Well, here we are: our baby's birth month. With my due date in the middle of the month, I think it's *fairly safe* to say that I'll be giving birth sometime this month (unless our babe is crazy late, in which case there is a possibility that we could move into early September!?).
Either way, as my due date gets closer, I'm starting to get serious about my "maternity leave" plans. But lets get real here for a second: when you work for yourself, you don't get maternity leave. You don't ever get any kind of paid leave, but the trade-off is that I can come and go from work as I want to, without any time limits--as long as I'm ready to stop making money if I stop working. Has this been stressful for us as we've prepared for having a baby? Absolutely. We rely on the income that I bring in and aren't looking forward to going without it. But at the same time, I am really thankful for a schedule that allows me to take time off if I need it, and for the ability to slowly ease back into work when I'm ready (and work from home!), as opposed to having to jump back into work full-time (and abruptly) at the end of some predetermined chunk of time. Obviously, there are pluses + minuses to my situation, and as much as it scares me to take more than a week or so off {for the first time since I started teaching yoga back in May of 2010!}, I'm also super excited to have the time and space to be fully focused on our little baby for a while. So, since I've been getting tons of questions about how much time I'm taking off and what that will look like, I thought it would be helpful to lay it out for you here, so my clients and students are clear (although my clients will be getting an email today that outlines what they need to know) and so that my fellow solopreneurs out there can see how Ben and I have decided to handle this new challenge/change:
So that's what my "maternity leave" will look like. The next question that everyone asks is about childcare, so here's what we're planning in that arena [when I do go back to work]: Obviously, Ben and I will both be home with the baby for the first few weeks. We're lucky that Ben gets 5 weeks of paternity leave (yay!), so it will be both-hands-on-deck for the first 5 weeks. When Ben goes back to work, each of my parents will come up for a week or so, so that I'll have around 7 weeks of help. Once they go home it will be just me during the day, until I'm ready to start transitioning back into work. When that happens, we're planning on having a childcare provider come to our home to watch the baby while I work. I will either work from home (so I can breastfeed as needed) or pop out to a local coffee shop if I need to get out for a bit, and the plan is to pay for this kind of childcare for around 15-20 hours per week to start. Ben will be home with the baby while I teach in the evenings and will obviously be around on the weekends when I'm teaching/if I need to work some then. We've started interviewing childcare providers and have already talked to some very promising candidates, so are feeling pretty good about having someone lined up for when we're ready in early-to-mid October... {Phew!} So, that's how things are looking right now. It's all so unknown, which is super scary for me/us, but that seems to be something I need to get used to when it comes to being a parent, so I'm going with it. As for the finances of everything, we've been saving as aggressively as possible over the past 9 months and I've been working my butt off to make more $ this year (in preparation for this time off) so we're going to be okay, but we sure would rather not have to take this financial hit! {Obvs.} And that's about it! I hope that you've learned something from this little inside look at the logistics of having a baby when you work for yourself, and I appreciate all of the advice I've gotten from so many of you readers out there who are in the same boat/have been in similar boats.
Ellen
8/1/2016 07:15:21 am
I will miss the blog while you are on your journey of Mommyhood, but I wish you the very best as it unfolds! I will anxiously await news of Mommy and BABY- can't wait for photos. Take the time you need with your little one, enjoy each moment as they are irreplaceable. This follower will be here when you are ready to resume the blog.
Mary Catherine
8/2/2016 05:16:44 am
Awww, thank you SO much for this sweet, sweet comment, Ellen! Thanks for all of your love + support :)
Patrick
8/1/2016 09:44:31 am
Though I am not surprised, I am impressed by your preparation for the arrival of y'all's babe. I can't wait to come visit Cape Cod in the coming months and spend time with my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and dog-niece!
Mary Catherine
8/2/2016 05:17:06 am
Haha, yes!!! So glad you didn't forget about your dog-niece ;)
Kayla
8/1/2016 10:38:15 am
I am so happy for you. You seem ready + organized for this new chapter in your life. Although children aren't on my radar for anytime soon (yet), when they are, I know I will have such an amazing + inspiring role model to look up to.
Mary Catherine
8/2/2016 05:17:42 am
Thank you, Kayla! SUCH a sweet sentiment and I'm honored you feel that way. xoxo
Mary Catherine
8/2/2016 05:19:18 am
Thanks so much, Molly! Feel free to shoot me an email at marycatherine@starrstruckblog.com and we can discuss! xo
Mary Catherine
8/2/2016 05:19:58 am
So glad it was helpful/interesting to you, Caroline! So many moving parts when you own your own biz, huh? But I think it's totally worth it ;)
Kristin
8/1/2016 06:11:06 pm
Is Ben's leave paid leave? If so, that is GREAT, and a benefit he would NOT be getting if he were still with the US Govt! The federal government is TALKING ABOUT instituting paid leave, but it will be too late for me (and countless others, of course) if they ever do get around to it.
Mary Catherine
8/2/2016 05:21:18 am
Yes, Kristin, his leave IS paid! It's MA Govt and I agree, pretty impressive compared to other places (but shouldn't be). So sad that this is not the norm with the Fed Govt...actually, pretty shocking :(
Whitney Delaney
8/2/2016 01:48:07 pm
Thanks for the post! I will be following this because I'll be in your shoes for baby #2 (whenever that does happen). You can do it! I went back to work 6 days a week (tax season), started my own business doing taxes at night, and had a volunteer position that was about 10 hours a week, when Avra was 2 months old. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's possible. I was fortunate to have a very easy going baby and even more helpful husband. If the baby is good at sleeping and not being held 24/7, your 20 hours a week schedule will work well. Praying it goes well for you and looking forward to reading about everything. Comments are closed.
|
HELLO!I'm Mary Catherine, a Cape Cod-based yoga teacher, painter, designer, writer, mom, and list-maker extraordinaire. My goal is to inspire you to start living a more creative, simple, joyful, + purposeful life.
{Learn more + read my story}
|