This thread has been absolutely life-changing for me! I'm 21 weeks pregnant and have been completely paralyzed by anxiety about figuring out maternity leave. Like @Melissa Lin, I've been procrastinating because the whole system seemed impossibly complex, but reading through everyone's real experiences has finally made it all click. @Hattie Carson thank you SO much for asking exactly the questions I've been too overwhelmed to even know how to ask! Your original post could have been written by me - the confusion about SDI vs PFL, the timeline, the payment amounts, all of it. The breakdown from @Destiny Bryant was absolutely perfect, and I love how @Sara Unger created that timeline spreadsheet - I'm definitely making my own version! Also @Sophia Nguyen's advice about keeping copies of everything and taking screenshots is brilliant. I work in finance and even I wouldn't have thought about the EDD system glitching. One question I haven't seen addressed: has anyone dealt with having twins? I'm wondering if that changes the SDI timeline at all since twin pregnancies are often considered higher risk and might require earlier leave? Also, after reading about everyone's positive experiences with creating the SDI account early, I'm going to do that this week. @Dyllan Nantx that tip about the verification code taking time probably just saved me from a major headache later! This community is absolutely incredible. I went from feeling completely lost to having a clear action plan. Already bookmarking this to refer back to and sharing with my pregnant sister who's been just as confused as I was. Thank you all for being so generous with your knowledge! 💕✨

This thread has been absolutely amazing to read through! I'm 19 weeks pregnant with my first and have been feeling so overwhelmed about the whole maternity leave situation. Like so many others have said, @Hattie Carson you asked exactly the questions I've been too intimidated to figure out how to ask! I just wanted to add one thing that might help other newcomers to this conversation - I actually called EDD directly yesterday after reading through all these experiences, and the customer service rep told me that they've recently updated their website with some clearer explanations of the SDI/PFL process. She mentioned that they created a specific "maternity leave pathway" that walks you through the timeline step by step. It's still not as clear as everyone's real-world advice here, but it might be helpful as a supplement! Also, after seeing @Giovanni Rossi's fresh filing experience and @Dyllan Nantx's advice about creating the account early, I went ahead and set up my SDI account this morning. The verification process was exactly as described - they're mailing me a code that should arrive in about a week. So glad I didn't wait until the last minute! This community is incredible. I've learned more from this one thread than from hours of trying to navigate official resources. Thank you all for being so generous with sharing your experiences - it's making such a difference for those of us doing this for the first time! 💕

I'm going through the EXACT same situation right now! Just got my denial letter this morning for "full wage continuation" even though I was on completely unpaid leave for 8 weeks to care for my partner after surgery. Literally had $0 coming in during that entire time, but somehow EDD thinks I was getting paid. It's maddening! Reading through everyone's experiences here is giving me so much hope though - it's clear this is a widespread system glitch that gets resolved with proper documentation. I'm definitely going to follow the proven game plan everyone's outlined: 1. Request my wage/claim history from EDD (free!) to see what bogus data they have 2. Get a detailed letter from payroll (not HR) confirming $0 earnings for those exact dates 3. Gather all pay stubs showing zero income 4. Make sure every single date matches perfectly @Marcus Marsh - please don't lose hope! Based on all these success stories with 5-7 week appeals and full back pay, this is absolutely fixable. It's just EDD's broken system making errors that we have to correct with documentation. Thank you to everyone who shared their detailed experiences - @Justin Trejo, @Keisha Taylor, @Olivia Harris, @Jasmine Hernandez - you're all lifesavers! This community support is everything when dealing with EDD's nightmare system. We've got this! 💪🙏

I'm dealing with this exact same nightmare right now! Just got my denial letter yesterday for "full wage continuation" even though I was on completely unpaid leave for 5 weeks. Reading through all these responses has been such a relief - I was starting to think I was the only one dealing with EDD's broken system! The step-by-step approach everyone's sharing is incredibly helpful. I'm definitely going to: 1. Request my wage history from EDD first (didn't know it was free!) 2. Get that detailed payroll letter confirming $0 earnings 3. Gather all my pay stubs showing zero income 4. Make sure all dates match perfectly @Marcus Marsh - hang in there! Seeing all these success stories with people getting approved in 5-7 weeks and receiving full back pay gives me so much hope. It's clear this is just EDD's system making errors that we can fix with the right documentation. Thanks to everyone who shared their detailed experiences - this community is amazing! We've got this! 💪

