Maternity leave

merostomata · May 2018

Working moms, have you guys thought about what you’d like to do (or are able to) as a maternity leave? I realize a lot of workers unfortunately (particularly in the US- where I am btw) do not get much flexibility in this. I just started trying to think through a proposal for my employer, and was wondering what you guys might do!

Feel free to answer the Qs below if they apply to you, or else just reply freely.

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave?

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)?

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave?

Working STM+, were you happy with your leave or do you wish things had gone differently? Any other advice/ thoughts would also be much appreciated.

amongthewildflowers · May 2018

STM here. I live in California, which means I have way more flexibility with the amount of time off than a lot of others do. With my daughter, I worked up until the end; my last day of work was Thursday and I gave birth Saturday morning (due date was Monday). That actually worked really well at the time because I was the only income earner at the time and I had an easy pregnancy and an easy desk job. I would have liked to have had an extra day or two before baby, but it wasn't a huge deal. I then took off 12 weeks even though California would have allowed another 6 weeks, but again, I would have had to use my PTO in order to have an income because I like to keep a decent PTO cushion in case of emergencies, so 12 weeks it was. Of course it was hard to return to work, but I found 12 weeks to be enough. I went back full time immediately.

For this one, if everything goes as smooth as the last, I will take off about 2 weeks before my due date (standard practice in California is to take off 4 weeks before). I will want some extra 1:1 time with my daughter before baby comes. I will likely take off 12 weeks after baby again. My husband brings an income now and we have the ability to save in anticipation of covering any lost wages of mine, so I may take some extra time off, but we will see how things go.

Some words of advice: starting in your second trimester, start researching all your leave options. In California, it is incredibly confusing because you have short term disability, paid family leave, and my job has different options for how to split up PTO and ESL depending on how many weeks out from delivery date you were. Call HR and if you still dont understand it, ask for more help. Understanding things will help alleviate stress.

kns1988 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave? My work allows 12 weeks. 6 weeks is 60% disability pay and 6 weeks is PTO. If you don't have enough in your PTO bank but you want to take the time, it's unpaid. I'll only have 2 weeks of PTO by the time baby comes, so I'll be doing 6 weeks disability, 2 weeks PTO, and 4 weeks unpaid. Saving hard until then.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)? With DS, I went back to the office 3 days a week and worked from home 2 days until he was 6 months old. I'm hoping to get the same perk this time around, but it isn't guaranteed.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave? I'm just a little nervous about what my coworkers are going to think about me being out again so soon, but they'll deal. I was on maternity leave April - July 2017.

Working STM+, were you happy with your leave or do you wish things had gone differently? Any other advice/ thoughts would also be much appreciated. My leave last year coincided with my husband's busiest season at work (he's a summer camp director). We were living at the camp, and I was mostly single parenting because he was working such long days. I'm looking forward to this leave being before he gets super busy.

I wish that last time I would have gotten treated for PPD sooner because I didn't realize how much I was struggling. I was also an exclusive pumper for 4 months before DS learned how to latch. I would be so, so happy if I don't have to do that this time around.

The advice to sleep when the baby sleeps is B.S. That's when I did laundry, sat in silence, cleaned the bathroom, watched an episode of TV... adults don't sleep in hour long increments. One of my favorite things that I did was going away on a weekend trip to the beach towards the end of my leave. We also went for a lot of hikes, which was really nice.

megs416 · May 2018

STM here. With DS I planned to work from home the week before my due date and ended up having DS a week early. I stayed home with him for 6 weeks and would answer emails and basic work questions during that time. When I went back to work I would work from home 2 days a week and just try to make everything work.

I am an attorney at a small law firm and my boss is not required to give me any leave. However, it was something I negotiated with him.

I plan to do something similar this time around. Hopefully, this time I can be out of the office a little longer, but it will depend on my workload, etc

I would suggest looking quietly into what options are available with your employer so you can start planning and budgeting accordingly.

kns1988 · May 2018

Another suggestion: if you go into thinking it will be like a vacation and you're going to lounge around with your wonderful baby and do lots of fun activities, you'll probably be disappointed. There's some of that loveliness, but it's definitely not a vacation.

peachy104 · May 2018

My company allows up to 18 weeks off. The first 6wks are paid at 60% and then the next 4 weeks they pay at 100%. After that I could use my PTO or go unpaid.

