Martians 2014 Thread 15: D-Day is on the horizon

[AndieDisestablishment]

Shiny new fred.

I come to check in and thread 14 was full so did the honours. Roll up.

Oops

I spoke to one of the midwives who said not to worry about a one-off occurrence, but to keep an eye on it. I'm seeing a midwife next week for my 34 week appointment but she said if I'm worried before then to go and see my GP and ask for them to take my blood pressure.

I'm a bit of a hypochondriac/pessimist so I always presume the worst

Slightly puffy feet, mostly when I' at work at work and I've been sitting down for too long.

I haven't had much, if any, of the hormonal emotional thing - except for when I think about meeting DS, or DH holding DS for the first time. Oh god, I'm welling up typing.

Frank watch out for random headaches as well. One off is nothing to worry about.

Can I ask a question? What have people gone for for sleeping? Grobags or just blankets? Both?

Dita my boss is considering the same now, having seen the cost of cover for my role - pillock! in his terms it means my colleagues will ignore my job entirely and I will come back to a huge mess with no budget as no one would have bothered to set one :-(

Lib if I can justify my cover he expectes me to be contactable post birth to assist training up - double pillock

MTB are you planning on any keeping in touch days? Your boss sounds like a dick! My job is apparently going to 'absorbed' by colleagues. I'm not convinced!

Why is it costing so much to cover your mat leaves? Don't work pay whatever they were paying you to the replacement, and the good ole government pays your mat pay? That's how I thought it worked!

comms Not really decided on sleeping. Have been given a blanket and have bought a couple of grobags (but might not be able to use them from birth).

You know how those bundlers get such rave reviews round these parts? Do they wear one of those under a grobag, does anyone know?

Fox I get a mat pay package from work above statutory pay so they have that to cover. If they get a direct replacement in they will effectively be paying 150% of my salary for the majority of the time I will be off. Although I'm aware it doesn't work like that/is covered by different budgets etc.

I think they can wear bundlers on their own with a bodysuit/sleepsuit underneath but depends on how cold the room is I guess.

What's a bundler?

We've bought some Gro Bags and swaddling cloths. They can't go into Gro Bags until they weigh about 11lbs so you need another option for the first few weeks/months.

I've got swaddling thingies and 1 gro bag to try out for sleeping.

With regards to mat pay they were about to make me redundant when they found out I was pregnant. Because i won't theoretically 'cost' them anything (only getting SMP) they've kept me on not before putting me through 2 months of uncertainty but save on my salary for a year. Hence no cover but my colleague may have to deal with aftermath.

I don't even want to think what I'm going to come back to.

Sorry to hear about all the shitty bosses/employers dodging their responsibilities. Do they not realise that it's not only an insult to you but also pretty disrespectful to the colleagues left behind who have to somehow pick up the extra work (presumably for no extra pay).
On the sleeping front I think we might swaddle for the first few weeks then move straight into a grobag (unless we get another whopper like the last time in which case it'll be a grobag from day 1!)
Re the hormones/emotional stuff - anything could set me off at the moment (usually adverts for charities that feature hungry/sad children). Went to see '12 Years a Slave' and the bit where one of the women gets separated from her two children just destoyed me.
I echo Owl - what's a bundler??

I've googled it. It's like a nighty.

Lyra we are the same due date! Do you have any more scans booked? The sonographer may be able to see the degeneration of the fibriod if comparing to previous scan.

Sorry for those having shitty time at work. Found out today that they are definately not replacing me but then our workload has shrunk a bit recently. Just hope they want me back in 6 months

Re the sleeping thing - I'm planning to swaddle first few weeks using one of the Gro swaddle blankets and then move the baby into a Gro bag when bigger. IKEA have a good range at reasonable prices. Cheaper than mothercare ones I found. It's a bit confusing, though as the sizing is 0-6 months but I'd heard that you can't put them in Gro bags when really tiny.

Yogi Gro Bags are used according to weight, so you can use one for a new born if they are big. Just looked at the label on the ones I've bought and they say they can be used once the baby weighs 8.8lb.

