Paternity Leave Planning

Check your employee handbook or ask HR directly. Some companies offer 2 weeks paid, some offer 12+ weeks. Know exactly how many days you get and at what pay percentage.

FMLA gives you 12 weeks unpaid (job-protected) if you've worked 12+ months and 1,250+ hours at a company with 50+ employees. Know your eligibility before you plan.

California, New York, New Jersey, Washington, and others have state-paid leave programs. Some stack on top of employer benefits. Google '[your state] paid family leave' now.

Some employers offer STD that covers bonding time. Check if it applies to non-birthing parents. It's often overlooked free money sitting in your benefits package.

For every project you own, write a one-page summary: current status, next milestone, blockers, and who to contact. Your brain will be mush after day 3 of no sleep.

Name the person covering each project, walk them through it, and give them everything they need to succeed. A good handoff means fewer calls during your leave.

Draft your out-of-office now so it's ready to flip on. Include who to contact for urgent issues, your return date, and a clear statement that you won't be checking messages.

Don't just send a doc - sit down (or call) and walk them through everything. Answer their questions now so they don't need to call you at 2am during a feeding.

Give your manager time to plan coverage. Be direct: 'Baby is due [date], I plan to start leave on [date], and here's my transition plan.' Proactive beats reactive.

10-15% of babies arrive before the due date. Have your handoff docs ready by week 36 at the latest. If baby comes early, you don't get a planning grace period.

Some dads take 2 weeks at birth and save the rest for when partner returns to work. Splitting covers two critical transition periods instead of one.

Overlapping leave in the first 2 weeks is essential - you both need to learn together. Then stagger remaining leave to extend total coverage before childcare starts.

Tell your team: 'I'm unreachable unless the building is on fire.' Every Slack message you answer trains them to keep messaging. Boundaries are a skill, not a perk.

If you absolutely must stay connected, one 15-minute call per week with your manager. Not daily emails, not 'just a quick question' Slacks. One call, scheduled, boundaried.

Email, Slack, Teams, Notion, whatever your company uses. Set it on every single platform. One missed out-of-office status and people think you're available.

Your company existed before you and will exist while you're out. The baby who needs you right now won't be this small ever again. This is the job right now.

Half days for the first week, or 3 days the first week then full the second. Going from 24/7 baby mode to full work mode in one day is brutal on everyone.

Daycare waitlists can be 6-12 months long. If you're using daycare, get on the list during pregnancy. If it's family, confirm the schedule weeks ahead.

Block your first week's calendar with 'transition' time. No major meetings, no deadlines. You'll need time to catch up on what happened while you were out.

Ask about remote days, adjusted hours, or compressed work weeks. Also update HR with your new emergency contacts and any changes to your benefits. One conversation covers both.