We saved up enough money for me to take the full 18 weeks off work so that’s what I plan to do. After, I plan to return to work full time and have baby in daycare.

furmama1986 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave?
My short term disability will kick in after 2 weeks of being off, and after the depletion of my PTO bank. Planning on taking full 12 weeks.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)?
Debating on what to do. I work in a small procedure area where we take call. With my husbands job and various hours, I won't be able to continue my current job after maternity leave is over. Luckily, being a nurse there will be another job that fits our life better. However, I still feel bad knowing it takes a good year to get people trained, and were still short 1 nurse now.
Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave?
I guess the attitudes of my co-workers. They can be a hard group to work with sometimes, especially if they know someone is on their way out. I'll probably tell my manager at 10 weeks so she can begin to plan accordingly. I'll probably keep quite to the group till after 12 weeks though.

kaf1788 · May 2018

I’m very fortunate in that my workplace just updated their maternity policy and I now get 16 weeks 100% paid. Prior to this it was the standard 6-8 weeks STD with a week for every year at the company paid 100% and the rest paid 60%. Definitely a huge upgrade.

Im due January 4th and will be taking at least a few days off for the holidays so I haven’t decided yet if I want to work up until the end (the norm where I work) or just call it after Christmas and use PTO. I definitely will at least be working from home to avoid falling on the inevitable icy sidewalks.

After my leave, I will go back to work full time and my husband will take 8 weeks paternity leave. We’ve considered that I might move to part time at some point, but that would probably be a few years out.

RVAmom315 · May 2018

My job offers 12 weeks at 100% pay, then I can do 4 weeks part time, using PTO to cover the days I don’t work, and I have plenty saved up. After it’s done I’m going back to work as normal. My “plan” is to have my last day of work be 12/21, then use PTO for the week of Xmas, then be off after that (but of course we all know what happens when we make plans!)

No concerns, I work in a small office and we’re looking to hire another person that I will train to help with my duties while I’m out.

I just feel so fortunate that I have this, my current job just implemented this about a year or so ago. If they hadn’t, I’d have nothing and we wouldn’t be able to afford it.

My first child came 7 weeks early, and I ended up getting laid off (different job) but it worked out between back pay and unemployment I was able to stay home for almost a year.

TruStory · May 2018

I’m a FTM. My employer offers nothing but I can take up to 12 weeks as long as I tell them exactly how long I’ll be out before hand. I’m also forced to use any days I have already accrued for the year, prior to unpaid/STD or FML. I’m happy to be due in January since otherwise I would have to blow through over a month vacation, and I would haven’t anymore time for the rest of the year.
Ive been reading up on NY FMLA since as of 2018 you can collect a portion of your salary. 2019 is 55% for 8 weeks. I’m also toying with the idea of not going back. This is an IVF pregnancy and a long and hard road in the making....I would prefer to set a tight budget and stay home.

katethemom · May 2018

With my first pregnancy, I ended up leaving my job and staying home for 2 years, but I was working in food service at the time, so I wasn't leaving anything special behind. I've been at my current job for a little over a year. I work part-time, 24 hours a week. My company offers nothing as far as maternity leave, but I could take off as many weeks as I want as long as I line up people to cover my shifts. However, I'm not sure we'll be able to go too long with only H's income. So I'm probably going to end up taking 2 weeks off before baby and maybe 4 to 6 weeks after baby. And then I may back down to only 2 days a week for a couple months. It's a lot to think about for sure.

oldiebutgoodie80 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave? I am a WAHM. I’m a contractor, so I can have 2 week paid. I guess that’s better than nothing. This is what I had when I had my son. I can have one month off, unpaid.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)? I will return full time after two weeks.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave? I know that 2 weeks isn’t enough time, but I just don’t have much of a choice. I’m hoping my husband will be able to take some paternity leave, otherwise I’m hoping my parents can come and help on occasion.

