Weeks 25 & 26 – Maternity Leave

After pouring over tons of paperwork, I think I have a plan for maternity leave. On the bright side, the state of California and my employer have generous leave benefits. On the downside, there is a mountain of paperwork to read and submit to obtain these benefits. Basically, I’m going to work until Friday June 17th or the Newbie's arrival, whichever comes first. Then I’m going to take 18-19 weeks off completely (12 full pay, 6-7 half pay). I should return to work sometime at the end of October. Finally, with my employer’s approval (request is pending), I will work part-time until January. Although I wish I could take more time off and work part-time longer, I know many women must return to work 6-12 weeks postpartum…so I consider myself lucky.

On the advice of a friend who is 9 months along, I removed my wedding ring. She told me that I could wake up one morning to find my fingers swollen and unable to remove the ring. It’s weird to be without my wedding ring, as I’ve been wearing it for almost five years.