July '15 - starting our 2nd trimester

[StoneBaby]

Please come and join

Ooh Number3 I went to ultrasound direct (Bristol) for an early reassurance scan and they were fab, didn't realise they did a sexing scan for £39.

Oh and the measuring thing... I measured consistently small throughout my last pregnancy. Told to expect a 6lb-er. DD was born at 7lbs 12oz.

I don't think the bump measurement is accurate, but I wouldn't refuse to have it personally. A lady on my postnatal thread didn't have her last two MW appointments (due to MW being unavailable) and therefore wasn't measured. Her bump was very big and she ended up with a large baby and a very traumatic delivery because it hadn't been picked up. If she had of been measured she would have been sent for a growth scan and different delivery options offered (this is feedback given to her post birth). I think I personally wouldn't take the risk, and if they want to follow up then so be it. I understand the worry it can cause but I would rather know (and I say this as someone who had to have regular scans in my last pregnancy because of an anomaly so understand the stress). But with everything pregnancy related it is each to their own.

I am also having the GTT. I personally don't find it a big deal so will be having it again this time even though I didn't develop GD last time.

Dh and I planned my holiday and maternity leave for the year last night. I've also worked out the drop in income (which I hate calculating but gives me piece of mind knowing I have that money in the bank). Just need to book the holiday now and confirm my understanding of my leave with HR.

Naturegirl82

I had scans every 3 weeks in my last pregnancy (from 28 weeks) due to my previous eclampsia and pre-eclampsia in second pregnancy.

The size of the baby doesn't worry me as I am having a c-section.

I bet I say all this now and they don't mention it again.

It was just all the fuss at the 12 week scan and giving me this growth chart thing etc.

I didn't get particularly big in either pregnancy, so the size of my belly is no reflection on the size of the baby.

I think DS was hiding in my ribs somewhere haha.

nature I have planned my holiday and mat leave but just need matb1 and sign off from manager now :) when are you stopping work? I am planning my last day to be Friday 12 June when I will be 34 weeks. Going back to work for 3 days a week mid-April 2016 and full time from May 2016.

Also think my net drop in income will be about £4-5k but better to know now I guess!

I just emailed my manager to tell them about my pregnancy… Haven't heard back. Don't know why I am nervous really! I want to confirm what I think about the situation though, which is that I'm not entitled to SMP, and need a form from HR saying so in order for me to apply for Maternity Allowance… If I get the MA I will take 39 weeks off (exactly how long it is paid for!) then go back to work - if my job still exists as the council are proposing to cut our funding…

Wantto I'm planning on finishing on the 12th June as well, although I will be 35.5 weeks by then. Then using up the rest of my annual leave. I'll be going back in March, hoping to do a month of three days, then a month of four days to use up some annual leave before going back full time but I'll need to get them to agree to this. I went straight back full time last time and it was hard so hoping this will be easier.

My drop in salary will be quite a big one but I've consoled myself by calculating what it would have been if they hadn't recently enhanced their maternity pay which has made about £3k difference so that eased the pain a little! Just need to make sure the savings account is looking healthy before I finish.

We didn't finish the work on dd1's room until she was 10 months old! And it may need redoing now (2 months later) as we are hoping to get the whole house done before this one comes along which may mean the wall in her room will move. Hoping we can just get away with re-doing that wall though but I bet it won't be that simple! And it will probably need a new carpet again. Just seems such a waste, but we couldn't put her in the room until it was done because it wasn't safe (house had previously been rented out before we bought it so there was some damage). But I don't know if we can afford to do it all yet. We have a building surveyor coming round this week to hopefully draw us up some plans (and hopefully give us an estimate on cost) and have a kitchen planner coming round as well to measure the kitchen/utility and downstairs wc. Just a bit worried all the estimates are going to come out huge! Given that the kitchen guy said it was about 7k for a bathroom I'm a little worried . Although that was an all singing all dancing rough estimate which we definitely won't be going for! I managed to re-do the bathroom in our last house for well under £1k but that was doing it all myself which I just don't have time for anymore. I would just rather have all the work done before we have two little people running around the house.

