The Ultimate Incentive part 10. The only thing holding you back is you.

Birdie85

Oooh yes, lets do another de-junk January! I need to clear out the few spaces OH didn't attack over the summer and it's hanging over my head!

Feeling alright Shrimpy, still sore and tired along with not being able to sleep and peeing constantly... but the end is in sight now! Poor OH is dealing with me so well... I've started snoring now too (the things they don't warn you about pre-pregnancy, eh?!) so not only does he have to put up with me flapping about in bed, getting up 4 times a night and constantly putting the heating down because I'm too hot (so he's freezing)... when I do finally sleep he has to listen to me rattling the windows (apparently! ). We're both thinking we can deal with it though because it should all be over within 6 weeks! :j

kavics17

Birdie, I stopped 2.5 weeks before my due date. It was a bless doing nothing for 2 days than I got bored. Sorry, not helping, am I? Thankfully baby Kavics (who is a toddler really, started walking just before Xmas) was early.

Crap Xmas here, baby kavics was sick and I was too emotional. Went to bed on nye with my kindle and slept through the fireworks. It can be only better this year.

wendz86

I was the same Kavics. I didn't realise how blissful that time was lol.

I am sure next year will be better for Christmas Kavics x yay for baby Kavics walking too.

Hope all is ok with Dinah if you are out there!

Birdie85

I'm feeling a little in two minds about maternity leave, on the one hand it'll be lovely to not be at work (realllllly lovely!) but I am worried I'll get very bored and restless! I sometimes get stupidly bored just on an evening when OH's at work, so having all afternoon and the evening may be a bit much! Just got to make sure I have plenty of little things to do for when I do get beyond bored!

Hooray for Baby K getting her walk on! :T She's such a little cutie, sorry that she was ill over Christmas and you didn't enjoy it much though. I hope this year will be better for you, it'll always be emotional for you but as your little lady grows you'll have more to distract you!

Dinah93

Hey everyone. Sorry I've been a bit off the grid, so much going on in life right now struggling to keep up with it all but hopefully in a good way.

Had a lovely Christmas, Grace was so excited and just very cute, she's such a good child and she makes us all laugh so much. Bit tired after my hospital stay as I still wasn't feeling great, more tests on Monday but fingers crossed I'll know a bit more after that one.

Monday is shaping up to be a big day, I *think* we find out who are staying and who are being made redundant then. We're certainly finding out our individual scores and being given the chance to comment. So nervous I feel sick when I think about it.

Got the results from my MRI, unfortunately it looks like I don't have this kidney condition. Seeing my gp on Tuesday so I'll have to ask for a copy of the report then.

We hosted Christmas as well Birdie, yep cost us a fortune too, at least we know next year mum should have the new kitchen in so it will well and truely be her turn. Cooking wasn't quite up to my usual standard as I ended up buying more things in pre-made as I just didn't feel up to cooking. Grace loved the day which is the big thing though, and she got insanely spolit, a trampoline, trike, wooden car garage, dolls house, easel, leappad, train set, lots of arts and crafts stuff and books, she still hasn't opened it all! NIM and I were on a budget too, he's treating me to dinner at the new Hotel Chocolat restaurant in Leeds, which I'm really looking forward to. I got him a haircut, shave and massage groupon, 2 tshirts, engraved keyring which made him laugh and a board game as he quite likes playing games after Grace goes to bed. We had a few suprises over the festive period too.

Enjoy your pre-maternity leave Birdie. Will be lovely catching up with hobbies and things. I don't share Kavic's worry you'll be bored, there is a lot on pinterest to keep you busy! I promise you won't be bored on maternity leave, you'll be quite happy spending hours just holding your LO and watching them sleep. I still do that with Grace bless her. You do have more time to yourself after the first few weeks, it's like a lull, they are content on their own between feeds, then they start to be awake more, curious about toys, thinking about being mobile, and suddenly you find you use naptime for housework and your only you time is about once a week after bedtime when you collapse half asleep anyway! How long are you off for? When you say your MIL isn't going to be having the baby 5 days a week like she thinks, have you worked out your childcare plans now?

Sorry to hear your christmas and new year wasn't what you hoped Kavics, I hope this year is a lot better for you.

