Anyone due May 2004 .. new thread

[twiglett]

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I'm due 16 May and thinking of finishing at Easter. Although I think I will class my start for mat leave from Sun 18 April which is 36 weeks. DS was only 1 day late and I think they have got my dates right this time. But should be able to finish at Easter by taking a week's holiday. Am less anxious about maximising the time afterwards because I will be getting an extra 8 weeks anyway (26 rather than 18) and thought it would be nice to spend a bit of time sorting out and with DS. Last time was very bored but don't think I will be this time. Also 25 mile commute down motorway will be getting wearing by then.

Due 14th May, but will deliver (probably) around 23rd April. Last time I was determined to work to 36 weeks (firm policy is to not let you go any later), but ended up being called at work at 32 weeks and told to go straight to hospital to be admitted.
This time I'm officially finishing on 12th March (31 weeks) I do however have a suspicion I will be going off sick sometime before that (the sooner the better). Then I have to move house on 22nd March!

Im planning on finishing the 7th of may which I think will make me 37.5 weeks. I'm hoping that way ill get longer at home with the baby. Although my friend said that I should finish earlier as ill be so tired and fed up by then. Just have to wait and see I suppose.
Kbaby

I think a good way to finish a little earlier is to add holidays to the front. We run a Jan-Dec holiday year and have to take any hols due before going on leave. Obviously I'm not taking any at the moment so will add them on to the beginning.

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Planning on finishing 2April which is when our school breaks up for easter hols. have officially taken leave from the end of the hols though (2 wks later) which will give me a couple of weeks extra full pay.

I'm also playing with the idea of finishing at Easter and have to admit that it didn't occur to me to use holiday as extra time . . . what a thickie I am. Not that I would have much because the holiday year starts on 1st April! I was going to finish later but several people have convinced me to make the most of the time before. Plus I have also decided to go ahead with the OU course I had signed up for a year ago - umm, yoikes!

Egypt, hope you are okay after your accident - thinking of all of you xxxx

our leave runs from jan to dec so ive also got my full years leave to take. I cant decide if I should add it on to the beginning or end of my maternity. I need to keep 2 weeks for xmas though.
Has anyone else experienced shart shooting pains going across the stomach, just below the belly button?

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I'm going to get my 26 weeks paid maternity leave plus I have 6 weeks paid annual leave to take. My holidays also run Jan-Dec and it works out at 6 weeks. So I'm planning to finish on April 30th start my maternity leave on Sunday May 2nd, it will finish at the end of October and then take my 6 weeks paid annual leave which has me back at work two weeks before christmas. I'm also entitled to 26 weeks unpaid leave but we can't afford to live off one wage for 6 months, shame really.

Also, we're thinking about booking a holiday during the October holidays rather than the summer holidays. So hoping that we get the all clear tomorrow at the scan in Glasgow then we can think about it seriously and then hopefully go ahead and book it. Feel it would be easier going away when baby is 5 months old rather than in July like we usually do, will still be trying to get organised then I think, lol

Prufrock, just popping into this thread to say sorry, sorry, haven't forgotten will get onto it, won't be long to reach you. (sorry to hijack everyone)

Linnet I had the other thought and was planning on a week at the beginning of July on the assumption that baby will still be exc. breastfed and so will need less stuff.

Our rules don't let us add on to the end of mat. leave. And we are only allowed to take as much as entitled up to that point in the year beforehand. This suits quite well though because its is 1-2 weeks. However since I'm taking the 6 months leave I will be going back in October and will still have loads of days leave left at the busiest (workwise) time of year. Am considering asking to be paid for the days. I still feel good because of getting the extra 8 weeks paid over last time.

Had my detailed scan today. The outcome was baby's heart is fine, golf balls are still there but nothing to worry about. The chambers are all in the right places, blood is flowing in the right places and that was basically it. We could see the hands and feet really clearly, saw the spine, diaphragm and the kidney's it was a great scan.

Baby is lying across me at the moment, not head down, but DR did say that there is plenty of time for it to move into the right position since I'm only 26 weeks. Although knowing my luck and with all the problems we've had so far it'll probably stay that way, lol only time will tell.

Bozza we're thinking about going back to Canada for a holiday and it's cheaper to go in October than it is to go during the summer. Plus I'd rather have the summer to get myself organised and baby into a routine etc. Still this isn't definite yet we're still discussing it. Might not go anywhere in the end but it seems a bit of a shame for dd to not get a holiday. We'll see.

I'm going to double check about the holidays/mat leave tomorrow when I'm at work. I really don't want to take my 6 weeks holiday before the baby arrives as I know I'll just be sitting around doing nothing and it'll drive me up the wall. Much rather have the time off afterwards. Will check with HR tomorrow though and see what they say.

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Yes good news Linnet.

