Maternity Leave - Newport Beach,CA

I didn't read the other responses, but here in my opinion...

With my first, I went back at 6 weeks and it was MISERABLE! It was not enough time, in my opinion.
With my second, I stayed home for 8 weeks but I was working from home part-time from about 2 weeks. I thought working at home with a newborn was super EASY! (It was the toddler at home that made it more difficult).

I'd ask for 12 weeks before going back to work - if they say no then at least you tried. Show them you are willing to try to find a solution that works for everyone...

CONGRATULATIONS!

You are so lucky to have such a great employer! 8-12 weeks is ideal although many only get 6 weeks. The question is, at what point do you plan to put the baby in daycare? Or do you plan to work from home permanently w/ the baby at home? I can tell you from experience, it is not easy to work from home with a baby in the house.

If you really get to pick w/ no ramifications, I would go with 12 weeks.

Congratulations!

Plan for at least 12. You may be ready for work at home around 8/10 but don't rush it! That time is precious and will over before you know it. I know too many moms that were rushed back before they were ready and then wish they had that time back. Congrats!

Wow good for your company for being so supportive, that is awesome (and rare)!

My advice is to take at least 12 weeks off if possible. This is your time to bond with your child. You will never get that 12 weeks back, enjoy every moment of it.

As for working from home FT or PT, try to keep it as open as possible for yourself until you come back, having your first baby REALLY changes you and it's impossible to say NOW what you will want to do then.

Good luck!

CA state guidelines relate to disability and provide a realistic idea of how long before you can return to work. For a c-section it's generally 8 weeks. But that doesn't mean you you won't want to work from home a little more often. Dont' be afraid to ask about flexible hours / days for the first few weeks / month / years. If you're a good worker and have a good work ethic they know you'll get your stuff done if you have to do it on Saturday at 6 AM or Monday at noon.

If at all possible, if your family needs your income and you need to work, try to work out flexible hours. Just open a dialoge with your boss. A lot will depend on your baby's personality. Some are good sleepers and really peaceful - others are not. If your baby sleeps well and is an easy going child then you won't NEED as much flesibilty -but you'll want it. On the other hand, if your baby is not a good sleeper you'll NEED the flexibility. Tell your boss you'd like to play it by ear - but that you are committed to your place of work and intend to retire from there in 35 years - whether you really do or not. ;o)

Realistically, you will have pretty limited mobility (especially if you have stairs) for a solid month after a c-section. I would ask them for a "standard" disability leave... 6 weeks for natural, 8 for c-section during which time you are home healing and bonding.

After that if they are willing to let you work at home for another month... TAKE IT! The little one will be sleeping most of the time during those months and you will not regret the extra time at home.

I had c-sections, and my disability covered 8 weeks for that. I couldn't afford to work any part time to get me back in the grove, so I went back to full time right away. FMLA would let me take 12 weeks, but the last 4 would have been unpaid. You may need to work with your husband to figure how long you can afford to be off, then you can decide if you want to work part time for a few weeks before going to full time.

ask for 12, and get help if they can't give you that much but will let you work from home (working from home with a newborn is HARD!)
yay for your employer for being so supportive and flexible!
:) khairete
S.

My goodness, how awesome! I had four months off after the birth of our daughter and it was soooooo wonderful. If your employer is willing to let you work from home say beginning 8 weeks after until four months or so, that would be absolutely ideal and allow for some really nice bonding with your new baby. I will tell you that once our daughter arrived on the scene, I completely rethought working full-time, I was just so attached and smitten with our new little creature that I had a very, very hard time going back to work. I think the night before I went back was the worst night of my life, I balled the entire time and almost didn't go back. My husband didn't know what to do with me, but those mommy hormones really got the best of me. I did go back, because I had promised that I would, but I immediately began looking for part-time work -- and found it. I worked 20 hours, four days a week for 5.5 years and have never regretted that decision for one second.

So that's my story ... everyone is different, but if you have such a wonderful work site and you are so inclined and can swing it financially, perhaps an altered work schedule going forward after your maternity leave might work for you :)

Good luck and congratulations!!

With my first one I took a full 12 weeks and still wasn't ready to go back, so I split my work to half in the office and half at home. I say take 8 to 12 weeks and do the work at home thing, you won't regret it. How lucky you are to have such a great work place.

Good luck with baby #1 and hold on for the ride. = )

you may want to think about predelivery too.
2 weeks before your due date you are going to be very uncomfortable.

I haven't seen this mentioned yet, but a friend of mine worked for a small company (office work) and they were so committed to her staying with the company and coming back to work that they allowed her to bring her baby in to work with her. This allowed her to continue breastfeeding and got her back to work sooner. I don't know what kind of work you do, but your company might be willing to work with you on this. When my friend's daughter got to be mobile and too distracting she had to find childcare for her, but until then it worked great for her, the baby and the company. Maybe they'd let you try it a few days and see how it works?? Good luck!

