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I took 6 months off
I took between 16-18 weeks with each of my babies. Would highly recommend taking as much as you can. Taking more allows you to be more rested when you come back and more secure in your parenting. I can’t comment on how your company will do in your absence, of course, but if someone is just going to have to fill in for you while you’re out, they will be thrilled to get your responsibilities off their plate, I imagine.
Yes, take the full 20 weeks! I did for both babies. Not gonna lie, it’s been tough rebuilding my book of business as I had to transition everything pre-leave. But it was totally worth it and will even be worth it if I get zero bonus or laid off this year. They will realize how much they missed you when you come back. I allocated my responsibilities among 12 people, put it on my out of office message, and completely unplugged until a week before I returned. Taking the full 20 weeks will allow you time to get your baby on a good schedule, hopefully sleeping through the night, have childcare in place, and you should be ready to hit the ground running when you’re back. I think it’s way worse to return after 6-8 weeks as a zombie, people start to discredit your abilities, and you may have a longer term negative impact on your career. Family trumps career every time, but it doesn’t have to be either/or.
I'm in Canada- 12 months standard but can take up to 18 months. I took 13m with my first and am 6 months into my 2nd maternity leave, probably will take 9m this time.
I was given 3 months leave and took 6 months total. That was the right amount of time for me. Felt baby was big enough for nanny care and was ready to go back to work and get my life back a bit. Would not be able to be full time SAHM but that time was very valuable.
Coach
8 weeks
I took 16 weeks with each of my three, but the last 8 weeks of leave I was part-time. So I was fully out 8 weeks then returned on a 50% schedule for the next 8 weeks. My part-time schedule looked different with each baby and I also had flexibility to bring baby to work with me at times. It worked well for me and my girls.