Joy and Austin 19: 273 Days After the Wedding Gideon Arrived

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

10 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

I really don't get this dog in the manger attitude to leave, seriously. What skin is it off their nose if you choose to use leave in conjunction with maternity leave? Nothing says "oh we value you as an employee" like being an arsehole about petty crap like that.

Have you seen our President? That is Corporate America all rolled up into one horrible orange turd. 

[eveandadam]

1 hour ago, Kangaroo said:

I'm going to guess an announcement will be made tomorrow. Jessa and Jill just had a two day Instagram absence of activity (No posting, liking or commenting). Jessa liked a bunch of photos at once late in the evening of the 23rd, nothing from Grandma Jill as yet.

Good observation!

I'm guessing an annoucement will be made on Monday since Sunday is the holy day. I think they will go with J names for girls (Julie, Jessica, Jamie, Jasmine....) and A names for boys (Adam, Austin, Aiden, Abraham,...)

[SapphireSlytherin]

6 hours ago, Firebird said:

I want to believe I am American therefore I am free,

We are just about the LEAST free country. It's actually pathetic, the amount of crap we have to do/put up with - compared to other, more progressive countries.

[victoriasponge]

Or if you can't be free, get proper low cost airlines like Europe so you can escape your worries all the time! -signed the girl who got return flights to southern France for £19.98 tax included and is really bloody pleased. though that does require you americans to be given real holiday leave, so forget it i guess

[tabitha2]

Every country has its major problems, corruption and asinine leaders. Dont people throw stones unless you want boulders back

[victoriasponge]

10 minutes ago, tabitha2 said:

Every country has its major problems, corruption and asinine leaders. Dont people throw stones unless you want boulders back

Certainly, but in terms of maternity leave (and other types of leave/workers rights), I think it's safe to say that the US is objectively a lot worse than other supposedly developed nations, at least for the average worker, and not the employer. And that is not going to get any better with Trump in charge, perks of putting a businessman in the White House, I guess.

[tabitha2]

It was never great to begin with under Obama, Bush or the rest. No president is invested enough to make that change.  

[victoriasponge]

10 minutes ago, tabitha2 said:

It was never great to begin with under Obama, Bush or the rest. No president is invested enough to make that change.  

I'd agree. Though I think it's not just about investment but the difference in politics between the USA and Europe. The second longer maternity leave, holiday pay, universal healthcare etc. comes into it we're all raving commies  No president, at least at this point in time, would try and push through those sorts of ideas because it'd be political suicide to even be called a socialist. Look at Bernie and how he got crucified, and from my European (albeit leftie) perspective he wasn't even that left wing (though obviously he was for America, again there's the difference between Europe and US).

Trump is still objectively worse because he outwardly said he was there to support big business (and small business, too, though I'm not sure I believe that) and that's incompatible with providing workers better rights. At least the way Trump sees it.

[SapphireSlytherin]

@victoriasponge - that's why we're moving back to England when we retire! Well, one of the MANY reasons.

[victoriasponge]

@SapphireSlytherin and for Europe we're not even that good  makes me really sad for all the Americans my age saddled with student debt (yes, I have it too - lots of it - but ours acts as a grad tax) and worried about medical cover, unable to even consider moving jobs because they're locked into benefits there. Benefits/leave shouldn't be job-related, in my mind, it should be standard.

Edit: Even for the UK, we're not that good. I want my free Scottish prescriptions goddamn!

[Glasgowghirl]

8 minutes ago, victoriasponge said:

@SapphireSlytherin and for Europe we're not even that good  makes me really sad for all the Americans my age saddled with student debt (yes, I have it too - lots of it - but ours acts as a grad tax) and worried about medical cover, unable to even consider moving jobs because they're locked into benefits there. Benefits/leave shouldn't be job-related, in my mind, it should be standard.

Edit: Even for the UK, we're not that good. I want my free Scottish prescriptions goddamn!

As a Scot while it's not perfect here I'm glad both the labour and SNP administrations scrapped upfront tution fees and prescription charges. If I was in England or Wales right now I wouldn't be going to university, no way would I have been able to afford it even with loans.

