Congrats on your baby and glad to hear your claim finally went through! I'm a new parent myself and just submitted my PFL baby bonding claim last week. Reading through all these experiences is both reassuring and nerve-wracking - it sounds like the 3-4 week wait is pretty standard right now despite what their website says. One question for anyone who's been through this recently - did you get any kind of confirmation or notification when your status changed from pending to approved, or do you just have to keep checking the portal daily? I'm trying to figure out if I should set up some kind of daily reminder to check or if they'll actually let me know when something changes. Also @Malik Jackson thanks for mentioning the Claimyr service - I hadn't heard of that before but might be worth trying if mine gets stuck too long. The regular EDD phone line seems impossible to get through on.

I'm currently in week 2 of waiting for my PFL baby bonding claim to process after my little one was born last month. Reading through everyone's experiences here is honestly such a relief - I was starting to panic that I'd done something wrong with my application! It's so frustrating that the EDD website still claims 14 days when clearly everyone is experiencing 3-4+ weeks. I've been checking the portal obsessively every morning hoping to see a status change. My SDI pregnancy benefits ended right before I submitted the PFL claim, so like many others here, I'm in that stressful income gap period. One thing I noticed that might help others - when I submitted my claim, I made sure to keep screenshots of everything showing my documents were "received" in the portal. After reading about some people having issues with document uploads, I'm glad I have that backup proof just in case. Thanks to everyone sharing their timelines and tips! It helps knowing this is just how slow the system is right now and not a problem with individual claims. Will definitely keep the Claimyr service in mind if I hit the 3-week mark with no movement.

Hey Simon! Congrats on your baby boy! 🎉 I just went through this exact situation 6 months ago - emergency C-section at 36 weeks when I was supposed to have 3 more weeks of pregnancy disability left. The good news is your disability automatically continues after delivery! Since you had a C-section, you get the full 8 weeks of recovery time starting from 7/15, which should take you right to around 9/9-9/10 - so your existing return date actually works out perfectly. The most important thing right now is making sure your doctor submits that delivery date change to EDD immediately. I made the mistake of waiting a week and it caused some confusion with my payments. Once that's updated, you're all set to just ride out the disability until it ends, then apply for PFL baby bonding about 10 days before (so around late August). One tip: screenshot or save confirmation when your doctor submits the medical update, just in case you need to reference it later. The transition should be smooth, but having that documentation helped me feel more confident everything was processed correctly. You've got this mama! The hardest part is behind you - now just focus on recovery and those newborn snuggles. 💙

Congrats on your little one! 🎉 I went through something similar with my daughter - she came 4 weeks early via emergency C-section and I was so confused about all the paperwork and timelines. Everyone's given you great advice already! Just want to add one thing that helped me: after your doctor submits the delivery date update to EDD, keep checking your SDI online account every few days to make sure it reflects the correct information. Sometimes there can be delays in processing, and you want to catch any issues early. Also, don't forget to update your employer's HR department about the actual delivery date if you haven't already - they might need to adjust their records for your leave too. The good news is your timeline actually works out really well since your return date was already set for 9/10. Take advantage of having one less thing to worry about and just focus on healing and bonding with your baby boy! The benefits will sort themselves out as long as you stay on top of that medical update. ❤️

btw dont forget u get 8 weeks of bonding time! alot of ppl think its just 6 weeks but its 8 weeks for 2025 claims. my sister thought she only got 6 and missed out on 2 extra weeks of paid time!

Just wanted to add my experience from last month - I applied exactly 5 days before my disability ended (online through SDI) and it worked perfectly! No payment gap at all. One tip that really helped me: when filling out the PFL application, make sure you upload a clear photo of your baby's birth certificate right away. I've seen people get delayed because they waited for EDD to request it later. Also, keep checking your claim status daily after applying - if there are any issues, you'll see them there first before getting any mail notifications. The peace of mind of having continuous payments with a newborn is so worth getting the timing right!

I'm dealing with a similar upload issue right now! One thing that helped me was trying the upload process using Safari browser instead of Chrome - apparently EDD's system has weird compatibility issues with certain browsers. Also, if you're still stuck, try logging in at exactly midnight or very early morning when their servers have less traffic. I've heard from others that the upload buttons sometimes reappear during these low-traffic windows. It's ridiculous that we have to work around their technical problems like this, but hopefully one of these workarounds helps you get that birth certificate uploaded!

I had this exact same issue with my PFL claim last month! The upload button just completely vanished after I submitted my initial application. What ended up working for me was a combination of things: First, I tried logging in using Microsoft Edge browser (weird, I know, but their system seems to hate Chrome and Firefox sometimes). Second, I logged in during off-peak hours around 6 AM when the system is less congested. The upload option magically reappeared! If that doesn't work, you can also try calling their document upload hotline at 1-866-333-4606 - it's specifically for technical issues with uploads, not general claims questions. They can manually process your documents over the phone. Also, make sure your birth certificate file is under 5MB and in PDF format - I found out the hard way that their system is super picky about file types and sizes. Don't give up, your claim is definitely still in their system even if the website isn't showing it properly!

Reading through everyone's experiences has been so helpful! As someone who just started this process with my 2-month-old, I wanted to share what I've decided after weighing all the options. I initially wanted to do unemployment first to maximize total time off, but the overpayment stories really scared me. The reality is, with a 2-month-old who's still not sleeping through the night, I'm honestly not in the right headspace to be genuinely "available and actively seeking work" that unemployment requires. I've decided to go with PFL first - all 8 weeks starting next month. Even though it means less total time off compared to doing unemployment first, the peace of mind is worth it. No risk of audits, no stress about job applications I'm not mentally ready for, and I get the higher weekly benefit amount ($980/week vs $450/week unemployment in my case). The plan is to use PFL now for pure bonding time, then reassess in a few months when I'm more recovered and my son is more predictable. If I still need more time off, I can explore unemployment then when I'm truly ready to work if the right opportunity comes up. For anyone else struggling with this decision - trust your gut about whether you're genuinely ready to work right now. The extra few weeks off aren't worth the financial and legal risks if you can't honestly meet unemployment requirements.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences - this thread has been incredibly valuable! As a new parent myself, I'm facing this exact same dilemma and the insights here are helping me think through my options more clearly. One thing I'm realizing from reading everyone's stories is that there's no one-size-fits-all answer. It really depends on your individual situation - your childcare options, mental readiness to job search, financial needs, and risk tolerance for potential EDD issues. For those who successfully did unemployment first, it sounds like having reliable childcare and being genuinely ready to work were absolutely crucial. But the overpayment horror stories are definitely concerning and show that EDD takes the "available for work" requirement seriously. I'm leaning toward the PFL-first approach myself after reading about the audit risks. Even though it means less total time off, the higher weekly benefit amount and guaranteed approval without worrying about availability requirements seems like the safer bet right now. One question for the group - has anyone had experience with how employers react when you tell them you want to use PFL before starting a new position? I'm wondering if using PFL after getting a job offer but before starting might be a good middle ground strategy.