u/ManicPixiePuckSlut

I submitted my taxes back in July and my application for paid parental leave as I had just had my youngest son. After I submitted everything my family tax benefit ceased and I got issued with a debt of almost $2,000 because I’m earning above the max amount to qualify.

The problem is they seem to be calculating that on 2 factors:

1. my child support earnings
2. my new partner working

This is an issue cause

1. I haven’t been paid child support consistently since before Christmas last year and actually have almost 4K in backpay owed to me
2. my partner just moved to the country a few months ago and wasn’t able to get work until almost June so he wasn’t earning until then.

I’m just starting to get a foothold again, I’m sometimes getting child support now (they had to garnish wages to get it but I’ve only just started getting those payments. I’m literally meant to get paid today and there’s still no money for disbursement according to the child support portal) I’ve been on half pay at work since July 21st because of my parental leave and I won’t be getting my first government payment till next week (so I can finally catch up on bills) because of how long it took them to process the application.

I don’t know why they have issued this debt or how they expect me to pay it back since they’ve just yanked support I really needed and are telling me to pay back the equivalent of 3 months worth of payments when I’m not even currently getting my full salary let alone additional payments and supports.

What am I meant to do?!

I’m almost desperate for hope at this point that my waters will break today haha

I’m 37.3 weeks with baby number 3. He’s tracking 2 weeks ahead in size. For a bit over a week now I’m getting intermittent bought of strong contractions. Back, pelvis, shivering to legs, rhythmic and travelling down. On Sunday I had them for 10 HOURS every 5 minutes never closer together. They got intense then suddenly at 3am were just done.

Today I woke up and was getting the kids ready and they started again. Stronger than before, lower than usual. Like there was a bowling ball pressing down, so I couldn’t find a single position where I didn’t feel like my nethers were about to explode.

We drop off the kids, go to hospital. And magically. They stop. The midwife tells me “oh yeah baby moving around can cause pain” but my baby is CRAZY active and has been for months and I’m sorry I don’t feel pain like that because of it.

The doctor comes in and says “nah let’s do a sweep and see if we can kick things off” awesome. Finally. Let’s get this show moving, he’s clearly got plans right???

Nope. They check and I’m SO high and firm they can’t even ATTEMPT a sweep. Midwife tells me “I have no concerns you’re having your baby anytime soon”

I want to sob. I’m so tired. I hate feeling like I keep crying wolf. If the pains are so bad I have to groan to get through them but they’re not even labor pains, what does that say about me? Or my ability to get through labor? They said braxton hicks but I’ve had braxton hicks in all my pregnancies and they were not this intense, or rhythmic or in the same spots. Plus they didn’t get worse with lying down, and they calmed down with heat which these ones don’t.

I’m so angry and frustrated and tired and part of me desperately wants to know that even with an assertion like “yeah you’re not even close” I could just go in to labor tonight and be done with it and I’m not crazy!