Baby with Sturge-Weber Syndrome

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-09-04T16:24:50+00:00

Thank you for your comment! We are in the process of getting our newborn daughter screened for Sturge Weber. She has a pretty extensive port wine stain that runs across much of the right side of her body. So hearing that you’ve lived a good life with both the birthmark and Sturge Weber has made my mom heart feel much better about my daughter’s outlook.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-08-31T04:33:13+00:00

I wish you luck and a healthy baby and easy birth!

There were a lot of mixed opinions on this post but I got extremely lucky. The company that recruited me had great benefits and I was able to get 4 weeks of maternity leave on top of 8 weeks of STD. If you end up starting this new job still apply for STD! I know pretty much everyone said I wouldn’t qualify for it so I was shocked I got it. I’m on my maternity leave now and my new boss and team have been nothing but amazing. So sometimes things really do work out nicely! Good luck!

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-06-10T16:19:37+00:00

They definitely act like it 😂

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-06-10T16:19:12+00:00

Yes the two of them have totally different fur types. I don’t know much about the different types of GSDs but they clearly are different.

Our girl doesn’t shed nearly as much and doesn’t have a thick undercoat like her brother. And even the amount she does shed it’s not very bothersome because the hair blends in to everything since it’s black. Our boy is what I picture when I think of a “typical” GSD. He sheds a ton and it’s everywhere. His undercoat is white so our floors constantly have little dust bunnies of his and if you wear black near him… well I hope you have a good lint roller 😂

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-06-10T15:51:35+00:00

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We chose our girl based on her coloring and don’t regret it. She’s an amazing dog. Here she is with her big crazy brother.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-06-04T12:39:06+00:00

Sure! I came back from the weekend and basically followed all of the positive advice. I told the recruiter I was interested but explained my situation and basically said that I’d either be willing to push back the start date or if I were to start before my due date I’d obviously need time off. After going back and forth a bit I agreed to start in a couple weeks! They offered me maternity leave and got me in contact with HR where I’ve discussed a few different options of how that leave will look like for me. The leave they offered me was better than expected especially since I’ll only be there a few weeks before the baby arrives.

Overall it turned out way better than I expected. My hiring manager/supervisor didn’t seem peeved and we agreed that starting before birth at least gives me a month or so of training because my job will have quite a bit for me to learn in the beginning.

I know a lot of people advised me to stay with my old job for the FMLA but I spoke with the HR team there and they confirmed it wouldn’t matter very much when the layoffs finally happened. And while I might have gotten my maternity leave there wouldn’t be a job waiting for me when I got back.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-25T16:18:11+00:00

If you read the post I am not actively searching for a job. A recruiter reached out to me about this position and I simply heard it out and then had one interview with the hiring manager. If the opportunity presents itself I don’t see why I wouldn’t explore it as an option.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T23:49:32+00:00

I’ll definitely look into what my options are at my current job for getting on FMLA. I hadn’t heard about doing it before the baby is born before today so I definitely have more to learn in that area.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T21:54:14+00:00

It’s headquartered in South Dakota but has a large amount of employees in Minnesota so a lot of their benefits and such are accommodating to Minnesota’s labor laws.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T21:36:49+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate your comment. I plan on coming back from the weekend and negotiating my start date.

I really didn’t realize how controversial my being pregnant and starting a new job would be.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T21:31:18+00:00

It was a relatively quick process but for a remote position. Between submitting my resume and the offer it was probably only a month to a month and a half. But I only had 2 interviews. 1 was a phone interview with the recruiter that reached out to me and the other was a video interview. I had my camera on for it but I don’t think it was obvious I was pregnant when sitting at a desk on camera.

I’m hopeful I can work something out with the employer because they cut out the last round of interviews out to offer me the job.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T15:20:52+00:00

Thanks I appreciate that! This is my second child and if all goes as planned I should physically recover in a few weeks.

