Sneeze births! We shall BROOK NO ARGUMENT about overcoming any issues in our way! (Part 11 - blimey!)

[ScrambledSmegs]

Welcome!

Not sure this is the right place to ask - but Maternity leave, when did you start?

I get 1 year off at 90% pay, but I have to tell them my leaving date now. I'm due around 9th Dec (12th by my dates), should I take the whole last month off? Two weeks before? I can take anything up to 11 weeks before my due date.

Ninja this is all the prep for selling your house right? Did you put in an offer on the dream house? It's all super exciting :)

Bloody hell stacks that's fabulous maternity pay! Lucky jammer!
I'm planning to work til I'm 38 weeks, but I work from home so I'm thinking it will be easier? that or I'm crazy I think a lot of people work til 36 weeks.

Can you give them a provisional date now, and change it (e.g. if you have health issues) further down the line?

I've just got a bunch of people to read and re-read the paragraph over and over again, and it says "government pay or 90% pay" followed by "if this is lower". It's taken ages to work out, but I think it's actually government set SMP unless 90% of my pay is lower than that. Right?

"For the first six weeks, SMP is paid at the higher rate, which is equivalent to 90% of your average weekly earnings calculated over the period between the last normal pay day before the Saturday at the end of the qualifying week and the last normal pay day at least eight weeks before that date. For the purpose of calculating average weekly earnings, shift allowances, overtime payments, bonuses and commission are all included.

The standard rate of SMP is paid for the remaining 33 weeks (or less if you return to work sooner). This is paid at a rate set by the Government for the relevant tax year, or 90% of your average weekly earnings calculated over the period between the last normal pay day before the Saturday at the end of the qualifying week and the last normal pay day at least eight weeks before that date if this is lower than the Government's set weekly rate."

Ah well, doesn't change my plans not to return to work, but it will mean less money.

We are on for a Triple Whammy in the TTC thread today! Come and visit so we can get the good pregnant bump vibes from you all!

Oooh I was just running in to tell the PSEPPs that Bartlet!! It's SOOOOOO exciting!!!!!!

Just bringing in the individual blueberry cheese cakes!

IT'S A TRIPLE WHAMMY!!!!!!!!!!

Hello PSEPP I hope you are all well? Just popping in to recommend these sleeping bags to Musical dreambags I found them fab for DS and they're cheaper than Grobags

Ah stacks what a bummer - yes I'd read that as though it's 90% for 6 weeks, then the standard £135 smp rate for the remainder.

Loving triple whammy day, it's making me want to POAS :o

Ok, so when I do my kegals/pelvic floor exercises, it makes the baby kick - this is normal, right? My super muscles aren't, like, crushing it or anything?

Fluff I'm sure your kernal is just enjoying the hugs!

DH has opened a letter for me at home, which has my appointment on it, but it seems it is a telephone appointment to book the booking in and that it isn't until 25 June, by which time I will be 11 weeks! So I'll phone that day and get an appointment a week or two later for the booking in, then goodness knows when the scan will be. Do you think I should ring the other number on the letter (not the appointment booking one, which I can only ring on 25th) and try to get things moving a bit faster? I don't want to miss the boat for the nuchal scan plus I want the scan as close to 12-13 weeks as possible so it's not too much longer to wait. And then I can tell people! Noone knows yet, not evern parents as I wanted to wait until the scan was done.

Hello everyone. Still feeling ropey with a cold. gen my booking appt isn't for a fortnight yet. I'll be pushing 13 weeks by then. I've started telling people now. I had wanted to hold off, but actually it makes it all feel more real coming clean.

Going back to gro bags, I seem to remember getting some branded ones from TKMax.

stacks I stopped at 36 weeks. By then I was uncomfy with SPD, so sitting at a desk wasn't great. I also used up annual leave by taking a day a week off for the month before that so I could indulge my nesting desires.

Right, heading over to the brooking page to see what's what.

I'd phone Generic - worst they can do is tell you to bugger awf :o and you don't want to miss your nuchal window. You can always say you need the date asap as your DH has to book the time off or you need childcare or something.

