october 2010 continued

[Katy86]

just thought id get a new one going as there are only 2 messages space left on the original..xxx

Saartjie, I am also a lawyer and am loving the pregnancy excuse for no suit. I am usually in one every day. Such a nice change!

Hurray another lawyer here too! (No longer practising, now LPC lecturer.)

I had my 20 week scan this morning and I'm having a BOY!!!! I wanted to tell everyone I met in every shop I went into all day. I wanted to stop people in the street and say 'hey you! I'M HAVING A BABY BOY AND HE'S GOING TO BE AWESOME!'
Hope everyone had as good a day as I did today, I feel so happy xxx

Yay JJ! Boys are great .

Aww Jazzy that's great!

Had my scan today too - all is well but we didn't want to know what we're having so still a mystery - although I am convinced it's a boy.

It was so cute - dancing and waving at usand then gave a big yawn and rolled over - so sweet - feels really real now! eek!

Must decide on a pram....

Jazzy excellent news, we are running short on October boys.
MummyB glad your scan went well

Must also decide on pram, although I think my choice with 2 (DD1 is on the tall side) is limited to about 3 makes!

Congratulations to JazzieJeff and MummyBeath. So glad to hear that your scans went well.

Fellow lawyers KFW and Jacksmybaby glad to hear that there are more women in our profession having babies. It is definitely frowned upon (not openly) where I work. If it's not billable hours it's not interesting. Being a LPC lecturer must be great Jacksmybaby, do you get a good maternity leave etc? Here it is rubbish so I am actually quitting my job when the little one arrives which feels weird but also really good.

Loving this weather.

Good news re scan MummyB, it's great to see them wriggling around on screen isn't it?

Saartjie I get zero maternity benefits (stat pay only) but in fairness that is because they couldn't afford to shell out for us all - basically my work is FULL of women in their 30s who have left city firms because they have young kids or are looking to start a family!! Obviously advantage over practice = hours and flexibility with things like part time. But more importantly I actually love the teaching. You should come and work with me if you are looking to go back to work at some point!

Jacksmybaby I guess you're right it would be the way to go from a city firm for sure. Have always wanted to teach law actually. When I did the LPC the lecturers all said how much they enjoyed their work. Thing is we are leaving the country in August to move to South Africa which is why I can afford to not work for a year. If we were staying here then I would have to go back to work after say 3 or 4 months. Not complaining though as I am looking forward to the move albeit not the flight when I will be 7 months pg

Jazzie - that's great news! Boys seem to be something of a novelty for October 2010!

Saartjie and Jacks, I am in a city firm too. I am going back after work (mahoooooossive mortgage so no choice really!), and will probably take 6 or 8 months off. Our maternity policy says that the firm has the right to alter the terms of your contract if you take more than 6 months off. Somehow I dont think that any real changes to my contract would wash, given that we could surely claim constructive dismissal but it's amusing how they try. I am the only female associate in my team, so this is all a bit novel for them, but they seem to be coping OK... partners carrying files into meetings etc! Sweet really.

I am not a lawyer (I wouldn't make a good one anyway!) but at least, for those who follow my 'threat of redundancy' rant recently, I have now secured a job offer. The caveat is that I need to go on mat leave way too early (to be protected under regulations) and with no family or friends nearby and having quite an easy pregnancy so far, I am keen to find something to do during the day (I am the opposite of a domestic goddess, so cleaning & cooking, etc. won't do!) I fear I may go cabin crazy this summer! Any ideas/suggestions welcome!!

Ooh you are so lucky to have all this time FutureMum!
I would....

-go shopping lots (for things like shoes that you can still try on when preg!)
-have a big clearout of the house (cupboards, wardrobe - a therapeutic purge!)

• book lunch dates with friends you need to catch up with

-watch films -pregnancy DVD workouts

• cook nice meals and freeze them for after the birth

-sleep lots!!

If you want to keep your mind active how about learning a new language?

Enjoy, I'm v jealous!!

Futuremum really good news about your job offer, don't know where you live but round here (Wiltshire) there are bumps and babes groups that you can go to and meet people and they are always looking for volunteers at charity stuff like food banks, shops, local hospital to visit old folks etc.

