To work or not to work?

Please use this topis to write whether you work or not work? With the reasons for your choice.
Please don't criticise other Mums in the topic.

As a young mum who fell pregnant straight after doing my HSC I never got the chance ot go out & work... Now 3 yrs after my HSC & 2 children I am studying a massage course at TAFE from home, thisgives me a chance to do what I like doing for work later on, but allows me to do it around my kids... They are the most important factor but it can be hard living off one income so when they are near school age I will definately look into work somewhere

I work two days a week for four hours. I do an afternoon, then a morning. Ezrah stays with his nana. I am breastfeeding so this works great. And work is only 5 mins from home. I felt guilty, and still do but I'm a single mother and sometimes feel guilty for being on the pension. This way I feel I am doing something to better me and my son while not neglecting him in any way. I am very lucky to have fantastic bosses eho hired me while pregnant and allowed me to take Ezrah to work with me while he was small. If only all employers could be so open minded.

After completing my HSC, I decided to take a year off before starting university doing a B. Ed in Early Childhood. Within that year, my partner and I decided to have a baby and so I never ended up going to uni. When my son was 15 months old, I started my TAFE Diploma in Chn's Services luckily, my mom was able to take care of him. Toward the end of the first year, I decided to have another baby. When my daughter was 9 months old, I went back to TAFE and finished my diploma. By this time, my son was in day care and my mom was taking care of my daughter. I now work at the childcare centre that my son is at (which also happens to be the childcare centre I went to as a child!) and my mom still takes care of my daughter for me. (She is 20 months and the centre doesn't take chn under two.) I work because if I didn't, my partner and I could not afford to pay the mortgage, bills, food, clothes ...... the list goes on! But I guess that I am lucky in the way that I get to spend time with my son while I am still at work, and in a few months, my daughter will be at the centre with us also!

Hi there
My name is mel and I have a 20 mth Boy Tristan. I work fulltime and have done so since tristan was 14mths. I absolutely hate leaving him but his father is a stay at home daddy. So he still has one parent at home all day.
I graduated yr 12 5 mths preggie and know I have a great carreer at the moment. I work for tha Brisbane City Council.
So I believe that if you feel rite than go ahead but if you are real hesitant than don't.
But one good thing is that I can take my little man to work with me. They have free daycare.

Mel mother of 1 (20mths)

Hi all,
I am lucky enough that my partner gets a decent income, so I do not need to work. However, being constantly at home can get boring, so when my daughter started preschool, I became a volunteer at their school. I worked there for 3 years, 2-4 hours a day, 4 days a week, until the end of 2002. When they started back at the beginning of 2003 I was 7 months pregnant, so decided not to go back, as I didn't want the younger kids to get used to me around, then get upset when I had to leave. My time is now busy with my very active almost 9 month old little boy, and I'm loving it. I love the fact that I am home when my other kids come home from school, and if we are still financially stable when my baby starts preschool, I will again become a regular volunteer at school once again. School's really appreciate all their parents help and it allows me to see my kids learning environment, and how they learn, so that I can help them correctly with their homework. The way they learn now, is totally different to the way we learn, so if any of you are thinking of teaching your kids to write the alphabet (when they are old enough), please see you local school or preschool to get the correct way of writting. This will prevent any confusion and tears when they start grade one or preschool and learn to write. My first son had to learn how to write the alphabet all over again, because I taught him to write it the way I had learnt. He was very upset and confused. Anyway, wether you work or not, doesn't reflect on how good a parent you are, so all, keep up the great work!
Tracey

Hi
I didn't work with my first as I just finished school, but with this pregnancy I worked up until 36 weeks, I couldn't really work past this time as my feet are too swallon to keep in shoes longer then an hour.
I started the pregnancy doing 10 hour shifts and at 30 weeks changed to 6 hour shifts.

i worked all through my pregnancy physically challenging labour. doing everything i shouldn't through morning sickness from 4:45am when i got up until 12 in the afternoon. work finished at 2:30 in the afternoon. i worked til i had a week to go with constant aching back so sore when i got home i could not walk, breathe or anything without bursting into tears through so much pain. sore ankles, sore knees (at every hour and a half you get a 10 minute break and lunch was 30 minutes) it was a standing job so impact constantly on your ankles and knees. now i am back working again. i had a year with maternity leave which was good i started working again a month before my little one turned one i only work 2 days a week. my fiance stays home with eilish from 5am until 3.00 in the afternoon then he goes out to work we never leave her with anyone but one of us. i dont like her being babysat. my body cant handle 5 days a week anymore. so i am fairly screwed for life now with constant back pain walking hurts constantly now working is agony... but i like making my own money to do what i want with i dont like spending my fiances money i have never been like that. we are looking into having another baby and i am scared that after another one i wont be able to walk anymore at all... things you do for the joy they give you... huh!

I worked up until I had Hannah, who was 2 weeks early. Because I was 23 when I had her, I'd finished my studies, so when I go back to work when my daughter is 2, I will open up family daycare and not have to leave her with anyone. At the moment I am surviving on the pension alone with no child support. It's difficult to manage but I'd rather have no money than miss my daughter's milestones. We have what we need, and we can miss out on some things for now.

I worked up until about two weeks before I had my first, although I had to cut back on my hrs because of severe morning sickness. I went back to work (casual) when he was 9 months and worked around my husband’s roster. I couldn't bare to leave him with anyone else but my husband. I only had time for about 1 shift a week.
I then had a miscarriage (at 3mths). I had lost the baby around the same time I pushed myself to do a night shift (during that early stage where you need to sleep lots). We were not 100% sure what caused the miscarriage but we agreed that I was to give up work so we didn't risk having to go through that horrible experience again.
Then I fell pregnant and had another boy and have just finished breastfeeding and I am trying to fall pregnant again with a third. So I haven't worked for just over two years. But it all worked out well because my husband changed jobs and had uni work to do for the last two years. So he had no time to take care of the kids if I went to work anyhow.
My biggest hurdle was having to finish uni and pay off my HECS debts. Then I was able to have children and this takes a long time to do. If I had of fallen pregnant before this then I would have had no choice but to work.

Hi bigmama,

I have a 13 month old daughter and am just over 12 weeks pregnant with my second child. I haven't worked during this time by choice. My husband works full-time, but his job has the flexibility that we can still do alot of things together. As a family this is the choice we made together. Before having my daughter I worked as a Veterinary Nurse, but had to leave once I became pregnant because I didn't like the risks involved with the job and being pregnant. I don't have any relatives that live close by, and my mum died when I was 14... so there is no nanna who I can call on to baby sit to give me the opportunity to get out there and work a few hours a week. I plan to return to work once my children are at school, but will always put them first above any job. We are not a rich family, but we will get by. The love I have for being a house wife and full-time mother out weighs any pay packet I could get.

Michelle

When my son was 8 months old i went back to work 2 arvos from 4 till 8. my partner was home to care for our son. i was due back to work from mat leave last week but have been unable to find child care and so had to resign. i didn't really want to go back to work as i love being at home but we are not very well set up financially and we really do need a little extra money coming in and no it is not for luxuries or anything like that it really is for survival. eg i have had the worst tooth ache for about 3 weeks but can't afford dentist for about another two weeks!! i really believe that whatever makes you happy makes your child happy. i have friends in all different situations and there are pros and cons to each. i found even though i didn't want to return to work i actually enjoyed those two short afternoons and often worked with a smile on my face thinking of dad struggling through the horrible dinner, bath and bedtime!! great for him and bub to have that time together without inteference from mum too!!