[victoriasponge]

3 minutes ago, Glasgowghirl said:

As a Scot while it's not perfect here I'm glad both the labour and SNP administrations scrapped upfront tution fees and prescription charges. If I was in England or Wales right now I wouldn't be going to university, no way would I have been able to afford it even with loans.

My firm uni was Edinburgh. My friend got in and because he was EU, he doesn't have to pay, I would've had to. That was the moment I decided the world was never going to be fair, and I was 18 . Ended up staying in England anyway, so everyone's in the same debt-loaded boat. My big fear is the gov turning it into a system like America's, then I really will be screwed with my £50k of debt (and growing daily). Though I don't agree with getting rid of tuition fees here unless it's combined with capping student numbers, otherwise we're a bit fucked. Way it is now, the English government is swallowing most of the costs anyway.

[nst]

6 hours ago, Kangaroo said:

I'm going to guess an announcement will be made tomorrow. Jessa and Jill just had a two day Instagram absence of activity (No posting, liking or commenting). Jessa liked a bunch of photos at once late in the evening of the 23rd, nothing from Grandma Jill as yet.

gone are the days where we mark anything by Jessa's non instagram posts. the woman has two kids and lives part time at the TTH. and has ben to look after and make sure that she is filling out those adoption papers correctly. 

gone are the days we can't decipher her instagram posts.  She never posts coffins (or was that Ben) 

well the coffins and ravens are gone. 

yes, the coffin was when jessa was newly pregnant and ben posted that rather than congratulate his wife. 

and Jill well we don't think jill is allowed to post about a show she will be blurry in anymore. 

 

[SapphireSlytherin]

@victoriasponge - Sadly, we're aware of that, but now with Brexit our choices are more limited.   I lived in Germany and we had actually considered living somewhere on the Continent but then....

So UK it is. Hubby is adamant about England, although I'd happily live in North Wales. We're going to be somewhere in the South/East. Not London though - tooooooooo expensive. But he doesn't want to live too far from London. I'm good with wherever, because at least London won't be a 10-hour plane ride! lol

[VelociRapture]

16 hours ago, neurogirl said:

I was born at 32 weeks (spontaneous placental abruption yay) and my parents were clearly not expecting me yet. I remember my mom telling me that by the time I went home from the hospital her maternity leave had ended and she had to go back to work. I just can't imagine that. I'm going to ask her about it tonight. 

(After learning more about human development and birth/delivery from you fine folks I did ask my mom if she had a steroid shot to help my lungs, but she said because she had been at the mall when her membranes broke they didn't want to stop delivery on risk of infection. And I was born within 12 hours of her arriving at the hospital. We joke now that I was so early because I was just so impatient and advanced, and that I was perfect so they didn't need anymore kids, but I know it's just a joke because my mom wanted 2 or 3 kids and she couldn't have any after me, an only child. Sorry mom :/ ) 

@luv2laugh Nope no announced JoStin baby yet! Just the usual Duggar upcoming/post birth thread drift

Husband and I are both very aware how fortunate we were. Velocibaby was only in NICU a week before being discharged and I’m a stay at home mom, so we didn’t have to worry about maternity leave. Husband really didn’t take any time off other than five or so days (scattered over two weeks), but even that is better than some parents get so I really shouldn’t complain. It was still a rough transition to make though and I can’t even imagine how horrible it must have been for your parents. 

[Jug Band Baby]

18 hours ago, justoneoftwo said:

"No kidding US leave policies are absolute shit, 6 weeks UNPAID leave is what most people can get, if you need a dr note to get back and you have a vaginal birth you have to go back after 6 weeks, in a lot of companies, you get 8 with a c/section.  at 6 weeks most babies aren't even sleeping through the night, how is mom supposed to work fulltime on 4 or 5 interrupted hours of sleep?  This country sucks ass, all they care about are profits, theirs not yours, they don't care if you die, as long as it isn't on company time."

Shouldn't you get 12 weeks based on FMLA?  Unless your company is too small or you haven't been there a year.  Its unpaid and not many people can do that, but I'm pretty sure you should get 12.

