Family Assistance Office | C. What do I do if I am eligible?
this link outlinees it all a little more - it appears you can take your paid parental leave AFTER your mat leave (if you're entitled to it) - so as long as the mother qualifies, she can take a small amount of it first, and then hand it over to the father (i don't see anything in there about ONLY the father getting the whole 18 weeks, but i've only skimmed). as long as the mother has returned to work and the father (or other mother!) is considered primary carer at that time.
from a personal POV - i looked at returning to work for financial reason when DD was 8 months old but we weren't ready. she was feeding frequently over night due to teething, she was very clingy, and just not ready to be apart from me (admittedly, for several months i'd been her ONLY carer due to DH's work situation being away from home) - i wouldn't make any firm agreements with your DH about him taking x time off work after you've had a certain period as you need to see how you're going at that time. the last thing you want to do is commit to something and find that its just not going to work for your family dynamic. wait til your bub arrives.
i do agree that taking a period (even it's it's just the last month or two of that paid leave entitlement) when the baby is on solids and less dependent on mum for BM, it is a fantastic idea for dad to be primary carer for a while. My DH is doing that now while i work and is loving it - we "weaned" her off relying heavily on me between 9.5 and 10.5 months (got Daddy to do sleep time routine sometimes etc) to get her used to it, and we've had NO drama with me going to work at all. now if only these teeth would finish cutting and she'd go back to sleeping through so that it's not drama for ME that i have to get up and go to work in the mornings!
Snap BG - I've just looked that up too! Thanks And thanks for the insight re: what yourself & hubby did with your daughter. I'm thinking that if we could get bubs used to feeding with daddy with a bottle, if I've expressed or something, then it could be do-able and I'm not far from home anyway. But I'm also thinking that it's something that should be decided later when we actually have a baby (lol!), and we know how we're all working in together. The only thing that worries me about that is work - they won't know for certain if I'll be there for those 18 weeks or not. But seriously, too bad! Gotta do what's best for us
a lot of employers ask for a certain amount of notice (mine was 4 weeks) of your planned return to work. i was booked out for the full 12 months of leave, but was able to return early with that notification.
you may decide not to try a bottle until there is no need for a bottle anyway - at five months, DD was able to take a sippy cup rather than a bottle - she really wasn't keen on bottles (they're nothing like boobies lol) but will take anything from a sippy cup... wait til you see your Bub's personality and your own feelings towards returning to work before you decide. i know i was/am a shocker for expressing (get bugger all for my efforts) so if i'd returned to work before DD had cut back a lot of feeds on her own to replace them with solids and water, i may have ended up being unable to maintain enough supply for her to continue BF. there is lots to consider with this decision. first one is getting you pregnant lol
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And thanks for the insight re: what yourself & hubby did with your daughter. I'm thinking that if we could get bubs used to feeding with daddy with a bottle, if I've expressed or something, then it could be do-able and I'm not far from home anyway. But I'm also thinking that it's something that should be decided later when we actually have a baby (lol!), and we know how we're all working in together. The only thing that worries me about that is work - they won't know for certain if I'll be there for those 18 weeks or not. But seriously, too bad! Gotta do what's best for us 
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