Telling work: check!

Monday we had our doctor's appointment, and Tuesday I'd scheduled time with my boss (the CEO) and the Director of HR to let them in on our news. I was nervous. Not because they could do anything about it at this point (hello!) and not because I didn't think they'd be excited. It was mostly because that's a big thing to tell people!

Went into my boss' office. We made small talk for a couple of minutes, then I said, "I don't know exactly how to say this, so I'll just say it. I'm pregnant!" He congratulated me and got all excited and asked me a few (non-invasive, friendly) questions. He's very Christian and loves babies, and his son and daughter-in-law are pregnant right now with what's going to be his first grandchild, so he has baby fever. He told me stories from his wife's pregnancy and offered some fatherly advice. He also said, "I know I've only met Mike once or twice, but if he has any questions or wants to talk to me, please tell him to call me!" It was a very nice offer, but one I don't see us taking him up on. Ha ha.

So that was a relief. I then headed over to HR and had the same conversation with the HR director. I was concerned because I am due to deliver before my 1 year anniversary with my employer, so I'm not eligible for FMLA immediately, but it looks like that's actually going to work in my favor (contrary to what I thought a couple of months ago). I can start on Pregnancy Disability Leave (PDL), which usually runs concurrently with FMLA, but because I'm not eligible for FMLA, I can start on my PDL and then FMLA will kick in on the day of my 1 year anniversary (nearly 4 weeks after I'm due). I can use that and then get into CFRA (California law) baby bonding time, which apparently after I've taken 2 weeks of, I can decide to then use in day or week(s)-long increments. And the HR director said she'd work with me once it gets closer to run some numbers and do some calculations and figure out how to take my time so that I continue to have company-paid insurance (normally, when you're on unpaid leave, you have to pay your own premiums) and continue to accrue PTO (which would then help stretch out my leave)!

Yesterday, Wednesday, I called my team together and told them the news. They were very happy for me and excited, and the employee I'm closest to came up to me after the meeting and said, "I didn't want to do this out there, but I'm a girl, so give me a hug!" We hugged and she asked me questions and we talked about it. She said she thought I might be pregnant. She's very observant! Another of my employees said, "The important thing is not to get stressed, so put it on us. We're here for you," which I thought was the nicest thing ever.

It feels very good to have told people and to be able to have it out in the open now. I just have to keep this bun in my oven so I don't have to tell all these people any sort of bad news.

I'm screwed

The policy at my work to take FMLA and CFRA (the California version of the law) says you have to have worked there for at least 1 year and have worked at least 1250 hours in the previous year. I started my job on February 2, 2008, so unless I'm having an elephant, there's no way I will have been there for a year when I deliver. And 1250 hours is about 8 months' worth of 40-hour work weeks; I won't get to that point until November. Sigh.

I am feeling incredibly frustrated with the timing of this pregnancy. Obviously it wasn't planned, and I am a planner by nature. I can take some unpaid leave-- 30 days' worth-- but that's it. I'm looking at quitting my job or having to go back to work way sooner than I'd like so I can get the time on the books and then take the leave.

Mike and I had a brief conversation today and he said something to the effect of, "well, you can just go back to work and take your leave starting in February." I can have the baby, use whatever vacation I've accrued (and maybe the unpaid leave, or maybe not) and then suck it up and go back to work. That really pissed me off because it doesn't take into consideration the fact that I won't have that much vacation time and 1) physically, depending on how delivery goes, it may be difficult to "just" go back to work, and 2) emotionally, it will be incredibly difficult to "just" have the baby and then drive my sorry, sad, tired ass 90 miles away to 8+ hours of work and 3 hours in the car.

The other thing Mike said was, "you're a director, maybe they'll waive the policy for you." Umm, yeah, I don't think so. Considering they don't let me work from home because "everyone else wants to, regardless of how close or far away they live" and considering that my (nonprofit) organization is running a massive deficit, I don't see it happening. Most of all, I'm sure management will be smart enough to figure out that once I have a baby, my interest and enthusiasm in commuting 180 miles a day, far away from the flesh of my flesh and blood of my blood, is going to drop off like a stone and it won't be long until I quit.

I didn't say any of that to him because I've been trying not to focus on, or talk about, the fact that the timing of this baby sucks! So I bit my tongue and am going to try to talk to my HR person-- eventually- to see what my options are.