For split periods of baby bonding leave, your husband would file an initial claim for the first period. Then for subsequent periods, he'd need to file a "Notice of Reestablished Claim" when he wants to use the remaining weeks. It's still under the same claim, but he needs to notify EDD each time he starts a new period of leave. Make sure he notifies his employer according to their policy as well.

Just wanted to add my experience from having our baby in February 2025! My husband's PFL baby bonding claim was super straightforward - no doctor certification needed at all. He just filled out the DE2508 form online and uploaded a copy of our baby's birth certificate. The whole process took about 10 minutes and he got his first payment within 2 weeks. One tip: make sure he selects the right claim type on the EDD website. There are different options and "baby bonding" is specifically listed as separate from disability claims. Also, he can actually start his claim on any date after the birth - doesn't have to be immediately. We waited a month so I could go back to work part-time first, then he took his 8 weeks. The system is way more flexible than we expected!

Just wanted to update everyone - I successfully submitted my PFL application today and it went through without any issues! The online system was actually pretty straightforward once I got started. For anyone else in this situation, here's what I learned: 1) Apply immediately after your disability ends (don't wait for final payment), 2) Select "baby bonding" not "caregiving", 3) Make sure your doctor submitted the final medical cert with a clear end date, and 4) put today's date as your PFL start date to avoid gaps. Thanks to everyone who helped clarify this - you probably saved me weeks of headaches! 🙏

This is such valuable information! I'm 8 months pregnant and trying to plan ahead for this exact transition. Reading through all these responses, it sounds like the key takeaways are: apply immediately when SDI ends, don't wait for final payment, choose "baby bonding" option, and make sure there's no gap in dates. I'm bookmarking this thread because the EDD website really doesn't explain this process clearly at all. Thanks everyone for sharing your real experiences - this is way more helpful than anything I've found on the official site!

I just wanted to chime in with a quick success story to give you hope! My husband was in almost the exact same situation - his employer paid 55% during his 6 weeks of bonding leave, and we were so stressed about making ends meet. He applied for PFL and got approved for an additional benefit that brought us up to about 85% of his normal pay total. The process was actually smoother than we expected once we got the paperwork right. The most important thing we learned was to be completely transparent about the employer payments on the application - EDD appreciates honesty and it prevents delays. Also, don't stress too much about the HR confusion - we got three different answers from three different people at his company, but EDD was actually really helpful once we got through to them. Wishing you all the best with your new little one and hoping the benefits process goes smoothly for your family!

I'm going through this exact situation right now! My company is paying me 45% during my 8-week leave and I just got approved for PFL benefits to cover the gap. The whole process was actually easier than I expected once I understood how to fill out the forms correctly. The key things that helped me: make sure your husband reports the employer payments in the "other income" section of the DE 2508 form (there's a specific box for wage continuation), and definitely file on the first day of his leave like others mentioned. I also recommend having him take a photo of his employment leave approval letter if his company provided one - EDD asked for documentation of my partial pay arrangement about a week after I filed. One thing I learned is that EDD will coordinate directly with his employer to verify the wage continuation, so the amounts need to match exactly. Don't let the initial HR confusion discourage you - this type of benefit coordination is totally legal and happens all the time. Best of luck and congratulations on your new baby!

This thread is absolutely incredible - thank you all for sharing your real experiences! I'm currently preparing to apply for PFL in about 6 weeks and honestly had no idea about ANY of these potential pitfalls. The hyphen issue that held up Dmitry's claim for 5+ weeks is mind-blowing - how does a system in 2025 not handle basic name formatting variations?! Reading through everyone's advice, I'm making a checklist: 1) Coordinate closely with HR upfront to ensure they submit everything correctly, 2) Triple-check that every single character in my application matches my other documents EXACTLY, 3) Keep detailed documentation of all interactions, 4) Try the disability line transfer strategy and noon calling times, and 5) Have Claimyr bookmarked as backup. It's absolutely shameful that we need to become experts in bureaucratic workarounds just to access benefits we've already paid into, especially during such a vulnerable time with a newborn. But this community support is invaluable - you're all saving fellow parents so much stress and financial hardship by sharing these hard-won insights. Thank you for turning your frustrations into help for others!

Reading through all these experiences has been both helpful and incredibly frustrating! I'm currently at week 2 of my PFL claim being "under review" with zero communication from EDD about what's actually happening. The fact that Dmitry waited 5+ weeks just because of a hyphen in his name is absolutely ridiculous - and they never even told him that was the issue! I'm definitely going to follow everyone's advice here: calling my HR department tomorrow to verify they submitted everything correctly, going through my application character by character to check for any formatting mismatches, and keeping that Claimyr service as backup. The noon calling strategy is brilliant too - I've been trying at 8am with zero success. It's honestly disgusting that we have to pay a third-party service or become amateur detectives just to access benefits we've already paid into through our paychecks. This system is clearly designed to discourage people from claiming what they're owed. But this community support is invaluable - thank you all for sharing your real experiences and solutions. This thread should definitely be pinned for other new parents navigating this nightmare!

I had this exact same issue a few months ago! The wrong return-to-work date was causing delays with my benefits. What worked for me was documenting everything first - take screenshots of what's showing incorrectly, then try the online method that Andre mentioned above. If that doesn't work within a week, definitely try calling first thing in the morning like Mei suggested. The key is being persistent but polite when you finally get through to someone. They were able to fix mine during the call once I explained the situation clearly. Don't give up!

Had this happen to me too! One thing that really helped was keeping a detailed log of all my attempts to contact them - dates, times, confirmation numbers from online submissions, etc. When I finally got through to someone, having all that info ready made the whole process go much smoother. Also, if you do get it fixed, double-check your account a few days later to make sure the changes actually went through. Sometimes there can be delays in the system updating. Hope you get it sorted out soon!