Maternity leave with a premie (34 weeker)

[Anonymous]

It’s looking like I’ll have to deliver at 34 weeks via c section. I’m trying to figure out the best way to take maternity leave since the baby will likely be in the NICU. If you had a premie, did you wait until they were out of the NICU to take your 12 weeks off?

[Anonymous]

Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

I’m worried that would mean only 8 or so weeks with the baby. Did anyone work from home during the NICU stay while recovering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

I’m worried that would mean only 8 or so weeks with the baby. Did anyone work from home during the NICU stay while recovering?

When the baby is in the NICU, you'll be spending most of your day there with them, nursing, pumping, holding the baby, etc. Because many preemies don't nurse well, you end up spending a lot of time pumping just to keep the supply up.

My preemie was in the NICU for 2 weeks. When I was not in the hospital with him, I was resting and recovering and pumping. I was in no shape to work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

I’m worried that would mean only 8 or so weeks with the baby. Did anyone work from home during the NICU stay while recovering?

When the baby is in the NICU, you'll be spending most of your day there with them, nursing, pumping, holding the baby, etc. Because many preemies don't nurse well, you end up spending a lot of time pumping just to keep the supply up.

My preemie was in the NICU for 2 weeks. When I was not in the hospital with him, I was resting and recovering and pumping. I was in no shape to work.

I see. How much time did you take to total with your preemie?

[Anonymous]

I had a 34 week-er who was only in the NICU for 2 days. I only had 6 weeks leave so I took it right away. I was a physical mess the first week or two, no way I could have done any work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

I’m worried that would mean only 8 or so weeks with the baby. Did anyone work from home during the NICU stay while recovering?

When the baby is in the NICU, you'll be spending most of your day there with them, nursing, pumping, holding the baby, etc. Because many preemies don't nurse well, you end up spending a lot of time pumping just to keep the supply up.

My preemie was in the NICU for 2 weeks. When I was not in the hospital with him, I was resting and recovering and pumping. I was in no shape to work.

I see. How much time did you take to total with your preemie?

I'm an old fed so I had a lot of accumulated annual leave and sick leave (but no maternal leave at the time). In total I took 4 months off.

The first 2 months were the hardest in the sense that you're recovering, the baby is tiny and not on a predictable feeding pattern yet (I was nursing on demand and it averaged every 90 minutes or so). That's when you need the leave the most.

[Anonymous]

There’s such a huge variation in nicu length of stay for this age. My 33 weeker was there until 2 days before her due date, despite no complications. Others were barely there a couple weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

Yes this. depending on how you deliver usually you are considered disabled for 6 or 8 weeks, then bonding time will kick in. So I would at least take that and then think about working until the baby comes home and taking the remainder of your leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

I’m worried that would mean only 8 or so weeks with the baby. Did anyone work from home during the NICU stay while recovering?

Different situation but a friend had to start her maternity leave weeks early for pregnancy complications (before the baby was born), so she used the leave up before the birth and had to go back at 6 weeks. It was sucky. I hope your baby will not need to stay in the NICU long, but at least you can use the time to heal. It’s s lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

I’m worried that would mean only 8 or so weeks with the baby. Did anyone work from home during the NICU stay while recovering?

This isn’t realistic, emotionally or physically.

[Anonymous]

No way, it was always so sad to see the babies in the NICU alone most of the day.

[Anonymous]

Agree with all the PPs that you will need to recover from C-section, nursing/pumping is a lot, will want to be there to hold baby, emotional/hormones component postpartum is huge too. I could barely walk and really couldn't think ot function. Work BS would have been impossible to focus on.

And that at 34 weeks the baby may or may not be in the NICU that long. It's on the later end of "preemie."

Am a preterm/C/NICU mom myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

I’m worried that would mean only 8 or so weeks with the baby. Did anyone work from home during the NICU stay while recovering?

I don't think there's any reason to believe a 34 weeker will need 4 weeks in the NICU.

I can't really understand the alternative to taking leave beginning with the birth - do you think you could go to work for 1-3 weeks, beginning the day after surgery, and then check back out when the baby comes home? You're going to need to physically recover, work on breastfeeding (if you choose), sleeeeeeeeeep and cry and all the other things that come with the hormone crash.

Now if the idea is that your work will let you take 2-3 weeks of sick leave to recover from surgery, and then start the clock on mat leave when your baby comes home: yes, do that. Get all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Won’t you need time for physical recovery right away? I would at least start your leave.

Yes this. depending on how you deliver usually you are considered disabled for 6 or 8 weeks, then bonding time will kick in. So I would at least take that and then think about working until the baby comes home and taking the remainder of your leave.

You will get 8 weeks of STD if you have a c-section... that is standard. No? You will want to be with your baby. Start you leave on the day of your schedule c-section if you want to save all your time for after the baby is born. You and your husband (if possible) or other family will want to be there as much as possible until your baby goes home.