How early are you starting maternity leave?

Drgn30 · July 2014

Hi ladies - I apologize if this has already been asked, but I couldn't find any threads addressing this topic when I searched. How early are you all taking maternity leave? I would like to continue working as long as possible and save as much time as I can for when the baby arrives, but I'm being told by people at work that I'll want to go out on leave at least 1 week before my EDD (due to physical discomfort, to prepare, etc.) I have no experience so I don't know what to expect...

For those who have/are waiting until the very last minute to go out on leave, how did you discuss that arrangement with your boss?

Thanks in advance!

Drgn30 · July 2014

@momtobe85 - I'll be in arbitration just before by EDD. I really hope I'm still able to concentrate when I'm that far along

princezjk · July 2014

In my state you can collect disability benefits up to 4 weeks before your due date. I decided to go out 3 weeks before my EDD because I was convinced LO was coming early. Even though LO didn't show until 4 days before my EDD, I am so glad I went out early. I felt much more relaxed and prepared for his arrival. GL with your decision!

rox825 · July 2014

My plan is to have everything wrapped up the Friday about a week and a half before my Tuesday EDD, just in case. Then I'll continue to work as long as I'm still feeling well for as long as I can, at least until my EDD. ETA- I just discussed this with my boss actually and we came up with the early deadline to make sure that things are taken care of in advance just in case, and that way if I can keep working then I'll just take on last minute tasks/projects that come up that I'm able to do, with all of the important stuff done.

Drgn30 · July 2014

Thanks for the input, ladies.

@rox825 - I love that plan. Maybe I will propose it to my boss, as well.

2redtulips · July 2014

My situation is a little different in that I work for myself, so I set my own schedule and I don't get any paid leave. I loaded up on a few extra client projects to carry them through the time I plan to take off, and that will provide a little extra income for me when I am not working.

That said, I am 37w4d today, and I am exhausted most days. I am happy I work from home, because I have been able to take daily naps and that has helped a lot. I am due 8/8, but I am trying to wrap up most of my work by this Thursday in case I do deliver early. If I don't, a little extra down time before baby arrives will be welcome.

Would it be possible to scale back your schedule a little as you get closer? Work shorter days or something?

JustinsGirl2011 · July 2014

I work for myself so I'm hoping to work right up to delivery & then will take a few weeks off afterwards.

[Deleted User] · July 2014

Since I'm taking 12 weeks I want to work as long as possible up until the very last minute. My EDD is 10/27 (a Monday), and HR has my last day marked down as 10/24 (that Friday before). Of course it all depends on the little guy and whether he decides to come early or late. We shall see!

AnyMax · July 2014

@princezjk‌ My boss made it sounds like the four weeks before were only if medically necessary. Not the case, and something I should push for more info on?
Are you collecting FLI after disability runs out?
I have to talk to you!

jneden · July 2014

I worked until I went into labor with my daughter. I had a spreadsheet that I kept updated that had my clients information and anything I was working on and I would update it every day before I left just in case. Luckily I went into labor on Memorial Day so I was off for the holiday.

carlsonbaby2014 · July 2014

I'm going to work for as long as possible. I worked out the following plan with my boss:

- full maternity plans in place with standard work and training finished by the time I'm 35 weeks

- 35 - 37 weeks: wrap up any big projects I'm working on outside of standard day-to-day activities

- 37 - 40 weeks: scale back day-to-day activities and basically be available for questions from people who will be taking over my daily tasks while I'm away. Work on maintenance things that can be dropped if I go into labor an picked up again at a later date...probably during my transition back from maternity leave.

I work with a ton of women who have gone through this before so everyone knows the primary goal is to remain flexible.

I'll be lurking to see what others plan for this transition time.

megbmeg · July 2014

Good question! It does depend a lot on your job and the coverage you'll have while you're gone. I haven't firmed up plans yet, but since I'm a college instructor, I need to pass my classes off to a sub who will finish off the semester for me. I'm thinking of setting a switch over date of about 1 week or 10 days before my EDD. We'll see what my dean is thinking, though...

ToriGirl2014 · July 2014

My goal is to work until the week before my EDD, with a few days of "vacation" (i.e., last minute planning, holiday shopping) at the end. I am due right around Christmas so no one is ever in the office then anyway.

Of course, baby and my body need to cooperate in order for that to happen. My assumption is that I will not make it to my EDD, but who knows.

Overall, I am with everyone else about wanting to spend as much time as possible with the baby.

I give all of you credit for not backing out on chairing trials, arbitrations, etc. so close to your EDDs. I just received a new file that I knew would get scheduled for arbitration right around my EDD and I already gave it away to another attorney in the office. I think I will definitely be in wind-down mode come the last couple of weeks before leave.

kefttsc · July 2014

@Drgn30 I really want those donuts.

I work from home so I will really be playing it by ear. I am very lucky that I have an amazing boss who understands the unpredictability and flexibility required with the situation.

SamanthaLaura16 · July 2014

Since I cannot deliver where I live I actually have to leave home a month early and live in the city for a bit. I am hoping to be able to work in that office as long as I can stand it because I would like to have most of my time off after baby arrives.

mandi195 · July 2014

with my DS I worked the day before he was born. I was being induced on a Tuesday, due to the pressure he was putting on my sciatic nerve, and I worked a normal day on Monday.

I plan to work as long as possible this time, too.

MsAmandaPants · July 2014

My plan is to work up until my due date/delivery, but I may work from home that last week.

atangiblewish · July 2014

With DD I worked at AAA and left work when I was in labor. I could've stayed because it was 35 hours or so lol. This time i work for my mom so I won't have maternity leave. I'll probably work from home for a few weeks when baby gets here.

