Jue in June 2011 - not even our growing bumps can stop us from wittering on

[neenewps]

Onwards we go with the 2nd trimester...

Good luck with the house valuation sunny, im glad im not the only one working up to the last minute.....the thought of doing my job when huge is very daunting and ive seen others try to to work to 4 weeks or later and they have had to stop so i think 6 weeks is sensible.

Afternoon ladies.

My maternity package is quite good I think, 18 weeks full pay, 22 weeks SMP then 12 weeks unpaid & I'm able to tag on 4 weeks unpaid parental leave at the end which I will probably do. I will also start my time off with 5 weeks holidays so will get 23 weeks full pay but as my expected delivery date is now anywhere from 31 weeks upwards I have no idea when it will start.

I am very, very lucky we can afford for me to take everything I am allowed & after waiting 15 years for this baby I intend to enjoy every minute when she is here especially as I am not enjoying any of the pregnancy part!

My anomaly scan is in 2 days-eeek so if I get the all clear from that we will actually start to buy some items and I can't wait :)

Can't remember who (I am sooo shit at name checking) but they was discussing the Mamas & Papas factory outlet-well I live 15 mins away from the one in Huddersfield so we went to have a look last week & it turns out the other outlet is in Stoke which is where my oh lives so he went there at the weekend-it's in Hanley for whoever was asking & seemed ok but was very busy so didn't stay too long.

It was me cameli asking about the M&P outlet.......i was nr Huddersfield this weekend so could have gone there to look :(
Has anyone looked at the mothercare spin pram......my DH is a little bit obsessed with pram looking on the interweb and this is his current favourite......i think its fairly new so cant find many reviews

If i am able to take maternity leave ( ie return to work due to logistics of travel) i will get
8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay + low rate SMP, 13 weeks low rate SMP and can take the rest as unpaid upto 12 months.
If i cant go back then its 6 weeks at high rate SMP followed by 33 weeks at low rate SMP, so there is a big difference for us.

Just wrote a huge post and lost it - aaaaargh.

To join the leaving work conversation I plan on working until 38 weeks (although I know I will be totally fed up by then!) and then taking 2 weeks annual leave before starting maternity leave on my due date. Would love to take a year off but finances won't allow it so will be between 6 and 9 months.. would like to try and return 4 days a week though instead of 5.

We are still finding it impossible to find a boys name we like - have ordered 2 new books from Amazon today!

Question for you ladies - when baby is born will you be having him/her in your bedroom with you? I am planning on a moses basket in the room with us although my DH isn't very keen on that because with his DD she was in her own room straight away and slept through the night really early - goes against all the cot death advice though of course...

Moog i think initially i will have the cot in our room with us but plan on moving the baby to their room sooner rather than later. I know all babies are different but this worked very well for my sister and neice slept through very quickly. The nursery was right next door and walking distance was just a couple of paces and with doors open she still seemed very close. I think i will wait and see how things go, im trying not to make plans as then if they go differntly i wont be disppointed in myself.
Not planning on having a moses basket....just a cot ( unless someone gives me one)

Hi everyone, good to hear from you cuppa. I am planning on starting maternity leave 1st May which will be 6 weeks before due date. I'd prefer to have time with the baby after but think once I'm a heffalump I'll find my job difficult with lifting heavy dogs, standing up operating for lengthy periods and lots of on call! As to pay-it sucks-no special benefits just the 6 weeks at 90 % then the statutory so finances wise think we'll have to check out child care costs (DH works at a uni so might see how much the nursery is there) and see how they tally up versus my pay before we decide how long I'll have after the birth.

Moog I'll just have the baby in bed with me. I have a bedside cot AKA drinks/magazine/book/nightlight holding device as well though . It will probably be nearer a year when we will move the baby out of the room. I know this is unusual though (well it is in this country anyway). If any of you ladies are considering co-sleeping, here is a link to the Unicef info on how to do it safely: www.babyfriendly.org.uk/pdfs/sharingbedleaflet.pdf
Righto motherofsnortpigs - off to weave some tofu now

Sorry here is the link here

I knew you'd be a co-sleeper, sasamaxx :)

sarahmum2be I'm guessing that your DH's uni has its own campus nursery ... if so it's very likely they run a salary sacrifice scheme, and he'll be able to pay for childcare BEFORE tax/NI/student loan (if he has them) are deducted.

The nursery at my uni is £46 a day, and contracts are 45 weeks a year. If we use it 3 days a week it'll be 46 x 3 x 45 = £6210 per year, which works out at £517.50 per month. But by paying through the salary sacrifice scheme my take-home pay will actually be only £300 a month less than it currently is (saving us £217.50 per month or £2610 per year).

This only works if your employer has their own nursery, but it's open to mums and dads - could be worth you checking it out. I think most unis operate a scheme like this and it saves fortunes.

I finally managed to get my second bounty pack today 'mums to be'......joined Boots parenting club whilst i was in there. Where else should you join for good freebies / discounts/ vouchers????

