I understand that most fathers get zero time off when they have their babies. I was fortunate enough to take 2 weeks off...that shit still ain't enough. I'm going to be completely useless coming back this week. All I want to do is sleep and hang out with my son.

I wish our country had a better system. I feel like, if a couple is having a baby, the primary caregiver should get something closer to 6 months while the other gets 4-6 weeks. I could have done with a few more weeks for sure. Luckily my wife saved up a ton of time so she's good until late fall. We're pretty fortunate in that regard...most people don't get that luxury. It should be afforded to everyone...I have no idea how but other countries have figured it out so we should be able to.

its been 4 months and i'm still coming to work feeling obtuse

mom def could have used more than 8 weeks. 2 of which were her vacation weeks. luckily they were good enough to pay her. in Tennessee they have to give you maternity leave, but they don't have to pay you.

my 2 weeks are personal time I had...her 5 months are only 6 weeks of maternity leave and the remaining is all a combination of personal, sick and vacation time. She'll have to take a pay cut for a good portion of it as well. It shouldn't be so complicated.

all got more time when babies arrive.............with pay!

>all got more time when babies arrive.............with pay!

I became a stay at home mom after almost a year. It was just too hard to work, and be a caregiver, wife, and mother.

Now she starts preschool half day in the fall. 4 days a week. Im trying to find a job in a gym so hopefully my schedule will be more flexible, especially when I finish my personal training cert.

The United States sucks in that regard
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. . . If I have something to say when there is a reason involved, I am perfectly willing to talk. Katherine Hepburn

everyone in canada gets a year. you can split it with your partner if you want, but most mothers just choose to take the full year.

sometimes you get full pay for the year. the government pays part of your income (not sure what the percentage is..45% or so?) then your employer tops up however much they want. up to 100% or whatever.

additionally, women usually take vacation in the weeks leading up to their maternity leave. everyone i know who has taken it has been off for at least 13 months.

she was planning to go in that morning actually...had to maximize the time. I don't know if we can copy Canada exactly but there's gotta be a better way for us to do it.

originally established it for a relatively homogenous population
the taxes that pay for it are mostly for their "own"
and then there are the blessed few foreigners, asylees, adopteds, who make it past their restrictive immigration policies
and for those the country has bled dry through colonialism, where maternity leave/health care is a pittance of what they've already taken from those communities

we regularly house pregnant women civil detainees for immigration violations and up until recently in shackles
there's a whole lot of xenophobia, racism, and misogyny that will have to be addressed before we get around to figuring out humane family leave policies

it's on the horizon though - we're the only "developed" country that can't manage to do this for our population

education, pre-natal, maternity issues are always hard to crack because unless you have 8 kids - parents are usually just so happy to get through one phase they rarely turn into long-term advocates because with kids you are always on to the next thing and back at work lol

but you can always sign bernie's petition for paid family leave: https://go.berniesanders.com/page/s/paid-family-leave

But I understand where you're coming from. I felt some kind of way when I had my kids. I wasn't ready to go back to work after 2 weeks. Although I was tired as hell, I was enjoying fatherhood so much. Seems like yesterday my daughter was being born, now she's in highschool. sigh.

- I'm taking 2 weeks initially with the option to work from home after that...

I'm sure it'll go by fast though....