hi hun

i'm only in first tri so i shouldnt be thinking so far ahead

i totally understand and dont think your crazy

i will be going back to work after 8 weeks - mainly because of money as we cant live off my oh's money for any longer than that - if it was my choice i would stay off longer - also i'm self employed so i will getting no mat leave so yet another reason

Sometimes i think to myself i must be mad but thats how we have to do it as we dont have alot of choice - i'm going to try to not worry about it and see how it goes

Another thought - could you do some of the work from home rather? I work for a very small company (two others in the office besides me) and also do the admin & accounts although not the payroll. I can work from home if I need to, it was quite easy to set up.

S.

No, you aren't nuts.
Sometimes circumstances what the rest of the planet consider to be 'normal' and 'expected' regardless of employment laws and being good or bad for the baby or mum.

I only really had two weeks off last time and this time have definatley secured 3 whole weeks - so it'll seem like luxury this time!

My situation is that I am a full time mature student, so time off will only cause a delay in me actually getting back to work and earning money in the long run anyway. I can't take 8 weeks or 6 months. Its a year or what I have managed to negociate on the proviso that I try to do as much as possible now and still pass all the requrements and exams.

To be honset, I couldn't do it without my mothers help and that my OH works 'from home' one day a week. Between us we get by.

As I say - in an ideal world, I'd have had 9 months off with pay as I used to be a teacher.... but such are the choices we make in life! My choice to be a student, my choice to have a family. Sometimes you can't have your cake and eat it!! (That's what I say to the people who look incredulously at me when they ask the question and I tell them!)

i dont think you're crazy at all, you're doing it because you have to & because it works!

what i do think is that you've got a good plan & support network, so PLAN A is looking good. however, don't put too much pressure on yourself - if you need more time, please take it. even if its a week. or going into work later...or hiring a temp to do your crappy filing jobs or something. anything to make it less stressful.

i hope it works out you'll be proud of yourself if it does, but dont be too hard on yourself if 6 weeks after LO is born you think "i dont want to go back yet" or "i cannot get out of bed today let alone number crunch for 5 hours..."

take every day as it comes is my advice xx

Most of the ladies on here are British, and the UK gives up to a year's maternity leave, so it's rare to find a British person taking less than 6 months. Having said that, I know a couple of women who have taken only a few weeks, and it's worked out okay.

I am an office manager too, but in a larger office. I don't really understand why they can't get a temp to cover you, even for the 6 weeks you're off. You shoulnd't have to go into work every friday when you're on maternity leave. Isn't there some kind of employment law that says they have to cover you and that you're entitled to uninterrupted leave?

If you decide you want extra leave once the baby's arrived, can you take it? If you can't elongate your leave, perhaps you can ask your doctor to sign you off for a couple more weeks. Just a thought...

I'm still in highschool and they give us two weeks off wen we have our baby then we have to come back. I go to a special school for girls that are pregnant or have kids so the baby is at school with us

I'm in the US so no mat pay, I'll have to use my sick time to get paid while I'm gone. I'm also the sole IT support for my office, so like you they'll be in trouble while I'm away and I expect I'll get a few calls while I'm on mat leave. I'll be taking 6-8 weeks (depends on when LO decides to show) and then going back. Luckily, my husband is unemployed and so will take over childcare when I go back to work, so we don't have to pay for that.

Thanks all, very comforting to hear that I'm not the only one.
I'm thinking I'll see if I can't arrange to do some of the work from home, or even start later and leave earlier, or even work 3 days a week instead of 5. Those sorts of arrangements would definitely help.

I could bring baby to work, however my boss is a heavy smoker, in the building, and I don't want to expose my baby to that so directly.

I think that physically you will be fine after 6 weeks (I remember having ALL my husband's family staying over Christmas after 3 weeks - stress!!!!) You will defo be tired, so just take extra care with you numbers (but if you do put an extra '0' on your wages you'll have a great excuse!) You look stunning on your pic by the way x

Not as short as you, but 3 months of mat leave is what I have... After this I will start working part-time, no choice as I'm the main bread-earner... I will do this until 7 months, then back to full time. I'd love to have the option of a full year off, but it's not at all in the question, either for my job, nor for our financial situation