when to finish work?

hi everyone
I was just wondering when everyone had decided to stop work before the baby arrives?
I've never done this before so I thought maybe a month before I was due would be ok but then ive heard a few people say they will be finishing at about 32 or 34 weeks.
I work in childcare so i honestly don't know how tired im going to get or how big and uncomfortable ill be :) lol I know ive got loads of time before I have to decide as im only 18 weeks but id still like a rough idea.
Thanks everyone
take care
xox

I finished working at 37 weeks, but I had a cruisy sit down job. I guess it depends on how youre feeling and how much "you time" you want before bub is born. I had a pretty easy pregnancy and didnt get too huge, so i decided I'd be ok to work till 37 weeks. Maybe if your job is really full on and busy then 34 weeks sounds good?

You might want to check what your works rules are on applying for maternity leave so you dont leave it too late if you want to leave earlier. I had to give 3 months notice - I left in Feb but had to officially tell them in writing I was taking leave in November, then tell them the exact dates of my leave in January.

I am finishing work at 35-36 weeks. (only over 10 more weeks to go!) so this gives me about a month before bub arrives. I was going to work up until maybe 37-38 weeks but I have just had enough of my work and taking my last month of leave before maternity leave starts.

I have a sit down job that is boring most of the time, but I am already getting really tired after a hard days work even tho I am sitting most of the day! I think iit all does depend on how you are going to feel at the end of pregnancy,..

I'm hoping to go till 38 weeks - mainly due to financial reasons. IfI don't feel well prior to 38weeks I'm going to take some sick leave. Like you, I don't know how I'll be by then, I may be incredibly tired or suffer from backache etc. Luckily I have 3 weeks (school)holidays from when I'll be 32weeks till 34 weeks; hopefully this will give me the energy to go another 4 weeks!

I'm a dental nurse, so my job involves a lot of sitting, standing and running around. I just finished this week, and I have to say I'm happy about that. I could've gone for another week or two, but the surgery is closed so there's no work to do!

I don't think I could have done too much more, I just get too tired and too sore and uncomfortable after the days I've worked. I was planning on doing some agency work for the next few weeks if I was up to it, but at my last OB appt. my BP was a bit high so I've decided to just rest up (and DH is adamant that I do that!).

But if you've got a job that isn't too physically taxing, then maybe you can work up to 36-37 weeks. Plenty of people do, I just figured that it wasn't worth our while for me to kill myself working in the last weeks of freedom! I'll be going long enough without earning a wage, what's a few more weeks? And there was no way I was going to miss out on some maternity leave! What if the baby comes at 37 weeks? I know people that's happened to, and I didn't want that to be me!

I'm finishing at 30-31 wks which I know is earlier than most but I have high blood pressure (prior to becoming preg), it is slowly going up throughout the pregnancy, which is being controlled by medication but I decided on 30 wks expecting by that point it will be quite high and I should be resting.

I am a high school teacher and spend alot of time on my feet but am hopefully going to be able to work up until 37.5 weeks as this coincides with the next lot of school hols and I have a Year 12 class so i feel obliged to stay as long as poss. Like the other girls have said if it is all too much by then I'll use up some sick leave at the end-- Do you have this option? Another thing to consider is how much notice you need to give-- you could leave it up til the last to decide. Goodluck deciding, Hope xo

I finished work at 34 weeks and I'm sooooo glad that I did!!! Originally, I was thinking of finishing at 36 weeks, giving me 4 weeks before my EDD but one of my friends went into labour at 36 weeks, on her last day of work (first bub) and it kind of freaked me out a bit - she even missed her farewell lunch!!!

I had a VERY stressful and demanding job though, so there's no way I could of worked another day - the last week was hard enough!! I was surprised at just how tired I was getting, so take that into consideration!! It's also very hard to stay motivated when you know you're leaving and once you hit 30 weeks, it's all about getting ready for bubs (well I thought so anyway). Also, because my job was quite full on, I didn't get time to do much preparation for bubs arrival - so the last two weeks, since I finished work have been able to get everything ready and I couldn't have put that off much longer either as everything is sooo much harder to do now that I'm so huge and tired!!!

Good luck!!

Kelly xxx

I'm finishing at approx 34 weeks, mainly due to the travelling, but I have changed my hours so I start at 6am and finish at 3pm. That way I am only in traffic for 30 - 45 mins.

