hi paddington,
i can only encourage you to take as much maternity leave as you feel is right. i myself could not have imagined to go back to work 6 weeks after giving birth, but every woman is different. with my first child i needed a whole year, with my second i started working a few days a month after 8 months. it was difficult to manage moneywise, however, the time when a child is a baby is only ONE year and that happens only once in its life! have you got an instructors license? why not go instructing a little bit as a side income?
folks,
i am surprised to read so many aggressive posts here. it is a difficult decision and paddington asked for tipps, not for unhelpful comments.