Weekend Ticker Change (10/07-10/08)

cford08

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

2) How are you feeling?

3) Any appointments this week coming up?

5) Rants/Raves/Questions?

6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?

cford08

Sorry ladies, I skipped number 4 in the original post because numbers are hard.

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 19 weeks today! Baby boy is a large mango.....now I want a mango 

2) How are you feeling? Allergies are kicking my butt at the moment and I feel super tired.

3) Any appointments this week coming up? MFM appointment for a cervical length check on Friday. I'm excited to see the little guy too!

4) Rants/Raves/Questions? I will more than likely have to go on short term disability as of January 1st. Apparently there is no "light duty" after 90 days in my current role and STD is the next step. Which brings me to.....

5) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home? I always thought I'd go back to work after having my baby,  but now I'm not so sure. If we're able to make it off 1.25 income, it may be  worth me being a SAHM for no daycare. We'll see....

amylonghorn

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

16 weeks tomorrow - avocado

2) How are you feeling?
Pretty good!! Still tired, but allergies have calmed down A LOT so that has helped!!

3) Any appointments this week coming up?

I have an appt with a midwife in my OB's practice on Monday. I have never seen a midwife so not sure if it's much different than the PA I saw for my first pregnancy. But I have heard good things from a friend about this particular midwife, so let's see how this goes!!

5) Rants/Raves/Questions?
I told my boss I am pregnant during our 1 on 1 Friday and it felt good to finally get it out in the open - although I'm sure she already knew something was up with all my appts lately!!

Speaking of lots of appts, I saw my endocrinologist and he wants to see me every 6 weeks since I'm pregnant. Not super excited about that since his office is far away, but I guess I should to be on the safe side.

6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?
After 10-12 weeks of maternity leave, I will return to work. I am the bread winner and DH is a stay-at-home dad!!

amylonghorn

Hey @cford08 where are all the weekend mommas at?! LOL 

stlbuckeye132

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

17 weeks-pomegranate 

2) How are you feeling?
Pretty good! I had a sore throat the last few days, but it feels a little better this morning!

3) Any appointments this week coming up?

Next appointment is Oct 16, and I can't wait!

4) Rants/Raves/Questions?
Just over here waiting for my bump to show up still...

5) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?
I'm planning on going back to work after my 12 weeks of FMLA. I'd love to be able to stay home, but I just don't think it makes sense for us right now. We'll see how the 12 weeks with me off goes because I get 0% pay for that time off, despite the fact that I work for a baby product company... but I won't get into that. I guess that could've been my rant!

amylonghorn

Hi @stlbuckeye132! Glad your sore throat is feeling better!! My bump is pretty non existent, too, but I've said before I'm a big girl so it takes me a bit longer to show. I think with DD it took til like 6 months in or so for me to actually look legit preggo! 

kelsajo

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

16 weeks today! Avocado according to both apps. They finally agree! 

2) How are you feeling?
Allergies are still winning. I have got to figure out if there's something I can take. The drainage is making me nauseous. 
3) Any appointments this week coming up?

Not until later this month. 

5) Rants/Raves/Questions?
I am happy to say that I've felt "ok more than not this last week. 
6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?
I'll be going back to work, I don't mind it either. If I were to stay home we would be so tight on funds that it just wouldn't be worth it. My neighbor who has also become a close friend over the years has had an in home daycare for 15+ years and she cannot wait to take baby for me. Makes it all more comfortable with my choice

cford08

@amylonghorn I think us weekend mamas party really hard the whole weekend! They'll all show up tonight lol

ashleyf911

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

19 weeks!! Baby is the size of a mango... or a gameboy according to Ovia, which is way more fun.

2) How are you feeling?
Threw up this morning for the first time in a few weeks.  But other than that, I've been feeling good. Energy and appetite are coming back, my only real complaint is my hips have been hurting.
3) Any appointments this week coming up?

Not yet! I couldn't get my anatomy scan scheduled til the end of my 20th week so we've got almost 2 weeks til that. 

5) Rants/Raves/Questions?
Almost halfway done!! My husband told me this morning (after I threw up) that I suck at being pregnant and I could not agree more, hahaha. I was miserable when I was pregnant with DS, too.
6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?
I'm taking my full 12 weeks of maternity leave. I'll have about 7 or 8 weeks of PTO saved up so I'll get paid 100% for that and the rest will be unpaid. We've been so short staffed at work though that we haven't been able to get time off, so I'm taking the max of what I'm allowed.

leilaquinn

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

19 weeks, mango, heirloom tomato, hedgehog (my favorite)

2) How are you feeling?
I feel so incredibly bad! I have a bad cold and have had migraines 3 days in a row as long f today. Also just super sore and stiff from lying down for days on end because the migraines are so bad I can’t even walk my dog without crying. I have been very uncomfortable from the beginning, but man do I miss the days of just vomiting all day, migraines are really no joke.
3) Any appointments this week coming up?

