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October 2015 Moms
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Does anyone plan on Not returning to work after their maternity leave?

justyhjustyh member
in October 2015 Moms
seeing the thread about maternity leave really made me start to think if it's even worth it to go back to work, I'm allowed 18 weeks of leave in California I believe but I know most of it will not be paid.

1. My boss is always telling me about the other girl that came back after not even two weeks of having her baby (due to the fact she didn't fill out her leave papers or save money, which is her fault in my opinion). I am not her nor will I be coming back that soon and he seems to be upset about that.

2. I work my ass off! And have been asking for a raise for about a year now and still get paid 50 cents more than minimum wage.

3. The schedule I am working is all over the place and I feel like it would be way to much time taken from my baby.

I guess I'm just venting but I'm wondering am I being unreasonable to not want to come back and look for another job while on my maternity leave? Are there any other moms in the same boat as me?
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Re: Does anyone plan on Not returning to work after their maternity leave?

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  • tpete12tpete12 member
    edited May 2015
    I am undecided if I should go back to work or not. I have a pretty decent job and am scared that if I leave my position, I won't be able to get it back. On the other hand, I don't get paid enough to make it worth while to have my child in full time childcare. As of now, I think I will go back part time so I can keep my position and get out of the house every now and then.
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  • shannons913shannons913 member
    I work and get paid bi weekly. I bring home about 550-600. Me and my husband decided that I won't work bc that money will just pay for gas and a sitter. I don't have maternity leave at my work either which sucks so I won't be getting paid
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  • bbiutmcphbbiutmcph member
    Just a warning if you do decide to not return sometimes you then run into issues where the company will not honor your leave and make you pay back time.  Just read all the fine print in regards to what you are entitled to. With my first two I took 10 weeks for each which I had saved vacation and sick time fore.  I recently was laid off and plan to not look for work for a good year, which will get my second child into kindergarten and we will only need one kid in daycare.  We have changed some of our budget to make it work but I'm really looking forward to the time at home.  My husband was a stay at home dad for two years so I'm glad I will get to experience it and we are able to make it work financially.  My job previously was in sales management and I was working 24/7, on call and traveling so I was ready for a change.


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  • cgummiecgummie member
    I'm not going back to my job. While I make more than my husband, I work evenings and nights, making it difficult to find someone to watch LO. DH also works nights. I don't get any insurance or paid leave, so I'll be looking for something while on "maternity leave" but we have considerable savings that gives me lots of time to figure it out and finish my MBA program next spring.

    At what point does one become a SAHM and not just on extended maternity leave?
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  • justyhjustyh member
    @bbiutmcph wow I didn't even think about that! Thank you for mentioning that, I was also thinking about just going back super part time (although my boss will try to convince me that he needs me more) just until I find something better with better hours.
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  • Knottie96391996Knottie96391996 member
    Right now I'm still figuring out if I'm going to go back or not. My boyfriend would much rather me stay home and take care of our baby because we don't have family around to help us out. I work for the hospital I'm delivering my baby at so I'm acting as if I'm returning so that I can take all benefits they offer me. Then after my maternity leave I'll tell them I'm staying home and pick up a part time job at nights so boyfriend has time with baby. He makes a majority of our income so it wine effect us much.
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  • edavis926edavis926 member
    I'm not planning on returning unless they create a part time position for me. Which our DC office won't approve for us even though we desperately need it. I can take up to 24 weeks, 10 paid.

    My boyfriend wants me to finish my second degree and maybe do some work from home stuff. I'd probably push back if I was at my job I had before we moved but I have no further growth in my position so we'd rather me just be home than pay full time daycare.
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  • LimieLimie member
    I'm like you op. I get paid 50cents over min wage and I haven't had a raise in 5 years and work my ass off. And it's a teeny tiny business so I won't get paid leave. I can't wait to leave and never look back! We plan on me staying home until kindergarten.
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  • leah665leah665 member
    By the time the baby comes I'll be an RN. So, I am planning on getting FMLA from my lab tech job and taking off till after the first of the year. Then I'll quit the lab and start working as a nurse. I'm really looking forward to having the holidays off this year!
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  • jcra7212jcra7212 member
    I have a government job and my husband is military. We are stationed in Hawaii and as much as we need my income I just don't trust anyone here with my baby. We are saving and paying things off like crazy to try to make it work so I don't have to go back.
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  • jenboston22jenboston22 member
    I work as a freelancer and I'll be significantly reducing my workload after my maternity leave ends. My husband makes enough for us (much more than me), so my number of hours will largely depend on how much time I am able to dedicate to my freelance work.
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  • michellelynn6michellelynn6 member
    It's very up in the air right now. 

    My husband is a teacher, but with our education system in the US the way it is, he has had difficulty getting a FT contract position; he's worked FT at a school all year, but they keep doing weird switches on his position hours so they don't have to offer him a temp contract and health benefits; yes this is shady, but unfortunately, most school districts don't have the budget, especially since they are still paying the teacher he's been filling in for all year! It's been an annoying year. He has a LOT of opportunities for next year, but we live in Oregon and our recent switch in Governors (ugh) unfortunately disrupted school budgets. No school is able to determine right now how many positions they will get and if they will even be able to hire back all their teachers. So we just have to play a really fun waiting game to see if he gets a FT job next year (as opposed to FT subbing as he's done the past three years -- it's good money, more than he'd made as a teacher, but no benefits). 

