Maternity Leave

AmandaNic87 · January 2013

How long before your due date are you planning to leave?

If I could, I'd work right up until my water breaks to have as much paid time with the baby as possible, but I don't think my co-workers would appreciate that! Wink

I plan to take 4 months off, but only 1 of those months will be paid.. so I'm definitely trying to go as close to the due date (April 30th) as possible!

AND THEN I've heard some people that don't even have the baby until a week or so past their due date!

FTM- What are you doing?
and Moms who have done this before, what are your thoughts? What did you do?

Thanks!

UberBiz · January 2013

I'm having a scheduled c-section (repeat), so having an actual date helps, even though baby could still come earlier. I still have to talk to our business manager to find out how much time I can take; I have about 3 weeks of sick/vacation time that I'm going to take, and then short-term disability, so for however long that is I'm taking it. The surgery is scheduled on a Wednesday, so at the very least, I'll take off starting that Monday..

Trish&Pete07 · January 2013

With my first I was induced one week after my due date. I was planning on working until 2 weeks before but my boss decided not to schedule me for any shifts my "last week" of work, so I had 4 weeks off before DD1 was even out. A LONG 4 weeks. I had a very very super easy pg and it felt like it was never going to end. With DD2 I was a SAHM and so I "worked" right until we left for the hospital and picked DD1 up when we were released from the hospital. DH was home for the remainder of the week and the weekend before heading back to work.

JSS1002 · January 2013

This could change based on the progression of my pregnancy, but as of right now I am planning on working right up until I go into labor. I am taking 3-4 months off (as of right now, 3 weeks, but I might try to do 4), and I don't want to waste any time home with baby. I work from home on Fridays right now, so I am using that time for all the prepping / nesting stuff that needs to get done.

jackie9480 · January 2013

I plan on working right up till whatever day I deliver. My water broke w/ my DD a few days past her due date at work. I have a desk job so other than sitting on my butt being uncomfortable... it wasnt really an issue for me!

ShannaKvam · January 2013

FTM- I plan to work right up until my due date April 13th. I am a teacher and only get paid time off based on how much sick leave I have (3 weeks paid), but I plan to take 5 weeks. I have to be back the last week of school since I have paperwork to finish and it is finals for my students. Plus, I will have to get them registered for summer school if they end up failing any classes. The last week of school is the hardest for my students with learning disabilities, so I am going to try (key word) to be there that last week. We are done with school May 23rd and then I will have the rest of the summer with our little man.

sherbear1322 · January 2013

First time around I planned to work until I went into labor but was taken out at 40 weeks because my blood pressure was elevated; they induced a week later. Sitting around for that week was torture. This time I'm having a repeat c-section so I have a date (unless he comes earlier as PP mentioned), and plan to take two full days off ahead of time because of pre-op appointments and to have some last 1:1 time with my son. I think it depends on your pesonality and how well you are able to wait it out while not distracted by your normal routine.

asuchic · January 2013

I plan on working right up until the baby comes, but I will be able to work from home. I will probably start working from home a week before my due date. This way if my water does break, I can deal with it at home and DH will be able to take me to the hospital since he works from home.

mngildersleeve · January 2013

I plan on working up until April 18th. My due date is the 20th though so if she comes early then I guess I work up until she comes!! My coworkers are all so excited about the baby they wont mind if my water breaks at work (I work at a bank). Well except the guys. I'm a FTM

tondraluv · January 2013

FTM here, my due date is April 15th so i'm going on leave the week before. I am taking three & a half months (two weeks vacation plus the 12 weeks for leave) my doctor will induce me the week later on the 22nd if the baby has not arrived by then. So i'll have at least a guaranteed 12 weeks with the baby.

jackie9480 · January 2013

SpringPeeper:
Why can't you work right until you go into labor. FWIW, water breaking at work is a rare thing. :-) I've heard more stories about it breaking in bed.
Last time, I worked until I went into early labor.
This time, I'm taking off starting in April. My c/s will be that first week, so I'm okay with a couple extra days.

It does happen though! Wink But it wasnt as crazy as they make it sound on TV. It was more leaky and just kind of wet pants than a big ole' splash!

blueandgray · January 2013

I worked up until I went into labor. I have an office job. When my due date came & went, I opted to work from home after that until I went into labor. I was really uncomfortable in my chair all day and I had fears of my water breaking on the office rug. Fortunately, I'm able to work pretty efficiently remotely with my laptop and cell phone, so I set up a station on my coffee table at home and sat on an exercise ball there to work for the next week, getting up to walk around every 10 minutes or so.

