10 tips to ease financial strain of maternity leave

Having a baby is expensive. No one knows that better than
Becky Goddard-Hill, the author of a new book, “How to Afford Time Off With Your Baby: 101 Ways to Ease the Financial Strain.”
We asked Becky to share a few of her baby budgeting tips in this guest post. If you’d like to win a [...]

Manage Maternity Leave (Before You Go)

Don’t offer to go back to work earlier than you have to, urges Liz O’Donnnell, a freelance writer and mother, in the first of three must-read guest posts about managing maternity leave.
Managing your time-off for maternity leave should start as soon as you learn you are pregnant, even before you tell your boss [...]

Bed rest blues…week four

I’m still pregnant, hooray!  Amniotic fluid levels according to this week’s ultrasound is in the high-normal range.  No signs of infection.  I’m IV free, I have “outside privileges” (a.k.a. I can go into the “yard.”)  Baby is approximately 2.2 lbs and I am 27 weeks.
On Friday, I was told I could go home on Sunday [...]

Bed rest blues, week one

As many of you know, my husband and I are expecting a bouncing baby boy in early January.  Or, at least that was the plan.
On September 13th  at 23 weeks pregnant, my water broke.  Not a full break.  It is more accurate to say that I’m leaking amniotic fluid.  The diagnostic term is Preterm Premature [...]

To Work or Not to Work after baby…Can you afford it? Part 1

Deciding whether or not to return to work following maternity leave can be a tough question for every family to answer. While the issue is a highly personal one there are some financial issues to consider.
 
1-     Do you have paid/ partial paid or unpaid maternity leave?  The majority of U.S. businesses don’t offer paid maternity [...]

Michelle Obama on work life balance

Michelle Obama’s  speech yesterday on work life balance was so interesting that we’ve posted the entire transcript. It is worth reading.
The first lady:

Acknowledges one income doesn’t cut it anymore
How hard it is for single parents, and that
22 million working women  don’t have a single paid sick day.

Mayflower Hotel
Washington, D.C.

10:26 A.M. EDT
MRS. OBAMA:  Thank you.  Thank [...]

US schools to close for 14 days for confirmed H1N1 swine flu cases

I hope everyone has two weeks of vacation available or that you’re eligible for FMLA leave since the US Education department just released school closure guidelines.

The government issued new guidance for schools with confirmed cases, saying they should close for at least 14 days because children can be contagious for seven to 10 days from [...]

Prepared for a swine flu school closure?

Have you made back up or contingency plans in case you get the call saying swine flu is closing your kid’s school? So far, more than 100 schools are closed, CNN reported this morning.
In a live Webinar this morning, Government officials urged parents to plan ahead in case their child’s school is closed.
If [...]