MSE Pregnancy Club 25

dizsiebubba

bellola wrote: »

CL what happens with your work and bank holidays whilst you are off then? Do you get to add them to your holiday entitlement so you have 34 days in total? My work told me I lose the bank holidays because I am off anyway so benefit from them. I get 25 days annual leave plus bank hols but I only accrue the 25 days whilst I am off.

Now this is wrong!!! We challenged HR on it and they are giving us all back the bank hols in lieu!!!

Canucksfan

Yes, yes to Dizsie'spost! I bought one pack of Huggies to look posh in the hospital with my first baby, but she had v slim little legs so we had mucho leakages AND she got SORE! Soon as I got home, I bought some Tesco Value Nappies and she loved them from the get go! All my other children went straight into Supermarket Nappies ! I also used cotton wool (balls, not a roll to keep everything clean) and warm water rather than wipes when doing nappy changes-much more MSE than wipes!
This time round, I am going to bite the bullet and try washable Nappies for the first time - DHnot happy, but big families are expensive out here!!!
Congrats on th! recent deliveries and hugs to all members who need them!

sexymouse

Can anyone who's successfully applied for statutory maternity allowance tell me how long it took for them to process and decide what you're entitled to? Seems to be taking them a while to get back to me.

Gillyx

I applied the earliest I could, I think I was around 27 weeks? Would that be right? I got my first payment when I was around 31 weeks. I wasn't working though and I got the full amount which is equal to SMP. You will be able to work out if you will get the full amount or not, depending on which wage slips you sent away.

I never got the letter through as RM lost it and so never got my payslips back either, wonderful :eek:

sexymouse

Thanks Gilly - just spoke to someone on the phone and they said that the claims are taking a while to process at the moment as they are still processing claims from the week before I sent mine in. He asked me a few questions about my pay etc, and seems to think that I'm likely to be entitled to SMA at the full amount of £135.45 based on what I've told him which is a relief, and that as soon as the baby is born to let them know and they'll pay from the day after he's born (this is what I requested when I filled out the paperwork as I'm technically still working, although on summer holidays supply teachers don't get paid).

dizziblonde

dizsiebubba wrote: »

Now i'm going to sound like i will be a bad mum but i'm not buying the whole 'brand suits baby' thing.... i have a few friends who pander (this is what i describe it as) and most who don't... i have bought various brands and my baby will wear whatever i have in stock!!! Same with bio/non-bio washing powder... my frineds who have lovely, happy, non-whiney kids (two are midwfies) are the ones who continue making noise after baby has gone to bed, wash with whatever powder is on offer, use talc powder :eek: and use a nappy they can find...afterall the nursery use the nappies they want to use!!!

Obviously the above is not a general rant at those who do stick to do's and dont's ... they are just my observations of the people i know so all i can base it on!!!

See different things suit different people - Gillyx hates Huggies wipes - I love them! Huggies nappies on the other hand have a fairly common bad press!

Nappies DO seem to vary though - even across the same brand in different sizes. We had bog-all choice at the moment, she was in the size below newborn which only really Pampers and Tesco did easily accessible for us - and I hated the Tesco ones in that size - they were sooo thick (especially considering the size of baby concerned) and gave her a bit of a sore bottom. Moving up sizes though Tesco turned out really good, Asda's are good as well - loads of people swear by their Little Angels ones, Pampers I find smell a bit funny when they're damp (I'm not the only one who has noticed this) and these days we just get the Kiddicare boxes of 190 or whatever it is for £20ish which last us a month (you get a 1hour delivery slot when they're going to show up with them so it's just the lazy option really). But if you think about the different shapes of babies - you have real chunks and then you have ones like my little girl who, while she's still got the baby rolls of fat now (she didn't to start with!), is quite skinny in comparison... you'd expect adults of different shapes to have shops they favour where stuff fits them - it's the same sort of thing - and you really really want to avoid poonamis making their way out of nappy legs if you can help it, or even worse - vertical poonamis getting out of waistbands and up the back because the cleanup is disgusting when you've got to take all clothes off, vests and what not!

MissMonkeyMoo

tadaa you can get resuables wipes at www.cheekywipes.com

Sorry, got no time to post anything else at the mo, will check in later! congrats to divorcingjack too!

Gillyx

sexymouse wrote: »

Thanks Gilly - just spoke to someone on the phone and they said that the claims are taking a while to process at the moment as they are still processing claims from the week before I sent mine in. He asked me a few questions about my pay etc, and seems to think that I'm likely to be entitled to SMA at the full amount of £135.45 based on what I've told him which is a relief, and that as soon as the baby is born to let them know and they'll pay from the day after he's born (this is what I requested when I filled out the paperwork as I'm technically still working, although on summer holidays supply teachers don't get paid).

Ah glad you spoke to someone, they have always been really helpful with me when I've had to call.

dizziblonde wrote: »

See different things suit different people - Gillyx hates Huggies wipes - I love them! Huggies nappies on the other hand have a fairly common bad press!

Nappies DO seem to vary though - even across the same brand in different sizes. We had bog-all choice at the moment, she was in the size below newborn which only really Pampers and Tesco did easily accessible for us - and I hated the Tesco ones in that size - they were sooo thick (especially considering the size of baby concerned) and gave her a bit of a sore bottom. Moving up sizes though Tesco turned out really good, Asda's are good as well - loads of people swear by their Little Angels ones, Pampers I find smell a bit funny when they're damp (I'm not the only one who has noticed this) and these days we just get the Kiddicare boxes of 190 or whatever it is for £20ish which last us a month (you get a 1hour delivery slot when they're going to show up with them so it's just the lazy option really). But if you think about the different shapes of babies - you have real chunks and then you have ones like my little girl who, while she's still got the baby rolls of fat now (she didn't to start with!), is quite skinny in comparison... you'd expect adults of different shapes to have shops they favour where stuff fits them - it's the same sort of thing - and you really really want to avoid poonamis making their way out of nappy legs if you can help it, or even worse - vertical poonamis getting out of waistbands and up the back because the cleanup is disgusting when you've got to take all clothes off, vests and what not!

Don't talk about poonamis, I had an absolute 'mare this afternoon. Everything has gone in the nappy bucket, vest, romper AND nappy. Teething poos are awful! :eek:

LittleMoog

bellola wrote: »

CL what happens with your work and bank holidays whilst you are off then? Do you get to add them to your holiday entitlement so you have 34 days in total? My work told me I lose the bank holidays because I am off anyway so benefit from them. I get 25 days annual leave plus bank hols but I only accrue the 25 days whilst I am off.

dizsiebubba wrote: »

Now this is wrong!!! We challenged HR on it and they are giving us all back the bank hols in lieu!!!

I think it depends if you get enhanced mat pay or not. At my company you don't get the bank hols payed separately when on mat leave as they're included in your normal wage. If you're on SMP though, they should be added to your accrued holidays.

Kitten_Pie

Congratulations DJ, I still remember your BFP was so jealous as it was the day after both our birthdays! Glad you are doing well.

AFM: No news so far which we are taking as good news. OH has been sent home from work and told to get signed off as he is just unable to concentrate at work at the moment. Feeling guilty about it but think it is probably the best thing at the moment.