DUE IN DEC 05: COUNTDOWN THREAD 7!!!

[bonkerz]

OK so i know its a few months away but who cares!

So heres to US and our BABIES!!
May our bumps grow and our tiredness reduce.
May our beans Kick and our nurseries be sorted!
May our scans be amazing and our remaining months be filled with positivity and calmness and last but not least
May we all hold our babies in our arms and be filled with unconditional love for our much wanted and treasured little miracles!

by my dates i will be 22 weeks and by there dates i will be 21+4. Not sure why mine is so late but may be to give the baby a rest cos i have had 6 scans so far this pregnancy, last one was at 15 weeks!! BUT i also have scans at 28,32 and 36 weeks too!! I am very lucky really!

had rubbish sleep and am going back to bed in amo! am really tired today¬!!!!!

well i suppose at least you know all is well wit your bub what with all these scans!iv had two so far and i feel like i cant wait for the next one! youll be on first-name terms with the sonographer by the time your bub decides to make its entrance!!

Oh, it's a sleepy day all round today

Got fed up trawling round bed shops so shopping online instead - much less tiring!

TC, lots of cupboards here for you once you've finished yours & Ebbies.

aint it quiet today!! nobody seems to be talking very much!
im considering startin to shop online- i just cant get the urge together to go shopping for anything recently- except food of course!!
i desperately need some maternity trousers cos iv got 1 pair of pants left that actually fit me!!!

im gonna go raid the fridge now actually!!
i saw a packet of rice-krispie squares in the shops earlier on and thought mmmmmmm! so i might even eat them all now!!!- gosh, by the time this bubs ready to come out ill be as wide as i am tall!!! - im 5'6" aswell so thats a challenge!! haha

I've gone mad today! So after all the kitchen cupboards I had a huge clear out of all the mags, and brochures and catalouges etc and threw most of them away. Then I cleared out Lotties wardrobe, put away things she won't wear again this summer and then the best job of all, I put about 8 bin bags of my clothes in the loft, stuff I can't fir in now the bump is getting big. I put away all the tops that annoy me now they don't come down under the bump etc, etc. 8 bin bags! I've left out things that I can wear under the bump, are elasticated or are maternity and the rest is banished till, well hopefully not too long after Xmas.
D is just about to dish up some roast lamb and roasted veg now so see you girls later. TC x

well its back to work for me today

Didnt have a good nights sleep as planned, spent night turning and weeing!!

Dh felt fred again last night, asked if it was me flexing my tummy muscles!!!THATS A JOKE!!!! WHAT TUMMY MUSCLES!!!!!

Fancy a cup of tea today so thats good but i have a headache from not sleeping!!!

Have a good day girls and i will catch you later.

Bonkerz, you poor thing. I thought it was just me going to the loo every 10 minutes. They must be so comfy lying on our bladders!
Rubbish night for me again too so I'm working from home today once I've caught up on sleep a bit.
TC, you really have put me to shame. My clothes seem to be lying in piles around the house, not quite stored away yet. Going to buy bin bags today & do it.

Anyone got any ideas what I can take for hayfever? It is really starting to get me down now combined with the not sleeping. From early morning I'm snuffling & then start sneezing constantly (really annoying when trying to put mascara on! )

Sorry to hear some of you aren't feeling so good at the moment.

I was 24 weeks yesterday - YEAH!!!! So today I am booking my maternity leave - thank goodness!!!! Only another 64 days to go till I can finish.

I get my exam results this week which I am quite nervous about. Please keep yo0u fingers crossed for me passing as I already have one exam to sit the first week of December - I really don't want to be sitting 3 Especially with the baby due on the 4th!!!!!

I think this bubba is having a disco in my belly this morning, he's been non stop kicking!!!

well I'm feeling a lot better today, thank goodness, couldn't cope with another 36hrs like Friday/Sat. dh still had the flu though, so hopefully will keep his germs to himself.
George, when I had hayfever badly in June, I took a few squirts of beconaze - mixed opinions as to whether you should but I was desperate and it took the edge off at least. found eye wash helped as well, if your eyes are also irritated.
TC, I moved my clothes into the loft ages ago, couldn't fit maternity and normal in the same space so did a straight swap! Also went through dd's clothes last week, such a nice feeling to know what is left is what she can actually fit into to!
Went to Mothercare yesterday - apart from dd wanting to buy the shop for 'her baby' , I did manage to only walk walk out with a neutral, new born, pair of trousers - they are so small! And I asked about getting an infant seat to fit our 3wheeler we bought 3 yrs ago, but have to take the pram in to check if any seats fit.
Feel like I'm making a start anyway
SH, counting days not weeks, now the time will fly!

gepotge i went to my GPO about hayfever and got Beconanse nasal spray nad eyedrops. Also grapefruit shower gel is supposed to help as well.

