Fit for Future Families - June 2011

sdavisneill

Question for the American ladies! DO you ladies pay income tax? I know not all states do. And do you play Unemployment premiums on top of that from paycheque? I'm curious to see the differences between us in that regard.

Yup.

In the US, there's an federal income tax and most states have an additional income tax as well. The federal government also charges a social security tax (retirement) and a medicare tax (limited health care in retirement age). Unemployment is paid by your employer. Schools and other local services are paid through property taxes (states that don't have income taxes have much higher property and/or sales taxes). Many states also have sales tax. Maternity or other leave is only regulated in that companies with more than 50 employees have to grant at most 12 weeks of unpaid leave. Many large employers offer some sort of paid maternity. I pay for short term disability insurance that covers 6 weeks at 60% pay. Overall, it's just way too complicated!

jalara

Thanks! For us maternity and parental benefit come from our Unemployment system, and both us and our employers pay into it. If you haven't worked enough then you aren't entitled to the benefit (600 hours in the previous year).

I'm wide awake.... and I have to be up at 5 am! Argh!

fitterpam

Came across this recipe and it looks SOOOOOOOOOOOOO yummy!!!! I'm heading out strawberry picking in a few weeks and this is DEFINITELY going to be my breakfast that week (if I can find the unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk)....it's got no added sugars and is gluten free....

Strawberry Coconut “Milkshake”
serves 1 – 2

10 frozen strawberries, organic if possible
1 cup cold unsweetened So Delicious Coconut Milk
1 large medjool date**
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 cups of spinach or 2 to 3 big leaves of kale

Put the ingredients into your VitaMix in the order listed in the ingredient list, with the strawberries on the bottom and the spinach on the top. Start on the lowest speed and gradually increase into high speed. Use the tamper to push the ingredients into the blades. Mix until completely smooth. Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately.
**If using all kale, use 2 dates if desired to help balance out the bitterness.

fitterpam

Whoops - just saw all the other responses... Will respond in the am Night all....early start to a long day tomorrow. I'm going to want to crash

_Johanna_

Hey all - I thought this might be a good place to post and ask for prayers and happy thoughts -

My niece is 25 weeks along in her second pregnancy. She had a rough time with her first and ended up with preclampsia and the baby had to be taken early (33 weeks). He is fine now - a happy little almost two year old boy

Anyways, they have been watching her and her baby like hawks because of how terrible her last pregnancy ended and ultrasounds have shown that the baby has virtually stopped growing. He is measuring 3 weeks behind at this point in time. The doctors have already told her to expect a terrible bout of preclampsia and she is in for more tests today. I can't even imagine how scared she might be. To top it all off, her husband is in Afghanistan (marine) and can't be with her. She has plenty of family support, but you all know how it is and how it's your husband you wish you had by your side during a time like this instead of your mom, dad, and various other family members.

Please keep her in your thoughts - I am quite worried for her and her baby.

-Johanna

peggy1209

Hey everybody,

Finished Day 9 of 30 Day Shred today!!

I am patiently waiting for AF, but that witch is getting off schedule.

Right now, I am on Day 44.

Last month was 35 days, before was 50 days, before was 32 days, before was 46 days . . . anyone else feeling like if I can't get this part right, how am I going to succeed in the other parts whenthe time comes??

Granted, I'm not planning to start until I'm below 180lbs, but I am trying to track now . . .

newmrsdec10

Hi all. I am having such a lazy start to summer! I wake up at 7:30 to take my temp and then go back to sleep. I didn't move until 11:30 today when my H started moving around to go to work!

AlisaToth: I thought about trying a walk, but there are several ladies on another message board who had had no more bleeding/spotting and then took their dogs out and started again. I tried to do a few squats earlier and then had some cramping a bit afterwards. Probably would have happened anyway, but you know how that works. It'll be a week on Thursday. I plan to try 30 Day shred on Friday. If that goes okay, then I'll get back to my BodyCombat next week.


Peggy1209: Good job on 30 Day Shred!

Right now, I am on Day 44.

Last month was 35 days, before was 50 days, before was 32 days, before was 46 days . . . anyone else feeling like if I can't get this part right, how am I going to succeed in the other parts whenthe time comes??

Granted, I'm not planning to start until I'm below 180lbs, but I am trying to track now . . .

Are you charting your cycles as well? I also use Fertility Friend, the site mentioned by PPs. I only do my temps and physical symptoms (not CM or position) to help me determine when I ovulate. You should check it out if you don't. The basics you'll need are all available in the free version. The site does all the work for you.

ElizabethRN59

Hello ALL!

My name is Elizabeth. I am 25 years old and have been married to my high school sweetheart for the past 2 years now (however we have been together for 9 years total).

