When my first was born (in Kansas, 14 years ago) I did not have any paid leave at all and had to go back to work after 5 weeks because I ran out of money. It was brutal.

I was a waitress at a Chili’s in Lawrence, so super manual work. I was a single mom, 22, and baby’s daddy was only randomly around. I tried to pump in the manager’s office with a towel over the window—shout out to them for figuring out how to rig that system and for giving me 20 minute breaks every 3 hours, but clearly that was not going to be a realistic expectation. So I ended up having to switch to formula, and had to apply for WIC to get that because I clearly didn’t make enough to afford it. My baby was so small I couldn’t find any kind of daycare, so I was driving him all over the KC Metro before and after shifts

My last four have all been born while I’m at my current employer, and they’ve been updating their parental leave over the 11 years I’ve worked here. Babies 3 and 4 (10 and 8 years ago) I got 8 weeks of fully paid leave and four weeks of half pay. With my twins last year I got a solid 12 weeks off fully paid AND my husband got 6 weeks fully paid (same employer).

Our company also covers short term disability for all employees, so we never have to pay any premium for our coverage. It’s a godsend.

Beth Coletta
Olathe, Kansas