keeping me on my toes...

Ho hum, here we are with E-chan at almost 1 year old, and just as we were getting accustomed to him having 2 naps a day (ah! 2 chances to slow down and take a breath during the day...) and he starts transitioning to 1 nap a day! Naps have been all over the place, and I've been running around like a madwoman on my days off work, trying to work out when to try to settle him, when to feed him, when to give a bottle. So now we are aiming for 2, but if he doesn't get to sleep until late, I whisk out an early lunch, shove it down the gullet as quickly as possible, and let him sleep long in the middle of the day. We are ever hopeful for a late afternoon nap, but they don't seem to happen any more.

On top of this, there have been childcare settling/new people/new places things for him to get used to - he's decided "I like the way they settle me there, thanks!", and poor Mum and Dad have had to adjust to that! AND, he's decided he wants to awake with us as much as possible when he isn't at childcare (very sweet, and reciprocal of course), but unhelpful for putting him to bed at night time. There are some toddler like tantrummy things starting to happen, which ain't pretty.

All this has lead to me having to upgrade to a new, hyper-efficient version of myself. Yesterday, for e.g., I managed to do an hour of work and make E-chan lunch while he napped, and eat lunch myself. Every little window of opportunity is taken up with doing little things. Yesterday I felt like I'd crammed more into my day than I had in ages. No wonder I've lost a few kilos (and of course this would be a few weeks after I bought some new jeans - I've hot washed them once and they didn't shrink, darnit!!).

E-chan is now regularly moving around greater distances than the few metres he used to venture before, and opening up cupboards and drawers and pulling things out! Time to baby proof!! 2-3 times a day, I tidy the floor up - blocks, trucks, toy monkeys, and maracas etc strewn all over the place - put everything back in place so we can walk around with up tripping up on things, only to have them all pulled out again later. Seems a bit pointless, but not doing this leads to things getting lost, people tripping up over things, and there not being a clear path to wheel the pram out the door, so it must be done.

Might make myself a coffee and tidy up now... ciao for now!

"Career crisis" is too strong a phrase...

So. Work.
Sure I'm still in the "honeymoon period", but I'm liking things so far. If I'm going to pause my "career progression" for a few years and pursue convenience and fit with my family needs & lifestyle, this is the sort of job I'd want...

Location: tick (within walking distance of home and son's childcare centre)
Salary: tick (high enough to be worthwhile)
Boss: organised, high flying, with shit together, seem to get along with her, sympathetic to people with families.
Greater office/colleagues: nice people, already invited me to a girls night out, great cake at staff meetings, good systems in place

As C-chan was saying the other day, you learn from people who are better/smarter than you, or more experienced than you. So even though I don't see a future for me in the area of work I'm working in (although it is a noble cause in the big scheme of things), I can absorb certain things - how and what my boss delegates, how she accumulates contacts and networks for example. But every so often, working where I do raises questions in my mind.

(I'm suprised I have the time to think about it, but I do).

I've done the opposite to what I think you're supposed to do, and that is that I've started of specialised and am becoming more generalised in what I do. This is a trend that was deliberate initially, as I worried about job transportability - I wanted to make sure that if my position was cut or I was restructured out of my fairly specific job role, I could take my skills elsewhere easily. But now becoming more generalist is starting to concern me, as I get further and further away from the areas of research I care about. In order to get more interesting again, I need to actively seek work in interesting areas and/or study again. Where? What? I know what areas I find important generally, but I haven't thought deeply about which direction I might want to head in the future, where I might make a difference, where I might be driven enough to maybe end up working at the level my high flying boss does, 20 years down the track.

I suspect I need to back track a few years of my "career" and take another fork in the road that I didn't explore all those years ago. Because when it comes down to it, what I wrote I wanted to be in my Yr12 school year book wasn't that far off the mark, conceptually (don't ask me to tell you - high school year books are just EMBARRASSING all round). Not that I have any regrets on my career up until now, I've learned a LOT, I know what sort of work I'm not suited to, what I wouldn't want to do, and what I'd need to work hard at. But for now, it's not high enough up the priority list for me to focus on it. I just have to take the next few years one year at a time.

