Poll: Are you planning to go back to work after having your baby?

[Anonymous]

I am staying home with my kids and working from home part time. Sometimes I never have a spare moment to myself, but I feel I have the best arrangement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am staying home with my kids and working from home part time. Sometimes I never have a spare moment to myself, but I feel I have the best arrangement.

I do the same, and I feel really lucky that my boss allowed this situation. I tried going to the office after 6 months maternity leave but found I couldn't stomach someone else doing the day to day with my daughter (it literally made me sick--I couldn't eat). Everyone's different...and I'm just a big wimp!

[Anonymous]

I got laid off 6 weeks after taking the minimum amount of maternity leave. I was able to collect a severance and some unemployment during my time off. We were in a good place financially so I did not need to return to work. However, I quickly realized that I am not a good SAHM. So I looked around and when my daughter was 6 months old, found a part time position (20 hr/week) in the same field and received a nice pay increase. After about a 1 1/2 years, I got another job offer out of the blue so now I am making more working part time than when I was working full time.

I am now expecting #2. I again plan on taking the minimum amount of time off for maternity leave and then returning to work. I haven't yet decided if it will be on my same or reduced schedule. We have a nanny so I do not have child chare issues this time around.

Having the time off after #1 made me realize that I like what I do professionally. I refuse to work full time but I am also not cut out to be a SAHM. For me to be happy, I need the balance. Since I am happy, I think my entire family is happier.

I am lucky I that I was able to choose.

[Anonymous]

It would be ideal to have the luxury of keeping one's options open. Having a baby is life-changing. Some women plan to go back to work but change their minds when baby comes. Other women plan to take 3 years off only to return to work after 6 months.