Senior-Post9925's journey

I recently interviewed for a staff UX design position at a well-funded startup on the East Coast, where my former coworker would be my hiring manager. They offered me a salary of $230k base plus some equity, which could amount to around $130k over four years if the company goes public. However, they don't provide a 401k match. I asked for a base salary increase to $240k, as my would-be manager mentioned that was the cap for the salary band. Unfortunately, they said they couldn't increase the salary but could offer a slight increase in equity. To be honest, I'm not very excited about the company itself, but I do feel comfortable with the job and appreciate the chill startup environment. Plus, working with my old coworker is a big plus. I was laid off recently and am about to go on maternity leave, so I would start the new role in early February. Fortunately, I have enough severance to last a year, and I've had recruiters reach out, but I've told them I'm on leave and would prefer to start interviewing once I'm back. Given that the product doesn't excite me much, I'm wondering if I should just accept the offer for the sake of having a job after having a baby, or if I should hold out for something better. Am I being unreasonable in my thinking?

I just found out that I'm facing a layoff at my company, and it's happening just two weeks before my maternity leave is set to start. The situation is a bit complicated because I've been given the option to willfully accept the layoff, which would come with a severance package of 21 weeks plus 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, all in a lump sum. I'm trying to figure out how this would affect my eligibility for State Disability Insurance (SDI) and Paid Family Leave (PFL). My plan was to take SDI four weeks before my baby arrives and then six weeks after, followed by PFL. But now that I might be laid off, I'm unsure how this will all work. I've heard that some people suggest applying for unemployment insurance (UI) to qualify for SDI, but I'm wondering if it's realistic to look for work for just two weeks. Also, I’m curious about how SDI payments would be calculated if I no longer have a salary. I've seen some comments suggesting that since I would receive severance as a lump sum, I might still qualify for SDI and PFL in California. I just hope everything works out smoothly as I approach this new chapter in my life.