Working mamas- maternity leave?

babymamaT77 · November 2013

How long are you planning on taking for maternity leave?

With DD, I had just finished my master's degree (graduated 7 months pregnant!) and so I ended up staying home with her for the first 8 months and working freelance jobs on the side (I am a designer). Now, I work full time for a firm and I am starting to plan out saving up my PTO and working STD to figure out how long I can take off. I have heard other mom's using 1 day of PTO with their STD to get 90% pay for 6 weeks and then using the rest of their PTO for the year for the next 4+ weeks. I love the idea of staying home with baby for as long as possible, but I also don't want to be left with ZERO days of PTO for the last half of the year..... Thoughts?

flmomof4 · November 2013

I'm taking 12 weeks. I'll have 9 or 10 paid and will space it out so that I'll get paid for 4 days every week. I'll probably keep about 3-5 days for the end of the year.

katnipeverclean · November 2013

I'll have three weeks of PTO. I'll probably take 12 weeks.

yurmom · November 2013

I think I will be fortunate enough to take 12 weeks off. Props to you ladies who can only take 6 or 8...that just seems so short!

1982Babies · November 2013

I have no idea how much they're going to let me take off. I mean, I don't want to be like "hey guys, I know you really need me to be here, but I think I will take off 4 months". They'd be so angry. haha (our dept got downsized a couple of years ago and it's hell covering shifts).

I'd be happy with 6. I think I'd go nuts after 8. I've worked since I was a preteen in some capacity, so I am not sure how to not work. I mean, yeah, I'll have a baby to take care of, but no structure, no timed this or that. I am not sure I could handle it!

SuperKim13 · November 2013

I'll take 12 weeks assuming I can work right up until I have the baby.

EarsToYou · November 2013

I'm going to try to take 16. I'll take 12 for sure though. It'll depend on where we're at financially. This was a little unexpected, and we still have 2 mortgages right now, so if we don't sell the other house there's no way we'll be able to swing that extra month. I had 17 weeks w/ DS which was PERFECT, and 9ish w/ DD which was way too short.

SummerMomma2Be · November 2013

NJ is generous. I get 4 weeks before the due date, then I get 12 weeks after and 10 weeks of those 12 is at full pay. Then I think a few weeks I need to supplement some sick time. I will prob use some vacation time to add on. I'd love to be home with the baby for like 15-16 weeks if possible

pjaimeal · November 2013

I will be able to take up to 6 months although I don't think I will take that much time off. A coworker was able to take 3 months off then Fridays to equal the remaining 3 months. That sounds like a good choice for me but I won't know until it happens. Also, I have been paying for a secondary insurance from American Fidelity so I won't have to take a pay cut.

I might save my 21 vacation day and 12 sick days for when I get back. I want to be able to stay home with baby if needed or just take a week if I want.

tealowl · November 2013

If I only take PTO for holidays and the 2 days I'll need for an April vacation I'll only have about 73 hours by the end of July. Although it's likely ill use some of it for other things.

So I won't even have two weeks full pay before my STD kicks in at 60% till that runs out.

I might have to go back to work in two weeks. I can't live on 60% pay for weeks, I don't think...

babymamaT77 · November 2013

pjaimeal said:

I will be able to take up to 6 months although I don't think I will take that much time off. A coworker was able to take 3 months off then Fridays to equal the remaining 3 months. That sounds like a good choice for me but I won't know until it happens. Also, I have been paying for a secondary insurance from American Fidelity so I won't have to take a pay cut.

I might save my 21 vacation day and 12 sick days for when I get back. I want to be able to stay home with baby if needed or just take a week if I want.

Where do you live/work and how can I get a job there? 6 months?? 21 vacation days PLUS 12 sick days? I thought I was lucky with my 20 days PTO including sick days!

runrinserepeat · November 2013

tealowl said:

I might have to go back to work in two weeks. I can't live on 60% pay for weeks, I don't think...

The great part about STD is it isn't taxed (still taxable, but you see all of it right away). For us last time around, it was only a little less than what I was actually taking home.

