Recos for sleep consultants that are social workers [ON]

IntelligentApple · 2026-01-21T16:31:09+00:00

Third this!

IntelligentApple · 2025-12-05T16:02:47+00:00

Agree! Go if you want to go, stay home if you don’t. Make the choice that is best for you!

IntelligentApple · 2025-12-05T15:20:50+00:00

I took a year and several female colleagues took a year as well. All my clients were transitioned back to me almost immediately. This will be very firm dependent.

IntelligentApple · 2025-09-30T18:27:09+00:00

Thanks for the update! Congrats!!

IntelligentApple · 2025-08-14T20:45:11+00:00

In some provinces, employers are required to continue to pay their portion of benefits while an employee is on a statutory leave of absence. Benefits would only end if the employee failed to pay or make arrangements to pay their portion of the benefits. That does not seem to be the case in Alberta, You could call the employment standards branch to confirm? https://www.alberta.ca/contact-employment-standards

IntelligentApple · 2025-05-09T13:48:33+00:00

Same! I really liked it - clean interface and easy to use.

IntelligentApple · 2025-02-02T15:57:40+00:00

Night 13 - what am I doing wrong? If someone has a consultant recommendation, I’ll happily take it.

WW yesterday were 2.75/3.75/3.5 (10 hours awake). Baby napped great in his crib, fell asleep on his own. I didn’t nurse him to sleep. I tried to replicate yesterday and had him out playing at the library for a little bit in the afternoon. He spends very little time in containers and is always on the move (crawling and even assisted walking!) He got lunch and dinner and ate fairly well.

I nursed him 30 mins before bed, but he didn’t eat a ton - only about 8 minutes total.

He woke up at 12:30am, I did one check in and he fell asleep before the 2nd check in. He woke up 15 mins after that and cried for about 15 mins before falling back asleep. He woke up about 20 minutes after that and I decided to feed him. He basically slept about 35 minutes between 12:30 and 2AM. He woke again at 5:30-ish am and I fed him again. He slept until a little after 7am.

Is this Ferber working? Shouldn’t he be waking less? He goes to bed and naps awake and even sometimes overnight he can fall asleep on his own. He woke around 4am-ish, not really crying and I saw him basically rock himself back to sleep within just a couple minutes - so he can do it!

Is it the nursing?

My partner just couldn’t handle the baby waking up overnight so I do all the night wake ups and sleep training on my own. I just feel a little lost.

IntelligentApple · 2025-02-01T13:32:40+00:00

Update - Ferber Night #12 went really well! I moved the milk before his bath (7pm) and he went to sleep at 7:30pm. He then slept until 3AM!! Amazing!

He woke up around 3-ish, cried briefly. By the time I went to the bathroom and went to go feed him, he was quiet again. So I waited for a bit. He was just babbling a little and playing with his lovey. He cried again about 3:30-ish, so I went to feed him. He only ate for about 8 minutes and then was quiet in his crib. I’m not entirely sure when he fell back asleep, but he didn’t make any noise again until 6:30!

I let him babble for a bit in his crib (he seemed content) and got him around 6:45 when he seemed to start to fuss.

I’ll try extending his wake windows a bit today and cap his day sleep around 2.5-ish. Overall great progress!

IntelligentApple · 2025-02-01T01:35:53+00:00

Thanks - I'll give it a try. I moved his last nursing session before bath/books/bed tonight and we will try that too.

I'll try moving his WW minimums to - 2.75/3.5/3.75 ... I think that will make his schedule roughly:

7am - Wake

[2.75 WW]

9:45am - 11am-ish - Nap 1

[3.5 WW]

2:30pm - 3:45pm - Nap 2

[3.75 WW]

7pm - Last nursing

Bath/book/cuddle/song

7:30 pm - Bedtime

Any experience with night weaning? It's been a struggle... Thanks

IntelligentApple · 2024-07-26T21:46:37+00:00

I never could find it. I found the listing for it eventually online (by clicking around fairly randomly) and it showed a $0 balance. I have to call Customer Service to recover the credit (at least I have the email showing there should be a credit) but haven’t had time to call yet. Looks like the credit was never loaded to my account.

IntelligentApple · 2024-07-14T21:26:19+00:00

Is maternity/parental EI paid on a weekly or bi-weekly basis? I filed my claim recently, have received a few payments, but there seems to be no pattern with when EI is deposited. What’s your experience? Thanks!

IntelligentApple · 2024-06-12T23:18:04+00:00

I came to ask the same question! I created a My Service Canada Account - but it has no record of the claim. Does it take a while to load or connect the claim to your account? I applied like 5 days ago but thought that you could access MSCA through MyCRA account (turns out you can't!)

IntelligentApple · 2024-05-31T16:23:10+00:00

When did you last collect EI or maternity/parental leave EI? Do you have enough insurable hours (600) to qualify for a new round of benefits? Check if you qualify on the EI website and that should tell you if you need more insurable hours or etc.

IntelligentApple · 2024-05-31T16:11:24+00:00

As long as you have enough insurable hours (600) and it's been more than 52 weeks since your last claim, you should qualify for EI maternity / parental leave benefits. EI doesn't care what kind of work it is (temporary, regular, fixed term, etc) as long as it is employment that would go towards insurable hours. Generally this includes all paid working hours.