Working STM+, were you happy with your leave or do you wish things had gone differently? Any other advice/ thoughts would also be much appreciated.

It flew by. I just wish I had taken more time to sleep while I could!

PolarBear517 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave? Ill definitely take the full 12 weeks through FMLA. Standard short term disability pays 2/3 of my pay for 6 weeks for vaginal delivery. I’ll have to use all of my personal time and at least half my vacation time (I am allowed to retain half my vacation bank with written notice & I may do this to give myself more flexibility after returning).

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)?
I wish I could cut back!! DH doesn’t have a health insurance option & my employer requires 40 hour weeks for eligibility. I literally don’t even have the flexibility to take a half hour lunch break instead of the full hour, the day is 8-5 no exceptions

I like my job & have a great pension plan & health insurance, but it’s tempting to look for other options just for more flexibility

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave?
I am a new employee, just having reached the end of my 6 month probation period so I’m a little nervous about judgment I suppose. I’ll only have been working 14 months by my due date. But, I think it’ll be well received.

Working STM+, were you happy with your leave or do you wish things had gone differently? Any other advice/ thoughts would also be much appreciated.

With DD I worked 2-3 8 hour shifts per week. I took 12 weeks. I was also second shift which was kind of nice for a new mom because I could nap during her first nap of the day if she had a difficult night. I didn’t transition to my current full time 5 day/40 hour job (which aligns better with my degree/career goals) until she was 5 months old. That was nice, but daycare was still a tough transition for us. I had a lot of Mom guilt and she had a constant cold from December until April, which meant DH & I were also sick and exhausted a lot of the time. Within the past month or two things have been so much better (she’s 11 months now), she is starting to be interactive with other babies at daycare and becoming more “independent”. I have less anxiety or guilt about her being there, we have been healthier & I feel like we have the routine down well. So honestly I worry that I will just hate the first 6 months or so after returning to work. But I know it gets better/easier!

PolarBear517 · May 2018

As far as maternity leave goes, if you’re able to retain some of your vacation/PTO bank you should try to (I know it’s tough with loss of income but especially if you’re full time having some time set aside will make your life easier if you or your baby get sick not long after returning to work). Talk to your partner and your support network and don’t hesitate to take them up on offers to help, both during maternity leave and after returning work. We have been very lucky to have parents that are retired or have flexible schedules and they have watched DD when she had to stay home from daycare due to the ‘24 hours fever free rule’ and when our daycare closed short notice due to flu outbreak. If you have a grocery delivery service available, it’s worth investing in (especially since our maternity leave will fall during cold/flu season).

Go on a few dates or even outings by yourself if you have someone to watch the baby. Even if you don’t feel up to this, it’s good “practice” for your day back to work. You don’t want your first time ever being away from baby to be a full 8-9 hour + work day!

DLpanda08 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave? I get six weeks paid leave and I’m due during a school break, so depending on when this little one comes I could get an extra week “free”. DH gets 8 weeks paid paternal leave and has a bunch of vacation saved up. Right now we are thinking both of us will be home the first two weeks after birth, then DH will go back until my leave is up. Then he will take leave until the school year is over.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)? I’ll be back full time just like before... likely stressing about state testing right around the corner after my return.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave? I’m not worried about the leave itself. My employer is fairly accommodating. I’m worried about juggling everything when I come back.

blueowl08 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave?

My company allows up to 6 months unpaid leave. We do have short term disability at 100% for 6-8 weeks (depending on vaginal vs cesarean birth). There’s another 3 weeks offered by the company that both dads and moms can take. After that it’s vacation, California state disability, then unpaid up to 6 months. I’m planning on taking 4-5 months if I can budget for it.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)?

Since I’m the only one working (DH is on long term disability/SSDI) I have to go back to work. Plus pay for daycare. At least we can use DH’s disability to pay for daycare.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave?

