Maternity Leave???

[winbig82]

Hi So im due Jan 6th - How much time should I take off before baby gets here? Its sooooooooo tempting to finish in 4wks which is the earliest I can start lol xx Anyway I have a week off from the 26th December so was thinking about starting it once thats done so will approx be off for a couple of weeks before LO gets here but some people have said take a month off??? What do you think/what are you doing? I dont want to take too long but I dont want to leave it to late and regret it!! God Im so good at making decisions lmao xx

 

[fairykate]

It depends - what job do you have? What does it entail?

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

With my first I worked up to 38 weeks. I struggled with it a bit and basically only sat at my desk answering the phone and emails after about 36 weeks.
I was reluctant to stop working too early as I was returning to work after mat leave, so the earlier I stopped working, the younger my daughter would be when I had to return to work.
This time I'm stopping at 34 weeks which is bang on christmas and as my work is closed over the whole xmas period it seemed like a good time to stop.

 

[winbig82]

Im a postie, but no doubt soon I will just be trundling around the office instead of out delivering xx I think going on leave after my weeks holiday would be best, i have to go back to work aswell so dont want to waste 2 or 3 weeks of being sat on my bum when i can spend it with my baby and we only shut for 2 days at Xmas so cant work around that unfortunately xx Thanks for your help xx

 

[tess8517]

Hey Tracey it depends how you feel - you are due the day after me btw
I was going to work up until 5th December as that was 1 month before DD btu as I have 14 days holiday owing me I am now finishing on 11th November - how cool is that but on the other hand I know I will go stir crazy BUT if I dont take those two weeks I lose them they wont let me carry them over - I think by then I will be ready to leave any way I have SPD and am sleepign awfully at the moment I would give your self the month personally to catch up on sleep as we wont be getting much of it, pack your hospital bag unpack it, pack it, get all the washing done and prepared do all of the last little bits etc xx

 

[fairykate]

I agree - I'll probably be going the week before Xmas as I work in retail and am on my feet ALL day so don't think I'll be fit for working in the last few weeks, and want to rest before baby arrives and life changes forever!!! I also want to have the first Xmas off in quite a few years if I can manage it tbh

I'll be about 34 weeks I think?

 

[JemimaP]

You're due the day after me

I finished 2 weeks before due date with DD but this time i will be finishing 4 weeks before. I appreciate the need to rest as much as possible before the baby arrives and i don't think i undertood how important that was when i was having #1
xx

 

[winbig82]

Oooooh, Ive kinda changed my mind again now lol - Yeah having a good few weeks off to prepare would be good and to rest - So im now thinking go for the beginning of December and maybe also try to get my holiday changed so I get even more time off lol xx Also will give me something to look forward to coz I hate working already xx Thanks girls xx

 

[NBloyce]

I am due on 31/12/2011, and i finished this week. I was hoping to stay on but due to the nature of my job i opted for the 11 weeks before due date (with the adition of my annual leave that was unused before start actual mat leave on 15th october). Dont forget you need to use up any annual leave too babe ? x