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Original poster

PREGNANT MN CHILDMINDERS - come over here......

291 replies

looneytune · 27/03/2008 20:21

Right, as mentioned in the staffroom, there is definitely something in the water!! Due to there being a few of us now, I thought we should have a thread to keep tabs on when everyone is due etc.

I'll put the info I know so far, come and add yourself/your details or even better, copy and paste this list and update accordingly

Crace - C-section booked for ??? May
Looneytune - EDD 23rd June (BOY)
eleanorsmum - EDD ????
MamaG - EDD ???

I know there are others but I just can't remember now (don't you just love the pregnancy brain!). Tori has her baby last night and I think another had theirs recently too but still thought there were more pregnant C/Ms????

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Set a reminder
shoshe · 30/04/2008 18:58

MILK MILK not milf that buggered up the liitle old lady routine didnt it

shoshe · 30/04/2008 18:57

granny comes in looking over her half moon glasses.

I hope you gals are getting plenty of rest and milf, grows strong babies you know?

crace · 30/04/2008 18:50

Just a fly by, but you need to apply by 27 weeks, and the jobcentre is really slow at moment so I would go ahead and get your stuff ready for it. There is a link somewhere in this thread for ellideb I think for the forms.

It's £117 and some change for NINE WHOLE MONTHS?!?!?!? Woohoo!!

You will have had to pay your full class 2 NI contributions however. What I would do if you haven't, is call NI office and get that sorted out asap and then apply for the MA.

OFSTEDoutstanding · 30/04/2008 18:39

Quick update I now know what I am having!!!!

crace - C-section booked 23rd May
looneytune - EDD 23rd June (BOY)
libbysmummy - EDD 14th July
kkey21 - EDD 27th August
ofstedoutstanding - EDD 25th August(GIRL)
ellideb - EDD ??? September
MamaG - EDD 30th October
southernbelle - EDD 24th December

Looneytune yes I am mad!!! But thanks for mentioning about the maternity allowance I hadn't even realised we would be eligible for that

Crace how do you apply for maternity allowance if self employed and have I missed out on applying because I am now 23 weeks was working as a TA before and the school sorted it all out for me, really don't have a clue how to go about it and also how long is it for?

GordontheGopher · 30/04/2008 18:36

Well according to LMP it's the 28th Dec but I know I ovulated early which puts me at BOXING DAY!!

Thanks for your answers. There's no way I'll be able to hide my bump until then - I was enormous by 10 weeks last time!

southernbelle77 · 30/04/2008 18:28

Hi! did another test today just to make sure! Still pregnant

Hi GTG, when are you due? I'm 6 weeks tomorrow so we must be due about the same time!

With regard to your questions (and I'm only just pregnant too so answers are vague!)

  1. Wasn't planning on telling mindees parents until 20 week scan, although if I start showing it might be sooner! I'm hoping I can hide it with my already oversized stomach
  2. Currently planning on having 2 months off but that may well change a few times in the coming months! 3)Planning on getting MA although do not know the ins and outs of it at all yet!
  3. My first appt is Tuesday and I'm going to hav to take mindee with me!
GordontheGopher · 30/04/2008 13:41

Hi there - hope you don't mind me gate-crashing! Have been reading this thread for a while and have plucked up courage to post. Am a CM and just a teensy weensy bit pregnant - just over 5 weeks. Was wondering a few things:

  1. When did you tell your mindees' parents?
  2. How long are you planning to work for / when are you planning to start work again?
  3. How many of you are applying for Maternity Allowance? - do you have to be off for 6 months to get it?
  4. What do you do about midwife appointments?

Thanks!

MamaG · 30/04/2008 13:17

I know what you mean about the ante natal threads, I don't want to go on them.

Original poster
looneytune · 30/04/2008 12:29
  • well, we're only a small group anyway and it's nice to chat to others I just can't keep up with the ante-natal thread for June, they talk soooooo much, I just don't get time to catch up lol.

