Babymoon?

What the hell is a babymoon might you ask, like my husband did when I brought it up. It's a trip for you and your spouse before baby's arrival, usually taken anywhere from 4 to 6 months along. Yes that means you're showing. Yes it usually involves a bathing suit. And yes, who really cares?

Here's the problem. My work, like most Americans does not offer any paid maternity leave. And because we are under the required amount of employees to offer FMLA, I'm kind of shit out of luck. They do however offer short term disability, which I happily pay towards every week. Our only saving grace for maternity leave income. (Kind of odd that pregnancy is seen as a disability though, isn't it?)

And of course I waited too long to sign up for hospital coverage through Aflac, so we only get paid if their's complications, which I'm praying there isn't.

So what's an expectant girl to do? I only get 6 weeks of 60% of my salary for a vaginal delivery, or 8 weeks at 60% for a cesarean. Thankfully, my vacation time refreshes every January, so I still have 2 weeks vacation.

But how can you take a babymoon if you have barely any maternity coverage, and limited vacation time?

You can't.

So we aren't.

Boo.

Instead, I am saving all, if possible of my vacation, personal and sick time as possible. That way I can hopefully tack it on to the end of short term disability so that I can hopefully be home with baby for as long as possible.

It amazes me that it's 2013, and the US still doesn't mandate paid maternity leave coverage. Honestly, who's making these rules? (Oh yes, our mostly male run government.) Do you know that other countries, no where near the resources that we have, offer up to 56 weeks of paid maternity leave? How the hell are we so far behind?!

What you have done, fellow Mommas regarding maternity leave?