Hey guys, first time posting in here. My partner and I are going to start trying for a baby next year but I’m worried about maternity pay.. I’m the breadwinner in the house (not by much) but I hear maternity pay is shocking.. something like £150 a week after 6 weeks? This worries me.. I have a mortgage and finance on my car to pay for. Is there any other help I can get financially?
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Yes, maternity pay is shocking! Just under £600 a month. You work may be different though, and offer other maternity benefits. One of my friends near enough got full pay for 6 months, on the understanding she went back to work for aT least a year otherwise she would have to pay it back
My advice - you know you are going to start trying. Save money and, in effect, ‘pay yourself’ a wage every month of mat leave so you’re not without
If you both earn under £50,000 a year EACH, you will also be entitled to child benefit, which is just over £80 a month. You can get CB if you earn over, however, you will be taxed on it, so I don’t think it’s worth it
You could try and see if you’re entitled to Universal Credits, but as you have a mortgage, you probably won’t get as much help as you will only have 1 child
Yes, maternity pay is shocking! Just under £600 a month. You work may be different though, and offer other maternity benefits. One of my friends near enough got full pay for 6 months, on the understanding she went back to work for aT least a year otherwise she would have to pay it back
My advice - you know you are going to start trying. Save money and, in effect, ‘pay yourself’ a wage every month of mat leave so you’re not without
If you both earn under £50,000 a year EACH, you will also be entitled to child benefit, which is just over £80 a month. You can get CB if you earn over, however, you will be taxed on it, so I don’t think it’s worth it
You could try and see if you’re entitled to Universal Credits, but as you have a mortgage, you probably won’t get as much help as you will only have 1 child
Thank you for your help! This may should like a stupid question.. but how much would I need monthly for for a baby?.. I feel like such a newby and I don’t want to be in for so much of a shock.
My advice - you know you are going to start trying. Save money and, in effect, ‘pay yourself’ a wage every month of mat leave so you’re not without
If you both earn under £50,000 a year EACH, you will also be entitled to child benefit, which is just over £80 a month. You can get CB if you earn over, however, you will be taxed on it, so I don’t think it’s worth it
You could try and see if you’re entitled to Universal Credits, but as you have a mortgage, you probably won’t get as much help as you will only have 1 child
Thank you for your help! This may should like a stupid question.. but how much would I need monthly for for a baby?.. I feel like such a newby and I don’t want to be in for so much of a shock.
We actually didn't find that we needed that much - in the early stages they just don't do much or need much aside from you. Formula isn't mega expensive if that's the route you take, nappies too - all that can be covered in Child Benefit. For the first few months we basically did nothing but go for walks with baby in the sling and sit at home watching box sets. The actual baby didn't cost a lot at all! The biggest expensive by FAR (above clothes, above toys, above days out) has been when we needed to start paying for childcare, but I was back in work by then so it was manageable.
After the initial outlay for things like cot, pram, car seat etc I found it fairly cheap monthly, especially if breastfeeding. You can also get some great secondhand bits.
Clothes will need buying and maybe a baby class or two but there's usually lots of free things too. Then once they start weaning you'll need a high chair and food but that can be pretty reasonable.
Other than that babies really don't need much!
Yes, what the others have said, not much extra at all.
Formula is less than £10 a tin, and you’ll probably need 4 a month
Nappies and wipes - supermarket nappies and wipes are just as good as pampers - I like aldi wipes and Tesco newborn nappies although aldi have just brought out a pampers dupe which is so much cheaper - haven’t used them yet
Everything else, you will pretty much buy before the baby is here. Cot, travel system, little clothes. It’s when they get older and they want all the latest toys and gadgets that it becomes expensive
May be worth speaking to your HR and looking up your company policy. I work for a company based in Europe. So I get 6 months full pay then 3 months of the statutory.
Also this website is useful
Benefits Calculator - entitledto - independent | accurate | reliable | www.entitledto.co.uk
Check what benefit entitlement you are entitled to. The entitledto benefits calculator will check which means-tested benefits you may be entitled to e.g. tax credits, universal credit, housing benefit …
www.entitledto.co.uk
Edited to add - you can get some amazing second hand bargains from Facebook/eBay/local sales. It’s saved us a lot of ££ as hubby was still on furlough until the scheme stopped recently
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Also most companies offer keep in touch days which you get paid for I think you can do ten. So you could do a couple of those in the last few months to bump up your pay if someone can look after the baby!
Thanks for being so helpful! another question, might be a bit niche but has anyone been on holiday whilst pregnant? We’re wanting to go on holiday in May, whilst I’m not sure how long it would take us to get pregnant, I’m just wondering whether it’s advisable to start trying before we go on holiday or wait?
If you got pregnant quickly it wouldn't be a bad time to go on holiday as you'd still be in your second trimester I think, I think the only thing that might put me off would be going away in first trimester when you might be feeling dreadful but I think it's one of those things you can't plan around too much, you don't know how long it'll take to get pregnant, so it depends if you're happy to delay by 6 months or not.
