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Back to work in the military

ashley_wiashley_wi
in Working Moms

I am active duty Navy and 16 weeks pregnant. The Navy's policy is that the mother gets 40 days of maternity leave and then back to work! Although they won't send me to sea until my baby is 12 months old, I am really not looking forward to going back so early with such a young baby. I can't imagine leaving a newborn at daycare right now with all the great things I have heard about it. Does anyone use military daycare that may have some advice??imageimage


 

 

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Re: Back to work in the military

  • ali-1411ali-1411 member

    You might get better luck on the Military Newlyweds board.  DH was Army - and a single bachelor at that, so he wouldn't be any help :)

     

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  • SunshineBrideNJSunshineBrideNJ
    DH is military.  I teach for DoDEA schools.  We use the base CDC.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE them!  They single-handedly made going back to work emotionally possible for me.  I never thought I'd be ok with bringing DS to daycare, but when I leave them with those ladies everyday...I know he will be ok.  I would recommend anyone that has access to base daycare to use it.  Make sure you get on the list ASAP.  I waited 10 months for a spot.  Luckily I had gotten on it early in my pregnancy.  If you are dual-military, I believe you will have priority on the list.
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  • E CE C member

    Congratulations!!

    My situation is a bit different - as a DoD civilain, I could take up to 12 weeks off.  However, I had to use all of my annual leave, all of my sick leave, and any time off after that was LWOP.

    Because I'm a civilian (and my H is an Army Reservist), we had the opportunity to use the CDC here on post.  I recommend getting on the waiting list ASAP - I'm not sure if it's DoD wide, but there's a priority ranking.  The sooner you get on the 'unborn' waiting list will help your priority status when you call to transfer to the 'active' waiting list.  I called in June '07 to get on the first one, and called while I was still in the hospital after DD was born to switch - I was #12 on the list.  Now, my priority was lower than yours will be, but I guess the short lesson is that it can take awhile to get in.

    In the meantime, you should probably start looking for off-post (off-base for the Navy, right?) day care.

    FWIW, when we got to #3 on the waiting list (6 months after DD was born), we set up an appointment with the director of the center.  Once they tell you that you have a spot, you have 24 hours to make a decision, so I wanted to be armed with information.  I was not impressed.  Our director was very condescending, and the way the rooms are set up here were not to our liking (6 weeks - 2 years all in one room, which means a walker could have easily landed on my infant's head).  We decided not to switch.

    I think, however, that it's center dependent.  Definitely get on the list and set up a tour or meeting with the director.

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  • ashley_wiashley_wi
    Thanks for the posts - all good ideas. I had heard there were waiting lists but wow! Definitely need to get in on that now...
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  • SunshineBrideNJSunshineBrideNJ
    And just to let you know...it must vary by base.  The above poster stated that her local CDC had multi-age rooms.  Ours does not do this.  The rooms are divided by yearly age, and in the infant room, the walkers and non-walkers are separated.  I guess it really does depend on the base. 
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