How many weeks before your due date did you go on maternity?

[Jamie_lee_c_]

I am finishing work the end of July and ill be about 27 weeks pregnant but won't officially take maternity til the first or second week of August when I am roughly 32 weeks along, I'm lucky to have the flexibility to take the extra 5 weeks off before my maternity kicks in. I was going to work right up to my due date but I work in a restaurant and it's just going to be too warm for me to make it all summer. I'm already starting to have dizzy spells from the heat!

Ah I feel for you, the weather here is a bit sucky to be honest we had snow last week... Yep I'm spring, so hopefully I'm not too bad

I went at 28 weeks not through choice though I kept getting ill and having week long hospital stays and when my baby was nearly born 12 weeks early when I had a severe blood infection the doctors told me not to go back to work. Before that though I'd planned on staying on at work until 37 weeks

You went through quite a bit there, I'm glad everything worked out well for you

 

[bubbles82]

I have no idea where to start with maternity leave! I've informed work that I intend to start my leave on my due date, as this is the latest I can take it, and I've used holiday for around 3 weeks before that so I'll be finishing at around 37 weeks. This sounds a bit crazy sometimes as I have no idea how huge or tired I'll be by then, but I really don't want to use anymore time before baby's here than I have to, I already think I'll have to return to work sooner than hopes as I just can't afford a full year off. Saving as much holiday as I can to add onto the end so I can start getting paid again but have the extra few weeks off. I hate the idea of going overdue by a couple of weeks and just ending up wasting time at home being bored waiting for our new arrival!

 

[Jamie_lee_c_]

Tea that's what I think bubbles, 6 weeks sounds like a very long time to be sat around, but I don't actually think ill be able to work all the way up to DD

 

[solitaire89]

I worked right up to when I went into labour naturally at 38 weeks - I even worked in labour! I work in a school in the IT department and was carrying kit and crawling under desks all day every day right up until I left! At the end of the day, I wanted as much time as possible when my LO arrived, so had planned to leave for maternity at 39 weeks, only DD had different ideas!

 

[Jamie_lee_c_]

Solitaire you're like a superwoman ha

 

[solitaire89]

Solitaire you're like a superwoman ha

hehe - I'd highly recommend Natal Hypnotherapy's Pregnancy Relaxation cd - I had no morning sickness, no sleepless nights, no food aversions, none of the ususal issues. That's how I ended up going to work in labour - it was totally pain free

It was a sight to behold though, the fat pregnant woman climbing out from under a desk and then sitting on a chair in silence having a contraction!! I wish I could have seen it!!!!

 

[Jamie_lee_c_]

I think I'm too late, I have just about... I hope.,. Got over really bad ms
Can you start any time?

 

[solitaire89]

Yes! actually, now is a pretty good time to start the pregnancy relaxation one, and I didn't start birth prep until 32-ish weeks (can't quite remember off the top of my head). It helps all the way through pregnancy - cravings and sleepless nights as you get further along included

 

[luz]

i worked up to the day i delivered, then took 6 weeks off and went back to work.

 

[Lorna230713]

I'm starting my MAT leave one week before my due date but I'm taking my remaining annual leave immediately before that - three weeks so I will have a month off prior to d day. In the UK if you have your baby during your annual leave, your MAT leave starts immediately and you lose any annual leave you have remaining.

This is our first baby and I'm currently 27 weeks and 3 days.

 

[Jamie_lee_c_]

I'll have a look out for it solitaire. Anything to help

How come you went back so soon Luz? By choice or having to?
I'm quite lucky my fiancé has a good job and says I don't have to return to work if I don't want to? I'm a bit mixed really, I went through so much to have my little ivf bump and don't think I want to return to work soon after birth,

Koran that's what I was worried about too, then losing my holidays too, knowing my luck tho I will probably go over ha

 

[luz]

I'll have a look out for it solitaire. Anything to help

How come you went back so soon Luz? By choice or having to?
I'm quite lucky my fiancé has a good job and says I don't have to return to work if I don't want to? I'm a bit mixed really, I went through so much to have my little ivf bump and don't think I want to return to work soon after birth,

Koran that's what I was worried about too, then losing my holidays too, knowing my luck tho I will probably go over ha

I went back after 6 weeks because i had to.... I'm a teacher and so they only give us 6 weeks maternity leave. Actually. . . there is no such thing as maternity leave in my school district so you have to take an extended sick leave and have a doctors note and jump through a bunch of hoops. It really is quite obnoxious, but what can you do. This time maybe i will use some of my extra sick days to stay home a little longer, but maybe not. I'm not really a stay at home type anyway so it wasn't too big of a problem. I think in my area, 6 weeks is a pretty normal length for maternity leave.

 

[fieryphoenix]

I worked on Friday and had a scheduled induction two days later on Sunday, he was a week over due

 

[lau86]

I'm gonna go sometime between 34 and 37 weeks depending on how tired I feel, If I go earlier I will need to use some annual leave so its whether I can last from July till November with no leave. I do have a busy stressful job.

 

[Jamie_lee_c_]

That's a bit of a pain Luz I thought everyone was entitled to some sort of maternity leave

That's my problem now lau, my holidays run April to end of match so I have to survive now on no holidays up to 13th September, minus a week of the 13-17 may I booked of for my birthday... Guna be a longggg 5 months