My maternity leave is being covered, as I'm in a senior position at work, but they're not paying anything above Stat Mat Pay. I was pretty annoyed when they told me,baring in mind I've worked there 12 years and they're always saying what a good job I do, but I've now come to the conclusion if they can't be arsed to show any loyalty then neither can I!

I've bought a swaddle zip up thing - bit like a sleeping bag but smaller you put their arms up in it like wings. Looks weird but worth a try. Will use grobags when big enough and a blanket if swaddle makes him/her unhappy.

Anyone else getting twinges in the lower abdomen/cervix area or had them before? Been plaguing me all night. Assuming it's just baby pressing in a nerve or something like that but I don't like it!

A bundler is like a nightie as Owlina said. Here's a fancy John Lewis example. They're supposed to be good for night time nappy changes because you don't have to mess with poppers like with a babygro.

Thanks for the Ikea tip Yogi. I'm making an Ikea trip tomorrow, which is quite a bit deal for us as we live miles away. It'll be a full day trip! Really can't afford the time when there's so much work to do on the house before the baby arrives, but we need the Ikea stuff to do the work...Weekends are too short to get everything done!!

Frankel that does sound a bit shit of your work considering your length of service and position in the company. I didn't expect mine to pay anything as they will get away with the minimum they are legally obliged to! Except sick pay, actually, I've got to give them credit for that.

fox I love ikea. Its furniture porn. We did that , spent a whole day on just research. Looking for ideas and storage solutions then ordered online for home delivery.

The cot is from there, arrived last week but still in its box lol. Where do the weekends go?

lottie I get the odd twinge but they pass quite quickly. Maybe get it checked out if you're worried.

Fox and comms I'm basically in a senior role, and they pay my full salary for the first 3 months, then I move onto Stat pay, so they'll have to pay mine and the covers pay for those 3 months.

Also they pay me about half of what I'm worth, I didn't mind at first, but after verbal promises of pay rises (after finding another job) which nevcer materialized and now this shitty boss I do, anyway so they're bvasically going ot have to pay double my annual salary for 9 months cover. DO I care? Do I bollocks!

I'll be using my keeping in touch days at the end of my mat leave, once I'm on basic stat and to ease my return to work, will do 1 day the first week, 2 the next, then 3, then 4 and then return to work full time on the 5th week. it means I get paid between a third and half my monthly salary to make that last month less painful (and means I can earn some money so my almost £500 train ticket isn't going to come like too much of a shock.

ANyway enough ranting Happy Friday everyone

I too like a bit of Ikea every now and then lib. But annoyingly the thing we need the most is bedroom furniture, but Ikea frames don't fit British mattresses (and we have a nice mattress) so we can't get one there! So I don't suppose we can get the rest of the bedroom furniture in Ikea either as it won't match the bed.

MTB that's similar to me (although mine is full and then drops to half for a while) which I think is why they've decided not to get any cover in. Feeling very undervalued though!

Lottie I get the odd twinge in my cervix. Just assume it's a nerve thing like you but speak to your midwife if you're worried.

I love IKEA. Might have to pay them a visit this weekend.

Tkmaxx is good for grobags/swaddled blankets etc.

I love love love Ikea! I was there on friday bought a bookcase and some storage gee boxes to hide the living room clutter and a poang chair for me to go in the nursery. I love the cafe too, had chickpea biryani this time mmmmmmm!
As for the twinges I've had them but they never last long so I never worried about them but they are unpleasant!

Twinges disappeared when I got up this morning so all seems well. Just wondered if it was a sign of things moving towards the end..?

Friend told me today that ikea baby towels are great as they're big and cheap... Didn't seem particularly soft mind. They have some great cheap toy- style boxes too with a seat pad on top - think I'll invest to chuck some of the clutter in!

IKEA tip: join the family club thingy - free tea and coffee :-)

icenoslice free is always good! On my way to Manchester today to meet a friend for cake and a catch up, feels like the 1st time in ages I've left the house to do something other than work or buy nursery stuff!

icenoslice free is always good! On my way to Manchester today to meet a friend for cake and a catch up, feels like the 1st time in ages I've left the house to do something other than work or buy nursery stuff!