Due August 2020 Thread 2

[cannotmakemymindup]

Hello ladies new thread here for all of us been chatting on thread 1 due in August with our babies!

I am so glad I don’t have the problem worrying about the weather. Living in Scotland & being due 28th august (more likely gonna be September), it isn’t too warm for us then haha! But I am having the meltdown with sizing all the time. I’ve bought majority up to 1 month & 0-3 months. I heard that next are bigger, they’re up to 1 month go up to around 10lbs so if you have a bigger baby you aren’t going to get much use from them.

I've bought sizes "up to 1 month" and "0-3" - friends have advised similar - that sometimes its up to 2-3 outfit changes per day. I figure if I have about 8 of each, I should get away with doing the washing every other day.

My irrational fear is - what if its a cold August? We've had the heating on before now on Bank holiday weekend its been so cold.

Do I need to buy a cardigan or 2 in that case?

@JMill13 We don't know the sex either - have had to order so much white. I thought there might have been more greens or other neutral colours around.

I'm still in the deluded "I've loads of time" phase and have bought nothing.
I have a list of most things I want to buy but there is something putting me offer placing the order.
I haven't thought about clothes yet although my neighbour has said she will pass on some clothes as her little girl is 5 months. She's already saved me by bringing round maternity clothes!

I haven't had my shower yet so I'm sure I'll get loads more clothes then but so far we mostly have 0-3 month stuff. Mainly short sleeved onesies and light sleep-and-plays (like 10 or so right now) since it's over 100F here in August. We have a couple newborn outfits and will probably get a handful of onesies as well but I've been warned even if they fit when he's born (which may not happen) he'll grow out of them quick so not to bother getting too much. We've saved things like long pants and long sleeved things for 3-6 month size and up.

@JMill13 I had the same thought about hats, I got a 0-3 months set of 3 from but the look massive...after the hospital they don't wear them in summer right?

@ml01omm I'm getting 1x up to a month cardi and 1 x 0-3. I thought the same as you, August can be weird weather!

@Superscientist - a few clothes is all I've bought, I'm finding it all quite over whelming! I'm just trying to work out exactly what I want. I've got an amazon basket on the go of all those sorts of bits as well.

And another day of work finished. I can not get comfy. I can't fit behind my desk, sitting with my legs down causes pain at bottom or ribs and sitting woth legs up causes back ache. Most comfy place to sit is on the bed but room is too hot .

I have three sleepsuits and three vests in newborn so far. In fast apart from the travel system that's the only thing baby owns perhaps I should get a move on.

Do any of you worry about how you'll get by when you're on maternity leave? I don't have many savings, i just saved what i could and i'm hoping for the best! I don't a really really well paid drop but it's quite a drop in money and it does worry me a little!

@oldestchild90 how long you having off and what's your work mat pay. I did a lot of overtime before getting pregnant and got a big bonus. Was supposed to use it for a house deposit, but now have to use it for mat leave.

@Feelthefear01 i'm just off for the standard 39 weeks (is that the norm? Think so) and it's just the normal SMP. I could only do an hour extra of overtime a day and still do as much as i can but it's getting to the point now where i'm struggling! A bonus would be lovely right now 😍

This is my second and I am worrying about how much the baby will wear to! I have totally forgotten what to do. But I am trying to remember that evenings at least in August can be quite chilled so thinking maybe some trousers and a jacket won't hurt.

Also if we survived last time, and my daughter didn't go hot or cold, I will this time to. As will everyone else on here!

I am in the process of sorting out MA as I'm self employed which has worked out to be a bit trickier than I realised. Due to the way HMRC collect National insurance payments now. So currently their offering the lowest payment available, but will write to me to offer that I pay up the NI I 'owe' and collect the stuff I couldn't have even paid yet. Then the correct payment will be given. No idea if they back date it or anything or just if I'll miss out on the first month due to no fault of my own. So I am wondering how we're going to pay for some things as I've been waiting for the payment to purchase some baby items I haven't yet got.

@oldestchild90s I am basically saving as much as I can. No summer bonus due to Covid, which I had been hoping to help.

I am very lucky though, I get 5 months at full pay , 3.5 on SMP, so just need to find 4 months worth of missing cash to cover the months I don't get paid . Just hoping nothing happens to DH's job for the next 12 months

Don't forget about holiday pay as well everyone, you still accur holiday whilst on maternity so if you want to use any of that tagged onto the end of your mat leave, it can extend your payments a little further!

@ml01omm Jeez, does that mean my company are just rubbish then? To be fair they have been very helpful, helping me figure out how long i can take etc but that is the best they will do for me, no full pay or anything!