I'm pretty sure they can do ur nuchal up to 13+5/6 but give em a ring an check

You can probably have your scan before your booking in appointment? If nothing else phone them and ask if your scan has been booked, or if there is a way they can book it for you then.

It might only take a day or two to get your appointment after phoning the number, but unless the scan is booked already I would expect that to take longer to get in the system. Maybe phone the local hospital and try and book yourself in for your scan?

As Fluff says, worst they can do is tell you no.

just a quick post, re sleeping bags, i highly recommend merino ones. We bought the go go bags from merino kids, and they come in a one size newborn-2 years, and can be used all year round. So unlike others like the grobags, you don't need to buy different togs for summer/winter, and you don't need to buy different age sizes. So yes, they are initially dearer, but you don't need to buy any others for 2 years, and if you don't have a massively refluxy baby like my DS was, then you would probably just need one for wear and one for wash. They are breathable so babies don't overheat in them and you can use them in car seats. And they have a lifetime guarantee on them, we are sending one back this week as the zip broke and they have said it will be replaced. And DS started sleeping through 8 hours overnight as soon as we started using them....so when DS2 arrives he will be going straight into them!

I had my booking in appt then 2 days later I had my 12w scan. My scan date was exactly 12wks. The appt's came from different locations so I guess that means they aren't reliant on each other. I also wasn't worried about nuchal I just wanted to see my baby.

I have 2 sleeping bags both of them are 1.0 tog and baby is due Oct. I've looked at getting 2.5tog but the reasonable priced ones are never available. What clothing would I need baby to wear for the 1.0tog to be ok? I don't really want to buy any more, if I can avoid it because the ones I have are 0-6months age.

Maternity pay sucks i'm not sure how me and baby are supposed to survive on it. I'm taking 5weeks annual leave before I go onto maternity pay so I will finish work at about 34/35wks.

www.forparentsbyparents.com/index.html?pn=913

This website says that for about an 18degree temp nursery 8togs is a safe max. So sleeping bag is 1.0 dry Nappy is 2 and a sleepsuit 4 tog (this is rating website gives nappy and sleepsuit. That would give me 7tog so that would be fine?

I think I was just being impatient. If I call on 25 June that leaves a 3 week window for the scan to be done before 14wk. I know round here you ring up, get booking in appt, then at that appt the MW books the scan. But she will just have to get it booked for before 14 weeks so I can have the nuchal test. I don't mind it being after 12/13 weeks, as long as the test can be done. I will stop thinking about it now!

Cakes I remember the tog thing when I had DD! She was a September baby and we used to put her in a vest, babygro (sleepsuit) and sort of swaddle her in a cellular blanket. Then when she was a couple of months old, a grobag (or generic version!). You couldn't use sleeping bags from birth then, but I don't know if things are different now. I think they had to 12lb or something before you could use a sleeping bag.

I think most sleeping bags can be used from 7lbs now. I'm even less sure what I'm going to do if baby is less than 7lbs. I've looked at gro swaddle things or create your own swaddle. I'm trying to spend as little as poss but I want my baby as safe and cosy as poss

Mine are from 10lbs - I was planning on just vest + babygrow + blanket in a moses basket, and then maybe just growbagging when they're in the cot? (it seems a lot of fabric to cram into a moses basket tbh??)

Do they still recommend you position the baby at the foot of the cot with growbags?

From what i've seen its baby's feet to foot of bed regardless. I guess part of that is just easier to give one instruction?!?

What do you reckon you're supposed to do with all that excess fabric?

It wouldn't matter as much with a grobag. Feet to foot is advised to stop them wriggling under the blankets and getting too hot (I did my dissertation on SIDS). Grobags attach over their shoulders so babies cannot get 'inside' them, hence they're probably thought to be safer from an overheating point of view. With hindsight, I think I did what Fluff says and just switched to grobags when she went into a cot.

Don't forget when they are in a moses, they will be right by your bed so you can obsessively feel their temperature and check they're still breathing regularly throughout the night!