Thanks Mel. Food: my brother/SIL are huge foodies and RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay is their all-time favorite place. It’s similar to the cliche “cookies baking in the oven” scent recommended for open houses, but is a bit more difficult to identify (and IMHO doesn’t have a super-sweet or artificial vanilla element to it). I’m leaning towards feeling better about it. Relatedly, does anyone have a link to a chart online that lists all the biglaw maternity leave policies – i.e. If I could be gone that long then do they really need me? Essentially, your out of office message needs to include a few things: Your expected return date. We sold our house last summer, and I went throughout the house with Febreeze (not the heavily scented one, just the neutral) and sprayed all the soft surfaces every morning before we had a showing. O and Mystere were gorgeous. I hope it made it to my department. I never even used the phrase "maternity leave" I would just put "I am currently out of the office. Thanks so much, once again, for your leadership. I’m afraid that doing so will cause them to shy away or think that I’m not going to stay, but I guess, since there is no official policy, they wouldn’t really be obligated to hold my job if I took any time off. Your baby will rock your world (for the better) and taking a minute to silently close the Pre-baby chapter on your life and compassionately be open to the unknown of the post-baby chapter will be helpful. Say you are out for maternity, but don’t offer a return-to-work date. Do you know if your firms give partners paid maternity leave? What Techniques Are Your Favorite? We supposedly get “maternity leave” as partners (i.e., we can stay out as long as we want), but it sure as heck was (negatively) reflected in my compensation at the end of the year. So, if you’re struggling to write those bittersweet farewell emails, these seven different templates are sure to help. Pregnancy | maternity leave, My friend F emailed today, noting that this is her last day in the office before maternity leave, and she is wondering what to put in her “out of office” message. I agree that fresh air blowing through the house beforehand is your best bet. I had way bigger priorities and way bigger worries at that point. I have seen it three times and will see it again when I’m in Vegas this summer. Single. Bonding with my new baby (to say nothing of recuperating from her birth) is important business, and I felt no guilt about tending to it. The views expressed in community are solely the opinions of participants, and do not reflect those of What to Expect. IUD was supposed to stop them. Access. You can get paid if you have been here longer — but only for a few weeks and the pay is spread over all of your paychecks over the year you return. I’m happy to do so. note: This link was deleted because it was broken, sorry!]. If you are a Beatles fan at all, I HIGHLY recommend LOVE at the Mirage. Maternity leave will give you the time to recover from childbirth and bond with your little one before you’re thrown back into the real world as a working mum. I did the same thing as Mel. Even though our time working together is coming to a close, I’d still love to keep in touch. Is this a terrible idea? Same here. It’s been so great working with you and getting to know you. During my absence, {Name} will be taking over my usual responsibilities. Additionally, there are so many email messages where I get copied and didn’t need everyone continually reminded with an out of office bounce back, that yes, I am the one on maternity leave. As we discussed, I’ll be leaving my position as [job title], and my last day is coming up on [date]. Psst: Check out CorporetteMoms for more working mom discussions, as well as our pregnancy newsletter! So be honest about what you can accomplish before you leave. The tricks/dancing are incredible. That is a good point, but the flip side of that is that the most regular question I got when I was out was, “when are you coming back?” Having my return date saved me from having to respond to those questions. Needless to say, I will not be doing a drop of work from home during my leave! Ask a question in the comments below about returning to work, how can I help you?! No, no, no, no! Either way, they’re not big enough to require FMLA. Any advice is greatly appreciated! I did something similar. How do you increase motivation and responsibility in an elementary school kid? This could make your house smell good without being chemical-ly or aggressively odiferous. I love reading paperwork as much as I love cleaning a poop explosion out of a car seat. If you need assistance, please contact my assistant at _____________.” I like this message: it’s clear that it’s maternity leave and not some sort of sabbatical or dangerous health-related thing, and while I know that C is taking six months as well, this omission from her email doesn’t seem glaring. I said good bye to some others individually. It’s been so great getting to know you through [how you worked together]. I'm also planning to send out a mass email to my main points of contact on my last day of work. they love. I looked on-line to the problem and discovered most individuals will go along with along