maternity leave

[flossey]

been a while from i've posted hope everyone is keeping well. for all you girls that work when are you thinking of taking maternity leave? my manager has asked me to get the matb form or whatever it's called, so i've an appointment with midwife next thursday. i'd like to leave as soon as i could basically within the next month - month and a half, how early have you all taken or are plan on taking maternity leave? i know i will have holidays to take so i can take them before i leave which is good. xx

 

[beckyboo1]

Hi - I'm finishing at 33 weeks - i have 26 days holiday to take, and then my maternity leave kicks in.

would of liked to have finished earlier, but i figure 7 weeks is enough time to get prepared and rest before Pip makes his/her arrival!!

 

[BellaRiven]

If work agree I will be taking 3 weeks holiday prior to my maternity leave starting on the 25th May (Bug is due the 26th May) that way I don;t lose any of my maternity leave and I get a full year + 4 weeks hols at the end of it..

 

[Bee7]

I got my MatB1 form today, i think this is just to 'officially' notify your work that you are definitely pregnant and are entitled to maternity leave/pay. I haven't given any official dates yet, hopefully my work will be quite flexible about it. Ideally i'd like to work as long as possible so that i can have more time off with baby afterwards. I'm due mid April and am planning to work til the end of March if i'm able to. I guess it all depends on how you're feeling. Luckily i'm just sat behind a desk all day so it's not really manual/tiring work xx

 

[coruscating17]

I don't have much choice financially, or with maternity leave as I started my job after I fell pregnant so am only entitled to Maternity Allowance which doesn't even cover our rent :/ I'm a nurse so my job can be quite physically demanding but I'm planning to move to agency work so I can pick and choose what I do and probably work until 37 weeks if my body allows it. Then I'll have to go back to work about 2 months after the baby is born as I'm the main earner at the moment. Bit of a bugger but I figure people in other countries do it tougher. At least with agency I can pick my shifts. Very jealous of those of you who can have a whole year off! Enjoy x

 

[Daydreaming]

I was reading up on this just today. I read in some forum that the average week to leave is Week 37. So I may aim for that; gives a couple weeks of rest before bubba but hopefully not too long (unless bubba is very late).

 

[Rachel1509]

Tri hopping, but my official ML began 3rd January (yesterday).

Take it as early or as late as you want. You know yourself when you're ready to take it

 

[Nicole1993]

Yea Iv heard the average is around week 37 too! I wish I could get a wee break before bubba gets here Im in college and have to rush to finish my diploma before he gets here (due 27th April) and shouldnt actually finish course until mid-may but have to leave a bit earlier. So Im gona be hectic gettin ahead and finished before everyone else around the time Im due !! xxx

 

[Nicole1993]

Oh and to answer your question, I have read on a few sites that the earliest you can take the leave is 11 weeks before your due date, so around 29 weeks? This could be wrong though hun so Id double check with your midwife when your gettin the forms from her xxx

 

[Loula]

Im due first week of june and am planning to take mat leave middle of may, but well see howit goes, am sure it will all change xxx

 

[hellywelly]

I'm going til 37 weeks. Would have liked to go til 38 but am a primary school teacher and the job can be quite demanding, physically and mentally!! Normally do 55 hour weeks but hoping to slow that down a bit towards the end as I start to hand some stuff over. I'm due 6th April and finish 19th March, with my current return date as 3rd Dec, so if babe arrives on time it'll be nearly 8 months when I go back. Would love to be off longer but I'm also the main breadwinner so need to get the pennies rolling back in!! Am hopefully only going back 3 days a week though

 

[Kirsty.Y.84]

I'm planning on leaving at 35 or 36 weeks but taking holiday and starting maternity from the week baby is due. At my work the earliest you can leave is 11 weeks before due date and you can take a year off from the date the baby is born. I, however, wil only take 10 months (9 months maternity 1 month holiday) as we stop getting paid after 9 months! x

 

[lyndsey_28]

My maternity leave officially starts the day after baby is due as my holiday allowance starts mid march and must be taken by mid march the following year!! i have some holiday beginning of march from last years entiltlement and new entilement will begin staright after so i will be finishing work 2nd march and on holiday til the 4th may which is when baby is due and MA starts 5th may so im one happy mommy to be, but on the downside i will still be at uni til mid april!!

last time i took maternity at 35 weeks which was good as i was starting to feel very tired and worn out then and needed the rest xx

 

[Meljs]

I'm taking 2 weeks leave before my maternity leave starts on 2nd April so will officially be off from 36 weeks. Would love to take a year off but that just depends on the money situation....

 

[AndreaJayne]

Mine starts at 36 weeks, im having 3 weeks holiday and then the full year maternity leave. x I can't wait as work is so busy and stressful and isn't getting any better!! xxx

 

[TORino]

I'm going off at 37 weeks. I have 2 weeks annual leave to take and my maternity leave starts the 5 days before I am due.

I'm kinda wishing I'd made it a week or 2 earlier now because I'm getting tired in the day and thinking 37 weeks seems a long way off! But then i think I'd rather have the time afterwards with the baby so I'm probs doing the right thing. I could potentially have 5 weeks rest if LO is late! Would love to have a full year off but it's probably not affordable sadly I'm also the breadwinner in the household.

Start your leave when you feel is right hun.

 

[babybo]

Think I'll be finishing around 36/37 weeks which will be mid may. I'm a nanny to 3 kids so I'm finishing before the may school hols as the thought of coping with the 3 of them in the hot weather and being the size of a house does not speak to me so the matt nanny can have that joy lol!!

I'm quite fortunate though as I'm entitled to two lots of matt pay as I have two jobs (I work for two famiies) that pay more than £250 a week each so I get to claim two lots of matt pay.

If we can manage it and I can save enough before I finish I'd love a year off but only get paid for 9months. Will just use up savings to keep going

Xxx

 

[Butterflykisses]

Hey. All being well I hope to finish at start of June which will make me 37 weeks. Although I get new holiday allowance in April so plan to use this and work 4 day week for the last month at least

Talking about maternity leave really makes it all seem so real lol