Sophie I think I am planning on taking 37 weeks, so still toying a little with taking those extra 2 weeks, but then it starts to get tricky with my leave as I am assuming it will have to be used up by the end of March. This is what I need to confirm.

Is it a new job that you are doing?

Yep, naturegirl, a new job, my start date was 20/10. Also a 0 hours contract (which although they get a bad press actually works really well for me - available sessions come out on a termly basis, I agree which shifts I want to work around my childcare), so I THINK that I wouldn't get maternity pay even if I had been there for longer as I am classed as a worker not an employee…? Not sure really! However, you are eligible for Maternity Allowance if you have worked 26 out of the 66 weeks preceding the EDD, which is fine - and which allows me to send off the payslips from the full time job I was in before this one, bumping up the amount of MA I will get… I think. I await confirmation of it all from some higher source!

It's the first time I will get any sort of maternity pay though! With DD1 I was doing a Masters, and just 3 weeks short of qualifying for MA, and with DD2 I was a SAHM.

We need to do some house re-arranging too… Currently have a study and a spare room, but we need to amalgamate the two & get some drawers/wardrobe for the baby's room.

OK so maybe I am a little mad / naive / hoping for the best scenario possible, but I will be leaving the day before my C-section.

With DS I left at 36 weeks, he was born on his due date and I was pretty much bored stiff for 4 weeks (didn't have any friends or family local and he was my first baby so no other kids to look after!)

With DD I left the week before, she was a planned c-section, again was bored that week!

This time I need to save as much holiday as possible and maternity pay. I will be going back to work when baby is 10 weeks old (taking 6 weeks, 2 weeks KIT days and 2 weeks holidays)
Unfortunately I cannot afford any longer than this as I am the main earner in the house and we will not be able to meet our payments if I am on maternity leave.

I told my friend this and she was saying she feels so sad and feels like crying for me, but in reality that's just how it is. I had the same when I had DD (except had a bit more holiday and went back to work when she was 3 months old)

I will express at work (all being well) and have secured my nursery place on a really good deal which also means for 13 weeks we won't have to pay (OH is a teacher).

Baby will be going to nursery at 12 weeks (OH using his paternity leave for 2 weeks after I am back at work)

Anyone else doing this?

Going back after 10 weeks is pretty much the norm here.

Number I had intended to work up to 37 weeks last time, then use my annual leave so was due to go on mat leave just before due date. But I ended up getting quite stressed with it as work wasn't reducing the amount of work I was doing (kept adding things to my work load which wouldn't be competed until after I had left increasing the amount I had to hand over) as they were panicking about coping without me. I'd had quite a stressful pregnancy and we also had a lot to sort out at home (we bought a fixer upper but hadn't even properly unpacked everything by that point) so I ended up bringing my leave forward by two weeks, which then caused even more issues as they were worried about agreeing for me to go off earlier, so I want to avoid all of that this time. I'd rather just say to them that I am leaving earlier and be done with it. Although I am far more relaxed about work this time even though I am more senior now as I have all ready trained everyone up to cover my job, so there are only a few aspects that people don't know. I earn more than DH but we are fortunate that we can almost cover all our bills using his salary, and my mat pay and our savings will cover the rest should we need it. I want to spend some time with DD1 before the new baby comes along as she will still only be 17 months at that time so I think it is going to be quite a transition for us all.

But if you can only take a small amount of time off then it is definitely sensible to keep it for when the baby is born. And you know how you felt last time so can plan around that. Part of my worry last time was both my sister's babies came early so I was worried ours would too and I wouldn't get any time to sort things out before the baby came. It was also over Christmas so not the most relaxing of times.

Oh and my friend worked until the day before her C-section for her first, didn't work that way for her second as they detected a problem so it was brought forward, so it isn't that unusual.

I think in a way it is much easier to plan to do that with a C-section. It's the uncertainty with a spontaneous labour that unnerves me with working up till that late (although I'll only be going off a week before I'm 37 weeks).