    If he does get a contract, it will completely change my maternity leave. Right now, I'm planning for three months of absolutely 0 work (and saving up accordingly). I'm taking from October 1 through January 1 off, no matter what. After that, it depends. I might go back to work and take the baby 2 days a week (and work from home the other three) OR I might work from home four days and leave baby with my mom 1 day for meetings OR I might say "Screw it" if my husband is FT and stay home for another three months! Who knows? We are playing it by ear right now. 

    (I reaaaaally hope he gets a FT contract though! It would help me not stress so much!) 
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  • mrscookiequeenmrscookiequeen member
    I plan on quitting...
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  • aethamsaethams member
    I plan on staying home the job I have now will end at the end of June and I'm pretty sure no one is going to hire a 7 month pregnant woman to work for 3 months maybe... So it seems as though I'll be working on my etsy store and as a SAHM for as long as possible. My husband really wants me to stay home with the baby till kindergarten if we can swing it with finances. It wouldn't be worth it for me to try and work because my income would like another poster mentioned only cover gas and child care which is so not worth it to us!
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  • mllelibbingtonmllelibbington member
    I'm definitely going back to work because (luckily) I get paid roughly 4x what daycare would cost. Even if I went part time, the amount I would save from daycare costs pales in comparison to what I lose salary-wise and momentum-wise in my career (part timers don't advance). Both my husband and I are in our prime earning years and we want to maximize what we make now so we aren't working like dogs right up to retirement. 

    But if you're not making enough to make it seem worth it, or you're just not crazy about your job and you can get by without it, I don't see a reason why everyone should go back to work.

    But wait, your boss is bummed out that you're going to take more than 2 weeks of leave? eff that. You take as much time as you need, it's his job to figure out how to get along without you.
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  • LaurenBee24LaurenBee24 member
    I already quit working. I'm going to continue going to school, but only part time. I'll stay home until kindergarten hopefully. My SO has a wonderful job. He makes in a month about what I made last year when you consider the royalties he also receives. He and I both perfer that I'm home with the baby. I never work summer semester by the way... that is the only reason I stopped working at 13 weeks.
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  • KristyhanaKristyhana member
    I wish I could but I'm the breadwinner between us and it would be a significant loss (6figures) even if I paid for daycare and so we decided that Dad would stay home with the baby for a while before restarting his business here (he will be relocating here so closing his business where he lives now).
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  • katanasaikatanasai member
    I left my job, partially because my previous boss was not understanding about pregnancy at all (scheduling me deliberately over OB appointment times and having me lift double to triple what I was lifting before the pregnancy), and partially because my caretaker for my first two children has moved to a different state and I don't have anyone else to watch them! Even without those factors, my SO wants me to stay home, in as stress-free environment as is possible, at least until the baby is a year old. Then, we'll discuss my return to work!
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  • stephaniemsanderstephaniemsander member
    justyh said:

    @bbiutmcph wow I didn't even think about that! Thank you for mentioning that, I was also thinking about just going back super part time (although my boss will try to convince me that he needs me more) just until I find something better with better hours.

    I'm not coming back after (not that they know). The paperwork I've received says that if I don't return I MIGHT have to pay back insurance premiums. If I take 12 weeks off that amounts to about 1400.
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  • beckles112beckles112 member
    I wish I didn't have to, but I will be going back to work. :(
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  • baconladybaconlady member
    I'm In the wishing I didn't have to but must return . With my daughter I took a year off and it was so nice . :(.
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  • h3sperish3speris member
    I had to quit my job during first trimester due to severe morning sickness. Even though I'm feeling better now, I'm having a hard time getting another job at 4 months pregnant ): Really don't know what to do at this point. I may just have to wait until after the baby is born to find another job. How soon after? No idea. Just anxious about losing potential income these next few months. Blah. 

    In the grand scheme of things, as long as this kiddo is healthy, I suppose 4 months of salary won't significantly affect our lives. 

    I'm trying to learn to be flexible. It's a skill that might come in handy when baby comes (: 
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  • cbolton19cbolton19 member
    beckles112 said:

    I wish I didn't have to, but I will be going back to work. :(

    Me too. I'd love to stay home. My husband would love it too. It's not an option until student loans are paid off. Ugh.
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  • amymichellerodrigueamymichellerodrigue member
    I'm not going back!! Main reason is bc my tubes were tied in 2005 and I've been blessed with a miracle baby boy!!! And I'm finally in a position where I can stay home and I'm def going to do so and enjoy this miracle!!
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  • DianaF84DianaF84 member
    My jobs gotten to the point of being so stressful that I dread going in. So DH and I agreed that I can quit after the baby's here. He said I can before if I want to, but I've been there long enough that I have 8 weeks of 'banked' sick time, so I will end up being paid for the full 6 weeks of maternity leave that my job allows. I will have to go back to work for 2 weeks, or they will take that pay back. So, after that, I'm done. I can hardly wait. After baby is 6 months, I plan on looking got part time, or doing something from home or independent contracting type job.
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  • crystalpegramcrystalpegram member
    Where would I find out the information as far as if I would be forced to pay back insurance?? I'm afraid if I ask straight up they'd know I was thinking about not coming back and then I'd get fired or layed off..,
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