CPW: Staying home or going back to work?

texasmama15 · January 2015

After the baby comes, what are your immediate plans?

VeganOnTuesdays · January 2015

I will have about 3 months of maternity leave and then back to work for this girl.

texasmama15 · January 2015

@veganontuesdays Exactly the same for me! 12 weeks then go back. I've already registered for daycare starting in August. Hoping I can work up until the last minute then take the 11/12 weeks at home with the baby.

lgsdesigner · January 2015

6 weeks off (8 for c-section), then I work full-time until I either:
A.) Win the lottery.

B.) Am 75 years old.

VeganOnTuesdays · January 2015

texasmama15 said:

@veganontuesdays Exactly the same for me! 12 weeks then go back. I've already registered for daycare starting in August. Hoping I can work up until the last minute then take the 11/12 weeks at home with the baby.

That's definitely my game plan too. My H just switched his schedule at work to be Tues-Sat so that he can have the babe on Mondays. Saturday he will only work until noon so we will still have the whole day as a family. My dad works at a newspaper and he will be able to take the baby one other day during the week which is incredibly helpful. So looks like 3 days of daycare for us right now.

RedCherry1109 · January 2015

Already a SAHM. I worked til DS1 was 8 months old and have stayed home since then(8 years now). I plan on going back when all the kids are in school full time.

RachiCakes · January 2015

I am already a SAHM, but babysit my niece during the day (she's 15 months). I won't be watching her anymore once the new baby comes.

lakingsfan2015 · January 2015

Until like a month ago I was a SAHM and a student but I am not taking any classes next semester and possibly the one after that.

lauranicole91 · January 2015

I already work (PT-23hrs a week) and will go back to work afterwards. I plan on getting a new job though. So I'm unsure of hours.

We moved at the beginning of 2014 and I'm 30mins away from work now. My pay and hours barely make the drive worth it so I want to find something closer to home. I've only stuck it out because I finally qualify for paid maternity leave with my current company and didn't want to risk an unpaid leave with a new job.

texasmama15 · January 2015

linegirl313 said:

I've been on a leave of absence from my school district since April 2013. I'll probably stay out for one more full school year and return in the fall of 2016. (Daycare for 3 > teacher salary.)

It's ridiculous how expensive daycare is! I wonder how much it varies from state to state. I can't imagine having to pay for 3--I can definitely see how the SAHM option is much better in this situation. At least being a teacher you always have the opportunity to jump back in when you're ready!

obimom · January 2015

I have a 52 weeks leave and will probably be returning to work afterwards.
Well, by returning I mean finding a new job.
I would like to be a SAHM until school starts but... Money.

mp03jp · January 2015

I'll have to stay at home. But I have no clue how we will make it work yet. It's driving me crazy. I'm thinking of starting something on Etsy but idk yet. Has anyone else had any luck with Etsy as a seller?

molls332233 · January 2015

I seem to be in the minority, but I will be staying home when baby comes. The cost of child care vs. what I make just does make sense (if I were to keep working 40 hrs a week, I would be netting roughly $15,000 pre tax after childcare. 40 hrs a week, at a stressful job I am not crazy about, plus not raising my little one for only $15,000 pre-tax? doesn't make sense to me).

Hubby and I have been saving a lot, and plan on cutting back on a lot of luxuries when baby comes (less eating out, forgoing pricey vacations for a few years, getting rid of cable, couponing etc). If will be tough, but I feel that being home with lil Jack will be worth it!

babymcb21 · January 2015

12 weeks maternity leave then its back to work I go. My BFF (a former daycare worker) keeps reassuring me that kids do better in daycare when they go from infancy than when they start as toddlers. So I guess there's that...

zbornak123 · January 2015

My plan is SAHM - although I'm thinking I will keep my hand in at my job by doing the minimum of one weekend a month. That way when LO starts school I can add more hours.

xcjump · January 2015

I plan on going back to work after 12 weeks of maternity leave. I make more money than DH and if anything he would become a SAHD, but that doens't make sense for us financially right now.

locdglory · January 2015

This pregnancy, although unexpected, was timed perfectly. I graduate in May (2 weeks after I'm due) and I'm PT waitress and will do that a few days a week and hopefully start a teaching job in late July/August. So I'll have about 3 months off from full time work. Just can't understand why I have to pay bills *every month...

kj808 · January 2015

I get 12 weeks of maternity leave then it's back to work for me. I wish I could take off an extra 3 months but oh well.

kandicedunshie · January 2015

I'm currently a stay at home mom and will probably continue to be one as long as I can. Daycare is expensive and since I'm not having to pay for it, even tho I'm not working, it's still saving money. But things may change.

gsancho · January 2015

The day before I got my BFP, I learned I would be losing my job in a few months. But I get full coverage through April (with my severance package) and maternity leave through June. The timing couldn't be better, so I saw it as a sign to stay home for a bit.

My_Matt · January 2015

I am an IC so I pretty much work as I want/need to.i will probably work less, but I will still take jobs here and there.

allisong1187 · January 2015

I desperately wish I could be a SAHM. I'll have 6 weeks off, possibly 8, then I'll back to work. So sad...

MrsF0831 · January 2015

Hoping for per diem or id have to be sahm daycare for twins would be more than my weekly salary, which would make no sense

ky29 · January 2015

I voted SS. I'm going to be working from home. I know it probably won't be easy, but my boss doesn't want me to leave so we are both going to try it. If I pull my hair out, I will probably do something part time. I won't be returning fill time to the office.