My question is more about how soon you feel you have to go back to work financially.

I think that c-section or not, 8 weeks time and you should be fully recovered. 6 weeks you'll probably be fine.

But that baby is still really little then, probably not sleeping too much, and super succeptible to germs (I'm not sure what you're doing for childcare).

I went back to work after 6 months with my daughter and 4 months with my son. If I could have swung those extra two months money-wise with my second, I totally would have done that.

Good luck!

If you are having a c-section, you should plan on eight weeks before you are released to work. The rest is really dependent on the individual.

What a great company to work for! Good for you! I would take 8 weeks for a csection and then ask to work from home for a little while after that. You may find it pretty hard to work from home with a newborn so I would see if family and/or friends can come help out during the week when you start working again.

I've taken 12 with both kids. However I could've gone back after 8 easily.
I did have a C section with my second. If you have a C, federal disability would allow for 8, so I think that's reasonable to ask for, even if they're not required to give it to you.

Most companies that do have maternity leave plans quote the following:

*6 weeks leave for a vaginal birth
*8 weeks leave for a caesarian birth

My employer had a pretty generous plan. I had Cs w/both my children. I was out at 100% for 8 weeks then went to a 60% pay scale for the additional 4 weeks I was out.

your company may not have a formal policy but they may be required to provide certain time off by law:

http://www.dfeh.ca.gov/DFEH/Publications/PublicationDocs/...

Generally speaking you should be on disability for a c-section 8 weeks post pardom. Although your employer needs to participate in the state program for disability benefits or provide their own coverage. After that you may qualify for 6 weeks of paid family leave through CFRA (link above) and/or potentially up to 12 weeks unpaid FMLA.

Now what you feel like doing may be different. I did not want to return to work until my kids were at least 3 months. For my second I waited until 6 months. But if your company will work with you find out what you are willing to give up. I would say home, no work for 3-6 months, work from home for a few months and then return full time then. Good luck! congrats on your new baby!

Family Leave Act says 12 weeks unpaid. If you can take 12 weeks, I'd do it. I had to take just 8 last time and it was not enough!

I had 2 c-sections and I would say 8 weeks is the 'minimum.' I was still uncomfortable at 8 weeks so maybe plan for 8-12 weeks post baby.

Disability gives you 8 weeks for c-sections (you need to check w/your employer on this stuff). I did 8 weeks of disability and then another month of FMLA (leave w/o pay but it covers your insurance premiums - at least through my employer it did).

Good luck!

At least 6 weeks... if you have a cesarean, your body will need a lot of time to rest, recoop, get over the pain and start to heal.

Be happy your company is willing to offer you options about maternity leave - most companies in America do not offer any kind of paid maternity care.

Only your doc can answer this question, he is the expert and won't let you go back until he is sure you are physically ready. He has dealt with this issue before and will have the better idea.

My first pregnancy I took one and a half months. I live in CA and by law allowed up to 2- 2 1/2 but I felt I needed to get back sooner. It all depends on you're phsyical needs, financial situation, and the state you live in.

I also work in a small company so my maternity leave was not paid. I didn't want to eat another month of no paycheck and I was feeling good, so going back to work early was not a problem for me.

Congrats on the baby and good luck!!

CW - it looks like you live in California, so some things to think about...

If you qualify for California State Disability Insurance (which I would think you should), you can take 4 weeks prior to your delivery date and 6 weeks after that, will be paid based on your employment history. Your doctor should have the forms to apply. Depending on the size of your company, you may also qualify for the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which allows you to take unpaid time off from work (while guaranteeing your position) for 12 weeks. California also has their own version of FMLA where you can get up to 55% of your pay while you are out (if you qualify).

I took 4 months off from work after I had my kids (which worked out great since most child care places I looked at wouldn't take infants until they were 4 months old). It all depends on you and your employer regarding when you go back. I would plan for longer and if you go back sooner, no worries.

2 or 3 months is good. Your recovery wont be that long but it will be nice for you to spend with your baby.

Everyone is different. If you can work from home, you might be able to "work" sooner then if you actually have to go in. 8 weeks is what you usually get after a C-Section. But I took 12 but I probably could have worked from home after 6-8. With your first baby, things are harder because you have a major life adjustment - your baby will only be a newborn for a little while, give yourself as much time as you can afford to take.

Also the state of California has something called Paid Family Leave (PFL), so if you are in CA, look into it - the state will pay a portion of your salary (60-80%) for up to 12 weeks all you have to due is fill out the paperwork with the state. In many cases this works for fathers too (paternity leave) he should check into that at work/with the state. You can manage to have a parent with your child for the first 4-5 months if you plan just right.

Good luck

My doctor submitted my FMLA paperwork just recently and the HR department approved me for 6-8 weeks. I'm not permitted to return without a dr.'s note before then. I can take up to 12 though, as that is what FMLA provides for.