When my husband suggested he take paternity leave with our third child, I was skeptical. He hadn?t stayed home with our first two children, now six and eight. I assumed we?d follow the same drill: He would take a week off work while I recovered from the birth, and then we?d settle back in to our roles?me at home with the kids and him back to his full-time job.
Because I?d been a stay-at-home mom for eight years, I didn?t qualify for maternity benefits, and I planned to exclusively breastfeed our daughter. Did it really make sense for him to stay home, too"
But we both knew this was going to be our last baby, and my husband wanted a chance to really bond with her during her first year. He?s incredibly lucky that his workplace tops up his pay to 93 per cent for nine months, so we could afford for him to stay home. In fact, if neither of us took a paid leave, it felt like we were failing to take advantage of an amazing opportunity. The more we mulled it over during my pregnancy, the more we realized the climate is right for a shared maternity/paternity leave. Increasingly, dads are being encouraged to take leave and spend more time with their babies in the early years, developing strong relationships. His workplace was supportive, and many of his co-workers with older children told him they wished they?d spent more time with their kids, and that he was right to choose paternity leave this time around. He?d never had a longer break from his career and was ready for a te...