*** May Babies ***

[Frufru]

To-morrow! Tomorrow! I love ya! Tomorrow! You're only a day a---way!

SCAN TOMORROW! Who else is with me?

That would be me!!!!!

 

[insomnimama]

Yay, Frufru!

Re: previous question, nope, they won't tell here.

 

[abz]

good luck with your scans tomorrow guys it's such a surreal experience. i wish i could have it again. maybe it would make it more real, ha.

shame you can't find out what you're having though insomnimama. i take it you would have chosen to?

abz xx

 

[mojo401]

abz - I made some enquiries about tax credits a while back and I think I'm right in saying they wanted to know our joint income from the previous tax year which wasn't particularly indicative of our income at the actual time as my maternity pay had finished! It's all a bit complicated really but of you go on the IR website I think you can put in some figures to see if you qualify. They also take any savings into account so bear that in mind. I'm going to contact them again to see if we qualify so will keep you posted.

hope - my mum bought the JL Ella cotbed for our DD and it's fab! Can't go wrong with their stuff and their staff in the nursery dept are always more than happy to help. I'm a big fan!

logan - is it you that suffers badly with asthma? It's just that I have been so wheezy lately and struggling for breathe it's not good. Taking my ventolin which is helping but feeling very squished and puffed out more often now and a bit worried.

 

[abz]

thanks mojo. that's what i mean. my salary with drop to about half of what it was, and we would then be under the tax credits threshhold i think, but would they take that into account? aargh. all the information online is about if you STILL qualify when on maternity leave, but nobody seems to have thought you might need it when your work stops paying you... gah.

 

[iznil8]

does anybody know if you can get working tax credits based on the fact that your current income has vanished?

I think it goes on your normal salary not SMP but thats just what I take from reading the direct gov website.

 

[hope&faith09]

This whole tax credits etc is so difficult! As Im still at Uni my midwife gave me loads of information on things she thought I would be eligible for but so far we dont qualify for anything as OH has just got a new job ... good pay but it will be a drop on what we would be earning if we were both working. x x x

 

[mojo401]

thanks mojo. that's what i mean. my salary with drop to about half of what it was, and we would then be under the tax credits threshhold i think, but would they take that into account? aargh. all the information online is about if you STILL qualify when on maternity leave, but nobody seems to have thought you might need it when your work stops paying you... gah.

I would imagine they should take that into account but why not ring their helpline and explain your circumstances. That way you can get a quick answer and hopefully some advice for filling in the reams of paperwork!! Out of interest, do you know what the current income threshold is?

 

[jolou]

Joulou, 2 quick questions, firstly what is this Hip grant and how do we get it? Secondly when did you potty train Sophie? I'm think of starting with DD who will be 2 in Feb...too early perhaps or not a bad thing?

.

The grant is health in pregnancy grant, every single pregnant woman in the UK can get it and its £190 regardless of income etc its ment to help with eating and keeping healthy (er what? lol) but you can use it one what ever you want, you need tog et forms signed or something from the midwife at 25 weeks, im thinking of phoning up monday to ask about it so i can get it sent off asap.

I started potty training sophie at 2, wasnt strict with it i just bought those pull up nappies and everytime i went to the loo id take her with me and see if she needed to go, she soon catched on and stopped wearing any nappies in the day by the time she was 2 1/2, it had to be done for playgroup. took a little longer for night time but that i didnt bother too much about. Hope it helps!

 

[jolou]

as for the tax credits etc ergh its so complicated, they tend to base how much you get now on what you earned the previous year ( i think), we only get the child tax credit of £50 a month for sophie and cant get working tax credit as mark earns too much (it doesnt feel that way!), everyone is entitled to Child benefit (different to the tax credits) its £20 a week for the first child then it goes down for each child, think £17 for 2nd child, not sure if it goes lower for 3rd and 4th etc or if it stays at £17. Its all so confusing and bewarned the people who deal with the tax credits can be annoying and give you too much and blame it on, it happened to me, whe i moved in with Mark i phoned them up to end my single parent claim and asked for a new claim form so we could claim together, the bloke didnt stop it and kept on getting paid for a month, the want it back but not untill this april, (god knows why i couldnt pay it back when i found out, dumbasses) tho i am gonna appeal as it wasnt my fault they kept paying

 

[jolou]

i dont think i made any sense there sorry in advance! lol

 

[hope&faith09]

When do you have to send forms off for Child tax credits ... after the little one has arrived? Cant wait to send off for my HIP grant ... I have a home visit with my midwife when im 25 weeks so we are sorting that out then I think.

 

[bexxie]

sure start grant is from 29 weeks and tax credits when babe is born

 

[jolou]

you have a certain amount of time after baby is born to claim child tax from the day she is born, no harm in phoning up in april asking for the forms then fill them in once little one has arrived

 

[jolou]

i forgot about the sure start grant too! tho i cant claim that one

 

[hope&faith09]

Thats what i was just thinking ... then at least when im sleep deprived and forgetting everything the forms will be there just to stick in the post! I have set up my dream geni pillow in bed oh just asked whether there was going to be any room for him!

 

[bexxie]

I can tho they are doing to me what they did to you. I gave them our earnings after tax instead of before tho why they dont want it that way is beyond me would make life better as true reflection. However I digress. It makes me eligible and I dont know truthfully what to do tbh

 

[jolou]

its so annoying when you are wanting to do the right thing but they end up buggering it up anyway then blame you if something goes wrong. do it how they say if they come back saying its wrong you can appeal, take a note of a phonecall or something. i have it all down, dates of phonecalls etc

 

[maybebaby3]

god how complicated. we are moving 2 uk from abroad (we are british citizens tho) and i dont have a clue how 2 go about anything! oh is hoping 2 start work by march and i will go over after baby is born and dylan sees out the summer term. we have missed the application date 4 admissions 2 school 4 next year so i am hoping we can get him in2 a school close by where we will rent as i wont have a car. we dont have an address yet as oh has 2 look at flats when he goes over next week. such a mess and sooooooooo stressful!!! i wont have a car as we wont be able 2 afford 2 run 2 cars. at the mo i work full time so we have 2 good salaries coming in but when we move 2 the uk i wont be able 2 work at least 4 a few yrs as we will have 3 kids under 5 2 look after so cant really justify childcare as it would just be all or most of my salary (if i could get a job in the 1st place!) so worried we r going 2 b absolutely skint!!!

 

[jolou]

i dont get why these things have to be soooo complicated! you see adverts telling us to claim credits wea re entitled to but they dont half make it hard!

i would say when you come over after baby is born goto maybe citizens advice or the job centre and they can advise you on what you are actually entitled to. i dont think the websites are much use, tho they do have an online calculator on the tax credit website. have you looked in the forum about work and finance on here?