I'm in 18 weeks full pay before the normal stay pay and three months of nothing. We have worked out that me and my partner can just about manage with my stat pay and his wages, but that means no luxuries. We would be better off if he had the time off as I'm the higher earner, but I would rather not do that. I am gutted we are unable to buy a house now but needs must.

I’m worrying about mat pay too! My plan was to be hammering the bank shifts (nurse) & be putting that in the savings but due to COVID I’m not working! I’m still just trying to put away what I can a month. I had built up a good bit of savings but had to dip into it to buy some of the baby stuff. Luckily I have an amazing family who all want to give us some money towards buying stuff so that can just go into the savings as I’ve bought the majority of big purchases now ☺️
I’m taking the 39 weeks maternity & using annual leave & some weeks unpaid to make it to the year.

@Oldestchild90s I'm self-employed so no maternity leave pay for me. Luckily OH makes good money and will be getting a huge bonus a few weeks before baby's due so we should be fine financially.

I'm doing 39 weeks mat, which is 13 weeks full pay, 13 weeks half pay, 13 weeks SMP. Then taking 2 weeks unpaid, then using AL to take me up to 50 weeks.

Lockdown has been a saviour for my mat savings - we're both lucky to still be on full pay so we've been able to save loads towards my SMP/unpaid weeks. I also want to save enough to go to Florida for a few weeks to see my family during mat leave (if flights ever restart!)

Nice to see I'm not the only one having mini meltdowns. I reckon because I'm due toward the end of August and live in Northern Ireland, it probably won't be that hot by then. Its still not crazy hot here yet anyway though we do live by the sea so prob keeps it a little cooler anyway. So will likely need slightly warmer clothes for baby for then.

Maternity for me will be the standard 9months then back as I'll be on stat pay and we're still looking to buy a house asap. I have absolutely no savings and everything I've been earning over lockdown as still working full time has gone on buying baby stuff and treated myself to makeup the other day and I've been paying rent/phone bills and those ongoing bills. So all of OHs money which is considerably a lot more than I get is going toward savings, food, Internet and electric so that when I go down to SMP in August we'll have a pretty good leg to stand on.

My work are literally just doing the minimum so 6 weeks at 90% salary and then SMP. I am really going to struggle on SMP as my salary is a lot more so I'm thinking about returning to work after the 6 weeks but it's really not ideal ☹️

@Ml01omm I thought the same regarding colour. I thought at the very least there would be a fair amount of yellow, green and grey but most things seem to be white. Found a very cute yellow sleepsuit earlier on a website called Berry and Blossoms though so ordered that.

Hi all! Bit late to the party, thread-wise, but I'm due in August, so 28 weeks.

Just wanted to ask if anyone thinks it's too soon to build the cot in our bedroom? We've got the painters in this week and since DH is currently at home we thought it would be useful to get everything else ready too. It would help DS to understand where his new sibling is going to sleep I guess, but I'm afraid it's tempting fate.

I won't go into detail but I read two pregnancy/birth posts today that were a bit unsettling and I guess it's got me feeling upset and like there is still a long way to go.

On the plus side, today we've picked out a lovely combination of light yellow and cornflower blue for DS's room, which DC2 will eventually share with him

I've been wondering about the weather too in August, I've got a decent amount of clothes but our bedroom can get very hot some wondering what it'll be like in August and whether the baby will even need sleepsuits.

I'm really lucky with mat leave being in the civil service, but trying to save as much as possible for the last few months when I'm on statutory. I am going to sit down with my DH to go through it all properly in the next few months as it makes me quite anxious.

*Next few weeks, hopefully in the next few months the baby will be here 😂

@Oldestchild90s I think its swings and roundabouts. I work for a large international company, which just so happens to have a very generous Mat Pay policy for all employees (Same for everyone from the Big Whigs right down to the lowly administrative monkeys like me). In other areas its rubbish, as the salary is very low, its a pressure cooker environment at times, and they can be ruthless about sacking you if they want you gone.

I do think its odd that Mat Pay policy can vary so widely from company to company.

Lockdown is helping, as I'm saving on commuting costs, lunches, and just general stuff I end up buying if I pop to the shops in my lunch break. Just as well as this baby mularky is expensive!

Some of you have amazing mat leave deals!

Don't worry about sleepsuits, I remember from DD that they are always supposed to be in an extra layer of clothes than we are as they lose heat quicker so will still probs need the sleepsuits unless it's crazy hot! I remember googling EVERYTHING with my first, I was always really paranoid if she was too hot or too cold! Xx