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how soon did you go back to work after baby?

77 replies

moomin35 · 09/06/2014 09:01

Just wondered when people returned to work after having a baby?

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CMOTDibbler · 09/06/2014 09:02

4.5 months

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claracluck1978 · 09/06/2014 09:07

My first 'keeping in touch' day was a full day at work 14 days after my twins were delivered by Csection & just 4 days after being released from hospital. I'm now due to go back part time next week after 9 months leave & that feels like the right time for us.

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Trooperslane · 09/06/2014 09:10

Almost 14 months.

We will be on beans and toast if we're lucky.

Waited so long for dd I wanted to take the max - so a year plus 2 months accrued leave.

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moomin35 · 09/06/2014 09:16

how was it after just 4.5 months CMOTDibbler? Asking because I may have to do similar :-(

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Saganoren · 09/06/2014 09:24

about 10-12 weeks, but it was from home so not quite so tough ...

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Cookiepants · 09/06/2014 09:27

Back at the end of this monthSad. DS will be 9 1/2 months.

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worldgonecrazy · 09/06/2014 09:30

14 weeks, I had 18 weeks full pay maternity leave, so had to go back. It did help that I work with other working mums and we give each other a lot of emotional support.

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CMOTDibbler · 09/06/2014 09:42

It was OK tbh - ds was fully bf and waking 3 times a night of so, but coslept part time so I fed while snoozing. I hadn't had a chance to get used to being on mat leave, and neither had dh. I hadn't had any time off before ds was born as he arrived 5 weeks early.
Expressing gave me a bit of a break at work.

Ds wasn't worried by being at nursery (very small baby room, few staff, always one of two main staff there) starting at that age, and the nursery were flexible in terms of feeding on demand ebm, and doing blw when it came to that time.

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slartybartfast · 09/06/2014 09:49

1 year,
was hard, but an enjoyable year.

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Saganoren · 09/06/2014 09:50

Agree that the advantage of going back early is neither you, nor the baby, get used to a different way of life

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slartybartfast · 09/06/2014 09:50

i had moved address though in the meantime, so I only went back for my legal 3 months before I looked for a more local part time job.

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Chunderella · 09/06/2014 10:42

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callamia · 09/06/2014 10:44

One day a week KIT after 3m and full time after six. I can work at home downturns though, and I usually work a few hours after DS has gone to bed. It doesn't do much for my social life, but it means I do get to spend some reasonable time with DS. He will go to nursery in September at 11m.

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stargirl1701 · 09/06/2014 10:46

13 months.

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Chopsypie · 09/06/2014 10:50

8 months after DS and 10 weeks after DD.
I bottle fed though and she was was home with DH so he did night feeds. Looking back I'm not sure how I coped, but I did!

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RuckAndRoll · 09/06/2014 11:51

9 months. I've been back 3 weeks so far.

Couldn't have come back any earlier as DS has been ill and we've had so many drs appointments and unplanned hospital stays it wouldn't have worked.

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ThinkIveBeenHacked · 09/06/2014 11:53

9 months.

I was desperate to ho back but had to wait til my preferred CM had a space.

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NatashaBee · 09/06/2014 11:56

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Artandco · 09/06/2014 12:30

12 and 18 weeks. Self employed so had to. Was fine tbh, half week worked from home, half out but dh worked from home those days so no childcare needed. Bf both for 2-3 years still. Dh just fed from bottle 2 days a week maybe 3 bottles a day max as I could still bf feed before work, after and all eve/ night if needed.

I did night wean at 12 weeks with both so no feeds 11-7am and they slept 11-7am without waking from 12 weeks, and 9pm-9am at some point before 6 months so we all were well rested

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CPtart · 09/06/2014 12:41

At 4 and 5 months respectively. Both were ff by this time and sleeping through so wasn't too bad, although went back p/t. Was more than ready tbh, felt so much better to get back to some sense of "normality".

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shatteredstudentmum · 09/06/2014 13:06

9 months with ds1. Still haven't with ds2 and he was 4 in February! I got made redundant as I was due to go back at 11 months and decided to stay at home.

Hopefully doing something to earn money as he starts school in September but we'll see.

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GlassOfPort · 09/06/2014 13:27

I went back 3 days a week after 5 months and then FT a month later (I work form home once a week though).

DS was very happy at nursery and I was glad to be back among the living
The main problem was he caught all sorts of bugs (flu, conjuctivitis, assorted colds..), so the first year I ended up taking a fair amount of time off either to nurse him or because I was sick too.

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MrsBungle · 09/06/2014 13:29

I went back part time after a year with both of my two.

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middlings · 09/06/2014 14:09

One day shy of 8 months and 6.5 months although with the second one I did a very slow return, one day a week for four weeks and then two, and then three using annual leave. DD2 knew her CM since birth as DD1 stayed with her while I was on mat leave for short days to maintain continuity and my sanity as there's a 16 month age gap so settling in was a breeze.

It works for us. It's hard in some ways. I had them for seven weeks with no childminder in the spring of this year and I certainly felt like I knew them better at the end of that. There is a very very slight disconnect when I'm not with them all the time. That said, I like my job, I'm good at it, and they LOVE their CM. They were all at a music group this morning that a friend of mine goes to and she just texted me to tell me it was lovely to see how much they adore her and how happy they are.

It does take quite a bit of organisation though. I feel a bit like I'm on a hamster wheel of nappy bag restocking at the minute.

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bonkersLFDT20 · 09/06/2014 14:36

DS1 12 weeks (non-UK company, bad maternity terms and conditions).
DS2 9 months

Both went to on-site nursery so I could go and BF when I wanted to.

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