Ok I'm not totally getting what you are asking, but maybe relaying my story will help clarify your questions?
In short, I was laid off January 15, 2010. I was 32 weeks pregnant. I was given 2 weeks severance and health insurance coverage through January 30 of that month.
The night I was laid off, I filed for Unemployment. In PA, there is a one week waiting period before benefits can be collected. Add to that my severance, which I could not collect during that time. So, my first UE check was around February 7.
I had my baby on March 15. From March 15 until roughly 5 weeks later, I could NOT legally collect UE, because I was not technically "available to work."
Now I say this b/c you can get around it (illegally). I did all of my UE claims over the computer, every 2 weeks. The claims were broken out in two, 1-week increments. So, I would be asked if I was available to work week 1, yes or no; then week 2, yes or no. I did things legally and did not collect; however, I did have my doctor "sign" me back into work at 5 weeks so I could collect. (And considering I went on an interview 3 weeks post c-section, I didn't feel bad doing that.)
All the time I did not collect, I just chose "no" when prompted with the question "Were you available to work." I didn't suspend my collections or anything. Once I was available again, I just went back to clicking "yes."
In PA (and I think this is acorss the board), you have 26 weeks of UE that you can collect within the first year after your termination. So, I could collect 26 weeks of UE until January 15, 2011 (minus government extensions).
Does this make sense and help you?
ETA: You an work while collecting UE too, since you only collect 2/3 income on UE. Like, if I didn't have childcare to contend with, i would have worked at Hallmark or something. Just ask your UE office how much you are able to make without it affecting your UE collection. (For me, I would have been able to make $225/wk before it affected UE.)
And as a PP mentioned, maybe you can freelance? Know the laws, though. In PA, anything I make freelancing under $600 a year, I don't have to claim on taxes/fill out a W-2. I'm a writer by trade, so when I was laid off, my DH and I established a business (in his name) and any work I did, I had paid out to the business name. That way I did everything legally, and it didn't affect my UE. (We have an accountant who helped us set up an LLC, as we wanted to make sure we did everything correctly.)
Good luck!