There is only one other woman in my role who has gone on maternity leave before. I work predominantly with men, so I’m curious how people will respond. In most of my old jobs, there was a common view that women get pregnant, take maternity leave, then leave. Unsurprisingly, it was a self fulfilling prophecy. I have no idea how people feel here, but since everyone I work with knows H can’t work, I’m hoping this won’t be an issue for me.

Ghostie625 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave? I'm a teacher. My school gives 6 weeks (8 for c-section) but you have to use your sick time if you want to get paid and that would eat up all of my sick time. After that I can take up to 12 as FMLA leave- unpaid but I keep my insurance coverage. Past that I can stay out up to a year and be guaranteed a job but it would be unpaid and I would either give up coverage or have to pay out of pocket for it. (We would have to switch to being covered under DH's plan, at least for some of my leave.)

Ideally, with a 1/7 due date I can come back after break, have the new teacher shadow for a few days, then have the baby. Of course that's best case scenario.

My goal at this point is to stay out the rest of the school year and go back in the fall, which would give me 7-8 months at home, assuming we can afford to do that.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)? I'll have to go back to work as before- not really an other option for me.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave? My #1 concern is whether or not my school will be able to find a sub to cover my leave. I teach math and physics, which are two different certifications. Last year a math teacher was out and it took them until about 2 weeks before her leave started to find a sub, and for me they would have to find someone who is dual-certified which is much less common.

Working STM+, were you happy with your leave or do you wish things had gone differently? Any other advice/ thoughts would also be much appreciated.

kiwieloping · May 2018

It's funny because DH and I were literally just having this conversation.

In Canada maternity and parental leave is something all employers have to provide their full time employees and some PT as well depending on # of hours worked. It's somewhat confusing as different parts are paid by different systems and mom has to use the first 15 weeks. In total we can take 18 months now but most people take 1 year. This time can be split between the mother and father. My work place pays 95% of salary for the first 6 months. Then the remainder would be on the gov't system. Most women take the full year but DH and I think it is important for him to take on the primary care giver role for some of the time. We are trying to figure out if we can afford the 18 months and how we will split the leave.

I am very worried to tell my boss though. She cannot do or say anything but she does not have kids (and will not as she is close to 50) and she is not supportive of women in the workplace with families. I am private about this stuff so she doesn't even know I wanted a child and I think she assumed I was like her and 100% career focused. I'm her senior director and she depends on my alot. It's not going to be an easy conversation. I'm waiting until July to tell her.

I know this seems like a small problem compared to dealing with such a short maternity leave (or none) in the US. I have to admit the quality of your maternity leave is a topic of discussion for moms and moms to be here - we just can't imagine going back after only a few weeks and can't believe you don't have a better system.

Rachel2066 · May 2018

We have been talking about this one a lot. I currently work almost an hour away from my home and 10 hour days are not unusual for me (plus 1.5 hours of commuting). I would really love to take a whole year off. This would mean leaving my job and hoping that I could find something with a similar salary once I am ready to go back. I am at a manager level in my field so that could be a bit of a challenge. I just can't see how I can go back after only 12 weeks. Unfortunately telecommuting or going back part time are not an option in my field. We have been looking at our budget and our savings and we think we could make it work - although we would have to cut back quite a bit. I am just so torn - it might set back my career. But the thought of spending only 1 hour or less each day with my child when they less than 1 year old? Decisions decisions

MrsPyrowiz · May 2018

I was a sahm until this year. I was a homemaker for my whole pregnancy with my oldest, so I'd been home for over 3 years. I have an amazing job now that I started when my daughter 7 months that offers me awesome flexibility.

I plan on taking 2 weeks free and clear, no work hours. Then I plan to go back strictly telecommute until either 6 or 12 weeks and slowly work my office days back into my schedule. I may adjust this plan, my boss knows I'm pregnant, but we haven't talked about my leave yet. It's a small, female owned company and I'm only the second non owner to get pregnant while working there, so there isn't an official policy. I'm only in the office 3 days a week and the kids are with my husband on those days, so daycare isn't an issue. If we can afford it when this baby comes, we might hire a nanny to help out so my husband can pick up an extra full day at work.

skilouise · May 2018

I get 12 weeks paid through my work, which I intend to take. When I started TTC 3 years ago, I thought about switching to part time for my first 3-6 months back after maternity leave. However, I doubt that would be feasible now. I'm eligible for a big promotion in January 2020, and spending a big chunk of 2019 in a PT status could hurt my chances of getting it.

