Should I take FMLA for our new child?
My wife and I are expecting our second (and last) child in early October. She just started a new job and her busy season is, you guessed it, Fall. So the plan is for me to help out as many days as possible when she has work to do and we’re going to just muddle through. Shortly thereafter, child number two will begin attending daycare. That situation is new to us - my wife stayed home full-time until our daughter was around two (she now attends a day school).
What I’m now wondering is should I take a leave of absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? We’ve had enough advance notice (like, nine months worth) to begin saving a good chunk of money that presumably could be used in lieu of my salary for a few months. I’d really like to do it. In fact, I briefly fantasized about taking my turn to be the stay-at-home parent. Unfortunately, it just wouldn’t work out fiscally. My problem basically hinges on the money. While we could save enough to replace my income, that would be a fairly large amount of money and I have some sort of pathological aversion to spending large amounts of money.
I realize like three people have visited this site so this is a long shot, but has anyone done something similar or know someone who has? I’d be interested in hearing about the experience for and against.
April 3rd, 2007 at 8:07 pm
A friend I work with took 3 weeks off around the time his son turned 2 months old. I think 2 weeks were leave without pay and would have been covered under FMLA. I opted to save up and burn vacation time when our first came. It ended up being around 2.5 weeks with some holidays thrown in.
If I had to do it over again (and had money to burn) I would seriously consider taking off more time. For most people, passing up on the money when you’re incurring all sorts of new expenses is tough.
April 9th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
I did the same as Cents. I have two kids (1.5 and 3.5 yrs old) Though my wife didn’t work, I wanted to stay home to help. I saved up three weeks of vacation and worked 2 days a week so the vaction would last about a month. My mother in law came the other days.
Though I don’t know your exact situation, I would value the time with the newborn much more than the money. Their is no better way to be close to your kid than being with them 24 hours a day.
My perspective may still be a bit different. I am more traditional. My wife jokes that I want to come home to seeing her in a 1950’s style housewife dress with the kids and house clean. [semi-jokingly] I always respond “yes”.