Update:

crace - C-section booked 23rd May
looneytune - EDD 23rd June (BOY)
libbysmummy - EDD 14th July
kkey21 - EDD 27th August
ofstedoutstanding - EDD 25th August
ellideb - EDD ??? September
MamaG - EDD 30th October
southernbelle - EDD 24th December

We really need a November baby now and then we've got it covered every month for the rest of this year

Right, off to make some lunch whilst 2 mindees munching away in highchair

OP posts:
MamaG · 30/04/2008 12:01

My EDD is now 30th October

LOL at still being on this thread

Original poster
looneytune · 30/04/2008 11:32

Think I've covered us all?

crace - C-section booked 23rd May
looneytune - EDD 23rd June (BOY)
libbysmummy - EDD 14th July
kkey21 - EDD 27th August
MamaG - EDD 1st November
ofstedoutstanding - EDD 25th August
ellideb - EDD ??? September
southernbelle - EDD 24th December

AskABusyPerson - how's it going?

OP posts:
Original poster
looneytune · 30/04/2008 11:25

crace - lol about sniffing that stuff....I've heard this about some pregnant women but I can't say I understand it . Oh, how lovely that you finish work and go straight into a bank hol weekend, be nice for you to have dh around more Hope you manage to get your stuff sorted!! I'm hoping to have lots of energy this weekend to sort some stuff out as things are all over the place at the moment!! Still annoyed with myself that I only took 2 weeks off before due date and get worried in case he comes early.

Ofsted - you mad woman!! I planned to have a total of 4 weeks off when I first found out but when I told the families at 3 months, one of the mums was not at all happy that I'd be coming back so soon. She was worried (rightly so) that I wouldn't be fit to have her baby back so soon after giving birth, plus, we wouldn't know when I'd have baby so if I stopped say a week before, I may only have ended up with a week off with the new baby which is a bit much. So, on her request, I changed this to 12 weeks and we're all much happier Now I'm so far gone, I must say I'm relieved this was changed and now I have have 2 weeks before baby is DUE and then (if not early) between 8-10ish weeks with my new little family before I start back.

But....we're all different and if you're really going back so soon after, I'd look up the Maternity Allowance guidelines and see when you're entitled to it. As crace said, if only having that long off, I'd do invoices as per usual with a bit of flexibility regarding your return date as you can't possibly know the exact day.

I know that unless anything goes wrong and I have to change, my first day back will be 1st September. I will therefore be emailing all parents a week in advance of that date, as per usual

I'm going to scroll down and check everyone's due dates again and repost them up here

OP posts:
crace · 30/04/2008 06:19

OO that seems like such a short time off - surely you are eligible for maternity allowance? That's £117 per week, and actually covers one of my mindees. And as I only get one full timer after I come back this is actually me earning normally! I am planning on taking at least 3 months off.

As for the invoices if you are only taking the three weeks off I would really just phone once you know you are coming back and give on the first day. I get paid monthly in advance and although I have to chase them for a few days it's worth it to get it all up front.

And you aren't being greedy, we know how it is. There is a lot to worry about when you are a c/m, let alone a pregnant one!

OFSTEDoutstanding · 29/04/2008 19:52

Sounds awful all I am thinking of is getting money out of mindees but some of them are not good payers andI know we will be broke if I take too much time off

OFSTEDoutstanding · 29/04/2008 19:51

Hi everyone hope you are all ok and not too tired etc. My back is absolutely killing me at the moment and I only have ds who is 2 and mindee1 who is 1 so dread to think how all of you with younger ones must be feeling!
I have a quick question if there are any of you that get paid monthly in advance and are only planning on taking a little time off. Will you do an invoice to give parents on the last day they are with you for payment due the first day they are back with you or will you wait to check you can take the little amount of time off you intend to and then ring round to say you are ready to takew the mindees back on and give invoice on first day back?
Sorry if it sounds like I am gabbling I am only intending on taking off 3 weeks 1 before and 2 after birth so long as all goes well. Am thinking of telling parents that I will let them know once baby has arrived and give them an estimated return date. I thought of doing this in a letter and including invoice with it, what do you think would this be too formal?

crace · 29/04/2008 19:05

Moan away, what have I done the last.. well, lifetime! Get some rest woman, you must learn to say "NO".