ETA: I was full term w/ dd. She was born a day before her due date.

purplehaze11 · July 2014

With my DD I worked until two days before I have birth (I had planned on taking a week but she came earlier than planned!). This time around I think I will finish at 38 weeks or so.

angelsnight · July 2014

I was induced on a Tuesday so my last day of work was the previous Friday (but they messed up my paperwork so my last day was actually thursday). It just didn't make sense to me to go to work on Monday and then be off, and it was nice to have those last few days to relax and get last minute stuff done. However I knew when my date was, I knew I would only be off less than a week before she came, not sure I would have taken off early when who knows when she could have come, I would have hated to waste 2+ weeks before she came.

I felt.....ok enough to keep working, so had I not been induced I would like to think that I would have worked till I went into labor. However I was feeling pretty bad physically, but mentally I wanted to scream at people and punch them in the face. I'm also saying this having been induced at 39 weeks.....having to wait till possilby 42+ weeks, I can't say for certain I would have stuck it out.

Eliz77 · July 2014

I plan to work as long as my Dr allows. I do have a physically demanding job BUT I can do a lot of things that don't require physical work. I guess I'll be playing it by ear and see what happens.

Maupjen · July 2014

I am due September 12th and plan to work up until the 11th. I'm a FTM and am very nervous as to how this will go as I already don't feel great by the end of the day. My job is not physically demanding but can be mentally demanding at times. Hoping all goes well! Good to know many others have similar goals!

MoreThanSparrows08 · July 2014

I plan to work until I go into labor. I did this with my first (wasn't working when I was pg with my second), and it worked out well. I did have a more physical job back then, but most of it was office work. It was a summer camp, and I was due July 31, but didn't go into labor until August 2, and by the time my 6 weeks were up, summer camp was over.

This time, since I run a 1-woman office, I plan on hiring a temp to start training a couple days per week at the beginning of the year. That way, when I go into labor, I can just call her and let her know that she'll be switching over to full-time. I have 2 weeks of paid maternity leave, and I have about 2 weeks of sick and vacation time, and after that, I'm hoping I'll be able to work part-time from home a few days a week, and then go back full-time after 6 or 8 weeks, or longer, depending on finances.

jenkellen · July 2014

In general my company is extremely flexible with situations like this. I'm very fortunate. I'm due around Christmas so it should be fairly quiet and I should be able to work from home if I need to. I don't really like to work from home, but I guess I'll just have to see how uncomfortable I am. The plan is to work up until the bitter end. That's pretty standard for women at my company. I do have an interesting twist...my boss is pregnant as well. Seven weeks behind me! We might hire a temp since we'll have an overlap in our leaves. She is very adamant that she DOES NOT want me to come back sooner than 12 weeks as she came back after 6 weeks with her first when she got pressure from her last job. She said it was one of her biggest regrets.

Oh yea - and my daycare I put a down payment can't take the baby until 14 weeks after my EDD, so I need to work as long as I can since I'll have to fill a couple weeks with someone watching my kid until I can move them over. If I deliver early, I'm a bit screwed...

kateitho · July 2014

I was planning on working through 38 weeks, but I got laughed at by my MFM specialist yesterday and given a note saying I have 2 more weeks to work... So I guess 36 weeks is it for me!

KJsbabe · July 2014

I had a scheduled c/s at 39w, so mine was a little easier to plan around. I worked through Wednesday that week, took off Thursday, and had my c/s on Friday. I had a desk job at which I sat 90% of my day, so if I had needed to I could have worked for another week at least.

The worst part about working those last couple weeks was the drive to and from work. It was late June and we had record highs of 90+... And then the air conditioner in my car broke! It was miserable! I would be drenched in sweat by the time I made it home from my 15 min drive from work!

polevaultRN · July 2014

I'm planning to work until I go into labor. I did this with DS, too. I felt good physically so I figured, why not! I'm a labor & delivery RN so I figure going into labor while at work wouldn't be such a bad thing.

toomanycats1 · July 2014

With DS I had intended to work right up until my due date, but the job was incredibly physical and I had severe pitting edema and swelling, so my doctor put me on bed rest 2 months before my due date

I now work part-time, about 30 feet down the hall from the Maternity ward, so I could probably work right up until my due date if I wanted to... but I'm thinking I would rather start leave a month early or so to prepare. That, and I'm having a lot of aches and pains, so I would love to just live in yoga pants and hibernate at home for the last month if possible.

That said, I live in Canada and we get a year off, so I'm not losing a lot of baby time. If I only had 8 weeks of leave, I definitely wouldn't want to miss a week with LO.

Want a personalized experience?

How early are you starting maternity leave?

Re: How early are you starting maternity leave?

Began trying for a baby January 2012
BFP 4.25.2013 EDD 1.3.2014 MMC 6.3.2013 D&C 6.19.2013
BFP 11.3.2013 CP 11.6.2013
BFP 3.31.2014 EDD 12.10.2014 Baby boy Carlson born 12.19.2014

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Want a personalized experience?

How early are you starting maternity leave?

Re: How early are you starting maternity leave?

Began trying for a baby January 2012BFP 4.25.2013 EDD 1.3.2014 MMC 6.3.2013 D&C 6.19.2013BFP 11.3.2013 CP 11.6.2013BFP 3.31.2014 EDD 12.10.2014 Baby boy Carlson born 12.19.2014

Choose Another Board

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Began trying for a baby January 2012
BFP 4.25.2013 EDD 1.3.2014 MMC 6.3.2013 D&C 6.19.2013
BFP 11.3.2013 CP 11.6.2013
BFP 3.31.2014 EDD 12.10.2014 Baby boy Carlson born 12.19.2014