My early labor started late in the afternoon on a Thursday, so I called my boss and gave her a heads up that this was probably it. I texted her the next morning that DD was here! I got to keep every one of the 12 weeks saved for after she was born which I was glad for.

skidderdo · January 2013

FTM- working until the day I go into labor... plan to take about 8-9 weeks off after baby arrives. Don't have a lot of PTO, and with bills, student loans (get ready for this... $255,000 from medical school... plus DH's $150,000 from his MBA), aaaaand my current law school tuition (which we have to pay cash for, since I don't qualify for any more federal loans)... umm yeah I gotta get my butt back to work!

In an ideal world I would live to take 3-4 months off...

saintpaulJess · January 2013

Unless baby comes early, I plan on working through the Friday before my due date. Then I'll be off whether LO is here or not!

AtlJuneBride · January 2013

I worked last time until DD was born. In fact, I went into labor while I was conducting a trial (I am a criminal defense atty). Luckily it wasn't bad (My water didn't break or anything) and it didn't really hurt so I finished up the trial then let the judge and my boss know I was heading to labor and delivery (judge was totally freaked out that I had been in labor the whole time, it was hilarious).

I had paid maternity leave then, but now I am self-employed so the reality is that I pretty much have to work until I give birth but I probably would anyways. I want as much time with the baby as possible after he's born.

Last time I took 10 weeks and this time I'll probably take the same. I was really ready to go back to work at the end of maternity leave last time...

skoogirl · January 2013

I worked the day before DS was born, although I went home early because I was having contractions every three minutes. I worked 2 hours from home too.

I plan to work right up until labor with this one as well so long as the doctors say it's ok.

keithsbride · January 2013

I am due 4/23 and will probably stop work on 3/29. The way my STD works is that I get 4 weeks before and 6 (8 for c/s) weeks after. If I don't take the 4 weeks before, I can't tack them on the end so I'd rather take them and use that time to get the house ready.

We only have two bedrooms and I feel that it would not be fair to my 7 year old to make her share a room with a baby so we are starting a reno next month - adding a master suite. So there will be PLENTY for me to do at home.

I am taking about six months all together, planning to return to work in mid - Oct. Almost all of that will be without pay.

allonsyalonso · January 2013

It's really up in the air for me at the moment. I really wanted to take off the week before my due date so we could make sure we had everything settled before LO got here, but my assistant manager is being sent to corporate for two week training on my 37th week. Being the general manager, unless I go into early labor, I have to be there to run my store while he's gone and the week he gets back will be me prepping him to do my job while I'm gone. I feel like it was bad timing for him to be going so close to my due date, but at the same time it will be great to have a properly trained AGM.

I'm also debating whether I'll be taking 8 weeks or 12 weeks. FMLA gives me 12, short term disability pays for 6, and I have about 140 hours of PTO to use, too.

I really have no clue what to expect or what I'm doing, is what it comes down to! Just doing the FTM thing...

RunningwithPearls · January 2013

I'm hoping I can work up until I deliver. My EDD is April 30, and I plan on going back at the end of August. I won't be getting a check at all while I'm out.

leasaj · January 2013

I teach school and only get paid for the amount of sick days that I have saved. I am not coming back for the remainder of the school year. If baby girl comes on time that is about 9 weeks (I will have about 5-6 weeks paid through sick days). I am giong to try to work as long as I can and hope to God that my water doesn't break in front of my 3 graders.

Monsieur_et_Madame_Ha · January 2013

With DD1, I worked until I was 39 weeks. She was born at 39w4d.

Since DD1 came a bit before her EDD and I wanted some "me" time before DD2 came, I scheduled my 2nd maternity leave for 38w. DD2 came at 37w0d.

I'm not entirely too sure what I'll be doing this time. I think I'll plan my leave at 37w or 38w, and if the baby comes before then, then so be it. I just hope baby doesn't decide to come late just to stump me. One thing I will do differently though is make sure all my files/projects have been transferred to the right people before I hit the 37 week mark.

beemango0913 · January 2013

I had clearance from my doc to work up until the day I went into labor, which is exactly what I did. I worked until 10pm the night before, went home and my water broke. My doc was comfortable with me working up until I went into labor because I have a desk job and the hospital I deliver at is actually right across the road from my office, so it all works out.

