How long is your mat leave going to be?

[Mummy2Adam]

Ive been thinking about my mat leave and i am thinking of having a total of 20 weeks off. I had longer off with Adam but found it really hard to settle back into work and I dont want this to happen this time. Is 20 weeks long enough? On the plus side i will get full pay for all this period x x

 

[Lilelephant]

i can only take 6 months and have to take 2 months before baby born due to my pelvis...it isnt what i wanted but gonna try go back part time to start.
i think every one is different so people should do what they think is right for them!

 

[pringle88]

Im planning on taking 9 months and then returning part time for 5 hours a day. I think im going to just see how I feel and how I get on, I really dread returning to work on a Monday after the weekend so god knows how I am going to feel after 9 months!

 

[Sarah13]

I'm going back to uni full time next august so baby will be about 10 months, but will keep my little business going as I work from home. With my daughter I had 4 months off as I was still in the RAF then and you didn't get long off back then, was hard leaving her as I was still breast feeding, which was a bit of a nightmare, and I missed her loads!

 

[Laura_C]

I was made redundant in March and I'm still actually on Mat Leave from having my Ethan. My mat finishes in August, so I'm gonna start my Mat Allowance in Sept which I just the month before baby is due so I should be able to be off for 9 full months and baby will be around 8 months when I have to go back to work. Def only doing part time though, I've worked full time the whole of my career even after having Grace so I'm putting my foot down this time. Although if my husbands job goes as well as we think I may not have to go back work. Here's hoping

 

[traci]

I'm taking 9 months off, trying to leave as late as poss as I want more time with LO, but I absolutely despise my job so I cant wait to leave asap! Only going back part time, prob to do the same hours as my friend in work does, it seems to be just the right amount of hours

 

[jomc]

Im hoping not to go back... I commute 4 hours each day so dont want that with a LO. Im hoping to train and set up a child minding business fron home. But, we will see. U never know what the future holds!

 

[jodied]

Originally I planned to have six months off but I think it will probably be nine months in the end which is the period I can get mat allowance for as I want to spend as long as possible with Ella as she is changing so much! The plan after nine months is to work three days per week x

 

[Sassysugar]

My last day at work is tomorrow

I'm taking the whole of July off as holiday, then 9 months smp, so due to go back to work at the beginning of May 12.

Can't wait to have the whole summer off, it will be like being back at school. Hope it's not too warm though or it may be a struggle.....

 

[DW1978]

I'm planning on taking off 5 months from when the baby is born xxx

 

[positivity :)]

I'm planning on taking about 13 months in total with my maternity leave plus annual leave etc! cant wait!

Mrs Mc, why are you only allowed 6 months, and how would your pelvis problem effect it??? xx

 

[Mummy2Adam]

Im feeling quite guilty after reading all your posts ladies, am i being selfish only taking 20 weeks?
Of course i want to spend time with my little one and im planning on working right up till the end.
Last time cutting a long story short, i couldnt settle back into work because of numerous reasons and i dont think i could put myself through that again x x

 

[littlemiss83]

I'm getting 11 months on full pay which i'm really chuffed about, only got 6 months on 1/2 pay with my first. Plus i'll still be in a routine while i'm on mat leave coz i'll still be getting up early, getting baby and my wee girl ready and taking my wee girl to school every day, so that should keep me grounded. With my first i had no reason to get up early most of the time and found it really hard 2 settle back into a full time job after only 6 months.

 

[Alexandra84]

I haven't really planned how long I'll be off for. I work for my husband's company and we decided that I'll go on leave at the end of July and we'll just see how it goes from there...

 

[Sarah13]

Im feeling quite guilty after reading all your posts ladies, am i being selfish only taking 20 weeks?
Of course i want to spend time with my little one and im planning on working right up till the end.
Last time cutting a long story short, i couldnt settle back into work because of numerous reasons and i dont think i could put myself through that again x x

Maybe if you think of it as 5 months and not 20 weeks it will sound longer! Don't feel guilty, you have to go back at some point and the baby probably adapts quicker the younger they are, I know it was me upset not my daughter she didn't care! I was going to just plod on with uni and have no time off till I found out there wasn't childcare available for newborns!

 

[Mummy2Adam]

Thanks Sarah, you have made me feel loads better and made it sound better too
I just need to finalise my dates now and then let HR know x x

 

[Cazza]

It's a question I've been pondering too!!

I only get 12 weeks full pay then SMP, but as I work P/T is the SMP pro rata or a flat rate paid to everyone??

I have 6 weeks A/L saved so hopefully I can leave in December, would love to be off for a year on ML the I would have 12 weeks A/L to use up before the following April, so could be off for a while!!

 

[pinkyprincess]

I'm planning on taking a year some of it unpaid (if we can afford it) if not I'll go back but I'm hoping to leave and find another job part time (as I can't work part time in my current employment)

 

[Samsgirl]

i'm taking 12 months off and then adding holiday on...about 35 days...so 7 weeks...so will be about 14 ish months..i cant wait. i have worked full teim constantly since i was 18 and so now at 35 i cant wait to be a full time mummy for a year and a bit....fingers crossed!!!

if all goes to plan, baby due 9th march and going to finish work on my 36th birthday, on 10th feb so a month before xx

 

[ceris]

i am taking the time off that i am in hospital!! will be straight back to work!! my dance students are in a professional pantomime starting the day i am due.... so will be needed at the theatre a lot!! luckily my partner and i both have businesses and being our own bosses means we can work out hours to suit, but if i had a normal job i would probably take as much time as i am allowed!! Just cant do it with the dance school though...!! (i can take baby with me though to be fussed over by the dance childrens parents!) xxx