Maternity Leave 2.0

Baby 1.0 one week into maternity leave.

Our second baby, Baby 2.0, will arrive in six weeks.  I'm excited, feeling confident, and ready to meet this little one.  For Baby 1.0 I was fortunate to take 12 weeks off.  We bonded, cuddled, shared experiences (first real smile, first giggle, first roll).  I healed, found myself again, learned how to function on little sleep. 

Because Baby 2.0 might be our last, my husband and I agreed that I'd take a little more time off of work.  My employer is comfortable with a 14 week leave of absence and I have short-term disability to cover some expenses.  Our family, with some modifications to budget, will make it through ok. 

Here's the thing -  I'm fortunate to be able to take this amount of time away from work and from a steady paycheck.  For most moms though, they don't get the chance to even consider a similar decision - they provide the sole family income or find that they cannot financially support the family without a dual income. 

Some employers don't even provide short-term disability, making it even harder to stay at home for any period of time after brith.  It's heart-wrenching that so many women miss out on the chance to be able to bond with baby, experience "first" moments, and have the time to rest, recover, and heal. 

My hope is that as a nation we can move towards providing all parents with time paid time away, without strings attached.  Maybe when Baby 1.0 and Baby 2.0 become parents they will have the opportunity to experience the same amount of time (or more!) with their children that I did with them.