Hi all, I'm a long-time reader of mumsnet but first time poster - please be gentle with me as I'm feeling quite fragile at the moment. I am aware that there are details here that will identify me to anyone who knows me in real life, but I'm willing to risk it for some good advice....
DH and I have been TTC since October 2018, but spent over a year prior to that having genetic counselling and exploring options as I have a genetic condition that has a 50/50 chance of being passed on to our child. We decided to try to conceive naturally but thought that this might be unlikely as I have had chemotherapy for lymphoma and we weren't sure what impact this had had on my fertility, and it also took my mum five years to get pregnant so thought we might be in a similar position.
In October we sold our flat and bought at 'do er upper' much closer to our families. In December I quit my 60K plus job as my mental health was rapidly deteriorating due to bullying at work and we decided I would project manage the renovations of our house (using money from the flat sale) instead of getting a builder in. All fine as we had enough in savings to cover my half of the mortgage (£500) for a good few months and the renovations, then I could find a new job.
I am currently living with my mum and he is currently living with his mum due to the renovation (why we both can't live together at one mum's is a long story for a whole other MIL thread but isn't a reflection on mine and DH's relationship), so with this plus the reasons I mentioned above, we didn't use contraception. In hindsight, I know this was bloody stupid, but it felt like it would never happen and I worried I would end up regretting waiting and putting off TTC.
So, now I'm 6 weeks pregnant and unemployed! I am SO STRESSED about what we will do about money. I have got some freelance work but because I'm just starting out I have no idea how much income this will generate or how reliable this will be, and have a job interview for a civil service job next week (£27K), but both of these will only give me maternity allowance, which will be £144 a week if I can get the maximum amount - just enough to cover my half of the mortgage, which we might be able to struggle by on for a few months but will mean I have to 'go back to' or find work incredibly soon after baby is born, which is obviously not ideal.
Husband currently earns 22K as a branch manager, which isn't enough to support us both. It is too late to reduce the extent of the renovations as we are only a few months away from finishing and the things that are left are things like fitting a kitchen and getting floors laid so fairly essential and we were already working to a tight budget.
I feel incredibly stupid for putting myself in this vulnerable position and can of course see how I would have done it all differently in hindsight (not quit my job, not bought a do-er upper!), but does any one have any words of wisdom or advice please?
Thank you for reading this incredibly long post!