-------------------

Yesterday I was pleased to find one part of my new job that is engaging. My institute as has all these Associates - that is, people with various related expertise who advise the institute on direction, high level projects etc etc. Most of them come along to a meeting every 4 weeks, to discuss matters, while us lowly staff sit in the background and eat cake*. The ensuing discussion, I was pleased to find out, was very interesting. Associates noted how (our Institutes' area of research/governance) received almost zero attention in federal budget as (causes I actually care more about, but dont tell them that) seem to be 1st tier election issues this year. Some of the experts who work in communications or political party policy development then discussed how and if (our Institutes' area of research/governance) would be used by the current government as issues that are no brainers for the public to agree with in the election campaign. They also discussed how they might put (our Institutes' area of research/governance) on the agenda, including Today Tonight style heartache stories, backed up with "here's what to do about it" policy papers to thrust at relevant ministers or shadow ministers.

Very interesting!!


* yesterdays cake was this Yummy cake with zucchini in it. Might have to get the recipe...

Happy Mother's Day

Hey there! My first Mother's Day ROCKED! It wasn't anything in particular that anyone said or did (but the wellwishings were nice also). I just looked at what we've created and felt happy, chuffed. Even though E-chan was a tad miserable with his little middle ear all achey and infected, I can't remember what I did with my time before he was around.

The other night I was even remembering going into labour, when I was ringing the hospital to ask when I should come in, had to put the phone down until a contraction passed, and C-chan was there to help me stand up. I thought - "Hang on, where was E-chan at that moment?", before remembering that as that was the day he was born (derrrr!) , he was in my tummy! So there you go. Suddenly you forget there was life without the little critters, and you wouldn't have it any other way.

Continuity...

There was a big break in my family between my generation and the next. For starters, my family had moved away from my grandparents and extended family, so we just has a small family unit of 4, relatively unconnected. Being the youngest, I have few memories of babies and little kids, bar a few childhood friends who had younger siblings. So as I outgrew nursery rhymes, so did my family. Then my brother moved overseas, and his family is growing up a bit disconnected from us too (but less so, now that the digital age allows things like this, and cheaper telephone calls and flights than there used to be, and at least he has his wife's family). And I've moved interstate, and am again disconnected from my family geographically when I'm starting mine.

This is presenting challenges at the moment, now that I'm back at work, and E-chan came down with his first big cold the same week. The works - snozzly nose virus, which developed into a chesty cough, that went bacterial with conjunctivitis, then an ear infection. It's been about 10 days now since the first hint of it. Last week, C-chan was sick too, so he took time off to care for E-chan at home, and also because it was my first week at work. Today, I am taking carers leave. C-chan's mum very sweetly offered to fly over and help out, but apart from this being a hideously gross usage of carbon and money for the purpose of a few days of babysitting, this is not a long-term solution for us when we are in need.

So, what are our options? Unfortunately, apart from making lots of lovely new mum & baby friends (who I hope stay as friends), my mothers group is not quite what I hoped it might be, in my naivete. The first thing that has started to happen is going back to work, which means we all work different days and don't have much spare time anymore, so staying in touch is getting harder. Secondly, as people consider needing cheaper living costs or a larger house for a future second child, they are gradually planning to move out of our suburb - mentally I think they are suspending putting down too strong roots for now. Also, most of my mother's group has family in this city, and choose to rely on grandparents etc to babysit. I have offered to babysit for anyone who needs it, given a bit of notice, but only got 2-3 of our group of about 10 saying they might take me up on my offer. A few have offered to babysit E-chan regardless of their need for babysitting, which is nice.