I have really just stopped doing favours and pulling up extra work I just can't do it anymore and I feel tired and resentful of it. I have given up several offers and basically lied and said I had appointments or whatever. WAY too tired.

3 days left for me! And then 3 weeks of running around finalising stuff - and starting getting stuff on the "to do" list. I am just glad this weekend is BH w/e and DH will be home. FIrst thing I will be doing is "de-c/ming" the house. Personally I can't wait. Goodbye ugly fire guard!

I had to put petrol in the car today, only the thought of me looking weird stopped me from stiffing the pump. LOL - smells are just so fab at the moment. I am craving chemical smells, fags, burnt matches, etc - it's so weird. Like a scratch you can't itch!

Original poster
looneytune · 29/04/2008 13:18

Cheers for letting me moan crace. I've actually had a mindees mum ask her sister all about what's happened and what it means as she specialises in kidney related problems. I feel I understand even more now and I have been advised to document everything that's happened so far, in case I need to make a formal complaint or something. How am I coping.....errrr, I'm just about surviving! On top of already feeling rubbish and working, ds decided to have nightmares and sleep in our bed on Sunday night meaning I didn't really sleep all night as couldn't get comfy plus he kept grabbing me as scared. Then last night I babysat a mindee as a favour so didn't get the early night I really needed. At least it's Tuesday and I finish around 5.15pm so I think I'll get ds's dinner sorted early and go to sleep on the sofa for a bit once 2nd mindee gone home!!!

Hehe about large glass of wine and fag - I'm right there with you mate!!

Yes, dh and I have been making an effort to be nice to each other, make time to say hello, had nice day etc. And will be doing things at weekends, starting this weekend. We have no money but we will do SOMETHING together as it's important and we haven't done that at all this year I think

So, over to you.....how you feeling? Counting down the hours? How you getting on with your 'to do' bits?

OP posts:
crace · 27/04/2008 12:39

Holy moley moley - well I would have more confidence in them now with that microbiology report in hand. Geez Louise though - what a nightmare. How in heck are you coping with working on top of this gubbage??

Glad you worked things out with DH - I swear they are like another child! Well - you know there is stuff that WE want to do you know?! Like a honking great big glass of wine, and maybe even a cheeky fag? LOL (insert craving emoticon here)

You do need to spend time together as a family - otherwise you just feel like roomies. DH and I try really hard to do a couple of things as the 4 of us, even if it's just the shopping. We spend enough time apart during the week, no?

I am looking forward to stopping - this weekend I have been trying to organise the house - deciding what's going into storage and just cleaning out. It annoys me I need to stop next week for work I just want it done and I feel like I am running of time and energy

Original poster
looneytune · 27/04/2008 07:47

Morning all

crace - Spoke to my own Dr at the appointment and she was great and explained everything very clearly. I asked if she could write the name of the germ down for me and she did one better and printed the latest of the Microbiology reports for the urine tests. It re-confirmed my lack of choice in having the anti-biotics I didn't want. It listed 6 medications they tried in the lab to fight the germ and 5 showed 'resistant' meaning wouldn't work, the one I'm on was the only one not showing as resistant. Dr told me not to get too 'het up' on the name of my germ and that she was sure it would be ok (I know why as there is some scary stuff on the net about it but I think that's if you get it in other parts of your body). When I asked how I got it she said that a normal healthy body wouldn't 'allow' it in and if I'd not had UTI's in the past, it would never have got in. Basically, my body has been run down and being pregnant is part of it and my defences were down and allowed it in. I've got 2 more days of my tablets then need to wait 48 hours after and re-do a urine sample. The test on Friday showed leu ++++ which I've since checked on MN and found that to mean that it's basically a good-going bug (been in system a long time) and lots of bacteria showing and that my body is trying very hard to fight it but unfortunately unsucessfully.

