Recent content by clarem

I breastfed my daughter until she was 8 months old and was measured to be a 38K cup the month after having her! I completely got my size wrong when I guestimated what size nursing bras I would need when I bought them the month before having her and was completely unsupported in Markies 40G...

I had SPD that started at about 28 weeks pregnant. It was severe enough by 30 weeks that physio wanted me to give up work. I was induced at 39 weeks because of the pain and distress I ended up in. My reason for posting is not to dishearten you even further as unfortunately it did not resolve...

I would speak to HRMC about this to keep it all above board so there is no come back on you. My business did stay up and running but I was not working in it or taking any money from it. Although I am self employed, the business is legally set up as a limited liability partnership and I am...

Hi Piggy, I would be careful about what is and is not seen as income by the HMRC whilst you are claiming maternity allowance. I would have thought that the earnings from the websites could be seen as self employed income which would have to be declared. It would then be deducted off your...

Debbie you are doing so well, the first few weeks are definately the hardest but it does get easier. If your baby is frantically trying to latch on and is getting frustrated, you could try getting your milk 'going' before you get him to latch on. He might be getting impatient whilst he works...

Dramatic improvment within 24 hours of having my caesarean birth - managed to walk the floor all night with a screaming baby. The SPD kept resolving over the next few weeks. I still had twinges when getting out of a chair until about 4 months after giving birth. Now all I get is the very odd...

I measured 38K within 2 weeks of giving birth and breastfeeding my baby. I had a lady come to my house who measured me and provided me with bras. She was just lovely and understood the difficulties in getting a good fitting maternity bra, without having to trawl the town after just giving birth...

I am weaning at the moment and like you feel a little sad about it. I have pretty much let my daughter (who is 6 months) take the lead, initially dropping feeds through the main part of the day which she coped with really well. Bed time is now a bottle and because the formula is keeping her...

As you are an employee of the company, you might be eligable for maternity pay from your company. Your company would then reclaim this from HMRC - your company might also get an extra few percent back. It might be worth looking at the HMRC mat pay calculator to see if an employee (you)...

I used tesco newborn with no problems but what suits one mum and baby may not suit another. I also used Boots and Pampers newborn. I had no problems with any of these brands. I had some samples of Huggies newborn but felt that on my little girl, the fit for her was not brilliant so never...

I went into hospital at 7am on Thursday and baby was delivered at 0930. I got out on the Monday but felt well enough to go on the Sunday. I had to stay as my daughter would not breast feed - had she been or been bottle fed we would have gone on the Sunday. Once the baby was born and it was...

Hi Laura, Have you called the inland revenue employer line and spoken with them about paying an employee (you) maternity pay. I am not sure what the actual criteria for determining smp is but they should be able to tell you. I have also put a link to the SMP calculator page on the HMRC...

Boots sell the sachets of citric acid powder that you can use to descale the steriliser.

Loose tops that I can pull up to just above the baby's face are fine, that way very little breast is visible. I was more paranoid about my midrift flab being visible but once my inflatable breast feeding cushion from boots was in place, that could not be seen either. Before I had given...

I was induced at 39 weeks due to the pain and distress I was in with severe SPD. The consultant felt that there was no benefit to keeping me pregnant any longer and offered to induce me. I agreed knowing full well that a caesarean was a real possibility. After 3 pessaries and no change in my...