https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 30 Apr 2026 14:07:01 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174559 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 11:27:07 +0000 bhbee 1174559@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I vote 6-9 months, in a perfect world I would be a SAHM but was lucky enough to work part time from 4-7 months and I continue to be on a half-year full-time and half-year part-time schedule (job is busy seasonally). By 6 months they have more of a schedule. It is basically sad what you miss at any age though! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174348 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 10:05:37 +0000 heartonastring 1174348@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm six months into a yearlong mat leave. Honestly, I would want nine months because, for me at least, it didn't start to get fun until the 5-ish month mark. It would suck to have to go back just as it was getting good.... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174344 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 10:03:33 +0000 BabyBoecksMom 1174344@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>6 months? Especially w/ #2 :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174257 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 09:34:58 +0000 Alivoo01 1174257@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think 6 months would be good. A year would be awesome because so much happens their first year of life - learning to roll, learning to crawl, etc. I hate to miss those firsts. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174256 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 09:34:15 +0000 mrskc 1174256@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>ideal for me would be a year. But I would say 6-9 months is when we had more of a routine and things were a little easier. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174191 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 09:10:25 +0000 MsLipGloss 1174191@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>6 months sounds pretty good . . . It would not have worked for my LO (she had surgery at 8 months and I wouldn't have wanted her in daycare until at least 9 months because of it), but, if she hadn't needed surgery, I think 6 months would have worked out much better than 12 weeks/3 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174172 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 09:04:25 +0000 yoursilverlining 1174172@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JoJoGirl: Totally agree about it getting harder when they start to get fun!</p> <p>I went back at 12/13 weeks, and IMO it was easier to go back to work then than it would have been to go back to work at 6, 9 or 12 months. By 6+ months, she was so interactive and we could do so much together....at 12 weeks I was fine with having the break during the day since she wasn't so interactive. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174159 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 09:00:32 +0000 LuLu Mom 1174159@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went back after 12 weeks, I would have loved to wait until 6 months, I think I would be ready and comfortable to leave at that time. 12 weeks was fine (the most I was allowed) but tough. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174109 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 08:46:15 +0000 littlek 1174109@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think somewhere between 4 - 6 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1174058 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 08:29:11 +0000 swurlygurl 1174058@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, saying I would never want to go back is not helpful, I'm assuming... ;)</p> <p>Assuming I did want to go back to work: I went back at 7 weeks, and that was do-able for me. It was rough, but I love our sitter. Ideally I would have stayed home for 3 months, but for #2 and #3 (maybe #4), I'll still probably only take 7 weeks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173966 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 08:00:54 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1173966@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went back at 4 months. 6 months would have been perfect! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173931 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:48:12 +0000 californiadreams 1173931@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@stp: exactly how I feel. I am happy we have a nanny until he is at least 18 months, but I'm still sad that I won't be the one home with him. I guess I want to be a SAHM for a few years if I could, so I'm probably very bias in my response! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173905 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:35:24 +0000 stp 1173905@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went back after one year (Canada too) and felt uneasy about it. 18 months would have been ideal (in hindsight) as a) daycare options really open up once they hit toddler age and b) at least at 18 months he could walk and communicate a bit. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173874 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:20:22 +0000 petunia354 1173874@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>6 months would have been ideal for me! His feedings were more scheduled and I was finally starting to feel like myself again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173873 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:20:03 +0000 Mamaof2 1173873@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went back at 14 weeks but DH stayed home with DS until he was 5 months. So at 5 months he started DCP. I thought it was the perfect age! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173868 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:18:20 +0000 JoJoGirl 1173868@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah I'd say 6 months. They start getting so fun around 4.5, it's harder going back right when the good part starts. Plus 6 months is when sleep (finally) turned a corner for us and I felt able to work! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173860 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 07:08:40 +0000 SAHM0811 1173860@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>6 months is just perfect, I think. I went back to work after my first baby at 7 months, and we were both ready! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173847 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:57:51 +0000 GrapeCrush 1173847@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i went back with DS after 12 weeks...i think 6 months would have been great, but would have loved a full year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173844 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:53:52 +0000 MCD919 1173844@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ideally I would want a year! But I realize I'm lucky to be taking 6ish months, most of which is unpaid. I work in a school, I'm taking off the rest of the year + summer (due in jan). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173831 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:35:47 +0000 Bookish 1173831@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went back at 8 weeks because I had no choice. I would have loved at least 3-4 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173824 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:30:15 +0000 bushelandapeck 1173824@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i was lad off shortly after LO was born but went back to work part time when he was 9 mos. That felt like the perfect amount of time for us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173822 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:29:23 +0000 mediagirl 1173822@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went back at 13 weeks. I would have preferred to stay home for 6 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173817 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:22:58 +0000 looch 1173817@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I had 7 months of maternity leave. I ended up not returning to work, but 7 months was enough. I could have returned, there would have been some hiccups, but survivable. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173808 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 06:01:27 +0000 swedishfish 1173808@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went back at 10 weeks and felt I got a better handle on things once R was 12 weeks old. I really, really wish we could've afforded to let me take more time off though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173789 Fri, 25 Oct 2013 04:26:46 +0000 Cherrybee 1173789@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If I could choose, I'd stay home for the full year. </p> <p>I am the breadwinner in our house and so we had to look realistically at how much time I could afford to take. I will be going back full time when LO is 6 months old and there's so much I am going to be missing out on: crawling, walking, introducing solids... I HATE that my MIL will be trying out different foods with LO while I am stuck at work and telling me, her mother, what she likes and doesn't like. :sad: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173687 Thu, 24 Oct 2013 23:58:17 +0000 MrsScallop 1173687@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I really think ~6 months is perfect for me, as it really took me that long to feel like I had a groove with being a mom. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173685 Thu, 24 Oct 2013 23:56:35 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 1173685@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MsMini: I think 9m is nice too. I am a sahm but went back to school when LO was 9m old and felt fine. </p> <p>Would you go back to work if your husband asked you to stay home for the year? DH wouldn't be mad, but he's made it clear that he'd *like it more* if I stayed a year with lo#2 because that's what I gave lo #1 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173683 Thu, 24 Oct 2013 23:54:12 +0000 Mrs Green Grass 1173683@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>6 months! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173654 Thu, 24 Oct 2013 23:17:19 +0000 Mrs. Pen 1173654@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>6-9 months would be ideal for me!! I told DH if/when we have another one, it will be a three month minimum but even that seems too early to me. With my first I was a SAHM for the first year, and it was around 6 months that I start to feel the itch of going to work, and actually started working after a year. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/wohm-if-you-could-choose-the-length-of-your-maternity-leave#post-1173652 Thu, 24 Oct 2013 23:16:37 +0000 banana 1173652@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>5-6 months! I took 5 months off with my son and I thought it was the perfect amount. I only took 3 months off with DD and it felt waaaaay too short. :( </p>