MARCH-MALLOWS 2020

[GemmaG]

I've used a lot of brands of prams for the earlier stages (borrowed when we were travelling, I haven't even bought a single pram other than a light pushchair) and I have to say bugaboo are the lightests and easier to maneuver for that type. I've only had the chameleon and the bee though of their range. But I'm assuming you know based on your wording lol.

My bugaboo is in bits. It belong to my soon to be 14 year old nephew and this would be the 5th baby using it so I'm thinking of buying one.. maybe the yo-yo +. Still considering.

If you think that's crazy. My SIL bought a quinny for her first, then decided it was too heavy and a few weeks later she put it away and bought the bugaboo. Then one day she decided the boot of her car made it too awkward and she didn't want to be folding the pram every time. So she drove herself to the nearest dealership with the bugaboo in hand. Started opening boots and trying which car would take the pram as is... She settles for a vw Tuareg, ordered it there and the (without looking at anything else, test driving or even telling her husband)‍

Haha okay that definitely makes me feel less mental lol yes I love bugaboo too, I had the donkey twin and it was amazing. But decided I wasn’t going to spend crazy money on a pram so was going to buy the journey from mothercare. Such a good deal though was too good to pass on x

 

[mummyyshearer]

I have felt soo rotten last two days cant wait for this first trimester to be finished with... crazy to think weve all went from roughly 4wks to now bein 9/10wks!! Its flew in!!

Oooh ur crazyy gemma hahaa, my mother in law has been lookin at prams for us... shes spotted a icandy one i think recently not sure what one exactly though. Tbh i wanted a icandy with my son but went for a silvercross instead... so i an considerin a icandy this time round but i want to wait til i knw the sex as i want a girly coloured one if its a girl lol. Im going to go out and look once in further on tho

 

[GemmaG]

I have felt soo rotten last two days cant wait for this first trimester to be finished with... crazy to think weve all went from roughly 4wks to now bein 9/10wks!! Its flew in!!

Oooh ur crazyy gemma hahaa, my mother in law has been lookin at prams for us... shes spotted a icandy one i think recently not sure what one exactly though. Tbh i wanted a icandy with my son but went for a silvercross instead... so i an considerin a icandy this time round but i want to wait til i knw the sex as i want a girly coloured one if its a girl lol. Im going to go out and look once in further on tho

Ah I’m pretty shit at the minute too thankfully getting through the day not too bad but nighttime is pretty rough. Nearly there huni that’s what I keep telling myself!

Love the icandys too! Yeah I’m going to change the hood and apron depending on what we are having. The one I got is all black so easy to change around x

 

[GemmaG]

Ah I’m pretty shit at the minute too thankfully getting through the day not too bad but nighttime is pretty rough. Nearly there huni that’s what I keep telling myself!

Love the icandys too! Yeah I’m going to change the hood and apron depending on what we are having. The one I got is all black so easy to change around x

Had a play around with mine today, it has a full black chassis too which I absolutely love. Can not believe the condition of this pram though such a bargain!

 

[Mrshopeful22]

Morning! 4 more days until my first scan at the hospital, but also 4 more days to go back to work (which I'm dreading).

Anyone else noticed their bloat get better? I'm slightly paranoid over everything. I'm still not back to pre pregnancy belly or anything but I don't look 5 months pregnant anymore, just as if I had overdone my eating or had a beer belly lol

My bloat has been up and down a lot. Yesterday I felt 5 months pregnant and today I feel lie I'm back to normal. Nausea is still here, somedays better than others. I'm 8 weeks tomorrow which is comforting. Can't wait to be in double digits. 3 weeks from today until my booking appointment and scan. My oldest is starting preschool next week so I'm definitely distracted by that which is helping pass the time. Think we might be telling family this coming weekend as we will need someone to mind the girls when we go for the scan. My friend brought over all her old maternity clothes the other day. Had great fun going through it all. I'll actually have a wardrobe full of maternity clothes this time around lol! Hope you're all keeping well xx