Scully - glad your feeling better.
Great to only have clothes that fit on the rail this morning, made getting dressed so much easier. i realise I have too many clothes tbh and having half the amount of clothes out was much nicer this morning, saved me trying on 4 pair of brown comabt trousers all of which don't fit!
I went mad on Sat night and ordered loads of stuff online, eeek!

Sweetheart, what is the maternity law now, how long do you get off, with pay, do you know?
I'm 22 weeks on Thursday.
god luck with the exams and the results.

TC x

TC,

If you qualify for maternity pay the law is now:-

You are allowed up to 1 year off (providing you meet the requirements) and are entitled to go back to your job.
The first 6 weeks are paid at 90% of you pay.
The next 20 weeks are paid at £106 a week which is taxable
The next 26 weeks are unpaid if you qualify for additional maternity leave.

I find this website brilliant for all legal work/maternity things. If you click on Guidence for employees and then what are my rights it will take you through a series of questions and then tell you exactly what you are entitled to.

OMG I didn't realise the £106 was taxable - blumin goverment take everything!!!

Are we allowed cheese cake? Its got mascapone cheese in, have a real craving for toffee cheese cake!! MMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

the 90% is taxable as well!!!!!

I would say cheescake is fine!!

Better make the most of christmas dinner girls!! It will be bread & butter after that! Flamin goverment!!

Toffee cheesecake here I come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have turned into mad preggy lady; I've just gone & ordered tickets to see The Pixies on 1st Spetember!

I don't think I'll get to see anything as it is standing only & I don't think I'll be part of the front row crush!
Baby, I apologise now

respect george
use that bump to get a good spot!

hey girls hows the bumps? iv bin a bit down in the dumps this morn!!
a box of jaffa cakes later an im feelin a bit better!!
iv had my official reply for my mat leave aswell! roll on 27th nov!! theyv also said that i qualify- at the mo- for 40 weeks fully paid mat leave!!! yay!!
so thats cheered me up a bit aswell!
is it normal for us preggers ladies to have 'bad' dreams?? its gettin me down that its nearly every night!

Thanks sweetheart. xx

Ei, what do you do?
40 weeks fully paid maternity leave???
I want to work where you do. I only get 6 weeks full pay, 6 weeks 75% pay and then 14 weeks SMP. After that I'm down to 6 months of NO pay!

TC, I've bought some bin bags, now I just have to sort through all my clothes. Finally I'm doing something

im training to be a nurse so i get a bursery from the nhs teaching fund. they give you 26 weeks fully paid at first and then an optional extra 14weeks on top if you need it. so they said that i qualify to have all 40 if i need it or i can choose the date to go back to work!! we dont get paid that much tho but it goes up by about £100 when the bub comes! woohoo!

40wks is the best I've heard of. I get 26wks on full pay and then 26wks unpaid if I want to take all or part of it. Plus I accrue holiday the whole time so it will work out to about 7mths on full pay with annual leave as well. With reduced nursery costs and no train travel, I'm actually looking forward to saving most of it each month, like we did before dd arrived 3yrs ago!
SH, you inspired me to count days as well - I have either 63 or 68 working days left, after today, and excl my week's holiday next week.

well my mat leave is now up on the calender for all to see

I get 6 weeks at 90% pay and then 26 weeks at half pay here. I had to give up my right to accrue holiday whilst on mat leave as part of the deal.

40 weeks full paid leave is fantastic!! I wish I got that much!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG, I really do have a rubbish deal with my place don't I!!
At least I do get my car allowance throughout maternity leave and hopefully my qtrly bonus (keeping my fingers crossed for that one!).

You don't think to ask a company about their maternity policy when you join.