That sort of takes care of the occasional night out for C-chan and I together. But what about the other sorts of things? Picking up E-chan in case of emergency or illness from day care/school because they can't reach us, alternative role models, E-chan learning there are different ways to live than ours, and people who care for him in varying degrees? We're doing our best. Obviously, this is more daunting for our childless friends and difficult for our few friends with children, as E-chan is so young and "high maintenance"*. It will get easier as he gets older. And people are busy, and work full time, and have their own extended familes to catch up with. I keep telling myself, my parents coped, and I turned out OK**, so we should. But mum didn't work until I was 3, and then it was part time nightshift. Moving back to 'Delaide was something we explored last year, but we have an ever diminishing circle of friends there, so while we'd have 4 grandparents and an uncle for E-chan there, we'd be faced with re-integrating with friends there, the awkwardness of getting back in touch with those we've not kept in touch with***, and having to find new friends of our own (not to mention finding jobs).

So, I'm (still) finding it really hard to put our vulnerabilities out there on a placard, but am having to do it out of sheer necessity. And thanks a lot to those of you whom I've had to call on in the last year who have said "yes". And to those of you who brought me around hearty soups/lasagna/lunches to eat when E-chan was first born so I wouldn't have to cook. (Just for the record, if any of you have friends who have new babies, this is one of the best things you can do for them - bring them healthy meals and snacks. Even if they're not breastfeeding and therefore eating around the clock, it's one thing they don't have to do when adjusting to everything else).

--------------
* no offence, buddy, it's just the way it is when you're so young!!
** feel free to disagree!
*** you know, was it them or was it us? Was it something I said that made them drop us from their christmas card list? Did they ever really like us that much?

And now to continuity in a different sense...

Nursery rhymes I never thought I'd forget have slipped my mind, and I'm finding myself reliant on CD's, toys and the internet to remember them. The funny thing is that kids really do dig nursery rhymes. We play other stuff for him all the time, but it's the simple tunes that he hears again and again the seem to catch E-chan's attention. So here's what I keep finding:

Hey diddle diddle, the Cat and the Fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The (....something, something, something else...)
And the dish ran away with the spoon!

Usually it's the third line of a rhyme that totally escapes my memory. Thankfully, there are CD's of these things out there, and gradually you remember or re-learn them.

Then there are toys that play music. These aren't necessarily things you'd choose to have your kid listen to, but if there's a button on the toy that he can press to play music, he'll do it - again and again and again.... We have a toy that has such a button that we give E-chan to play with when we're changing his nappy. It plays Camptown Races. I was getting the sh%ts with the fact that I only knew the "Doo daa, oh Doo daa day" bits, so did a search on the internet, and lo and behold! There were the lyrics! I think I'll only bother with the first verse (there are about 30), but now at least I can sing along. The song is a negro non-spiritual, that talks about going to the horse races and placing bets, but then 'Ring a ring of roses' is about black death or something ("a tissue, a tissue, we all fall down!"), so I'm hardly going to worry about lyrical content just yet.

Bluriness and first days at something new...

The last week has streamed past in a blur. Last Friday night, E-chan and I were left on our own as C-chan had a wanky law retreat (roughly his words there). E-chan picked that night to get a cold. I managed it OK and calmly, as you have to when you are on your own. The cold has dragged on now, and developed into a chesty cough and icky eye. He and his dad had a blokes day at home together on Monday and Tuesday afternoon, but not really much fun as they were both feeling below average. I think I got the cold fleetingly, but seemed to have only had it mildly and kicked it by Monday.

And Monday was the big first day at work!! At first I was worrying - they think that 3 days in the office may not be enough, and I worried about what they had to do to accomodate me doing this. But as the day went on, I realised they hired me with their eyes open, wanted me for 75% of my job experience, and are prepared to review the situation after a few months. And by review, I get the feeling we might either employ another person part time to do some things on my "days off", or get someone else in the unit to formally cover the part of my job that needs someone there in the office all the time. Part of my job is being an EA to my boss, the other part is being a Program Manager - the latter being more along the lines of my past work.