Thanks for the suggestions, I live in Yorkshire. Sleep, cook & watch DVDs are on the list, but with husband at work and most of my friends hours away, am not sure where I will be getting social contact from! (most comes currently through work).
I am really, really bad at shopping for shoes (I have largish feet) and am looking to keep costs down as finances are stretched, so the shopping spree is a no-no, I'm afraid!

FutureMum, I've been on this website where you can meet local Mums, I've found a few people and met up with one of them for a couple of meals and just started speaking to another one today! Just trying to find the link! Will post it as soon as possible. Other than that FM it's a lot of tele watching i'm afraid! I could cope with that right now! www.netmums.com/meet/

(Waves to Laura if she sees this! Have just given her the link to this site and told her to come join us!)

I am just about to work out when I want to go on Mat leave, anyone else any ideas???

x

KFW I am sure you would have a claim for constructive dismissal. I agree they will try anything. I am also the only female in my team but do not have the same kind of support. Never mind, I will be out of here soon and I am really looking forward to not working for a while.

Futuremum I fully understand that you are worried about getting bored I know I would. I must always keep busy or I go mad. Babybunting2010's suggestion sounds really good and so does the charity work suggested by Hevster. I am sure you will be fine once you get used to it.

I will finish work on 13th August to give me enough time to relocate to S. Africa and settle down before D-day.

I'm another city lawyer and genuinely haven't decided about going back. I know my team would be lovely and try and be flexible but I just don't know whether proper part time is really a runner given how junior I am (coming up to 2 yrs PQE). At the moment I've said I'll go back after a year because I'd like to keep my options open but I'm a little worried about it!!

Hi ElenorD glad to find yet another lawyer here. I fully agree with what you say. I am also fairly junior 3PQE and as such part time really is not an option for me. I desperatly wanted to be able to be home for at least a year but this was not possible here. When the opportunity to leave presented itself we were quick to agree as it sort of solved our problems. Not sure if and when I would go back to work but if I do I think I would rather work somewhere smaller where part time is a real possibility. I would rather work to live not live to work

Hello ladies! Just checking in .
Saartjie - I TOTALLY want to work part time too. I'm a teacher, and although I get a good amount of time off per year, I still want more!!
I don't know about the rest of you, but I got hobbies and with a baby in the mix, work is just going to get in the way- HA!

A 4th grader said to me today, "Are you just fat or are you having a baby?"

Hurry up OCTOBER.

Oh Daynee - you lucky thing, I think teaching part time sounds realistic and achievable. Law firms are full of 'flexible working' options and 'we'll try and make it work' but I'm not convinced how realistic it all is when it comes down to it. My main problems are having a relatively long commute and being pretty junior in a department where part time only seems to be possible after about 5 years qualified. Hey ho, I might have to look at other options - does anyone know how qualified one needs to be to teach the LPC (or even what qualifications one needs for the GDL)?

Eleanor you usually need to be 2yrs PQE to teach the LPC so perfect for you (are u 2 yrs in Sept?). Don't think you actually need any PQE to teach the GDL. Part time working is the norm; I think at least 75% of my colleagues are PT. You should seriously look into it!

Oh thanks so much Jacksmybaby - that's brilliant to know. I'll definitely look into it! (yes, I'm 2 yrs in Sept)

hello, anyone else still not felt anything? not sure why as the bby was raving on the scan! really tired as well, so think a half day holiday is on the cards for a snooze in the garden later

Hello! I'm from the other October thread! We're just about hitting the 1000 mark on our current thread so will be starting a new one very soon - I thought it might be a perfect opportunity to finally merge us all, so if you would like to join us, please do. I know before some of you said the thread moved quite fast but it's slowed down quite a bit now, so hopefully you can all keep up ok. I also notice that many of you are already on there, but also post here. I'd love it if we were just one big happy group.

We've also got a stats list going - if you aren't already on it, please add yourself here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/antenatal_clubs/977320-Stats-10-10.

Hi All,

Lovely to hear about good scans - congrats on your boy Jazzie turns out I am having a boy too! Though he did initially shove his hands between his legs when the sonographer tried to look - he's all gorgeous and wriggly and just the right size etc so we're thrilled! I had thought I was having a girl but....nope!

Hi AbFab prolly best to let people post where they like, Lovely, we had someone on this thread ages ago who wanted us all to shift and it didn't work so...

I shall continue to post on both

I'd love to work part time but will I be too poverty stricken? Hmm....

xx