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Hi Guys

All this talk about child care makes me so nervous! I live in London - seriously expensive and I have no idea what I'm going to do when I have to go back to work. We can't afford to lose a salary as we have so many commitments but all the nurseries in our area are £1300+ a month!! Where do people find that extra in their budget?? We don't have much spare every month - how will we manage. And for a child minder it's at least £800 a month. I'm not as keen on a child minder though.

This is the most stressing thing. I don't mind the child birth and the sleepless nights etc but what are we going to do with the kid when I HAVE to go back to work?? :cry:

Anyone else in the same boat?
 
I have just registered my 11 week old unborn baby for day nursery the waiting list is sooo long... how mad is that!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be going back to work in the autumn after htis little one comes along, although new laws state I can have longer off, I make more money being at work than I do being on maternity leave, my hours are flexible and not demanding so I think its better if I go back earlier. The nursery will cost me in excess of £600 a month, and that doesnt include the fee's I already pay out for Joshua's care. School holidays will see my bill reach arounf £1200!! Blimey I hadnt though of that rofl... although he is 8 soon so I get free childcare in some of the holidays lolol I paid out £650 a month for Joshua's day care while I worked, it was really hard, and I never had spare money for anything, but it was better than being at home. I dont want to sound degrading to stay home mums... but its just not for me. Id go loopey, and Joshua had a much more enriched childhood with part time nursery and me the rest of the time. Our time became more special as I missed him while I worked, if I was home all the time I think Id have taken far too much for granted and would have missed out on so much more than I did by not being with him for a few hours a day if that makes sense. So anyway lolol... sidetracked ramble there.... my little bean has a place at the best (in my opinion lol) nursery in town where I trust they will do a fine job :)

Im so glad its not just me that is running through all these senarios so early on lol... Pregnancy sounds soooo much more expensive in the states lol NHS is a pain sometimes but we are lucky in a way to have it I suppose lol
 
Childcare will be a nightmare for us too, as we both work shifts!! :( If we can juggle it between us and my Mum I can work parttime, however if we need any paid childcare I will have to work full time just to pay for it, which sucks!! I go back to work in Feb 2011, and we are already looking around. We live in London too, and are looking at over £1000 a month if I'm at work full time. :( xx
 
The ladies who live in london, could you have an au pair or something similar? If you have room for them that is. They often work for barely anything just to get into london?

UK ladies you can get some help with tax credits depending on your salary towards childcare cost, or if your over the threshold it will be worth trying to encourage your employer to do the childcare vouchers. It doesnt cost them anything, they just need to fill out some forms. You can get some money off that way.

A good website to see what your entitlements are etc is https://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DoItOnlineByCategory/DG_172666

you can do what if senarios at the end and it takes into account your childcare and travelling to work costs, I have been using it to see whether its worth me working part time or full time. At the end it tells you your weekly income after paying for childcare etc so you can decide. I hope that makes sense?
 
Sadly no room for an au pair, I'm hoping we can get away with just us and my Mum, but it will be a struggle, especially when I don't finish work until 11pm. :(
We don't qualify for WTC, only £10 of CTC if we both work, off to check the website. xx
 
Thanks Pinkclaire :flower:, I'm going to check out the website too. We only have a one bed flat so no room for an Au Pair :(

I would definatley not be able to saty home or work part time. :(
 
whoa- I haven't even thought about childcare really yet! I'm really hoping to go back to work part time in Sept. but that probably won't be financially realistic.
new- I can't believe your baby is already on a waiting list, wow. I guess I should wake up and start thinking about it!

speaking of planning ahead, I read somewhere that you should sign up early for birthing classes. Is anyone planning on taking one? I think I'd like to find something, but nothing too "graphic".

one more thought- this morning when I woke up I thought to myself, as I so often do, "I hate waking up early!" Then my next immediate thought was, "oh sh!t!" The days of sleeping in are almost over. Oh, how I will miss them!!

Hope you all have a good day!
 
Just got back from my early scan and have seen baby's heartbeat! everything appears normal and as it should be. Sadly no photos for this early on!!!

I am jusy a little concerned about the dates though. I should be 7+5 and the sonographer has said 6 weeks!!!! we used a monitor and know when I ovulated and we didnt :sex: from the last peak on the monitor so how can it be so far out??? anyone else been in this situation. I am hoping all will regulate at the 12 week scan.
 