Yep, no spontaneous labour here she hopes!

My job is fairly relaxed and I have an excellent relationship with my colleague who has the same position title as me, and my boss.

In fact, they are both in the pub together now whilst I cover and type on Mumsnet

We're not sure whether to just do a paint job in the nursery or gut it completely. We moved in a year ago, and every wall in the house was covered in artex (ewww!). We've had all the downstairs re-plastered, but the two spare rooms and bathroom need doing. My car's just broken down, and if it turns out to be a massive repair job, that may decide it for us.

I had a 'you're not growing' scare with DS1, but he was 7lb4. I was worried sick for nothing. Seriously, though, if someone's willing to do extra tests to make sure my baby's okay, I'd take them every time. What if it's not a false alarm?

I took mat leave at 38 weeks with DS1 and was bored stiff for two weeks. I took it at 35 weeks with DS2 and relished every un-interrupted cup of decaf coffee. Even waddled off to the cinema one morning, as one of the Twilight's had just come out.

number. Its probably worth doing the GTT as if you have GD the baby's blood sugar would probably need testing - monitoring as they are used to getting a lot.
Dsis baby had to get sugar water (not UK).
Did your other 2 continue to grow at 90th centile? Just interested as Dsis and bil are pretty little and it will be odd if DN is 90th centile as adult 5'6-5'7 as would be taller than Bil.
Dc1 was 60th centile at birth went higher to about 75 but has settled at around 50.

I am due on the 9th July and my last two babies were spontaneous labours one at 40+1 and one at 40+7.
Planning on working to the 3rd of July, however my last two pregnancies I was signed off due to severe SPD. I really want to get as much money banked as possible prior to leaving so the above is my intention.

I have 4 weeks annual leave to take before I go on mat leave otherwise I will lose it! Hence leaving at 34 weeks. I also have about an hour drive to work give or take so imagine that will be hard when I am really big. I can afford to take a year off though so I will be taking 4 weeks annual leave then the 39 weeks plus a week of bank holiday accrual then use annual leave to work 3 days a week for first 3 weeks back. Haven't had approval yet but assuming it will be ok...

I am new in my area and no other Dcs but there seem to be a lot of baby and bump clubs etc and nct things so hoping I won't get bored! I'm also into gardening which is goo as it will be summer and we love opposite a park so somewhere to go for walks. I say this now I may feel differently when I am into my 4th week off work

naty1

Yes, DD and DS have not gone under 91st before.

DS is 12 next week and is 161cm, I think that puts him around 98th
DD is 7 1/2, she is about 135cm, again around 98th.

Both very slim and very tall, I actually think DD will be taller as she is more consistently on a higher centile.

I am 5ft 3, ex was 6ft 2 or 6ft 3.

I am 5ft 3, ex was 6ft 2 or 6ft 3.

Still is, he still is 6ft 2 or 6ft 3.

last time I heard he was still breathing

*cant afford! That should say

Lol number your ds is taller than me! I am 5'3'' aka 159cm :(

Hi all just catching up. I was also sent for a scan as measuring small for dates at 39 weeks and it turned out that the baby was a lovely size but was looking small because she was breach and being held in tightly with her legs round her ears. Without the scan nobody would have picked this up and I would have had a much more traumatic time. Doesn't affect you Number as you are having a c-section anyway.

Last time I finished 3 weeks before but didn't actually start mat leave until the day dd was born as I had holiday to use. I was definitely not bored. I guess I will do something similar this time though I would like some time with dd first and I really struggled last time.

We were living and working abroad when I found out I was pregnant with DD. Came back at 24 weeks and haven't worked since then . It has meant absolutely no maternity pay whatsoever though so we have had to tighten our belts a lot! I was planning to go back to work Jan this year then found out I was pregnant so decided to get the baby stuff out of the way then go back when they're both a bit older. I love spending time with DD and watching her grow but miss working, I had a pretty good career before having DD!