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
I am in two minds as I am not sure about the advice your manager is giving you. If you are pg and on a new 12 month contract (if you did sign another one) why can't you change your mind about returning to work after your 14 weeks paid leave and have the remaing period of your contract on unpaid maternity leave and then return if they wish to provide you with a new contract? I understood that under the Federal Law you are entitled to 12 months unpaid leave from a job. But perhaps that is for a permanent position?
On the other hand I have had several friends return to work part time 6-9 months after giving birth and they have loved being in back in a work environment a couple of days a week, especially if they have partners/parents to care for the bub during their hours of work. It has provided great bonding for their partner and child and their partners are so much more understanding of the pressures of being a stay at home carer. It is totally a personal decision for you to make but working in Gov't should (IMO) make them more flexible to your needs even if you are not permanent and on contract. (Aren't they finding it difficult to fill jobs over there like they are here in Canberra?)
I hear that you are not so interested in this current position but are there other areas of the Dept you would be interested in working in down the track that you may be better able to access if you maintain an ongoing association with the Dept?
There may be no ideal solution for you, but I think you have some good options to explore. Accessing the paid maternity leave is a minimum IMO.
Good luck with it all Devon.
xx
ETA: I think your idea of working from home should also be explored. I have seen it be successfully carried out in my Dept, in fact we have had some of the best results from those that do it as the mums and dads are so committed and glad of the opportunity. Also takes pressure off them for child care/caring for sick children etc. The technology is so simple now and relatively inexpensive once they do OH&S assessment of your home set up.
Last edited by dusty; September 20th, 2008 at 02:24 PM.
: ETA
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