luckyme225

I always thought after we had our son that I would go back to work 3 days a week but now that I'm finding it hard to find part-time daycare I might just work six days a month. Also, as I am getting closer to the end of this pregnancy it seems like the thought of being away from my baby is harder and harder! So heres my question.... What are you/ did you do when your baby is born? Work full time, part time, or stay at home and what helped you come to that conclusion. Thank you ladies

DeeStar03

acv_17

I'm not pregnant yet, but I have thought of what I'm going to do. I want to take 3 months off, and go back part time, maybe working for like 6 hours a day in the early morning, and be off before OH has to go to work at 1:30...that way someone will always be there with the baby, and I'll be home most of the day. I work at wal-mart so I'm hopeful they'll be able to work with me there. I'd love to be a stay at home mom but with our incomes we wouldn't be able to afford it unless Adam gets a management position, lol

MarchBaby

With my job I wasn't making enough to even worry with it. I didn't even make enough money to pay for gas, lunch, and a babysitter! So instead of saying, "I'm taking a maternity leave", I just put in my two weeks. They all understood, as I also drive over an hour to get there, for only 6.50!
I think we are going to try it with me being a stay at home mother for awhile, and if we need the money (which we probably will, we will cut it REALLY close with only Jamie working; even if he gets a full 40 hours, which he hasn't been getting here recently) then I am going to go apply for jobs around town, and try and talk my mother into babysitting when I am off that way we dont have to pay a babysitter

Holldoll

I'm in a different situation in that I own my own business, so I can't just quit. We are going to hire a nanny for 2 if not 3 days a week. I won't be gone all of those days (hopefully, just 4 hours a day, twice a week), but I still have to run my business so I might need someone here that 3rd day so that I can get stuff done, extra appts., blah, blah, blah

snugglemuffin

I went to college when my son was 8 months old with allot of help from goverment! I had my son at 17 and realised I needed to set a good example and set us up for a brighter future. I also realised with being so young there will be so many years of my life where he is all grow up and won't need me around so i needed to make provisions for a life for myself. I got all my GCSE's and then had to work as i could no longer fund the childcare.Me and Joshuas dad had broken up before i found out i was preggers and still has an awsome relationship with josh but does not contribute finantially as he is just not capable and has a family of his own nw that he is struggling to support and i knew he couldnt to begin with and accepted this and knew it was up to me. Me and my partner were not living together until recently and i didnt expect him to have any financial responsibility. so i started to work to fund the childcare and get enough together to get back into education. I have an exhibition 2 months i think after baby is born, I am working and going to university with this baby. I will be taking my maternity leave and dropping hours to bare minimum whilst doing my degree part time. But basically because of the order i have done things i really didn't have to much choice or i would be on benefit for the rest of my life. my partner obviously does his part now and is looking for his job now he has his education finished
Childcare is all sorted already but just me and baby until october! I can also do allot of my degree at home.

I wonder did i just totally ramble there? Im still at college now to and will have to take my work in a week after baby to get marked and sorted for uni interviews mmmm Joy! Ill take my rubber ring i think

luckyme225

Thanks for the responses ladies! I'm finding them to be very helpful!!

BurtonBaby

I'm going to stay at home for a little bit when LO is born... But then go back at least part time. Luckily, between DH having a flexible schedule, my mom living right near us, and my sister going to school, they are all going to help with childcare since we dont want an infant in daycare either. With the stories you hear these days, its too scary. And it would be hard to be away from LO a long time too. Before being pregnant, I worked atleast 9 1/2 hours a day... since I was always working on moving up. I would work for 2 weeks or more without a day off... NO WAY am I doing that after baby is here tho.

luckyme225

I know this is such a tough decision!! I just know if I feel this way now there is no way I'll be able to leave my little guy when he comes! I think I'll just have to work a few times a month on days my OH has off so he will be home with our boy.

CK Too

I´m planning on staying home for the first year and then hopefully will go back to work just 25%. Over here they bought in a new law at the beginning of this year, basically to make having children financially easier for the first year, as the birth rate had dropped so much. I get paid 67% of my pre birth wage for the first 12 months, if your partner takes paternity leave as well, you get the payments for 14 months. That makes a hell of a difference. I can take up to three years off work (but the other two years would be unpaid) and still be able to go back to job afterwards.

I don´t think we could afford to do that though. The only snag with me going back to work, is that I work as an air stewardess, so my job is shift work, not 9-5 and sometimes I´ll have overnights. If I got back to work just 25% or 33% its basically 6-7 days a month. As we have no family in the direct vicinity, we´d have to pay for childcare and at the end of the day I´d have to see if the amount I´d earn would just cover childcare or childcare plus a bit more. If I´m just paying for childcare, then theres no point and I´d just have to stay at home. Ideally I´d like to stay home for the first two years - but as usual its finances that dictate what we´ll have to do!!