Who's working still? What's your maternity leave going to be like?

[natashaccat]

I'm feeling pretty apathetic at work these days but determined to work FT until the very end, any else in it for the long haul?

[kate~mom]

I'm in for the long haul! Two reasons - with DD, I stopped working two weeks before my due date. She ended up being almost a week late and I did nothing but lie around for three weeks and feel sorry for myself. I think I had PRE-partum depression. I need to be busy! Other reason - I am a graduate student now, and classes don't actually end until two weeks after my due date, so I really need to keep plowing through. Fortunately, my assistantship is very flexible, and I work two half days, one full day, and teach a class one night a week.
The good news is that I feel GREAT - I thought I had an easy pregnancy with my daughter, but this one is even easier!

[littlebeagle]

Nope, not me. Not this time anyway.... BUT with pg#1, I worked until the day before I delivered. I think it was a Tuesday, I went to work, worked a regular day. Then on the very next morning, I woke up with contractions, went to the Dr's office, and wah-lah, i was in labor and dilated 4-5cm already.

It wasn't too bad working until the end. I could've easily done it with pg#2 and this current one as well. I would've enjoyed time off before pg#1's delivery, but that would have been a luxury but not a necessity due to physical ailments. It's totally do-able, at least in my opinion. I suppose everyone is different. Now I'm a stay-at-home mom, so I don't get any time off!

[speedknitter]

:

We have our own business that is going through some growing pains right now, so I'm expecting to work right up until i go into labor, and will probably start doing some work from home as soon as possible. I'm hoping to stay home for about 2 weeks, or maybe until after my sister's visit the first week of May : I am trying to cross-train several folks to do most of my job tasks while I'm out, and also hoping that DH can take some time off with me too.

The good news is that we work VERY close to home, and both locations are 12-15 minutes from the hospital (yes we've timed it). Our business is also working on, and modifying Porsches, so we do have some VERY fast transportation around here!

I am feeling great and enjoying work, except that I feel much more easily distracted and absent-minded lately. Thoughts of the upcoming baby are definitely distracting me from my normal super multi-tasking abilities.

[alissa_redclogs]

i am taking 14 weeks, beginning two weeks before my edd.

[cielle]

I stopped going into the office and am working at home until I deliver. I just do computer work so it's not a big deal to keep doing it. Although it is extremely hard to focus. Working at home is really nice though. I'm getting some extra time with DS plus it doesn't matter what I wear and I don't have to get myself on the bus in the morning! I'll go back about 6 weeks after the birth but I'm only part time and 50% of my part-time will be at home then too.

[mrzmeg]

I actually just got a job!

It's really part time and I'm completely thrilled about it. I'm going to be a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor for teen moms at a local university medical center. I start next week and we have to squeeze all my training in before the baby comes and they figure I'll be taking off a couple of weeks following it. The job will be pretty baby-compatible after that. A lot of the work will be done from home via the phone and I can take my dd to the breastfeeding classes I will team teach. I will have to have dh watch her when I go on hospital visits after the moms give birth, but those will all be relatively short. Hopefully I can handle all of it

[proudmamanow]

tomorrow is my last day of work

I'm pretty excited, it's a full 3 weeks b4 my EDD, but I figure since it's my first I can take the time to relax & get ready...a luxury I will NEVER have again. I'm planning on visiting friends & family, dw & I are taking a little holiday together and I will be working on yoga, hypnobirthing & filling the freezer...my work is pretty demanding and I've been there late a lot lately, my bosses don't seem to get that I'm about to leave
Plus I'm really looking forward to this new phase of life and I'm ready for a change.
(it helps that I have 52 weeks of leave )

[ctdoula]

Well.... last time w/dd I stopped working at 39w3d. The week I had to myself was awesome. I napped, filled the fridge, ate ice cream

This time... I don't get maternity leave. For some reason, the human resources person (my 2yr old) at my job doesn't allow it. :LOL

I'm teaching my last class (a breastfeeding class) next Tuesday night (38w6d). We have a staff mtg on 4/1, but if i don't make that, no biggie.

As for Angel Wraps, I have 1 more custom order to get done, then I just have to stock the instock store.... and I think that's it.

[heket]

I wish it were today...

...but I still have about 3 more weeks.

We are still recovering financially from maternity leave for dd, in which I was the sole income. Dh was laid off 3 months before dd arrived and didn't get new work until I went back to work at 3 months pp. So half of my original leave was unpaid. Because bonding was more important than our bills, things just fell to the wayside. It wasn't the best decision, but I don't regret it.

Then I took a part time position at a different library from the one I worked. It was mostly for mental sanity -- I just couldn't work with my boss any longer and knew that she was not going to be very understanding about my new parent situation (even though she was a mom of a teenager! : ) I really wanted to sahm, but we couldn't afford it. So the compromise was for me to take the part time position.

Now, while I do get maternity leave, I'm stuck the same partial pay situation again. I've only been here for a little over a year and much of my sick time was spent on dd already for various colds. So while I might've had a week or two more than I do now, it still would've been a partial pay situation. At least this time dh is still working and is making more, so the impact may not be as detrimental.

As for how long, my boss just sent me an email asking this too! Before dh got his new job, I thought it was only going to be 6 weeks. But now I'm hoping that I might be able to go for 8 or 10 weeks. Twelve would be bliss, but I have to figure out the budget first.

I'm planning on working until April 15, but if it's like last time, I may leave a week early (Apr. 8). I want to try to accumulate as much time off as possible and the full paycheck would be very helpful. But if I get that "it's time vibe" then I'll probably have my midwife sign me out early. I did this with dd and had about a week and half before dd was born. It was great! Got all my last minute nesting done, rested, and just had time to decompress and be. It made a big difference. My LC suggested a week off just to spend with dd before the birth, and I'd love to, but I think we'll have to just settle with my days off.

[SparklyMoose]

I'd planned to work up until the last minute, and then I was put on bedrest after a bout of preterm labor. So I've actually been off since 3/3 (the day I was in the hospital). I'm off bedrest now, at 36 weeks, but she wants me limited activity, limited stress, which means no work. Bah. I'm bored.

Until the labor, everything had been going really well, and apart from the lack of being able to breathe and the exhaustion, I'd have been fine going up until right before birth.