Clicky Poll: How Much Maternity Leave R U Taking?

mrsbookworm · March 2011

[poll]

miller4285 · March 2011

A week.

unfortunately (as with my others) i have NO paid time off left. SOs pay alone wont cover all the bills. Rent, electric, insurance, phone, daycare, and grocery bills don't stop just because i have a baby (i wish they would, though)

LJR 84 · March 2011

I voted for 8-11 weeks because that's how much I'll be allowed to take. However, I think I'm going to be SAH after this baby is born.

mrsbookworm · March 2011

As of now, I am planning to talk with my supervisor about taking 4 months off so I clicked 4 months. Technically, I am only entitled to 12 weeks under FMLA. None of my maternity leave is paid so I have to exhaust all my sick/vacation leave so I can get a paycheck and, even then, if I take 4 months, at least 2-3 weeks will likely be unpaid. Trying to make sure the unpaid part sits well with the family budget. I could very well change my mind & take about 13-14 weeks if I realize the financial part is an issue.

Yellow_Daisy · March 2011

I'm taking 6 mos, but I don't know if I am going back for sure yet.

LnR70707 · March 2011

I clicked more than 5 months and less than a year because my current job offers no maternity leave (small non-profit) and frankly, I'm burned the hell out so rather than trying to take unpaid leave I plan to be a SAHM for a while and then either work for the family business part time or find another part time position next spring.

ccorso · March 2011

For sure the 12 weeks under FMLA - but I may take a little longer after that depending on our financial situation, my boredom, life in general, etc!

darmca · March 2011

I love Canada for this- I get a year at 55% to spend with little Xander under our unemployment insurance- Go Socialism Go! :P

damabo80 · March 2011

The longest amount of time off that will allow me to come back to my same job: 12 weeks under FMLA

chillyupnorth · March 2011

Baby is coming at a rather inopportune time for us, financially, so I am only planning on 6 wks

. Not happy about it, but I am totally in love with our daycare provider, so that makes things a little easier. I am jealous that hubs only works a few blocks from daycare so he can visit over lunch, but I work in another town so I can't. Poo on that!

beckyTX626 · March 2011

I feel very fortunate to have 12 weeks fully paid.

abrazz · March 2011

I haven't been at this job very long so I will have almost 4 weeks of time off saved between sick leave and vacation time. They won't let me come back till 6 weeks though due to my job requirements. I really hope we will have enough money saved so I can take 8 weeks though but 2 paychecks I will have to pay my insurance premiums since they can't take it out of my paychecks due to no income for 2 pay periods.

Skibunny07 · March 2011

I'm taking 10-12 weeks. I get 10 weeks fully paid. I won't be able to take the other 2 weeks of FMLA at the end of my leave because of timing with our open enrollment season (well I could but I feel bad so I won't). So I"m going to see if I can take 2 weeks of PTO or working from home before I give birth to get a total of 12 weeks.

I'm still holding out hope that I will get to be a SAHM mom but I have a feeling I won't get to... we'll see though... depends on DH's job situation

tartara623 · March 2011

I'm a PhD student/teaching assistant and my contract only gives me 1 week of paid leave. The timing of this birth is excellent because it's during a long break between summer quarter and Fall. So I'll end up with approx 3-4 weeks (unpaid--but they're unpaid no matter what ) and then I'll probably start Fall Quarter just teaching for 4 hours/wk + 2 office hours. You won't find me on campus beyond that: next year I'm reading for my PhD exams.

Sucks that I can't afford to take the quarter off, but I'm the one carrying benefits for the family plus I pay rent (hubs has his own business and it's less predictable).

caraleeb · March 2011

darmca:
I love Canada for this- I get a year at 55% to spend with little Xander under our unemployment insurance- Go Socialism Go! :P

Same here!

HappyKlamb10 · March 2011

7 months (with 6-8 weeks paid). THIS is why I will always support collective bargaining. lol. Thanks to my union, we have some of the best maternity leave policies everrrr.

mrsbookworm · March 2011

caraleeb:

darmca:
I love Canada for this- I get a year at 55% to spend with little Xander under our unemployment insurance- Go Socialism Go! :P

Same here!

You ladies are SO lucky!!!

SugarQueen101 · March 2011

None. After finishing my master's degree this May, I'm going to be a stay at home mom.

fancefpp · March 2011

i'm taking 13 weeks but i might not go back to work at all.

jagged1 · March 2011

Also Canadian and get a year off

JenJune3 · March 2011

I will get either 6 weeks (vaginal delivery) or 8 weeks (c section) paid by my Alfac plan, then I'm using the 3 weeks of vacation/sick time I have saved up. If I can swing another week by saving beforehand, I will take another week off. I'm not looking forward to the piles of work to do once I come back!

scuba2011 · March 2011

Thanks to the collective bargaining I can take up to 2 years and keep my teaching contract with the district! I will be taking 1 year and then re-evaluate in February about year 2. Likely I will return to teach for 4-5 more years before staying at home.

yougrindmygears · March 2011

A year paid. Who knows if I will go back to work after that though. By then H will be finished with his apprenticeship and will be getting a huge raise so we will just have to see where we are financially.

meganjane86 · March 2011

My pregnancy hormones are making it hard not to hate all the lucky Canadians on here : )

I'm a teacher, so I plan on taking off until after Christmas break, which will be just about 4 months. We don't get any paid leave, and I really don't want to use all my sick/personal time because something tells me that the baby will get sick once and a while- so I may take 2 weeks sick and then DH and I are saving the rest over the pregnancy.

