"Well we can call you while you are breastfeeding"

Harper'smom · April 2012

My last day of work before maternity leave is Friday. My coworkers are freaking out a bit. I'm the senior employee..a VP...blah blah blah. I will still be managing certain things that are incentive based while I'm on leave so it is not like I will be totally off the grid. Anyways it had been mentioned several times that I'll be available because I'll "just be breastfeeding". Ummm this is exactly why it will be difficult to be available, among other reasons. I'm just getting towards the end and getting cranky which makes the comments less desirable. As do the "does the hospital have wifi?" questions that are not asked in jest.

freezorburn · April 2012

Wow ... maybe you could introduce the term "radio silence" to your workplace. Our hospital has wifi, but that doesn't mean we plan to be available for work-related communication.

I think it will be up to you to set the ground rules for how you communicate with work during your ML, if you are going to communicate with them at all. For example, something like "email only, no calls" and that you will only be checking messages x times a day, so they should allow a certain number of hours before hearing back from you.

Good luck!

anna7602 · April 2012

I don't understand that comment at all. They may as well have said "we can call you while you are sleeping." WTH?

Come spend your maternity leave in France! The 9-hour time difference will discourage anyone from calling you.

LouiseB2001 · April 2012

Oh the expectations from colleagues... I actually had great expectations to what I would be able to do myself (I mean, a newborn sleeps all the time right?). Don't mind them, they will realize that you are not going to be available. That said, I think it is great that you are trying to stay in the loop. I had a really bad experience where my colleagues had a conference call about a project I really cared about 10 days into DD's life. I declined because BFing was not going well and I was too stressed. They made some really bad decisions in my mind, completely overruling my opinion (which I had shared beforehand) and to this day I regret I didn't just call in for that hour. But that doesn't mean that your colleagues should expect anything, it is for you to decide.

Crazy that you are so close to due date! I really hope for you that you get your VBAC, that would be amazing :-)

honkytonk_kid · April 2012

You should say, "Sure, while I'm breastfeeding, that sounds great! I'll call you when I get her settled," then start calling at 2, 3, 4am because you're "just breastfeeding!"

pixieprincss · April 2012

Ugh, irritating! I would set a boundary that you can live with--like you are totally off limits for two weeks. After that you will check email and voicemail once per x (day, week, etc.), but you will not be taking any calls outside of that.

Harper'smom · April 2012

honkytonk_kid:
You should say, "Sure, while I'm breastfeeding, that sounds great! I'll call you when I get her settled," then start calling at 2, 3, 4am because you're "just breastfeeding!"

This is awesome!

I'm trying to do a few things while I'm gone so that I can have a better base to stand on when I ask to be allowed to work from home 1-2 days a week. Apparently they have forgotten that I took leave 3 years ago and that I had prepared my staff very well in advance.

shaindelr · April 2012

LOL. I was supposed to be co-chairing an arts festival, when my emergency c-section happened the first morning of the festival. (I had an ECV that went wrong -- cord around the baby's neck and immediate c-section.)

Jared dropped me off at the hospital at 9 a.m. for the ECV, then dropped sound equipment off at the college for a musical guest, then came back to the hospital, and Liam was "out" at 12:34.

My colleagues wanted to know if the keynote speaker I'd scheduled could visit me at the hospital, or if I would at least like to talk on the phone with her. (Thank G-d neither of those options took place.) I was soooo looped on Percocet I can only imagine how that would have gone.

Then, the college president joked on the front page of the employee newsletter that I had my baby that day on purpose to get out of working on the festival and thanked my co-chair for all of her hard work...

Some people just don't get it.

StrawberryAlarmClock · April 2012

honkytonk_kid:
You should say, "Sure, while I'm breastfeeding, that sounds great! I'll call you when I get her settled," then start calling at 2, 3, 4am because you're "just breastfeeding!"

::gigglesnort:: Oh, please do this!

MrsSR · April 2012

Tell them if you miss their call you'll return it during their lunch... since they'll just be eating.

Liz10/04 · April 2012

FMLA for maternity leave allows you to take the time off without having to perform any job duties. I am a one person HR dept for a staff of 100. I was able to train a temp for the last three weeks before I had DS and made it known I was unavailable during my time off. If you feel the need to remain connected set your boundaries and stick to them. Calling them every two hours does seem fun to me too :-)