Ever take paid leave?

[Joe13]

Sadly you "may" need to be willing to move. Either job or location, or both. No one "likes this" but, some times its the only way. I work in health care. It was a career move I made fairly late in life. Had toyed with the idea of doing it a LONG time. Finally just went for it. I could make a LOT more money if I wanted to up and move. Since I live "comfortable" I don't. It can be scary to just up and change "trades" but, it can be VERY rewarding.
We are struggling right now to find people to take jobs that pay 100K a year easy.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Congratulations young man.

Take the time. It's worth it. My son took the full allowance of state leave ( pfml ) but they were saving a little extra ahead of it so his missing income from no overtime didn't hurt so much.
The bonding time has no cash value equivalent, because it's priceless.

 

[BurningOF]

Please use the time available to you, like everyone else is saying your family should take priority. little moments with family are worth the world compared to being at work.

 

[AshWilliams]

To echo other sentiments here, I think only the devil himself would begrudge you for taking time off to spend with your newborn son.

If your workplace holds that against you, its time to find a new workplace.

 

[nammac]

Check into something called family medical leave.

This right here is the best advice for your immediate situation. Perhaps a combination of state benefits and employer benefits so you are whole from a salary perspective.

For example my employers policy is they make up the deficit between OR Family Leave coverage and my actual salary, which would be significant, and they'll do that for up to 12 weeks.

So look into what, if anything your employer will provide and look at what WA state will provide.

Finally, take the sage advice you've received here, get yourself into a trade program or continuing education to set a career path and climb that socioeconomic ladder. It's not getting any cheaper to raise kids.

And congratulations on the arrival of your son, take care of baby and momma, help her get as much rest as possible to help in her recovery.

Prayers and blessing upon you and your newly forged family!

 

[Alexx1401]

To echo other sentiments here, I think only the devil himself would begrudge you for taking time off to spend with your newborn son.

If your workplace holds that against you, its time to find a new workplace.

The workplace can't do that, its protected by law. What that law does not cover is if taking the time off puts you in a financial bind. An amazing number of people seem to think everyone can go weeks or months with no pay check and and life just goes on like nothing happened. A LOT of people don't have that kind of safety net. The act that we are talking about here is not some magic wand that many seem to think it is. Its a program run buy gov bureaucrats. The one thing they do REAL well is screw things up. The people who shuffle the paper work get paid no matter how slow they are so they don't care. So yes, by all means you have the right to take months off if you wish. Your employer has to hold your job for you. Know what the employer does not have to do? Pay you as if you were there working. Here is where those bureaucrats come in. They are supposed to get you the money and they usually well, eventually. So if you are able to go many weeks with no paycheck and feel no pain? Great. If being without a paycheck for weeks or more is going to be a painful experience? Now its time to stop and think.

 

[rolyatsnave]

Good afternoon all!
Today is such a blessed day. My son was brought into this world at 3:14 this morning and am looking for some advice.
I am wanting to take paid leave through WA due to my fiancée having a c-section. I originally planned on taking 2wks off but due to the situation, I am now thinking at least 4-6.
I'm just wondering if anyone here from WA has taken it for paternal leave and if it's worth it.

To be fair, I make $16.50 at a body armor company which is a lot less than the state would pay, even per week.

Congrats!

 

[tdemore1743x]

I just realized I never updated everyone.
Turns out, my son is pretty laid back and doesn't really fuss much unless hungry. Mom is healing pretty quick from the incision which is good.
I ended up returning to work after a week off, recently applied for job corp and a couple of other opportunities in my area.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I just realized I never updated everyone.
Turns out, my son is pretty laid back and doesn't really fuss much unless hungry. Mom is healing pretty quick from the incision which is good.
I ended up returning to work after a week off, recently applied for job corp and a couple of other opportunities in my area.

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Very cute baby congrats man! My #1 recommendation is read up on the Ferber sleep method. It is a true godsend both for parents and for life long good sleeping habits for the kiddo.

Another suggestion would be to get "brain rules for baby" on audiobook. It's written by a Seattle area neurologist who borders on genius. He talks about what you can do from ages 1-5 for the kid to create best habits/environment for mental growth and emotional health. I know someone who used that book and their kid tested in the top 1% in the nation in intelligence. It's really amazing. For example getting kids to verbalize how they feel will instantly transport them from manic to calm so they can deal with whatever the issue is.

 

[HotRod61]

My son lives in Spokane. He loved it. Quality time you can't get back if you pass it up. Take it easy but take it.

 

[Alexx1401]

I just realized I never updated everyone.
Turns out, my son is pretty laid back and doesn't really fuss much unless hungry. Mom is healing pretty quick from the incision which is good.
I ended up returning to work after a week off, recently applied for job corp and a couple of other opportunities in my area.

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Sounds GREAT! We need more kids raised to NOT fear guns. Glad all is going well.

 

[DCriddle]

My daughter was born may 8th and I took 2 weeks off initially. Here in Oregon, fathers get 12 weeks paid leave. I plan on taking 10 more weeks after this week. We planned this to save as much money as we could on babysitters. I'll have 2 weeks to get into the swing of things before mom goes back to work. Our daughter is not a laid back baby and needs a lot of attention or stimulating things to look at. She's growing so fast though and I'm glad I have the chance to take this much time to spend with her.

 

[DCriddle]

I will add that I was fortunate enough to save $700 every month once we found out we would be having a baby which helped eliminate any stress I would have had in the first 2 months. My and my girlfriends claim went through MetLife which did not go smoothly. I didn't get my 2 weeks pay for 6 weeks and my girlfriend didn't get paid for nearly 5-6 weeks. If I didn't have the ability to save we would have been hurting REAL bad but again we have been fortunate. We also had 3 baby showers between my family, her family, and coworkers. Our baby is 11 weeks old and we have yet to buy wipes, diapers, bibs, or clothes. Almost all of her nursery furniture came from baby showers or the money we got from baby showers. If we didn't have the support from family and friends and if I wasn't able to save money, I honestly don't know how we would be doing right now.

 

[clanhanson]

I get 30 days off standard and can bank up to six months. Use it or lose it, it's there for a reason. Congrats.