When are you starting your maternity leave?

Channytee

I want to see everyone's thoughts on this. When are you planning on starting maternity leave?

Where I am I get a year off at 55% of my wages. 17 of those weeks are pregnancy leave and 35 of those are paternity leave. Pregnancy leave can start as early as 17 weeks until your EDD or as late as your EDD and then paternity leave starts right after that ends. Being 25 weeks pregnant I can now take leave at any point (Wooo feels good). Im having issues with choosing when I want to take it. I'm definitely not ready to take it yet tho. I'm planning this already because I'm an organized freak and planner. And need to know these things lol. 

 Part of me wants to work right up until I labour so I have the year off with our baby girl. Part of me wants to take it November 19. Which is just under 2 weeks of my EDD so i can have some me time before she arrives. And part of me is ready now in a way because we have a major renovation going on at work that started in the middle of June and isn't expected to be done until late October. And I'm sick of the dust, the noise, the AC sometimes being down because of it. Not to mention I'm sick of the concrete floors that we now have on the one side (yes they are permanent and ugly but that's a whole other story) and I'm on my feet all day. But, I know if I take my leave now I'll be bored at home. 

squiddy224

I'm really jealous!  Mine won't start until Bean is here.  I'm debating how much time I can take off.  Ideally I'd like to take 12 weeks, but I'm the breadwinner so I don't know if that will work for us from a financial standpoint.  (DH has the really great insurance benefits, so we can't afford for him to stay at home either.)  I do have a pretty good bank of PTO saved up that I can supplement my leave with (although I don't want to use it all at once), but I'm thinking it will be 8-10 weeks (depending on what will work for us.)  I will only be going back to work part time after she's born though.

leksiL

By your awesome leave time and way you spelled labour I am guessing you aren't American.  I am, and so my leave sucks. I get a "free" week from my employer followed by 6-8 weeks disability depending on delivery method. Then I have to use PTO or I can take unpaid leave up to a total of 16 weeks. I will have 7 weeks of PTO next year which is high (I am buying a week and rolling over a week) but I would like to save a couple of weeks for throughout the year. So looking at 10-12 weeks off? Daycare will take baby bells as soon as six.

eta: yep obviously waiting until the day I go into labor to go on maternity leave given the small time period we have!

penelope4612

I get 12 weeks and am hoping to wait until I am in labor.  DH keeps saying "you're not going to want to go into work when you're 38 weeks pregnant" which is true, but at the same time I don't want to lose those weeks after baby is born.  So I'm going to hold out as long as I can.

l9i

With baby having a due date of 12/30 and still having two weeks vacation for the year I'll be taking the last two weeks off and starting my maternity leave then.  If baby would come during that time I would use the rest of my vacation and then sick time for the remainder of the 6-8 weeks.  If baby comes after I'll continue using vacation until they are here and then start my 6-8 weeks.

karmba

I get 16 weeks and may add an extra week with vacation time.  I'm waiting until he's here before starting unless I'm put on bed rest or otherwise can't get into work.  I want as much time home with him as possible and also want to hold off on paying for daycare as long as I can.

happygirl1013

Last time I worked right up until my delivery and then got 6 months of paid leave (company is UK based).  I work from home though so that is why I was able to do this because if I had to commute to work and wear real clothes everyday, I don't think I could have done this (and PRAISE to all the moms who do!).  Personal recommendation:  take a week or two before the baby comes to relax and be really rested, and then take the majority of your leave once the little one arrives.  However exhausted you feel now, you'll feel that times 10 after taking care of a newborn.  It's a personal decision though-- good luck!

SarahF8611

I worked right up until my son was born and I wouldn't do it any other way!

slartybartfast

Last time I worked the day I went into labor. Will do the same this time. I don't get any maternity leave and have to string together sick leave, paid vacation, and will use my 12 weeks unpaid FMLA but won't waste any of that being pregnant and miserable at home. They can deal with me being pregnant and miserable at work

ErikandAfton

I honestly don't know. My HR won't tell me what I qualify for until I provide leave dates. Our employee handbook makes absolutely no sense. From what I've figured out so far our school closures won't count so I have at least 3 weeks there plus my 19 days PTO/ sick leave. We pay into SDI so I should get that too. Our HR tries to make it so you don't understand and then you won't work 75% of your contract so that you don't move up the salary scale the following year. It super sucks but Dh and I decided I'm finding a new position for the 2017-2018 year so we aren't really concerned with that. 

