Baby Verity

I have a new appreciation for working mothers. I became one three months ago. As did three other women working at Verity.

I will refer to my son as “Baby Verity” not because he’s more entitled to be called that than the other Verity’s employee babies, but because the title was directly bestowed upon him by one of my vendor reps with whom I work closely. It’s never too early to exercise a little privacy protection.

I don’t know about other workplaces out there, but I consider myself lucky to be working at Verity. Time and again, I’ve witnessed how Verity supports its employees in their parental pursuits and now I get to experience it firsthand. Without going into great detail, my maternity leave has allowed me to spend uninterrupted time getting to know life with Baby Verity. My husband and I chose to go back to work sooner rather than later, working part time in order to stretch out our leave a little longer and enabling us to take turns working while the other stays home with baby. My boss allows me to work from home on occasion to help with the transition. And, my husband and I are asked daily by our co-workers and colleagues about our little one. The interest and concern, not to mention the sharing of child-rearing info, has been appreciated, entertaining and valuable. On Baby’s Verity’s first visit to the office, he announced himself with a cry that brought staff members throughout the main office over to the Marketing Department to see him. Baby Verity didn’t even fuss when our credit union president held him for a time. Already cozying up with the execs, that one.

Besides the obvious physical and emotional changes that take place when baby arrives, there is also the not-too-surprising change in finances and security. I hope to share some of my experiences on the blog. Here are a few things we’ve learned and done in the last three months:

1. When we were at the hospital, we were given a document asking if we wanted to have baby’s birth announced in the local papers. It turns out that you don’t have to consent to this. We learned that when you have your baby’s birth published, your mailbox becomes flooded with all sorts of junk mail welcoming baby. No, thanks.
   
   
2. Baby’s Social Security Card arrived about a month after he was born. With all the stories you hear about babies having their SSN stolen by identity fraudsters and how babies grow to young adults only to find that they have accrued debt they clearly did not have anything to do with, we’ve safely locked away his card. Ours, as well. You should never carry your SSN card with you or give it away freely. Verity will never ask for this and any other kind of personal info via electronic or direct mail means. If you do get this kind of solicitation, let us know about it.
   
   
3. Did you know that you can open an account for your baby at Verity? Baby Verity became a member of Verity Credit Union a few weeks after he was born. He now has a savings account where adoring grandparents, mom and dad can transfer money for his future college education. Thanks to Home Banking, Baby Verity gets an occasional electronic transfer into his account. He’s too young to login to see this himself, so he relies on mom and dad who are in Home Banking on a daily basis.
   
   
4. It’s always a good idea to buy diapers in bulk. Baby wipes, too.