Lucky

I may be over-thinking this a little but all advice gratefully received!

Getting married in a few months, and having already been living together for years, so we are keen to try for a baby pretty much straight away (ie: from early December).

However also want to book a fairly busy multi-destination holiday to USA next year for May/June, partially to visit family.

If we started TTC in January and by some miracle were incredibly lucky and became pregnant straight away would it be a mistake to have such a holiday booked for when 5 months pregnant? I'm more worried about the risk of it being too exhausting and a waste of money than medical provisions (as it is the USA).

However on the other hand I am completely aware that it could take years to get pregnant, if ever, and putting life on hold in the meantime is also not something we should do.

I know it's a case of 'how long is a price of string' but any advice of when is an ok time to go on holiday appreciated - ie: if 4 months pregnant how different would it be, in terms of feeling, energy and bump, from not being pregnant at all?

What would you do?

I was wondering how many people are getting married in a church and how you went about organising it, particularly if you are not really religious in your day-to-day life?

I haven't been to church regularly since I was young and my parents have long since got out of the habit of going. I don't want to start a religious debate here, and I hope it is sufficient to say I think my reasons for wanting to get a married in a church are the right ones.

However I am in doubt as to whether I will be able to. Aside from not having really been to church in years, my fiance is also Catholic, and divorced and I want to get married at home (in Northern Ireland), in the Presbyterian church I attented when I was younger.

I know my circumstances are very specific, but I am also interested in general answers, However I would love to know if anyone knows anything about the stance on this or has had experiences of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (or even other Protestant churches in the UK) and how anyone else has gone about organising a church wedding?

It suddenly seems like scary nerve-wracking stuff! I'm not dying to face a load of judgement for things that are out of my control only to get an inevitable rejection!

I'm fairly sure the answer is no and I'm fairly sure it shouldn't be and I was wondering if anyone else agrees?

Scenario A

Say family has 1 child and only one parent works full time and earns £20k a year. They will get £730 in benefits from the government in the form of child tax credit. This is a total of £16,330 net a year for a family of 3 to live on.

Scenario B

One parent has a child from a previous relationship (whose resident 'single parent' incidentally receives more money a month for working 16 hours than our family of 3 above). This parent, under CSA, has to pay his previous partner £170 a month. However the tax credits they receive for their day-to-day family do not change - they are still calculated on his income before the CSA payment. Hence the family of 3 in this scenario has £14,290 left to live on.

If however a parent earned the equivalent of a salary of £20k after CSA (£17k) they would get tax credits of £1,250 - hence £14,790 net to live on.

Is this really the way it is? And can anyone think of any rationale to support this?

Why not call a spade a spade? Does anyone else get irritated by the inappropriate name, never mind the system itself?

I'm fairly sure one of my kittens (obviously i'll need to treat both) has ear mites. There isn't much dark coloured wax in the ear but he is scratching quite a bit and his ears smell a little (not too severe but not as they should).

When I got them both as kittens they had ear mites and I gave them drops from the vets so we've been here before.

I'd rather not go to the Vet's (will be at least mid next week before i'd manage it anyway) with a simple problem like this. I was going to buy some Johnson's ear drops (i'm in the UK and this is a over-the-counter pet shop minor pet ailments brand) and give those a go.

If it turns out he doesn't actually have ear mites is there any issue with doing this or do you think it's worth trying?

Has anyone used these drops before?

My kittens are now 7 months old and I know it is time to start letting them outside during the day but I am finding it very hard to bring myself to do it - I would really appreciate some tips and reassurance! I know it is best to do it for the first time just before a regular meal (maybe even try the butter on the paws notion) and to supervise them as a much as possible the first few times. Any other tips? When is the best age? And how do i build up to leaving them out all day while we are at work? Is microchipping worth it? Elastic collars or safetycatches? Thoughts on cat flaps?

I have always planned to have my cats as outdoor (daytime) cats and I'm not really interested in any criticisms/opinions on this. We live in a good area, there are a few sweet outdoor cats in my street and my last cat was outdoors during the day and loved it. I have read loads on this and I know there are dangers but I also feel it is the right thing to do (more for them than me.... I am dreading it!)

I am due to book my two little kittens (boy and a girl) in to get neutered and spayed soon. They are both 4 months old. I was just wondering if someone could tell me a little about the aftercare needed? Do I need to take a day off work? I assume it's normal to leave them in the morning and pick them up the same evening - for my own piece of mind I will make sure this is a friday or I will take the next day off to keep an eye on them, but is that enough time before leaving them completely on their own during the day?

I was planning to see about getting them the cones so they don't get at their own stitches but what about each other's stitches? Should I keep them separated (they've never really been apart so not keen unless best for them as probably a traumatic time enough as it is!) and if so for how long?

Any advice appreciated! Very anxious about the whole thing, but has to be done!

I got two kittens at the weekend and I am currently fairly paranoid about lots of health issues so may be over-anxious here. I've noticed one of them has sneezed a couple of times, had a slightly leaky eye (like a wee clear tear) and a slightly runny nose (saw this once a couple of days ago), although barely noticeable. Not much over the course of several days and his eyes and nose had no discharge yesterday. Should I take him to the Vet now? Have to go for vaccinations in week so should i just ask about it then? I know general advice for everything is to go to the vet but taking time off work at this time of year is really tricky so would really appreciate a practical response. Thanks!