question about maternity leave and moms going back to work?

Question

when did you start maternity leave?I was just curious on how long people stayed on maternity leave, if they took the full time? Also what did you do for childcare afterwards?I plan on working right up until my due date and then going on the leave. But I'm really getting nervous about afterwards, I dont know what I should do about child care? Its so exspensive here in MA

Answer 1

get a nanny it might be cheaper im a nanny and i get paid from 10-15 dollers an hour or have family watch....good luck!!!

Answer 2

I live in Mass. and am employed by a nonprofit organization that helps fund certain daycares for lower income households. Some of these places are absolutely free. You should discuss these options with your baby's pediatrician or simply contact a church. Depending on what area of MA you live in, you could also call your local United Way office for help. Child care is expensive, but there are places that can help.

I'm going onto 28 weeks and plan on working until the baby's due (June 1st) and returning between 6-8 weeks because I have unpaid maternity leave. My job is easy and my boss has been so much more lenient ever since I made my announcement about a month ago, but after the baby is born, my fiance and I decided it would be best to switch his shifts. He will be working when I'm at home with the baby and I'll be working when he's at home, with family to help in between. He also gets 2 full weeks of paternity leave to spend time with the baby and me. Do you have any option like that? Also ask friends and family you trust to help baby sit, since they generally don't want much money. It doesn't hurt to try! Good luck!

Answer 3

I think maternity leave is different for each state. In California you get 1 month off before your due date and then 2 months off after the baby comes. Unless you have a C-section and then you get 3 months off after the baby comes.
I got to take a month and a half off before my due date because I when into per labor and had to go on bed rest.
When I went back to work my husband and I worked it out so that I worked evening and he worked days until my daughter was 6 months old. We then shopped around for quiet a while until we found the right day care for her. There are alot of inexpensive day care places in the world. You just have to be really careful and do alot of research and make sure to do a background check with the police department and check reference.

Answer 4

Maternity leaves usually start about 2 weeks before your due date, depending on your job and the type of delivery you're having. If you're having a scheduled c-section, then you probably wouldn't take much time off before unless you were having problems.

With my daughter, I worked in retail and left 12 days before my due date. She ended up being 9 days overdue, so I was off a total of 3 weeks before she was born. She was a vag delivery, so I had 6 weeks after. With a c-section, you typically get 8 weeks after unless you have complications. You are not medically fit to return to work until that time and your dr will not release you until then, so most women don't go back until then. I do have a friend who works a family business (her father-in-law owns it) and she went back when her baby was 3 weeks but only for a couple hours.

If you are going to put your child in daycare, start looking BEFORE you have the baby. My friend started looking at 7 months pregnant and decided she could never leave her baby and ended up making the decision to stay home afterwards. Financially, day care is a HUGE expense. If you have a nanny, it's even more. After our second child, my husband and I decided it's not financially or emotionally smart for our family for me to continue working.

Answer 5

well, for my baby I had to work at 5 months. I didn't have maternity leave, so I ran a day home until she was 5 months. With this one I am taking maternity leave 17 days early (before due date). I am only going on maternity for 6 months or so (that's all I get cause I used medical leave when I couldn't work with the pregnancy). After that I am going to do school from my home full time until I get my degree.

Answer 6

I was scheduled for a c-section on a Tuesday. My last day at work was the Thursday before. I planned on working Friday too, but I started having some mild contractions and light bleeding, so I didn't work on Friday. I took 12 weeks off after my daughter was born. My maternity leave was unpaid, but luckily I had enough vacation and sick time saved up to cover it.

My mother-in-law, who was already retired, watches our daughter for us during the day (3 days out of the week at her home and 2 days at our home). We still pay her each month, but it's much cheaper than any other child care would be.

Answer 7

I had a planned c-section, so I was able to work up until the day before surgery. It was a little uncomfortable, but my boss was very accommodating and I was able to lessen my workload a little and take a seat. After having my baby, I went back to work when she was only 4 months old, but she came to work with me. I was able to bring a pack-n-play to the office. It worked fine considering I worked evenings (4:30 - 11 PM) and she slept for a good part of my shift. I stopped working when she started to walk though. I couldn't bring myself to leave her, but the burden of her getting into everything was to hard at work. I now have two and plan to stay home for a long time. My husband and I weighed things out (financially). With me home, lots of cost go way down (clothing, gas, insurance, food bill, no childcare, etc) If I were to work, my salary would cover all those things and I'd probably end up with an extra $100 or $300 each week or month. Who knows the exact numbers. All I know is that that little extra money couldn't make that much of a difference in me wanting to work. I'm no dummy either, I have my MBA and was working in Operations management for 10 years before kids. So I'm figuring these costs off of a decent salary. It just didn't make sense for us. I'm thrilled with my choice to be home! So is my husband.

Answer 8

Took my sick days 30 of them before the baby was born. Then took a year child rearing leave. Then was planning to quit. Got pregnant again. I worked 1 day, took 30 more sick days and another year off for baby #2. I am still home with my kids. They are 21/2 and 1. I love being home. You can make money from home and your kids will be better for it.
You can't get the time back. And childcare is almost as much as you make at your job.

Answer 9

I am 33 weeks pregnant now and plan on working until I go into labor! I am given six weeks maternity leave, unpaid... which i hate... six weeks seems like soooo little to leave him, but i know lots of people do it, and some have to go back even sooner! As for child care, I have been looking since I was 25-28 weeks. I have him on 3 waiting lists for some daycares around here... should they not have an available spot for him, he will be staying with his grandma until they do!

Answer 10

I am in FL and with my 1st born I took 2 weeks ahead of time (mandatory bed rest) and 3 weeks after . This time I run a business and plan to work up until delivery if I have to do it in my office off a couch! Then I will be back to work within 2 weeks. The nice thing about it is that my first born (now 2.5) is in daycare and I will probably put my baby in daycare around the 6 to 8 month mark.

Answer 11

My friends took an average of four to six weeks off. For most of them, that was all that was allowed. All of them tried to work up to their due date, some had to leave a week or two sooner.

For childcare, if you make a certain income, you can try to get government subsidized childcare that would make it more affordable. You can join in a cooperative with other parents and share childcare duties usually once or twice a week (if your schedule permits). You can also look to hire a nanny and it may be the cheaper option. Nannies attached to an agency are going to be more expensive than a nanny you find yourself.

Best of luck!