Sadly, many mothers get nothing at all for various reasons, and many couldn't afford to lose 12 weeks of pay.

16 hours ago, Georgiana said:

And on that note, you could flip this around and say daughters are easier than sons.  With a son, it is very likely you will always have to worry about at least one penis.  With a daughter, you may never have to worry about penises at all.  

One penis can make many babies at the same time.  One uterus can only make one (or twins or something).

(Just saw someone else made the same note.)

[Jug Band Baby]

16 hours ago, Crazy Enough to Join said:

For those talking about duggar homebirth risks (I agree!) but I don't know that it's ignorance driving the risks. They probably can't afford a hospital birth a year with their insurance. That could easily run 5k a year.

Daddy Duggar can afford it, and TLC would probably foot the bill as well.  Either could deduct it as a business expense.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

2 hours ago, Jug Band Baby said:

Daddy Duggar can afford it, and TLC would probably foot the bill as well.  Either could deduct it as a business expense.

But dozens of hospital births will add up over time, 1 uncomplicated c/section will run over $15k  1 uncomplicated vaginal birth will run $10k, you put complications in and forget about it. At they moment they have 6  breeders Anna, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Kendra, Joy Anna and very shortly Lauren at 3 babies a year that is anywhere from $30k to $70k a year, and in 5 years odds are Jana, JD, Jed Jer & Jason will be married and breeding that is 11 breeders so you will up that to 6 babies a year adjust for rising medical costs and that $30 to $70k a year is now $75 to $150k a year, neither Boob nor TLC have that kind of money year after year, unless Boob takes payment from TLC in hospital payments. 

Wasn't it rumored that Josie's birth and care for her and MEchelle cost over a million dollars? 

[AtlanticTug]

Yeah, they can most certainly afford to go to the hospital and pay with cash. I don't think that Jill is in debt from her c-sections.

DH works for an international bank and he was talking to one of the junior executives in the NY office. She was given 16 weeks mat leave with full pay and she was soooo grateful for that, it was better than any of her friends got, etc. Blew my mind. Because I had a high risk pregnancy, I actually had 7 weeks off before I gave birth (100% paid by my company - they pay up to 6 months full pay for short term disability, then you go to 70% pay), and now I am 1 month in post partum and haven't really decided when I'm going back. Probably about 15 months-ish...can take up to 18 months but around a year I get antsy. American politicians care more about embryos in the uterus than children having time to bond with their mothers once born...

[Meggo]

We adopted The Boy. He was in the NICU for the first 4 weeks or so (born at 31w5d) and was 5lbs when he left and I started my “mat leave”. I got 4wks leave (Not 6 since I wasn’t recovering from birth). In order to have time off- I needed to use my vacation, my PTO- all of it for 12 weeks leave and have zero vacation time. And no promise that I wouldn’t be working till 6 etc. 

So I resigned. I was lucky to have that option. But my baby was about 7lbs when I would have been back at work. That’s too little.

[SPHASH]

Has Joy popped out the latest Duggar spawn yet.

[eveandadam]

I so hope she will not have a  March baby. I don't know but don't the Duggar tend to overcarry their babies by 1-2 weeks?

[tabitha2]

Of all the Duggars and Duggar children and Grandchildren only Henry is a February  Baby. So far his birthday Isn't getting overshadowed by umpteen  same age cousins. I hope it stays that way for awhile. 

[JenniferJuniper]

4 minutes ago, tabitha2 said:

Of all the Duggars and Duggar children and Grandchildren only Henry is a February  Baby. So far his birthday Isn't getting overshadowed by umpteen  same age cousins. I hope it stays that way for awhile. 

It can't stay that way from a statistical standpoint.  A little less than 1 in 12 babies will be born in February.  At the rate these bunnies push 'em out there will end up being a lot of February babies. 

[BullyJBG]

28 minutes ago, eveandadam said:

I so hope she will not have a  March baby. I don't know but don't the Duggar tend to overcarry their babies by 1-2 weeks?

Well at least she won't have a Leap Day baby; I wonder if any of them will eventually. Next possibility for that is 2020.