I think its more important to work having children around your biology than around finances. Like someone else said, even when things are going well financially- you still cannot predict what tomorrow will bring (ie- a recession!), however you CAN predict your biological age and that is something that will not change.
You will find that babies cost very little in the first year anyway. The baby bonus pays for the pram, cot etc. If you host a baby shower its unlikely you will need to buy many clothes, toys etc (at least for the first 6 months), and if you breastfeed, your baby will cost nothing to feed for the first 6 months of life.
I think the suggestion to receive half of your maternity pay over 24 weeks instead of the full pay for 12 weeks is a brilliant idea. I don't want to put you off going back to work early (that is entirely up to you), but in my experience, it takes a good month for your body to recover from the birth itself (you bleed for quite an extensive period), and most women are still feeding their babies a couple of times a night at 12 weeks and this can leave you feeling rather exhausted.
I think that at 24 weeks you would feel much more prepared physically and emotionally to handle going back to work - but that is nothing to do with guilt or anything - just purely from a health and re-cooperation perspective. Mothers need to take as much care of themselves in those first few months as they do their babies!!
Do you have a mother/mother-in-law that will be able to help out with bub when you go back to work a few days a week? This will save you alot of money on day-care expenses, plus the assurance that your child will be getting one-on-one attention.
Goodluck with your decision and don't feel bad for whatever you decide.
i dont think anyone is selfish when it comes to going back to work, some people have no choice but to go back, some people just want to go back, others dont "have to" financially, others chose to stay home and just learn to live on less income.
i started back at work a year ago (i have just finished up) i worked part time (18-30 hours per week, depending on the week, i sometimes covered shifts, and sometimes gave up shifts because we had something on) and bought home roughly $300 per week. i worked in a take away shop (not what i had planned, but it worked out to be the best decision!) i started an hour and a half after dp got home from work, and was home just in time to put DD to bed. i did this 3 nights a week, and one night on the weekend. this meant no child care costs for us!
look into what benefits will be available to you. i have already worked out what we will be entitled to once this bub is born, and it works out MORE than what i was earning at work (taking into account the baby bonus payments for 6 months) so for that 6 months, me working wont even be an issue.
good luck TTC!
Last edited by DoubleK; April 14th, 2009 at 01:15 PM.
: spelling
Leigh, I understand what you mean about worrying that people would think you selfish going back to work. I went back to work when my DD was 7 months old. I had been off work for 2 and a half years and I was very ready to rejoin the adult world. Yes I worried that my DD didn't have the Mummy time that I devoted to my DS, yes I worried that people would judge me for putting a baby in childcare even just for 3 days a week, yes I worried she would be neglected amongst other children vying for attention, in fact I worried about a whole lot of things. But when it comes down to it I know I love my children with all my heart and I would walk on water for them but in order for them to be happy I needed to be happy too and for me that meant going back to work part time. They are both very happy, my DS does a Kinder Dance program which he loves, they paint, draw and generally have a ball in their centre, their carers are wonderful and the extra money is a bonus!
I looked at about 6 centres before I found the "right" one so keep in mind you might need to do your homework early.
Good luck, have fun whilst in baby making mode and don't worry about what other people say, there will always be something that some people find fault with.
Thanks for the replies everyone, I am offically in baby making mode for now and I have to admit that I have done my best not to get too bogged down with the details. At the moment we have saved halve of K Rudd's monies and we will use that to buy some of the essentials and we will also get the baby bonus and that will help too. I guess I will have to wait and see how my body holds up after bubs, fortunately though i work in an office environment and so my work is pretty light.
I think that most likely husband will be a stay at home dad as he is still studying, so he would be better off finishing up work for a bit and finish off his studies whilst he is at home with bubs...
Yep, I don't think it's a question of selfishness. There's always points in life where our heart tells us one thing and our head might tell us another.
Yes, it might be 'sensible' to wait until you've got a bit more money saved up but at the same time being pregnant is a GREAT incentive to save!
Luckily, I've never had to worry about the timing because my fertility is running out so there's no dilemmas on the "should I wait until we're better off financially," we just have to get to it now, now, now.
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