I’d be stupid not to wait right?

[PussyWillowPeach]

I’m so ready to start trying for a baby, OH and I are getting married in September next year and would love to start trying for a baby then. However I’d only qualify for 3 months full pay, 3 months half pay, 6 weeks amp and 12 weeks unpaid.

However if we wait a further 8 months (May 2022) then I’d qualify for 6 months full pay, 6 weeks amp and 12 weeks unpaid. I’ll be 30 by then and OH 36.

We’d be stupid to not wait the extra 8 months wouldn’t we. It works out as an extra £3k ish (before tax) so the rational part of me says wait. But ahh it feels so long away.

What are you ladies doing? Putting off to wait for a better maternity pay or just letting your heart do the talking?

I think you should wait. Pregnancy suppresses parts of the immune system and pregnant women are in the vulnerable category.

Only you can decide. Most people here would advise you to wait the 8 months for better money. And that does sound sensible but i personally couldnt wait 8 months that seems like an absolute life time away.

Of course you should wait. Eight months isn't long at all. I can't understand why anyone would willingly get pregnant right now, it's a huge extra risk.

8 months is such a short period of time to wait for all that extra money, which you will definitely need.

I would wait in your shoes, until you are married and you have the better maternity package. That's a very generous package! My workplace only offer smp, which isn't great.

Just one thing to bare in mind, is usually if your workplace offer an enhanced maternity package, then you typically have to return for x amount of months in order to not have to pay them any of the money back. If you decided you didn't want to return to work there, you would probably have to repay the extra maternity pay. Just worth double checking and understanding the maternity rules your company has in place before you start trying for a baby 🙂

Did PP actually read the original post? It's states she is not actively trying NOW but talking about NEXT September. People need to read post properly prior to responding with snarky comments.

OP, if I was you I'd wait until closer to the time the decide, you could decide it's just too long to wait when it comes to it.

My company only offer SMP Which will mean a drop of over £1,000 a month which will be quite a shock but given our outgoings will be much less it will balance out

My workplace doesn't offer such an amazing maternity package as either of those.

When I first brought up TTC with my DH I was so broody I was just like "I don't care about money I want a baby now!!" (as you can imagine this caused a few arguments).

I then started actually looking into how much mat pay I would get (6 weeks full pay, 6 weeks half pay, rest SMP.) Then I thought about how I may need to go back to work earlier than 1 year to be able to afford a baby, and whether I could leave that baby after 6 months or so to go back to work . Luckily my situation has changed and I can now afford longer, I don't think I would have gone ahead with it otherwise.

If I were in your position I would say wait, unless you are able to live comfortabley off of the first package without having to go back early. You can use the extra 3k in the second package to tide you over for those 12 weeks unpaid!

See how you feel when you get the the point where you want to start trying. Either way that maternity package is really good - much better than most!
DH and I wanted to start trying about 5 months ago but I was really unhappy in my job so decided to look for another. Got an amazing job which I took and therefore we decided to wait a bit to avoid getting pregnant straight away. I’m now 5 months in and we have just started TTC as I would have passed the year mark by the time we had a baby at the earliest.
However, the enhanced mat package doesn’t kick in until 2 years. we decided we would go for it anyway despite knowing we would get more money if we waited a year. I earn a lot more (by double) than DH but we’ve just decided that the extra few grand in the great scheme of life isn’t worth putting it on hold any longer when it’s something we want. It will be tight but we will make it work. I did a spreadsheet to work it out and am now saving hard to make sure we’ll be ok.
You have plenty of time before the wedding to decide - I’m sure the decision will be easier at that point. If you want a baby now I’m sure you’ll want it even more by then!

I'd see how you feel after the wedding. You'll maybe enjoy some downtime after (weddings are stressful) and 8 months might fly. I got married in October and time has gone so fast since then. Which is now 6 months.