Until things change again...

I'm taking a personal leave from work for three weeks in November. Assuming what I've been told and was approved today holds, I can take the three weeks before Thanksgiving unpaid, without using my remaining two weeks of PTO, and not have it count against my 12 weeks of FMLA time (this is apparently up the discretion of my management whether or not it applies, so I requested that it not and my boss said fine).

Honestly, I don't see being at my current job beyond next March, when I will collect my annual bonus and will have put in my time to not have to repay my sign-on or tuition reimbursement. But if our IVF is successful, depending on how things go, we'll decide whether I will stay on through my maternity leave (as it would be paid via STD and PTO) or leave at bonus time, in my second trimester.

If we are not successful, I will likely not be able to do a fresh cycle again until April (due to extensive work travel from Jan-Mar.) So we are praying for frosties! Then we can either beg DH's employer for additional IF $ (they are self-funded and provide a $15K lifetime max that is now exhausted) and/or I can get a new job with IF/adoption bennies (as my current employer offers absolutely none for IF), or WCS we could pay OOP (for IUI or IVF-fresh or frozen).

Top companies for IF/adoption benefits from Conceive Magazine

Top Prospects:
Royal Bank of Scotland/Citizens Bank Group:
$100K treatments, $100K meds, $22K/adoption reimbursement

Boston Consulting Group:
UNLIMITED IF benefits (can you believe it!?), none for adoption

Barilla (mmm, pasta...): 4 cycles of IVF, unlimited meds, $12K/adoption

National Futures Association: unlimited IF benefits, $5K/adoption

Or since IL is a mandate state, I could find a large enough IL-based, non-self funded employer that offers an HMO, but preferably not BCBS HMO (which my current RE doesn't accept) Yes, it's that complicated. The IL mandate is for 4 IVF cycles.

I will likely be several days into stims by the time I go on leave (since my boss booked me for a big presentation on 11/3), but it will be so nice. I drove up to Gurnee yesterday for the first time in the morning, and for a five minute blood draw, it took me three hours round trip. Between my appts. at the RE, acu, chiro, massage, and my procedures, yoga, school work, house work, etc., I'm not worried that I'll keep plenty busy.