I think that 6 months could be a bit early IMO but the 12 month option you mentioned could possibly work - i think having DH and Gran looking after DS would make you feel more comfortable than placing him into CC - plus by 12 months you could be looking forward to going back to work - worst case scenario you go back, try it out and see if you like it - I know not neccesarily the most professional approach but you have to bear in mind that you can't forecast how you're going to feel in 18months - but this way you'll at least have something to fall back on - and the 14weeks paid leave would definitely make it more appealing
I'd say that if you are worried about leaving bubs while you work already you are going to be 100 times worse when bubs has arrived. I wasn't too worried about putting my son in day care before he was born. He'll be going into full time day care at 8 months. Now that he's here I am absolutely dreading it and we are madly trying to work out a way for me to stay home but have not been able to do so yet.
If I were in your position I'd stick to the original plan. I soooooooooo wish I was in your position.
are you allowed the "half-pay" option for your maternity leave? I also work in Govt (but state govt & not in WA) and we're allowed to "stretch" our leave & take half-pay, same as our sick & holiday pay (which has to be taken prior to maternity leave being taken).
Your in a similar position to me, i have 6 months full paid mat leave starting at the end of Nov and i plan to take an added 6 months because i feel a six month old bub is too young to be left and i plan to BF. I'm still tossing up whether to come back at all cause i am simply board with my job and any case if i do come back it would only be for two days a week.
My thoughts are never to shut any doors because you just don't know what is around the corner.
Thanks so much everyone for taking the time to read my mammoth post and respond.
The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that I won't want to do it at 6 months.
I will talk to my manager about coming back later, but if she says 'no' I think I will go back to plan A, take my paid leave and then not go back.
I'm going to sit on it for a while, and let DH think about it too - partly it will depend on how much he would like to stay home one day a week. We can both assess it when DS actually arrives.
I can take mat leave on half-pay if I want to, will definitely have a think about that. Might also ask if I could work in the office for one long day, and perhaps do two half-days at home. She can only say 'no'.
Satya - I do hope you can find a way to stay home with DS.
Hey there, just to add another point of view - my friend came back to work when her second bubs was just shy of 6 months old, she was still b/f, the idea was for her to express at work and then go and b/f whenever she was around the CC place, which was in the city.
Having said that, she has since found it really hard to express and feed while at work. Its not that work isn't supportive, she just struggles to be able to disappear for a half an hour or so to express... as a result her bub is now taking solid and she's not feeding anywhere near as much. Supply/demand - she isn't around her bub for the demand, so the supply is disappearing!
I'm in a similar position at the moment - trying to plan return to work. Its tough!!!!
I hope that you don't get pressure to make a decision now because who knows what will happen once your little one is here.
I noticed that you wrote work is only 5 mins from home. This might come in handy when you do decide to return to work. If your partner is at home with your little one, you might find it easier to go home for lunch, be able to breastfeed, and then head back to work for the afternoon. might be easier than expressing at work.
i went back to work when DS was 7 months, it was the right thing for us.
I was still bfeeding for the 1st 4 months ie until he was 11 months (he is 12 monthsnow) and i just expressed or went and fed him (5 mins from me). by 6 months he shouldbe ok to have 1 or 2 bfeeds while you are gone...I did have some formula for him but that was bc i travel for work so i had days when i was not there to feed him (not onight until he was 10.5 months). My DH took the opp to drop to 4 days per week, bc we could afford it (i am the primary earner) - we eah work 4 days per week now... original plan was for us each to have ds for a day a week so he had 3 days at fdc (no family here) but we have opted for a 3 day family weekend as our life is pretty hectic and we need the time the 3 of us. this has been v hard to manage but good for us all - i think you will know what is best for your family. if he is with gran and dad it is a lot easier than cc i would think... and just to let you know you can work and bfeed - it just takes some organisation! working from home sounds fab - i do that often - make sure someone is there looking after ds but it means you are still around. sounds like you have a flexible work if you want it... best of luck
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