When to apply for baby bonding PFL after birth on 3/15? New dad confused about timing

First off, congratulations on your new daughter! For baby bonding PFL, you'll need to apply WHEN you actually start your leave in May, not now. There's no 7-day waiting period for PFL (you might be confusing it with SDI/disability, which is what birth mothers usually get first). The process works like this: 1. When you start your actual leave in May, file your claim 2. You'll need the baby's birth certificate (or hospital record) 3. Your employer will need to complete their portion 4. Benefits typically begin processing within 2 weeks Important: You have 12 months from your daughter's birth date to use your 8 weeks of baby bonding time. You can split it up or take it all at once.

I took baby bonding leave last summer, and here's my practical advice: Apply exactly on your first day of actual leave, not before. BUT - prepare all your documentation ahead of time so you're ready to submit immediately: • Have a copy of your daughter's birth certificate scanned and ready • Talk to your employer NOW about the DE2508 form they'll need to complete • Make sure your EDD account is set up and you remember your login Processing took 11 calendar days for me, and payment came 3 days after approval. So about 2 weeks total from application to money in my account.

congrats on the baby!! just be careful cause i thought i could apply early too but you definitely can't. if you submit before your leave starts they'll just deny it and you'll have to reapply anyway which just wastes time. make sure your HR actually knows what they're talking about because mine gave me wrong info too 🙄

The EDD system is SUCH A NIGHTMARE!!! When I applied for PFL after my twins were born last year, I did EXACTLY what the website said and still got denied because of some obscure paperwork issue they never explained properly. Had to reapply THREE TIMES before it went through, and by then I was already back at work and almost missed out on the money completely!!! Make sure you call them to verify EVERYTHING because their website is full of contradictory information. And don't expect the online messaging system to work - they NEVER respond!!

One more important tip about your May start date - make sure you're clear with your employer about your exact leave dates. Your employer's certification on the DE2508 form needs to match the dates you put on your application. If there's any discrepancy, your claim will get flagged for review which adds delays. Also, when you do apply, choose direct deposit instead of the debit card option. Direct deposit is much faster once your claim is approved. The debit card can take an extra 3-5 business days to arrive in the mail.

When I had my baby last year, I thought I could outsmart the system by applying for PFL a week before my leave started. Big mistake! My claim got denied, and I had to reapply, which actually ended up DELAYING my benefits by almost 3 weeks! My husband and I were really counting on that money for bills. Oh also, random tip - when you do apply in May, do it first thing in the morning on a weekday. I've heard the system processes applications faster when submitted during business hours rather than on weekends or late at night. Not sure if it's true but worked for me!

my baby is 4 months now and the whole process was easier than i thought! just make sure ur work actually knows what theyre doing. my manager kept confusing PFL with vacation time and it was super annoying. also the EDD website times out like every 10 mins while ur filling out the application so have all ur info ready before u start!!

Since you'll be taking your leave in May (approximately 6-7 weeks after birth), make sure you understand how PFL interacts with other leave types. If you're also using FMLA/CFRA for your bonding time, those run concurrently with PFL. The full PFL benefit period is 8 weeks for baby bonding, and you can use it anytime within 12 months of birth. If you think you might want to split your leave (some now, some later), you'll need to submit separate claims for each period. Just something to consider in your planning.

Just want to clarify something important that people mix up all the time - there's NO waiting period for PFL baby bonding. The 7-day waiting period is only for disability claims (SDI), which is what birth mothers typically use for recovery after childbirth. For dads taking baby bonding leave, you apply on the first day of your leave, and if approved, you get paid for the entire period beginning with that first day. No unpaid waiting week like with disability claims!

Hey there! Congrats on your new daughter! 🎉 I just went through this exact same process a few months ago when my son was born. The timing confusion is totally normal - EDD's website is not super clear about it. Here's what I learned: You absolutely CANNOT apply before your actual leave starts in May. I made the mistake of trying to apply early "just to get ahead of things" and it got automatically rejected, which actually delayed everything by a week when I had to reapply. My timeline was: Applied on my first day of leave → Got approval email 10 days later → First payment hit my account 3 days after that. So about 2 weeks total from application to money. Pro tip: Create your EDD online account NOW and get familiar with the interface. When you do apply in May, have your daughter's birth certificate ready to upload immediately. And definitely bug your HR department to get the employer form (DE2508) filled out quickly - that's usually the biggest bottleneck. You've got this! The waiting is the hardest part but it's worth it to have that bonding time with your little one.

Congratulations on your new daughter! I'm actually going through something similar right now - my baby was born in February and I'm planning to take my PFL leave in April when my partner returns to work. Based on what everyone else has shared here, it sounds like the key is definitely waiting until your actual leave start date in May to apply. I've been preparing by gathering all my documents ahead of time - birth certificate, setting up my EDD account, and most importantly, I've already talked to my HR department about the DE2508 form they'll need to complete. One thing I learned from a coworker who did this last year is to send your HR department a friendly reminder email about a week before your leave starts, just to make sure they're ready to fill out their portion quickly. Apparently some companies are faster than others at processing these forms. The 12-month window to use the 8 weeks is actually pretty flexible, so even if there are minor delays, you're not going to lose out on the benefit. Good luck with everything - sounds like you're being really thoughtful about planning this out!

Hey, congrats on your daughter! 🎉 I went through this exact same confusion when my twins were born last year. The timing thing threw me off too because my company's HR kept telling me different things. Here's what actually worked for me: I applied on the very first day I stopped working in June (my babies were born in April). The whole "7-day waiting period" thing you're seeing is for disability benefits, not PFL - totally different program! For bonding leave, you get paid starting from day one if approved. My processing timeline was pretty typical - submitted everything on a Monday, got approval the following Friday (so about 10 business days), and had my first payment by the next Wednesday. Two things that really helped speed things up: 1. I had already gotten a certified copy of the birth certificates ahead of time 2. I gave my manager a heads up two weeks before my leave that they'd need to complete the employer form ASAP The money stress is real when you're planning this stuff out, but honestly the system worked smoother than I expected once I actually started the process. Just resist the urge to apply early - I know it's tempting but it'll just create headaches!