The JS Grads turn 19! We're cooking and popping out our JSing babies with style, co-ordinated changing bags and a healthy dose of humour!!

[Leela5]

Welcome, welcome, welcome to the 19th grads thread... celebrating the success of Just Shagging in getting us viroids upduffed!

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 thread we have graduated from is here in its 36th outing. WARNING: they're all a bit kerazy not to mention randy!

There is also a Just Mumming thread in postnatal clubs here for once your babies come along, or to keep up with the graduated graduates! It's a bit quiet at the moment, but with all these upduffed viroids hopefully it won't be for long!

There is also a private facebook group (so it doesn't give the game away in your news feed!)... if you want to join to see photos of new babies etc, just ask in-thread!

So, roll call below please, viroids!

Bad news about chicken, great news about impending time off work though! Isn't there a board on here somewhere where you could ask for chicken advice? We all have parenting days like that - we're not machines. Your DD will be grand.

I love Isaac Popz. Which one is MrPopz's preferred choice?

Due in two weeks Essie .

My tidying is going VERY slowly.

Congratulations Essie excellent news!

popz I love the name Isaac! it's my favorite name for this one!

Works done, just getting the energy together to go clean out the horses. I just want to hibernate!

Hi essie! Great to see you and with such good news! It's nervous times but keep the PMA and legs crossed! We will help get you through.

Issac is lovely popz but guess he won't be convinced? What's his preference?

Not a great day there then boo? Don't beat yourself up, i've found it hard to function with this cold and I don't have anyone else to look after. I am sure you are doing a grand job! Hope chicken gets better soon though, don't need that worry too.

This is the day I am having - I have worked out I have 125 working days left at work. Minus bank holidays, closure days and annual leave I believe that makes it 97. I am pleased it is into double digits but still an age away!

Hi essie! I remember you! Huge congratulations to you!
popz welcome home to you and the little guy. Now the fun starts eh!

Oh yay, loads of familiar faces, thanks for being so welcoming and congrats to you all too! Lovely that you are all here.

Sorry to hear about the chicken Boo, I don't have any advice I'm afraid. Hope she perks up soon though.

Isaac is a lovely name, congrats Popz, what are DHs suggestions?

laurenamium, I have a large four legged friend too and I am finding the stable jobs reeeally hard at the moment as well, so can sympathise.

Dulcet double figures left at work is pretty exciting!

Thanks everyone, lovely to 'see' you all again.

I've just had a count up - 106 working days until mat. Leave. Not sure how I feel about it - in working terms it feels an age but in terms of "oh shit we're having a baby" it seems bloody soon!

Sorry I popped on and off! Hello all!

I remember you essie so glad to see you on this board

here is the new just mumming thread I filled it up by accident without putting a link in

Hope everyone is well :)

popz glad you're home! Isaac is one of my favourite boys names, along with Samuel.

Now I know I've been signed off sick, but I'm officially on leave! Have 4 weeks annual leave, then I start maternity leave

31 working days and 6 Mondays left runs around squealing excitedly

Welcome back and congrats Essie!

That's shite Tee we lose ours if it isn't taken by December but apart from recommending you spread your days out evenly (so for example you're off on mat leave until Sept then just take Nov/Dec off) we aren't forced into when we can take them.

BabyPis is doing a tree impression today managing to be both high and low at the same time so I can't breathe and my pelvis is in bits. Joy! In better news - I'm setting off for home now

(NY name change)
My priority when getting back to work tomorrow is to count days to mat leave now! Welcome Essie.

Tee that leave situation is annoying. We are "strongly encouraged" to use up any remaining leave within the current leave year, prior to starting mat leave, regardless of when you go off on mat leave, complete opposite stance to your company.

My manager is stupid and didn't seem to understand the leave thing. My company encourages you to take leave in the year it's for, and not carry any over until the next year (it has to be a special something for them to let you carry it over). Fair enough, but when I told her I wanted to use 2015s leave in January, then go on maternity leave until feb 2016 all she kep saying was "but you won't have earnt your full amount of leave as you want to take it at the start of the year, if you quit you'll have to pay it back!"

I explained I understood that, but that I wasn't going to quit while my maternity leave was ongoing as I would be getting paid for being at home with the baby, so why would I quit?? I'd be on maternity leave for the rest of 2015 so would earn the holidays I'm taking in jan, and HR would be happier they wouldn't have to carry holiday over (apart from 3 days I'll be owed).

She struggled for aaaaaages to understand this, despite me repeating myself. Stupid woman! Anyway, I made it clear if I randomly decided to quit while on maternity leave and being paid for it, that I'd pay my holidays back which hadn't been earnt yet lol. Only then would she book them in.

I've also had it confirmed that if I quit AFTER maternity leave, I don't hve to pay any of my maternity pay back, which is good.

