Maternity Leave - When are you starting?

PippyLongstocking1 · November 2014

@BeckyP005‌ will you be able to take your LO with you when you return to work?

PikoPiko · November 2014

My due date is 2/15; I plan on working from home as soon as we step into Feb. I get 12 weeks paid leave plus 8 weeks unpaid, I'm taking all 20 weeks. I still haven't decided if I'm going back to work. DH gets 12 weeks paid leave and he plans to take them after I'm done with mine. I'll decide on what to do then.

MapleMomma · November 2014

I work at the hospital that I'll deliver at (literally one floor directly below l&d). I plan to work until labor or possibly be done once I reach my due date. I am not going back to work after though.

I'll probably go straight from my desk to l&d.

GeekBeagle · November 2014

Like many others, I plan on working until I go until labor. Depending on how I'm feeling as it gets closer, I may ask to work from home the last week or two.

But, the bonus is that I work at a university and am delivering at the university hospital, so I don't have far to go if I go into labor at work. It's technically walking distance from my office, but I'm not so sure I'd be up for the walk while in labor in February.

I get 12 weeks off - 6 paid, then 6 weeks using PTO.

tinyhumantoe · November 2014

bhjones1980 said:

I am hoping my boss will let me work from home the last week or so (he did with DS) since I have such a long commute (90 minutes each way) and have nightmares about going into labor when downtown at work.

Similar situation here!

With DD1, I started working from home at 37 weeks because I was having trouble with my 90 min each way commute in terms of comfort and exhaustion. It was sooner than I thought I'd need to, but I WFH two days a week already so it was an easy transition. I'll probably do the same this time around. I hope it works out for you!

As for time off, I worked from home a bit every day through my whole ML last time, and was working full time from home with an infant after 6 weeks - yah, no. I feel like that was one of the worst decisions of my life, and I couldn't recover from sleep deprivation or climb out of my depression because of it. This time my phone and computer will be off, period, for 6 weeks. I'll probably transition part time between 6-8 weeks. I would LOVE to have 12 weeks but don't think it will work with my job.

kerrigrooves · November 2014

agm04 16 weeks paid!! awesome, where do you work? or what do you do?

Im a STM and I had a planned c-sec bc breech babe so I worked till the Wed before thanksgiving and then had a huge thanksgiving meal and delivered DD on Black Friday

I took the 12 weeks FMLA and was paid thru short term dis for 6 of the 12 weeks

BeckyP005 · November 2014

@PippyLongstocking1‌ maybe here and there. I'm more like a house assistant now that kids are grown up. One in college and one a senior. They will only need me until next fall. I run around too much during the day and would be a pain to have her with me.

I'm hoping new nanny job I can bring baby with me some days. I'm lucky that my mom and MIL are watching baby for at least a year.

stefani103 · November 2014

I am covered for FMLA. As long as the doctor doesn't say I need to be out longer, I plan to take 8 weeks medical (using sick time) and 4 weeks part time (using vacation time). I do plan to work as long as possible beforehand, but I do work 30 miles from home and hospital, so I am a little anxious.

Instead of taking off early beforehand, I'm taking long weekends here and there to get things done. Then it's just vacation, not FMLA

krysmill · November 2014

Since I work for myself I don't have any policy! I'll probably work up until baby comes or when ever my dr says I have to stop. I'm planning on not going back for 3 months but my DH thinks I should just be a SAHM!.

Paleomama · November 2014

Working until I go into labor and then taking 3 months to bond with baby.

t8keepr03 · November 2014

I get 12 weeks unpaid FMLA so I will go on maternity leave when I go into labor. I am a teacher and am so afraid of my water breaking and going into labor at work. With DD it all happened so fast from start to finish (like hours). I really hope to start labor at night or the morning and not at work.

twinklymama · November 2014

cloe111479 said:
I'm jealous of the people with lots of leave.

My office is small, and doesn't qualify my for FMLA. I get 6 weeks, all of which will be paid since I have to use all my sick/vacation days. (office doesn't offer short term disability, and I was not eligible for it on my own-- believe me I tried)

I plan on staying til labor.

Ugh, this is me, too (unpaid). Although, we can only afford me to be gone 3 weeks, and I have a feeling that I will get sucked in to working some each day from home or bringingLO with me. I only get 1 week PTO and we have to save up ourselves to cover the other two weeks I want to be home. DH has 3 weeks PTO saved and will use it when she's born. He also accrues 1 day PTO each pay period, so he can take more later.

They aren't even having someone cover for me, that's how freaking fast I'll be back to work. Sad mama.

Smyers2girls · November 2014

I'll be working up until the day he's born. Then I'll take my 12 weeks through FMLA. Saving all my time till he's here.

wintersong139 · November 2014

I'm planning to go out a week before my EDD. I think Bubz will probably come late, which hopefully will give me a week and a half or more to bum around. I don't want to get out too early, because I don't want to eat up my PTO before the baby even comes, but my boss keeps reminding me he doesn't mind if I go out as early as February 1st--so the temptation is constantly there! As it is, I have enough time so that with STD I can have about six of my twelve weeks' leave paid.

