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Post being replied to

First kid I was still a federal employee by Irish Tool

And used my 10 weeks of accrued sick leave plus two weeks of vacation.

Second kid was a small firm, I asked to take a couple weeks off unpaid and they said they'd rather have me work part time for that couple weeks and don't worry about a specific number, then at the subsequent annual review they criticized my hours for that month.

Third kid was mid-size firm and I took 2 days off, mixed in the remainder of my 80 hours over the next couple months and my work from the older partner dried up while I ran myself on the verge of exhaustion for the two months after the baby was born. Told them in my exit interview that paternity leave needs revamping.

If I got 12 weeks I'd take it. I can see going back at 3 or 4 weeks in specific situations, but that's heavily dependent on the wife's situation and family support on hand. Edit: but even so, hugely disparate male/female leave policies creates a lot of bias against mom employees from all levels of the organization. And that harken back to my point about perceptions.