Hi Essie!

Popz! We like Isaac too, but Mr Tee likes just Zak. I still like Rex... must be lovely to be home! Hope you're all okay!

One hour of work left... hurrah!

X post - Yep Zyla I am having almost exactly the same issue. So if I wasn't going on mat leave, then I could take my full allowance before June, and I am definitely going to be on the books until the end of the financial year, and hilariously pis - similar to what you said, we have a really strict policy around carrying over days into next year (Basically you can't) - but it seems that it's perfectly okay to make you do this if you're pregnant.

You'd never guess I worked in an HR dept....

If you work in HR, can you rewrite the maternity policy in time

DH basically likes Arthur and that's it! Apparently he now "hates" the name Isaac. He's pissing me off now actually with his pickiness! He's already insisted on the middle name cos of his family tradition thing, so am tempted to tell him to just Fuck off tbh!!

Blimey Zyla where's that time gone??

Alas pis I work in the hiring part of HR, I don't have a say in policies :( apparently it'll be looked at once they have my Matb1 form in..... in the meantime I can just make a grumbly fuss. I do think that this is a bit of a ploy to keep me working a bit longer (Had quite a few comments about how going off at 35 weeks is early and how bored I'll be, erm, no.) and I've also found out that I won't be replaced with a Mat cover temp while I'm off which is quite tough on the rest of my team but not my boss because she earns double what I do and does the same job - I wonder if they're trying to make the most of me working until the end, wringing me out like an old flannel....

Surely you get more naming privileges popz as you had to do all the Foof-work getting Mini-Popz out? - I am totally planning on using that card when Mr Tee starts coming at me with ridiculous space inspired names.

zyla my lot insisted that I took all of my holiday before I went because they 'have to' assume I'm taking 52 weeks, I tried to be quite pushy about the fact that either a) I would take 39 and then come back so I could tag it on the end or b) take 39 weeks and then not come back so I didn't want to owe them holiday, but I didn't get my way on that, just going to have to keep a couple of weeks pay aside in case I run away...

tee as you work in HR does it sound normal to you for a company to wait until you go on maternity leave to process your matb1 form 'just in case' your hours change effecting your eligibility to SMP? (I'm currently not eligible for it, and the statistical likelihood of my hours going up is pretty damned low) It's not how my last place did it, but it's the way this place are insisting they have to...

popz DH is a pain about names, we pretty much couldn't agree on any boys names so I made an executive discussion when I thought we were having a boy and got both sides of the family on my side with 'Oliver'

Chicken got herself off to bed ok, so I'm seeing that as a good sign, I'm hoping she's just fallen out of the coop and pulled a muscle or something.

Boo your employer is meant to confirm in writing within 28 days of you giving them notice of your mat leave (which should be by 25 weeks) if you qualify for SMP and how much you'll get. If it is decided you are not eligible they must let you know within 7days of making that decision. Do you have documented proof of the date they received your MatB1 and notice to go on Mat leave? If not I'd pop off an email if possible so you have something with a date on.

Have a read here

Another thing - the 'qualifying week' for determining eligibility to SMP is 15 weeks before EDD isn't it? Surely they have to process it by that date as any changes afterwards are irrelevant!

Essie I remember you! I was juniperjones then and now have a DD. many congrats, I remember the wonky cervix!

hmmm it did seem pretty strange to me, I find the way the company does most things to be a bit suspect up to and including a disciplinary hearing to establish that morning sickness is a perfectly reasonable reason for sick time and I'm not guilty of misconduct but the girl from admin is 8 weeks ahead of me and was nodding along at the meeting like it was all normal, and this is the second child she's had there :/ There's no documented proof of the date they received it but we had an official minuted meeting to agree my dates at the weekend, my company also won't accept calls to departments in head office unless you're admin or management, which I am neither and the receptionist quite snottily informed me that I should speak to admin in store last time I called about the whole stupid process. Admin and management in store are both going with the company line that they don't process matb1 forms until the pregnant staff member goes on maternity leave (though I'm hoping that actually means holiday >.>)

I am totally going to play that card soon Tee!!

I like Oliver too but that was DH vetoed ages ago....

Sorry about all the work dramas ladies. Quite lucky to work for the nhs who are shite in many ways but definitely can't swindle people out of mat pay!

Intrigued by your wonky cervix essie!

Oh essie another horse friend I really struggled too at the beginning and have had to stop riding after falling off while pg but I've got a second wind and stable jobs aren't too bad at the minute!

We've got a scan and consultant appointment tomorrow it'll be nice to see my wriggler again!

All the maternity talk has reminded me I need to ring my mw about my MatB1! I'm not seeing her until 28 weeks, and I haven't got a form to send off!