Feeling meh

how old will your son be in October? Xx

Definitely I’ve struggled with this on and off since I had my daughter a year ago. It’s something I always think about but for me at the end of the day I feel like working keeps me sane and the money is nice like you said I don’t want to rely on my partner for money. Even if he does support it. It’s a hard thing to decide! Do what you think is best for you and baby. Good luck mama!!

@Sinead he will be 8 months x

okay, well that’s not too bad, remember when your son turns 9 months you can apply for 30 hours funding if both parents are working, and it’ll start the term after their 9 months, so that will be january so you only need to pay for october, november and december and then it should be funded (plus any consumable cost some nurseries charge), that’ll make nursery fees considerably lower for you ☺️ it may not necessarily be 30 hours a week if you’re not planning for term time, but most places allow you to spread your funded hours throughout the year and they’ll tell you how many funded hours your child will get each week as everywhere does it differently xxx

Unless you are earning the same as your partner then I wouldn't pay half of the bills (I tried to do this at first as a matter of pride but it left me with nothing). We pay a percentage based on our salaries so I pay 30% and him 70% of everything. The 30 funded hours make a reasonable difference, our son full time with the funded hours is about £850 a month. It is really hard but I found that work gave me a little break, a bit of my old self back, adult conversation and a little money to buy essentials with (hated having to ask for money for new pants etc.). Ultimately you have to do what is best for you and your baby x

Why is he keen for you to go back to work?? I don’t understand

I have no advice but I feel the same, so I hope that helps knowing you’re not alone. I am going back to work when my baby is 5 and a half months in August and I’m so sad about it! Don’t get me wrong, I am missing the adult interaction, but the thought of putting baby into nursery when he’s so little is heartbreaking 😢 feel free to message me if you’d like to chat x

Its probably a lot cheaper to wait until little ones atleast 9 months to get the funded hours or could be pointless x

I get it, I go back to work in 3 weeks, my baby will be 3 months. Luckily I am working 2 days in the office and 3 days at home, but am losing 10 hours a week. Hoping to have a meeting with bosses regarding a payrise 😅 and am already wondering how am I supposed to get any work done with a baby there 😅

I just wanted to say you are not silly at all for the way you are feeling. Try your best to be as present as you can while you are off. So you can make sure you've enjoyed every moment you have instead of worrying to much. I know it's harder to do then to say. And if it helps I went back to work in January and I didn't want to but actually found it good for me because it gave me time away from baby to make me appreciate my time with her more.