LinziLoo09

Last time I worked right up until the Thanksgiving holiday break, and DD came during that time off. Unfortunately the holidays this year fall on the weekend, so I'll only get a couple of Mondays off to supplement my leave. I'm in a new job and will only have 13 PTO days saved up to use by then. I'm going to ask HR about shared leave and see if I can get some coworkers to donate days to me, but otherwise, I'll probably have 4-6 weeks of unpaid leave ahead of me. I might also ask about teleworking part time for some of those later weeks, but as a federal employee I don't think I have too much flexibility in that regard. Oh well  

dmontgo

Since I started a new job in June, I will only have 2 weeks of PTO, but then they also give 1 paid week for maternity leave; I'd take off as soon as A gets here. Since I work from home and it's pretty relaxed, I haven't decided if I want to take any unpaid leave yet or not. I'll probably take a week extra unpaid so I'm off for a good month altogether.

gowenc

I started my job on November 2, so assuming I don't deliver early I qualify for up to 16 weeks off under FMLA (my company is based in DC), four of which will be fully paid by my company. I'll take 6-8 weeks short term disability, then my 4 weeks of paid leave, and then I'll take whatever vacation time I've saved up - probably around 4 weeks. I want to take the full 16 weeks off, but two-three of them might be unpaid, depending on how much short term disability I qualify for. I'm fine with that - trying to put as much into savings now as I can so it's not as much of a financial burden.

I'm due December 1, so my plan is to work from home starting after Thanksgiving until he makes his entrance. Really hoping he hangs in there until I qualify for my leave!

gardengirl3

Definitely jealous OP!  I will get 6-8 weeks depending on delivery, unpaid.
Eta:  so I will work until baby arrives.

sammyl1221

Wow. Super jealous of your maternity leave.

So my goal is to work till my due date. However I'm on my feet all day and I don't know how I'll feel by Thanksgiving. My company gives me 6-8 weeks depending on delivery then I'll have PTO I can use. My pto runs from feb-jan so I've been saving it so I can take it off on the end of my leave. Then in February my PTO for the new year will start so I'll  take a week off then. So all and all I'm looking at 9-12 weeks. 

cgss11

I have 12 weeks, so I definetly want to work up to delivery. I'm due the 12th. I figure Thanksgiving break will be my crazy get everything ready time.

KateH1216

I'll be taking 16 weeks. I have 8 or 10 weeks paid depending on delivery, which is pretty generous by US standards. The rest would be unpaid, but I'll be backfilling with the two weeks of vacation I've been hoarding for leave. 

Like others here, I'll be working until baby decides it's time. My EDD is 12/6, so my plan is to be in the office until thanksgiving and working from home until I go into labor. My leave officially starts the day baby is born. 

Gizmo1231

I took the day of my induction off with DS1 but worked full time up until then. This baby I will work until my RCS or I go into labor.  

kbduke

I'm not sure what my company offers in terms of paid/unpaid leave (we have a pretty sketchy HR system to be honest) but I've told them that I'm taking 12 weeks. I will probably just get my SDI unless work surprises me with maternity leave pay. I'm due on 12/6 so I plan to start leave 12/1.

Kacie209

I want to work as close as I can until delivery date, whenever that will be (EDD 12/12). I know I get 8 weeks for sure (STD, 100% paid), but have 2 weeks of vacation and some sick time that I *think* I can use before the leave time can be used (for sure vacation)... and then may use 2 weeks of vacation from 2017... which would get me to about 12 weeks total.

I was originally planning on taking the week before EDD off, just because I had the days, but if I can use them towards leave... I'd rather do that. So, I'll be working my usual day after Thanksgiving off (which I have not worked in 10 years), but I'd rather have that towards leave time, if I can. Plus, I start a new position on the 29th, so I am sure I will be at the bottom for requested days off. I am also hoping my new manager allows me to just leave for appointments (like my one does now) and not use vacation time, or else I'll just make it up by coming back to work or even working from home, since I think I get a laptop to do that stuff anyway.

