ermmm..i think im pregnant..

emma_b_4

whats maternity allowance? b4 becoming a student nurse (i started sept 05) i worked fulltime and earned 16k and paid full tax etc. i have worked and paid tax and NI for 6 yrs.

the hol is an all inclusive hol, in a large complex. i have bn advised not to traval and also some1 has mentioned occupational health at uni might not let me go as i cant have jabs etc and im back on the wards when i get home..
newbie...ru pregnant too?
we have now told both sets of grandparents to be and both have been fab about it and are soo excited!!
i have bn on the entitled to website but it wont let me use our due date till new tax year ?
im goin to tell uni in a few weeks, after seen midwife (28th march)

we are both happy now (but keeping it a secret from the extended family until we are further on.)

thanks again everyone your advise has been wonderful and its nice to have shared my news with so many of you, without everyone i know finding out hehehehe

btw doc said im due end of sept but i make it end of oct im confused!

brummiebabe

Hi emma!

I'm a nurse, and I seem to recall that students on a bursary are not entitled to maternity pay? Some nursing students went to court about it - might be worth doing a search to find out the outcome!!!!

Glad to hear that you're used to the idea of being pregnant now...me too!! The tiredness has now kicked in and my sense of smell is hightened ++ don't feel sick though (thank heavens!!)

Best of luck and keep posting!!!!

Rachie_B

Congrats Emma,

i had my youngest son at 23 and IMO its a fab age : )

although a shock if not planned ! i know i had my eldest when i was just 17 !

i second what was said earlier about signing uo to all the baby websites & forums,you will find lots of info,freebies and general chat / advice from other pregnant women

also def buy a lot of baby equipment / clothes 2nd hand,most things are used for such a short while that they are like new when baby has outgrown / used them

so long as baby has somewhere to sleep,warm clothes,milk and plenty of hugs from his mummy and daddy the rest isnt essential ; )

Hope you have a trouble free pregnancy

Rach

Spendless

emma_b wrote:

whats maternity allowance? b4 becoming a student nurse (i started sept 05) i worked fulltime and earned 16k and paid full tax etc. i have worked and paid tax and NI for 6 yrs.



btw doc said im due end of sept but i make it end of oct im confused!

Maternity Allowance can be paid if you don't qualify for SMP. It is not dependant on NI contributions. You just need to have worked at least 26 weeks out of the 66 before babys due date and earned at least £30 a week. the weeks don't need to have been consecutive. I packed in my part-time job due to ill-health when I was a few months pregnant but still got MA cos I met the criteria. When I worked I only earned £65 a week so didn't earn enough to pay tax and NI. I had earned a bit of bonus in some of my pay packets so I submitted the wage slips with my highest earnings on. I can't quite remember amounts paid and I think there were 2 different rates payable. I got paid the lowest. I got my money for 18 weeks but if DD had been due 6 days later I'd have got 26 weeks as the rules changed. Maternity Alliance has closed down who used to help with such queries but doing a google search of Maternity allowance might be of help.

emma_b_4

the bursary is now paid (thank god ) for upto a year, i think, mat leave, the new rules came into place this yr or last year, thankfully!

emma_b_4

hi, brummiebabe, my sense of smell has gone through the roof, cant stand smell of smoking (which is a real kick up the bum for OH to stop!!)
my belly seems swollen already maybe its wind or me just breathing out now LOL! didnt get mush advice from doc cept take folic acid and dont smoke, which i dont, is there anything else i need to know at the moment? obviously the midwife should tell me more, but dont see her for another 3weeks..

yes we are used to idea but im sooo paranoid that cos i didnt know was pregnant i have done something to harm the bambino, and also working on the childrens ward and neonates is making me very paranoid too.....im trying to be positive though and think happy thoughts im sure it will settle down soon...
im looking at home grants for insulation, loft and wall, to see if we can benefit from any grants to make my house a bit warm (nesting!!!) hopefully we can but when we are means tested usually we are "too well off" which makes me laugh and laugh......they should look at my bank account!!

anyway thanks again everyone for your words of wisdom and thanks for listening too.
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black-saturn

I know it sounds difficult but try to forget your pregnant at the moment. If you start thinking about swollen tummies and nestling now your pregnancy is going to seem like forever to you. Try and enjoy your last few weeks of being a normal free person before motherhood takes over (and believe me it does).

Feej_2

+++congrats - have just read this thread & remember how it felt the first time.

Don't worry too much - babies are genetically programmed to be greedy and take what they need even at the expense of the mum.

I was 23 when 1st was born & others followed at 25 & 28 - great age, plenty of energy, lose weight more easily afterwards, younger grandparents to help out etc. Had 4th (new partner) at 35 & couldn't believe how much harder everything was physically. Bonus was having done it all before & being more laid back, but 23 definitely v good.

Enjoy!

Feej xx

emma_b_4

haha thankyou Feej!

black-saturn, i know i need to forget im pregnant, remember this is about the only place i CAN talk about it!! so in every day life there is very little talk of whats happening as we are surrounded all the time by friends and family popping in!

Basil_Fawlty

Wow what excellent advice people!! I would thank all of you as I'm so impressed but my internet's being slow (I'm downloading some totally legal music files yep, nothing dodgy about my downloading activity at all ).

EmmaB best of luck and keep posting on here for advice because these posters are amazing. You all deserve a big pat on the back for being so kind and helpful. I'm a student atm, although as a bloke I haven't got the foggiest what pregnancy is like, so I'm afraid I have no advice for you, just best wishes to you and your OH for the future :T