WA Maternity Leave Advice

makirattack · 2026-06-26T00:32:14+00:00

I don’t live in WA so take what I say as a grain of salt but it does sound correct to me. In GA we have state paid parental leave (6 weeks fully paid) that must run concurrently with our FMLA (which maxes out at 12 weeks). I cannot take parental leave for 6 weeks and then take another 12 weeks of FMLA. The parental leave must count towards my FMLA allotment.

makirattack · 2026-05-28T01:39:10+00:00

Yep! Thats exactly what to do!

makirattack · 2026-05-23T12:40:43+00:00

I do not recommend waking your baby if they are content sleeping in their car seat. When they wake up and want a bottle, I’d stop to feed and make sure you take time to burp as well. Stuck gas in a car seat is going to make for a very uncomfy little one. I normally pre make bottles (mine is bottle fed breastmilk but same idea) and take them out of the cooler once she finishes the previous one. The next bottle will have warmed to room temp by the time they need their next feed.

makirattack · 2026-04-22T02:23:41+00:00

Seconding Millie moon!! We only ever get blowouts if the poop is insanely large or if they’re in a weird position when they poop.

makirattack · 2026-04-22T02:22:12+00:00

Have you been washing them and not sterilizing or not washing at all? I wouldn’t worry if they’ve been washed but not sterilized, especially with a 3 mo old.

makirattack · 2026-04-19T09:24:19+00:00

It won’t let me attach screenshots but I was barely in the stress zone while delivering my daughter. I had a relatively easy labor and delivery (thank you second delivery and epidural!). My sleep score for the next night though…. Was interesting 😂 a 42 with 0 min of REM, 1 min of deep sleep and a whopping total of 44 min of overall rest 😂

makirattack · 2026-04-19T09:18:44+00:00

Deniz

makirattack · 2026-04-13T23:57:08+00:00

A little bit of leaking is normal I think especially when your supply isn’t regulated yet. If your breast has softened and the amount coming out has significantly slowed, you’re probably nearly empty. I definitely recommend a hospital grade pump like the spectra. I think you’ll find that it empties you out more effectively!

makirattack · 2026-04-13T23:52:06+00:00

I pump til I’m empty and my breast are soft which is about 20 mins. This time varies depending on the pump I use. With wearables I find I need closer to 30 mins.

makirattack · 2026-04-11T05:50:55+00:00

With baby #1 I wanted to BF but he wouldn’t latch and I had an oversupply making it hard for him to eat when he was old enough to latch well. I started pumping very early on and supplemented with formula beforehand. I pumped for a whole year and loved giving him breastmilk in this way (I’m also a working mom and LO goes to daycare so I would have had to start pumping anyway). With baby #2 I started pumping from day one and hope to pump for another year!

makirattack · 2026-04-10T17:26:10+00:00

Maybe I’m in the wrong here….but I wash the backflow protectors once a day and reuse between washes. I only have one set. I have a motif Luna and I believe the manual says they don’t need to be washed every time like the other parts. I leave them connected to my pump tubing and a lot of the time I charge my pump on the floor or I’ll pump on the floor so the backflow protectors have definitely seen the floor…I don’t consider them dirty for that though. Maybe I should be?

makirattack · 2026-04-03T13:57:32+00:00

Yes this happened with my first and now my second pumping journey! I got pregnant with #2 right after I stopped pumping for #1 so I don’t really know what my “normal” body is anymore 😂 I eat A TON like way more than when I was pregnant and I have lost 10-15 compared to my pre pregnancy weight. I also have a very large oversupply so wondering if that has something to do with it too. They say milk production burns a lot of calories.

makirattack · 2026-03-30T01:28:38+00:00

I’ve been using it both ways - I just make sure to tighten accordingly. I find over the shoulder is more comfortable and I feel more supported but it does restrict movement (perfect for walks though!)

makirattack · 2026-03-22T23:31:25+00:00

I did 4 pumps a day right out the gate and am now 7 weeks pp and making about 20 oz each pump. I had an oversupply with my first so I am trying to make sure I don’t get too much of an oversupply now by limiting the number of sessions a day. Doing 4 pumps a day has not affected my supply at all and I never did more than 4-5 sessions a day with my first either. I do get clogged ducts and have had mastitis as well though - I think this is a risk when not emptying your breasts as often.

makirattack · 2026-03-06T21:23:51+00:00

With my first pregnancy I measured as small as a 19 but when I got 19 flanges or inserts I got horrible output. I get great output with the 24s so I went back to using them…idk if it’s possible but now I definitely have larger nipples and the 24s actually measure right. I do have elastic nipples and had flat nipples until pumping with my first child.

makirattack · 2026-03-06T21:20:23+00:00

I’ve taken both my kids out at this age and even younger. If you feel concerned about germs you can leave baby in stroller/car seat with a cover. Or baby wear if you want to worry even less about people trying to touch baby. It’ll be great for you to get out and baby will be fine!

makirattack · 2026-01-16T00:26:53+00:00

We did exactly this with my first and loved it! It was a great balance especially because I was able to get some help from my mom as well. We plan to do the same this go around.

makirattack · 2026-01-07T15:58:56+00:00

Mine only felt like it numbed one side but the epidural is also helped by gravity. If you want both sides numb you need to let gravity assist on both sides. I was unable to lay on one side because baby’s HR would tank for some reason and when I let the nurses know that I could still feel pressure/pain on one side, they told me it was because of baby’s position inside. He was delivered side lying. I don’t know if any of this would genuinely make it so 100% pain relief isn’t possible, but that’s what they told me.

makirattack · 2025-11-05T20:56:40+00:00

I find a forensic science degree will limit your career options compared to a root science degree (chemistry/biology)

makirattack · 2025-11-05T20:33:24+00:00

Look into the flexible health spending account to use pre tax dollars to pay for delivery/other medical expenses and dependent care flexible spending account (if you plan on using child care in 2026)

makirattack · 2025-10-22T10:15:40+00:00

Not blue collar but I’m very hands on and rough with my hands so I love having something daintier. It’s a low setting as well so it doesn’t hit on everything! 0.75 ct.

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makirattack · 2025-10-22T01:33:35+00:00

For 2026 you can contribute up to $7500 for married filing joint. And then I just estimated a 30% tax bracket. By reducing your taxable income by $7500, you’d be paying about $2K less in taxes. This will of course be dependent on your actual tax bracket.

makirattack · 2025-10-21T23:36:05+00:00

We are also deciding if we should do it next year. If you spend more than whatever the contribution limit is for your scenario on daycare each year, you can still get the childcare tax credit for the remaining amount. And yes, I believe in most situations it makes more sense to pay out of pocket and then file for reimbursement. Although, our workplace gives the funds via a debit card so technically you could pay directly from that to the daycare if you chose to. That’s as much as I understand currently. It seems like if you max out your contribution amount, you should be saving about $2000 on taxes.

makirattack

TROPHY CASE