One more important thing - make sure your husband continues certifying for PFL every two weeks until his benefit period ends. We almost lost a week of benefits because my wife forgot to do her final certification. The system doesn't always send reminders! Set calendar alerts on your phone for certification dates.

Just wanted to add my experience - got my PFL approval letter last Tuesday and the first payment hit my account yesterday (so 6 days). I was panicking because I read horror stories online about month-long delays, but it was actually pretty smooth! One thing that helped was calling the EDD customer service line the day after I got my approval letter just to confirm everything looked correct in their system. The rep was able to verify my direct deposit info and confirm there were no holds on my account. Sometimes a quick call can catch issues early before they delay your payment. Good luck with your little one!

I submitted my claim 11 weeks ago and have tried calling dozens of times and can’t get through

11 weeks?! That's absolutely ridiculous. I'm so sorry you're dealing with this. At this point I'd definitely escalate - maybe try filing a complaint with the state ombudsman or contacting your assembly member's office. They sometimes have staff who can help cut through the red tape. This system is completely broken if people are waiting nearly 3 months for basic processing.

For your specific form question: You need a DE2501 form for Pregnancy Disability Leave. Your doctor will need to complete part of it to certify your disability. For the subsequent PFL baby bonding claim, you'll need form DE2508. One important note about twins - while you don't get extra weeks of leave, your weekly benefit amount calculation remains the same regardless of having one baby or multiples. The benefit is based on your earnings during the base period, not the number of children.

Just wanted to add - if you're planning to breastfeed, don't forget about the Lactation Accommodation breaks you're entitled to when you return to work! California law requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space (not a bathroom) for pumping. This isn't part of PFL but it's another benefit that helps with the transition back to work after bonding leave. Also, some employers offer additional paid parental leave on top of state benefits, so definitely check your employee handbook!

Pro tip: if you're gonna be on hold for hours, put your phone on speaker and do something else productive. I learned a new language waiting for EDD to pick up 😅

Hey Freya! I went through something similar a few months ago with my PFL claim. Here's what worked for me: try calling the EDD PFL line (1-877-238-4373) exactly at 8:00 AM when they open - like literally have your finger ready to hit redial at 7:59:59. I also had success sending a secure message through my EDD online account with screenshots of the error and a clear explanation. Make sure to mention that you've already been approved but need to correct the start date - this helps them prioritize it since you're not a new application. The whole process took about 2 weeks once I got through, but they were able to adjust my dates retroactively. Don't panic, this kind of error is more common than you'd think and they deal with it regularly!

Second update: My PFL claim was just approved! Only took 5 days to process. No gap in payments between SDI and PFL. For anyone reading this in the future - you definitely DON'T need to submit any recovery notification when transitioning from pregnancy disability to baby bonding. Just make sure you note on your PFL application that you're coming from SDI and include your claim number. Thanks everyone for your help!

Congrats on your successful transition! This is such helpful information for other parents going through the same process. I'm currently 8 months pregnant and planning ahead for my own SDI to PFL transition. It's reassuring to hear that it really can be seamless when done correctly. Did you have to submit any additional documentation beyond the DE2508 form, or was that all that was required? Also, did your employer need to do anything on their end during the transition?