So I think it is a pretty good job. Much of what I'll need to do I can do easily, I just need to familiarise myself with a new research area and new people. This is the first time I have taken a job that hasn't stretched me far at first, and I think that was the right decision (not that I had heaps of choice!). It's a bit strange to be someone's EA. Interesting to see how someone at that level has to delegate lowly stuff to be effective, but also the hours and travel they have to put in. Possibly something for me to absorb and use 15 or so years down the track, if I ever feel like/am capable of a high flying job. It's also bizarre to find myself in the medical world. It's interesting to be in the area of health policy development, with people beavering away at strategies to reduce chronic disease incidence.

I know it's all very important, but I'd be suprised if I end up staying in health research. I've always felt that health research gets all the glamour in the research funding world (research, as opposed to the actual funding of hospitals), and money thrown at it by governments and anyone else who has had someone close die of cancer for example, while other worthy and important causes struggle to get the funding and recognition they deserve. But I do find the policy development side interesting.

My new boss is a pro. She knows how to work effectively at a very high level, and delegates and manages better than anyone else I've encountered so far in my sector. She's had kids (albeit 30 or so years ago), and seems sympathetic to the needs of someone working part time with a family. I think I saw her having a cranky day yesterday, and that wasn't so bad. I actually heard her say "go home, your family is more important" to one of the other people in my unit who works part time. A few people I work with also work part time, which is a relief (I'm not the only one!), and I find myself in a female only unit! That's a first for me!

Went to a staff meeting yesterday, and the head of the Institute (not my boss) is very fond of exploring analogies whilst talking ("...throwing a frying pan into the fire, but not adding vegetable oil to fuel it, then taking it out before it gets too hot and cooking something else..."). Some of them (e.g. frying pan) went on for a few minutes! But importantly, the meeting only lasted an hour or so, had excellent cake, was mostly concerned with research and communication of it, and didn't digress into a complaining session, which is a good indication of job satisfaction in the Institute.

So thumbs up so far.

And we're mobile!

Yesterday, E-chan zigzagged his way through the loungeroom (via a detailed study of the internet cord, a box of recycling, and his pram wheels), to visit me in the kitchen! With a combination of rolling and commando-style crawling, he is more or less mobile. This is the point where we find out what needs to be child-proofed. We're doing it gradually, as he isn't moving so fast that I can't really keep track of him. I know he won't go to the laundry/bathroom unless I put him there, for example. But I do have to make sure the stereo is turned off and that there are no CD's in the player, so that when he swivels the volume knob up to 10, I don't have to worry about anyone getting deafened. And any nice books are gone from under the coffee table. And all our kitchen drawer knobs are linked together with rubber bands so that he can't get at the gladwrap rolls and other spikey things.

E-chan also went to Child Care twice last week with me there (just for brief visits), and three times this week, without me there. He went for half a day the first time, a bit longer the next day, and a whole day today. He seems to be stimulated by it all, and hasn't cried - yet. The first day there, he wouldn't go to sleep and didn't eat much. The second day, he still didn't sleep, but ate well. Today, he ate well and actually slept once, which is as good as many days he's at home. When I picked him up, he was giggling with one of the carers, and smiling a lot. In fact, I think one of the carers in particular was a bit taken with him.

I'm happy that he seemed happy, stimulated, and has been well taken care of. We are lucky that the centre is a 10 minute walk from our house, and the centre is 10 more minutes from a train station. I'm not sure how long it will take me to walk from work to pick him up, but it won't be more than 15 minutes, so my work/home/childcare is all within a 30 minute walking triangle. I'm very pleased that our household is such a low carbon emitter!!

The carer to child ratio in the nursery (0-2 years old) isn't bad, especially when you consider most of the kids are closer to 18 months old and therefore a bit more independent in their play and eating. But some days in the centre are busier than others. I'm bracing for the likelihood that the implications of where he is going haven't fully sunken in yet, and that some time in the next few weeks he'll start crying when his Dad drops him off, or when I pick him up. And of course he seems to have a runny nose already.

