Mid June and July Firecrackers Group Due June/July 2017!

[lesondemavie]

Gotcha wondering then if people go back at 12 weeks bc that's when the partial pay runs out.

 

[DobbyForever]

Agreed all this 12 week+ talk. I'm going back as soon as I hit 6 weeks. My union contracts says I can have up to 45 school days off post birth BUT I have to exhaust my sick bank leave and then go on differential pay (my daily rate - the substitute's daily rate). Thankfully, I'm only looking to miss a couple weeks of actual work so it's a short term sub not long term (they get paid way less). Regardless of what I can or cannot do legally, I am a temp teacher and I have lost two jobs (union did pull through and save one but I decided not to work for that crazy b* anymore) to pregnancy, so I wouldn't feel comfortable taking any more days off.

 

[blessedmomma]

Malia- I just bought the manual avent pump!!! I have tried several double electrics and can't get anything out. But if I hand express I can usually get something out. I've been told some women who don't respond to electrics will to a manual and I found one on sale for $17 so bought it.

I hope you ladies get your jobs squared away with ease

 

[DobbyForever]

Thanks I chickened out and didn't tell boss lady because I was spotting this morning and yesterday. But I'm hoping the fact I have a rock solid game plan will keep my job.

 

[Maries_s]

I plan on breast feeding... And I have already researched what pump I am going to buy, the advent manual breast pump. I heard that it is good for ladies with larger breasts, so that's why I chose that one...

Precisely I spent this week doing research about breastpump. I already have a manual medela breastpump and works really well for me since I only used for emergencies. However, this pump surprised me on how well works I quickly could have 2 or 4oz of breastmilk. I also have the medela pump in a style and is good but I want to invest in a new one and read a couple of reviews that convinced me to buy the Spectra S2 or S1.

 

[808malia]

Malia- I just bought the manual avent pump!!! I have tried several double electrics and can't get anything out. But if I hand express I can usually get something out. I've been told some women who don't respond to electrics will to a manual and I found one on sale for $17 so bought it

Sweet! Let me know how you like it

 

[Mummafrog]

I'm in the UK but I'm really close to graduating my degree (which involves working shifts too), I will have finished all the uni work before baby comes but will have some shifts and stuff to finish off, so I'll be going back to work basically asap after the birth, I think I'll give myself two months but I'm not set yet. As soon as I've finished the course I'll have more time off with the baby.
But yeah it's really important to me to breastfeed again nonetheless, I've got the Ameda Lactaline double pump which worked reasonably well last time. I've also been looking at bottles and found comotomo! They don't stock them much in the UK but they look amazing for a mix of breast and express feeding

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

I have my next appointment on Wednesday and I'm going to discuss birthing options with my doctor. My step dad who's an ob is pretty sure I'm going to be pushed to have a section since I fractured my pelvis in three places and when your pelvis heals from a fracture it narrows. Although that makes me extremely nervous and anxious I have to do what's best for peanut.

My dh and I also discussed finding out the gender. I want to do a small gender reveal with close friends and family. My husband wants to know right away. So we came up with a compromise. We will have the tech put it in an envelope and my husband will open it on his own. Then I will find out during the gender reveal with everyone else... Hopefully that will make both of us happy..

 

[PrettyInInk42]

I'm in my 2nd trimester! Woooo! Still hard to believe I've made it this far.

As for the mat leave stuff, that's crazy that some of you are only allowed that short time off. I'm my province, actual mat leave is 17 weeks, but then as soon as that's done, you get 35 weeks of parental leave that can be split between both parents, so it could work out to a full year for a woman.

I was just talking about this in another forum. I was considering going back to work after I'm done breastfeeding (in 6-9 months?), but I don't wanna miss my baby's first steps. So, I may just take the whole year.

 

[lesondemavie]

That's great you have that option pretty. Is that with pay?

 

[PrettyInInk42]

That's great you have that option pretty. Is that with pay?

It's not with pay from my company, but the government pays you a certain amount every week, based on your income before mat leave. Plus, you get a monthly child care benefit cheque. My friend (who's already gone through this with her first) said: "If you make around 24-30k/year after taxes, you will probably get around $250/week for your mat leave, and around $300/month for child benefit. So you're likely working with at least $1200/month if not closer to $1500.00"

Gonna need to get that confirmed, but that sounds about right.

