How long should DH plan to stay home after the birth?

MrsSnyder124 · January 2015

Honestly it depends on the birth , how you recover , and if you have other support people . My H took extra time off because I had a hard delivery and took a long time to recover. I needed his help around the house .

nininou19 · January 2015

My husband will take the paternity leave that is given to new dads in France so that's 15 days. I guess it will be good to have his help

svenskalamb13 · January 2015

I suppose it is all up to you guys. I didnt have any help from DH or my mom the first few days (even when DH was around). So if you feel like someone should be around and if you have that option, then go for it.

TristaJ90 · January 2015

Hubby has been banking pto days for a while(he's lucky he can) and I fully expect him to be with me for the delivery and up to 2 weeks after that day. He may still have to work a weekend in between since he's a manager but I have family 4 blocks from my house that can help out if I need.

Perfect Sonnet · January 2015

He will stay home for a week when the baby is born. We liked when he did this with my daughter as we were both adjusting to life with a new baby. He will also take 5 weeks of paternity leave after my maternity leave is finished and I start easing back into work.

laurasuzanne2006 · January 2015

My c section was a thurs hubby went to work Monday. Wasn't a planned c section and wasn't enough time. Figuring out how to get out of bed in the am was rough. Would do a week

incir · January 2015

I would certainly have a plan for what support you would need if you had a c-section or rough delivery. My husband had a week off after DS and then my mother came for another week. Since I had a c-section I couldn't drive myself anywhere or do a lot of every day tasks (couldn't take the laundry downstairs by myself for instance). I need the help and there was a lot of DH to do. If you have an easy birth then its a lot different, but I would at least have back up plans for a rougher time.

cowboys2009 · January 2015

mj0011 said:
He took 2 weeks with our first and will for this one too.

Same here. DH will also take 2 weeks in Nov when I have to go back to work so we don't have to start childcare until December.

daniellepanda · January 2015

Last time he was going to take 1 week and he ended up taking 2. If financial strain isn't an issue I would say the longer the better. It's good for them for bonding time, to help out with everything, and take care of you. I'm hoping he can do 2 weeks again but it's a different employer now so I'm not sure. They let him work from home sometimes if our son is home sick so I'm hoping he can do 1 week vacation and 1 week work from home.

KMBC2552 · January 2015

The first time around he took a week off. The second time around he had just started a new job. He took off two days while I was in the hospital and then we had the weekend together. He returned to work on Monday. It was fine. Not ideal, but fine.

andbabymakessix · January 2015

We always do a week. He loves that he has that time for bonding initially and will help me with getting up and down and with our other kids. Then after that week is up, my mom comes for an additional week plus to help with our older kids so I can focus on healing/breastfeeding the new babe. Works great! I've always had pretty easy recoveries though and feel back to myself within a few days.

RipplingMussels · January 2015

He took off a month, I went late, so he was around for 3 weeks after DS came. I had a really rough delivery and recovery, so he was great to have around. He cooked, cleaned, did laundry and ran errands. One day he and my FIL rented a chainsaw and cut down trees on the side of the house. He's a commercial pilot, so when he's gone, he is gone. He wanted to make sure that I would be ok on my own with the baby because I'm not able to just call him home from work.

ColeyOLee · January 2015

When we had our son a few years ago, DH took a week off. I wish he had taken more time! At his new job, he now gets three months of paternity leave.

maroongolf · January 2015

He took a couple of weeks of with both.

I don't think a week is too much to ask. Those early days can be overwhelming. You are getting little sleep, breastfeeding can be a real challenge, etc. It would be nice to have him there for support.

xoalicia · January 2015

I hope mine will stay home
For 1-2 weeks

ajetter · January 2015

tmclawchick said:

DH was in law school when DS was born, but he talked to his professors and took two weeks off. This time around he gets 2 weeks of paternity leave, and he might use some vacation time to stretch it out a little longer. DS will be starting kindergarten right around the same time I give birth so things will be hectic; I'll be thankful for the extra help!

I shouldn't really say jealous as everyone's situation is different. But man, DH was in medschool when DD1 was born, and I had to wait for him to get done with his workload for the day to come pick me up from the hospital and take me and baby home. They gave him two days. Granted he got a lot of time off towards the end of the following school year but still!

samantha716 · January 2015

I think 2 weeks.

pansylane · January 2015

My husband stayed home for two weeks and I still clung to his leg (crying, obviously) in an attempt to prevent him from going back. I had a really hard time coping, though, so you may not need your hubs home as long. I ended up hiring a post-partum doula to come over a few times a week to help after my husband went back.

cpedward · January 2015

I think DH is going to take six weeks as of now - that's what his firm provides but noone really takes the whole six weeks. I hope he does but I bet it will be more like two if he feels pressure to return.

efunk21 · January 2015

We're fortunate to live in Quebec where my DH gets 5 weeks paid time off. Loved having him around when our DS was born.

3babyG · January 2015

I think two weeks is the minimum a husband should stay at home. This will be our third baby and we are actually talking about three weeks. If you have a c-section you will definitely need help physically. The more time the better

musicalcompozr · January 2015

My DH took two weeks after DD was born with the option to work half days from home the second week as I knew I wouldn't need him helping all the time and he goes pretty stir crazy without things to do. I had a pretty rough recovery so it was definitely helpful to have him around to help out with everything and it meant that I could go nap regardless of whether DD was napping which I desperately needed.

This time he's at a different company that just announced 4 weeks paid paternity. I'm urging him to take all 4 since we'll have 2 under 2 with no family closer than 3 hours and no guest space for them to stay but he's leaning towards 2 again. We haven't had a serious conversation yet so not sure but he'll be around for 2 weeks for sure.

cmarie28 · January 2015

FTM here so I don't really have advice for you but our plan is for DH to take two weeks off.

WSatisfiedP · January 2015

My husband took off all the time I was in the hospital & 2 or 3 weeks after we brought him home.

If financial strain is an issue, then I would focus on saving for that time if you want him to be able to stay home longer!

katehenton623 · January 2015

My midwife has said that he needs to take at least three days because I shouldn't be alone those first three days in case of complications. I have asked for a week so we are going to be careful with vacation time so he can take it.

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