Not until next week, then I have my anatomy scan on the 16th (best birthday ever!) and an echocardiogram on the 17th  because my blood pressure has been so erratic and I’ve been having heart palpitations 

5) Rants/Raves/Questions?
I am a vegetarian and all I can think about lately is eating a whole lot of chicken wings. Why baby?! I keep dreaming that I’ve eaten them and I wake up feeling so guilty. 
6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?
I will stay at home for probably a long time. My husband and I own a hair salon, he is a stylist but I am not, I basically manage the salon. We own a 3 story town house and the first floor is zoned as a business with a separate entrance, and that is the salon, so I will be close by, but it makes more sense to pay someone to be me at work than to pay for child care. We just hired another stylist and my husband may also be able to go down to working 4 days a week when we have our little buddy, which would be great.

katester91

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

I’m 18 weeks and size of a pomegranate.

2) How are you feeling?
So much better. I feel human again.
3) Any appointments this week coming up?

Yes, Tuesday. We have our anatomy scan and find out what we’re having! But we’re going to wait and find out with our family this weekend.

5) Rants/Raves/Questions?
Nope, sorry I’ve been MIA lately. Life has been busy.
6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?
I unfortunately have no choice but to go back to work. I plan to take the full 12 weeks off, but I had an extremely difficult time going back after my son.

SoraLk

1) How far along are you? How big is baby?  16 weeks on Sunday. Size of an Avocado! (Ovia says a Dill Pickle, and of course my Fiance prefers that one to Avocado.)

2) How are you feeling? Feeling good. Still having headaches, but at a lesser frequency. I've noticed I can't handle prolonged excursions - I run out of energy so fast. I have to make sure my Fiance comes with me to do groceries, otherwise I don't think I'd make it.

3) Any appointments this week coming up? I just had my 16 week appointment today. Baby's heartbeat was 144, and I found out I gained 9 pounds in four weeks (apparently above average weight gain). Doctor isn't worried, but says now that I'm feeling better I should try eating a little healthier. Which is cool cause I just had my Fiance buy me all sorts of veggies I have been craving.

5) Rants/Raves/Questions? My mom was super convinced that I am having twins, despite all the extra scanning that I had to go through due to previous issues. Well...after today's appointment I told her I gained 9 lbs and that this was more than the average, she said in a defeated voice "Oh...that's why you have a bump this early..." I did try telling her it was partly a burger/burrito bump, but she was so adamant that it was hard to convince her otherwise until today.

6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?
I believe I'm currently going to do 10 weeks of maternity leave at 60% pay, then I'll see if work will let me work from home another month (or a mixture of some days in office, some days from home). I have to return to work - I am the bread winner of my family (Fiance still unemployed after losing his job less than a month ago...) - He's decided he's going to find a temp position for the remainder of the pregnancy and be a stay-at-home dad. 

mountain_girl

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

17 weeks, pomegranate 

2) How are you feeling?
sooo much better .,. I started feeling better at 16 weeks with my DD, so this is similar timing 
3) Any appointments this week coming up?

Not this week, my 20 week scan is in a coupe weeks, feeling s big anxious for that one...have been feeling movement since 14-15 weeks but it's so inconsistent it's unnerving

5) Rants/Raves/Questions?
rave: it's thanksgiving weekend in Canada and I feel so thankful for so much, was a beautiful weekend with 15 degree Celsius sunny fall weather, and I got to bake a bunch of delicious things!! 
rant: not really a rant, more disappointment, this weekend has been lovely, but my DD has been sick (diarrhea, have changed about 25 diapers in 2.5 days), and my husband is gone across the country for 8 days...I just had more fun things I wanted you do this weekend with my DD (visits with friends, pumpkin patch), but couldn't because we are about quarantined...she is now asleep on me and I'm sooo hungry and need to pee, lol 
question: how much maternity leave do American moms get? Is it 12 weeks and you get some unemployment insurance money from your government?? Or is it all unpaid?  Or it depends?? 
6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home? Canadians get a full year off with the government paying up to a max of 40% of our income. We now have an option to extend to 18 months off but wouldn't be paid. I'm lucky and also get a top up for 35 weeks from my employer. So in summary, I'm taking the year off , then back to work full time. 

