One thing no one has mentioned - if your wife's employer offers a leave of absence beyond what's legally required, that might be worth exploring too. Some companies have unpaid personal leave policies that could extend her time off without severing employment. It wouldn't provide income, but it would keep her job waiting longer while you both figure things out. Worth checking her employee handbook or with HR.

I'm a newer member here but wanted to share what I learned when researching this for my own situation. One option that might help bridge the gap is if your wife can demonstrate that returning to work would create a "substantial and unreasonable" hardship. While childcare costs alone typically don't qualify, there might be other factors you could document - like if the commute combined with childcare logistics creates genuine safety concerns, or if her employer has made any changes to her position/schedule that weren't there before her leave. Also, has she considered looking into whether her employer participates in any dependent care assistance programs? Some larger employers offer backup childcare or subsidies that could make returning more feasible financially. Even if she ultimately decides not to return, having explored these options might strengthen any future UI claim by showing she made good faith efforts to make it work. Just a thought - this whole system is definitely not set up well for new parents! 😔

UPDATE: My claim was approved! It took 8 days total, which is way better than I expected after my SDI nightmare. The payment is already pending in my account too. Thanks everyone for the advice and reassurance! For anyone dealing with this transition in the future: make sure your dates don't overlap between claims, triple check your paperwork, and contact your HR department to ensure they respond quickly to EDD's verification requests.

That's such great news! 8 days is really reasonable, especially considering how stressful the whole process can be. Your update will definitely help other parents going through the same transition. It's so important to share these success stories since we mostly hear about the horror stories online. Congratulations on your new baby and enjoy your bonding leave! 🍼✨

Has anyone had luck with the EDD's online chat feature? I've heard mixed things but wondering if it's worth a shot.

I'm going through the same thing right now! Been waiting about 3 weeks for my PFL award letter and getting really anxious about it. Reading through all these responses is both helpful and terrifying 😅 I think I'm going to try the early morning calling strategy that @Jamal Brown suggested, and maybe check out that online chat option too. Has anyone had success getting their letter faster by submitting any additional documentation, or is it really just a waiting game once you've filed everything?

Hey OP, any luck getting through yet? Keep us updated!

I've been in the exact same situation! What finally worked for me was using the web portal to check for any missing documents or requirements first. Sometimes they're waiting on something from your end but don't clearly communicate it. Also, try calling on Tuesdays or Wednesdays mid-morning (around 10-11 AM) - I found those times had slightly better luck than the crazy early morning rush. The system is definitely frustrating, but don't give up! Your persistence will pay off eventually.

Congrats on getting it resolved! I'm dealing with the exact same issue right now - applied for baby bonding PFL on 2/10 and still showing "claim received" status with no payments. My estimated payment date was supposed to be last Tuesday but nothing came through. Reading through all these responses, it sounds like the system has been a mess this year with delays and processing issues. I'm going to try calling again this week, but if that doesn't work I might have to use that Claimyr service too. It's so stressful when you're counting on this income and have a newborn to take care of. Thanks for sharing your experience - at least now I know I'm not alone in this!

I'm going through the exact same situation right now! Applied for baby bonding PFL on February 15th and my account still just shows "claim received" with no updates. My estimated payment date was March 5th and nothing came through. Called the EDD number about 6 times but keep getting the "too many callers" message and disconnected. It's really frustrating because we planned our budget around having this income and now we're scrambling to cover expenses with our newborn. Reading all these responses makes me feel a bit better knowing it's not just me, but also worried that I might be looking at weeks more of waiting. Think I'm going to try that Claimyr service if I can't get through by phone this week. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences - it helps to know others have eventually gotten it resolved even if it took way longer than it should have.