KLS123 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave? Any initial thoughts? Other than it's pretty much a huge looming cloud of stress that I think about day and night trying to negotiate? Yes. Yes I have thoughts. I work in a male dominated industry at a small-ish (<100 employees) company that's 4 years old, in the USA, in a state with no mandatory maternity policy and I am literally the first woman to get pregnant here (I'm a FTM). We have no policy, no precedent so I'm feeling the pressure to figure this out and negotiate not only on behalf of myself but of anyone who follows behind me. I think technically I should get 6 weeks of STD paid at 60% of salary then use PTO but I am going to attempt to push for for 12 weeks at 100% paid leave for myself and for that to be our official policy going forward. That is fairly standard in our industry among the larger companies.
I'm due right at first of the year so I plan to take 12/21/18 off through year end on PTO then maternity leave after that (obviously that will change if baby is early).

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)? I am going to ask to continue at the same pay structure and be full time but have a flex work schedule that I can work from home unless I'm on a project that requires me to be in the office, at least for the remainder of 2019. I would still need full time, in home child care but then I could at least breast feed and be present throughout the day rather than pumping in my office and being gone for 10+ hours M-F. My husband also works full time, consequently at the same company I do...

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave? I'm worried that they will essentially say "nope, sorry, take STD then come back full time" in which case I will have to make some really really hard choices.

merostomata Thank you for starting this thread! I have been trying to gather as much information about what is "market" or "standard" maternity leave to strengthen my proposal and it's really helpful to hear other peoples policies and personal experiences.

emmaaa · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave? I will have been at my new job for less than a year so I'm not sure what that means for me obviously. I don't think I will be FMLA eligible but I also know I will still get time off. I'm telling my boss next week that I'm pregnant so we will go from there. I will be off probation by then so I can take time off, just not sure how much.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)? I will go back to work and work my normal schedule.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave? STM, so I remember how tired I was when I went back to work. And I was lucky because DD was STTN but I was getting up at 4 am to pump and get ready and nurse DD before taking her to the babysitter and then driving two hours to work, not getting home until close to 6:30, getting DD fed and ready for bed and then pumping before bed and hoping to be in bed by 10. I was so tired but didn't realize it at the time. Luckily, this time I'm closer to home so that will help.

Working STM+, were you happy with your leave or do you wish things had gone differently? Any other advice/ thoughts would also be much appreciated. I enjoyed my ML. I took 10 weeks. I had told my boss my last day would be 10/7 which was my due date unless I went early. I ended up having her on 10/5 so started my leave then. I had an unusual circumstance that my regular assistant was out at the time (unexpectedly) because her husband had been in a terrible car accident (she was out Sept - Dec with him) and I had to train someone two weeks before leave to cover. So I got emails every day asking questions, but I was fine with that.

I may catch hell for this but I was ready to go back to work. I loved spending time with my daughter more than anything but I also loved my job and was just ready to get back in the normal routine. I think I would have been happier with 6 weeks leave but who knows, I may feel differently this time.

Also, I live in the middle of nowhere, so I felt like I was going stir crazy so I made at least a weekly trip to Target just to get out of the house. The weather was generally really nice so we did lots of walks. This time being January, walks may not happen but I will have to find a way to get out of the house.

kkb0520 · May 2018

I’m telling my supervisor tomorrow and I’m so freaking nervous. My employer has a good policy, and is very family friendly, but my job revolves around planning and executing part of a major event out of state in January and of course I’m due the week of the event.

The good news is that I can do all of the significant amount of work in the run up, and be back in time to be ready to start the next cycle, but there’s no doubt my absence on site puts a burden on my colleagues.