MrsPDX · January 2015

I am definitely going back to work, at least for the first year. I will take 12 weeks (mostly), and then my dad will be watching baby full-time for free, so we can save up. I am thinking in a year I will go to part-time, so I can spend more time as a mom.

louloutte87 · January 2015

Luckily in the UK you can take a year if you want to and can afford it. We can't unfortunately, but I'll go back at 6months when statutory pay kicks in. Maybe 5, depending on whether hubs shares my leave with me

katietopaz · January 2015

SS - I haven't decided yet, and it feels like possibly the most stressful baby-related decision so far. I currently work PT with no benefits. I love my current role at work, but I'm 99% sure my non-optional transition to a different team is going to be finalized this week. I'm extremely bummed about it and upset about how it was handled, so that has soured the whole decision and made it incredibly difficult to make the decision with a clear head.

With the cost of part-time childcare, I was already leaning toward staying home. I'm really grateful that it's even an option for me to consider, but it's so hard to know how I'll feel once the baby is here and we settle into a rhythm. I guess if I'm totally stir-crazy I could try to find a new PT job.

Honda13 · January 2015

When I have days like today at work I wish I didn't have to go back. However, we wouldn't survive on one income. That being said we are having a hard time finding childcare. DH works twelves so even though we both work full time, we only need part time childcare. Part time childcare is hard to find. :-/

TBsquared · January 2015

I said special snowflake, because while i intend to become a stay at home mom. I actually wont make that decision until closer to the end of my maternity leave (1 year in Canada) I already have a daughter who will be 3 when baby comes and I just dont know how well i will be able to handle it, and whether or not i will miss the break of going to work. That being said. IF i do go back to work, it will only be part time as im currently finding it very difficult working full time and keeping up with the household without feeling guilty about missing time with my husband and daughter.

tiggyt · January 2015

Special Snowflake - I'm a PhD student and I have been saving up my fellowship terms/applying to fellowship terms so I will not have to teach all next year. I will effectively be a SAHM for a year, but it will be more like "work from home" because I will still have to write two chapters of my dissertation that year.

jenari2013 · January 2015

I voted SS as well. I'm very lucky and get to enjoy the year off with our little guy. DH and I will sit down and evaluate our situation closer to my date of return. I love working but would really love to do it part time while the kiddos were small if we could swing it.

MallyJM128 · January 2015

I already work part time and will be going back with the same hours ( 2 12 hour shifts per week).

rosikiwi · January 2015

I already don't want to think about leaving my babies

(
Luckily I'm a teacher and get the summer off.

SeventyThree · January 2015

@ajzmommy My best friend is the same way -- can't fathom the thought of not working. She thinks it's weird that I want to stay home! I say do whatever works for you.

@molls332233 I'm in the minority with you, based on what I was making at my old job it doesn't make much financial sense for me to work right now. Well, that, and...

I've been planning to SAH for a while, and we're used to one income by now - I quit my job when I moved here from Canada 2 years ago. We decided I wouldn't look for a job after I got my green card because I absolutely can't wrap my head around the thought of going back to work after 12 weeks (...or less! and sometimes unpaid! and you sometimes have to use your vacation time!), since at home the norm was to have a full year's paid leave. I know you ladies all do what you have to do given the circumstances, all I can say is that I'm thankful that we are lucky enough to be able to survive on my husband's income (he makes more than 2x what I made at my old job). We don't live a life of luxury, but we are okay. Anyway, I was looking forward to some time off after a few very busy and emotionally exhausting years, and I knew we were going to start trying for a baby after a year of marriage (we dated long distance for 2.5 years and I moved here 6 weeks before the wedding so it was important to have that time for just us), so I wasn't too concerned with finding work. The long-term plan is for me to rejoin the workforce once we have kids (or at least one) in school.

u197034 · January 2015

I'm SS because I technically SAH, but I also watch a kiddo to earn the benjamins!

I'll probably take about a month off to recover a little and so DD and I can get settled into a routine with the new little one, then I'll start keeping the kiddo again.

MoxyByProxy · January 2015

I work from home. I get 8 weeks maternity leave and 6 weeks new parent leave.

lauraljd123 · January 2015

I am a nanny of two older kids and have a degree in teaching. Plan on working and having baby with me and other two kids. Will take off 4-6 weeks. Glad to have a job that will let me take my little one with me and have extra hands to help me!

OnceInLoveWithAmy · January 2015

I chose ss-- I will be changing careers and becoming a WAHM.

mylittleladies1229 · January 2015

I was dead-set on going back to work after my twins. Then I ended up on bedrest for 2 months and they were in the NICU for 6 weeks. When they came home all I wanted to do was be with them so I never went back to work! I'm planning on going back part time when this baby turns 1.5.

jhodgesl91 · January 2015

I'm a student and work as a manager full time at a coffee shop. I won't get paid maternity leave and I'm a single mom, so I will be going back to work asap.

lysser1218 · January 2015

I voted SS* because I currently work full time, however we have a lot of things that need to happen before we decide on whether I will go back or not. We both feel I should stay home for a little while, but we need to officially buy our house, I have student loans and he has a car loan plus we need to factor baby in. I nervous about money if I stay home. If I could I wouldn't go back for a few years, but we will see.