Due December 2023 Part 5

[Nclktnntt]

Starting Due December 2023 Part 5

You can also just choose to start your mat leave early if you want, up to 11 weeks before due date, if you don't want to mess around with having holidays booked and then revoked. Your maternity leave will automatically start once baby is born, also if you're off for pregnancy related sickness in the 4 weeks before your due date.

According to the employer the baby is due on the 18th Dec so they don't need to know when the baby is born...well not really no? Shouldn't my maternity pay start on the 18th Dec as I'm on leave before that.

@RG84 I think there’s a requirement to tell them the actual day. Maybe check with HR as I’m not an expert :)

You have to tell your employer the date the baby was actually born - I assume because it's compulsory to take the first 2 weeks after birth off. I have to tell them the birth date within 10 days but not sure this is standard. On government website says maternity pay will start early if baby is born early: https://www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/leave

@RG84 it's a legal requirment to tell your employer when baby is born

Just annoying as I wanted to use majority of my annual leave and get as much pay as possible.
I mean there are 8 of us in the office so everyone knows everyone's business lol so no doubt I will tell them when baby is born but just want to say maternity pay really aches!

Thanks for clarifying everyone. So now I'll essentially have 2 weeks off annual leave before my c section date. Which isn't alot so now I'll need to reconsider taking another week off and having my last day as the 10th Nov...thanks again, when my baby brain allows, I'll figure it out 💆‍♀️

I am due on the 31st!

@chloesl1808 aw nice! Good to hear from someone with a very similar date :)

@RG84 Hopefully you can just move your annual leave to the end of your maternity and get a nice extra 2 weeks of full pay then, but I know what you mean about wanting to get it beforehand as I've gone through the same kind of confusion. My company do 4 weeks pre-partum full pay, but if you give birth early they just reduce it to however much time you were off from week 36 to birth, rather than backdating if you were actually on leave 4 weeks before birth (which I should be) or moving it after birth. Not like I have a choice in when I give birth, so this is kind of an added stress in terms of timing. No sorry you can't induce me early at week 38 as I lose 2 weeks full pay. They also have quoted on the company policy that statutory maternity pay is lesser of 90% full pay or £172 a week, but for the first 6 weeks you get 90% of pay regardless and I had to point this out to them to make sure I got it. I am also planning to do shared parental leave with my husband, with him off at the same time as me, and this has caused a whole lot more confusion. I've spent 3 weeks getting it all signed off! So much seems simple at first glance, and then is actually very confusing when you start looking at the details.

28 weeks today third trimester time. Crazy how fast its going i remember the first tentative postings on here when I first found out!
Feeling very fed up at the moment though since I got back from our mini honeymoon nearly 2 weeks ago I have been sick on and off and it's really getting me down. One day I'm fine and can eat loads then I'm sick during night and the next day can't eat anything. Its like morning sickness all over again

I can't believe we're all starting to move into the third trimester wow 😯- sad to say though @wannabemum38 I have read and been told that first trimester symptoms can come back in the third 😢. I hope my sickness doesn't come back like it was. It hasn't fully gone away but I can handle it every so often.

Hey everyone! I'm so late in joining this thread but I'm due Dec 12th. Just wanted to give a heads up on the Mamas and Papas sale atm incase anyone didn't know, my MIL just told me today and I was delighted 🤣 x

I definitely feel like the 1st trimester tiredness is coming back! I’ve had to start having a nap in the afternoons again just to make it through to bed time🤣

Sorry youve found this difficult! Im going through the same. Out of interest how much SPL is your partner taking and will they be getting paid? I'm finding it all totally nightmarish and no one seems to know anything about it in HR reflectively

He's taking 16 weeks, 3 of which are paid at statutory level. As I am taking 36 weeks, but 39 weeks are paid for maternity leave so I can give 3 weeks pay to him. Technically I could give more paid leave than that and take part unpaid myself, but we felt like this would just get way too complicated haha. He gets 6 weeks paid paternity leave from our company so is taking the 16 weeks straight after that. Well after the latest date we think I could give birth + 6 weeks paternity leave anyway, and bridging the gap with holiday if I give birth earlier, because paternity leave can only start from when the baby is actually born, unlike maternity leave which you can start earlier, and if I gave birth late we didn't want to have to go through the whole HR booking process again to change the SPL dates.