Speck looks awfully comfy there Brandi, looks like he's waving hello with one arm behind his head :haha:

great news on the heartbeat stardust. my scan was 3-5 days out from what i thought i was, but im not sure how to explain that much of a difference? maybe one little mistake from the sonographers dot marking could have thrown it out? maybe one of the other ladies has a theory, because im not much help :haha:
EDIT: or maybe he was counting from time of O not adding the 2 weeks on for your period? one of them is gestational age, im not sure which one LOL
EDIT 2: gestational age is counting from LMP, learn something new everday :haha
 
Aw twinmummy thank you for giving me some ideas on why it could be so out. I was thinking at that small they can easily mis measure with the dot and it makes a whole lot of difference this early on!

I knew I would worry after what I have been through but trying to be positive that I see a heartbeat
x
 
could you give them a call and just ask if the date they gave was was gestational age, because it being almost exactly 2 weeks out seems like they arent using gestational age.
 
Just got back from my early scan and have seen baby's heartbeat! everything appears normal and as it should be. Sadly no photos for this early on!!!

I am jusy a little concerned about the dates though. I should be 7+5 and the sonographer has said 6 weeks!!!! we used a monitor and know when I ovulated and we didnt :sex: from the last peak on the monitor so how can it be so far out??? anyone else been in this situation. I am hoping all will regulate at the 12 week scan.

Happened to me. I went in at 8w3d for an ultrasound and Speck measured at 9 weeks so they moved my due date from May 2 to April 27. Well, my ultrasound yesterday, according to my new dates, I was 11w6d, and baby measured in at 11w2d, which is what I would have been according to my old dates. So baby could measure out. Don't be too worried at this point. There's a healthy heartbeat!
 
I think the early scans are sometimes a bit off, although yours seems way off. But if you think maybe your implantation was 3 or 4 days later than you thought, and their measuring is also 3 or 4 days out then there is over a weeks difference in dates. You'll get a more accurate due date at your 12 week scan :)

I had an early scan, I was 6wk and 4 or 5days but they said I was measuring about 5 or 6 weeks ish (she used the ish word lol) but the heart beat was strong and very clearly visable. I thought then my dates must have been way out, but a lot of people told me by the 12 week scan it'll be fair more accurate. I do think I implanted later (Im sure I had implantation symptoms at 10dpo) so if that changes the dates then I do think i will be put back a little bit. But got my 12 week scan next Monday and I will soon find out yayay!!!

As for childcare, I will get some support through the WTC and CTC but witht he government slashing everything child and family orientated at the moment I do not know for how long we will have this childcare entitlement. Plus, although its a massive contribution for which I will be grateful for... I'll only get it because I have 1 wage, and I will still have to top it up to meet the full payment and so it doesnt actually make me any better off, its just a means to an ends to allow me back to work.
 
Me too!! I ovulated on day 8, and we DTD on day 9 then didn't again, and my first date meant we must have conceived on day 14/15 when I know I didn't. Our next scan then dated us in line with me ovulating on day 8. xx
 
I'm lucky that we don't have to use childcare at this time. My husband works days and I work evening shift at the hospital. Though I'm going to stay home after this little one arrives. I had depression issues last time and one of the biggest factors was when I had to go back to work once my son was 12 weeks. Between not getting any sleep and missing him like crazy while I was at work, it was a mess. We decided that we don't want me to go through that again.
 
gosh my scan is going to be so much later to most of the chatty bunch on here, u'll all be near to ur gender scan when im getting my dating scan lol.
 
I'm so nervous! I'll be 12 weeks tomorrow and that's when i started bleeding last time.

Feeling a bit eek! I can't wait for my scan. So impatient!!
 
I'm hoping I can somehow swing more maternity leave so I can stay home a little longer. My company may be generous about it, but if I have to miss too much time prior to the birth I may be out of luck :( I can't imagine going back to work at 6 weeks! :(

I don't know what I would possibly qualify for here in the US for aid, but I bet my income boosts me out of the range for any assistance.
I do think the cheapest option may be to find a mom who wants to stay at home with her child and can watch mine too for a reasonable fee. I don't know how to find those people and they might flake on you if they decide to go on vacation etc. I know someone who would totally do it but she's being forced to move out of her house and it looks like she's going to move over an hour away :(
Glad I'm not the only one thinking about these things!!!

As for the birthing classes, my friends were told to wait until 27 weeks to book... then found out they were all full... so I'll definitely be booking early (though the ones you pay for will probably still be easier to get into).


As for the early scans, since yours is that far off, it might be gestational age.
BUT I know that mine has fluctuated by several days. I'm measuring 3 days ahead on my last 2 scans (which is kind of impossible because I know when I ovulated, lol). I was measuring 1 day behind on one of my scans but the doc said it was not a clear picture, lots of interference... so I do think thats partly why it was hard for him to get a measurement.
 

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