What I Learned From My First Maternity Leave

January 16, 2017

I had my first biological child when I was 41. At the time, I had a busy career as a financial planner for a global financial services firm and was already a stepparent. I liked my job, my team, my co-workers and the family-friendly corporate culture at my firm.

While I wasn’t quite sure what to expect after the baby was born, I had a vision that things would largely be the same, only busier. I’d be even more efficient and organized and cut back on some volunteering so I could get it all done. For those parents reading this, I’ll excuse you while pick yourself off the floor from laughing at my naiveté! If you are preparing now for parenthood, allow me to share some things I learned from returning to work after my first maternity leave:

Your HR Department is here to help you.

My HMO gave me forms to fill out for short-term disability and submit to my employer. It turns out I didn’t need them because my firm had 12 weeks of paid maternity leave with full benefits. My office HR rep was a fantastic resource once she knew I was expecting. She fully explained my benefits and how the leave would work.

Before my leave, she arranged for blinds to be installed in my team’s office indoor-facing windows, so I had a private place to nurse or pump when I returned. My manager encouraged my business partner and me to work out whatever arrangement suited us for my return, including a full-time schedule, a part-time schedule and working from home. Keep in mind that at the time I worked for a very large company that has won many awards for being friendly to working mothers, but even in a smaller company, you may be surprised at what you can negotiate.

It might start sooner than you expect.

As I wrote about here, a week or so before my daughter was due, I developed some unexpected complications and had to begin my maternity leave suddenly. It was challenging on many levels. I felt fine, and there were so many things that were left to do. Luckily, this happened late in my pregnancy, but I have friends who have had to go on leave suddenly with many months to go. A paid maternity leave that starts well before the baby is born could have financial implications.

If you still plan to take the same amount off after the baby then there will be a period of time without income. If you have sick time or PTO available, consider using that first before you begin your formal leave. Once you’re expecting, consider building up your emergency fund to cover an additional 3-4 months of living expenses above what you’ve already saved in case you have to take unpaid leave. Use this calculator to determine how much you can save.

You may want to take a longer leave.

After 12 weeks, I went back to work part time, but I found it was too soon. My baby wasn’t sleeping for more than 45 minutes at a stretch, and I was exhausted. My team at work was very understanding, and we tried keeping my daughter in the office with us for a while.

Eventually, I asked to take an unpaid leave for another three months, under the Family Medical Leave Act. That meant that I could take leave for an additional 12 weeks without pay but without risking my job. I was able to continue my health insurance coverage at the same group rate but had to write a check for my share of the premiums as I wasn’t getting a paycheck. See here to learn more about employee protections under the FMLA.

Accept you will feel torn.

Ambivalence is completely normal during the early stages of returning to work after maternity leave. When I was back in the office, part of me felt like I should be home, and when I was at home, part of me felt like I should be at work. Remember that your HR Department is here to help you manage the changes, so reach out when you have questions.

Don’t let maternity leave stress you out. Your company wants you to have a successful maternity leave and a productive return to work. With some preparation and a realistic assessment, you’ll be ready for it!

 

Do you have a question you’d like answered on the blog? Please email me at [email protected]. You can follow me on the blog by signing up here, and on Twitter @cynthiameyer_FF.

What to Do When You’re Expecting

July 19, 2016

When my husband and I got married, we wanted children, but we had to face the reality that it would be difficult to have children due to prior medical issues. Apparently, God had a different plan for us and I found myself surprisingly pregnant within two weeks of trying. We were happy with the news but after the joy wore off, I started putting on my planner hat to figure out how to plan financially for the new baby. I’ve always believed in learning from other people’s experience, so I started asking friends of mine who were parents what financial guidance they would give to a woman pregnant with her first baby, knowing what they know now.  The list started pouring out:

1. There are enough surprises to being a new mom without medical bills being one of them. Contact your healthcare provider to find out how you are covered for medical visits, including vaginal and c-section deliveries and well-baby care. Once you have the numbers, consider increasing your contributions into a health savings account (HSA)  or a flexible spending account (FSA) to cover the costs with pre-tax money.

2. You only get one time to be a first-time mom so take all of the leave offered to you. Contact your employer to clarify how much time you can take off and how much you will get paid during the time off. Many companies offer paternity leave so find out the rules for the baby’s father as well. If the leave is unpaid, figure out how much time you want – factoring in that you may want to take leave before the baby comes and/or your bundle of joy may be late (mine was almost two weeks pat due) into your numbers.

3. What is your ideal maternity leave? Do you have lots of friends and family to help out or do you need to outsource? If you are the primary cook of the family, do you need to budget an eating out, food delivery or frozen food budget? Do you want a nanny or baby nurse to help you out? Would you like a cleaning service to help you for the first few weeks?

Start thinking about what costs are involved in each of these options. Delivered prepared meals can run over $300 for two a day. A baby nurse could cost upwards of $200 a day. Average cost of maid services can run upwards of $157 for the service. If your budget is tight, consider asking for frozen meals or even for people to pitch in and pay for a cleaning service as part of your baby shower gift or reach out to your local place of worship for help.

4. Once you have your numbers, start to work on a budget for when you are on maternity leave as well as a budget for when you return to work.  Account for possible medical costs, any gaps between your pay before maternity leave, and the costs that come with a new baby – endless diapers, wipes and if needed, formula. After you go back to work, you’ll also have possibly new work clothes (it took me forever to fit back into my pre-baby clothes), daycare (for a year, I called my daughter my little mortgage payment) and additional doctor visits. Any parent with kids can tell you that with the first baby, as soon as they sneeze, you are crying and heading to the doctor. With baby number #2, as long as they aren’t spitting up blood, you don’t even bother.

5. If your budget shows a shortfall, take the total amount needed and divide it by the months you have left and that is your savings goal. Start thinking about what you can cut back on now to save the funds. Can you reduce your cable and cell phone bills and eat out less? Can you use vacation days to get additional paid time off?

What did I learn from all this? Overall, the best guidance centered around thinking through what your ideal maternity looks like, putting those ideas into tangible dollars and realistically assessing your finances to see if it is doable. Taking these few steps will make your first few months with your bundle of joy less financially stressful.

 

 

How Non-Netflix Employees Can Plan For Maternity Leave

August 26, 2015

The issue of paid maternity leave was in the news again last week when Netflix announced it was giving most of its workers a full year of paid leave upon the birth or adoption of a child. I’d like to think this is a growing trend for American companies and that by the time I’m ready to take maternity leave (no, Mom, this is not an announcement), it will be the norm instead of news. But the reality is that most workers who receive a maternity leave still only get the FMLA-mandated 12 weeks off and then only sometimes with pay. This means that in addition to planning for the added expense of a new person in your family, having a baby includes planning for a temporary (or sometimes permanent) reduction in household income. Continue reading “How Non-Netflix Employees Can Plan For Maternity Leave”