I’m just eager to get a plan in place- this whole thing just makes me feel bad, which makes me feel bad, and that’s a nasty and unhelpful cycle. Here’s hoping tomorrow goes well.

Mandamay1414 · May 2018

I worked full time when I had DD and had the 6 weeks at 60% STD and then used PTO for the other 6 weeks. Now I work PRN (average about 20 hrs/wk), which means I get no paid leave. I haven't told my manager yet, but I plan to take 12 weeks unpaid. We might be a bit strapped during that time, especially since I won't pull DD out of daycare, but since my husband is no longer a medical student making negative income, we should be ok. It also helps that we live in Pittsburgh instead of Boston this time. Cost of living and daycare are so much better!!

Like some others have said, I was ready to go back to work at the end of the 12 weeks with DD. We didn't have any family in Boston and none of our friends had kids, so it was lonely and exhausting being home by myself with her for most of the day. I wonder if it will be different this time since many of my friends here have small children and work part time.. I plan to go back to work part time since it would be next to impossible to get back into the pharmacy field if I left for several years, but that means having two in daycare. My part time income will be almost totally negated. Ugh.. so frustrating

KariAnn323 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave? A little nervous. I just want to make sure we're prepared financially. We have a pretty good amount in savings right now, and we have our direct deposit set up so a certain amount goes directly into savings. I think we'll be okay but I feel like it's also one of those things that can only plan so much. Current plan is to take 12 weeks off. 6 weeks I'll get 60% pay through STD. The rest will be unpaid.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)? So I work for a company that is contracted by a larger company to provide administrative support. I've already told my customer contact (she knew about our previous losses and infertility treatments and we're friends). What she wants to push for is for me to get a laptop and VPN access so that I can work from after my leave. I would probably still have to come into the office once or twice a week, but it would give us some flexibility.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave? Our financial year goes from April to March. We're setting our goals in couple weeks for this fiscal year. Since exceeding our goals correlates directly with our raises I'm worried about making sure my goals will be achievable between now and the end of December. Unfortunately our goals are set by corporate. I'm going to let my boss know at our one on one meeting and see what he can do about the goals.

merostomata · May 2018

kaf1788 said:

I’m very fortunate in that my workplace just updated their maternity policy and I now get 16 weeks 100% paid. Prior to this it was the standard 6-8 weeks STD with a week for every year at the company paid 100% and the rest paid 60%. Definitely a huge upgrade.

Im due January 4th and will be taking at least a few days off for the holidays so I haven’t decided yet if I want to work up until the end (the norm where I work) or just call it after Christmas and use PTO. I definitely will at least be working from home to avoid falling on the inevitable icy sidewalks.

Oh gosh, that’s huge! What great timing too. Sounds like a great company to work for.

I’ve been thinking about the timing of the holidays too and when to just call it since most people in my group will be out for the week around Christmas/New Year’s anyway. I might just take a couple vacation days then and “officially” start leave after New Year’s. And yeah...icy sidewalks/parking lots... in Colorado that’s an issue for us too.

achays11 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave?
I finally signed up for STD, so I will get 100% pay this time around. 60% from the state and the reat from STD. With DD1 I only knew that you could take the 6-8 disability and then 6 weeks baby bonding so that’s what I took. With DD2 one of my HR friends let me know that you can take up to 17 weeks disability and your job is still protected, you just have to get your doctor to sign off on it. So I took a total of 23 weeks with DD2.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)?
I currently work 32.5 hours/week and the plan is for me to go back to that after baby. We may re-evaluate after MH’s two raises go through, because I would love to stay home.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave?
No concerns other than how am I going to handle three kids and 2u2?!?!

Working STM+, were you happy with your leave or do you wish things had gone differently? Any other advice/ thoughts would also be much appreciated.
I was obviously happier with my second maternity leave because if the length. My advice for this going on their second baby is don’t take the first one out of daycare! I took DD1 out of preschool for almost my whole leave to save money and I almost lost my mind. I was sleep deprived and she needed to get out her energy. It made for some very long days.

ladystout08 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave?
We get STD at 60% and then any leave accrued. I'll bank most of my PTO and try to take at least 8 weeks. I only took six last time and it was awful.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)?
I'll go right back to my normal schedule.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave?
With my first I was put on bed rest early for PIH and pre-e, I'm hoping that doesn't happen again because it cut into my mat. leave.