That's so good!! I get 6 weeks at 90% pay and that's it then, onto statutory! Pretty poor for a private financial services co. I'm very fortunate that my husband is in a good job who actually offer 6 weeks paternity full pay!!May be worth speaking to your HR and looking up your company policy. I work for a company based in Europe. So I get 6 months full pay then 3 months of the statutory.
Also this website is useful
Benefits Calculator - entitledto - independent | accurate | reliable | www.entitledto.co.uk
Check what benefit entitlement you are entitled to. The entitledto benefits calculator will check which means-tested benefits you may be entitled to e.g. tax credits, universal credit, housing benefit …
Edited to add - you can get some amazing second hand bargains from Facebook/eBay/local sales. It’s saved us a lot of ££ as hubby was still on furlough until the scheme stopped recently
I havent but my only reservation I would say to you is with my first child my morning sickness wasn't too bad but this time it was horrific from weeks 6-16 and i wouldn't have even been able to travel for long let alone enjoy a holiday.
Just wondering if anyone could help me. I’ve previously had 2 csections one emergency and one elective. I will be choosing to have another just because I’m absolutely terrified after the experience I had with the emergency. With my second pregnancy I had low lying placenta and had problems feeling baby move. I was just wondering if anyone experienced this and if it was the same with the next pregnancy? Also anyone around 8-10 weeks suffering really badly with headaches? I constantly feel like I’ve got the head ache from hell along with feeling constantly sick and exhausted 
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I’ve had awful headaches the past few weeks it was making the nausea even worse. If you find any good remedies let me knowJust wondering if anyone could help me. I’ve previously had 2 csections one emergency and one elective. I will be choosing to have another just because I’m absolutely terrified after the experience I had with the emergency. With my second pregnancy I had low lying placenta and had problems feeling baby move. I was just wondering if anyone experienced this and if it was the same with the next pregnancy? Also anyone around 8-10 weeks suffering really badly with headaches? I constantly feel like I’ve got the head ache from hell along with feeling constantly sick and exhausted
did you ring the doctors?No still not called them. I’m going to do it whilst my youngest is at her party today IF I can get through.I’ve had awful headaches the past few weeks it was making the nausea even worse. If you find any good remedies let me know
Anyone had any experience of elevated platelet count? Saw the midwife today and my last set of bloods came back and apparently I'm juuuuuuust on the threshold between normal and elevated. Consultant reckons it might be down to my lithium so she's taken more bloods and will call me tomorrow to see if I need to go on blood thinners 
Does anyone know how this impacts the rest of pregnancy - and labour in particular?
Does anyone know how this impacts the rest of pregnancy - and labour in particular?
Hi guys!
Quickly jumping on to say I had my little girl 23rd Oct after induction.
It was a very traumatic birth with me ending up in theatre straight after delivery. I won’t go into it as I really don’t want to scare any of you with the rarities that can happen during labour. However, we have come out of the other end and she was so, so worth it!!
You are in the best of best hands and I have to say, my husband and I could not be more thankful for the NHS and all of the staff for saving us both- such amazing people.
Lots of love to you all and I’ll be back soon
Quickly jumping on to say I had my little girl 23rd Oct after induction.
It was a very traumatic birth with me ending up in theatre straight after delivery. I won’t go into it as I really don’t want to scare any of you with the rarities that can happen during labour. However, we have come out of the other end and she was so, so worth it!!
You are in the best of best hands and I have to say, my husband and I could not be more thankful for the NHS and all of the staff for saving us both- such amazing people.
Lots of love to you all and I’ll be back soon
Hi guys!
Quickly jumping on to say I had my little girl 23rd Oct after induction.
It was a very traumatic birth with me ending up in theatre straight after delivery. I won’t go into it as I really don’t want to scare any of you with the rarities that can happen during labour. However, we have come out of the other end and she was so, so worth it!!
You are in the best of best hands and I have to say, my husband and I could not be more thankful for the NHS and all of the staff for saving us both- such amazing people.
Lots of love to you all and I’ll be back soon
Congratulations. Glad you’re both ok now
I can't shake the feeling that something's going to go wrong. I know I am so early, 5 weeks tomorrow, but I really feel like people always post their bad news and there's never usually anything on the good things in early pregnancy.
I keep testing daily to see if the line gets darker and I knowwwwww it's not always a good sign, but it's the only thing I can cling onto at the moment that puts my mind at ease.
Trying to keep myself busy and not think about it, but it's so hard!
Congratulations, @ThePidge !! Wishing you all the best xx
I keep testing daily to see if the line gets darker and I knowwwwww it's not always a good sign, but it's the only thing I can cling onto at the moment that puts my mind at ease.
Trying to keep myself busy and not think about it, but it's so hard!
Congratulations, @ThePidge !! Wishing you all the best xx
It is so hard in the early weeks - I don't think time has ever felt so slow! I had some great advice from this thread when I posted my worries. You just have to take it day by day
Have you or are you planning to book an early scan? I had them at 7 and 10 weeks and those combined with my midwife booking appointments gave me little milestones to work towards. Also if you are feeling well try to keep yourself busy with fun plans over the weekends.
By the time you get to your 12 week scan it will probably feel like it went by really quickly but I know how slow it feels in the moment!
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