Nick, more than anything in that process, I am impressed that you can still get off and on your horse without the assistance of a forklift. I’m a little ways behind you at 29 weeks, and I can hardly get off the couch without help! I also now get winded when I eat, which really makes me feel like a colossal fat ass.
So. Maternity leave starts today at 3. I am freaking out. I started my business from nothing 4 years ago and work so hard, love what I do. It is so much a part of me. A month off seems an eternity. I know, in my head, that once the baby comes I’ll be too busy and tired to think but I worry about the week to 10 days of waiting…Anyone else feel this way?
Nick - :lol: I do hope you are at least done with your travel.
[QUOTE=Heineken;8292700]
So. Maternity leave starts today at 3. I am freaking out. I started my business from nothing 4 years ago and work so hard, love what I do. It is so much a part of me. A month off seems an eternity. I know, in my head, that once the baby comes I’ll be too busy and tired to think but I worry about the week to 10 days of waiting…Anyone else feel this way?[/QUOTE]
I work for a large multi-national corporation. I mostly feel bad that my co-workers will have to cover me while I am out. I am working up until I go into labor so no sitting around waiting. Well, I have a desk job so I guess that in itself constitutes sitting around and waiting…
Cross posting in here since you guys are my pregnancy therapy lol
Basically, I just got let go because I’m pregnant and need to take leave. Or, in their words, “they just can’t hold a position open for that long of a time frame and need to do some restructuring to the job anyway.”
Being allowed to keep working until I need to stop (due in 30ish days) but I’m still pissed…and stressed. And more than just a little upset. Guess I’ll get to spend my maternity “leave” job searching.
Mostly venting…any advice is welcome lol
[QUOTE=ilmjumper;8292882]
Cross posting in here since you guys are my pregnancy therapy lol
Basically, I just got let go because I’m pregnant and need to take leave. Or, in their words, “they just can’t hold a position open for that long of a time frame and need to do some restructuring to the job anyway.”
Being allowed to keep working until I need to stop (due in 30ish days) but I’m still pissed…and stressed. And more than just a little upset. Guess I’ll get to spend my maternity “leave” job searching.
Mostly venting…any advice is welcome lol[/QUOTE]
Six years ago when I was still a fairly new employee for a small business, my coworker left on maternity leave and was not offered a position when her maternity leave was over. Which turned out was not legal for them to do and she ended up getting a settlement. Personally I’d check with a labor board about your options because legally I don’t think they can do that. I am not a lawyer, nor will I claim to know every law, but it doesn’t sound right.
[QUOTE=ilmjumper;8292882]
Cross posting in here since you guys are my pregnancy therapy lol
Basically, I just got let go because I’m pregnant and need to take leave. Or, in their words, “they just can’t hold a position open for that long of a time frame and need to do some restructuring to the job anyway.”
Being allowed to keep working until I need to stop (due in 30ish days) but I’m still pissed…and stressed. And more than just a little upset. Guess I’ll get to spend my maternity “leave” job searching.
Mostly venting…any advice is welcome lol[/QUOTE]
(Mostly) Not legal in the US.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a law that requires most companies to allow their employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid family leave time after the birth of their child. The FMLA applies to both men and women and is also available for those that adopt a child.
If the parents work for the same company, the 12 weeks is then divided between the two of them and is an accumulation of both of their time (i.e., each could take 6 weeks off, or one could take 4 weeks while the other takes 8 weeks).
There are exceptions to the FMLA which release a business from the obligation of allowing unpaid time off. These exceptions include the size of the company (less than 50 employees), the time of employment (less than 12 months), and level of wages (top 10%).
Employees with incomes that account for the top 10% of wages for the business may not have access to the unpaid benefit if the company can show with evidence that your absence creates significant financial harm to the organization. Some states have family leave acts that are broader than the federal mandate.
[QUOTE=akhunterrider;8292908]
Six years ago when I was still a fairly new employee for a small business, my coworker left on maternity leave and was not offered a position when her maternity leave was over. Which turned out was not legal for them to do and she ended up getting a settlement. Personally I’d check with a labor board about your options because legally I don’t think they can do that. I am not a lawyer, nor will I claim to know every law, but it doesn’t sound right.[/QUOTE]
Agreed. Check with your local labour laws. I work in HR, my company is primarily based in Canada where I work, but we do have locations in various states.
Maternity leave is generally considered a “protected” leave meaning you cannot be let go while on leave and when you return you would return to an equivalent position to the one you held prior to going on leave - you cannot get demoted. However, as always, where there’s a will there’s a way and some companies will always work around that. The key may be that they are giving you your notice of termination PRIOR to you actually starting your mat leave. And regardless, there’s nothing saying that even if they did have you back after your mat leave that they need to keep you more than 1 day to satisfy the law.
It’s worth looking into though for sure as each jurisdiction can have slight variances.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, “Maternity Leave” in the US is a joke.
OP, I have no words of wisdom as I am navigating these waters myself for the first time. I am royally pissed off for you.
Congrats akhunterrider!!
That’s the fun of the interweb and being anonymous. Plus we seem to be a great sounding board… Welcome to the team.
Hello Everyone!
I am starting to go public with my news in real life, so I figured I would step out and introduce myself to you as well! I’m 15 weeks along, due in February. We are super excited, although I’m still finding a lot of it
Hello Everyone!
I’m starting to go public in real life (of course my family and few close friends have known for a while) so I figured it was time to introduce myself to this thread! I’m 15 weeks along, due in February, and while we are very excited, I’m still finding of lots of things quite overwhelming!
