Maternity leave - what are you doing?

[pinotgrig]

I had my 28w appt this am and asked my doc about my leave since at my work ml falls under std. I get 8w under std at 80% of my pay. Super exciting and what I was planning on doing and using vaca/sick time to get me to 12w off with pay. I also get an add'l 17 (!!) weeks at 60% of my pay but was only planning to take 4 of those to get to 12w total.

My doc said today she can only write me out for 6w unless there are extenuating circumstances at my 6w follow up appt that would require more leave from a medical pov. So, now I'm having to rethink my whole plan since std is driven my dr's releases. I'll probably end up using 3 of my 4 weeks of vaca now and some sick time. Though we have to use 5 of our sick days during the waiting period for std to kick in. So I'm really only looking at 5w of paid time under std. :/

I plan on calling my hr dept today to make sure I'm thinking about this right, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to take some unpaid time off if I want to do 12w.

What are your plans for ml? How are you structuring it (ie std, banked vaca time, etc)?

[SJ]

I'm a little confused. If you get 5w of paid time under std, couldn't you still get 7w at 60% pay? (Since you can take up to 17 weeks at 60%?) Where does the unpaid time come in?

[kermit]

I get no paid leave. I have enough banked time between vacation and sick time to be able to get paid for the whole 12 weeks. I don't know if they start taking from sick or vacation time first.

[hokiegirl82]

I plan on taking the full 12 weeks under FMLA, of which 8 to 10 will be paid 100% under STD depending on what kind of birth I have (vaginal vs c-section). So I will have a few weeks of unpaid leave, but I'm ok with that - we've worked it into our budget and I want as much time home with baby before returning to work as we can possible afford and for them to hold my job.

[nessness]

I'm planning to use all of my sick and vacation time, which will be about 8 weeks. I have the option of getting a leave advance or taking unpaid time, but I don't plan to do either of those things unless there are extenuating circumstances, like I have to quit working a couple weeks before I give birth.

I'm also planning to come back at half time, so that makes me feel okay about taking less mat leave.

[SJ]

As of now, I am planning to take 12 weeks. It is paid.

[ringstrue]

Typically you only get 8 weeks if you have a c/s. Normal vaginal delivery is 6 weeks.

Yeah, they make you take 1 week of sick first as standard STD use practice. Which is sort of BS IMO for maternity leave since for a normal illness it makes sense but if the doc is disabling you for 6 weeks or more then obviously you aren't gonna be better after 5 days. /rant.

For me, I gotta do 7 sick days (PTO for us) then the 5ish weeks STD at 80% through AFLAC. Then my job gives you like $170ish a week the the state requires they give me during that time too, I think. Then I have 2 weeks in an "illness bank" my work does that I can use, then hopefully 2 more weeks PTO. So a total of 10 weeks.

My first baby was such a screaming mess that I was burnt out and ready to go back to work before my 12 weeks is up, so I don't feel bad not using the full 12 weeks. I can't take it paid anyway so it's no real loss to me.

[theatre4life]

6 weeks natural (8 weeks c-section) fully paid STD, then 3 weeks paid vacation (assuming my boss approves it). I can take another 3 weeks unpaid, but assuming there are no complications, that's not ideal, since my income is higher.





ETA: I will also add that this will reset on 1/1/15, so I am not too worried about burning through all the sick/vacation time.

[Alwaysabridesmaidf]

I think mine is similar to yours. I will be trying to save or take out a small 401k loan to cover the unpaid time I have to take to get me to 12 weeks.

[VillainV]

I get 6 weeks, but it's at full pay. I could probably take an additional few weeks (also at full pay) using my regular leave balance (vacation time), but I don't really want to burn all of my vacation time right now. Plus my H is able to stay home full time for the first few months, so childcare won't be an issue.

[anna7602]

Last time around, I planned to take 8 weeks paid and 4 weeks unpaid (12 total). Then near the end of ML, I ended up negotiating a more gradual transition back, so I worked from home on some urgent things, but didn't go back to the office until 15 weeks after having DD.

This time around, I work for myself, so no idea what will happen. I am trying not to take on any projects that are due just before my due date or within a month or two after my due date.

[sunshine608]

I plan on taking 10 weeks through FMLA. Right now I'm looking at a C/S so 8 weeks would be covered under STD. I have about 4 weeks of leave saved up. TBH, I'm not sure how all this is gonna work out ( this post is making me re-think some things. I forgot about the Doc note for STD) I'm expecting 3-4 weeks to be unpaid though.

[bowies]

I can't imagine having 12w of banked PTO, LOL. First, because I love occasional mental health days, and second because my company caps banked hours at 240.

Anyways, I still don't know what my plans are and likely won't until I get closer to D day. From a policy standpoint, I'm allowed 6w STD for a vaginal birth and 8w for a C-section (100% pay). The first week comes from PTO hours. After that, we are allowed to use any remaining PTO as we see fit and/or can take an unpaid leave of absence up to a grand total of 24 weeks (24 weeks is the max, so if you decide to use 6w of PTO, then you'd have 10-12w of unpaid). Most employees come back after the standard 12 weeks.