Im a primary school teacher -and i finished at 34 weeks and am really glad i did. Ive spent a week on the couch recovering and am hoping to get another wind of energy because I still have lots to do and havent been up to it!! Good luck!

With my first bub i finished work at 34 weeks. I too worked in childcare. I guess it will depend on how you're feeling at the time. What age group do you work with?

wow thanks everyone I guess the norm is to finish around 34 weeks.
Jazmum I work with 2-3 year olds so they can be very demanding, especially when there are 15 of them :)
I think I will just see how I go, I might tell work ill finish at 34 weeks but then if I feel up to it I can always work longer.
Thanks heaps for all your wisdom :)
take care all
xox

Hi,

I'm planning on the 36 week mark but I have a cushy sit down job, and I'll still be training my replacement so she will be doing everything by then and I'll be watching. :D
But after hearing your with 2-3 years that could be hard to stay. 1 2 year old is demanding let alone 15! If you really want to stay at work maybe you could chage to the eldedst age group romm for your last month?

But in saying that lots of employers require that you need a docs cert once over 34 weeks to continue and your doc might say they won't give you one 'cause your job is too stressfull

Hi there!
I'm no help as I finished work about 5 weeks ago due to bad m/s.
Don't hold me to this, but I'm sure I've heard that you require a med cert if you wish to continue to work after so many weeks. I'm not sure whether it is 32, 34 or 36 weeks.
I was studying primayr teaching at uni, and my lecturer decided that it was best that I defer until next year as the uni required a med cert once I reached the third trimester so that I could continue teaching rounds. That's only 1 week away!
I should ask my mum about her centre's policy. Maybe enquire about your centres aswell.
Good luck!!!!
Nicky

Nicky - I think it is 34 weeks in Victoria

I am finishing up at 33 or 34 weeks, I am sick of public transport, standing on the train trying to balance on the way to work and then running around while I am there so I leaning more toward 33 weeks.

Last time I worked up to 36 weeks and Charlotte was two weeks late so I had 6 weeks at home before the bub was born. I was so bored by that time. I hope to go to 38 weeks this time. I also sit in a chair at a computer all day long, if I was doing something hard like teaching I would finish a lot earlier.

I had to get a medical cert to work after 34 weeks... that was apparantly the rule in NSW. Something to do with WorkCover, I was told. I just went to my GP and he wrote the certificate up for me.

Hi!

Like Kungfubecca, Ialso have a pretty cruisy sit down job and so will be working until I'm 36 or 37 weeks and will be supervising my replacement in that final month. So it's probably not too much to bear :)

I had no idea I needed a med cert from my doctor though. I'd better ask him about that. I think the consensus is that it normally isn't a worry for mums to be to work until that late provided they're having healthy pregnancies and jobs that are not too demanding. That being said, I guess we can't always predict how we'll be feeling in that final month. I hope I'm not too pitiful ;)

Neuri

I am finishing at the end of July, by then i will be just over 30 weeks.

My job is an easy sit down one, but its boring, it makes the days drag. I am constantly sitting here thinking about things i could be getting done at home. And there is a lot on that list.

So gonna have 10 weeks to get the house decluttered and plan to do a lot of resting.

I"m finishing at 32.5 weeks. I was thinking about going to 34 weeks, but I have to drive 110 km each way to work every day, and with the days getting shorter and living in a rural area, I'm not fond of driving at dusk/dawn at the best of times. I thought it would be dangerous to go longer being tired and also having a stressful job, and doing that driving when it's getting dark early. With less than 2 weeks to go before I finish I'm well and truly ready to leave. I had painful BH 3 nights this week when I'd had big and stressful days at work and I don't think I could keep it up much longer anyway.

With Shelby I finished work at 30 weeks, I was nurse manager of a 100 bed nursing home and the stress was killing me. I also had constant morning sickness until 32 weeks so it all got a little too much by that time.

I must admit I was pretty bored at home by the time I had her. This time I am only working on the weekends, although the work is heavier I will probably work as long as I can.

Im finishing work at 38 weeks. My job is a sit down job though. I chose to work longer because I still want an income untill then and i think time would start to drag if i left much sooner...plus i spend so much money when im not working!

The midwife in our antenatal classes reccommended finishing up at 36 weeks to get some rest and everything prepared before baby! I think 4 weeks would be ample amount of time considering really you have 2-6 weeks (depending when u have the baby 38-42 wks).