I got special permission to keep working and use all my maternity leave after labor (usual procedure here is 2 weeks off before the birth, 4 weeks after AS IF you can possibly know exactly when your baby's coming!), and it was *well* worth it. I also used up my vacation time and some other time with it, and then took 2 weeks unpaid under FMLA. I have a desk job so it was no biggie to me to keep working (just had to endure lots of "no baby yet?" the week I went overdue) and I was so glad to have the extra time on the other side.

Glad to hear that everything is going well!