We have been TTC for about 16 months. We recently started fertility testing and having started those treatments, deemed that my husband is healthy, but my progesterone levels are "VERY low" according to the doctor and the possibility of concieveing at this point in time without treatment is next to impossible. I was also told, that over the past few months, when i was having multiple pregnancy symptoms (including late AF), i was probably pregnant but my body spontaneously m/c and wouldn't maintain the pregnancy b/c of my low progesterone....

Let's just say, i have had a rough couple of weeks trying to deal with that information... =(

But i am here to start fresh and lose some weight to make concieving easier once i get to start the fertility treatments(hopefully in the next month or so). I am starting today with a weight of 187.4 (having lost 14 pounds so far) and would love to lose another 15-20 pounds before i start the med's. And considering that with fertility treatments multiples is a higher possibility, i want to lose weight now so i can be more healthy with the weight i will need to gain for pregnancy.

So, after having shared all of the information with a group of virtual "strangers", I am hoping to get to know more of you along the way and be able to help one another in the wt loss journey as well and the mommy to be journey...

Good luck everyone! Baby dust all around!

Jaw010904

Hey all!

Hubby and I are really wanting to have a baby, but both of us have a considerable amount of weight to lose! I found out I was having a m/c back in November(didn't know I was pregnant, just started having lower ab pain) so since then it has made us want one even more. I really want to get down to a healthy weight where I can safely carry a healthy baby to term. Also I am having lower back issuses so I don't want to put any more strain on my back at this point. I'm so glad I have found this group, feel free to add me as a friend and we can support each other through this journey!

fitterpam

Welcome to the newbies!! Glad to have you - hopefully you won't have to hang around too long (that's the goal anyways!!!)

I'm completely exhausted ladies....completely. My neck is achy and I'm not sure why although all that work DH and I did yesterday at my friends place could explain it. Her Mom wanted some branches in the tree taken down so we took our extendable tree saw down and did it in about 20 minutes, let me tell you, I completely felt it afterwards in my abs (actually it was the back) and now my neck....cold compresses for the swelling and hot to help ease the tension don't seem to be working. So I'm taking 2 aspirin and calling it a night!

lukimakamai

We have been BUSY today!
WELCOME new comers.
Jalara- I’m glad you liking WW! I;ve never tries it but I have A LOT of coworkers that love the new point system.
SDAVIS- Totally know how you feel. I can’t work my chores when my husband is around either, I just can’t focus ‘cause I wanna hang out. Halfway point- AWESOME!
Alisa- I’m glad they got you an appointment. And tackling not smoking- WOW, I’ll pray it is easy for you. I have no advise in this area.
Pam- Yes, I have thought a lot about maternity leave. We can take up to a year, but it is not paid. We can cash out any sick leave we have. And they good news about taking so long to conceive or adopt is that I have A LOT!!!! And as much as you all get in Canada, that is AWESOME!!!! I will have to give the “milkshake” recipe a chance this week, sounds yummy.
Elizabeth- WELCOME! I’m sorry your levels are off, but hopefully they will get on track quickly. I hope you find this group as comforting as I do!
SUGAR- Great start- 4 lbs!!!
Ashley- I’m sorry, Big hugs!
Not sure who asked the income tax question, but I live in OREGON and we have TONS because we don’t have sales tax. Our property tax and income tax is CRAZY!
AFM- My dog and my parent’s dog HATE each other! I’m so sad about it. My dog has never had a problem with another dog. This is a disaster. My parent’s dog will be living here for probably a year and we can’t let them anywhere near each other! Not to mention this dog will not stop crying unless I’m in the same room as him. AUUUGGGGGGGGGGG, why didn’t my parents socialize this dog as a puppy?! Way too late now.
Fertility front- Waiting for my temps to change and AF to start. As I said no chance this month is the month so I will officially hit the three year mark of TTC- BUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pixieofdoom

Welcome new people, hope you enjoy your stay here!

Johanna, I will be thinking of your neice, I hope the news isn't as bad as feared.

Jalara, glad WW is working for you. I know lots of people that have done well on it. One of my colleagues knows the points value of pretty much everything without ever looking! She has never been overweight, she just uses the system to monitor what she eats.

I think tax and maternity is completely different over here. Maternity leave seems to vary a lot. I work for the NHS and I think I get six months paid (not quite full pay but part pay and part statutory allowance). It's all changing at the moment though with the budget cuts. I think it will be tough for us financially but worth it of course

Pam, take it easy today! Sounds like you could really do with a break.

