new job and TTC

littledaisies · December 2014

I"m curious what your thoughts are on the situation or if you have been in the situation.

My H and I were planning on TTC in the fall but there was some concern about my job security so we put it aside. I will be starting a new job in a couple of weeks and I've been debating on TTC soon or waiting 4 or 5 months to qualify for FMLA at my new position. My only concern is it might take awhile to get pregnant . It only took 3 months with my son but that doesn't mean it will be the same the second time. We would like a big family (3 or 4 kids) and want our children to be close in age.

I know we need to make the decision on our own but I'm curious what others think. What would you do? Have you been in the same situation?

kmarieejohnson · December 2014

I guess I can't give too much "advice" because I do not have a child, and we haven't started TTC just yet.

However, I had the same decision to make recently. I had little job security in my previous position, so I switched jobs this past September. I'm really enjoying my new job and have great benefits, so I'm extremely happy I made the switch.

My story is a little different, I was debating whether or not to I wait until I had been in my new position at least a year, or go ahead a start after being here 6 months. We decided to go ahead and start TTC in March, that way I will have been with my new company at least 6 months before I could possibly become pregnant so by the time the baby is due I qualify for the FMLA.

As you mentioned, you never know how long it will take to conceive. So, I figure you should start trying sooner rather than later if you're already ready. But like I said, I personally wanted to be in the safe zone with the FMLA, you may want to consider that if you're considered about job security.

Good luck!

jnnfrrose6 · December 2014

I'd wait the 3-4 months. I didn't factor it in when we were ready to start our family. Ended up with an EDD for DS the same week as my first anniversary with my company, and then he came early. Technically I didn't qualify for FMLA, but it's a small enough company and I was the first person possibly ever in the company to need maternity leave, so they worked with me, but it was a pain to have to figure it all out and make sure we were all on the same page.

littledaisies · December 2014

Yes it probably makes sense to wait. I figure I should wait at least 4 months to start TTC. If I do get pregnant quickly, I will qualify for FMLA by the time I'm ready for my leave. My fear is that it will take a long time and I will lose that time but that's something I will never know.

mrsh82414 · December 2014

Hi I am fairly new here and will start TTC during my next cycle. I have been at my job for about 3.5 years so I do qualify for FMLA, but I would suggest talking to HR about it. I found out that although I am guaranteed FMLA for 12 weeks, if I wanted to receive my full pay each week I would only get paid for 6 out of the 12 weeks. At my work FMLA is made up of a combination of my paid time off, extended illness bank, and STD. In order to get the remaining 6 weeks I would have to take STD and with my company STD does look at pre-existing conditions such as pregnancy. I have not yet elected STD and can't get it until July 1, 2015. So if I get pregnant before then I am ineligible for STD, thus not getting paid the full 12 weeks. Luckily my husband makes enough money that I don't need to return to work so I am not really concerned, but if I needed it I would definitely put off TTC to make sure I qualify for all the benefits

JennyH81 · December 2014

I would wait the few months, both for all the leave reasons discussed above and perhaps professional issues. For leave, I am timing my starting to TTC based upon when I will max out my leave to have a full 12 weeks paid (early Oct 2015). As for the professional reasons, I don't know what your field is, but we had a woman start at my office recently who had just discovered she was pregnant after accepting the job but before starting. It was very difficult for her to get started on much or get much experience/responsibility due to her impending leave, as the cases we work on have a 4-6 month life at a minimum (often more in the range of 10-12 months), so anything she began would have to be passed on to another attorney who already has their own case load at a fairly early stage of the case, which is a pain. So rather than getting her own cases, she was just assisting other attorneys as needed. It won't impact her long term career, but the other person who started at the same time has gotten much more experience and responsibility. To be clear, having a baby in and of itself is not an issue at my job (I'm the only woman of child-bearing age that has not had a baby in the last 18 months, and we have three of 6 women out on maternity leave right now) but in your shoes I would also keep that in the back of my mind.

AMMR84 · January 2015

mrsh82414 said:

Hi I am fairly new here and will start TTC during my next cycle. I have been at my job for about 3.5 years so I do qualify for FMLA, but I would suggest talking to HR about it. I found out that although I am guaranteed FMLA for 12 weeks, if I wanted to receive my full pay each week I would only get paid for 6 out of the 12 weeks. At my work FMLA is made up of a combination of my paid time off, extended illness bank, and STD. In order to get the remaining 6 weeks I would have to take STD and with my company STD does look at pre-existing conditions such as pregnancy. I have not yet elected STD and can't get it until July 1, 2015. So if I get pregnant before then I am ineligible for STD, thus not getting paid the full 12 weeks. Luckily my husband makes enough money that I don't need to return to work so I am not really concerned, but if I needed it I would definitely put off TTC to make sure I qualify for all the benefits

This is true - short-term disability coverage will only apply if you aren't pregnant when it begins. Good to have that policy in place (if offered) before you TTC. I personally would wait, but you can do some really good charting with FF to get great data about your cycles. If you are charting your cycles and waiting, you will have some great data to draw on to time your TTC efforts and a solid foundation of benefits at work.

littlebirdie28 · January 2015

I'm of two minds here; waiting is a good idea, it's wise to think ahead about benefits and things, BUT on the other hand, you should be free to live your life how you want, if that makes sense. After all, it's your family and home life, and it's what you have to go to each night after work, so it should be the way you want it to be as best as it can. Good luck!!

new job and TTC

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