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PT = no benefits = unpaid maternity leave

*sparky**sparky* member
in Working Moms

As a PT employee I am not eligible for any benefits, which means no STD and therefore no paid leave.  I plan to take 12 weeks off after having my LO, however.  We have savings to cover the unpaid 12 weeeks, but if I could bring in some sort of income I would feel better about it.  Has anyone who was not getting STD negotiated some sort of reduced WAH schedule while on leave?  What I do is very specialized and they don't have anyone to cover me for those three months.  Bringing in a temp would not be easy, due to the specific nature of my job.  So I am hoping they would work with me somewhat.  I would plan not to work at all the first two weeks, but after that is it crazy to try to do a little from home here and there?

Also, found out today I am apparently not eligble for a raise either.  :-(  That one pisses me off. 

 

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Re: PT = no benefits = unpaid maternity leave

  • *sparky**sparky* member
    hocus said:
    I would consider p/t around 5 or 6 weeks but not before. I had 2 really text book pregnancies and that is when I felt I could consider doing work. It has more to do with the baby waking up all the time than anything else. I just can't do work if I'm getting like 6 or 7 cat naps all night long. 

    That is probably good advice.  It has been 8 years since I had my first, so I think I have selective amnesia on how hard the first few weeks were.

     

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  • jlaOKjlaOK member

    I agree with @hocus that you'll need/want more than 2 weeks to recover before doing any work from home.  I would also only do it if you weren't required to meet a daily/weekly number of hours.  Some days/weeks just might be more productive than others.

    FWIW, I WFH all the time and chose to have a reduced maternity leave (8 weeks) instead of working from home to stretch it to 12 because I wanted a clear distinction between my maternity leave/bonding time with DD and going back to work.

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  • thedashthedash member
    I'm in the middle of it right now. I'm 6 weeks PP and have my own business so I had to start doing some amount of work ASAP after delivery. The first week I felt OK but around 2.5 to 3 weeks the sleep deprivation really kicked in. I had a hard time concentrating, terrible memory, and was pretty stressed out. Weeks 3 and 4 were really hard, even with just one hour or so of work per day.

    DD finally stretched out her night sleeping to 4 and 5 hour blocks and my hormones and lactation have regulated a bit. I really felt back to myself between 4 and 5 weeks. The past week I have been working anywhere from 1 to 4 hours each weekday and it's going ok. So if you can hold off until 5 or 6 weeks I would recommend that.
    DS: 2/17/11          DD: 9/4/13
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  • daisy662daisy662 member
    I agree with thedash. With my son, he came 6 weeks early so I had not buttoned up everything I needed to when I went out unexpectedly early. He was in the NICU for 3 weeks so I tried to get a few things closed out before he came home. It worked out but honestly, I was getting full nights sleep since he was at the hospital. Once he came home, I'm not sure I would have been able to do that. Sleep deprivation was one reason, and my raging hormones another. It was a stressful time! I remember feeling like myself again around 6 weeks. More important than any of what I said above, take the time with your newborn and don't worry about work. You'll never get this time back - thats how i look at it anyway! Best of luck!
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