I had 12 months off on maternity leave, going back when DS was 11.5 months old. I'm lucky that I get 6 months of full pay, which I take as 12 months half pay and THAT is the reason I came back. We were always planning on having two children close together and my plan was to come back for six months and then get another year off on full pay. I'm extremely lucky that my mum was and is more than happy to look after DS while I'm at work and they both enjoy themselves immensely. Turns out that I'll be taking 8 months off from being a SAHM rather than 6, which is a struggle physically for me, but the financial benefits far outweigh the cost right now.

We didn't REALLY need for me to go back to work to get by, but the benefits of the extra year's pay (8 months working/six months paid mat leave) will set us up far better for me working part time or not at all once my second lot of maternity leave is over.

The amazing bond between my mum and sister (she lives with my folks) and DS is a fantastic side-effect of all this as well