Somehow it is hard to believe that I am now more than halfway through the pregnancy!  It seems like just yesterday we found out (on Mark’s birthday, nonetheless!) and now here we are, I am starting to get a proper bump and Little Doodle, at 22 weeks, now weighs a whole pound!

We went in for the 20 week scan extremely excited to not only see Little Doodle on screen again, but to also finally find out the gender of our baby.  Despite many attempts by the ultrasound tech, we couldn’t see what Little Doodle was packing:  the baby’s legs were firmly crossed.  Not only that, but through the entire ultrasound Little Doodle had it’s hands up in front of it’s face, covering it!  Thankfully, the scan did confirm the baby was healthy and progressing nicely, even if we have a very stubborn baby!  We have one more scan at 34 weeks to try again for the gender.  I could be wrong, but I get the feeling it’s a boy!

Little Doodle is getting stronger every day.  What used to be a question of “Was that a kick?  Was it gas? Am I imagining things?” is now a very definitive KICK.  And Little Doodle loves to kick.  Sometimes it’s marathon kicking (usually of my bowel or bladder… which is hella comfortable) for several hours before taking a break.   But for as often as he IS kicking, it stops suddenly whenever Mark puts a hand on my tummy to try and feel.  EVERY time!  Then, shortly after Mark removes his hand, Little Doodle begins again.  Difficult baby!

I’m feeling less tired and less hungry all the time than I did in the first trimester, which is good.  I’m no longer falling behind on my schoolwork due to the tiredness.  I’ve been busily burning through my holiday time at work before I go on maternity leave and I’ve got enough left to have a day off nearly every week until mid June!  Which I plan on utilizing in that manner.  I can’t go anywhere as the Home Office still has my passport and visa application (a rant for another entry) and it doesn’t roll over to the next year so… why not??

The maternity benefits in the UK are really awesome.  For starters, everything is free.  Doctor and midwife visits, hospital tests and scans, the birth of the baby, and the home visits conducted for weeks after the birth… all cost nothing.  On top of that prescriptions and dental visits are also free to pregnant women during the pregnancy and, I believe, up to a year after the birth.

My maternity leave from work will be 39 weeks.  Weeks 1-14 will be at 100% of my normal pay, and weeks 15-39 will be at SMP (statutory maternity pay), which is about 50% of my normal pay.  There is no pay after the 39th week, but women in the UK can have as much as a year off and still be legally entitled to return to their job.  I will then probably tack about two weeks of my holiday onto the end of my leave, giving me 41weeks with Little Doodle.

Socialized healthcare = awesome.

What this also means is I will be on maternity leave over the Christmas holiday, allowing me to spend longer than average in the US with family.  I’ve already got my plane tickets booked, Little Doodle included, and I am staying for three weeks!

Sometime in the coming week I will get the ultrasound scanned and post it to my blog.

Posted Pregnancy |