Just Shagging Grads Fred 8! Roll up, roll up, all Viroids welcome!

[HumptyDumptyBumpty]

Just Shagging Grads, here is your shiny new Fred!

For those that don't know, a 'viroid' is from the original JSing thread 1, where someone was trying to type ladies (in reference to all the JSing ladies), but their phone decided to call us all viroids instead!

The name stuck and we've been the JSing viroids ever since.

The last thread saw plenty of births and we've got loads of new Grads to add to the mix. Bring on the TMI posts, the midnight moans, the birthwatches and the pom poms!

Our stats thread is here, so if you find us, please add your stats too.

There is also a Just Mumming thread for grads of the grads thread

And if you want to find out what Just Shagging is about or catch up with the undergrads go say hello to the Just Shaggers here, now on the 17th thread.

Hi Ness!

Oooh, had my first bite of reality today - spoke to another lady on my team at work about the company & maternity & apparently they are not very friendly at all. She had to fight & challenge to get 3 days & even then it was only the goodwill of the others on the team that made it possible.
For some reason in my little bubble of baby happiness I hadn't even considered that my lovely job might not just magically bend itself around my new future lifestyle...

Congratulations Nessalina, great to see you on this fred! How are you feeling?

Princess what do you mean 3 days? Do you mean 3 months leave? Or for her to work 3 days a week on her return?

Sorry, hit send too soon. Meant to say see over the next few months how the land lies. Some roles are very easy to job share or reduce hours, or even work from home. Is that something your employers would consider?

Sorry Stroke, I meant she had to battle to go back three days a week (which would be lovely). I know it might be different now the precedent has been set & she's still a really helpful, productive member of the team so they can see it works...
It was more the shock that, as the rose tinted specs fell from my eyes, just maybe I won't be able to have everything the way I imagined and my priorities are going to shift

Thanks Stroke! I'm feeling ok, mostly a bit nervous and emotional, and I'm constantly hungry!!
I know how you feel Princess, I'm a Branch Manager, and my job has pretty much no options to reduce hours, most people either step down or suck it up and stay full time. One of my best pals is coming back off maternity and has just found that they haven't got a branch for her, so she's just going to be floating for now, but obviously they can't make her step down I think they're just hoping she will! It really sucks.

Can I just say, it's really odd to come over here as a JSing grad, and seeing people like Hooya and Kitten on the Fred, you guys are practically celebrities!

Congrats nessa - every time there is someone new it scares me a little as it means I'm future along! Am 20 weeks now, so half way, eek!
Re. Mat leave, I'm going to book a year, but leave it so I have flexibility to come back earlier if I want to, with notice. I only get stat minimum in terms of pay though, so the last 3 months would be unpaid. My ideal scenario would be to get a new job while I'm on leave though as my current one isn't really very compatible with baby. Trying not to worry too much though!
Have a good day all x

Updated EDD list:

hooya due 10th Sept
kitten due 12th Sept
frog due 20th Sept
blondies due 19th Oct
notso due 25th Oct
Mrs AVB due 1st Jan 2014
Humpty due 3rd Jan 2014
andie due Feb/March 2014?
stroke due 29 March 2014
cookie due 4 April 2014
downstairs due 15 April 2014
KitKat due 15 April 2014
coffee due 17 April 2014
nessa due 23 April 2014

Welcome nessa - that JS bus is really zooming now, eh?!

MrsAVB I know what you mean - HOW are we nearly halfway? HOW ON EARTH? I've barely had time to tell everyone yet! Also, I am in exactly the same boat as you - looking for a new job during mat. leave, as this one is doing my nut.

Ooh, meant to say for all the UK JS-ers, don't forget to tell your employer (if they're small enough to be eligible) about 'Small Employers Relief' (HMRC linky here) which has cheered my boss up immensely - under a certain threshold, employers can claim back SMP.

I'm taking the full 52 weeks, plus A/L, so will be off for about 54 weeks total, and if I do decide not to go back, 55 weeks (using full A/L accrued for 2014-15 on end of mat leave, rather than saving some of it for Jan - April 2015).

Hello! Room for a little one? Just got my BFP this afternoon!

hooya due 10th Sept
kitten due 12th Sept
frog due 20th Sept
blondies due 19th Oct
notso due 25th Oct
Mrs AVB due 1st Jan 2014
Humpty due 3rd Jan 2014
andie due Feb/March 2014?
stroke due 29 March 2014
cookie due 4 April 2014
downstairs due 15 April 2014
KitKat due 15 April 2014
coffee due 17 April 2014
roodles due 18 April 2014
nessa due 23 April 2014

It's nice to see there's a few of us for March/April, but it still seems very surreal to actually have a due date...

