born at 2am. So I ended up having to start FMLA one day early.

With Ryan I was in early labor but I still went into work. Contractions were 15-20 minutes apart and I knew I had sometime (plus I work very close to the hospital I deliver at). It was nice because I literally just wrapped up everything I was working on and let people know I was about to start my maternity leave :-) I left work early and we headed to the hospital that evening, and Ryan was born at 2am too.

ditzydi_2000 · April 2011

I had my c-section schedule for a Monday morning and so my last day was the Friday before.

rssnlvr · April 2011

I worked Monday and went into labor that night. My boss had already told me to just "work from home" that Tuesday (my due date), so I emailed her Tuesday morning letting her (and HR) know that that would be my first day of leave.

Mrs.Purdue · April 2011

I'm stopping on my due date. Since that's a Sunday, that means that Friday the 6th is my last day of work. I work from home and surely could stay working if I wanted to (if the baby hasn't come yet), but my sister is flying in on my due date and I'm just DONE. I'm taking my whole 12 weeks, and at this point I don't really care if it's 12 weeks all with baby or 11 weeks with baby and 1 week hanging with my sister and just getting ready. If I only had 6 or 8 weeks, I'm sure I would have a different view.

KSandAE2008 · April 2011

I was scheduled to induce at 39 weeks which was a Thursday so Tuesday was supposed to be my last day. I woke up and feeling like crap on Tuesday so I called and said I'm starting my leave today. I went into labor Wednesday morning.

Abrooks · April 2011

I worked until I had the baby with both girls. With A, I left work on a Wednesday (39 weeks) and went into labor 2 hours later. With Baby N, I went into labor in the middle of the night on a Sunday (37 weeks). With both girls, I was prepared to go. I had everything transitioned and a running Google doc that I updated daily for where certain things were in process so my boss would know where things needed to be picked up. I wanted all time possible to spend with the girls after they were born so it was important to me to work up until they were born.

ACR · April 2011

I planned on working until I went into labor. By the end of my pregnancy, most of my work had been reassigned to others, so I wasn't super busy, but I was available to do whatever was needed. I ended up being induced, so I worked a half day before I went to the hospital at midnight.

kpowersw · April 2011

It depends on what type of job you have I think. I can easily work from home (and by then end no one really wanted to see me in the office for fear they'd be the one next to me when something happened

and had flexible hours so the constant OB appointments at the end weren't an issue either (I was late both times). So for me it just made more sense to work until the last minute and save all my leave for post-baby.

JayandJack · April 2011

My doctor pulled me out of work at 38 weeks. I was miserable sitting at a desk all day and I worked in an office of all men so going into labor or having my water breaking at work would have been really embarrassing. I was still vein up to the end. I spent the next week walking everywhere I could. I was induced at 39 weeks.

HSartteach · April 2011

My situation is completely different. I teach, so in theory, I worked until I could work no more. I was due a month later than school ended. If I was pregnant during the year, I would work as long as possible because even though I get disability, when I use up my days, then I don't get my teacher pay on top of my disability.

jml5q · April 2011

my last day of work i was one day overdue. the next day was new years eve, so i took the day off. i didn't go into labor until new years day evening. had it not been a holiday i would have gone to work up until i went into labor and that's what i plan on doing this time as well.

michelleaxo · April 2011

I told my work that I would work until the day after my due date which was a Friday. I ended up going in to labor the following Monday, so it all worked out perfectly.

Duckie07 · April 2011

I also didn't want to begin leave until I had to as I wanted to spend as much time with the baby as possible. So, I definitely planned on working until I had the baby. DD was born on a Sunday, six days before she was due. My last day of work ended up being a Friday. It worked out nicely.

Ruby44 · April 2011

With baby #1:
Worked til 5p on a Friday, went into labor at 4a Sat. morning
She was approx 4 days early

With baby #2:
Water broke while at work at about 4:30p, had baby at 11p that night
He was approx 5 days early

labbielover07 · April 2011

My due date was Monday the 27th, so my last day of work was Friday the 24th. I found out on the Monday before my due that that if I didn't go on my own, I would be induced Wednesday the 29th. I ended up being induced and still kept the 24th as my last day. It was nice having a few days home with my husband and parents before she arrived. We went shopping, out to eat and just relaxed