If this baby doesn't come a week before his due date though, I will probably go ahead and take off, just to get things around the house ready and spend an extra day or so with DD before she becomes a big sister.

Fremdschamen · January 2013

I'm due on a Monday, and I plan to work until the Friday before my due date. However, my work is somewhat flexible in that I can choose to work from home or shorten my hours towards the end. I think I will play it by ear when the time comes and see how I am feeling. (Thankfully my bosses are 100% supportive of this plan).

whitneylauren · January 2013

I'm due 4/30 and I hope I can work until I go into labor. I am taking 12 weeks off. 6 weeks paid by STD and 6 weeks unpaid.

Casie13 · January 2013

asuchic:
I plan on working right up until the baby comes, but I will be able to work from home. I will probably start working from home a week before my due date. This way if my water does break, I can deal with it at home and DH will be able to take me to the hospital since he works from home.

So nice that you can work from home right before your labor hits! I work from home now, so I also plan to continue working until Maisy makes her debut. No reason not to, in my opinion.

nyki06 · January 2013

I'm not working this time around, but last time I stopped working at 37 weeks and if I would have been in your situation (OP) that would have been a huge mistake. I didn't deliver until 42 weeks which means 5 week off between quitting and baby.

lou_lou_sd · January 2013

I'm lucky in that I work in the same office as my hubby. So, for the last month, we'll probably carpool together (we don't right now in order to give ourselves a few minutes to ourselves before and after work). That way, if I go into labor, we'll be together. After that, I'm planning to be out of work for about 8 weeks (that also gives me the option to invoke another 30 days of FMLA later in the year for bonding). If, before my due date, I end up taking a few days off here and there because I don't feel well, I'll just be flexible. But like many of you, I'm trying to store all my sick leave/vacation leave time away so I can have it with the baby.

Enigma11 · January 2013

I am a SAHM now, so no maternity leave this time, but with my son I went off 2 weeks before my due date. He was actually born on his due date. I was so glad I had those 2 weeks to myself too prepare and relax before he was born. We get 50 weeks paid here though. At 55 of your income

Raven01 · January 2013

I'm a FTM, and scans are showing I'm now due 31 March. I have just started my maternity leave, Friday was my last day at work. Financially it worked out better to stop earlier for me, as I didn't jump into the next tax bracket. Plus I'd like some me time before bubs arrives, as I won't have that much time too myself again for the next 20 years lol.

Edit: I should mention I will still have a lot of time with LO though. I have until May 2014 paid maternity leave, so I don't mind using some now. I completely understand wanting to use the leave after delivery instead to spend more time with LO, this just works well for me and DH.

katie6/26/04 · January 2013

DS was born on his due date. I had started working from home a week or so before because my former Dr was worried that my bp was getting high and I had pre-e (which I did not and it is normal for me to have high bp during office visits). So my plan is to put my actual due date as my last day and hope I don't go too much after. I might see if I can work 1/2 days in the office and paperwork at home a week or 2 before so I have some time to get paperwork done prior to leave. I'm a counselor in a group home so people are always stopping in to chat making it hard to stay focused and get that type of stuff done.

svanjicki · January 2013

I'm due April 10 (Wed.) and my last day is going to be the Friday before. I get 6 weeks pd. short term disability & want to take 2 weeks unpaid. I wish we lived in another country where not only would we get like a year off, but also a person who comes to help with laundry, etc. For some reason, I fear going into labor at work or anywhere other than home, although I could still go early.

MaybeMab · January 2013

I'm due on a Monday, so I told my boss, the Friday before my due date would be last day. She couldn't believe I wanted to work that long...

BUT, it looks like I won't be going back to work after I have the baby so why not "enjoy" work now...

AmandaNic87 · February 2013

It's so great to hear so many of you are working, or have worked, right up until your due date!

Now I definitely feel OK with telling them that I'm going to stay up until the Friday before (due on a Tuesday)

I'll just wear a maxi pad..sorry if TMI.. to work the last week and if my water breaks, it breaks, what can ya do??

Thanks for all the replies!! Were in the home stretch! YAY!!!!

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