Maternity Leave, What's the Plan?

[KattieFirstTimer]

I know it's early...but I'm curious what you've got in mind so far....

For those of you who are working, when do you plan to start your maternity leave? How long do you plan to be out? Will it be paid or unpaid?

Assuming I have a normal delivery and do not go out early, my company's Short Term Disability will allow me 6 weeks of leave after the baby is born and is paid at 60% of my salary. Benefits start on the 8th day of my leave so PTO days must be used for the unpaid days prior to that. (5 days worth since 2 of those 7 days will be weekend days).

If I go on disability early (prior to delivery), my disability pay will still be the same at 60%, it will just start earlier and will still continue for 6 weeks post delivery.

If this pregnancy goes smoothly, I plan to work up until my due date. If the baby is late, I will still start maternity leave on my due date. I don't think I can handle working pass my due date.

[proudmamanow]

Kattie-I don't think it's too early, I actually just e-mailed our HR specialist yesterday about it I have just been asking some colleagues advice about when I should start-I think I will begin on April 1st, so I can use my holiday leave until the baby is born (EDD April 16th).

I am in a really, really wonderful situation when it comes to maternity leave. And I am grateful for it. 1) I live in Canada so I am entitled to 52 weeks at 55% of my salary (15 weeks maternity + 37 weeks parental -either parent can take this, but my partner is in school, so she can't take advantage). 2) I am a civil servant working for the federal government so they will top up my benefit to 93% of my current salary for that 1 year period. The only condition is that at some point I have to come back to work for a year or else I will owe them the $ they paid me. I am so grateful for this policy & for my strong union that negotiated the top up.

At this point I will definitely be taking the year, and I may extend this a bit with some unpaid leave, if finances permit--at this point I'm hoping to be off until Sept. 2006.

[ctdoula]

I think taking some time (even a few days) for yourself before the baby comes is such a GREAT idea!! I was planning to work until I gave birth with dd. At 39w3d I went to the Midwives office for my regular exam, I had poofed way up, couldn't jam my fat feet into my shoes anymore & asked for a note. It was a Thursday & I was due the following Tuesday. I ended work that DAY (didn't even come back for Friday, ROFL) and then had that following week at home by myself. It was the best thing I could have done. I had time to rest, get last minute stuff done, stock the house with groceries, etc.

This time I'm home with dd, so my maternity leave will start when I'm in labor, ROFL. (For real this time, I don't think i'll be able to get a note, haha). I also teach classes 2 nights a week. Last time I took 3 months off. This time, I'm literally taking the minimum amount of time I physically can. It's my only income other than Angel Wraps & I need to be working. I'm thinking a few weeks & then I'll take the baby with me for the frist few weeks back (I teach Lamaze & breastfeeding, etc).

[heket]

Actually it's great timing. The more you know the sooner, the better prepped you can be. Last time I was on leave, most of the pay was going to come in the early weeks. Dh and I figured out a way to save some $$$ and use his income to stretch our finances to a 3 month leave. Unfortunately, plans changed just prior to my leave when he became unemployed. We're still resolving a lot of our financial burden from that time now. This time, I'm at a part time position with maternity leave benefits. I'd like to have at least 3 months again, but it will depend on what my benefits are. We don't have that savings this time around, and with the current state (or lack thereof) of our finances I'll probably have to return at 2 months.

[Stream]

Is it too late to move to Canada?

I hope my last day will be March 31, which is my two-year anniversary at my job, and the day my short-term disability benefits kick in (not that I'm counting). I get 30 days accrued sick leave (minus whatever they subtract for time I've already taken due to m/s, laziness, whatever...), 2 weeks vacation (same disclaimer), and then 6 weeks disability pay (at 100%, I think, though I know our staff only gets 60%, so I should double-check). I imagine if I'm "disabled" for some reason at any point after March 31 and before I deliver, I could get additional disability time for that. I do *not* want to work in April at all, though, so whether I have a medical excuse or not, my baby break starts April 1.

[crat19]

According to the info I have right now, the State will pay 60% salary for 4 weeks before the due date (SDI), 60% salary for 6 weeks after the birth (or 8 wks w/ c/s) for medical disability (SDI), then 60% salary for 6 weeks for paid family leave to bond with a new child (PFL). I will supplement this with my accrued sick and vacation to result in a full paycheck (we need it!) and will hopefully be out of the office for 4-6 months. Right now, I'm thinking of ending my office time around mid-March, depending on how I'm feeling. With ds, I felt good up until the birth, but was able to telecommute during the afternoons when I felt tired physically. This time around, I seem to have some more aches and pains earlier on and will be watching it carefully to see where it goes. Maybe I'll take off some time earlier!

Good luck to all of you with your maternity leave plans. I can see that everyone's benefits/paid leave varies from person to person (state to state and/or country!!).