I'll be taking 12 weeks. I've got the 5 weeks that STD covers, and then about 4 weeks PTO. I'll cover the last three weeks with savings. When I go back, I have the option of doing 12 weeks part time. I need to work at least 30 hours a week to maintain insurance, but I think I'll work it so that I can take my Fridays off for the rest of the year.

pjaimeal · November 2013

babymamaT77 said:

pjaimeal said:

I will be able to take up to 6 months although I don't think I will take that much time off. A coworker was able to take 3 months off then Fridays to equal the remaining 3 months. That sounds like a good choice for me but I won't know until it happens. Also, I have been paying for a secondary insurance from American Fidelity so I won't have to take a pay cut.

I might save my 21 vacation day and 12 sick days for when I get back. I want to be able to stay home with baby if needed or just take a week if I want.

Where do you live/work and how can I get a job there? 6 months?? 21 vacation days PLUS 12 sick days? I thought I was lucky with my 20 days PTO including sick days!

At a school district in California. I admit I am super lucky. I strategically hunted down a school district job because of the leaves and retirement. As for the 21 vacation days, I just happen to be a confidential employee which falls into the confidential/management category so that was an added bonus!

Oh, and I just wanted to mention that I work at the district office so it isn't as difficult as what teachers have to go through to plan time off.

tealowl · November 2013

So since it's not taxed, the STD is pretty much gross pay minus my insurance premium??!

@klemck

cookieinva · November 2013

With DS I went back around 6 weeks but not entirely full time. I am lucky in that I can work flexible hours and ease back into things on my own part time schedule. It would be nice to have longer but I do not wish to exhaust my PTO. Worked well with DS so it should work well this time too.

clk723 · November 2013

Unfortunately my work gets very busy late August/early September and stays that way through mid-October. I'm hoping to take a full six weeks and then go back part-time doing three days in the office and one at home.

hart43011 · November 2013

We only get 6 wks for vaginal birth and 8 for cesarean but I'm taking 12. I have about 200 hours in my sick bank so cashing them in. I technically work from home so I don't have to take off for doctors appts, etc. I have it lucky that way but will take longer if I can.

DanaerysTargaryen · November 2013

I get no vacation, sick, pto, or maternity. FMLA doesn't cover temporary workers at agencies, no disability insurance. So I will be back to work within 2-3 days tops.

tealowl · November 2013

DanaerysTargaryen said:
I get no vacation, sick, pto, or maternity. FMLA doesn't cover temporary workers at agencies, no disability insurance. So I will be back to work within 2-3 days tops.

This is terrible and I hate America now. Can you ask parents to help with paying bills so you can have more time?

DanaerysTargaryen · November 2013

I wish I could, they both are on fixed income since they are retired fully in May. It is crappy that temporary workers get no protections that normal workers are offered. And before anyone asks, no temp work is not what I was going for and the place Ia m temped out to is stringing me along but for now it is a paycheck. I have proven myself time and time again and they simply won't buy out my contract. I am still looking for that full-time permanent position, but jobs in Atlanta are really hard to come by.

reneenichol · November 2013

I'm very lucky to work at a company that just went from 12 weeks off at 100% pay to 20. I'm not sure if they'll let me break it up or if I need to take it all at once but I'm really grateful for how generous their maternity leave is.

AmericanInOz · November 2013

I get 3 months paid, but can take up to a year off and get my same job back. I think I'll do like 10 months

bzbear2 · November 2013

I will be taking 12-13 months off.

In Germany there is mandatory maternity leave 6 weeks before and 8 weeks after birth and for this time you receive 100% of your salary.

After this time you get 14 months at 65% pay to split between the partners however you like. Last time my husband and I took the first 3 months off together - best decision ever - but this time he works from home so he might take less so I can stay longer. We shall see.

I am actually looking to up my hours in the next months to "raise" the amount I will receive on maternity leave since it is calculated based on your previous 12 month's salary.

There is the option of staying away from your job for up to 3 years - only the first is paid but they will reserve your job for you up until then. We can't afford that but it's a nice protection for SAHMs who want to go back to their job in the future.

I really hope that the US can pass some laws soon making PTO standard across the board. Then I might consider moving back!

Alibabs · November 2013

In Ireland, we are entitled to 26 weeks (6 months) off with pay or social welfare (depending on your company) you are then entitled to all the holidays you accrued in work with pay. You can then tag on an extra 16 weeks unpaid leave.

We're very lucky

Alibabs · November 2013

DanaerysTargaryen said:

I get no vacation, sick, pto, or maternity. FMLA doesn't cover temporary workers at agencies, no disability insurance. So I will be back to work within 2-3 days tops.