together with your internet internet site. She's also an Employment Advisor at a local college, and loves helping students prepare to thrive in careers (and lives!) It has been such a pleasure to lead you here at [Company] and watch you grow in your career. Some of us decide to return sooner, others later. So let’s get you ready for the big return to work with the…. Set a reminder for other tasks to do during maternity leave like starting to pump and freeze milk approximately one month after baby is born (sooner or later depending on what your lactation consultant recommends), start to look for childcare, etc. In order to do so, you should also plan to touch base with any C-level people you worked with. But I’m not sure what to put as the return date. [url=http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=UBB&utm_campaign=tickers][img]http://global.thebump.com/tickers/tt16a31e.aspx[/img][/url]. If it is difficult for you to ask for help, sister, this is a good opportunity to practice it! This method served two purposes – I was never disconnected from any case so as to lose any important role in it, and it kept me connected to the office and world outside of the baby, which was important for me because it was difficult to just shut off work, bar association activities, and the like, and stay at home after being so active outside the house. At best, they are irritants – at worst, they trigger migraines. Have fun! Hell no. I know I’ll carry the things I’ve learned here with me to my next adventure, and I’ll always look back on this experience with a lot of fondness. It's so different from a vacation--when there is an exact leave and return to work date. Do you have “baby brain”? That sounds delightful even if I’m not showing the house! In Asia, one would not. It may be best to stay off your work email during maternity leave if … I was out for three months. You might ask them if they have an employee handbook or list of policies that would apply to you – that might get at the issue indirectly. People have babies all of the time – its fine to share the news so long as the client is not left hanging. My favorite maternity-leave-related message at work involved a message that our company's HR department released when a new mom was getting ready to come back to work: "Kathy had been out on maternity leave the last 3 months. That "extended leave" is left on until we are retrained into our positions following mat leave and we take it off when its just us in our old position again. I am currently out of the office on extended leave until January 2012. Those of us who bake know what cookies/baked goods smell like, and it ain’t Yankee Candle. (I’m not even sure the length of the leave is that relevant — after all, my guess is that both C and F will be checking their work email anyway while out on maternity leave — if anything needs a direct response the client will have it soon enough. The citrus-oil fresheners they sell at Whole Foods – I think the brand is Citrus Magic – work really well and are made of nothing other than citrus oil. We respect everyone’s right to express their thoughts and opinions as long as they remain respectful of other community members, and meet What to Expect’s Terms of Use. As far as I could tell, I was paid based on my productivity for the year, no pro-rating for the time off. I also went to the Premium Outlets there, they are worth it (there are 2 locations, both pretty close to the strip). As I know you’ve heard, I’ll be leaving my position as [job title] here at [Company], and my last day is coming up on [date]. My friend F emailed today, noting that this is her last day in the office before maternity leave, and she is wondering what to put in her “out of office” message. Do you have a cite for that? So you get no $ while you are home. There’s no risk of triggering sensitivities (unless I guess someone was allergic to oranges), and they merely freshen the air, they don’t overwhelm it. So that’s why I would choose linen/cotton/clean smells if you feel you need something to freshen the air. Which mall is the best (based on internet research, I am thinking The Forum, perhaps)? In my position, I would ask and let the firm show it’s true colors. The people here at [Company] have honestly been one of the best parts of working here. We gave 12 wks paid to associates, but I don’t think they’re going to want to give me any paid leave as a partner. There is a bar in Mandalay Bay called Red Square that is wonderful. This might be the end of my time with [Company]. I am out of the office beginning X/X/X and will return X/X/X. Also, they have great mexican food — the best being Bonito Michoacan or Lindo Michoacon — owned by the same family. For immediate assistance, please contact ____”. Good day! It may seem silly to write this before you actually go on maternity leave, but when the time comes, the last thing you want to focus on is spell-checking an out-of-office message. We're expecting our first child on 8/1/13. Don’t give the return date. It’s been great working together, [Name], and I’ll definitely keep in touch! Should she say “leave of absence” or “maternity leave”? I can’t find how many my firm offers on our internal website, but I remember seeing charts online at some point.