The wrinkle here for me is twofold: daycare and job. We're still on the waiting list for our first choice daycare, but they said if it all shakes out how they're anticipating, we can begin right at the 12w mark. We have a confirmed spot at our backup center, but wouldn't be able to start until 14w. This assumes I deliver around my EDD.

Then, there's my job situation. If I find out there isn't a penalty for me to leave my company during ML, I plan to look for another job. It would be great timing. I can't blame my company for the bullshit that has gone on during my pregnancy, but I'm also bored and the industry is shrinking. I need some new scenery and a new environment. So, if I find something, then that new opportunity will also factor in to when I go back to work.

[pinotgrig]

Mar 28, 2014 8:25:13 GMT -5 SJ said:

I'm a little confused. If you get 5w of paid time under std, couldn't you still get 7w at 60% pay? (Since you can take up to 17 weeks at 60%?) Where does the unpaid time come in?

Under std, I get 8w at 100% and 17w at 60%. But I have to use all 5 of my sick days first during the waiting period when std kicks in. Once my doc clears me at 6w pp to return to work, std ends. Which puts me at using my 5 sick days + 5 weeks of std for the 6w under my dr's care. Once I'm cleared by her, I have to use vaca time (I have 4w but am hesitant to use it all this summer) or unpaid time.

[zarapipe]

Mar 28, 2014 8:57:11 GMT -5 pinotgrig said:

Mar 28, 2014 8:25:13 GMT -5 SJ said:

I'm a little confused. If you get 5w of paid time under std, couldn't you still get 7w at 60% pay? (Since you can take up to 17 weeks at 60%?) Where does the unpaid time come in?

Under std, I get 8w at 100% and 17w at 60%. But I have to use all 5 of my sick days first during the waiting period when std kicks in. Once my doc clears me at 6w pp to return to work, std ends. Which puts me at using my 5 sick days + 5 weeks of std for the 6w under my dr's care. Once I'm cleared by her, I have to use vaca time (I have 4w but am hesitant to use it all this summer) or unpaid time.

Sounds normal to me, and pretty generous. A lot of std plans only cover 60 percent.

I work for the state and our std has a 60 day waiting period. Which is useless for births. So I will be using all of my vacay and sick and some unpaid. I would love your set up. 

[pinotgrig]

Thanks for the replies - hearing what others are doing helps me think through my options. I'm mainly just disappointed that I can't do 12w with pay since that's what I'd been planing on since TTC. I didn't even think about the 6 or 8 weeks under my doc's care would shut off std, though I should have.

We can afford for me take unpaid time off, but I just really didn't want to. And this plan b has me burning a lot of vaca time I wanted to use around the holidays and for days the baby is sick.

[pinotgrig]

Mar 28, 2014 9:03:26 GMT -5 zarapipe said:

Mar 28, 2014 8:57:11 GMT -5 pinotgrig said:

Under std, I get 8w at 100% and 17w at 60%. But I have to use all 5 of my sick days first during the waiting period when std kicks in. Once my doc clears me at 6w pp to return to work, std ends. Which puts me at using my 5 sick days + 5 weeks of std for the 6w under my dr's care. Once I'm cleared by her, I have to use vaca time (I have 4w but am hesitant to use it all this summer) or unpaid time.

Sounds normal to me, and pretty generous. A lot of std plans only cover 60 percent.

I work for the state and our std has a 60 day waiting period. Which is useless for births. So I will be using all of my vacay and sick and some unpaid. I would love your set up. 

It's not awful by any stretch and I realize I'm fortunate. I'm just such a planner that having things change this late in the game is stressing me out. I had planned on talking to my manager today about all the details and then realized that the std would end way sooner than I thought, so I'm tying to regroup before we talk.

And boo to your 60 day waiting period! That is loong!

[aqualuv]

Mar 28, 2014 8:12:10 GMT -5 pinotgrig said:

I had my 28w appt this am and asked my doc about my leave since at my work ml falls under std. I get 8w under std at 80% of my pay. Super exciting and what I was planning on doing and using vaca/sick time to get me to 12w off with pay. I also get an add'l 17 (!!) weeks at 60% of my pay but was only planning to take 4 of those to get to 12w total.

My doc said today she can only write me out for 6w unless there are extenuating circumstances at my 6w follow up appt that would require more leave from a medical pov. So, now I'm having to rethink my whole plan since std is driven my dr's releases. I'll probably end up using 3 of my 4 weeks of vaca now and some sick time. Though we have to use 5 of our sick days during the waiting period for std to kick in. So I'm really only looking at 5w of paid time under std. :/

I plan on calling my hr dept today to make sure I'm thinking about this right, but I'm thinking I'm going to have to take some unpaid time off if I want to do 12w.

What are your plans for ml? How are you structuring it (ie std, banked vaca time, etc)?