To answer your question about the birth certificate - you don't need to wait for the official birth certificate to arrive before applying for PFL. When you file your PFL claim, you can initially provide the hospital discharge papers or other documentation showing you had the baby. You can always provide the birth certificate later once it arrives. And yes, you can typically use PTO to supplement SDI and PFL to get to 100% of your normal wages, but that's entirely up to your employer's policies. Some allow it, some don't, and some require you to use PTO first before state benefits kick in. Definitely check with your HR department.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact situation! I had a UI overpayment from 2021 that I was still paying off when I went on maternity leave in 2023. Like everyone said, it didn't affect my SDI or PFL at all - got my full benefits on time. One thing I'd add is to screenshot/save all your documentation when you file online. The EDD system can be glitchy and sometimes forms don't save properly. I learned this the hard way when my initial SDI filing seemed to disappear and I had to resubmit everything. Also, set up direct deposit if you haven't already - it's so much faster than waiting for paper checks, especially when you're dealing with newborn chaos! You've got this mama! The hardest part is just the anxiety of not knowing, but sounds like you're being super proactive about getting everything sorted.

I actually went through this exact same situation last month! Here's what worked for me: I called the PFL helpline first thing in the morning (around 8:05 AM) and got through pretty quickly. The rep was super helpful - they deleted the wrong form right away and walked me through uploading the correct one. Make sure you have your Social Security number and claim number handy when you call. The whole thing took maybe 20 minutes once I got connected. Don't stress too much about it messing up your application - they deal with this kind of thing all the time!

Hey! I had this exact issue a few weeks ago. I was panicking thinking I'd ruined everything, but it turned out to be no big deal at all. I called the PFL customer service line and explained what happened. The rep was really understanding and said this happens more often than you'd think. They removed the wrong form from my account within minutes and told me exactly how to upload the correct one. The key is to call them sooner rather than later - don't let it sit there stressing you out like I did! You got this! 💪

Congratulations on your baby girl! 🎉 I'm actually in a very similar situation - just had my little boy 4 days ago and was having the exact same confusion about this whole EDD process. Reading through everyone's responses here has been incredibly helpful! I had been frantically searching for some kind of "birth notification" form on the EDD website and getting nowhere. Now I understand it's actually two completely separate claims - the pregnancy disability doesn't automatically transition to baby bonding PFL. I love that everyone mentioned you can file the PFL claim right after birth while still receiving SDI payments. That's such crucial information that really should be more clearly explained by EDD! I'm planning to file my PFL application later today using the temporary birth certificate from the hospital. It's honestly such a relief to find other new parents going through this exact same confusion. The EDD system really needs to be more user-friendly for exhausted new parents, but at least we have this amazing community to help each other figure it out! Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - you've turned what felt like an impossible bureaucratic nightmare into a manageable process. Now I can focus on enjoying these precious early days with my son instead of stressing about paperwork! 💕

Congratulations on your baby girl! 🎉 I'm currently 38 weeks pregnant and this thread is exactly what I needed to see! I've been so worried about navigating the EDD system after delivery, especially since my HR department has been pretty vague about the whole process. It's such a relief to learn that there's no mysterious "birth notification" form I need to hunt down - I was starting to think I was missing something obvious! The fact that it's just two separate claims (SDI for pregnancy disability, then a new PFL claim for baby bonding) makes so much more sense now. I'm definitely bookmarking this thread to reference in a couple weeks when my little one arrives. The tip about filing the PFL claim right after birth while still receiving SDI payments is gold - I would have never known that was possible and probably would have created a gap in benefits by waiting. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences so clearly! This community is amazing for helping us navigate these confusing systems during such an overwhelming time. I feel so much more prepared now! 💕