 

[Mrshopeful22]

I got the Genie from mothercare with dd2. There's only 17 months between my two so we had to get a double buggy. We opted for the tandem one. The extra seat is detachable. It's light enough and is much easier for me to get through doors then the side by side doubles. It was a godsend. My youngest will be 3 when the baby is born so I can still have the extra seat for her as she is a little fire cracker and will run off any chance she gets. I'm just worried the car won't fit three car seats! I've asked the hubby to get down the baby car seat so we can check. He thinks I'm mental. I worry 1000 times more about every little detail when I'm pregnant lol

 

[mummyyshearer]

Okk soo im starting to panic abit.... looking into my maternity leave pay etc and unless ive calculated waaay off when i move onto statutory maternity pay after my first 26wks leave i possibly will only get £600 a mth!! Which is a hugeeee drop considering my monthly wage is usually £1500 roughly... will i be entitled to claim anything ?? My partner works two jobs but even at that we will possibly struggle... our income together is roughly £45000 i would guess ... £600 would only cover our rent council tax and my car payment... if that cause i dnt know if they will still take my childcare vouchers from my wage aswell which is £243 a mth...

 

[MollyMalone]

I don't know how it works in the UK so I can't help you. I remember with my second my last job only payed 5% of my annual salary in a lump sum and the rest was whatever the state paid which was 245 euro a week I believe up to 26 weeks and then nothing. I remember being so worried! But we managed in the end.
In this job, thankfully, I get my full salary for the first 26 weeks then nothing. I think 26 weeks is not enough, and I will be breastfeeding. I'm going to try to go back when baby is 8 months at least but haven't run numbers yet :/

 

[GemmaG]

I’m the same Julie. It works out 6 weeks at 90% of your top line then the remaining weeks are 148.68. We only got 13 weeks maternity up until last year and now it’s moved up to 18 weeks. It’s pretty pants isn’t it. 26 weeks and then I think il go back to work. Although I think we can afford me to take the drop if we plan ahead. Can you maybe save over these next few months to give you a bit extra over those months x

 

[GemmaG]

Not sure your entitled to anything. But it’s worth checking x

 

[LillyFleur]

I’m getting a double buggy, I like the look of the Bugaboo Donkey but my friend has one and she’s not that keen.

I’m really suffering with the tiredness, I forgot how rubbish the first trimester is.

 

[MollyMalone]

Just left my dating scan. I was so nervous I thought I was going to cry. But baby is fine. He (shall remain a he until proven otherwise) was kicking and bouncing around. It was hard to take any measurements or take a proper scan picture. He measured 10+6 as opposed to 11+2 based on last period but she said she couldn't be sure that was the actual date based on his position and all the movement. It's only a few days so it doesn't make a huge difference, have started telling people already.

 

[JAM1611]

Okk soo im starting to panic abit.... looking into my maternity leave pay etc and unless ive calculated waaay off when i move onto statutory maternity pay after my first 26wks leave i possibly will only get £600 a mth!! Which is a hugeeee drop considering my monthly wage is usually £1500 roughly... will i be entitled to claim anything ?? My partner works two jobs but even at that we will possibly struggle... our income together is roughly £45000 i would guess ... £600 would only cover our rent council tax and my car payment... if that cause i dnt know if they will still take my childcare vouchers from my wage aswell which is £243 a mth...

I always worried about money when we have kids but im on around the same as you too. Ive started saving just a little bit here and there. And my OH doesn’t seem worried and he is so level headed and a big saver. Have you spoken to him about it? Xx

 

[GemmaG]

Just left my dating scan. I was so nervous I thought I was going to cry. But baby is fine. He (shall remain a he until proven otherwise) was kicking and bouncing around. It was hard to take any measurements or take a proper scan picture. He measured 10+6 as opposed to 11+2 based on last period but she said she couldn't be sure that was the actual date based on his position and all the movement. It's only a few days so it doesn't make a huge difference, have started telling people already.

