whose expecting?

[ready2fly]

Got some GREAT.... nay.... OUTSTANDING news yesterday!!!!

My wife company told her that they are going to pay her for her ENTIRE maternity leave!!!! All 6 weeks (8, if she has to have a C-section!!).

Can you believe that?????? Cannot tell you how much that is going to help out!!

[SteveC]

Excellent!

Nice to see some caring employers out there....

[Bandit_Driver]

That is pretty nice. Wish my wife's employer would do that. Instead they are trying to get her to take leave in the 7th month and then come back right after the baby is born. They are also talking about changing here to part time status when she gets farther along. Her boss is a jack!@s.

[TheWife]

I'm so glad they are doing that for her!

Bandit-that is totally wrong! When I hit 7 months I did go to PT but it was because I wanted to. I felt it was really important to have a lot of time to myself before the baby came because I knew it was never going to be just me ever again. I used the time to start the baby's photo album and journals, make blankets, and finish up other projects I had been working on. So she might want to think about it anyway. But as far as the leave-that is just wrong! She is going to need at least 4 weeks to let her body and heal and get used to being woken up 3 times a night! The first two months are the absolute hardest, so 8 weeks off I think would be ideal. I didn't go back to work, but if I had, I would have tried to wait until at least 6 and then eased back in, starting w/ PT, until around 3 months at least before going back to FT.

[Bandit_Driver]

Not quite sure what we are going to do. I just want to slug her boss for even making those suggestions . I imagine she will eventually volunteer for PT near the end then take the maximum amount of leave.


We are hoping that I upgrade then she won't have to go back to work at all.

[TheWife]

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you to upgrade then!! It's got to be hard to work and be a mommy at the same time!

[Bandit_Driver]

Thanks....I'll take all the help I can get...

[MQAAord]

Keep in mind that there are federal laws regarding family leave & discrimination against pregnant women!

Depending on what she does, I don't think they can force part-time on her, before or after baby is born. The FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) requires employers to provide unpaid leave for a total of 12 weeks in the 12 months following the birth/adoption of a child, not necessarily taken all at the same time.

A pilot or flight attendant can't (according to most airlines' company policies) fly in her 3rd trimester. But by that time you don't want to fly 4-days anymore anyway!

Either way, some time off after birth is physically & emotionally necessary ! It usually takes about 6 weeks for the body to completely heal, and for the hormones to get themselves leveled out.



Edit to add:
That FMLA applies to new dads too! If your company says "we don't offer paternity leave", the federal government says they MUST! It is unpaid, but it gives the opportunity to take some time off when you need it.

[Minnesota_Flyer]

[ QUOTE ]
Keep in mind that there are federal laws regarding family leave & discrimination against pregnant women!

[/ QUOTE ]Exactly!! Employer can't force her to go to P/T (unless medically necessary) because she is pregnant.



I like the 4 week baby spacing we got going' on here.

MF

[Kristie]

and if they do force her to go P/T...you might be able to get a pretty penny out of it (depending on how you play your cards and on how much she REALLY likes working there)...

[ready2fly]

I'll be taking a week, but I don't think I get paid for it.... do I?

[MQAAord]

[ QUOTE ]
I'll be taking a week, but I don't think I get paid for it.... do I?

[/ QUOTE ]

Depends on your employers company policies. Some companies offer paid paternity leave some do not. Regardless of any 'paternity leave' your company offeres, the FMLA does still apply. FMLA is unpaid, but it does give you the ability to take some time off.

[Bandit_Driver]

The spacing between the pregnancies is kind of neat.

As far as her works goes we are going to wait an see what they do. They control the schedule so if they suddenly cut the hours they will hang themselves.

I plan on taking unpaid FMLA to help the wife recover and spend some quality time with the little guy or girl.

[ready2fly]

Cool. Kind of what I thought.

UPDATE: Had a "dry run" of sorts yesterday. My wife called me at the airport and told me that she had been havings some sort of "continuous cramp" all day, so she was going to the doctor to have it checked out.

I left the airport, dropped by here, let our dogs out to do their thing, grabbed our suitcase for the hospital (yes, we already have it packed ) and headed for the Dr.'s office.

Turns out that it was just her body "getting ready". She isn't starting to dialate yet, but IS starting to efface (you Moms on here will know what I mean ).

My wife has been telling me that she didn't think that R2F2 would make it to his due date of December 17th and she may be right.

I'll keep ya'll posted when I can.

<----- COOL new emoticon!!!

[JayAre]

Dude,
Been there done that. Just hang in there. My wife was feeling like she was going to have it early also but didn't. Just first time mom jitters. We also had a few trips to the Dr. office. Is this your first one? Just be cool and support her good luck!

[ready2fly]

Thanks JayAre! Yup, this is our first one. You're probably right about it being first time jitters. It'd be cool if R2F2 came on the 17th of December (Anniversary of Flight) as planned, but if he comes early/late ...whatever...that's cool too.

I know Mrs R2F is more than ready for his ETA.

[MQAAord]

We had a planned induction 11 days before the due date. Having that 'planning' helped SO much with the "OMG, is this it, no wait, is this it ?" thing.

Not that I'm advocating inducing if it's not for a good reason, but I was a lot calmer and more relaxed at the end because of it.

We'll have to wait and see how the March schedule ends up working out. Bill's got vacation then (actually for a pre-planned trip to the boundary waters that we won't be taking this year & bid long before we were expecting) so we may or may not end up inducing again this time.

[Bandit_Driver]

I'm planning on taking FMLA & Vacation starting the week before my wife is due. Hopefully, she doesn't go into labor before that. I would hate to be on a trip and try to get home before the baby is born. I think I would go crazy trying to get home. I would feel so helpless sitting in back of the plane.

[MQAAord]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm planning on taking FMLA & Vacation starting the week before my wife is due. Hopefully, she doesn't go into labor before that. I would hate to be on a trip and try to get home before the baby is born. I think I would go crazy trying to get home. I would feel so helpless sitting in back of the plane.

[/ QUOTE ]

That is EXACTLY why we induced.

I've seen too many guys doing the cross-country-mad-scramble to make it in time. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't. I didn't want Bill to have to do that, and I didn't want to be there alone. So we induced at 38 weeks. Baby was fully 'cooked', and the doc was fine with it. Labor was a bit longer because of it, but I'd do it the same again in a heartbeat.

[kellwolf]

The "mad cross country" was another reason I nixed MAPD. I didn't want to be in New Mexico when Ness went into labor and HOPE I could get a flight back.