Heya Roodles!
Ooh, even with you arriving new, I'm still the latest due date! OK by me...

Ooh a celebrity huh, i could get used to that...< flicks back glossy salon fresh hair >

Welcome to all the new BFPs - so many of you, the shag capes are obviously doing the trick over there on the conception boards! Hope the early pg symptom fairies are being kind to you all.

Well this is my first week of mat leave and so far I've been busier than ever! Am very glad not to be commuting any more but that does mean I've lost a big chunk of MNing time which is most inconvenient!

hooya I can't believe you've still got a couple of weeks left at work - do you have to travel far to the office? And the heat sounds horrible your poor thing.

The due date list is interesting...nobody at all due in November/December...

Oh and not sure if all you newbies know already but we have a JSing grads secret fb page if you're interested. PM me if you want an invite

Ooh, kitten a SECRET page? I want in. I will PM you my fb identity. And swear you to UTTER SECRECY forever.

I've missed news of this secret society too, do we have secret passwords and handshakes? Ooh and is there mysteries and stuff and lashings of ginger beer? (too much Secret Seven and Famous Five growing up!) Will pm you kitten

Hello all, more newbies yay!

stroke where are you to be also in such crazy heat?

kitten I am torn between wanting more time off and dreading leaving... weird I know!

So had my hospital visit yesterday, all good and passed the pre-surgery checks so 9am on the 10th Sept is the big day!

Nessa I managed to wait until AF was 4 days late before I tested, hence I'm a late arrival. Sorry for queue-jumping!

Oooh and secret fb page? I'll PM to join in, but I warn you, I am a bit of a facebook watcher rather than contributor...

Ladies who have pm'd me for the fb page, you will shortly receive a friend invite from a randomer (me!). I have to friend you before I can invite you

Oh and hooya - eeeek!!! That is Not Very Long At All!!

A SECRET club!! I'm so excited. As soon as I've worked out PMing, I'm on it Kitten Awesomes.
Downstairs - yay for a reason! But what the heck is an ectropian cervix when it'sat home?! Sounds not serious, and that's fab!
I feel disturbingly normal today, worried that I imagined it all.

Hooya I'm in the Cayman Islands so hot all year round here - this one is due in a slightly cooler month than DS though but in fairness, I don't think I really noticed the heat any more when I was pregnant!

Where are you based?

I'm bored at work today so I've just spent the past couple of hours googling Chinese Gender Predictor tests - 10 say girl, 3 say boy. I then went one further and emailed my Chinese friend who has correctly predicted everyone's gender using the lunar chart and that also says I'm having a girl. Hmmmm.... interesting

I also "feel" I'm having a girl which I did from day one, and I felt like I was having a boy with DS so wasn't surprised when he popped out.

Anyone on their second, do you feel like you have even less preference for a certain sex this time round? With #1 I was kind of veering toward a girl first but "knew" I was having a boy and was overjoyed when DS arrived. This time round I really don't mind either way as DS is brilliant (except at the moment because he's 1.10 and a total diva nightmare) and I would be ecstatic to have another one. But equally would be overjoyed to have a girl to even up our male dominated household!

But then I quite want a boy so I can use my favourite boys name.... man alive these fickle decisions in gender preference are doing my head in! The things you dwell on when bored at work!

Hey newbies!

I know my DH would love a girl, but I'm sure he'd be fine with a boy! I'm easy really, I know more boy babies than girls, so they seem less scary somehow, but I'll take what I can get!
We've decided that we definitely want to know the sex in advance, just so as have more of an idea of what to buy and if it is a boy my DH can get used to the idea! It doesn't feel particularly make or female to me so far...
What are you guys thinking? Find out or not?

Stroke....I am on my third dc and already had a dd and ds,
I was secretly hoping for a boy for no other reason but dd nightmare teen years ( I know awful isn't it?). Dh was hoping for a girl ( because of " how lovely"dd was as a little girl )
We are going to have a boy :)
Really, really we wanted a baby but hearts can be fickle :)

Kitten a secret fb??? Might join you later on!!!

Hooya....do not work too hard!

Nessa hi there!!!

Hello all newbies!!! Lovely to see new faces here!

I am 30 weeks!!! I can not believe it!!! And we have a room for the baby ( the " nursery"). It sounds so grand!!! When we had the other dc ( during a very difficult financially period) we lived in a 1 bedroom flat. So very grateful!!!