I work in HR, most STD plans are driven by your medical condition and your doctor's release. Typical pregnancy deliveries only warrant a 6 or 8 week recovery period. Unless, like your doctor said you have other medical concerns where they would not release you to return to work after those 6 or 8 weeks. I've seen 6 weeks for a vaginal delivery and 8 weeks for a cesarean.

For me, my job requires a 10 day waiting period before STD can kick in which I can either take LWOP or use my PTO. The maximum STD approval for pregnancy is 6 weeks, so that means only 4 weeks will be paid from STD at 100%.

Since I started a new job and I will not qualify for FMLA, that is the amount of time I will take off and then I will go back to work.

[rbp]

I am taking 6-8 weeks (vaginal/CS) completely off and will work part time for the balance of fall semester. I hope that I won't hate myself having to go back to work at 6w, but at least it's only half-time?

[bluelikejazz]

My company gives 12 weeks paid maternity leave. I have to check to see if I have to use up my vacation time during this or not.

[catsarecute]

Maternity leave is so confusing!

I'll be taking 12 weeks. First, I'll be using my sick time. That is about 6 days. Then, I use my PTO. My work splits PTO in half so while I have 13 days of PTO, it will really cover 26 days. So for 32 days, I'll be getting full pay (but draining my leave).

If I hold on until April 11th like planned, that should take my until the last week of May. I'll then go unpaid for the month of June and go back to work the first full week of July.


I don't pay into SDI and didn't get outside coverage before I got pregnant but my work does offer 55% pay for 6 or 8 weeks but only after you use your sick/PTO. So by the time I use that time, 6-8 weeks would have passed so it wouldn't matter. Luckily, my husband works a lot of overtime and we have money saved to cover my June salary.

It would be really nice if the US would come up with ONE maternity leave format that covered a decent amount of time at full pay. Having to drain my leave banks is really sad.

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2014 8:38:27 GMT -5 ringstrue said:

Typically you only get 8 weeks if you have a c/s. Normal vaginal delivery is 6 weeks.

yep this right here

[Deleted]

Mar 28, 2014 9:09:44 GMT -5 rbp said:

I am taking 6-8 weeks (vaginal/CS) completely off and will work part time for the balance of fall semester. I hope that I won't hate myself having to go back to work at 6w, but at least it's only half-time?

I am not sure what your situation is but I went back WAH at 6 weeks.  I never forgave myself for it.  I ended up quitting.  This time I am not going back a day before 12 wks.

I know everyone feels differently about this but think it through real good.

[linz]

Damn I think my works policy is similar. I was planning to do 12 weeks but forgot that if I have vaginal it will only be 6 weeks STD. My works does a 2 week elimination period where you use pto (I'll pry have just enough to cover that). Then STD is 60% pay and you can use PTO to go back up to 100% pay. I plan to do 12 weeks so I guess half my leave will be unpaid. It will suck but I'd rather stay home.

[melsamoony]

I am jealous of all of you with STD and 100% pay for weeks! I only have my sick/vacation time.

A majoirty of my maternity leave will be unpaid (probably 8 weeks). I plan to take 12 weeks.

We have been budgeting accordingly so that we have money in savings. Plus H got a raise that is helping. I plan to cut back a day after baby is born so I will only work 4 days/week.

[Deleted]

My mat leave started two weeks ago (estimated 5 weeks before due date) and continues 11 weeks after the est. due date. so 16 weeks in total. So now it is just a bunch of waiting around to see when little miss decides to make her appearance!

[smock]

My EDD is a month into my summer break, so I'll have about 10-12 weeks before I go back to teach for fall semester. It's paid, but I'm essentially losing an entire block of research time during my pre-tenure period. But it's paid, so I'm not complaining!

[D2M]

My company just changed its policy to be more generous. It used to be 8 weeks at 100 percent pay with the option to extend to 12 weeks using banked vacation or unpaid leave. It was updated this year to 12 weeks at 100 percent pay with the option to extend an additional 14 weeks using unpaid leave and banked PTO (a max of 4 weeks for me, so it would be 2.5 months unpaid). The extended leave is dependent on your department's approval. I'm meeting with HR next month to go over all my options and I'm going to ask my department for a total of 24 weeks off. I am extremely grateful for my company's new policy.

[daisycat]

No ml or pto for me. I had originally planned to do 2-3 weeks completely off, then wfh another 3-4 weeks to put me at about 6 weeks. However, since by the time baby gets here, I will have spent 10-14 weeks on bed rest with my pay ending up about 1/3 of normal the first month and 1/8 of normal this month, we are burning through saving fast and i will likely start going back into the office some around week 3 if possible. Hopefully I can minimize my time in the office and work a decent amount of hours from home.

[laurack]

I'll be taking 12 weeks of FMLA. My company has a short term disability plan that will pay me 60% for 6 weeks (though really it's 5 weeks because of the "waiting period" crap). The first week I'll use a week of my vacation days. then I will have 6 weeks with zero pay.

It sucks but at least we can do it. If I were the primary breadwinner I would have no choice but to go back after 6 weeks