I had to submit a form to curtail my leave by the 16 weeks, and my pay by 3 weeks, and they asked for a shared parental leave form with it, then got so confused about the dates and I had to emphasise to them using the gov and ACAS websites that he was allowed to take leave at the same time as me. In the end our company (we work at the same place but completely different departments) won't even allow him to book the SPL leave until 90 days before it starts, but he needs to do it at least 8 weeks before, so just waiting for this window! I've managed to book my 36 weeks of leave though luckily. Then I will take my accumulated holidays, then can go back at a 50% week for 8 weeks.

What are you guys doing?

Very run down today with a cold and sore throat! Will do a Covid test today as has been around for a few days now - the change in weather definitely not helped!

Work are driving me mad and not confirming my mat leave still yet as still getting through Sep/Oct maternity which I find crazy (I work for a very large financial services firm) they also have made no attempt to start looking for my Mat leave cover. All very annoying.
Anyone else finding them useless?

Only 27 weeks today, but I feel very big, tired and achy. It's making me worried about how the hell am I going to get through the next 3 months 😢 this is my first one. Anyone else feel this way?

@andpeggy1 I'm 27+5 and have been feeling exactly the same the last week. I'm struggling with getting shoes on etc already I have no idea what I'm going to be like in 2/3 months time! Sleep is very disrupted too and I'm already retaining a lot of water so am looking even bigger, even in my face.
Plus side- I'm feeling the baby loads though which is lovely.

Very late to this thread I’m 28 weeks. Wondered if there was a Facebook group at all? I still use my Facebook group for my nov 2021 baby so wondered if there was another group I could join?

Sorry to hear the tiredness is coming back for a lot of people. Sounds like I’ve only got a few more weeks based on that before it comes my way unless I’m lucky. I’m 26 weeks and just got back from our babymoon in Italy which was super hot. First time I’ve had really swollen ankles but I’m putting that down to the heat and lots of walking.

Has anyone signed up for the baby show in London next month? I’ve never been to one before so thought it might be worth going.

How many clothes is everyone buying? It’s quite overwhelming working out how much you need and in what size. I’ve started with a couple of newborn items and the rest are 0-3 months but I have no idea on how much of each item is needed and don’t want to overbuy when they can grow so quickly. Are there any shops people recommend for the basics?

I found the supermarkets are good for basic baby clothes. Also it’s easy to get clothes delivered so I wouldn’t worry about not having enough. Also bibs/muslins are your friend - we never used them in the beginning and went through so many clothes with spit up milk.

Hi everyone!

Just a little update for those who asked - we got to Hawaii - Kauai - last night and I'm finding either the flight makes my sick orrrrr it's still morning sickness but we're now 11 hours behind the uk so it coincides with when I'm usually sick (if I am anymore).

Anyway - this is the view from our hotel pool, we had a very relaxed day today, just got in the car and picked a place on the map to go and investigate. Tomorrow we are going to go adventuring and visit somewhere.

It's hot - 30s but pretty cloudy and very breezy so it doesn't cook you, thankfully 😊

I hope you're all doing well.

The sickness happened the night we landed in Seattle too, after eating, but I put that down to eating a burger when my body was expecting breakfast 😂 I'd mostly adjusted to the time difference before we headed over here but have gone back a further 3 hours, but again sickness happened before eating this time but I'd ordered my food lol.

@Nclktnntt Hope your sickness goes away. Photo looks great. I’m so jealous. I’d love to go to Hawaii someday. When I get the travel bug I start to plan future holidays abroad although likely won’t be for a few years for us.

@Nclktnntt Fingers crossed the sickness subsides as you get used to the time zone!
Looks lovely, have a great time!