How long should I take for maternity leave?

Rose: How long should I take for maternity leave?
I am due September 17th and I am planning on working till about two weeks or a week before. And I was going to take maternity leave through Dec. and come back in mid-January. My husband has a full time job so money will wont be an issue during that time. Is that too long of a maternity leave? How long did you take?

Answers and Views:

Answer by A
I think a month or so is fine, my maternity leave was 6 weeks, and by that time I was more than ready to go back to a full time job.

Answer by Miki
take as long as ur job will “allow”.

Answer by BabyOnBoard
6 weeks, but before I worked full-time and only went back part-time. That lasted 8 months, now I am a stay at home mom. Keep in mind, it may not go as planned, I had to leave my job 5 months before the baby was born and was on complete bed rest. I thought I was going to work right up to his birth…

Answer by Tean
Im due in June, and I’ve been thinking about my Maternity leave too, but I say If you CAN take it, and your work is ok with it, and you won’t suffer financially then take as much off as possible, It will give you time to heal, bond with your baby, get on some sort of routine so you don’t feel AS frazzled and stressed and tired when you go back.

Good luck and Congrats on ur little miracle!!!!

Answer by pinke43
I took 8 weeks with my first. . . and boy was I ever BORED after awhile. I wanted a change. . . but I guess you might just have to wait and see.

Answer by twons517
you should take whats right for you and your family.

Answer by Jeniflen
My maternity leave is 9 months long…I plan to take ALL that time to be with my baby boy…

Answer by RoyalGossip
Your job entitles you to 3 months paid, I think. But you can take an extra month off, unpaid, if there’s health problems, which I hope you or your baby won’t have.

After my maternity leave of 4 months, I found it very hard to go back. I worked another 8 months, and finally quit. You’re lucky if money is not an issue.

Answer by gonna be a momma
I’m able to take 1 year paid maternity leave when the times comes. It’s either 75% of my wages if I’m coming back to work or 50% if I’m not. I’m going to take my whole year too.

Answer by WBinsider
Sorry… I happened to be here.
Ladies are best to answer….If I were a Manager with you, I might have allowed leave as per rule….best of luck…!!!

Answer by Lucky
My best advice: Work right up to the due date and then take as long as you possibly can for your maternity leave. You will want every second with that precious baby. I tried to go back to work when the baby was 10 weeks and it was a joke – I was a mess, the baby did not adjust well, we had trouble with the sitters. I would feel much more comfortable returning to work when the baby is about 6 months.

Answer by killbasabill
Stay at home with your child until he goes to school for the first time. Not day care or kindergarten, but real school.
Kids need their mommies to survive in the real world.

Answer by aabc44
it depends where you live.
In the US. companies allow 6 weeks (8 wks for c-section) of paid leave (and benefits/medical) if employee had been with the company for more than 1 year (a friend of mine gets 8 weeks paid at a bank).
OR 12 weeks unpaid (FMLA regulations).
i would suggest to talk to your HR/payroll department and see what applies to your situation.
It is best to stay at home with the baby as long as you can (financially) and are willing (i am not talking you into being a stay-at-home-mom), but when you put the baby in daycare (assuming the most common childcare arrangement around), he will come home will colds, and other things. i am not telling that colds are bad, and your baby should be cold-free all his life and live in a bubble, but the medications are harsh on small children (and now they banned the use of OTC cold medicine under 2) – eg: my 7 mos was given antibiotics for a sinus infection, and then she had diarrhea/loose stool for 2 months because it killed the gut bacteria. you try to fix one problem, something else gets broken as a result…and it goes like this forever..
ideally, after one the baby can go to daycare (if in the meantime, you can arrange for in-home care), they interact so much, and play together etc.

do what you feel right for your baby and family.