Jan 2016 #5 - Scanxiety, sickness and sweet relief as we approach the second trimester!

[TeenieDeenie]

STATS

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12-46WHExOXbKsKon2nKyEth9RRyKw9paIw4V4SGTFE8/edit?usp=sharing

Juniper that's really interesting, particularly as my two brothers and I were all born in Kingston hospital (we grew up in Kingston and our mum still lives there so I'm there pretty often!). My best friend lives in Raynes Park and is about to have her baby at Kingston and I was a little bit jealous! But we have been really pleased so far with St George's - the EPU were fab during my MC and early weeks of this PG (having a self referral drop in clinic was a godsend) and the antenatal care has been great (the only slight downside was my booking in appointment with a midwife who was hard to understand and didn't seem to know what she was on about but she was a locum so can't really blame St George's). And we live about 5 mins down the road so traffic shouldn't be an issue! Thanks for the tip on umbilical stem cell research - will definitely look into that.

I had to go to St George's to get my free Harmony style test. It was a 2 hour drive but worth it. They are a training hospital so tend to have the latest available procedures. Only thing I will say if everyone had an accent there, know one seemed to be English, so I found it hard to understand the staff or even recognise my name when it was called. X

Ladies, you're so chatty I can't keep up! Just checking in to say congratulations on the lovely scans (kep those pictures are amazing).
Ooh and on hospitals, I had both of mine at Kingston and couldn't rate them highly enough. They do get very busy though but I imagine it's like that in most London hospitals.

I'm currently EDD'd for 14 January but will see what scan says on Friday.

Current plan is to take annual leave from 21 Dec then start Mat leave on 14th. I get 6wk at 90% then 12wk at half pay plus SMP so we can only really afford for me to take that time off but by adding another 15 day annual leave it means I could go back after our (already booked) holiday in June.

Hoping I can go back on either part time or compacted hours but will depend majorly on wage.

Also, really stupid question but I'm presuming your pay/SMP is still taxable too??

I plan on finishing work just before Christmas for 2 weeks annual leave and then going straight onto maternity leave. I won't even get SMP as I only work part time/term time so I'm not even sure if I'll go back tbh.

Morning all. Horrible nights sleep here, was in immense pain from around 6pm yesterday, horrible horrible wind pains, sent dp out for some peppermint tea, and I Google wind settlers 100 times before taking 2. It says contact pharmacy before taking if pregnant, the pain was so intense I had to take something :( have read that the ingredients aren't absorbed by the body, so hope that's OK, anybody got any old wives remedies?

Ooooh Brooke that must have been nasty...

Only drinking a fizzy drink and bouncing up and down for my remedies I'm afraid!

Brooke that sounds like the first night of my stomach bug. Hope that's not what's going on here for you.

Peppermint tea is about all that's safe I think. Sorry.

I'm ok thanks blackandwhite lots of fanily politics now about the whole situation!! I work in A&E and thankfully work have given me admin for the rest of the week so I don't have to face patients with my face a mess!! Black eye is HUGE now!!

On a good note .... Lay in bed last night and could feel my wee bump sticking up!! Can't wait to look pregnant and not just fat

Oh Brooke I feel for you. I had that a couple of weeks back. I went to the pharmacist at my health centre a d she said wind settlers are absolutely fine. Thank god, I was in agony.
But other than that, just peppermint tea and the old tested all-fours-bum-in-the-air-hip-swivel position.
Awful nights sleep here too. Just keep waking up in middle of night worrying and stewing over work. Then get mad at myself as I should be focussing on myself and bean right now. And stress won't be helping.

Hi all, haven't checked in in a while, am 11 weeks tomorrow :)

So fed up of feeling and being sick all the time!

Feeling down still today, feel like a flaky employee as called in sick as was up all night being sick. I worry that I look like one of those people that's always Ill, always having dramas, always calling in sick u know? And I'm so not like that!

Sleepy yes SMP etc. is taxable.

I'm a bit jealous of you all. As far as I know, I just get statutory so 6 weeks at 90% then 138ish quid/week for the next 33 weeks. It's a big ol' drop as I work full-time. We've not really discussed how much maternity leave we can afford in detail, but I really anticipate taking at least 6 months. I'd love to take 9-12 ideally but we'll see. I'm kind of dreading that conversation. I'd also like to return part-time, but seeing as work still don't know, I've no idea if that's likely to happen.

DH was very annoyed to discover statutory paternity leave (all puny 2 weeks of it) is just 138ish a week. He argued that the fact it exists and is compulsory for employers to offer means surely it's an important and vital thing, so then it should have the same value as the mother's first 2 weeks at 90%. I have to say I agree. Either it's vitally important a dad is involved in his child's first two weeks of life, and we pay him the same as the mother, or it isn't, and we don't value his time equally. It's a crap message and no wonder lots of dads feel left out. Rant of the day over.

Carno13, that must be awful, but really dont worry about not going in. What use would you be if you were there?

