https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 06 May 2026 10:59:26 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-had-a-really-short-maternity-leave#post-1705195 Tue, 17 Jun 2014 12:19:52 +0000 Cole 1705195@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have a friend who owns her own company and due to a surprise pregnancy coinciding with a huge deadline she had to go back at the 2-3 week mark. It was hard for her but like you she had the utmost trust in the care for her baby and 2 older kids and she leaned heavily on her support system to make sure life ran smoothly. </p> <p>She made sure they could do take out or have meals brought over for a long time so she could spend all of her free time with the baby and she worked from home whenever possible (sometimes this meant just going in an hour or two later so she could get baby time while doing conference calls etc.) Basically, she took every convenience and bit of wiggle room she could for the first 3 months or so and it helped her to make the transition a bit smoother. They had someone come in to clean and paid a family friend to come in every few days to just spend 2-3 hours doing dishes, sorting the mail, doing some laundry, running errands etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-had-a-really-short-maternity-leave#post-1705119 Tue, 17 Jun 2014 11:57:40 +0000 shellio 1705119@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went back at 5.5 weeks with my first. Since I knew I was going back and could mentally prepare myself, it wasn't that big of a deal. DH is a SAHD so I didn't feel sad about leaving LO with anybody - great that you are happy with your day care. I know a lot of people are sad about going back to work whether it happens at 5 weeks, 12 weeks, or 1 year so I think since you did okay the first time, you will be fine this time. I'm glad you can cut back on your hours a little bit for a while. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-had-a-really-short-maternity-leave#post-1705113 Tue, 17 Jun 2014 11:54:08 +0000 ILoveLettie 1705113@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't go back to full-time, but I went back to grad school 2 1/2 weeks after Lettie was born. I honestly was SO glad to get out of the house at that point and have adult conversation and something to think about other than LO. For me it was a very smooth transition--I definitely really missed her when I was in class, but she did great with the sitter and it was really great for my mental state. I also think it helped that she was a very easy-going baby. </p> <p>The one thing it DID affect was our breastfeeding relationship. I think if I wouldn't have gone back so fast, maybe I could have gone longer (I was exclusively FFing by 4 months because I didn't respond well to a pump). But I personally like formula feeding so that wasn't a huge downfall for me. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-had-a-really-short-maternity-leave#post-1705003 Tue, 17 Jun 2014 11:15:50 +0000 MrsKoala 1705003@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Mine was 6 weeks so a bit longer than what you plan to take. It still felt like too soon. I think 8-10 weeks would have been much better. He just felt way too young at 6 weeks, we didn't have a routine going, and I wasn't emotionally ready. Maybe it will be different for you because this isn't your first rodeo? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/if-you-had-a-really-short-maternity-leave#post-1704994 Tue, 17 Jun 2014 11:13:49 +0000 swurlygurl 1704994@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If you had a really short maternity leave, how did it go?</p> <p>I'm only planning on taking 4 weeks for Sister, which is starting to really get to me. I only took 7 with L, which wasn't a TON, but a 4 week old baby and a 7 week old baby are totally different.</p> <p>I'm 100% happy with my daycare choice, and I know that Sister will get tons of love and cuddles, mostly worried about my emotions. I typically work more than 40-hour weeks, and I imagine that I'll be cutting down to the bare minimum 40-hours after I go back for a couple weeks.</p> <p>Just wanting to hear about experiences from people - good and bad! </p>