12 Reasons why Maternity Leave Should Be 12 Months

I was very lucky to take a 10 month maternity leave and it felt almost right. I support stay at home moms and working moms and I don't want anyone to have to chose between the two if they don't have to. Why not consider staying at your job (if possible), but taking a leave of absence?

Here's my 12 reasons why maternity  leave should be 12 months:

12) You need 12 months to get your own body back to some state of normal. Not sleeping and working long hours are not conducive to a healthy body (or mind).

11) You just met your baby and you need some time to get to know her. Spending a year at home together will certainly get you acquainted quickly, and that bond will last forever.

10) Germs run rampant at daycare centers. Seeing your infant with a cold, flu or stomach virus is just so sad. Toddlers seems slightly more resilient.

9) You have time to meet other new moms. I met an amazing circle of moms who had babies born around the same time as Keira. It was crucial to me to have peers to share ideas with and friends for Keira to play with.

8) You have time to attend support groups. I joined breastfeeding , new parent and postpartum support groups at my local hospital. These groups helped get me through those rough patches of nursing a new baby and stood beside me as I struggled through postpartum anxiety and OCD.

7) When else does taking the day off for a trip to the pool equate to good parenting? Take advantage!

6) You can go on all the trips you can possibly afford. No need to take vacation day balances or missing work. You can also tag along on business trips with your husband. We enjoyed a week in Kentucky thanks to this!

5) Breastfeeding your baby is much easier when you are with them! And since you're working so hard at feeding your baby, why not take a nap with her? I'm sure you were up late!

4) You can be outside for all four seasons- winter, spring, summer and fall! Winter hit or area pretty hard right after my daughter was born and I was dreaming of walking my baby all around my neighborhood so I was thrilled to be able to walk almost every day on my maternity leave.

3) Most one year olds are crawling and a lot of them are walking. Which means your precious baby can actually move themselves around in a daycare environment, and enjoy it more.

2) At one year old, baby can start drinking cow (or other) milk and you can reduce the amount of time spent pumping, while still providing your baby with breastmilk. Less pumping = happy working mom!

1) So you can spend 12 months of time worrying about your baby instead of your career!

Push the boundaries with your company and see if they might agree to an extended maternity leave, you never know what they are willing to do to keep you as an employee. I'm very proud of my company for being flexible with me and I hope this inspires you to make working and motherhood work harmoniously for you!