Emily

Portland, Oregon

In 2014, my wife and I welcomed our son into the world. I was fortunate to have 12 weeks of fully paid leave. My wife had none. She took seven unpaid days and returned to work, leaving me home to recover and care for a newborn. It was hard for both of us, but we couldn’t afford her losing her job or having a smaller paycheck. While we were far from our family of origin, we did – and do – have a family in Oregon. Our two best friends are very involved in our son’s life and are the closest family ties he knows. Since they are not related to us by blood or marriage, they were unable to take any leave to help us.