Advice re pregnancy/ maternity leave

[Becci26]

I'm sure this has been done to death previously but just after a bit of advice re pregnancy/ maternity leave and minding.

So, I am newly pregnant but thinking about what I am going to do re minding and interested to hear what you have all done and what your thoughts are.

Currently I am working about 50 hours a week, which is fine a t the moment but in the later stages I wonder if this will become a bit too much and should I think about cutting back on some of the children I look after (I have lots of part timers) so I am doing less hours?

How much maternity leave did you take? I am thinking of working until the end of the summer term (due 8th August)
I know this is very much personal to you and how you are feeling etc, initially I was thinking about taking just a few weeks off, but then I started thinking that if the baby doesnt sleep well (which is kind of inevitable to start with lol) then I'm not going to fancy going back to work too quickly!
So that got me thinking that perhaps I could do just after schoolies from September as I will be doing the school run anyway with my own DD (8), although maybe she will like to have some time with just baby and me?

I am worried that if I take too long off I will be less likely to have any of my current mindees return to me and I love them all dearly, I would be so sad to lose them, did any of you keep your mindees on?

So then I thought maybe I could take off until after Christmas, so it is affectively only 1 term (lots of my mindees are tto).

Oh I just don't know what to do, sorry for the rambling post! If you can make any sense of this thread and have any thoughts or would like to share your experience I would be very grateful!!

[Mel_Johnson]

Firstly congratulations!!! Hope you are feeling OK. I was quite ill in the first 4 months.... I have no idea how I managed it!!

I am just returning to work after having my baby. He is 4 months old now, I am starting earlier than I wanted to but I don't want to turn down work as there doesn't seem to be much around at the minute. Luckily Sam is quite chilled out (unless he's ill, typical man!!!) so I can return to work. With my first would not have been able too - he was a hard work and after a terrible birth and a baby who would not sleep and cried all the time I was in no fit state to work. What I am trying to say is don't fix anything in stone you just don't know what will happen or how you and the baby will be.

That aside if you have been paying your national insurance then you will be entitled to maternity allowance. I get about £130 a week. I decided to finish at 32 weeks and take off as long as I could be I knew I didn't want the same mindees back (they were lovely but my son just started in a different school so school runs clashed). I was huge a found it very difficult at the end ( Ihad a 10lbs 3 1/2 oz baby).

Some of my parents were happy to wait for me to return back and found a tempory childminder so your might be ok too. I personally enjoy having a bit of time with the baby too.

Hope that helps

[Becci26]

That's great Hun, thanks for sharing with me, it's given me food for thought.

ATM other than feeling tired and being very moody I'm doing ok, no sickness yet.... Although i have suffered with severe nausea and vomiting due to an unknown medical condition since February so I am very used to it! However, since being pg I actually feel a whole lot better! Which is great, as I was worried it would get even worse.