Pregnant and worried about work

My boss is pregnant and due this October, we just had a lay off and my department lost a person so I have assumed more responcibilities and I am now due in December! 

 I have already told my boss and she said we would work things out but that means she might have to come back early from her maternity leave and there might be a whole month or longer that she and I aren't here and we don't have back ups!

 I'm worried about the others that will have to cross train and work in our positions for the time we are gone and if they will replace me and not need me to come back!

 My husband and I are excited but this is very bad timing for my employer. What can I do to help out and not feel so bad?

I understand exactly how you feel. I felt extremely guilty leaving my employer while on maternity leave (both times!). Then I realized...

Why should we feel guilty about taking time away from work to BRING A HUMAN BEING into the world? I'm assuming you live in the US where we have the WORST maternity leave in the world. We don't get paid (most of the time), we have to pay for our employer-provided insurance and we only get a maximum of 12 weeks off. Canada? They get a paid year off (correct me if I'm wrong). I know most countries have similar time periods for letting moms stay home with newborns.

The only benefit for new mothers in the US is your employer is required to have a position for you when you return to work. It may not be the same position (possibly a demotion) but you will have a job.

Honestly, I feel little sympathy for employers in this situation. I think this is one of the few times mothers (and fathers!) are entitled to be selfish.

Offer to do what you can to help them prepare for your leave. My company hired a temp to cover for my measly 6 weeks of maternity leave. Ask if you can work from home while on leave (this is a double benefit--you get paid and they get work done).

I'm sure it's hard on employers to temporarily lose an employee but it's even harder for a parent to leave their 2 month old infant in the care of a stranger (or relative but that's not the point).

I guess I'm a little bitter :) I want nothing more than to be able to stay home with my kids.

congrats on your pregnancy!  According to the FMLA law; your employer must keep your job or a similar job open for up to 12 weeks.  They cannot hire someone to replace you on a full time basis and then tell you to not come back.  They may find a temp to fill your shoes on an executional/tactical level in order to move projects along.  But they cannot call you up and say; don't come back we're hiring the temp!

i am a workaholic; and I too; was worried about not being able to work on my maternity leave.  I checked in once a week to see if anyone had questions or needed to follow up with me on anything-  it wasn't required; but i still made my presence known so to speak.  I ended up taking my full 12 weeks; plus a week PTO so I was out for a total of 13 weeks.  It went by too fast.  And it will go by fast for them as well. 

Before I went out on maternity leave; I spent time with my team members to make sure they knew exactly what I was working on.  I gave out my cell to all of my internal clients within the company as a back-up in case they needed to reach me with a specific question.  Unfortuantely; everyone is replaceable; no matter how good you are.  Especially in this market.  But if you help your team search for a temp and TRAIN him/her I think you'll be much more comfortable taking your leave.

I can honestly tell you that once your baby arrives; you won't be thinking about work as much as you think you will.  Feedings, lack of sleep, getting used to having a baby in the house and just simply bonding with him/her will take up most of your time.  Work will be there when you get back.  Enjoy the time you have with the baby while home; b/c once you actually get back to work; you'll find your time is so limited with your child; and all the time you have not at work you'll want to spend with them-  even if it means taking them on your errands in the stroller; toting them around while you're cleaning-  they'll just become a natural extension of you.

6 months or so after you are back at work and have gotten to know you're baby you'll fall into a routine and establish balance.  Getting to the point is very hard.  But once you're on auto-pilot; the time you spent thinking about what to do next is just spent hanging out with you little one.

I went back to work at 80% capacity and have one day off with her.  It's very hard financially -  but I just need that time with her.  Needless to say my spending habits have changed drastically but I just wouldn't have it any other way.  And, on my day off; I have my laptop on at all times and monitor e-mail and voicemail to address any issues that arise.

you're now joining the group at work that has kids who need to be other places at certain times rather than the workaholics that stay 12 hours a day.  it's a transition. 

I am very worried about my job situation as well.  I am the assistant manager at a large retail store, and I can barely take a day off without being called with some problem or question.  I have no idea how I'm going to get the work "kids" trained enough in time to be independent of me when I go on leave in August.

Honestly, on a typical day off (one I actually take, instead of just working), I receive about half a dozen calls and/or text messages from employees or my boss.  Half the time, I just go in on my day off, anyway, if only for a few hours.  I'm currently taking my first full weekend off in as long as I can remember, and I have been contacted almost once an hour.

I guess that's what I get for working a salaried position in retail, but at least the company I work for has amazing health insurance and benefits.

Quick clarification on the Family Medical Leave Act - if the company you work for has less than X number of employees, which I believe is 15 but need to double check, then they are exempt from the FMLA.  I know this because my company is exempt and I'm due in October so telling them scared the hell out of me. 

So far they seem completely receptive to my taking six weeks.