So: so far, so good.

Next step: starting work on Monday. I hear my mother's words echo in my ears: "you're gonna have to be organised... you're gonna have to be organised". (Yeah, Mum, whatever you say... We'll be organised... sort of... well a combination of that and bumbling along...).

And in other news, I've left it until the weekend before re-starting work to get some fabric and embark on my first sewing project in about 10 years.

Birthday bonanza

No, it's nowhere near my birthday, nor C-chan's. But E-chan is 10.5 months old, and some of his "mates" are turning One. So the inevitable "let's have a group birthday party" suggestions get floated, and we, inevitably not wanting to be party poopers, but thinking the idea is a tad on the ridiculous side, bumble along semi-enthusiastically. Please don't think of the three of us, sitting there in the corner with glum faces, making sarcastic comments all afternoon, while the rest went overboard with helium balloons, "happy birthday" banners, and Elmo cream cakes. (I think I avoided sarcasm, and only managed to utter one "they're only one years old! they won't remember this!" comment, at which point some of the other parents nodded heartily in agreement but decided it was wiser to remain silent).

It's always fun to catch up with other parents, and see how the babies are all so similar, yet so individual. 3 of the other babies are walking, and little E-chan sits there watching quietly, occasionally getting pushed, shoved, or climbed over, but bearing it like a trooper. He's such a gentle baby, and he's often content watching and interacting with adults because other babies rarely return his smiles. He'll probably just bypass crawling and go straight to walking, as I hear some babies do.

The group we caught up with yesterday are from our Antenatal class, who are an interesting bunch to stay in touch with. When we met them, we felt we had little in common. We had a reunion after the babies were born, and I kept an open mind about the whole thing. From a purely pragmatic point of view, there are 2 ladies and 1 man who work in Preschool/childcare industry, and another lady who is a Primary teacher. As I have no close friends or family in this area, inside knowledge is useful. Strangely, but as I half expected might happen, gross-out Dad (who always asked questions about epesiotomies in our antenatal class) and his partner are the ones we possibly have most in common with, and he's being a stay-at-home Dad, which is rare and very cool.

The whole birthday and christmas thing is so wierd for the under 2's. People are so impatient to make a fuss about it. But in reality, the kids play more with the wrapping paper than the presents. We felt it unnecessary to give E-chan chocolate at his first Easter, nor did we give him cake yesterday. We're waiting until he understands what it's all about. However, E-chan's actual birthday falls on a long weekend, and all the rellies are coming over from 'delaide. And we're not about to knock back visits from doting family because we want to keep his birthday low-key and not go overboard with buying stuff...

By the way, if the weather's fine, we might have a picnic on the Queens B'day long weekend (his birthday). Too late to catch Bsharp I understand :( but others are welcome if you want to come along and give him a birthday cuddle.

Cabin fever

Today, the rain is pouring down. My windows also look like the cabin window of a boat out at sea, just like BSharp observed out her windows the other day, except, the sea is a long, long way from my window. You can just see the sea (oh deary me, that's as far as can be)*. You can actually see the massive crains out at Botany Bay, but they look more like giraffes than cranes from this distance. Actually, you can't see them today, as it's too rainiy and misty. Maybe the giraffes will come out of the mist later, and the clouds will hopefully lift and we can go for a walk and get some fresh air.

E-chan is snuggled up in his sleeping bag in his cot. Babies have it good, if you ask me. He still doesn't crawl, but he can roll pretty much everywhere.He's just worked how to do a bit of his own sign language - he thumps his tummy or points to the kitchen when he's hungry. He points at the bedroom when he wants to go to bed!! He points at whomever he wants a cuddle from!! He waves hello and goodbye. He points at his water bottle when he wants a drink. He points at the bookshelves when he wants to be read to. He points at things and goes "Da!?" which I think means "What's that?", and I name it for him. Once he knows something, you can ask him where it is, and he'll point to it. What's my point? I'm really just boasting, but I suppose understanding what he wants is only going to get easier from now on.

