How to request maternity and parental leave?

I need some help on how to ask for leave.

My male boss (who has no kids and is well beyond that point in his life) has mood swings like a firecracker... which can be quite difficult to deal with at times.

My baby is due in mid-July and my plan was –
- June = 3-4 weeks of “half days” (well 5hr days) where I can take the afternoons as holiday pay OR I can continue to work remotely if I’m healthy/have the energy (we have a lot of projects going at the moment).
- July through September = 14 weeks paid maternity leave.
- October (and possibly November) = unpaid parental leave.

So how does one word that request for unpaid parental leave without being “trapped” into returning too soon?   

I’m in IT (male dominated office for sure) and 90% of communication with my clients is via email with just the odd meeting and few phone calls.

I know my work will NOT hire anyone to replace me when I’m on leave and instead they will simply share the load.

By “returning to work” I will be remotely working from home and doing reduced hours until I get into a routine that I can handle (I certainly don’t plan to put baby into a few days of day care until he/she is 6months old at minimum but preferably 12 months old).

Any suggestions on how to approach this? Thanks!

Yes, like sbeach says, if you've been there 12 months before you take the leave, he doesn't have a choice about your return date within that time frame. Just tell him that that's what you're taking.

I think it's the days in June and after your return that are the most up for debate; it depends on how you're used to working and your contract, but I doubt he's obliged to let you work from home. So discuss that in detail, and perhaps get your agreement in writing so that there can be no doubt about what was agreed. But as far as the time you're having off, he basically doesn't have a choice, he just has to accept it if it's less than 12 months total.