STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

luckyclover · Dooney & Bourke

stressed....just venting

Luv2Shop · Kate Spade

I am sorry you feel so sad! Hopefully DH can help you out this weekend, don't just take everything on yourself! Plus, take some time to just relax, eat some chocolate and watch a chick flick! I promise you will feel better!! Happy Friday, enjoy it (at least after work

)

I'm in a funk too. (I think it has a lot to do with my monthly visitor) but I am glad it's supposed to rain most of the weekend because I just want to stay home and be lazy!!! We don't have much going on this weekend and I am SO GLAD!

Elle · Hermes

I'm sorry Luckyclover . On the maternity leave front, under FMLA you're entitled to 12 weeks unpaid leave and your job would still be waiting for you when you got back. Some employers, if they're nice/accomodating/understanding, will either let you extend that leave by using your vacation, or let you use your vacation time during the leave spread out so your'e not without income the entire time. You could even take your 12 weeks and then come back half days, using your vacation hours for the other halves.

How long you're supposed to stay home with the baby depends on the choices your making about feeding etc and what kind of birth you have, among other things .

Hang in there, and hopefully things will calm down soon!

FashionPrincess · Hermes

*Big hugs* I'm so sorry you're feeling so stressed! Just remember that you don't have to be superwoman and the sink of dishes will be there tomorrow, the most important thing is to take care of yourself first and foremost. Do you have some family there that can come help pack? Or maybe a cleaning service that can come over and do the general cleaning for you? I remember once a woman telling me to let others do what anyone can do and you focus on what only you can do. Hang in there! And you can come vent here anytime you need

luckyclover · Dooney & Bourke

well I called the HR lady and she says we don't have any maternity program other than the FMLA and really any time over 6 weeks they require a dr note to justify why since my job is not physically demanding. I had no idea how long you are supposed to take but I wasn't planning on taking more than a month really. By my due date I will have a little over that not counting my sick leave. I really didn't want to use all my vacation for that so I will probably use part of my sick leave and part of my vacation. I called my dr about any classes for first timers they might have (before I switched dr's, my first dr gave me all the info about enrolling for classes there) so she is supposed to call me sometime today with the info. Hopefully that will help- I guess I just started to feel a little panic with having to fill out this stuff for leave time already.

You girls are so sweet to make me feel better. Thanks so much!!

Sibeski · Dooney & Bourke

L.C., what state are you in? In Ca. you get 6 weeks off with disability, you do not use any of your own time. After that 6 weeks we can choose to stay home and bond with our baby for another 6 weeks, paid also. If you choose to stay home the 6 weeks of bonding with your baby you have to use the fmla concurrently.

Elle · Hermes

Luckyclover, ususally people do classes at the hospital they plan to deliver at - that way you get to know what the specific hospitals policies are.

You'll need at least 6 weeks off, possibly more if you end up having a c-section. You could be recovering from major abdominal surgery, and will be healing from pregnancy, possibly breastfeeding, and taking care of a small infant on not much sleep. Adding a work schedule on top of that would be too much until you're feeling somewhat back up to your normal (well, as normal as one could be) energy levels.

Do you already have childcare lined up for when you're back at work?

esquiress · Marc Jacobs

FashionPrincess wrote:

I remember once a woman telling me to let others do what anyone can do and you focus on what only you can do.

what great advice. delegating is so difficult to do when you're feeling overwhelmed, which is ironically probably the time you should be delegating the most! poor thing, you sound like you have so much on your plate so you certainly shouldn't feel bad about feeling stressed. sometimes just the act of writing down a to do list calms me down. so feel free to vent anytime!

KaffeeKlatsch · Marc Jacobs

(((hugs)))

*may today's stress be tomorrow's distant memory*