Maternity leave

I've spent the last week going through and considering my options about when to take maternity leave. Weighing up the value of the money earnt by each additional week's work, against the time off to prepare for bub's arrival and to really enjoy the last part of my pregnancy. Looking at our financial situation and the money needed for me to stay at home full time to care for our baby until they are at least 12 months old. Discussions with hubby about his business plans and earnings for that period of time and how he feels about the situation. Taking into consideration the current stress at my workplace and the day to day tasks expected of me and my body.

We have come to a decision that I will finish work at 30 weeks. This may seem early to some, but the more we thought about and discussed it, the more that we realised just how much more valuable the time spent at home will be. We have both worked very hard over the years to be in a good position financially so that we are in a position to be able to do this. I have given up a career and deliberately gone from job to job so that I could focus on our family and the children we have always so desperately wanted.

My current job is causing a great deal of frustration and stress for me at the moment. I don't mind the actual job, the flexibility and money were fantastic for IVF, but there are a lot of obstacles in my way that are extremely frustrating and disheartening. I wasn't planning on doing this job for very long in the hopes of falling pregnant, but I have been here nearly a year and it's starting to wear me down. Plus I am also expected to be out and about visiting clients during the day - after doing this through summer while pregnant, I will need the break.

My last day at work will be the last day of February. My sister is expecting her baby a couple of days earlier, it will be nice to be able to spend a bit of time with my niece or nephew as well as being able to be there to give her a hand if needed. It will give me a chance to finish preparing the house for our baby, cook some meals for the freezer so hubby doesn't starve while I'm in hospital (or overdose on pizza!) and so that I won't need to cook every night when we arrive back home. To enjoy the last quiet time at home before bub's arrival and to allow my body to rest so that my baby has all the energy it needs to continue to grow and develop through the final stages.

I'm excited and confident about our decision and think it is the best thing for our family. The more we prepare and make decisions about our baby, the more this is starting to feel real.