Started making my new day zero list, I got to 44% last time, which tbh I'm fairly happy with, but I'm in a more positive place now and I'm looking forward to seeing where the next 1000 days takes me. I had to laugh at your bump gropage Birdie, I actually have a desire on my 101 things list to be so big some random person grabs it just because then I know I'll have made it to 'proper' pregnancy! Still need 14 more things to round out the list....

Going to have to dig out our 'where we want to be in a year' from last january soon, see where we all are and what our aims are for the year ahead.

Misplaced my kindle over Christmas, gutted. Can't work out where it has gone. Last had it at mum and dads so thought it must be there or in one of the cars, but it's just vanished into thin air.

totallybonkers

Hope today turns out for the best Dinah x

wendz86

Good luck today Dinah.

Loving the latest pics of Grace. She does always seem so happy and is so cute!

Hope you have found the kindle too.

Birdie you certainly won't be bored once baby is here, i struggle to ever be bored these days!

Am on my first day in my new team, still waiting to be set up properly so just doing post campaign work on the old client so pretty quiet!

Took Poppy to nursery this morning and she has been moved to the next room up (now in older toddlers) so she only has the pre school room left out of 5! Can't believe she starts school next Septemeber. We have to apply end of this year so already started worrying about that.

Birdie85

Don't worry about the 'bored' comment, I only meant pre-baby! I'm well aware that I'll have my hands full soon enough and boredom will be a thing of the past! Still not 100% about how long I'll be off for (and quite frankly, bored of explaining!) because we're going to see how we cope financially. It'll be somewhere between 6 and 9 months, we're not getting into debt just so I can have the 'expected' year off. My Mum has assured me that if things get really bad they'll help support us so I can have at least 6 months at home. Childcare is still up in the air (again, bored of talking about it!) as we're just going to see how things work out and don't have to make any solid plans just yet. OH is going to ask about cutting down his hours and we'll see how much we'll lose out by him doing that compared to how much it'll be to send the baby to a childminder. My Mum and his Mum can do an afternoon or 2 a week but we don't want to have to totally rely on them since they're both still working and have their own lives, probably overthinking it but we'd rather have a formal arrangement for the most part and the Mums doing babysitting as a treat instead of relying on them to split all of the childcare between them and coming unstuck when one is away or ill. I only said that MIL isn't going to have/see the baby 5 days a week because I just don't want her sniffing around every single day. Think she's already forgetting that this baby is mine and OH's, not hers!

Hope it's good news today Dinah.

Hope you get on well with your new team Wendz. There's no way Poppy's getting to the school applications age already?! Where does the time go?! Is she still dinky?

Lara44

Hey Everyone

Happy new year! Hope you all had lovely Christmasses. I had a fab time at home with my family and wished I could have stayed a lot longer. As ever, doing two trips to the south-west and Northern Ireland has left us knackered.

Birdie, can't believe your guests didn't even help with the washing up - big meanies! It does cost a lot for Christmas lunch, especially for a few people. I hope you had good leftovers

I bet it was lovely seeing Poppy and Grace enjoying Christmas, and understanding it a wee bit better now they are older. Dinah, big fingers crossed for your job today, I am hoping for a good outcome. Wendz, I hope you enjoy your new role.

((((((Hugs Kavics)))))) I hope baby K is on the mend and that 2014 is a brilliant, happy, healthy and wealthy year for you and all of us threadies.

OH is back to work today, and I would have been starting my internship if it hadn't fallen through But then I was glad to be at home having morning sickness in my own bathroom than some packed commuter train, so small mercies!

I have to figure out what to do with myself now - do I try to get a job or take time off? I guess thesis corrections after my viva exam would take up April and May, so it's January - March to fill with money-earning activities. I must confess I am a bit intimidated by the whole temp work thing having not done it before. We can manage without money from me, but there's not a lot left over. Having it would reassure OH as he is self employed and does worry about earning enough to cover everything.

For today though, 6 months of 'life administration' I have let slide and some much needed house cleaning.

Hugs to all xx

wendz86

Is difficult to know what you want to do until you are in the situation. Sounds like you have a few options though which is good.

Yes she is still a little one, still wearing mainly 18-24 months and getting on for 3 lol! Very MSE though so can't complain.