Returning to work after having baby.....

[wish2bmum]

Hi peeps, I'm fairly new here, been lurking in the background for a while.

just wanted to ask peoples thoughts and plans for work after baby is born? I know that i need ot return to work, as we wouldn't be able to manage financially if i didnt, but i hate the tohught of it, so much so that it upsets me to think about it. i would ideally like to be a stay at home mum at least untill they were in school, so the thought of having a baby then returning to work after 6 months maternity scares the hell out of me!

are there any other options thta people are thinking about? may be working from home? ways of bringing in an income? I dont know anything about benefits, like family tax credits ect. so any info would be great

Thanks in advance : )

 

[buttonnose82]

I really do not want to go to work after having a baby, I have discussed this with DP and he fully supports that. I had said that once baby starts preschool/nursery (around 3 -4 years old) i will work part time then when in full time school i will work full time.

But not I am trying to set up my own buisness which means i can work from home before & after baby, I can work while baby sleeps and still be there for baby when awake, i'd be my own boss so if baby is sick them i just have the day off

 

[wish2bmum]

buttonnose, It's such a hard thing to come to terms with, but I know for sure I need to generate an income. Sounds like a good idea to start your own little business from home, just there's nothing I think I could do? I wish I could do as you plan, not work at the begining then work part time when at playschool/preschool. makes it harder knowing that my sister has just had a baby and handed her notice in before she left, I just haven't got that choice! unless I wait untill debts paid off, but that could be 6 years! byt that time I'll be nearly 30 and my dream of being a young mum out of the window!

I can't stand the thought of leaving my baby at not even 6 months old in the arms of a stranger all day.

 

[wish2bmum]

I'm suprised at how little responces this is getting! does this mean most mums on here are in education or dont work? now I am feeling bad about returing to work !!!

 

[Vesta]

Ideally, I'd like to be at home with the baby full time. However I may end up working part time due to finances. My employers give 9 months maternity leave on full pay, so I'd decide at the end of that.

 

[aimee-lou]

Hiya, Sorry to jump in from the other side but I was a WTT girl once and I had the same worry.

Couple of things to consider...if your work offers only SMP then you do not have to re-pay so you can make your decision while you're off. Circumstances change so you can be adaptable. If you get more ie, full/half pay, you may have to repay if you don't go back for a certain period.

Working from home may be an option. I am hoping to get some work from home combined with p/t work at a shop/supermarket so I can work evenings and weekends around hubby who works shifts during the week. He is going to go to Uni next year so he will be full time student from when LO is about 1 year old so he will become the main care-giver too....he's really excited.

I think the main thing is to do what is right for you. Change as your circumstances change and talk to your OH about what to do...there may be a way round it later on. You have awhile to go and then a 9 month pregnancy and a 6 months ML to think about it. Take your time and enjoy the trying, and everything after.

Good Luck. xx

 

[kintenda]

I am gonna end up going back to work part time until it is time for me to start my nursing degree (we have agreed that we will TTC first), then I will be having to balance studying & LO! It'll be no harder than balancing work & although we won't be massively flush, it's only for a couple of years & we'll have enough to pay the bills. If the worst came to the worst I would go back part time until LO is old enough to go to nursery, then do my nursing training!
Don't feel alone chick, I'd imagine most of us will be in the same position!

 

[mummy_k]

Hiya when my first was born i had a year maternity leave off 6 months with pay and 6 WO which was hard but OH was working and with the tax credits we could just about afford - then came back to work three days after he was one it was awful but lucky for me my mum and dad agreed to have LO and they live really close to my work. not sure what im going to do next time with baby Num2 i hate thinking of leaving him/her before im even preg but i think i will have another year maternity (now you get 9months pay which is a bonus ) and when im due to come back to work Morgan will be starting school - thats if everything goes to plan which it rarely does.
if you have any more q's just ask

 

[calm]

I won't work the first year at least, after that I dont know... I do know some mums that found the urge to go back to work hard as it is to believe. But must of course go back because they have to... my parents were always working, so I do know all the bad bits of having a working mum

 

[moomin_troll]

im returning back to work but not to the same job i had b4 i had zane, to be honest my wage isnt even more then the nursery fees lol i dont get tax credits yet as had too much happen to apply but will be soon.

i think being a fulltime mum wud drive me mad so going back to work is best for me and i think zane will benifit from being around other children other then just me all day long.

i dont think it would be fair all of a sudden to dump all the bills on to my oh and i hate depending on someone for money

 

[wish2bmum]

Thanks for all your replies laides. I know that one day I would like to work as it would drive me mad being at home all day, but certainly for the first year I wanted to be at home. suppose there's time to be thinking about it and if i take maternity pay from work, i would only have to go back for 12 weeks so that i didnt have to pay it back! on the plus side, my sister has just given up work to be a full time mum so she could always look after my LO for me whilst I'm at work, making me feel better about the whole situation.

Thanks guys : )

 

[DragonMummy]

I went back (am back!) for three days a week - one of those days is a Sunday so my DH can have him, the other two days he goes to nursery. I felt guilty about that at first but not any more - he LOVES it. Yeah in an ideal world I would be a SAHM but we just can't afford that. Once #2 comes along I will reduce my days to 2 a week though... why put myself through it???

 

[memartin]

wow some of yall are lucky! here in the us we get 2 months leave... but NONE of it is paid! as far as myself though, i hope and pray that i wont have to go back to work. right now that isnt an option, but hey ive got at least 9 months to figure something out!! haha!

 

[wish2bmum]

memartin - WOW, that's mad, how can they expect you to return to work after 2 months!!! or i guess the only other alternative is to loose your income. Reminds me to think myself lucky for getting all the benefits of having a baby in UK. (I love your Boxer by the way, or staff, or bull, I'm not so sure what he is come to think of it)

 

[heavenly]

Well, we decided to plan ahead. For the past few months, I have only been working 2 days a week, so we have now got used to the money coming in. So if...when...I get pregnant....I will definitely have a few months off, then go back 2 days a week, for a little bit of 'me' time and bring a few quid in. Happy mummy is happy baby!! xxxx

 

[memartin]

memartin - WOW, that's mad, how can they expect you to return to work after 2 months!!! or i guess the only other alternative is to loose your income. Reminds me to think myself lucky for getting all the benefits of having a baby in UK. (I love your Boxer by the way, or staff, or bull, I'm not so sure what he is come to think of it)

yeah its horrible. its hard enough to come up with 2 months worth of income... much less 6 months! (thank you, and you were right the first time, hes a boxer! 3 years old now.. and we just added another boxer and shes 12 weeks old! we definitely have our hands full!)

 

[wish2bmum]

ah, thats a post for the future "bringing baby home when you have dogs" I have 3 so hard work, but love them to bits. Not sure how I'll manage walking 3 dogs and carrying a baby but again thats something for the future : )

Thanks for all oyur replies, been a great insight to see how you all plan to work around things.

xxx

 

[memartin]

wish2bmum: yeah thankfully she will be at least a year old before i have to deal with juggling a baby and a puppy, not to mention another spoiled dog! it will be interesting. but i wouldnt change it for anything!

although i told my dh if having dogs is anything like having kids then at least we will absolutely know when were done. when we had just the one dog we always thought about having another. now that we have another, we wont even consider anymore! i have a feeling though it will be completely different!

 

[wish2bmum]

he he I thought after the second dog that was it too, lone be hold another one arrives! def no more though, after having a puppy I would never ever have one again!!!

Hope to see you through this journey, and one day we may swop ideas about juggling baby and dogs