CCinLove · March 2011

MrsMichelleB:
I wish this poll would be for everyone to take. As a SAHM I don't see an option that is right for me.

How could a SAHM take maternity leave? I fail to see how this poll applies to someone who doesn't work outside the home.

esperanza123 · March 2011

I'll be adding 6 weeks of leave to the 7 weeks I have off for summer (I'm a teacher).

Meg&Pete · March 2011

I am taking 8 weeks under STD and 4 weeks PTO. I am not 100% sure I will return to work.

3boys=love · March 2011

caraleeb:

darmca:
I love Canada for this- I get a year at 55% to spend with little Xander under our unemployment insurance- Go Socialism Go! :P

Same here!

I live in Canada too, I love that we get a whole year off

mrsbookworm · March 2011

sbrick15:
caraleeb:

darmca:
I love Canada for this- I get a year at 55% to spend with little Xander under our unemployment insurance- Go Socialism Go! :P

Same here!

I live in Canada too, I love that we get a whole year off

That settles it. I'm moving to Canada! LOL

shanna82 · March 2011

I'm going to be a SAHM. But I do have about 600 hours of sick pay and 3 weeks of vacation saved up plus the 6 wks of STD, so I am guessing I will get about 5 months of full pay off.

Brilanea · March 2011

I'll only take 4 weeks off if that & will most likely be working from home almost immediately.

I work for a company that's mainly independent contractors so there are very few actual employees & FMLA doesn't apply.

choogasian · March 2011

I am jealous of all the Canadians of course, but I am even more jealous of those of you who "might just not go back"! I wish it was that simple! How will you do it? I want to stay at home, but we could never afford it

x0stephanie · March 2011

jagged1:
Also Canadian and get a year off

Same

x0stephanie · March 2011

For those who are jealous, remember it's just 55% of your wage, which if you only make minimum wage is peanuts. Sone people choose to go back to work sooner to make more.

Chilz08 · March 2011

9 weeks paid leave and the rest leave w/o pay. I'll go back to work when DD is 6 months old.

maronesa · March 2011

I have been teaching in the same district for many years and have a ton of days saved. I plan on taking off until Feb. (paid through sick days) with still having about 50 days leftover.

tswinson · March 2011

mrsbookworm:
sbrick15:
caraleeb:

darmca:
I love Canada for this- I get a year at 55% to spend with little Xander under our unemployment insurance- Go Socialism Go! :P

Same here!

I live in Canada too, I love that we get a whole year off

That settles it. I'm moving to Canada! LOL

DITTO!!! LOL...I'll be taking 4 months off. Under FMLA I get 12 weeks (unpaid) but my job allows for another month (also unpaid). Since I don't want to exhaust my leave DH and I will be living off of our tax refund for the duration of my maternity leave.

magnoliablossom00 · March 2011

choogasian:
I am jealous of all the Canadians of course, but I am even more jealous of those of you who "might just not go back"! I wish it was that simple! How will you do it? I want to stay at home, but we could never afford it

My DH and I waited 5 years to get married; We finished college (4 years), and we each lived with our parents for a year to save money after we graduated.

After saving money, we could afford a down payment on our first house, which we only used DH's salary to purchase. We have been saving my salary since we got married, which we are now using for emergencies and for me to be a SAHM after LO's arrival!

It was hard work to wait and save, but I'm glad that we did!

magnoliablossom00 · March 2011

Also, we bought a modest home so that we wouldn't be trapped by our mortgage.

miller4285 · March 2011

hocus:
miller4285:

A week.
unfortunately (as with my others) i have NO paid time off left. SOs pay alone wont cover all the bills. Rent, electric, insurance, phone, daycare, and grocery bills don't stop just because i have a baby (i wish they would, though)

I work for such a small company that I don't fall under FMLA. Not that it matters....I HAVE to have PAID time off anyway. So they let us come back when we feel we can. My last job didn't....so I went back to mu previous job until my six weeks was up, then went to the newer one. We literally will not be able to pay rent, utilities, etc if I take more than a week unpaid. Sad but true. Good news is, once I hit 6 weeks, I will switch to gaency work.....then I can work 2 days a week and make same money I make in 5!
Will you company really let you come back so soon? I don't think my company lets peopel back until they have a doctor's note saying it is OK which is typically around the 6 week or 8 week mark.

soontobemrsdavis · March 2011

18 Weeks if vaginal (6 weeks medical leave from work + 12 FMLA) or 20 weeks for c-section.

Most of it should be fully paid. The last 6 weeks are unpaid, but that is only about 6 checks and we plan to have that amount saved up.

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