MrsA2 I'm in the same situation. I work in a really small and specialist sector. So I'm really aware of creating waves that might affect my future prospects in the industry. That said, my situation at work got to the point where, like you, I knew I was going to be screwed. So I made the decision to protect myself. I'm not the kind of person to scream discrimination (and actually people who bang on about their rights and abuse privileges like sick leave etc really bug me). But I was actually told, point blank, that mat leave would make me a good candidate for redundancy, hence why I took legal advice. In the end it came down to a decision of whether to keep my head down and hope they didn't mean it or to fight and at least ensure that I had enough documentation in place that I'd get a decent payoff if they went through with it. Do I think it'll affect promotions in the future? Well, not really. I'm a director already so the next step would be onto the board and that was never going to happen, even before this kicked off (we are, and always will be, a very misogynistic company). But this way I can reasonably tell any future employer (should the worst happen) that I signed a non-disclosure agreement (which my current company would make me do in order to get a payoff) and they could read between the lines. Do bear in mind that if they make you redundant past a certain point in your pregnancy (I think it's about 25 weeks but worth checking), that they still need to pay your SMP as the government assumes you won't get another job before going off. In short, I chose not to go gently into that good night but rather to fight back and for now at least, they appear to have backed off. In my mind it was either make a fuss or lose my job so despite the future waves it might cause, I took the former route. No doubt they hope I won't want to return after DS is born! (fools…!)
Tallulah I got my first bump touch too! From one of my oldest friends and it was weird. I'm actually a massively physically affectionate person but it was completely unexpected (we were sitting at dinner) and it made me jump! I didn't mind, per se, but I do wish that she'd given me some warning so that I didn't leap three feet in shock as I think I may have made her feel a bit uncomfortable. I immediately invited her to feel again in case she felt bad.
It was a lovely weekend here in London. We went for a long three hour walk and I can't tell you how it's lifted my mood! I have an early anomaly scan (18 w) on Saturday morning, very exciting! Not sure what they'll be able to tell me as I'm also going for the 20 week scan soon too but still, it's all thrilling!