SoFlaMommie1128

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

I’m 18 weeks and size of a pomegranate

2) How are you feeling?
Pretty good 

3) Any appointments this week coming up?

Yes, we have one on Wednesday. We also had a surprise anatomy scan. Everything looked great, and we found out we are having a baby girl

5) Rants/Raves/Questions?
none today 

6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?
we have a generous maternity leave policy (3 months paid leave) and I plan to return after that time.

stlbuckeye132

@mountain_girl it depends on where you work for maternity leave in the US. I'm not an expert, but as far as I know, there is not a requirement that makes employers give you maternity leave. There is FMLA which allows you to take up to 12 weeks off and guarantees you'll still have a job when you get back, but there are requirements as to which companies this applies to, i.e. must employ at least 50 people and you have to have been working there at least a year before you can take FMLA. I believe it's up to the company how much, if any, of this time off is paid. My employer gives 0% pay during this time, but my last job I think they did 8 weeks 100% paid and the remaining 4 week at 75% or something like that.

mountain_girl

@stlbuckeye132 so there's no standard nation-wide governmental policy or $ support for working moms who have a baby? It's all dependent on the employer?? All you get is the government saying 'you still get to keep your job if you're only gone for 3 months' ?? So you have to really make sure you save up 3 months salary if your employer doesn't pay you and you want to take the whole time off...wow, kudos to you guys, that's tough. 

muggle621

1) How far along are you? How big is baby? 

A turnip/chipmunk/pomegranate/whatever my ticker says at the bottom of this post

2) How are you feeling?
Pretty good. As I mentioned in a previous post I had some RLP yesterday but otherwise feeling decent. 
3) Any appointments this week coming up?

Nope - am having the u/s where they determine measurements and at 19 wks. 

5) Rants/Raves/Questions?
I just realized my glucose test will probably be the week after Thanksgiving...oh shit.
6) GTKY: What are your plans for after the baby is born? Are you going back to work or staying at home?
I have to go back to work unfortunately. I know deep down I would not like being a SAHM but this whole process of finding a daycare is freaking me out. 

@mountain_girlYep, we U.S. folks either have to save our $$ or live on Short Term Disability which is only 60% of our income for 3 mos...and we who are covered by FMLA are the lucky ones!! The companies that don't have to adhere to FMLA often only permit mothers to be off 4-6 weeks, sometimes less. Yet another reason why Canada is appealing right now...

mountain_girl

@muggle621 you are welcome any time!! How would some companies not have to adhere to FMLA guidelines?? And does every mom take advantage of short term disability?? Or is that not common?? 

stlbuckeye132

@muggle621 @mountain_girl As far as I know, not every company offers short term disability. Mine doesn't, hence why my 12 weeks of FMLA is completely unpaid. Oh and I come back to work after FMLA with no vacation or sick days left... you know, because that's completely reasonable with a newborn in daycare to never need time off for the rest of the year. (My HR lady when she explained this to me said, "yeah, that's why most people try to plan their pregnancies for later in the year..." well forgive me for having a due date in March. *major eye roll*) Again, not an expert but from what I've read, you don't qualify for FMLA if your employer has fewer than 50 employees, you're not full-time, or you've been working there less than a year.

mountain_girl

  ... that is all 

cford08

@mountain_girl yeah the US is a hot mess when it comes to maternal leave. For example, in my case since I won't be able to go back to full duty after 90 days  (my company's policy) I'd be okay if we were in CA. I'd have a year to get myself together. However my FMLA gives me 12 weeks unpaid and helps me keep my job. Thankfully I work for a company that offers short term disability. So I have an additional 13 weeks if I need it. However, that's at 55% of my normal pay. And I don't know how often I can take advantage of this....so my plan for another pregnancy may not happen as soon as I wanted.

leilaquinn

Wow, my circumstances are unusual, and the only other person I've talked to in detail about it is my best friend who is a professor at a small very liberal private college and basically offered her whatever she wanted with her job guaranteed. I knew maternity leave was bad in the US but I didn't realize it was this bad. 

stlbuckeye132

@leilaquinn it makes me so angry. I feel like women are being punished for having babies. It makes me extra pissy that my company would not exist if it weren't for babies, and they still don't have a maternity leave policy for their employees. I honestly try not to think about it too much because it ruins my day when I do.

cford08

I seriously don't get why it's so hard to get the US govt to figure out maternity AND paternity leave are real life issues. No matter what side of the aisle you're on politically I don't know how you can't get behind a national standard everyone can agree on. Rant over....