So why aren't I in bed too, snuggled up reading? I'd love to be, but have less than 2 weeks left until I start work! And E-chan starts child care next week! (Of course there are huge conflicting emotions going on in the background here, but I don't want to talk about that). Anyhow, I have stuff to get done, none of it interesting, which is why I'm blogging instead.

Before I go, a big "hello" to Mermaidgrrrl and Little Mister, who are expecting their own bundle of joy any day now!! Enjoy the ride!! And welcome to the world, little Phoebe, who was born to my friends A & D nearly 2 weeks ago.


*yes, I've been reading Dr Seuss again

Faith in workplace's ability to accommodate working mothers restored...

A lot has happened over the past few weeks. OK, so I still haven't received a letter telling me that my former position will be cancelled. But old job and the regular long commute out west is not really an option for me any more, and my hope that I could work part time in the main office seems to be out of the question.

So off I went on a quest to find "quality part time work". This is a phrase that someone I talked to at EOWA introduced to me. It's part-time work that isn't secretarial or clerical, and with a higher salary rate (even though the annual salary is down due to you not working the full complement of hours). It means creating jobs that go for less than 5 days a week that aren't casual or shift work, and are actuall worthwhile taking up (ie would cover expensive inner-city child care costs, and bring in enough money to cover living costs where one household income is not enough). Finding suitable quality part-time jobs to apply for is hard - opportunities don't come up often.

But alas! One came along that I thought I could apply for, is with the same employer I'm currently with (ie is close to my home and where I am down on childcare waiting lists), and pays enough money to be worthwhile. They advertised 4-5 days a week, but when I rang to see if they would consider me even if I could only work 3 days, they said it was more about getting the right person. So I applied.

And got an interview.

And got offered the job. I'm doing 3 days a week, plus another 1/2 day from home. We'll see how things go after 3 months and review whether we need to get someone else in part time, or whether I'm likely to want to go up to 4 days (I'm not sure how I feel about that, and won't be pressured about it).

So yay. Can relax about paying the bills, and wondering where I'll work for the next year.

Help! Our son has a banana problem...

It started with a fondness for banana. This gradually became a strong preference to banana over any other fruit. We tried to distract him, give him a taste for a wide variety of fruits, and mix his diet up a bit. Porridge without banana would result in long, tiresome breakfasts, whereby each spoonful would have to be coaxed down the hatch, with many silly faces and other entertainment put on by whomever was feeding him. So for a while, we decided we'd be permissive about banana habit. Maybe it would lose its novelty if we didn't make a big deal about it?
Then this morning, we tried to feed him porridge with apple and peach. It was awful! Tears, tantrums and screaming!! Clear withdrawal symptoms. He wouldn't eat another spoonful until a small wedge of banana had been mashed up and mixed in. We realised at this point that our son has a banana problem. We are destraught! What would we do if there was another banana shortage, sending banana prices skyrocketing? Would we have to turn to a life of crime? Does anyone know of a good banana detox clinic?

Crumbley deliciousness

Fruit with Crumble Topping

This comes courtesy of Stephanie Alexander's Cooks Companion. It's great, because it's healthy, does 6 serves (ie all week for 2 people!), and has a bit of zing.

Stew some fruit. Roughly 4 large apples, or 3 apples and a couple of peaches or apricots does this recipe. (We stew a bit extra and put some aside for us and E-chan to eat with yoghurt or breakfast).

100g (just over 1/2 cup) brown sugar
1 tspn baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
60g unsalted butter
150g (just over 1 cup) plain flour
2 cups drained poached fruit

Mix sugar, baking powder and ground ginger. Crumble butter into flour with fingers until pea sized pieces form, then mix wtih sugar mixture. Spoon fruit into 1L ovenproof dish and pour topping over it. Bake at 180deg until topping is golden brown and bubbling at the edge.