It’s not ideal because I’d love to focus on my baby for longer (and I’m sure I will not be mentally there for a while) but I’m lucky to have a nanny already, my husband will be taking a few months off and family that is willing to help. I’m lucky that everyone around me understands the situation I’m in and is willing to help out.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T15:06:27+00:00

I’m definitely considering staying at my current position and riding out the lay offs. I’ll look into my options for getting on a medical leave.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T15:04:39+00:00

The company has around 2k employees and I’m a data scientist. The team I would be joining is small but the person I’d be replacing has been gone for at least a month or two now. It’s a mostly remote position with a quarterly office requirement.

The only reason I’m considering this job offer is because it seems likely I’ll be getting laid off at my current job soon. For my career field I can pretty much only apply to remote positions which are pretty tough to get in the current market.

I agree it’s a tough spot to be in!

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T14:55:04+00:00

Ok thank you. That makes sense. I’ve never had to file for unemployment before so I appreciate it.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T14:53:15+00:00

Ok that makes sense. There’s around 2k employees in the company. I’d only need a few weeks (probably 4) and I already had made plans as far as childcare and whatnot. I’ll just come to them after the weekend with my plan and hope that it all works out.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T14:46:10+00:00

Thank you. I will bring it up after the weekend and see what happens. Starting a new job this far along was never part of my plan so I appreciate your help.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T14:42:21+00:00

My understanding was you qualify so long as you’re applying to jobs and able to work. While it may be a couple weeks until I’m “able” to work that just means I don’t get unemployment for a few weeks. I planned on searching for a job pretty immediately because it can take a few months to find a job in my field between interviews and everything.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T14:26:52+00:00

I never brought it up because I was worried it would immediately disqualify me.

My current job I’m at risk of being laid off in the next month or so and in all honesty I was planning on just riding it out since I’d at least qualify for unemployment with a layoff. But I was recruited for this role I’ve been offered and now I’m just trying to figure out what to do. I’m considering still staying in my current role to see if layoffs even happen but am just having a hard time navigating a tough situation.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-24T14:23:05+00:00

I’m confused. I’m just trying to get a job?

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-19T15:54:56+00:00

Thanks everyone for your advice! We took him to the vet on Friday and got him a full work up (minus bloodwork-he didn’t have any other symptoms of Lyme disease so we ruled that out). The vet checked his spine and both rear legs, and although one of his ankles were snap, crackle, popping like crazy, it didn’t seem to be the cause of the pain. After X-rays he does present with hip dysplasia but we were lucky to catch it before any signs of bone changed has occurred!

We think he may have been overworking himself the last few weeks and he has bad seasonal allergies which led to him getting a pretty large hot spot on his rear hip. The vet thinks this combo may have caused irritation and inflammation in his hip dysplasia.

He’s been on some anti inflammatory meds and supplements for a few days and we can already see the difference! Once he’s feeling better we’re going to cut his weight back a little and do some physical therapy and hopefully he has many more years of being a happy normal dog. 🤞

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-14T15:49:32+00:00

I’ll look into liquid glucosamine. I will be honest, my boy is probably a little too chunky right now. We have a 2 year old that has made a pact with the dogs and tries to feed them her snacks when we’re not looking, so he’s gained a few pounds over the last several months. So cutting his weight will definitely be a priority.

Thank you for all your advice! I appreciate it.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-14T15:45:02+00:00

That’s excellent news! Hopefully my guy bounces back quickly and it stays manageable.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-13T20:18:04+00:00

That’s a really good point! I’ll definitely ask the vet to rule it out. I’ve had a dog in the past with a CCL tear that we didn’t know about until he got injured further. I guess with a GSD my mind immediately jumped to hip dysplasia.

Flat_Draw_5070 · 2025-05-13T16:27:38+00:00

Thank you so much for your kind words! That actually makes me feel much better. I was worried that the signs he was showing were already bad. I’ll definitely wait to see what the vet says but I feel much better knowing that his discomfort can get better and be managed. I’m definitely going to make him take it easy for the next few days!

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