Thursday, October 9, 2014

Maternity Leave Musings

Today was officially my last day of maternity leave. Until mid-November I'm taking vacation time and will enter parental leave afterward.

Even though I had some issues adjusting to this new life at home, I think I'm finally arriving in this new role of stay-at-home-mom, and I absolutely love being able to spend so much time with my family.

Calvin in mid-September
This morning, while hubby was out for his German class and the girls in school and kindergarten, I enjoyed a little mid-morning nap with Calvin, and after we woke up, he discovered his feet!!  I watched the little guy being excited about those two little wiggling thingies at the very end of his legs for a good twenty minutes, giving me some of the biggest, most heart-warming toothless smiles you could possibly imagine.

My conclusion on this first-time experience for me: I will never be a stay-at-home-mom. I love being home right now, but I know that it would never truly fulfill me. I am thankful that legislation here in Germany allows me to take tons of time off to take care of our baby and our family as a whole, but I am also thankful that my job is waiting for me when I return - part-time for now - in March. I am glad that legislation also protects families and give me the right to cut hours (or potentially even stay at home completely) for up to 3 years, which we are definitely taking advantage of, as I will be working part-time only until September 2016!


6 comments:

  1. It's great that Germany is family-friendly and lets you have time at home with your baby. I was stunned recently to discover that America doesn't have that - we do in the UK and I just assumed it would be the same everywhere!

    Also, I nominated you for a Liebster award today :)

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    1. Awwww, how sweet of you, Jenni!! Yes, it's true that there's nothing like paid maternity leave in the U.S. It's up to 3 months unpaid in larger companies, and after those three months it's either going back at the old hours (unless your employer lets you reduce hours) or quitting your job. I truly enjoy the time home with the little guy right now :-)

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    1. Isn't he?? He has the most unruly hair you can imagine, and he sometimes makes the sweetest faces in the world :-)

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    1. Thanks so much, Pinky! Can't stop looking at him and smelling him. I know I sound like a creepy stalker :-)

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