A COAST GUARD FAMILY LIFE
The DiPietros
LT Amanda DiPietro and LCDR Josh DiPietro are both currently stationed in the Washington,
D.C. area, one at the CG Yard in Baltimore and one at CG Headquarters. They have
two daughters who were born under the previous six-week maternity leave policy,
and one new son, born just a couple months after the implementation of the newer
12-week maternity leave policy.
On the new maternity leave policy
“I had been planning and prepping for six weeks of maternity leave at work and had
prepared my relief with a great pass down," said Amanda. "When I learned that I
had 12 weeks, I was overjoyed to learn I would have more time to recover and bond
with the baby."
On dividing and conquering
Once on maternity and paternity leave, Amanda and Josh worked as a team. Josh was
able to support the logistics with pharmacy and food runs and took care of their
two young daughters while Amanda cared for the newborn. The two older siblings had
some trouble adjusting to a new baby, and Josh helped them feel loved while Amanda
worked on bonding and feeding the baby, which proved a little difficult for the
first week.
On extra time for extra TLC
Knowing that this new addition to the family would need some TLC, Josh had preemptively
requested an additional 20 days of regular leave to supplement his 10-day paternity
leave so as not to overwhelm Amanda. “The result for us was a better transition
and normalization of our family routine," emphasized Josh. "We really bonded as
a couple and as a family during this time away from work.”
On pregnancy and promotion
One anxiety Amanda felt when she learned of her pregnancy was the concern of her
next OER, which was the last before her promotion board. “I did have concerns of
how my absence would affect my selection for O-4," said Amanda, "especially as this
was a new command and I had just established myself in our office. I am very grateful
to my command, who was very supportive of me and my professional development in
the time leading up to the board and my maternity leave. Their support was a key
contributor to performing well in my job and to a successful selection to O-4.”
On the Coast Guard work-life balance
“We are very thankful for this policy,” Josh stated. “Its actions like this that
really show the Coast Guard is dedicated to the well-being of its people. When you
make this policy a priority, it speaks the strongest to young families. We recognize
that these types of policies must be more difficult to enact in our small service
compared to our DOD counterparts, so it really displays our Commandant’s devotion
to improving the work-life balance of our service members. It’s wonderful that the
big Coast Guard family made this investment in our little Coast Guard family.”