Luki, hope things improve with the dogs. Is it likely to improve at all do you think? Sorry about your TTC anniversary, really hope it won't be much longer to wait now

Apologies as always to anyone I've missed, things have been manic and it gets hard for me to keep up (being a bit slow some days :ohwell: )

AFM exercise still going well and I broke through my little bit of a plateau and seem to be back on track. I've been asked to be the 'calender girl' for my Curves gym for next month as they are impressed with the progress I've made since starting. Will have my picture in the monthly newsletter and on the wall. Shame I hate having my photo taken really! It was a nice compliment though

_Johanna_

Just checking in!

Saturday is the day I pee on a stick or start my period...I'm so tempted to take the test early even though I know chances of a false positive is much more likely!

Update on my niece - She is set up for an extended stay at the hospital. Since she got there, she's been through a multitude of tests, steroid shots, ultrasounds, and of course heartbeat monitoring! She was on a magnesium drip until just a couple hours ago when they took her off and FINALLY said she could eat something - they wouldn't let her eat for fear they would need to do an emergency c-section! So this is good news for her - hopefully a couple more days of pregnancy will lead to another week...and then another! I think she is officially 26 weeks tomorrow! Your happy thoughts and prayers are graciously and happily accepted!

Wishing happy and healthy pregnancies in your future!

-Johanna

abeare

Hey ladies! I am a newbie. TTC for a couple months now. I was diagnosed with endometriosis in 08, my doc put me on lupron depo for a year to stop my period and then tried reg depo after. I hated the side effects of regular depo so she took me off of it. After getting off of it, I was on my period for 3 months. To regulate that, she put me on b/c. Since getting off the b/c in April, my doc put me on metformin to regulate bleeding. After I've had my period every 7/8 days since, she took me off of metformin and said "we'll see what happens". Any ideas of what could be going on???

Narnold26, your story sounds a lot like a friend of mine. She was just put on Lupron for her endo, and had been having a period every week or so (I thought it was supposed to put you in a false menopause?) until they put her on Metformin. They finally did the metformin last week, so we’ll see if it helps. Hope your gyno can figure out what works for you. Best of luck here.

jalara

Elizabeth & Jaw - welcome! I'm sorry for the tough time you've been through, and I hope you can find support with us!

Everyone else - I love you guys so much! Thank you for supporting me with WW. Your support is so great!

Okay.... SO.... today, at the hospital, I called a Code Blue! My patient declined super fast and then stopped breathing and I called it. It was both scary and exciting, and it didn't feel real. I did well and my instructor was very pleased with me (yay). The patient is doing alright now, but what a day!!!!!

kah78

Okay.... SO.... today, at the hospital, I called a Code Blue! My patient declined super fast and then stopped breathing and I called it. It was both scary and exciting, and it didn't feel real. I did well and my instructor was very pleased with me (yay). The patient is doing alright now, but what a day!!!!!

CODE RED CODE RED--WE HAVE AN AWESOME NURSING STUDENT ON THIS FORUM!!! Now back to you regularly scheduled whatever....

Way to go J!

lukimakamai

Jalara- Great job! You must feel like all your schooling is getting put it great use )

AFM- I'm too scared to let the dogs try again. My husband things I'm being crazy about it, but it isn't worth the risk. My dad sent their dog up here of a place to live safely and I would be able to handle it if my dog hurt his dog...
Other news- I scheduled an intital meeting with our first adoption lawyer for Friday. Altogether we have three (or more if we don't like any of these) that we are going to meet with before picking which one fits our needs the best. I got so emotional on the phone, I started to cry, which made me feel insane. I pulled it together and I hope the lawyer didn't notice :laugh: Its just this step is FINALLY here, it feels so good!!!

kah78

Are all of our Vancouver peeps okay? I hear there was some "action" last night after the game. Hope everyone is okay....

fitterpam

Ha - Karen - if they'd just learn from Toronto - if Toronto rioted every time that we lost the Stanley Cup, we wouldn't have a city. They were going to riot whether they won or lost.....there's been soooo much hype about it that I wasn't surprised by the riotiing. LOL Thanks for calling that CODE RED....it's absolutely true!!!!

Luki - the dogs will eventually get used to it. Seriously, my little b****...(her attitude as well as her gender/species) hated my sister's dog when my sister first moved home (two young females that feel that they are alphas). We just kept putting them in the same room with a responsible person with each. It took a few months before they could be in the same room without my dog growling randomly....(and they only see each other every other weekend). Then it was a few months more before the only time that my dog would growl is when she was being sniffed.....LOL They aren't best friends, by any stretch of the imagination, but they do cohabitate well enough now that they can be in the same general vicinity without blood flying (yup - had that happen once)......They will sort it out if you give them time (they have to approach as equals though so one can't be tied up and the other not.....screen doors are good - allow sniffing but act as a physical barrier.....(switch up sides too so that there isn't a "territory").....Good luck!!!

kah78

I didn't even know the Stanley Cup was happening--not a sports person. But, I saw the headlines and just thought "Oh boyyyy".