Maternity Leave for a "work from home" mom

JennyCupcakes01 · July 2013

Still have about a few more months until maternity leave, BUT I do want to figure out my options earlier than later.

I work from home Mon-Fri about 6 hours a day. Boss already knows I'm pregnant and totally understands I'll need time after baby is born to adjust.

Question is, how MUCH time should I take? I don't want to start a week after baby arrives but I also find it a little over the top to take 12 weeks off since I won't be going anywhere. He's pretty much leaving it up to me on how much time I need and I really have no clue! Thoughts?

Karla CS · July 2013

The first few weeks home, you could probably get TONS of work done.. Seems like all they do is sleep. After that, they start to get demanding. I really don't think 12 weeks would be over the top - it's not like you're going to be just sitting home and watching TV. Between getting used tot he new routine, sleepless nights, and catering to the whim of a tiny tyrant, you'll be plenty busy.

bionic4me · July 2013

IMO, you will never really know until after the baby is born. Is the baby colicky? Will the baby only stay asleep while in your arms? How was the birth/delivery (no problems, emergency c-section)? What if baby comes early and spends time in NICU? There are so many factors to consider. I would plan on a minimum of 4-6 weeks and ask for some flexibility in case of unseen circumstances. Good luck with your decision!

*sparky* · July 2013

bionic4me said:

IMO, you will never really know until after the baby is born. Is the baby colicky? Will the baby only stay asleep while in your arms? How was the birth/delivery (no problems, emergency c-section)? What if baby comes early and spends time in NICU? There are so many factors to consider. I would plan on a minimum of 4-6 weeks and ask for some flexibility in case of unseen circumstances. Good luck with your decision!

ITA. Your body needs to recover and you have to tend to the demands of a newborn. For some moms/babies it is a lot easier than for others. Plan on the minimum but leave some flexibility to at least work a reduced schedule if needed.

shannm · July 2013

bionic4me said:
IMO, you will never really know until after the baby is born. Is the baby colicky? Will the baby only stay asleep while in your arms? How was the birth/delivery (no problems, emergency c-section)? What if baby comes early and spends time in NICU? There are so many factors to consider. I would plan on a minimum of 4-6 weeks and ask for some flexibility in case of unseen circumstances. Good luck with your decision!

I agree.

ljanette85 · July 2013

Take what you can get! At least 6-8 but 12 is wonderful. Even though the baby sleeps a lot in the beginning, you also need to rest NOT work. Enjoy your time with your baby

EastCoastBride · July 2013

Kimbus22 said:

Take the 12 weeks. You'll still need time to recover and to get on a schedule for the person or daycare center who will be watching LO after you return to work. You're entitled to the time and you'll never get it back. You shouldn't give it up just because you don't have to drive 20 minutes to work IMO.

100% this. You get this time in your life with your child once. ONCE. Take every last minute of it and enjoy it. I don't see how not having to commute plays a role in this. Work is work.

My basic experience (and I had an easy recovery and an easy baby) - the first 2 weeks were hell. I was SOOOOOOO sleep deprived. I was forgetting to eat. It was really bad.

Then I started getting into a groove, I was getting sleep, etc. At 6 weeks, I thought "o.k - I'm actually starting to feel human again". At 8 weeks I thought "If I had to, I could go back to work. But thank god I have 4 more weeks". Then at 12 weeks- I was actually ready to go back to work.

While newborns don't really "do" much, just having that time w/ DS was wonderful. I met other moms in my neighborhood who also had newborns and it was a nice chance to just "relax", get to know my baby, meet other moms, etc. It was wonderful to have NO burden of work on my shoulders at all.

EastCoastBride · July 2013

hocus said:

My leaves were not vacations.

This is what it boils down to - it's NOT a vacation. Even w/ easy babies- you just pushed a baby out of your body OR had major surgery to have your child, and you now have this new "being" to learn about.

