If you were scheduling a job interview for after a birth...

[ProtoLawyer]

How far out would you do it?

I'm about ready to pop with my first, am unemployed and the usual breadwinner (there's a thread in here from May about job searching while very pregnant), and have an interview (2 1/2 hours!) tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, unless I go into labor or have other medical issues beforehand. The HR lady let me know I shouldn't worry if I have to cancel--we could reschedule for after the baby arrives. I may have other interviews to schedule by then as well.

So, I'm wondering...what's the soonest you'd have been willing/able to do an interview, especially a long one, assuming a relatively straightforward vaginal birth? My husband or mom would be available to take care of the baby, near the interview site if necessary, while I was gone.

Thanks!

[crunchy_mommy]

I think my biggest concern would be nursing, my DS nursed 'round the clock every 30mins or so for the longest time... If you could make accomodations to nurse (i.e. if there are breaks in that 2.5 hour span & someone could bring you the baby) I would do it about 1.5-2 weeks after the birth (though I had trouble sitting for about 5 weeks after birth so that's another concern, most people seem to recover quicker than I did though!) If no accomodations could be made for nursing, I'd want to wait at least 4-6 weeks to be away that long... But I think I'm rather conservative when it comes to separating from my baby!!

Hopefully you can get the interview in before the baby comes & you won't have to worry about it!!

[ProtoLawyer]

It's unlikely that I would get a break longer than to use the bathroom (where I could probably manually express a little if I was getting uncomfortable, but I wouldn't have time for someone to bring the baby to me for a feed), so I'd have to keep that in mind. At what point would you feel comfortable leaving your partner with a bottle of EBM and hoping for the best? (In my previous job, I would have had a maternity leave of 6-8 weeks at most, so I would have had to introduce bottles at some early point.)

If I make the interview tomorrow, chances are, any others I'd get in the weeks after the birth will be much shorter (1/2 to 1 hour) and easier to accommodate, nursing-wise.

[lolar2]

The baby would be fine with someone else's loving arms and a bottle of EBM right off the bat, most likely. It would be more an issue of your physical recovery, so I'd give it two weeks.

I started doing just a little bit of work at two weeks and it was not fun but it was do-able.

[texmati]

Id be comfy with that at about 3 weeks-- I'd worry more about being myself-- preparing for the interview, fitting into my dress shoes after my feet ballooned post partum, ect.

The baby will be fine! I know it's unlikely that someone could meet you for the interview, but perhaps somone could pick you up from the interview? If it's your DH, you could nurse in the car, and grab a quick bite to eat and gab about the interview. I wouldn't worry about pumping for 2.5 hour absence.

[crunchy_mommy]

Yeah I guess I'll have to defer to the others because I've never bottlefed -- maybe post in BF'ing too just to see what people say, I thought I always heard to wait as long as possible to avoid nipple preference & supply issues. On the other hand, the baby certainly wouldn't starve in 3 hours (assuming 15min travel time) so I guess you could just leave a bottle even if (s)he's never had one before & hope she takes it (and then hold off using it again until BF'ing is better established -- if that makes sense!).

[BetsyS]

I'm one that doesn't leave much, either, but I certainly think that by 2-3 weeks, you'll be fine. Baby will be fine, too, with a caregiver that is willing to do a little bit of work (different rooms, different positions for eating, maybe even spoon/cup feeding if the baby is reluctant). But, she/he will probably be fine.

I had c-sections, so I'm not sure about "regular" recovery, but by 2 weeks out, I would be fine (taking ibuprofen, yes, but fine) to sit for a few hours to interview. My major concern at that point is milk leaking. But, good breast pads can take care of that.

[34me]

Because of various circumstances plus being the primary breadwinner when my fist two were born and having a brand new job with number 3 I went back to work between 2 and 6 weeks with all of my babies. The were fed both straight from the tap and bm in bottles from the start and only my middle guy was ever fussy about what bottle he took. Eventually all three went back and forth with no issues. I could have done the interview after a week but would have wanted to wait two.

[Halfasianmomma]

Originally Posted by texmati

I know it's unlikely that someone could meet you for the interview, but perhaps somone could pick you up from the interview? If it's your DH, you could nurse in the car, and grab a quick bite to eat and gab about the interview. I wouldn't worry about pumping for 2.5 hour absence.

I like this suggestion. My father did this for me when I had to go to job interviews and DD was still exclusively nursing. The process was 2-3 hours long, so we drove to the interview site and I "tanked" DD up before leaving. Then my dad drove around with DD in the car for the first hour; he then took her for a stroll in a nearby park when I called to say I'd be late. Finally, he met me at the door of the employment agency where we parked and I immediately nursed DD. Talk about service!

I even told the person interviewing me about what I was doing and she was visibly impressed that I was taking such measures to be at the interview. I don't know if it had any impact but it is through them that I ended up getting the job at the firm I'm working for now.