MSE Pregnancy Club 20

ecoelle

Hiya guys, hope youa re all ok, i've had a rubbish day at work today, but then, on the walk home i ended up following a couple of women having a chat about how stressed they are and how much they hate their jobs and blah blah, the thing is from what they were saying i could tell they were teachers. I used to be a teacher and i left after deciding i couldn't cope with the stress, and after walking behind them my day didn't seem so bad after all:)

I wondered if anyone knows how much you are supposed to have saved up for maternity leave. Is it something like 6 months wages?

sharkeybabe

Hi Ecolle - I dont think there is a specific amount that you need to save up, I think its just a case of every little bit helps. I didnt save anything for my maternity leave. What my DH done was added up all of our combinded debt and paid it all off from our savings, he also put a substantial amount into our elec/gas account and our Cable account - so that our only major outgoing every month would be our rent and we know that we have enough to at least pay up to when our lease is due for renewal at the end of march. Think its just working out exactly what needs to be paid and what exactly you either have to cut down on etc. HTH

dustystar02

sharkeybabe wrote: »

Here you are dusty 0845 366 7885 it does say whilst you are waiting that it takes up to 6 weeks, however I played it by just checking if they had recieved the form and they told me that it was paid out. HTH

Thanks sharkey, think I'll give it til the end of the week then chase.

dustystar02

Got my cervix scan in the morning followed by 28wk MW appt. Anyone had a cervix scan already? Painful? Will I get to see bubs again??

vroombroom

I'm not sure we will get extra help mainly due to our wages. Luckily the bills and rent on the house are quite minimal so we *should* be ok:D :Djust annoyed with work, but hey ho x

I'll give the tax credit peeps a call tomorrow, you never know! x

sharkeybabe

Sorry Dusty - I never had it, infact the only scans I had was my 12 week and 20 week. I have seen quite a few of you have had growth scans but, I dont think that it is offered where I am in Scotland. I am a bit concerned that I havent been given an average size etc for bubs and my next MW app is a week on Wenesday when I will be 36 weeks.. To be honest I Dont really know what exactly is supposed to happen at any of my MW apps, any time I got the take my blood and test my pee and then say see you next time.lol. I feel used and abused.

Pixiepops

Does anyone know how long it takes after sending the form to receive your maternity exemption card thingy? I forgot to send the form off earlier so I only posted it recently.

Chakani

sharkeybabe wrote: »

I have seen quite a few of you have had growth scans but, I dont think that it is offered where I am in Scotland. I am a bit concerned that I havent been given an average size etc for bubs and my next MW app is a week on Wenesday when I will be 36 weeks..

Don't worry Sharkey, they won't normally do growth scans unless they have a reason to think they need to - risk of gestational diabetes is one reason, or if a previous baby was very big or small, or if the bump is measuring very different to what's expected for the dates. If they aren't doing them, that's good news for you

Even with a scan, they can be up to a pound out either way, and without a scan, they are frankly guessing. No-one can really tell til baby arrives, and by then, you won't care. Three different midwives last time told me I was having a small baby because my bump was measuring small - he was 9lb4oz at 10 days overdue, with my bump still measuring 36 weeks.

Don't forget, we all hear much more about the minority of pregnancies where there are problems, because there is more to talk about - it is far more common for everything to be normal and straightforward, but that doesn't make it exciting, so we obviously hear less about it

gizmodo_2

ecoelle wrote: »

I wondered if anyone knows how much you are supposed to have saved up for maternity leave. Is it something like 6 months wages?

As Sharkey says there is no supposed amount. Depends what you're used to I guess. Some people go back to work straight away because they simply can't afford it. If I had not saved I'd have to go back after 6 weeks. I've saved nearly £6k so I can take the whole year off. Even that's going to be tight I think. I just get SMP, but even so we're very lucky in this country with our maternity leave rights.

Pixiepops wrote: »

Does anyone know how long it takes after sending the form to receive your maternity exemption card thingy? I forgot to send the form off earlier so I only posted it recently.

I'm sure it took about 2 weeks for me to receive mine. But if you do find you need to get a prescription in the mean time I was told you can say it's in the post and there's some form or something, I'm not sure...I actually paid for my prescription at the time and someone on here told me I needn't have. doh.

gratefulforhelp_2

We could have been luckier, Giz. Labour were about to extend SMP to 12 months.