December 2012 - Halfway to our Christmas elves and fairies!

[WeeJo08]

Hi everyone!

I think I did this correctly! Eeeek! Probably not I think we still have a few messages to go on the old one, so it's here for when we're ready :)

WeeJo

Ignore me willyou - just seen your post, durr

BTW How many kicks are you all getting (for those that feel them)? I'm getting loads, no way I could count them all, I reckon 40 or more a day. DH felt some last night, after many attempts!

I'm not feeling any movement at all yet.

Friend is your placenta anterior?

I'm feeling quite a lot lately and they're getting stronger although still not strong enough for dp to feel

bellaboo123 hurrah! not just me then... mine are under the muscle too, so we can both hope!

on the maternity leave discussion, my employer give the bare minimum statutory (architects - not female-friendly,) so am sort of hoping I can start my ML on the 15th which is my due date, as both me and my brother were late and I want to make the most of my 90%.. Does anyone know, do the Christmas holiday days go onto the 6 weeks you get? Architecture has a Christmas shut down period were we have to take enforced holiday days between 25th Dec and 2nd January but I want these holiday days to count as holiday, not as part of my ML - can I do that?

Also.. does anyone know what the rules on statutory pay are when it comes to getting your 90% and then not going back to work? Can they force you to pay it back if you switch employer after the 6 weeks?

Utopian the Xmas hols will be part of the mat leave but you get the days you would have taken as leave back. Not sure if depends on your policy but fairly sure they'd have to pay you them in lieu. They would at my work.

Other qs not sure. I know anything above stat has to be paid back at my work if don't return for min of 13 weeks. Is the 90% statutory? If so then you don't have to pay back I'd not returning

The 90% is reclaimed by your employer do they can't make you pay it back. You still earn holiday whilst on maternity leave so if you have a year off you should still have your 28 days or whatever when you come back hope I've explained that ok

utopian I imagine you'll be paid at your ML rate for the Christmas shut down but you should still accrue holiday, so you may be able to stick it on the end of your ML to give you a period at full pay. Not sure about statutory pay though, sorry.

How do they work out the 90%? I earn a basic plus commission so will it be an average of 90% of my last 3 months earning??? Or 90% of my basic pay? Confused!!!

AFAIK they do it on your last three months earnings, before I had dd I did some over time and took my 4 weeks holiday on top of my wages so my 90% ended up being more than my basic wage

Thanks spotty do you think that would include commissions?

Hmm does it just appear in your gross wage on your pay slip?

Does anyone know how much notice you have to give if you decide to go back to work earlier than you originally stated? I took the full 12 months with DS, which was brilliant but the last 3 months on no pay were very tough and we don't have as much in the way of savings this time, so might need to think about taking 9 months instead.

Don't feel ready to make the decision yet though, so was thinking I might give my return date as 12 months away with a view to changing it if need be, but was wondering when I'd need to let them know.

Sorry if I've brought everyone down by mentioning returning to work when the babies aren't even here yet!

It probably says on the direct.gov website ispy I'm on my phone so can't check.

No it's down as commission so probably not in guessing! Thanks spotty my speak to our finance guy tomorrow to clarify!

ISpy I have to give 28 days notice of any change, including returning early.

bellaboo my understanding is that it will count. I think they take the average weekly wage over that period so as long as you were paid some in that time then you should be ok. but best check with your payroll or hr who will be able to give you the definate information. they will tell you which weeks are assessed so you will know whether you have had commision or if it is due if the assessment period has not been.

More lovely scans, we must be nearly done with our 20wk scans soon! Sadly I did not go back to sleep after the kick boxing/ gymnastic tumbling at 3 this morning, starting to feel the need for bed now, but enjoying the Olympic swimming too much!

I'm planning on finishing work at the end of October, at 34wks as I have saved up a decent amount of annual leave... only 12wks left of work!!!

So many topics discussed today, I cant remember what has been talked about, but I've got dreadful baby brain, I'm forgetting everything and getting confused and frustrated constantly. I took the dog to the vets earlier, paid the bill and left without his eye drops.

I need to work more weekends to bump my pay up, really suffering without my night shift unsocial!

ivanapoo I'm feeling 40+ movements all day now but especially in the evenings. Ds has just been sat feeling kicks which was nice

Does anyone know if Immodium is Ok to take?

It says not FoD

Can I use IMODIUM® products if I am pregnant or breastfeeding?

It is not recommended to use IMODIUM® products during pregnancy or breastfeeding. You should ask your doctor or midwife for advice on alternative treatment.

I'm very sad I won't be taking any maternity leave :( I'll prob get a couple of weeks over Xmas and then only work as/when I can around tadpole for a few weeks then back to work. Thankfully I work from home and don't have set hours so if I have to work at 2.30 am to keep us afloat I can.

I can't remember who asked but you can eat Parma ham and other cold meats according to nhs website.

And again I can't remember who it was my little tadpole prob kicks about 30-50 times a day. Although it tends to fidget a lot too. My DH has been feeling it for a little while but sometimes it's still too faint.

Went to Zumba again today! Glad I did I feel much better. My pulse has been high for a few days I checked with a nurse friend who said that it could be dehydration so I've upped my intake of fluids and that appears to have helped. 107 bpm didn't feel great tbh!

I've just come back from zumba Stacey was like a bloody oven in there! I do not feel half as bendy as I used to though

I've found that if I'm dehydrated I feel shocking and that I need much more than I did before (~3.5L a day), just another little quirk of pregnancy

Thanks everyone - think I'll say I'm coming back next Dec then take stock in June/July to decide if I need to bring it forward to September.

Btw congrats on your little boy Friendof

willyou I have to adapt quite a bit of it now, my legs can no longerbe lifted in front of me due to bump, I have to control myself so I don't do high impact (which I find really hard) and I can't do a lot of the bending stuff but other than that it's cool and I'm still really enjoying it! I would also be the size of a house if I didn't exercise