I got my first bounty pack at my first scan, how do you go about getting your second one moomin maybe 'mums to be' is the one I got?

my friends (3 other couples) are planning a holiday abroad this Summer and all talking about it on facebook . Obviously prefer what we'll be doing but still hate being left out.

Hello ladies, just back from 3 weeks in the States and trying to catch up on all the posts I've missed! I hope everyone had fantastic hols and that your pregnancies are progressing smoothly.

I'm now at 17+3 and properly in maternity clothes. My bump appeared just before travelling, squishy at first and then hardened about a week later practically overnight! I bought some maternity clothes in the States, where they have a great selection and for much cheaper than here! I especially love the side-ruched t-shirts as they look flattering now but have quite a lot of room for a growing bump. We also bought a few gender-neutral things for the baby, including a Moby wrap, which I love.

I'm really loving having more energy this trimester and hardly any nausea. I've got my 16-week midwife appointment late at 18 weeks on Friday since I was travelling. My next scan is at 20+6 on 3 February. I can't wait to find out the gender! I'm getting boy vibes, but who knows.

I haven't gotten the flu jab and am not sure that I want to. Will talk to the midwife about it on Friday. Has anyone decided for sure not to get it?

Off to catch up on more posts!

Clarkie there was a voucher in the one my midwife gave me to collect my second one from boots or sainsburys

Evening all!

Glad you had a nice holiday mrswantstobe and managed to get some bargains at the same time :)

Moog72 - we had dd and ds in the room with us for about 6 weeks and then they went into their own cot. Mainly because with DD (first) I couldn't relax with her in there and spent the whole time waking at the smallest noise and I kept looking over to check she was breathing, twas most exhausting! DS snored like a trouper and 6 weeks was all I could take . Will have them with us first and then see what happens!

sasamaxx tofu weaving you say. Is that so you can wear a nice shawl while cooking your lentil soup? (have to admit to making lentil soup the other day as well!)

TTL and Barbie - glad you've sorted out childcare issues, I can imagine it's sooooo stressful. I was lucky that DM looked after dd when I went back first time and then I didn't go back after DS so that was easy enough to sort!

Daisy hope you're having a better day today. Don't be too hard on yourself, none of us willingly or deliberately do things 'wrong'. With ds peanuts were still on the list of things not to eat so was dutifully avoiding them, until I realised they were in the crunchy nut cornflakes I had been scoffing the whole time!

Clarkiee I found it a bit weird being one of the only one of my friends who had a child. The nice thing was though I met a whole bunch of lovely friends through nct and now lots of my other friends have joined the club as well! It does seem strange though that suddenly a part of your life doesn't quite match with other people.

Went to the doctors today about raging thirst, probably nothing but she's sending me for a gestational diabetes test to be sure. I feel as though I am waiting for something to go wrong and am almost hoping it is gd and then I might ease off thinking something will be wrong with Bob. Even dh pointed out the other day how negative I am being, totally contrasting with him who is soooooo excited about this one! On the positive side, DD constantly talks about 'Bob' and all the things she'll do with him. Tonight she asked to give him a kiss before bed :) DS not so bothered but has turned really mummified recently, should be interesting when Bob arrives .

Have lovely evenings, off to either study, read, watch tv or eat . . . .maybe even all of them!

oh hope I've not thrown it out

Slankets, Flu Jabs, Shopping & Blood tests
Good evening peeps, just tried to catch up on last six pages and these seemed to be the most frequently talked about things :)
I too am the proud owner of a slanket and tonight after a crap night's sleep, am sitting on sofa munching on terry's chocolate orange yum :) Does it count as one of your five a day?!
I had the flu jab within first 12 weeks and touch wood have been fine, quite glad I did now with all the shortages being discussed.
I got my bloodtest results back as low risk, yeah! So I think that's where I try and leave any worrying to fate now.
Shopping - have bought a few more clothes since I seem to be continuosly growing, have enough sold one pair of jeans on ebay as my hips outgrew them! They were skinny fit! (I can hear you all saying, stop eating terrys chocolate orange haha) As for baby stuff, got a couple of babygros as Xmas presents but haven't bought anything else, waiting for 20 week scan first. My friend did come over on Sunday with a moses basket, crib and some other bits though so starting to feel more real!
Seems like there pockets of us all over the country, I used to live just up the road from the JR in Oxford, have nice memories of living there, but now live in NW.
PS how is everyone sleeping? Couldnt sleep at all last night hence the slanket and choc tonight, and I have ordered a pregnancy pillow to try and get me to sleep on my side more.

Hey petitech I'm in NW too- greater Manchester

I had a crap nights sleep too (was in bed for about an hour went to sleep gone midnight and did a bit of waking up)- lots of things going round my head. Went to view a house and we both loved it but we've not got a buyer for ours. Would you put an offer in anyway? Don't want to waste time getting the spare room ready here in case we move but also don't want to leave it too late unless we get stuck here

Looked on Bounty website realised I've had that pack -two actually one from mw and one with a voucher (thought it was a different one, suppose I might be entitled to two ).

