Choosing Maternity Leave

This post is about: my reasons for starting #maternityleave when I am, and how having #twins affects my choice. #twinpregnancy #maternity #quittingwork #stayathomemum

I'm currently 19 weeks pregnant and work full time in retail management. I'm on my feet a lot and it can be quite stressful, especially with Christmas looming and my company making major cut backs, leaving us short staffed at the busiest time of the year. All of this has had an effect upon my decision regarding when I will be taking maternity leave.

I have decided (although it could technically change) to start my maternity leave at 28 weeks. I read up on when women took maternity leave during twin pregnancies and found that 28-32 weeks tends to be the norm. However, everyone is different and many women like to leave work as late as possible to get as long as they can at home with their babies. So, I'm going to list below the reasons for choosing this time to leave work.

When to go on maternity leave is a big choice for expectant mothers

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1) I hate my job. The company I work for is not someone I can get behind or feel loyal to considering changes they've made over the last couple of years and I don't enjoy my work anymore. I find myself almost as excited about going on maternity leave as I am about the babies being born! So the sooner I get away from somewhere that brings me so much negativity the better.

2) Apparently at 28 weeks pregnant, I may well be the size of a woman who is having one baby would be at 40 weeks. That's a lot of weight to be carrying around on my feet all day!

3) Pelvic Girdle Pain is already making life difficult at work and I find myself getting very sore by the end of an 8 hr shift. And I'm not even that big yet! So I am expecting to struggle a lot more later on.

4) I am all to aware that the twins could make an appearance early, and I would prefer it not to be at work! Being at home resting and concentrating on taking care of myself instead of rushing around at work is going to be better for me, and hopefully decrease the chances of early labour.

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5) Going on maternity leave earlier gives me a better chance at having enough time to do some proper nesting before the babies arrive. I'd rather have some time at home to make last minute preparations like washing baby clothes, putting finishing touches to the nursery and batch cooking for myself and the hubby. If I'm working right up to their arrival, this cuts down on my time at home preparing.

6) I probably won't be going back to work. Because of this, the whole wanting as much time the other end as possible before having to return to work doesn't affect me the way it would most women. For me, the only reason to stay longer is to have an income for longer, as once maternity ends I won't be getting anything myself and will be relying entirely on my husband.

7) I don't want to be a burden on my colleagues. The truth is that I'm already feeling like I'm more hindrance than help sometimes, especially when having to get someone to lift things for me or climb ladders. At first, I defiantly continued to do a lot of manual labour myself but my workmates are very protective, especially with it being twins, and kept having a go at me for doing things they didn't consider appropriate. Now that I'm suffering with PGP, I am less likely to argue about it and I ask for help a lot more as I know the pain will just get worse if I push it. But I hate feeling like an invalid.

8) I just can't wait! Well, it's the truth. The reasons above are real and justified, but the main thing pushing me to go on maternity leave at 28 weeks is the fact that it is far enough into the pregnancy for me to justify leaving work (at least with it being twins anyway) but soon enough that I can get excited and countdown to it. I don't think I could wait any longer! Roll on February!

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So, what else do you need to know about my maternity leave plans. Well, firstly I am entitled to "enhanced maternity leave" having been with the company for a good few years, meaning I will be getting more than the basic statutory maternity pay we have in the UK. So I'll be in good stead. For those who don't know what maternity rights we have in the UK, I will be entitled to a full year off work, I believe it's about 38 weeks of which I'll receive an income, although that will slowly decrease from full pay to the basic statutory maternity pay. I will also be able to take my holidays outstanding, either at the start or end of my leave (I'll be taking them at the start hopefully). My husband is entitled to 2 weeks paternity leave. Technically, I can share maternity leave with him, allowing him to claim and stay at home while I return to work. This wouldn't be viable for us as he earns far more than me!

Not having to go to work in a stressful environment will be so good!

I hope to have a good chunk of time at the beginning of my leave to get organised and prepared. I love organising, so washing all the baby stuff and putting it away neatly in size order, or filling the changing table drawers with nappies and wipes etc is something I'm really looking forward to. I also want to make sure my husband and I have plenty of good, home-cooked meals even when I'm not up to cooking much. So batch cooking and packing our chest freezer with meals ready to defrost will be another useful thing I can do.

With so much DIY going on in my home at the moment (and that's before we start on the nursery) I also want to make sure I have time to finish off any projects and give the house a good clean before the babies come, as chances are that I won't feel like it when I have two crying babies and recovering from a c section. I know my family will help out my hubby and me with stuff like that, but if I know everything has had a deep clean beforehand, it'll mean a quick once over now and again should be enough to keep the house clean enough until it becomes a priority and possibility again.

I also want to ensure plenty of bonding time with the people who are going to be there for me once the babies arrive. I often work weekends while most of my family and friends, including the hubby and my own mum, don't. So it can be difficult to fit in quality time with my nearest and dearest. While I know these people will be committed to helping regardless of whether I've made time for a coffee with them beforehand, I would like to spend a little time with my hubby, my best friends, my mum and my in-laws where it is just us and I am not needing anything from them. All these relationships will be changing once the babies come along, so having some us time is important and being off work will make this easier.

We all need a little time to relax before the babies appear.

And lastly, I intend to spend some quality time with my babies before they are born. Having time to bond with them in womb instead of rushing around at work is something I'm looking forward to.

So, 9 weeks until I plan to leave work and put these plans into action. I'm not sure but I think 28 weeks is the right choice for me.