Amazing!! So glad it all went well x

 

[MollyMalone]

Forgot the picture! My little wriggler.

 

[mummyyshearer]

I’m the same Julie. It works out 6 weeks at 90% of your top line then the remaining weeks are 148.68. We only got 13 weeks maternity up until last year and now it’s moved up to 18 weeks. It’s pretty pants isn’t it. 26 weeks and then I think il go back to work. Although I think we can afford me to take the drop if we plan ahead. Can you maybe save over these next few months to give you a bit extra over those months x

I get full pay for 6 mths thankfully then like u said the first 6 weeks at 90% then the huge drop ... we are going to save as much as poss and my partners going to hold off gettin a car and we will jst need to make do with mine. Im ideally lookin to take frm end of feb 2020 to Jan 2021 off work so i dnt need to work xmas (working in a jail unfortunately u dont get much choice over the festive period unless ur lucky to already be off/someone swaps ur shift). Il have at least 4weeks holidays to take before Jan 2021 aswelll so lookin into tht gettin added onto my maternity leave at some stage so i go bk onto my full pay.

I got sent home from work today my sickness and tiredness is back big time... really struggling... cant wait to get past all this...

 

[MollyMalone]

I get full pay for 6 mths thankfully then like u said the first 6 weeks at 90% then the huge drop ... we are going to save as much as poss and my partners going to hold off gettin a car and we will jst need to make do with mine. Im ideally lookin to take frm end of feb 2020 to Jan 2021 off work so i dnt need to work xmas (working in a jail unfortunately u dont get much choice over the festive period unless ur lucky to already be off/someone swaps ur shift). Il have at least 4weeks holidays to take before Jan 2021 aswelll so lookin into tht gettin added onto my maternity leave at some stage so i go bk onto my full pay.

I got sent home from work today my sickness and tiredness is back big time... really struggling... cant wait to get past all this...

Shift work can be tough, especially with a family. I'm a nurse but I've been lucky enough to only ever have to work one stephen's day (boxing day) during my first nursing job. I managed to get into a monday to friday job pretty quickly after that (which are hard to find in my field) so I'm quite lucky.

First day back in the office (working from home yesterday) and already stressed!

 

[Mrshopeful22]

Forgot the picture! My little wriggler.

View attachment 1066630

Aw I'm delighted for you! It's so exciting to see the baby. I've 2 weeks 4 days until I'm at the Coombe. Hoping it will all go smoothly. When is your next appointment there?

 

[MollyMalone]

Aw I'm delighted for you! It's so exciting to see the baby. I've 2 weeks 4 days until I'm at the Coombe. Hoping it will all go smoothly. When is your next appointment there?

I'm sure it will but keep us updated!

My next appointment is on the 10th with prof Martin. Who do you have?

 

[GemmaG]

I get full pay for 6 mths thankfully then like u said the first 6 weeks at 90% then the huge drop ... we are going to save as much as poss and my partners going to hold off gettin a car and we will jst need to make do with mine. Im ideally lookin to take frm end of feb 2020 to Jan 2021 off work so i dnt need to work xmas (working in a jail unfortunately u dont get much choice over the festive period unless ur lucky to already be off/someone swaps ur shift). Il have at least 4weeks holidays to take before Jan 2021 aswelll so lookin into tht gettin added onto my maternity leave at some stage so i go bk onto my full pay.

I got sent home from work today my sickness and tiredness is back big time... really struggling... cant wait to get past all this...

I’m the same in my job our Christmas’s at home are few and far between but this year I’m hopefully in line to get it off so next year I doubt I’d be able to get. I’d love to take longer just need to sit and work it out but I’m going to try and use my annual leave at the end too and have most of this years still sitting so going to try and not use it so I can take half of February and March on leave before I start my maternity maybe try and stretch it out to January.

Ah I’m struggling massively with tiredness and the nausea and sickness is massively kicking my ass nearly at the point of going off sick I’m barely coping at the minute. It’s grim isn’t it