9 months

It's been a little while since my last post...

Eloise is now 9 months and 3 weeks old - she's cruising the furniture - eating chunks of anything she can get her hands on (mostly off the floor) and has 2 teeth (the first one of which was rather painful..) and she loves the swimming pool.

This month we have to visit the doctor to have an obligatory 9 month check - there is a sheet in the back of your carnet de sante that has to be completed by the doctor and stamped otherwise you don't receive anymore money from the CAF.

Eloise was generally measured and weighed - questions on the form included "can she play peepo?" (yes) and does she point with her finger? (no) and does she know her name (yes).

We have to go back at 1 year old to have another vaccination.

Cost of visit to doctor Euro27.

CAF apology

So we've just received an email from the CAF about the letter they sent to us in error... arrgggh.

CAF Cock up again...

So having finally sorted out my child benefit (for having 2 or more kids) and PAJE (for looking after Eloise until she's three) - the CAF asked just before Christmas for my pay slip for November and daddy's pay slip too.

I photocopied them within 2 days of the letter arriving, attached a copy of their letter as requested and then walked around to their office and popped it into the letterbox.

We have just received a letter from them dated 3rd January saying that as we didn't send the papers they requested (they didn't say which papers?) our child benefit and PAJE would be cancelled.

I checked online on their site - on 29th December (funny it takes 7 days to make it from their post box to someone's desk, ok, ok I know it was Christmas) they said they received some papers from us and they were being studied and on 5th January our normal monies were paid to us.

I've twice tried to call them since - once their phone system was broken and once it was after 4pm and they close then... arggggh.

Thing is, do we have a problem now or not? - as we have received monies due, dated after their letter... soooo frustrating.

Prime de Naissance

So yesterday we receive Euro813.00 in our account and checked on the CAF site with our allocation number and password - they have deducted Euro50 off of us as we have been overpaid aide logement (in fact they haven't caught up with the paperwork yet and they reckon they have overpaid us Euro213 as we moved house) and that we have Euro2.81 to repay still - so the figures just don't add up. I'm just going to say nothing for the moment and sit by the letterbox.

At least they have acknowledged that they have all the paperwork received and the dossier was 'treated' yesterday.

Bought a pushchair from www.ebay.fr with carrycot and car seat second hand at the weekend - I reckon new it would have been worth Euro600 and I got it for Euro123 - so quite a bargain! We do have to drive 1.5 hours to Marseilles to get it this week though.

Prime de Naissance

A letter arrives from the Caisse Allocations Familiales today - saying that our prime de naissance of Euro864.79 will be in our bank account at the beginning of August. (time to buy that pram?)

This is a set amount for people who earn less than something like Euro44,000 a year as a couple.

Moving house paperwork nightmares

After letting the www.caf.fr and the Caisse Maladie know that we have moved house - we get the surprises in the post.

The Caisse Allocations Familiale give you child benefit money / money towards your rent or mortgage if you are on a low income and a prime de naissance 2 months before you are due to give birth - so it's good to keep in with them. On discovering we'd moved house they decided we obviously didn't need more money so we got a letter saying please send back the last Euro213 we sent you - no explanation no nothing... so down to the CAF I traipse and come back with 5 sheets of paper to fill in with our present family situation and 2 bits of paper for the mortgage bank to fill in about our house - so it does look like we can have a little money still - watch this space.

The CPAM Maladie people just sent us an attestation saying that hubby and kiddy number 1 are still valid for their medical insurance, but I am 'a justifier' - bizarre as we've done nothing but move house (oh yes and I married him too). I also find out that the chip in my green carte vitale has died too and needs looking at (probably overwork).

To date I've been covered under my husband to be's (now husband's) social security number just because I live with him - I have been salaried since January 2007 but never changed over my medical insurance to my own - I just never thought it would make a difference... UNTIL you need to claim conge maternite money ... (maternity benefit).

So I need now to get the following papers together:

My Carte vitale
My attestation de droit (from the green borne in the CPAM office?)
Livret de famille (marriage certificate with kids born on it)
Carte de sejour (or passport)
Demande de rattachement a la CPAM (a form they've given me to fill in)
A medicine traitant form to register with a doctor (I've done this before but seems I have to do it again...)
First and last wage slips
The obligatory EDF electric bill (proof of address - I swear you could travel the world on one of these...)
A RIB (direct debit form from the bank)
.. And a partridge in a pear tree!

Declaration de Grossesse

I went back to the GP today - with my blood test results in hand - I want to get my paperwork in order so that the Caisse Maladie (CPAM) and CAF (child benefit people) are all informed.

This paper needs to be completed and sent off before the 14 week of pregnancy.

I read on www.magicmaman.fr that the maternity leave minimum in France is 6 weeks before the birth and 10 weeks after - all of which is paid as your full salary, from the social security instead of from your company.

I also nip into the Laboratoire to check on what I need to do for my next blood tests as I am not immune to Toxoplasmosis - I have to be tested each month for this. I'm given a little bottle for the urine test (no eating before) and have to do a blood test too, which I can eat before...