September 2019 babies - thread #4

[Stroan]

Starting a new thread before the old one gets filled up!

I love amazon prime!

My 4 dc were all fed Aptamil but i am thinking of trying something else this time as i have read a lot about how similar they all actually are. Apparently Aldis Mamia formula is identical to Aptamil because it comes from the same factory but is around £4 a tub cheaper! Has anyone tried it?

I don't weigh myself so no idea but I don't feel any bigger apart from boobs and belly and I suspect if anything I have not gained as I used to get a lot of calories from alcohol!

My face looks thinner and clothes are only tighter on the bump or boobs and several people have commented that apart from bump I look slimmer. So no obvious fat gain if that makes any sense. I'm 14+5.

I don't have scales deliberately as when I was a teen I got obsessed so I find it healthier for me to not worry about it and just go off how I feel.

I'm not eating a huge amount though to be fair as appetite isn't huge and my portions are smaller as I get full quickly!

It's my birthday soon though and as I can't get shit faced as is customary I'm instead planning an enormous Chinese takeaway blow out. Can't wait!

IVEgot watch the channel 4 dispatches from last night about formula!!
I saw some clips which showed that they all have to meet a certain standard of ingredients nutrition-wise and so they are all very much the same.
It showed that a Sainsbury’s own brand formula could feed a baby for 6 months for £175.
Bog standard aptamil could feed a baby for 3 months for £175.
And the new, snazzy, aptamil profutura could feed a baby for 2 months for £175.
And the ingredients in all 3 were more or less exactly the same!

eggy i read an article saying just that this morning didnt realise it had been on tv

Aldi / Sainsburies is about £7 a box
Cow and Gate £8
Aptamil £10.45

I think

Im looking more at trying cow and gate i think just so i am not restricted as to where i buy it

IVEgot it’s absolutely mental how much the bigger companies profit from something that is almost identical to cheaper brands
It said for every £1 formula companies spend on advertising, they make an average £4 profit. I don’t see how they can get away with charging £10 a box for something that another brand sells for £6 and has more or less identical ingredients Absolutely crazy.

I said I wasn't having another so I got rid of absolutely everything, when I think of the cots, prams, clothes, toys and books I have given away when it could have been used again very frugal though I won't be wasting money on buying loads of stuff and certainly not brand new for a lot of it.

We changed DS' formula regularly, we just bought whatever was on offer or worked out cheapest wherever we happened to be doing the shopping. Didn't notice any difference with him on the varying formulas at all. They're all so close, when you compare the backs, that I couldn't imagine it would make much difference? Also figured it might be good to have variety anyway if there were any differences?

My sister just got rid of all her stuff as they doubt they'll be having any more Easterbuns1 ! Yet she told me, last time i saw her, how she would like another one! Crazy. But I guess you can't keep it all in storage for "just in case" ?

Hi guys! I'm due 25 September- would've joined before but sadly dropping out of the July thread made me a bit more cautious this time round. Had my scan today and saw a very wriggly little thing bouncing around, so feeling very positive atm

@TwittleBee my exh had a vasectomy, that's how sure we were, but new partner and whole new set of circumstances means that things have changed massively and I feel very lucky to be in a position of doing it all again.

Hey TheCraicDealer we would have been in the July thread together! Sorry you also had to drop out of that one too but so glad you've made it here!

And welcome @TheCraicDealer not sure if you've seen the link for the google document, that shows who is who and when we are all due.

@Rsian26 I noticed you had commented on the old thread, this is the latest up to date one in case you wondered why no one was answering your post!

I've hunted the first half of the thread for the google link but can't find it. I'll update it when I see it!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VUDuTLeibUnnaCWCjb-pqUe4Wnq-fTau4HJgmE1XE3c/edit#gid=0

Hopefully that works

So I had my annual work performance review this morning (all good) and we talked about career progression over the next 24 months. It was totally the right time to tell my boss I’m expecting DC2 but I completely bottled it 😩

Anyone else feel embarrassed about telling work? I feel more awkward this time round, even though it’s to be expected and I’ve been back now over a year

bridget yes I totally don't want to tell work cos I just know it will spread around the whole of the South East area by next week and I really hate people knowing my business. But I'm aiming to tell my boss on Thursday, as we have a very small staff night out (just 4 of us) on Saturday and they will totally notice my bump in my own clothes. I also suspect my boss will make some inappropriate arsey comment too about it being selfish for taking mat leave or something.

@boodles101 really hope you don’t get any arsey comments like that - it’s the last thing you bloody need! Good luck telling your boss on Thursday!

Oh gawd I just went the kitchen and a colleague asked about my daughter and then said, but you’re expecting again right... pointing to the bump (which I didn’t think was so bumpy but clearly it is!!)... I laughed it off as Xmas weight but as she was telling me I need to find time to go to the gym () I just came clean and swore her to secrecy. Damn overly observant people!

I told my boss at 5 weeks @BridgetJonesDaiquiri
We have a good relationship anyway but I was convinced I'd miscarry and need time off so I wanted her to know in case I had to leave work suddenly.

She kept it unofficial until I told everyone after 12 wk scan, but yes I did feel weird telling everyone else. There's no way it'd be a secret now though - I really look pg at 14+5.

bridget I'm going to ask him to keep it confidential between just our team of 4 people, just to see how long it takes him to say something to someone else.

I told my boss and he replied with “was it planned?” (I told him no because it wasn’t)

Bearing in mind it’s my first, I’m not entitled to mat leave so literally no one loses out except for me. People are weird.

I think I have successfully updated that spreadsheet without deleting anything, hurrah!

Twittle sorry you went through that too, it's all too common isn't it.

I told my boss at 9 or 10 weeks or something. We're a big enough UK wide company but I'll only be the second to ever take maternity leave and even that lady had her youngest seven years ago. When I told my boss he actually said, "do you know what the maternity package is, because I don't". As per my contract it's only SMP but I'm hoping they might review (they've also since introduced paid sabbaticals and others have been kept on normal pay for extended periods off sick, contrary to contract), but I'll just have to deal with it if they don't.

Welcome @TheCraicDealer !
Hope people don't have a rough time telling work @Boodles @BridgetJonesDaiquiri. I'm self employed at the moment so have been applying for a few things and hoping the interviews aren't too far off... I'm not after getting mat pay but it's academic work so mat leave shouldn't sting a potential employer much.

Astret mat pay won't sting the employer because you won't be entitled to it via them if you aren't employed by them already. I'm in a similar situation, lost my job 2 weeks ago and so now desperately job hunting. We will be entitled to the mat leave but not the pay. There is a government SMP that you may be entitled to but again only if you are employed by a certain time in your pregnancy and earn enough to qualify etc.

@Astret you should be entitled to maternity allowance, if you are self employed (same as SMP, but no 90% of earning bit...). Because they now collect NI with self assessment tax, so you won't have paid it yet, when you apply for MA you will get a letter telling you that you are not entitled to the full amount, then an invoice for some NI (pay that ASAP!), then a letter saying all is well and you can have the full amount. And then potentially a refund of some if the NI. If you ring up the helpline the poor operators will talk you through it and weep at the madness of it all...