Although both DH and I got good pay increases this year, or mine will start with my new job, I still don't think we could take time off unpaid. I need to call our STD line again to confirm. The last time I called, the guy I spoke with didn't seem to want to answer more questions then just the "you get 8 weeks", so I left it at that.

tinattt23

Work from home so plan to work until I pop. No official paid leave offered by my company, we're too small to even qualify for FMLA. HR is run by an accountant, so they just make up rules. My boss/company owner is usually pretty cool though. He's mentioned just paying for my time off but he changes his mind all the time and won't commit to something until the last minute. Should have 2-4 weeks PTO (depending on how crazy HR decides it works out). Aiming for 4 weeks off then part-time/off hours work from home for a while. Hopefully I can get all 4 weeks paid in full. But possibly only 2 weeks paid. 

jptrumptone

So I can theoretically take 2 weeks Short-Tern disability leave starting 2 weeks prior to my due date, but I don't really want to because its at 75% pay.

For you BTDT ladies that worked up until labor, when did you decide to go home and how did you get home? Did you start to feel light labor pains and say, oh I'd better drive home and labor at home for a little while? Or did you have someone drive you home? I work about 20 minutes from my house (and the hospital) and I'm a little nervous about starting labor while at work.

princesslockness

 I am technically on leave already - I am fighting to get half time for benefits - Its medical leave. 
I would personally recommend about 2 weeks before LO. That way you have plenty of time to get set-up, packed, finish nesting even if LO gets here a bit early. 

Lisa3379

I'm due on 12/7, and our Thanksgiving break at school starts on the 21st of November, so my last day of work in 11/18, so I'm almost working up to my due date. I'm going to take the full rest of the year off. I accrued about 40 sick days and I'll be able to use most of them, so I'll get paid for those days only - the rest of the days are unpaid. Then I'll figure out if I'm going back to school in August or not.

gardengirl3

@jptrumptone last time I worked up to the birth but my water broke in the middle of the night.  So it's very possible you might not have anything happen at work.  I also had practice contractions for weeks beforehand and got tired of calling off work lol.  If you're a FTM odds are good you'll have plenty of time.

cjt121413

I'm going to try to work up until the day before my RCS. This is such a depressing subject for me because I don't think I'll get any more than 6 weeks. I will get paid time off for 2 weeks, then 4 weeks of STD at 60%. I thought the STD would be longer since I'm having a c-section, but apparently not. I could take unpaid leave after the 6 weeks, but we can't afford that, as I'm the breadwinner in the family.

PharmDMom

I'm due 12/7. My last day will be Thanksgiving Day (we are open shortened hours) and then I will take one week of vacation for the week of 11/27-12/3. I took the week before my due date off (used vacation) with both kids and was really glad I did. I stand all day at work so by 38 weeks that is just not an option. Then this LO should be born by the end of that week or very shortly after. I didn't go late with either of my other kids so I hope this one follows suit.

Bc I'm part time I don't qualify for FMLA but I have six week of paid maternity leave, then my boss will let me take up to six more weeks unpaid simply because she is awesome like that. We have been budgeting for me to be able to take those weeks unpaid, so I won't be going back until the end of February. 

gowenc

Is it just me or is this discussion downright depressing? It blows my mind that it seems like at least 90% of us are faced with the choice of either going back to work after only a few weeks, or taking unpaid leave. So infuriating.

brittnic86

Lucky! I'm jealous of all the time you get, even at 55% pay. I'll be working until I go into labor, and I'll be lucky to get 6 weeks off total.

Lisa3379

gowenc said:

Is it just me or is this discussion downright depressing? It blows my mind that it seems like at least 90% of us are faced with the choice of either going back to work after only a few weeks, or taking unpaid leave. So infuriating.

Incredibly depressing. It's interesting because I'm an economics teacher, and we talk in class about the implications of (1) either businesses being affected by employees going on leave and still paying for it (or even not paying at all), and (2) the impact on the government if they offered more support to businesses to allow for more family support. It's tough, but yeah - I think America needs a total mindset change regarding government support to be able to see any change in this department. It'll be interesting to see if anything changes with a new administration (whoever may be at the top).

sheshae

I just completed my FMLA paperwork and I can take up to 12 weeks unpaid off. I have PTO saved up and I can take up to 12 weeks but I may just do 8 weeks. I plan to work until I have the baby. Most my coworkers that have had babies in the past usually worked right up until the day before or day of. We had one gal that took a week off before she had her baby and it just made her stir crazy.

sourlemon

Last time I worked until I was put on bedrest at 38+change. This time my RCS will be the first week of December so I plan to take off after thanksgiving unless i am put in bedrest sooner. 

