[LauraWV]

I'm trying to figure out / maximize how much time I can take off post partum, and I'm curious about what my nurse midwife might recommend after the birth as far as how long I should be off work.

I work for the US federal government, and I will take all the sick and annual leave I have saved up (will be about 6 weeks), and then I would have to either borrow up to 2.5 weeks of sick leave, or have leave donated to me from other employees.

In order to get either of the 2 options above, my medical provider has to recommend I am off work for some time greater than the time I have saved up to take off.

So, what I'm asking is basically, assuming I have a normal birth, how much time will the midwife recommend I take off after the birth? And will she be more likely to give me more time if I let her know that my work will provide the time if she recommends it?

 

[jraohc]

My medwives followed the "standard" 6 weeks post partum for vaginal delivery. I doubt they'd have given me more if I had asked for it.

 

[Quirky]

Since you work for the feds, you are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides for 12 weeks of unpaid leave. You can use up your paid leave in the first part of that and then take the rest unpaid. If you can at all afford to do so, I would highly, highly recommend doing so.

I think it's pretty standard for midwives to say 6 weeks for vaginal, 8 weeks for c-section.

 

[kerc]

you could initiate this discussion with your MW. MY OB was more than happy to write a "no travel for kristin + baby for 10 weeks" at my request when my boss wanted us to travel across country for a meeting at 6 wks.

 

[schatz]

Another idea -- if your job and daycare is at all flexible, you could take the first 6-8 weeks completely off and then slowly transition back to full-time over the next few weeks. My dh is a SAHD and I actually started going back to work at about 3 weeks - BUT ONLY for a 3-4 stretch on one day. I did this for several weeks and then gradually worked up to 1 full day/wk, 2 full days/wk, etc. I was back to 40 hr/wk at about 4 months pp. This way the transition was slower for me, dh and dd and I stretched my paid leave out for a longer time. I did have a vaginal birth but my dd was in the NICU for 10 days. I am the only one in my workplace who does my job but it is very flexible.

Just an idea.

 

[Earth Angel]

I did exactly what schatz did with both my boys...but I also went back at 4 wks pp but was blessed to bring my boys with me to work and do most at home.....can you ask to do some tasks at home at least for a while????

Congratulations on your new baby!!!!

 

[cyncyn]

I also started working from home a little bit 2 weeks after I got home from having a c-section. That was a special project with a tight deadline, so after that I didn't do much until 4-5 weeks, when I did another project and started going in to the office a few hours a week. I wasn't cleared to drive until 6 weeks. I probably could have asked for more leave from my OB, but my employer is not covered by FLMA so there wasn't much point anyway.
I kept adding hours and kept bringing dd into the office with me, so had a gradual transition to my current schedule of 8 hours Tues, Wed, and Thurs by about 5 months. DD still came in 1 day a week until 18 months.
Money was tight, so I couldn't take a lot of unpaid leave, but hopefully your employer will be flexible for the first few months, especially if you are nursing.