If you plan on returning to work ...

when will it be?

I need to let work know what my intentions are for next year. It's pretty hard to make that call before Bubs is here I think.

So, I just thought it would be interesting to hear what some of you have done or plan on doing? i.e. going back full or part time?



Edited by BellaB

I was planning to return part time when DD was 3 months, but then I got made redundant, so we decided I would stay at home for a full year after all - and am only now starting to look for work.

If you don't know what you want to do tell them you will take the full year off. You only need to give 3 weeks notice if you change your mind and want to go back sooner. It's better to do it that way than say you wanna return in 6 months for example and then change your mind and want to stay at home longer as that can be more difficult to do.

I'm taking the year, (so due back Term 3, school teacher) but then I'm going to apply to the board for another 6 months which would take me up to the start of the school year.

Ideally I'd like to job share, and have a work collegue that is keen, but I'm not too sure how the principal feels about that, especially as we are both junior school teachers and they do need a bit more stability.

I'm not working anyway (studying) so will take as much time as I like. Have to have a boarder in to live with us, but that's just a sacrifice we're making. I'll be continuing to work part-time 5-6 hrs a week cleaning my sister's house and filing deeds. All jobs I can take bubs too. We've basically planned my career around having children, so it should work well for us.

We're trying to decide what we'll do as well. My work is really keen to know if I'm coming back and how early but I've already told them that I'm not prepared to commit to an early return. I may love being a SAHM or I may go stir crazy after 3 months - I have no way of knowing so I'm not going to let them pressure me.

I'm going to go with the full year off but I may return early. I am going to discuss what options they are open to before I leave though. We're currently mulling over DH working a weekend day (as he can do flexi hours) and seeing if I can do 3 full days and then 2 days for the baby with gran or in daycare depending on when I go back and what gran says

DH is also open to being a SAHD so maybe I'll do 6 months maternity leave and he'll take the other 6 months and then look at resigning to look after the baby full time...

Hmm so much to consider but at this stage it's just figuring out the options,

Edited by Bobbie

I planned to take a years leave and ended up only taking 4 1/2 months off, altho I have been working part time and will go back to my full time hours in September which will be 12 months since I went on leave. It's worked out really well tho coz OHbaby! has grown so much in the past two years that Katherine, who did my job while I was on leave, has stayed on and so now there are two of us.

It is a hard one! At this stage I am planning to take 10 months and then DP will take 2 months.

It is hard to know about the full/ part-time thing. I've got an idea that I could go back 4 days a week, and so could DP - therefore only needing 3 days of daycare. I guess we will work it all out in due course...



Edited by DJ

Funny, I called WINZ yesterday about a possible accommodation supplement and I asked out of curiosity if they had any temp work avail. etc etc, and the reply I got was "You could do cleaning, but you'd have to get up a ladder, thats your best option" - she knew I was pregnant.

Yikes.