I am going to sound really bad now. I am only planning on taking 4 months off. I am going to be working up until 8.5 months then take an additional 4 months off after the LO arrives. I start my new job as a police officer in a couple of weeks time so won't be entitled to the maternity pay only maternity allowance which will be a massive drop in pay that we can't afford unfortunately. My DH who also a police officer will only be allowed 2 weeks paternity leave and in addition to that he will be taking all is his years holiday allowance.

Understand completly hunni!

Im also the main breadwinner and taking time off work, especially when maternity pay is so crap, is harsh on the finances. I get the standard 90% for 6 weeks then £124 per wk maternity pay until 9 months. iv told work i will be taking the full 9 months off, but also let them know that i may come back after 6 months if we simply cant afford to live.

Then theres coming back part time or cutting back my hours (at least to 4 days a week) when my baby boy is here. Althoug the MIL has been amazing and said she wants to quit work this Summer so has offered to look after him during the week -plus i may pay for a day in a nursary too. My OH doesnt work Mondays so she would only be looking after him for 3 days.

Dont set anything in stone until your baby is born though hun, as you dont know how much financial help you will be able to claim until then and you could be pleasantly suprised and realise you can manage on less than what you thought. Just keep your options open but dont feel bad for going back to work after 6 months. You have to provide for your family and keep a roof over your heads, and you will get plenty of time with your baby in the evenings too, plus weekends and holidays off work.

I hope things all work out hunni, and do whats best for you, dont let anyone else make you feel bad. You're only doing whats best for your LO.

PS: We're due on the same day i think! xxx

*HUGS*

I am taking 12 months off but i have a good maternity package though,i get full pay for six months then 3 months of statuatory (which is more than i will be earning when i go back part time) then 3 months of nil pay,then i have a weeks worth of parental leave to take before the baby is 1 and then i have my holidays that i will have acqruied whilst on my materntiy which is 9 weeks so it will be more like 14 months off by the time im due back.I finish in october this year am due in december my maternity pay starts in november am using all my holidays to finish early.So it will prob be more like jan or feb 2011 when i return to work
But i think its completly up to the individual though as to whatever they feel is best for them and there circumatances,im taking as long of as poss as i dont want to put my baby into childcare.

Wow babybuffy84, you have an AMAZING package there!! I was looking through a baby magazine and was nosying through all these places to work where they do really good maternity packages and deals. Im so jealous!! And in some countries abroad (cant think of them from the top of my head) they have even BETTER ones! 2 years full pay i readfor one of them!

Hey ClaireLouise - we are due the same day! Good one!. x

I am so surprised that some of you are feeling guilty/ or made to feel guilty for not taking enough time off. I have the opposite problem! I am self-employed daycare provider at home and work about 11 hours a day with kids here + time after they leave cleaning, shopping for food & supplies, planning curriculum, etc, so I sometimes put in pretty long days. DH and I are thinking of me taking 3 months off after the baby is born at least and possibly closing daycare by the end of Nov. (I am due Dec 23) Everyone keeps asking us if I am taking ANY time off. It is assumed because I work at home that I will only take a 1-6 weeks off! So although I will be able to stay home with my baby and not leave home to work, I do not have support of family and friends for taking time off of my job- even though we can afford it. It makes me very confused and feel really guilty for even wanting to take time off. I felt like it would be important to be able to devote all my attention to our baby instead of lots of kids and that I will want time to adjust.
In the U.S. the normal maternity is 6-12 weeks - it is pretty much unheard of to take off longer than 12. They will not hold your job for more than 12 weeks here. Only the first 6 weeks is partially pd if you work for an employer. The next 6 isnt paid. With me being self employed I wont be getting any pay if Im not working.

Hi charlie - you can do this in UK its called Keeping in touch days.. you are allowed 10 i think in the time you are off

xx

Hey Moomoo...yeah you're right - I forgot about them! Its only 10 days though which is peanuts!! I am saving mine to back in for budget time so I can make sure my lot are doing it properly!!! I don't want to go back and find my budgets have been slashed! x

You are all so lucky. As was already mentioned, here in the US - maternity policies really are lousy! Only 12 weeks unpaid guaranteed (if you've been with your employer long enough), though some employers pay for a few weeks...I think the US has a reputation of being one of the worst countries in the world when it comes to maternity leave.
If all goes well, I'll be back at work 3-4 wks after bubs is born. Thankfully, I can work from home for part of the time, and my inlaws will come help out...We are hoping to avoid day care for the first year.
My grandma took care of us when my mother went back to work 6 weeks after having us. And we turned out just fine.

Aww hunni that is awful! And here i am moaning about my maternity leave! Hopefully, you get some sort of extras? I sometimes forget that the US dont have an NHS system so unless you're insured you have to fork out a hell of a lot of money.

The system can be so unfair and makes you wonder who the hell made up these stupid "maternity rules" in the first place! Enough government/state money is wasted on unecessary crap when it could be better spent elsewhere.