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1 year leave
Use some Europe stats/data to back you on this too
I’d say 6 months then gradually transition back to full time after another 6 months with flexibility to start late/leave early/taking off. To me flexibility is more important than having time off. I needed work to get me out of the house and have social interactions.
I’m in Europe and a year was perfect for me. It’s just absolute crazytown for the first eight weeks and then at 4 & 1/2 months the baby goes through a sleep regression.
I was keen to be back in work by about 10 or 11 months as I was a bit bored and ended up having a year just because of holidays. But the most crucial thing? Is that my partner tried to share things 50-50 where possible. This is what’s essential, IMO. You need somebody to help sterilise the bottles, take the baby so you can have a little bit of a long time, do some baths, cook your meals, do the first early morning for you so that you can sleep more.
And as soon as the partner comes home from work - if he or she is working - hand that baby over to them and take a break.
Some great points here!
10 months. That gets them through the worst of the sleep regressions and they start ramping up food intake so there’s less pressure to nurse. I had 5.5 months off and it was ok but a couple extra months would have cut out so much stress.
6 months fully paid
In the US, the most standard I’ve seen is a combo of paid parental leave and STD for 12 weeks. Large tech companies and consulting firms offer more- up to 6 months - but that isn’t the norm.
I’ve taken leave at 2 different companies, and the smaller company offered me 12 weeks, half fully paid and half paid 50% through STD.
A friend will be six months next week, and she can’t see herself going back to work anytime soon. So it’s all relative to your financial situation, if you could at least have a year off & paid that would be awesome.
Perfect maternity leave? 1 year
What id ask for from a company that’s not bound by FMLA (I’m assuming you’re in the US)? Initially I’d ask for 16 weeks fully paid (do you have a short term disability policy by chance? If not, can’t get coverage for one now as pregnancy is a “preexisting condition”), and another 4 weeks of partial schedule while you’re getting back up to speed, but I can’t imagine them giving you more than 12 weeks paid
Maybe I’m just jaded tho? I hope they give you a year paid!!
Thanks for the input everyone! Wow these are much longer than I expected to hear
Coach
People here are being ambitious, and some are clearly not American.
Like a few have said, the average leave in the U.S. is 12 weeks (which is not enough), and that is because the only federal mandate is 12 weeks unpaid, protected leave. Some states have 12 weeks paid leave, but there are many caveats - company size, max earnings based on median wage, etc.
I took 16 weeks fully paid for my first child at one company and stretched to 15 weeks fully paid (including all my vacation days) for my second child at a different company. For my first child, I did not feel like 16 weeks was enough. You are going through a major life change that you can never really prepare for or understand till it happens. Second child, I felt like 15 weeks was totally fine. As a seasoned mom, it was easier to go back.
I think irrespective of what you ask for (I’d ask for 16-20 weeks), what is more important is a phased return to work which most companies in the U.S. do not offer. I’m talking 3 days of work a week for a month, 4 days for another month, and then perhaps fully back. When you first return, there should be some work from home days built in if that’s not already part of your company policy.
It’s just really hard to adjust, get proper sleep, and breastfeeding is a whole other timesuck / energy suck.
Good luck and pave the way for the women that come after you- it’s so important!