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In labor law, when you take your leave, your employer must give you written notice telling you of any restrictions on your leave and your obligations, such as whether you will be required to use sick time or vacation time or whether you will have to submit medical certification, while you are taking time off.

Designation of leave

If your employer wants to make sure that your time off is considered FMLA leave, you must receive something in writing (either before you take leave or during the time off) telling you that your leave is FMLA leave and not some other type of unpaid time off. If you do not receive this notice until the middle of your leave, only the time you take off after you receive the notice will be considered FMLA leave.

So, if you take twelve weeks of leave, but your employer doesn't designate your leave as FMLA leave until after you have been gone seven weeks, only the last five weeks of your leave should be FMLA leave. You should then be able to take an additional seven weeks of FMLA leave later in the year. If you have further questions, consult with a labor law attorney in your area.