I’m still riding fairly normally, although I’m tapering off and planning to stop riding around 20-22 weeks, depending on how I feel. So far, the best solution to my morning sickness (which is almost getting worse in the second trimester…anyone else?) is breakfast and horse shows! :lol: Seriously, I seem to feel the most normal when I’m at work and keeping busy (I’m fortunate enough to work in the horse business, so I still get plenty of barn time). At the moment I’m trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m going to be spending more time watching people ride and less time actually riding myself. I just keep telling myself that it’s only temporary, and I won’t forget everything I know about riding while I’m on hiatus!
In other news, I’m attempting to start shopping for things like strollers, cribs, and car seats without getting too overwhelmed. There are so many options! I think I need a personal shopper! Also, I’m finding myself with a very strange urge to shop for maternity dresses. May not seem that strange, but a) I’m still fitting quite passably into my regular clothes, and b) I don’t wear dresses. Like ever. 
Maybe these are the hormones reminding me that I’m a girl? As if I wasn’t aware already…
Anyways, I’ve really enjoyed following this thread. It’s been so helpful, and great to know that all of us are going through the process together! Congrats to everyone!
Once you hit a certain point, dresses and skirts become your best friends… Seriously, I loathe the days I have to wear pants (even yoga pants) because I was to lazy to do laundry! That said though, all of my pre baby bump dresses still fit, there may be one or two that are a little too short now but I just throw some leggings on under them 
I didn’t have huge morning sickness in the traditional sense so I’m not sure if what helped me will help you I basically had dry heaves every morning but never actually threw up. I found eating something right before I went to bed helped, especially if it was something like cottage cheese that takes a really long time to digest. Also, prego pops helped sometimes. And those icy pop things you are as a kid! I’ve had those in my freezer (at home and at work) my whole pregnancy! And it gets better promise!
I had rather awful morning sickness, and my doctor put me on Diclegis, which helped a bit. It at least took the edge off of it a bit so I could still work. Fortunately, mine began tapering off at 13 weeks. Before that, I threw up at least daily for 6 weeks… that was a bummer. I did find that eating something as soon as I woke up - for me it’s a few bites of clif bar - helped, as well as being quite careful not to eat too many carbs in the morning and avoiding meat until dinner time. My diet now is eggs, vegetables and a slice of whole wheat toast in the morning, salad/pasta/vegetable sandwich for lunch, and then a normal dinner. I’m at 22 weeks tomorrow and I still can’t handle meat in the morning! I don’t throw up very often anymore though, and hopefully yours will also taper off soon.
I had a lot of morning sickness too (although mine was typically worse in the evenings), and I learned that eating something small when I first got up was helpful. Also, the answer to the question “Hungry or Nauseous?” is always hungry, even when it doesn’t feel that way at all. Mine started to improve around 14 weeks and stopped around 16, so it was a welcome relief! I couldn’t eat any meat still until probably 18 weeks or so though. Since then, I have no aversions and have not been sick at all.
[QUOTE=bluebird44;8292621]
Nick, more than anything in that process, I am impressed that you can still get off and on your horse without the assistance of a forklift. I’m a little ways behind you at 29 weeks, and I can hardly get off the couch without help! I also now get winded when I eat, which really makes me feel like a colossal fat ass.[/QUOTE]
LOL, winded eating… I remember that, and am NOT looking forward to it this time!
I consoled myself by visualizing how squashed my lungs were getting.
[QUOTE=bluebird44;8296197]
Also, the answer to the question “Hungry or Nauseous?” is always hungry, even when it doesn’t feel that way at all. [/QUOTE]
This was/is 100% true for me too! And now it’s more a process of elimination…feeling yucky? It’s either time to pee for the 80th time today, dehydration, or hunger lol and if none of those fix it, a nap does!
How is everyone doing? Thinking about all the Sept Girls due here shortly!
I have to go to a Keuring tomorrow and they asked me to wear white in case they needed help. Who asks a woman 18 weeks pregnant with twins to wear all white :lol:?
In an unrelated note, I feel like my lungs are being compressed - like someone is stepping on my chest. I am normally a very active person and I find the hardest part about pregnancy is feeling like I get winded so easily.
Welp - I officially had my first crazy pregnant lady hormonal moment yesterday.
I was at Best Buy trying to get a salesperson to help me with a product that wasn’t just available on the shelf (for my husband’s 30th birthday present). Anyways, I was there for 45 minutes. Talked to 3 salesguys who said “we’ll be right with you” and then never came back.
As the 4th guy just brushed past me and ignored me trying to get his attention I was done. He turned around when I was like “seriously?” and he said “oh sorry, can I help you?” and at this point I could tell I was at that point where I was about to cry. I was furious!! But gonna cry. So anyways, I said, “I just want to buy this thing that’s up on the shelf” in my awful trying to keep the tears back voice and he said “oh sorry, I’m with another customer” and that was it. Full blown ugly cry. I left the store.
Cried in the parking lot for 15 minutes. Almost went home. Decided to push on to another store and see if they had what I wanted. Cried the whole drive over while I told myself it was totally irrational to be crying and instead I should be angry and be demanding better customer service.
I got funny looks from the construction guys I had to drive past on the way cause the ugly cry face was still happening. Had to compose myself in the parking lot of the next store, and finally got what I needed (had 3 guys helping too!).
Ugh. Hormones suck.
I took my horse to an itty bitty local show on Sunday and promptly fell off. Pony spooked, leapt in the air and I fell off. I’m fine (mostly) I landed on my tail bone and it really, really hurts. Husband told me I was getting back on whether I wanted to or not (and I didn’t want to). I cried a little bit, switched my saddle, then got on him. He thankfully got better throughout the day, but I’m done trying to show him while I’m pregnant. I’ll ride him for a while longer, but my tail bone needs to feel a bit better first.
I can commiserate with emotions. My husband almost left me at the show because I was not being very nice.
I am emotional, but more than anything, I just hate everyone right now. Particularly my in-laws.