Not another conjoined twins special....?

Is it just me, or is there a TV special every couple of months about separating conjoined twins? I know, I know - terrible situation to find yourself in, no doubt. But is the TV air time really justified? OK so TV isn't exactly the window to our lives. And there are some things (such as Alan Jones ranting about issues) that I don't want to see, but understand that there is a big chunk of the population out there (not my friends!) who do think they are interested in what he has to say. Seeing someone give birth on TV used to freak/gross me out, but now it makes me teary and brings back all sorts of happy memories.

But there are some things I sympathise with and agree are serious issues, but JUST DO NOT WANT TO SEE EVER AGAIN. Specials on conjoined twins is one of them.

A snapshot of mum's returning to work...

Thought I'd give a snap-shot of the return-to-work situations of my Mum friends and their partners following having a baby. Most women are permanent employees. Paid maternity leave was mostly 6 weeks, with some at zero, some as high as 12-14 weeks, and mine taking the cake at 36 weeks paid. Ah, you win some, you lose some! Here goes :

1) Lawyer: returning to work 3 days/week as negotiated prior to having baby. Is early on in a 5-year contract with her employer. Her partner (lawyer in public service) has negotiated working 4 days/week once Mum goes back to work.

2) Marketer: her partner got a promotion whilst she was on maternity leave, and decided once having her baby, that she'd rather work part time at the end of her Maternity Leave. Employer at first said "yes" to 3 days/week, then changed their mind 3 months later, saying "Full time or nothing". She found part time work at her husband's work place, working in the area of "glorified data entry", which is neither in her previous area of work and is far below her previous salary rate. Previous employer requested to meet with her again, recently - they seem to be changing their mind a lot.

3) Dietitian, public hospital: returning to work 3 days/week. Found someone to job share with, so the only issue was agreeing on who would work which days and organising child care.

4) Worked for international firm: Company has pulled out of Australia. Budgeted and decided that they can survive on one income for about 18 months, and then they have plans to travel. French Canadian, and may do some translation work from home.

5) Cafe Manager (CBD): has decided that her former job doesn't really fit with motherhood. Is retraining, doing accounting certificate at TAFE, and may use this to help out with partners' small business. Works a few evenings a week at a different cafe.

6) Long-haul air hostess: Has loads of leave up her sleeve due to long service with company. Plans to go back to work 3 long weekends out of 8, with possible nanny on weekdays if needed, shared with others from her work who will try to coordinate shifts. Awaiting announcement on industrial agreement/large scale retrenchments to see what happens, and may put her hand up in that case. Partner runs a small business.

7) Professional, multinational telco: Negotiated and granted return to work at 3 days/week after her year maternity leave. Partner (corporate law firm) has negotiated working from home half a day/week.

8) Teacher/administrator, tertiary institution: has negotiated 3 days/week since going on maternity leave. Partner (civil servant) has negotiated working 3 days/week also, starting in a couple of months.

9) Civil servant: still negotiating returning to work 3 days/week, and one of those days is a Sunday.

10) Admin, not for profit org: returned 3 days/week after 6 months leave (as planned to get pregnant again then and wanted to work for a bit).

and finally me,
11) Senior non-academic staff on a fixed term contract, tertiary institution: see previous posts (April, 2006) regarding what happened when I went on maternity leave. I seem to be pushing the frontiers of my Employers maternity leave policy... Having worked on continuously renewed contracts for at least 2 years prior to going on maternity leave, they granted me the same whiz bang paid maternity leave provisions (36 weeks) as a permanent employee who has worked there > 2 years. Was also approved to return to work 3 days a week.
What differs for me compared to permanent employees is my return to work. They have until 11 April to formally notify me of the fate of my position, and haven't done so formally yet, but I'm not holding my breath. Therefore, find myself in the job market for part time work. Partner not in a position to go part time for a couple of years, having just started a new job in a new field.