Didn't realise you were being so adventurous as Canada. We're talking England ourselves so not quite the same.... I only have to take the hols I'm due to date (ie 1/4-1/3 of my 19.2 days) before my leave and I can push the leave time back by doing so. But even so don't fancy working as last as you plan to. So will start leave at 38 weeks but take 2 weeks hol so finish work at 36 weeks or something like that.

Went to midwife yesterday. Apparently I've got lowish blood pressure which explains why I've been feeling faint. It has actually dropped while I've been pregnant.

I have low blood pressure too Bozza, I have it even when I'm not pregnant. Nothing at all to worry about, it's healthier to have low rather than high blood pressure. Just got to watch out for fainting episodes.

I got my blood test results back today. Platelets are still low.

We haven't decided if we'll definitely go to Canada or not. We'd love to go back, we got married there, although we wouldn't be going back to the same place. We were looking at going to Eurodisney for 4 days but discovered that we could have a week in Canada for the same price. Would rather go to Canada, and dd keeps asking when we can go back, we'll have to see.

It sounds like Canada would be lovely Linnet.

As for the low blood pressure. I'm not really worried about it but was just pleased in a kind of way to have an explanation for the way I feel IYSWIM. Actually the midwife said "nice and low" when she took it and it was only referred back to when I mentioned how I'd been feeling.

I am really pleased to hear you are all well and planning your leave/holidays etc. I am still wrapping my head round mine as it would seem I have worked at the courts for exactly a year and 1 month the week the baby is due. The package is pretty good and it is bugging me that I might miss out on it because that first month was through a temp agency. So it is either going to be 26 weeks full pay or 6 weeks full and 20 weeks at lower SMP! Oh pants!

I also threw a complete hormonal wobbly (one of my first, hopefully my one of my last) at DP who has gone away tonight for a friend's birthday, when we said goodbye I bawled my eyes out . . . I think he was touched but I don't think the poor people in Co-Op thought as much . . . what a muppet I am. Now feeling strangely calm.

Linnett - so pleased to hear the scan was reassuring again. It must be a huge relief.

Well I might be finishing work on Monday now. I know I said the sooner the better but I didn't mean this soon.

And my nipples have started leaking! They've been like chapel hat pegs since conception, but v. small amounts of colostrum are now definately appearing.

Only 11 weeks to go, only 11 weeks to go....

Hi,
Does anyone know whens the best time to buy the pushchair. I know that it can take a few weeks to be delivered but i'm superstitious and dont want to order it too soon.
Thanks
Kbaby 25 weeks

hi all
notices last night prufrock that nipples leak q a bit of colostrum if squeezed! 14 weeks to go.
my mum is getting our pushchair, but has to wait until we go and visit so we can pick it. that will be when we have 6 wks to go. hopefully it doesnt take this long to come!
good news about scan linnet. i am having the 3d one on weds. without dh hope dont find out what it is

DP and I bought our pushchair about a month ago and its been sitting in the kitchen since - then a friend mentioned it was bad luck . . . I am not a superstitious person normally but it is niggling me now! Our finances were a bit healthier last month so we went out and got various bits and bobs while we could! Oh well, too late now.

I'm leaking too and it was most disconcerting the first time it happened - silly really when you realise that that is what they are there for! DP found it highly amusing - but then he would . . . I think our son is going to have more maturity in his little finger than DP has all over!

We're thinking of going to the next town over, that sounds so silly, as they have a mothercare there. Will try to take dd and maybe buy some things like blankets, bed sheets etc just so that dd can feel involved as well. Although knowing her she'd want to buy the whole shop.

There are only 2 shops in our town that sell prams both of them are independant stores and one of them I haven't heard good reports about and the other one is extremely expensive. Have been looking on the Mothercare website but need to actually go and look at them all and push them about etc and ask questions before buying one. We won't actually have the money to buy one until the end of March anyway.
There is a town near us that has a pram centre but trying to find the time to get there and look around it is a lot harder than I thought with work and everything, plus you have to order the prams 12 weeks in advance and I've only got 13 weeks to go so probably won't do that.

When our daughter was born we had a mothercare in our town(has since shut down) and we went in on my due date to order the pram and picked it up when I got home from the hospital 16 days later. We lived in town just round the corner from the mothercare at that time so it was easy to do that.

I am superstitious and if we bought our pram just now I would have to store it at my granny's house. Dh thinks this is mad as he doesn't believe in all this rubbish but when we bought the cot in January I stored it at my granny's and he thinks this is mad but I don't want it in the house to soon.
I am terrified that I start leaking at work, I think I might go out and buy some breast pads just to be on the safe side.

We actually bought our pram in October for DS born in February. Not buying a new one this time although have purchased a new rain cover on Ebay. Thats the limit of my purchases so far this time. Don't actually need much. A bath support, maybe some hooded towels and a new steriliser - think thats about it. Have white vests/babygros in newborn size and so will purchase any clothes (it will be a different season) after baby is born.

chapel hat pegs - what a great description Prufock. Am chuckling to myself at work