Hi everyone,
It's early days as yet, but I'm thinking ahead and wondering what other's have experienced. My usual job is a lower management 4 day per week pozzy but I don't want to go back to 4 days per week when my DD is only 1 year old. My Manager is really wanting me to return to work and is likely to be flexible where she can, but she's limited in only being able to offer me what is available and she needs to fill any outstanding EFT. I would ideally like to go back to 2 days per week to start with, I'm thinking she'll offer me 3 days.
Has anyone gone back to working 3 days per week with a 1 year old? What is it like? I'm thinking its a lot of time to be seperated from DD and have her in the care of others. How have other people's 1 year olds coped?
I have recently started my second round of mat leave for second bub - in between I returned to work for three days, when DD was just short of one year old.
We were very lucky - we were able to leave her with my mum and sister for one day and my in laws for two days, so we didn't have any child care adjustment issues! TBH she loved the time she spent with them - she would hold her arms out to Grandma or my sister and wave happily goodbye as I left for the day. End of the day she'd always be happy to see me but never super clingy or anything!
I actually think it made me happier to have a bit of time away from DD, esp early in my pregnancy when I was so sick and tired. It was nice to have a bit of down time by going to my boring office job!
I returned to work 4 days a week when DD1 was 12 months and dropped back to 3 days when she was 15 months. With DD2 I returned to work when she was 12 months 3 days a week. It was hard but both girls have adjusted really well and they both love it. My mum has them 1 day a week and the other 2 they are in CC. They love it when they see me after a long day but they also love going to see their friends.
Personally I found 4 days to be too hard but 3 days was a good balance.
I agree with Nai that 4 days is really hard, but I found 3 days worked quite well. I know the thought of being away so much is very daunting for you now, but many of us find that our kids love the change of scenery and do really well, which makes it much easier to do. It also is quite nice to have a little time away and be able to eat and go to the toilet without interruption!!
Another thing I found is that 3 days a week is enough to help the kids settle better into their new care arrangements and have it feel like part of their normal routine.
All the best hun. I am sure you will find something that works for you
I went back to 3 days a week when DD#1 was about 7 or 8 months old. She absolutely loved daycare, and since she could crawl and tell people what she wanted I figured she'd be fine. Of course, she ended up wrapping everyone around her little finger, being such a bossy little thing.
The problem was I couldn't get any substantial stuff to do at work being 'only' 3 days, so I stepped up to 4 a few months later so they'd take me seriously. Being single at the time, however, with the way CC and HECS and tax and Centrelink was structured, I ended up being $200 a week WORSE OFF financially at 4 days so I dropped back to 3 pretty smartly. I think I worked out that the breakeven point where working X days was better than 3 days was around 7 days a week - not possible in the public service.
Thanks for your replies. I'm feeling a bit more positive about maybe doing 3 days per week. I'm pretty sure I'll appreciate some time away and it will probably make me appreciate the time I have at home with DD even more. When you have a 3 month old, it's so hard to imagine what they'll be like as a 1 year old and how they'll manage, but I have to start negotiating with my boss soonish. i'm pretty sure this is going to mean a demotion because they like their managers to be there at least four days per week, but this will mean less responsibility for me too, so that's ok.
I'm hoping my mum will be be able to help with a bit of child care, and that would be nice for her and DD, but this is not definite at this stage. I'd feel much more comfortable leaving her with a family member than in day care at this young age but this may not be possible.
I'm loving these bellybelly forums, I have a mother's group and a couple of friends with babies and older kids, but so rarely get to have a proper conversation to ask these sorts of questions.
I miss uninterupted conversations. And cups of tea. And, yes being able to go to the toilet when I need to.... the things we take for granted before babies! Of course it's all worth it.
Returnig to work
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