Hi Jules! I so understand where you are coming from...ugh! the joys of politics. Very hard to give you advice on this one as it is so personal, best I can say - go with your gut. Whether it seems like it or not, you will make the right decision and you know what you can handle.
I will tell you about my situtiaton: I changed jobs in Feb. '03 - and was ready to leave my new company by Oct '03 (for reasons similar to yours), however I toughed it out because I knew we were getting ready to start the adoption process and I did want to take some time off and you are correct, for your job to be protected via FMLA you have to be there at least a year. Well, turns out that our match was VERY fast and dd came in Jan - a month before I would be at my current job for a year! To my surprise, HR told me that if I wanted to take time off they would not guarantee my job when I returned
- however my direct boss assured me that he would not replace me and told me to take as much time off as I wanted. Not feeling the warm and fuzzy I would of liked I did take some time off, but not as much as I palnned...I was off for 2 months but wanted to take 3 to 4. When I returned I felt obligated to stay at my current company, as my direct boss has been great about everything (allowing me to work from home when I returned to work, extra time off, etc.). He resigned a month ago - I no longer feel that obligation and will start looking for a new job shortly!
Do I have regrets: yes and no! I regret that I left my job in Feb '03 for my current employer (much bigger company that had adoption benefits) as we did know that adoption was were we were headed to start our family, we were just taking a much needed break. But at the same time I don't regret it, as this job provided me the flexiblilty I needed once our dd arrived.
I wish you luck - as I know it is an internal struggle!