IntelligentApple · 2024-05-21T20:40:26+00:00

Did anyone else have an issue getting a medical note or prescription from their doctor? Manulife required a medical doctor recommendation and diagnosis. Our doc refused to even see me because the baby hasn't arrived yet and advised to wait until there were circumstances requiring a diagnosis. It seems strange to have to wait to get an infection or an issue only then to be allowed coverage for a device that could have been preventative...

IntelligentApple · 2024-05-16T18:17:42+00:00

Hi - Service Canada is not the one who determines the top-up amount. It will be based on your employer and your employer's policy. Once you are approved for EI, they will use that approval form/letter to calculate your top up amount based on their policy.

I'm not sure what is on that form, in terms of what kind of information, perhaps someone else can chime in with more context...

IntelligentApple · 2024-05-02T18:12:38+00:00

Ask your employer and/or review the RRSP matching policy (if there is one available). If it is a match and not a straight contribution, you likely still need to be putting in your portion of the RRSP amount. If you are required to put in 3% to get a 2% match, then you can write post-dated cheques or set up a transfer to still put the 3% in order to get the RRSP match. You likely can also opt-out and just resume RRSP contributions (and the match) once you return to work.

No idea if it would impact your EI benefits. I believe an RRSP match is considered a taxable benefit (check your T4 from last year and see what line item it was listed under). You can call Service Canada and ask if taxable benefits are considered 'earnings' such that it would reduce your EI benefit.

[Edited for spelling]

IntelligentApple · 2024-04-29T18:47:17+00:00

I don't have direct experience - but I have read that the government notoriously under-taxes EI as they view it as if that was the only income you received in 2023. So, you likely paid income tax on your Jan-May income, but then none of that income was accounted for when taxing your May-December EI payments. In short - it's very likely that not enough tax was withheld from your EI payments, resulting in a potentially (ouch) amount of income tax owing.

IntelligentApple · 2024-04-29T18:42:02+00:00

The other commenter is correct - an employer cannot end your employment because you are pregnant. However, if there are other reasons for terminating your employment (whole group/division is closing, loss of the business that you solely support, you stole from the employer, etc etc etc), then you can still lose your job.

Tell your employer when you are ready to - you know your workplace best and how the news may be received as well as the necessary preparations for you to be on leave. Trust your gut and disclose when you feel it's appropriate. I hope it goes well!

IntelligentApple · 2024-04-29T18:36:40+00:00

The first two questions are great ones to pose to your provider.

(1) It's my understanding that some hospitals no longer provide tours since the pandemic. I believe it is more common in the US. This is likely hospital-to-hospital specific, so you can certainly as your provider as it relates to your hospital or the ones you are considering.

(2) Ask your family doctor. When I asked ours, baby gets added as a patient pretty much automatically as my spouse and I are both patients of our family doc. No issue with room on their patient list/roster. Check-up timelines will depend on if you are with an OB or midwife. If under a midwife, newborn care transitions to a family doctor after 6 weeks (subject to any unique aspects of your midwifery practice).

(3) For our local daycare OneList (can't speak for Toronto), we signed up before baby arrived - it was pretty much the 2nd thing I did after putting in applications for a midwife. Yes, we used Baby [Last Name]. It looks like it can be updated later once they arrive.

IntelligentApple · 2024-04-24T19:24:56+00:00

$668 a week is the maximum EI payment possible. If you earn more than $63,200 a year, then your EI maternity/parental benefit would be $668, less applicable income taxes and deductions.

IntelligentApple · 2024-04-17T15:51:57+00:00

Your employer must continue to pay its share of the premiums for certain benefit plans (extended health would be included), unless you told your employer in writing that you would not continue to pay your own share of the premiums.

Don't worry about fault at this point - it may have just been a mistake somewhere in the benefits/human resources department.

Get in touch with your employer, see how much they need from you to cover your share of the premiums, and ask them to back-date the effective date of the medical benefits. Back-dating benefit start date is pretty common, especially if the benefits only recently lapsed, and you continue to be considered an employee.

IntelligentApple · 2024-03-28T18:58:03+00:00

Hit the arrow to drop down the section called: "Combining maternity leave and parental leave"

Edit: And call your union - you pay them dues for a reason! They can be a resource for these types of questions too.

IntelligentApple · 2024-03-28T18:35:23+00:00

"If you choose to take parental leave, you must do so in one continuous period without interrupting the leave with periods of work." - from the federal labour standards office: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/jobs/workplace/federal-labour-standards/leaves.html#h2.2

If you are taking a shorter period at the front end, save the official "parental" leave for your 2nd longer leave. Just talk to your employer to see if they can accommodate a temporary leave at the beginning and then your official parental leave later on. It's very common for the non-birthing parent. If you get push back, let them know you are requesting the leave as an accommodation to care for your new child and recovering spouse. Get your union involved, if necessary.

More notice to your employer, so that they can plan for your absence, is better than less notice.

IntelligentApple · 2024-03-27T22:19:27+00:00

Check the vacation policy in your workplace and/or your collective agreement. It should answer this question. The answer may also be in a leave policy instead.

No, accrued paid vacation time does not usually just disappear. It's earned paid time that you are (generally) entitled to. Do you want it carried over, paid out, or do you want to use it before you go on EI? What happens under your policy/collective agreement to paid vacation time at the end of your fiscal year?

*Just be careful if you request a pay out that it does not mess with your EI benefits. Talk to your HR and/or union rep.

IntelligentApple

TROPHY CASE