I told the Dr about a few things I'd been feeling like on top of the pain and turns out it's all related as my body had been working hard fighting the bug. So feel better I know it's all related and why I've not been coping well (very tearful).

She said my blood pressure is 'holding' which is good. It has gone up but it's not too high.

SBelle - I was also the same so don't feel embarrassed! We've all lost babies and obviously just wanted that reassurance after, quite understandable

So, what's everyone been up to this weekend? I spent a chunk of yesterday in bed feeling dreadful thanks to these tablets. Turned into me and dh having a huge row as he was p'd off I was't well because it mucked up plans i.e. he wanted to go for a ride on his motorbike in the sunshine but felt he couldn't leave me with ds. I told him I was really upset that he stormed off like he did as I felt crap enough without feeling like I'd buggered his day up. Anyway, turned into a big talk about 'us' in general as I've not been happy for a while as felt he doesn't want to be here. We're all sorted now and have agreed to make more time for each other and slot in 'family stuff' at weekends as we never do anything together anymore We're always working on something that needs doing and it's affected our relationship.

Gosh, that was a bit long. Suppose I just needed to get that off my chest.

Anyway, what you guys up to today?

crace - you must be so looking forward to Friday when you can finish childminding for a bit? I know you'll miss them but you need to rest. I personally can't wait for my break to start!!

OP posts:
crace · 25/04/2008 18:54

SB - if you knew how many I took you would be - I bought a 10 pack of those internet cheapies. I still have them in fact, glued them down in chronological order Paranoia is something I know. We lost our baby at 9 weeks last May (EDD was Xmas day of all things!) and I felt justified in my paranoia! I just couldn't freaking believe it. lol

Anyway, test away, you aren't alone!

southernbelle77 · 25/04/2008 17:30

Hope it went ok at the doctors LT.

I did another test this morning (me paranoid?! nah ) and a very strong postive line so feeling good!! No more tests left now so need to stop worrying about it and just let it be!!

crace · 25/04/2008 16:02

LT how did it go at docs?

Original poster
looneytune · 25/04/2008 10:52

Hiya crace, try not to stress about it (don't want baby coming early ). Can dh or anyone else come and help you at all? I know I have no-one around who can help me but I'd probably get dh moving stuff around for me.

I haven't done a list but going to put one together now whilst baby napping and other playing nicely. Then I've got something in my face to remind me! I've just not felt well enough to do much of it recently but I really need to crack on as time flies and all that (although I'm aware I have a lot longer than you!). Here goes:

Our bedroom (so ready for baby to sleep):

Dh to sort BIG hole in ceiling (plasterboard)
Dh to put coving up and paint that and ceiling
New carpet to be fitted
Dh to put bedroom units up
Dh to hang and paint new door (but door frame needs sorting 1st)
Assemble Ambe Nest

it's dh who decided to decorate our room before baby arrives!

Spare room (where mindees nap but baby will go after first 6 months):

Build a wardrobe on top of boxed off bit (dh's friend hopefully coming tomorrow to give some ideas)
Once got wardrobe, get all of ds's old clothes, towels, blankets etc. from loft
Wash these items then put away
Search in loft for baby bath and many other important baby bits (which dh keeps saying he can't find!)

Thoroughly clean house (more than usual, still hoping for homebirth)
Get birthing pool and practice filling etc.
Pack hospital bag in case
Buy items needed for homebirth if get the all clear
Pack bag for baby (whether for home or hospital)

Buy nappies, cotton wool, baby bath support sponge etc.

What else?????

Think I'll copy and paste this list later so I have something for myself to work from!

I just feel a lot of MY sorting is on hold until dh finishes the bedroom (as stuff from our room in spare room whilst in mid-decorating so no room for sorting new stuff!)

Right, I'm off. Got GP this afternoon and interested in what position baby is in this time (hopefully not still breach). Going to be having 'words' about my UTI problem whilst there too!

Bye for now xx

OP posts:
ellideb · 25/04/2008 09:22

Thanx crace that thread was helpfull!

crace · 25/04/2008 09:11

Call the jobcentre plus if you have any questions on the form. I had to!