 

[lesondemavie]

Is that for the whole year or just the mat leave? That seems like a similar percent to what we get just for a longer period of time, and ours is paid by the state (of course we've been paying into the pot all along via payroll deductions). After more research, my plan is to take the 12 weeks of SDI/PFL, and then have DH take 6 weeks of PFL. That'll at least save us on child care for a while longer, which I'm sure will cost at least half of a paycheck anyway. Looks like SDI and PFL are not taxed by the state, and PFL is only taxed by the federal government. CA is one of only 5 states that offer these benefits, and although Obama made some progress in that area on a federal level, that's not likely to stay or change for the next 4 years.

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Is that for the whole year or just the mat leave?

Pretty sure it's for the whole year. And I get a certain amount deducted off my pay cheque too.

 

[lesondemavie]

Is that for the whole year or just the mat leave?

Pretty sure it's for the whole year. And I get a certain amount deducted off my pay cheque too.

Sweet enjoy! The US does have one of the worst policies. Looks like the max per week is lower ($485) in Canada, which would be less for me...but still to get pay for 52 weeks is pretty amazing. Cost of living in California is just so crazy! Some European countries pay 100% of the salary but for just 16 weeks. That would be perfect for me...honey we're moving to France .

 

[lesondemavie]

All this leave talk has me researching childcare options now. Anyone else already looking? My SIL visited a place and got her name in on a wait list when she was just 6 weeks along! Made me feel so behind . Looks like it'll be 1/4 of our budget depending on how flexible DH's job is. Do any of you parents work from home at all? DH can probably work from home a few days a week, but I'm not sure if that and a baby would be too much to juggle?

 

[Weebles]

Hubby and I will be working different shifts so we won't need daycare... It's the only benefit I can think of about my work schedule.

My state doesn't offer maternity leave so it's only disability for six or eight weeks depending on delivery. I have short term disability insurance which will help cover some of the expenses as I make enough to get the cap from the state, a whopping $170 a week. What does that do?? There is also FMLA which I intend on using for the 12 week maximum but it is unpaid so I'm saving as much as I can. I'm trying to find out if I can use FMLA after the disability or if I will be required to start it at the same time. I hope not, I want as much time off as possible without loosing my job.

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

Well ladies.. I passed my 3 hour GTT!!! Thank you Lord!

 

[lesondemavie]

Congrats gag!

Weebles - I think it is up to your employer, but most have them run concurrently. Don't quote me. I could be wrong.

 

[thexfadingpat]

That's great you have that option pretty. Is that with pay?

It's not with pay from my company, but the government pays you a certain amount every week, based on your income before mat leave. Plus, you get a monthly child care benefit cheque. My friend (who's already gone through this with her first) said: "If you make around 24-30k/year after taxes, you will probably get around $250/week for your mat leave, and around $300/month for child benefit. So you're likely working with at least $1200/month if not closer to $1500.00"

Gonna need to get that confirmed, but that sounds about right.

That is about right.
Before I started leave I made around $20k a year and my mat leave EI was about $200/week. Then child tax is based off your household income. We were about $55k and currently get $400/month for our son.

 

[second.time]

Congratulations gagrlin! What a huge relief.

I work from home. I'm a writer so I'm lucky to have a lot of flexibility. In fact, it was after I had my first son that I really started focusing more on my writing ... I found being at home with him constantly made me long for something else to do. I was lucky to find some success with that. But I'm ready to shift to other things as well. Since this is our last child I'll most likely wait until he's two-ish and then see about additional work outside of the home. I didn't put my son into daycare until he was close to three, which ended up working for us. At the time, my earning potential meant that daycare costs wouldn't have been worth it for us, so I went ahead and stayed home with him.

I really wish the U.S. offered better maternity leave. I always look at the moms in Canada and think how lovely it would be if we had similar support systems in place. Yeah, plenty of moms may prefer going back to work a bit sooner, but it's so nice to have the option to choose that for yourself instead of having to worry about the six-week deadline.