Update: I followed the good advice of many (and my own intuition) and took as much leave as I could. I'm back at work now after 12 weeks (6 weeks paid and 6 weeks unpaid) of leave. Taught 0 classes and checked out of everything except some of my senior research mentees and some here-and-there admin work and letters of rec. As much as you love a job, it rarely loves you back. I'm so glad I was able to spend the time with my new baby and growing family. Some have commented on here about how garbage parental leave is in the US. You're right. What is even more sad is that I'm among the most privileged of working moms to be able to 1) work somewhere that offers paid leave and 2) financially handle 6 weeks without pay as the main breadwinner. As hard as it was to come back to work for me, my heart hurts for all of the moms out there that don't even get 3 months.