Working STM+, were you happy with your leave or do you wish things had gone differently? Any other advice/ thoughts would also be much appreciated.

As stated above, I was not prepared to go on bed rest early. I'm going to try and bank much more PTO this time just in case.

kgg2241 · May 2018

Do you have any initial thoughts for your maternity leave?
It is giving me serious anxiety. I was convinced it was going to take me another year to get pregnant, so I didn't sign up for short-term disability. I can use vacation time to at least get some pay, but that will only give me two weeks at the most. I am going to try to take the full 12 weeks, but we'll see how much we can save before then. One nice perk is that my work allows you to bring your baby to work until they start crawling, so on days I don't have meetings I'll do that.

Do you know what you’ll do after your maternity leave is officially over (e.g, back to work as before, cutting back hours, adjusting schedules, etc)?
I'm going to ask to move to a 4-10 schedule with Fridays off. Other moms I work with have this and it seems to work out just fine.

Do you have any concerns/fears about your leave?
My career is pretty stressful, so I'm worried about how I'll make it through once I come back from leave.

Working STM+, were you happy with your leave or do you wish things had gone differently? Any other advice/ thoughts would also be much appreciated.

Thanks for doing this post! I'd be interested to hear how everyone plans to tell their employer. Are there best practices I should follow? I like my boss and he'll be understanding, but I do need to be sensitive that it will be hard on my coworkers while I'm out.

emmaaa · May 2018

@krissy2241 I'm not sure what you do for a career but for me I work for a municipality and organize the special events for the town. When I was due with DD, it was the busiest season of the year. I told my boss after my first appointment and had discussed with my coworker who would be covering for me, the events that were coming up and what all needed to be done. This was in about March and I went out October 5. By the time I went out, I had everything planned and ready, event timelines, supplies bought, everything secured, contact lists etc. My biggest event was Oct 1 and I was determined to not have DD before then and thank goodness she listened lol. But I think my coworkers appreciated me doing as much as I could ahead of time so it wasn't more work than necessary on them. I would hope they would give me the same courtesy.

kgg2241 · May 2018

@emmaaa Good advice. I'll definitely make sure to have as much prep work done before I leave to make the time off easier. Luckily it will be our slow season. I'm a city planning consultant so I travel a lot. I think before I tell my boss I'm going to outline all my projects and try to the best of my ability to shift travel and deliverables around to lighten the load while I'm gone and show that I already have a plan.

emmaaa · May 2018

@krissy2241 I think that's a good plan. Luckily, this time is slow season for me too so hopefully there won't be much responsibility I'm passing off

KLS123 · June 2018

**UPDATE** I finally finished negotiations with our executive team and am proud to say that our company has gone from having no maternity leave (only short term disability for 6 weeks at 60% pay) to having 8 weeks paid at 100% and an additional 2 weeks at 50% then 6 weeks of telecommuting on Fridays to help transition child care! I would call that a win!
I have to say that I am in a position that I am pitching in front of the board/executives (all men BTW) pretty often but that was by far the hardest thing I have done at work trying to keep it together while debating a topic that I feel so emotional and personally invested about.

Image: https://media.giphy.com/media/5n7UWOI1gJWyRYskaF/giphy.gif

galactickates · June 2018

@KLS123 !!!! That's so awesome!!! Good job!!!!!

kaf1788 · June 2018

@KLS123 that is incredible!! Way to negotiate your company into the 21st century!! Awesome job!

molosmiles · June 2018

@KLS123 You go girl! I hope you are so proud of yourself, as you should be. That is an awesome plan AND you made a difference for future women. Nice work.

ladystout08 · June 2018

@KLS123 that's amazing! Congrats!

KLS123 · June 2018

@galactickates @kaf1788 @molosmiles @ladystout08 Thank you!!

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