Mid June and July Firecrackers Group Due June/July 2017!

[DobbyForever]

Congrats!!!! Glad you are both doing well!

Still reading/responding. Long, exhausting day

 

[Ellie Bean]

♡

 

[808malia]

Oh my goodness!!! Congrats Ellie bean, what a cutie pie!!! Our first birth announcement, how exciting!!!

 

[Maries_s]

Congrats Ellie Bean!!! She is gorgeous!!

I will try to respond soon, it's been a hard week.

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

Ellie oh my goodness how beautiful! I cannot believe we already have birth announcements in here. It's getting real y'all!!! So exciting.

 

[Weebles]

How precious Ellie! Congratulations!

 

[lesondemavie]

Congrats Ellie!!!

 

[second.time]

Congratulations, ellie! What a cute baby!

 

[TTCfirstovr30]

Congrats Ellie! So exciting!

 

[PrettyInInk42]

Congrats, Ellie. She's a cutie.

Did you expect to pop so early?

 

[Girly922]

Aww! Congrats Ellie!!

I'm trying to catch up on here but I fear I've missed a couple of pages as its been a busy week, we're all suffering with a cold, and my dad isn't well at the moment.

I really do feel for you ladies in the US, the maternity leave is shocking. I can't imagine how hard it must be to have to go back to work with a baby so young. Here we're entitled to 8 weeks at 90% pay, 7 months at £140 a week (it's a pittance but it's something) and a further 3 months unpaid if we want it. With DD I actually got 90% for 6.5m for it dropped to the lower rate because of where I was working at the time.
We are currently looking at me having around 10 months off and then going back on reduced days for a few months using my annual leave entitlement.

I had my 31wk midwife appointment today. I went through with her how I felt after my consultant appointment and she isn't happy. She's going to speak to her community manager to try and schedule me an appointment with one of two consultants of which I've been recommended to request as these are the two that will listen to my concerns and take them into account when we write my birth plan. She agrees that I am at a fairly high risk of unassisted/free-birthing if they don't put a plan into place for me and is hopeful this will get done as I'm fighting for mine and baby's safety, rather than just a personal want. She also reckons that I should've been debriefed after my birth with DD which I'd never even considered as I thought that was just for traumatic births.
But all in all, I think things are looking promising.

 

[second.time]

That's good that things are looking promising and you can work with a better consultant, girly! Hope your cold gets better.

I'm writing my birth plan this week and starting to buy supplies for my hospital bag/recovery. I didn't have a birth plan last time because the woman who taught my childbirth class made it sound like it was silly and unnecessary, but this time I want to have my wishes expressly stated, even if it doesn't make a big difference. I'm keeping it pretty short -- mostly about epidurals/episiotomies, wanting to have more mobility, etc.

 

[wannabeprego]

♡

Congratulations Ellie!!! She is beautiful!!!

 

[DobbyForever]

Ellie great pics! She is so cute!!!

Girly I’m glad your midwife is taking over things and putting a plan in place.

I’ll be writing my birth plan next weekish. My 32 week appointment is really week 33, but that’s when my gyn goes over it and officially puts it in the notes.

Yeah. It sucks. I’m a teacher, and supposedly we have it better than some. But I looked at my contract and it’s sad. I’m meeting with my union rep tomorrow to make sure I understand it correctly before going to HR to make official plans.

But basically I get 45 school days after birth, dunno if the summer birth affects things or not. But assuming a 5 day school week, that’s 9 weeks only. During that time, you use your sick leave bank (10 days plus whatever you have stockpiled from previous years). When that runs out, you go on differential pay (your daily rate which is way less than if you took your salary and divided it by contractual days - the long term sub rate). Depending on my evaluation schedule, i’ll be going back in somewhere between 6 to 9 weeks.

SO gets one week only from the day he is born, and that was with some arm twisting and clear we really don’t want to give it to you and technically we don’t have to we’re just doing it because we like you lol.

 

[Weebles]

Are you in the states Dobby? He is entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA as the father. It won't be paid but it protects his job.

 

[808malia]

I hear you... I have saved my 2 weeks vacation for this so I will get to take 8-10 weeks total depending on if I have a C-section or regular birth... Kinda sucks, wish I could afford to stay home longer, but I can not afford to go without pay for any amount of weeks... My husband will only get about a week off, and will have to use his sick/vacation time... But oh well The good thing is that I work in the office at the building that I live in so my father will be just down the hall watching my baby when I return to work. And If baby needs anything I am close by

 

[DobbyForever]

I'm in the states. Here's how I feel. A- we need both incomes so no pay is not an option. My mortgage is $3200/ month and daycare is $1900/month. B- all the laws in the world can say they protect your job but they don't. I have lost two jobs due to my pregnancies. California is an at will employment state so to fire you all your employer has to do is say it wasn't a good fit or say it was your performance. Nothing else. I literally have my former boss telling my union rep that I was being evaluated on missing work due to pregnancy, then not rehired, and took it all the way to the EEOC and they still said nothing we can do. So unless I want to shell out 15k retainer on a lawyer with partial contingency (65% of any winnings) as well it's too bad so sad.

 

[PrettyInInk42]

That all seriously sucks. In my province, women are given 17 weeks of mat leave, followed by 35 weeks of paternal leave, that can either be split between the new parents (at separate times) or just one parent can take it all. BD has booked a week of vacation to take once our son is here and I'll most likely take the full year off. During that time, I believe I'll be getting 55% of my grosse earnings, plus an extra monthly sum for just having a baby to take care of. I THINK that means I'll be looking at $1400-1600/month. Plus BD will be applying for benefits for Alex through his work AND over 4400 types of prescription drugs will be free for all citizens under 25 starting next year. Thank God!

As for a birth plan, I already filled mine out and gave it to the hospital, but I think I'll type up another one and make a copy for all my support people, just so everyone is clear on my wishes. As well as a list of things to tell me to help get me through labour.

BD and I are gonna start looking for a new car (for him) tomorrow. Exciting!

 

[Gagrlinpitt]

Girly I'm so glad you are getting the correct treatment now.

Dobby that's insane.. there really is not protection for new mother's.

I'm in the states and even though we are entitled to 12 weeks FMLA, it depends on what my doctor writes me out for. I have to take the first five days and use my PTO bank for those. Then after that I get $50/day for 6-12 weeks depending on what the doctor says. I also have a separate short term disability plan that will pay me 80% of my pay from week 2-week 9. Peanut will be going on my DHs insurance and then in September I'll be going on his too. We have pretty much decided that it makes more sense for me to stay home then to add day care to our monthly budget. Thankfully we own our own network marketing business which I plan on using to supplement some of my income.

Pretty, I can't wait to see what you guys get.

 

[DobbyForever]

I'm also jealous of your prenatal schedules. My last appointment was 28 weeks then 33 for the next. Then it's 36, 38, 40. But I guess it is a pain driving over there for 10m appointments.

Hf car shopping! Have you narrowed it down to a specific model?