I'm due on 2nd January, and Christmas is busy in our office. We finish for Christmas on 23rd, so i'm thinking of finishing then, taking 6 days annual leave for the following week over new year and starting mat leave on 4th January, thats if little bean stays put! Any other annual leave I have to use before I go I think i'm going to use to shorten my weeks in the run up to Christmas. Hopefully I can save 6 days to have 6 short weeks.

We get 6 weeks 90% pay then 12 weeks at 50% + SMP then 12 weeks at just SMP. I'll probably tag some annual leave on the end and come back about September if I can save some money in the interim so i've got a bit of a buffer there for the last few months. Like you say, Christmas will be just around the corner again and I would have had Spring and Summer at home.

You're right Edgar. It's not fair at all.

DH's company are brilliant and give 2 weeks at full pay. Then his lovely colleagues have agreed to cover his shifts for another two weeks after if he wants so he could have a month off with us if he wanted. He'll have to 're-pay' the shifts they've covered but it's one of the perks of being self rostering I suppose, thay are left to sort it between themselves. He's done it for some of the other guys before as well so it's swings and roundabouts.

I'm the same as you Edgar. 90% for six weeks and then just the. Smp, so a big drop for me too. We've really had to think about it and have had to start saving now to cover outgoings during maternity. We've worked it out so we'll be fine but just means I'll only get 6 months maternity leave, and I'd really love more. But going to see how we get on and possibly look into going back part time.
Thank goodness DH gets paid paternity and is thinking of saving holiday time so he can have 3-4 weeks.
I plan to work til Xmas eve and then take holiday until the 9th Jan - my EDD when my maternity leave will kick in. Lucky really how it falls after xmas, as I want to minimise how much may leave I take before the baby is even born, since I only get 6 months.

Hi all. Just checking in - have been reading and catching up.

Sickness now pretty much gone but still have voracious appetite and exhausted all the time.

11 weeks and 2 days today! On proper 12w countdown now! Scan is next sat and I'll be one day shy of 13w. So excited! I am definitely now just looking fat. My mother assures me it's because I'm not used to my tummy sticking out and I look 'perfectly normal' but I'm unimpressed. Still in all my normal clothes except for the very skinny high waisted jeans and very waisted skirts. Just a bit uncomfortable now!

I have told my boss - was terrified but she was great. Although I'm on a ftc it will be extended to cover my mat leave and then I will have a job to come back to. I will get normal NHS mat pay - so something like 8 weeks full pay, 18 weeks half pay and then a period of smp then 3 months of nothing.

I am taking the full year but with my annual leave allocation at the end. So mat leave for 11 monthsish. Going off mid December (using annual leave) and starting mat leave in mid jan, approx 2 weeks before due date. So glad I didn't use loads of annual leave this year!

I'm very lucky. It's a good package and although we will need to watch spending, we can probably afford for me to take the year. Saving hard now though!

Anyone else on 12w / scan countdown? I am literally counting the days!!

good news in the mail this morning combined NT puts me at only 1/8700 risk ..... So pleased

With mat leave I get 6 months full Pay 3 months half 3 months none so I really can't complain

Ps. Although boss was lovely we sis have the discussion re my role is not a Part time job.... Not that I would want to do that but still... Hah!

I'm planning to finish at the end of the year then use holiday before mat leave kicks in. Think I will only be able to take about 9 months this time - always taken a year before. But this will be my 3rd mat leave since 2012 so both financially and professionally I can't push things too much. I'm hoping it won't impact on my plans to BF to a year too much although I think both of mine had dropped day feeds by 10ish months. It will still mean I can be off for when my eldest starts school so that will work well. I work part time now and had to fight really hard to get it so plan to go back on the same terms.
Dreading telling my boss though - he will not be impressed! I was hoping to wimp out and tell him by email as he was due to be travelling the week after my scan but I've just noticed his trip has been moved so I will have to man up!

Thanks Edgar

My DH has refused to use paternity leave for same reasons and plans to take annual leave instead as at least he will get his full pay.

Just had the dreaded call from the hospital saying despite my age and the really small NT fold measurement, bloods have put me at high risk 1/90. It's knocked me off guard and now so so worried.
Got to go in tomorrow morning to discuss options.

.

Oh Fisher that must be really worrying and a bit confusing too.

Whilst the odds say 1/90 that's still 89 saying baby won't be and the blood test doesn't match to the NT so one is a false negative at least.

Fx for you x

What did the hospital suggest as the next step, Fish? 1/90 sounds high, but like Sleepy said, there's a 89/90 chance of it all being fine. Hope you get some answers soon

fisher I'm so sorry, how worrying for you but as the others have said you have a very high chance all is ok. My hospital now offers a second blood test if you have a high result - apparently it is similar to the harmony test and as accurate. It avoids the invasive testing that carries risk - I think it's standard now. Worth asking about.

lilyb I'm also going to Kings! Are you going to go for mlu?