I enjoyed my Mat Leave, but it wasn't "Weee!!! I'm having so much fun!". By the end, it was a little bit of that. But the first 2 months - easily - were "holy crap. My life will never be the same again, I will never be the same again". I still enjoyed it - but it wasn't a vacation. At all.

2chatter · July 2013

With my first six weeks would have been enough. I had a super flexible work arragement and exh was a SAHD. If I would have been in a normal 30-40 hour a week situation I would have taken much much more time. I took 12 with my second and 16 with my third, and those are almost too short, when you consider these are the moments you get to spend with your tiny, brand new little person.

And recoveries are all different. I was pretty doped up with my third, the least complicated delivery and no episiotomy, but the recovery was AWFUL and I had a ton of pain. For a few weeks. So I say plan for and take 12.

KL777 · July 2013

I say take as much as you can. As a pp mentioned, you only get this time with them once.

michaelaskedlauren · July 2013

Take the 12 weeks, as PP have said you wont know what kind of recovery you will need and what kind of newborn baby you will have.

And as others have said, youll never get that time back with your baby. If you want to, you can always go back early, but I would suggest for now just taking the 12 weeks.

Mjmksb04 · July 2013

I would take as much time as you can afford. Contrary to one of the pp, I wouldn't have gotten any work done until he got to be 6 weeks old and he was an easy baby. My hormones were out of control, I was recovering from delivery and was an exhausted mess.

Crispity · July 2013

LibraryChica said:

Take the 12 weeks. You can always start back earlier if you feel up to it, but you don't know what you/your baby will be like after delivery. My daughter had colic and reflux and while I was physically in excellent shape, emotionally I was a mess for weeks. Possibly months. There was no sleep and I don't really remember.

This exactly! I guess some newborns take to breastfeeding right away, sleep all the time, and hardly ever cry, but that was certainly not my experience! During the first few weeks with my DD, I could barely find the time to glance at Facebook. There is no way that I could have worked, at home or otherwise. Take the time. Even if you have one of those mythical easy babies, you won't regret it.

DiFazette · August 2013

Today is my first day back from maternity leave. I took nearly 4 months and I work at home, too. I was hospitalized at 33 weeks and delivered at 34 due to pre-e. We had a 3 week NICU stay and I decided I still wanted my 12 weeks with my son.

You'll be busier than you can imagine. Something else to think about is daycare - you won't want your LO in the mix before their first round of vaccines (most daycares don't even allow it). That doesn't happen until 2 mos.

I'd suggest 12 weeks as a starting point. If you go back earlier - great, but you don't want to promise 6 weeks and not follow through. Your baby is only a baby once. It goes way too fast.

aeh72 · August 2013

I work from home and took a full 12 weeks. Granted, I was very happy to have a break from my job, but in the end, those 3 months were a blur. The baby will sleep a lot but you will be tired, no matter how easy a baby you have (our little guy was a champ at sleeping and eating and getting on a schedule and I was still exhausted all the time). Plus, it's hard to put into words but I really did have very full days of just getting used to being a mom and all the little chores that come with that. And, on top of all of the "stuff" you end up doing - I was loving every single minute of getting to know our sweet little boy. I would not trade those 3 months for anything.

ETA - I want to ditto what others are saying about your physical recovery. I had a c-section and really did need those 6-8 weeks to recover from that, and in addition to that, I ended up with a terrible case of edema and my legs and feet were swollen for almost the whole time I was on leave. It was very uncomfortable and even painful at times. No way I could have worked - even just plopping myself down in my home office or on the couch with my laptop. Not everyone will have this experience (and I hope you don't!) but I was not expecting it so you never know. Better to plan for more time off and go back early if it works out that you can.

kmpls · August 2013

As much as u can. At least 10 to 12 weeks.

chicagobride_07 · August 2013

I could have written many of the posts above, my experience was very similar. Recommend taking the full 12 weeks.

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