Parental leave

[Edgerton]

Hi, so we are expecting in July this year and trying to figure out how best to strategise parental leave.

Mum doesn't get any paid maternity leave from work. Dad's work offer an extra 10 weeks paid parental leave initiated from week 14 from birth, if mum goes back to work (accounting) for three days a week. The bonus income would be (gross) four times our rent and it reduces our weekly household hours at work by 13 hours. I think we can make this work if mum can work from home to enable boob feeding, and dad (on leave) takes care of the rest.

Is it viable without outside help? What are the challenges of this plan with a 14 week old new born in this routine?

Or would it be easier for the traditional approach ie mum and bub to just stay home while dad travels into work daily?

[Courtney-RO]

Hi @Edgerton Thank you for sharing with us here on the forums.

Firstly, I want to say congratulations on the exciting news. It's really good to hear that you are thinking ahead and planning for the future. With so much going on though, I can only imagine how overwhelming and stressful things must be. How are you finding things so far?

If you are interested, there are a number of supports that might be worth looking in to, such as Raising Children. I also wonder if you have considered reaching out to a helpline such as Parentline. You can call them to talk to a trained counsellor and get some advice around what other things you can do.

We are always here for you.