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I wish I had more faith in myself.
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Take the maximum because either the firm cares or doesn’t care about you. If they care, then they see you as a long term investment and will support you. If they don’t care, then why accommodate a place that doesn’t care about you? Also, having a baby is a major life altering event. There is a reason some countries offer more than six months of parental leave…
I took 6 months and felt it was a good time, but I still felt my baby was a little helpless when I went back. I wouldn’t take any less unless I absolutely had to (and yes, I’d leave a job if I had to). I think ideal would be 10-12 months but I live in the US so that’s a pipe dream 🥲
Right?! I work with Europeans primarily and I have almost requested a transfer to one of our Europe offices/HQs just to get more time with my second baby.
The most you can. Healing process is long,
4 months minimum. I think 5-6 is better though (I took 5)
6 weeks for you to heal. Maybe more if it was a very physically hard labor and delivery (or bad surgical scars, hemorrhaging, bad cervical tears). If you are ready to leave your baby for someone else to take care of during the day and be back at work at that point, that's fine. Some people truly don't want to take more and that's ok.
There's a train of thought that it's always better to take more time to bond and relax with baby. There's another train of thought that we can be better mothers when we're not stressed from a crying baby all day, and when we get to do the work we love and then come home ready to spend quality time with kids. Both trains of thought are valid.
5 months.
4 mos is when most babies reliably sleep through the night.
3 months for a second baby, 4 for the first.
While I think 6 months should be the standard, I agree the minimum you should take is 4 months for a first and 3 for a second. I had 3 months with my first and four with my second—really wish I could have switched those!
5 months minimum
I took 16 weeks with my first and it was too short. I took 20 weeks with my second and it was a lot better but I still think a full 5 months to 6 months is best. You want to be sleeping longer stretches before you’re back to work!