Sorry knackered only just read your comment. Got a few friends with children but my core group of friends haven't got any yet. It's going to be strange when they arrive. By the time they go on holiday hopefully I'll be in other world (either that or I'll be knackered/jealous). One of my old school friends who had moved to another country has just moved back and she's having a baby in May . One of my friends who is going on the holiday has been TTC with no joy (starting around to same time as me and DH) so I can't really moan.

TTL thanks for the advice re uni nursery-I have put DH on the case and he's going to investigate this week!

Feeling quite jealous of all the slankets! I had never heard of them but since my favourite past time is falling asleep on the sofa in front of a film I think one will be on the wish list! I would also like a pregnancy pillow to help me sleep on my side-however much I try I seem to end up twisting onto my front which if my belly keeps growing at the rate it has been this week will soon not be physically possible!

Gosh a lot of posts to catch up on! But here we go!

Barbie - the relationship your DD has with your DM sounds a lot like mine with my Nanny - when I was born, my parents lived with her (she was my mum's mum) until I was 2, and even when they found a flat of their own I often stayed during the week with Nanny as both my parents had to work - because Dad was a Spanish immigrant he could only get low paying jobs to start off with until he landed a job with Ford's. I was always staying with her and going off around the country with her to visit our other relatives. She died in 2007 and I still miss her sooooo much
I'm planning on returning to work a few weeks after the baby is born but I do work from home and the work is very flexible so will work around baby! Will be working right up to the due date. I'm self employed and only entitled to MA.

79Monica - I've been looking on ebay for maternity clothes, not much in my size though :( I have bought maternity clothes from ebay before and got some real bargains!

Bananrama - are they able to test to see if you will be at risk from the polysystic kidney thing? What a worry for you

Daisy - hope you are feeling better today! at your tactless friend!

Lisascat - I think your bump shape can change a lot. Hope the MW put your mind at rest.

Jasmine - I had every intention of going to an aquafit class today, sadly DS got up too late and then took ages to eat his breakfast so far too late! Hope everything is okay with your tests! Woohoo on getting your scan date!

TTL - tricky decision - but you still have plenty of time to make up your mind about doing the 3 days or 5 afternoons.

Newneeps - I'm studiously not caring about Posh's pregnancy...

Moomin - glad you had a good weekend

Sassamax - I am also looking for a bedside cot as well, and I want to keep baby in room for as long as possible. Ds was in our room until 7 months, and I feel we moved him too early.

Mrswantstobemum - Welcome back, glad you made it to the US after all

Knackered - your DD sounds really sweet

Petitech - I think Terry's chcolate orange may well count I have a slanket too! I keep having periods of wakefulness during the night!

Clarkiee - of course you need 2 Bounty packs

Been busy with work, tired. Spoke to my 'boss' last week she asked if I wanted more ACPs on my assignment list, turns out they are terminating the contracts of some of the other people who do the same service as me. So they are condensing the pool of enhancers. In a way this is good as I think we had too many which meant the work was spread too thinly and I wasn't doing enough hours. Plus I am pretty sure that a couple of the ones being finished were the ones who were bitching about me last week They were complaining I was dumping work on them at short notice.
a) I was very ill with flu. And have had horrific morning sickness.
b) we are all self employed any work I pass on means additional income for them and less for me
c) I didn't twist anyone's arms and they were free to say no.

Is this the longest post ever?

Anyone going to watch 'one born every minute'......its on now channel 4

Hi all,

Quick skim and seems to be the topic of today is maternity leave. I found out today that I get to take my full annual leave prior to bubs being born, so 23 days paid hoidlay between now and June! Plus you can bump it onto the start of your ML too. So I'm off on the 13th of May having 2 weeks annual leave and then starting SMP straight after that.

I think this is pretty standard too, my work only does the standard SMP.

Hope everyone is great! DH just felt the bubba kick - very exciting, I'm all gushing and a bit emotional!

I feel like I've been kicked in the jacksee! Stupid PSD. Roll on physio on Thursday. Even better roll on MW appt tomorrow afternoon. Looking forward to hearing bean's heartbeat.

No maternity leave here as am a SAHM and DH won't be able to take much time off as June is smack in the middle of his busy period with work.

Who asked about the Mothercare spin? I like the look of that one too, though not the price tag so it's not a contender. I'm liking the look of the mini star Kurvi4, though need to see it in the flesh and find out if it'll fit a toddler board.

As for baby in room, we had DS in the room with us for the first 4 months and bean will def sleep in our room too. I'm already on the look out for a good second hand crib or moses basket as don't really want to fork out for a new one when we'll only use it for a few months (we rented one in NZ for DS). I do know though that it will have to be one the we can rock. Learnt that the hard way with DS.

MrsWants no I know we're safe from FIL's swine flu I'm sticking with my original plan of not having the flu jab. If the inlaws ask I'll just lie to save arguments

Have this feeling bean is a girl and so does DH, but I refuse to refer to it as a her encase we're wrong. I just feel so different this time around (eg. want fruit and veg rather than choc).