it's the little things

[the_siobhan]

The co-worker who shares the late shift with me has a brand new 9 day old daughter.

I am getting absolutely zero sympathy on the lack of sleep front.

Comments

[sloot.livejournal.com]

I almost commented Why is she at work with a 9 day old daughter? and then I realized the error I was making.

[victorianrose23.livejournal.com]

This. heh heh

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Good catch. :-)

[unagothae.livejournal.com]

It took a full five minutes for me to realize what error you were referring to because I have known women who have gone back to work the day the hospital released them.

I have also known plenty of women who have had newborns without having actually given birth to them, but I know more people in non-traditional situations than most people do.

I have never known any fathers of newborns, so that part of the equation never even occurred to me. Oddly enough, this is because the men I knew, who have fathered children, stopped talking to me the day they got married because it was "inappropriate" for a married man to be friends with a single women.

I don't know any normal/average people.

[sloot.livejournal.com]

I've BEEN the father of a newborn, and it took me a minute.

[unagothae.livejournal.com]

You win :)

[ash-pixie.livejournal.com]

My experience with dad's of newborns was that they just wanted to be home with the kid...however my experience as a mom with a newborn was that I just wanted to get away from her so I can see the other side of the picture. Then again, I'm not a normal mom. ;) (granted she's not a normal kid either)

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

That actually kinda makes sense to me. You spend a lot of time latched together, as it were.

[ash-pixie.livejournal.com]

oh for sure!! I mean the first few months a mom is a baby's whole world (food source, comfort, shelter, ass-cleaner) and that can be extremely smothering!!

[elixxir.livejournal.com]

I LOVE NON NORMAL MOMS!!

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Women who actually have jobs here are entitled to employment insurance and a year off work. Part of that time can be given to the other parent (male or female) as paternity leave, but I forget how much. I think it breaks down to 7 months/5 months that can be taken concurrently or sequentially, but I might be talking out my ass as to the breakdown. I know it totals a year regardless.

Adoptive parents also get leave, but I don't know if it's for as long.

If you're self-employed you are screwed unless you paid into employment insurance while you were working. I don't know how easy it is to actually do that. I don't know any self-employed people who have gone that route.

"Oddly enough, this is because the men I knew, who have fathered children, stopped talking to me the day they got married because it was "inappropriate" for a married man to be friends with a single women."

That's the dumbest thing I've heard this week. And that's saying something.

[liz-lowlife.livejournal.com]

Crikey if that happened to me I'd be out of friends!
Nearly all my best mates are married men and many of these are fathers!

*Shudder*

[inulro.livejournal.com]

no kidding. That's the kind of asshattery that my mother would come out with; one deludes oneself that our generation has got past the "if X then Y" mentality when it comes to friendship.

[liz-lowlife.livejournal.com]

The thing is you have mates, they grow older and get married and have kids!
Do you suddenly discard them?!
Erm, no!

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

Well I don't. But part of the background that goes into that logic is that men and women can't really be mates in the first place.

[liz-lowlife.livejournal.com]

True.
Very true but we both know that is a flawed logic.

[nicklausse.livejournal.com]

Students and recent immigrants are also screwed for parental leave. :/

[ash-pixie.livejournal.com]

Adoptive parents are allowed to take the full year as well, or at least they were two years ago. We had a case of this at my old work. My asshole boss wanted me to find grounds for him to deny a guy from taking time off because he was adopting a kid.

They've recently changed the whole "if you're self employed you're screwed" thing. When I was self employed I was required to pay into EI yearly but was unable to claim the benefits. Now you're able to apply to be included under the EI umbrella, but I don't know much more about that then just that little bit.

[the_axel]

18 weeks maternity;
34 weeks parental (split however the parents decide).

Adoptive parents get 37 weeks parental.