I get no maternity leave. I have saved up about 13 weeks of sick and annual leave since dd1 was born by only taking off for 1 vacation in 2.5 years. That's all I will have. 

thedaint87

My EDD is 12/21 which is during our Winter Break, so I'm planning to work up to the last day before break which is 12/16.  I'll be taking my 12 weeks of FMLA starting after Winter Break (school holidays don't count, thank goodness).  Between STD and sick leave I'll probably have about 6-7 of those weeks paid.

aframe77

I'm so jealous of those of you that live in countries that actually value and prioritize maternity leave! My advice is unless you are truly unbearably uncomfortable (or obviously doctor ordered) wait until you actually go into labor to start your maternity leave. My DS was 10 days late so I'm glad I didn't plan to start earlier (or even on the day) because I needed ever day of paid leave I could get after delivery. 

Also for teachers keep in mind that holiday breaks (including spring break) actually count as your "paid leave" time, which is so shitty! 

brittnic86

I find it funny when politicians say they value families...do you really? Because if you did, you'd do something about this bullshit maternity leave issue.

silverfrost

@Channytee that is awesome! So great that you get so much time with your little one!

I get 6-8 weeks on disability (which I've heard is roughly 40% of your normal pay), depending on whether I deliver vaginally (6 weeks) or have a C section (8 weeks), but my boss will hold my job for up to 12 weeks if I want to take that. If I took 12 weeks, the last 4 weeks would be totally unpaid and I can only get up to 8 weeks on disability. I feel pretty depressed about my options. We most likely cannot afford to have me home not getting ANY pay for 4 whole weeks, so I will likely take 8. Sadness.

gowenc

brittnic86 said:

I find it funny when politicians say they value families...do you really? Because if you did, you'd do something about this bullshit maternity leave issue.

YES. Thank you.

silverfrost

brittnic86 said:

I find it funny when politicians say they value families...do you really? Because if you did, you'd do something about this bullshit maternity leave issue.

Yep, it should be more of a priority here, and it simply isn't.

MaggieG183

I'm a teacher and recently spoke with HR about my maternity leave. My district pays for 5 days of leave to have a baby then FMLA kicks in. I'm due December 2nd, so technically I'm taking from Thanksgiving until spring break off. It'll be a total of thirteen weeks of time off from an actively working classroom but with Thanksgiving break and spring break on both ends, it be 14.5 weeks-ish. I have been living very healthily in the past years by paying attention to my diet and how that plays a role in my well-being. Due to this, I have just taken 1-2 personal days each year and no sick leave days, so my maternity leave will be completely paid for. I feel very lucky that this won't be a financial burden for our family, but I do wish we had a more forward-thinking country when it comes to maternity leave and health care...

phoenix870509

I'm talking to my HR when I see her next in less than 2 weeks. But I also work from home, so I plan on working until I go into labor. Then I have 2 weeks vacation I'll use. DH has over 12 weeks vacation accrued so he's going to be taking a good chunk of December and January off. My mom is also taking 2 weeks off in December to help. So I can go back to work as soon as possible. My paycheck pays the bills mostly so I can't afford to be out of work. 

MaggieG183

aframe77 said:

Also for teachers keep in mind that holiday breaks (including spring break) actually count as your "paid leave" time, which is so shitty! 

Actually, this is more dependent on your district and wording in your contract created by your teacher's union. Our bargaining team has gone above and beyond to change this for us. As well, we have maternity and paternity leave so if a man wants to take off 12 weeks when his wife has a baby, his leave is also in line with this policy. Our district looks at FMLA as 60 days off, therefore since holidays are already days off, we are not penalized for them monetarily if we have the sick leave to pay for the days up to and after that holiday break. If a woman doesn't have sick leave to pay for the time up to or after the holiday break, they only get a pro-rated check for the holiday break. It's amazing!