That's cruel!!! And inhumane! You are still recovering. Can you finnda a new job or start saving? Have you family members that can help?

alysie89 · November 2013

In Canada we get 50 weeks paid maternity / parental leave at I believe 60% of or normal wage calculated based on your past 12 months wages. I feel very fortunate to have that available.

Julymama714 · November 2013

I don't get any paid time off but will use as much of my sick and personal time as I can. I hope to take 12 weeks off, even if half of they is unpaid. This is my first so I really think I'm going to need that time!

chelseakae07 · November 2013

I personally hope to quit after I have my baby. I've always wanted to be a SAHM

We've saved up enough for me to stay home for quite a while, but I'll probably go part time after 6-8 months (I'm a registered dietitian and pt jobs are fairly easy to get).

rjacques · November 2013

For my DS I had just started a new job so had no vacation or maternity leave and I wasn't eligible for FMLA. So I took 6 weeks of unpaid leave which sucked. For this one I plan on taking 10-12 weeks. I may do 10 weeks of full leave and then come back part time for 2 weeks so the LO adjusts to daycare.

Salsera29 · November 2013

@bzbear2 Ich moechte in Deutschland leben!!! Wo wohnst du? (I want to live in Germany! Where do you live?)

I'm not sure about maternity leave. I'm a teacher so I will have about 4-5 weeks until school starts, then I think I can take 6 weeks after that (using sick days) and then another couple weeks at 60% pay with STD. I'm not sure if I have to use ALL my sick days before tapping into STD though. I wouldn't want to do that so I'm not sure.

I have to check though, because my district is stupid. When my grandfather died, the funeral wasn't until the next week, and they didn't give me the grievance day since it wasn't right after he passed. So I can see them saying I can't take ML since I will have had the baby a month before.

TigerLily12345 · November 2013

I have not talked to my boss about it yet. Our firm is small and there is no standard for ML.

Based on prior conversations, I suspect she may offer 12 weeks paid ML. I might work out something to ease back by starting with 3, then 4 days, then 5 days back in the office. I also might try to permanently come in only 3-4 days per week. There are still a lot of unknowns and we don't have childcare worked out yet of course.

ashie0610 · November 2013

I will take the maximum 24 weeks my firm offers. Between STD, their parental leave program and PTO, it will all be paid. I made sure to save as much of this year's PTO as I could in case I got pregnant so that it will roll over to next year.

rjacques · November 2013

What a great maternity leave deal @ashie0610! I am jealous!

slensic · November 2013

I am hoping for 12 it's what I did with DD. I will 8 weeks STD (RCS) and then I will use 4 weeks of PTO. I should have 5 days left when I am done for the rest of the year.

ashie0610 · November 2013

rjacques said:

What a great maternity leave deal @ashie0610! I am jealous!

It is a good deal, I am definitely thankful for it! It's tough because some divisions of our firm kind of frown upon taking the full leave, but thankfully the group I'm in encourages you to take it so that you come back ready and engaged to work. It really worked great for my son because I hit the ground running when I came back. I just don't get why most companies in America don't see the obvious logic of that and it drives me nuts!

DanaerysTargaryen · November 2013

Alibabs, I have been looking for a new job for 8 months while temping. I have not found one yet. It doesn't matter whether or not I am recovering, I have to work. Welcome to being poor and a temporary worker. You have no protections whatsoever. I have no family that has any money to help with. I am sure my parents will help by being at the house while I am working for the first few weeks, but that is it.

vicachka7 · November 2013

I get 16 weeks maternity leave plus accrued vacation so i'll probably be home 17-18 weeks. I was home 6 months last time and that was actually a little too long for me, so I think 17-18 will be perfect.

runrinserepeat · November 2013

@tealowl - pretty much.

lindseymik13 · November 2013

My first child I took 8 weeks. Second 9 weeks this will be my last so I am taking 12 weeks. Most will be unpaid.

honeybee434 · November 2013

I work for a large company, but our office in this state only has about 40 people so I don't qualify for FMLA. My company doesn't have a maternity policy other than FMLA so I'm going to have to ask my boss what he will let me take off. I think I'm only the 2nd "normal full-time" employee in about 5 years to need maternity leave, so I'm not quite sure what I'll get. I'm hoping for 12 week unpaid or 10 weeks unpaid and 2 weeks part time coming back before going full time again.