RMSteele · November 2014

I will also be working until I go into labor or the doc says I need to stop. I work at the hospital I'll deliver at so my co-workers like to joke that I can just run upstairs if I go into labor. I think with FMLA I qualify for 12 weeks but it's all unpaid except for the 8 days of PTO I'll have banked and we can't afford that much time without pay since DH is SAHD. I plan on going back to work around 6 weeks PP. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a promotion that would let me work from home part time.

wintersong139 · November 2014

@RMSteele - that's great that your H is a SAHD. :-) 6 weeks always seems like so little time to me, but I guess having him home will really help in that department. Do you have other kids? What has his experience as a SAHD been like? (I am curious because my cousin just quit his job after his wife got a promotion--she is a lawyer. He is planning on being a SAHD full-time, and is excited about it, but a little apprehensive.)

modernfairytale8709 · November 2014

Mego04 said:

I plan on working til the baby is crowning.
But seriously, I'll work as long as I possibly can. My job has kind of a shitty leave policy that makes me use all my accrued PTO in conjunction with my FMLA and STD.
I'm thankful to have 65% STD and FMLA, but I wish I didn't have to use my PTO to supplement. I'd much rather live on 65% of my salary for 6 weeks, and have the option of using vacation time to extend my paid leave. As it stands now, I'll be back to work after 6 weeks with no remaining PTO for the year. Blech.
Your STD won't kick in after you use your pto?

I have to use 3 days of my PTO during the 3 day wait for STD, then supplement my STD pay with PTO to equal 100% of my paycheck while I'm on leave. That's going to drain my PTO balance for the year.

lynnlynn21 · November 2014

Thank you for the great feedback ladies! I'm leaning more and more towards working right up to my due date. Good luck to everyone with your plans!

RMSteele · November 2014

@wintersong139‌ Knowing that the baby will be home with him is the only way I think I could cope with going back at 6 weeks. We have a three and a half year old boy that he stays home with now and he loves it! They are best buds! DH is a little nervous about having a newborn again because it was tough when DS was little but I know he can handle it.

I will say though that it was tough for me at first. We had to have a lot of heart-to-hearts about what we each felt his "jobs/duties" were. We had to make sure we were on the same page because we were both getting irritated that the other wasn't doing what we thought they should be (ex who does the dishes if one person cooked, etc)

Alygohome · November 2014

Feb 1st. My due date is feb 7. I get a year so if I'm really uncomfortable I may go mid jan

StephanieLBerg · November 2014

FTM here, and am going to be part time WAHM and part time office mom (my new employer is allowing me to bring the baby to work with me! :-) ) and my "ML" will be 6 weeks "paid". Its going to be a working ML where I work from home and only go into the office one or two days a week for an hour or so to run errands, with the help of my mom and hubby because I won't be able to drive myself for at least a little while. And it will start probably a week before I'm due, if I don't deliver before then, or right when I deliver if I go into labor early.

Edit: smiley fail?

mrs&mrsk · November 2014

I'll work up until the day I go into labor. i get 6 wk PTO. (8 if Csect)

DW will be a SAHM we think... but we have to find out more about her leave first. HR told her she gets nothing but can do 12wk FMLA, but someone who adopted said they got 6wk PTO (but then she has to to back after...) It's annoying that it's so hard to find this stuff out!! We may overlap to try to extend the time as much as possible. my inlaws are retired and SIL is a SAHM so we can ask them to help for a few weeks if necessary later in the year.

mommadozer · November 2014

I live in California and I am taking the full 4 weeks before my due date since it is a use or lose deal. Also, another reason that I am able to take this time off is because my company is paying me 100% of my compensation the first 8 weeks and the remaining few weeks will be at 67%. After disability is up and I am using FMLA, I will use up vacation days so my pay goes back up to 100%.

If my company did not give me this opportunity, then I would probably be working a little bit longer.

GreenPony33 · November 2014

IsabelC687 said:

modernfairytale8709 said:

I plan on working til the baby is crowning.
But seriously, I'll work as long as I possibly can. My job has kind of a shitty leave policy that makes me use all my accrued PTO in conjunction with my FMLA and STD.
I'm thankful to have 65% STD and FMLA, but I wish I didn't have to use my PTO to supplement. I'd much rather live on 65% of my salary for 6 weeks, and have the option of using vacation time to extend my paid leave. As it stands now, I'll be back to work after 6 weeks with no remaining PTO for the year. Blech.

same. Ugh. Wish my job offered something better. At this point I pretty much have FMLA (promise not to fire you for 12 weeks) and getting paid is all on me.

^^^Ditto to both above^^^ I am annoyed that I have to use my PT/vacation time concurrently with FMLA, and can't use it to extend the 12 weeks. I am totally jealous of those that have paid leave and leave that is longer that 12 weeks! ;-) I plan on working until he is here because I want as much time with him as possible. I am due on a Monday and scheduled to work 12hr shifts the Sat/Sun before, and I think the Tue/Wed after, and since I work 12hr shifts I am not sure if I will be able to last until delivery but I sure hope so!

kjm1019 · November 2014

I don't qualify for FMLA leave (haven't been at work long enough) and we have no maternity policy other than FMLA leave. So, I'm hoping I get my job back.
If all is cool with employers, My plan is to stop work around the 20 of jan since my due date is 2/2. I work in a prk classroom, and I am already struggling to keep up with the kiddos. So I figure I'll stop working a bit early to be safe. And it'll give me time to clean and prepare. I'm super worried I won't have it all ready. Lol

mamabutt · November 2014

I'm not leaving until labor is under way. I only get 6-8 weeks of maternity leave and it is all unpaid. I've been saving my week paid vacation so I can get paid for one week after my maternity leave is over.

H and I may be moving after baby K is born to help my father in law with his business. This will give me the opportunity to be a SAHM. We cant afford that to do that here, yet we can't afford childcare either. Gotta love catch 22s

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