Pregnant at Work

MissAmeliaPond

For those of you who work, how are you handling the situation? I know it's still very early for us all, but I'm starting to freak out a little bit! I'm a would-be FTM (FX this LO sticks!), and I have no idea how to handle the employment situation. So, I'm wondering how people are handling the "secret" time (the time between BFP and announcing to your boss and coworkers)? My major concerns are: 

• Wardrobe - making any changes yet? 
• Office food - if any "no nos" are brought in, are you avoiding them? (we had deli sandwiches during a lunch meeting yesterday and apparently I suspiciously didn't have one)
• Happy hours - declining the event altogether? Or giving a good excuse for not drinking? 
• When/how will you finally tell your employer? 
• If you have morning sickness, how are you handling it at work? 

I feel like such a n00b asking these questions, but I genuinely don't know how to handle this, and have no friends who have been pregnant to ask, either. Oh, and PS, I recently took a new job and started less than 3 weeks ago. The advice around TTGP is not to live like you're pregnant until you are, and now I'm regretting taking the new job... But to be fair, my previous company told us they were shutting down later this year so I HAD to look for a new job. 

I appreciate everyone's input! 

CecilTheBear

I haven't had to deal with the morning sickness yet. But for the food, I told our admin about it. She's absolutely professional and confidential about this stuff, and now whenever we have lunches and dinners, she is ordering things I can eat so I don't have to draw attention to picking around stuff. We have a dinner next week and someone proposed a sushi restaurant and she just told everyone they were booked and reserved a (cooked!) seafood restaurant instead. I'm lucky - she's awesome.

TucknBoom

CecilTheBear said:

I haven't had to deal with the morning sickness yet. But for the food, I told our admin about it. She's absolutely professional and confidential about this stuff, and now whenever we have lunches and dinners, she is ordering things I can eat so I don't have to draw attention to picking around stuff. We have a dinner next week and someone proposed a sushi restaurant and she just told everyone they were booked and reserved a (cooked!) seafood restaurant instead. I'm lucky - she's awesome.

I cried because I found this so sweet. Damn hormones. 

ShinyBlackAnt

Apparently the topic of my pending pregnancy is much debated around the office (we've been married for a while and I've made no secret of the fact I want kids). I was flat out asked yesterday and said that if I had news to share i'd share it. So nosy!!

My office are big drinkers but I've been declining with regularity for the past year we've been trying so it's really nothing new there.

I plan to tell work after I see the heartbeat. I know that is way early but I plan my schedule months in advance so it's kind of a necessity.

mrszoess

I'm lurking from October 16....I took a new job and got a bfp a week later. I've only told my direct supervisor and my one coworker. nobody knows me or my IF struggles so they wouldn't even suspect. I'm not quite hiding it, but I'm not blasting the info around either. it's very helpful to have a supportive supervisor who has actually helped me get out of some client visits that would cause me to be without water or food for hours (at a prison...I'm a social worker..)

comealongponds

1. Work wardrobe is easy for me...I'm a nurse so I'm in scrub pants and child-friendly tshirt said. I'll just add a baggy sweater while I wait to officially reveal if the twins start to pop (I always wear a sweater anyways so it won't be a suspicious addition). Sorry, not much help. In my personal life, I wore maternity jeans for the blump today and I may never wear normal jeans again. So frigging comfortable.

2. Office food: again, I get off pretty easy as usually people just bring cookies or donuts, not really any no-no foods. If we order as a group, we often order sushi (which I hate anyways) so I usually just say I'm trying to eat healthy and packed a lunch or I get tempura/California rolls. Saying your trying the Whole30 or something could work.

3. Happy hour: I'm the least helpful person...I have a 1hr commute after a 12 hr shift so I never partake even when I'm not KTFU. If you want to go for the social aspect (or to avoid questions), just order something that looks like a drink - club soda/Sprite with lime, or a virgin margarita. Or make friends with your bartender discreetly and ask him/her to serve you non-alcoholic drinks only. You can also do the old take it to the bathroom with you and spill some into the sink/toilet? And you can also use the antibiotic excuse or again, the healthy eating/Whole30 excuse.

4. When to tell: my supervisor knows already, since I'm off on modified bed rest...coworkers are going to start asking questions soon so I'm trying to come up with excuses. My only recommendation is to make sure your supervisor hears it from you, not through the grapevine! We're waiting til the 12 week mark to tell everyone else (other than parents, siblings and my boss). I have had to let a couple of my charge nurses know so they could make assignments for me that didn't involve exposure to things like radiation & CMV but other than that (Jesus seems like a lot of people already know) we're trying to keep it quiet. 

5. I've been really lucky so far. I haven't actually vomited yet, just been super nauseated on and off. I'm usually able to manage it with ginger ale/ginger candies/mints/crackers and trying to sit still for ten minutes. I'm imagining something gross or smelly may set me off at some point...thankfully there are multiple bathrooms in easy to reach locations should I need to make a quick exit. 

NatashaSprout

• Wardrobe- lets just hope my fire gear continues to fit. I plan on staying till 20 weeks.
• Office food - fire house food is plentiful and delicious. 
• Happy hours - We work 24 hour shifts so no one really goes drinking at 0630 when we get off work. 
• When/how will you finally tell your employer?  I will tell them in June when I am 20 weeks.
• If you have morning sickness, how are you handling it at work? I work with 12 guys everyday. If I threw up they would all know. We run about 15-30 calls per day. My body is not allowed to have morning sickness. It just won't work. 

MissAmeliaPond

Thanks for your responses, all! 

@CecilTheBear you are soooo lucky with your office admin situation. I'm jealous! 
@ShinyBlackAnt I totally get why you're telling them early with your scheduling situation. 
@mrszoess you got PM!
@comealongponds good suggestions, and thank you for taking the time to answer all of my questions. I like the "I'm trying whole30" excuse for everything food and drink related.

ballerinahootie93

I'm also a FTM, I work in a small office with three other coworkers and I'm the only woman. 

The upsides to that are the wardrobe issue and happy hour issues. Since it's still wintery I continue to dress in thick sweaters and coats. I also don't think the guys would notice if I "gained some weight" and they definitely have the good sense to not say anything. 

We really don't have happy hours so that is luckily not an issue and we don't order lunch in for meetings. I got lucky there. If we did I would say I had a sinus infection and was on antibiotics. 

Morning sickness hit with a vengeance this week and it's probably going to force me to tell people before I'm ready. I managed to silently vom in my trash can Monday, but today was full blown hurling in the bathroom. My goal is to make it to 9 weeks and the first appointment without telling, but I kinda just had to accept that with morning sickness that may not happen. 

mrsjlang

My department manager and the supervisor team know simply because of logistics. I had to have schedule modifications to do IVF so they were waiting for the good news. A couple people from our department know, but only because I was acting weird. Aha. I haven't told my direct team though, they haven't seemed to notice yet.

Uniform - still waiting on a new set to come in (company provided). Once that one doesn't fit I can switch to maternity clothes (within parameters)

Office Food - no concerns, honestly.

Happy Hour - work overnights straight, so not hard to avoid. 

Morning Sickness - pretty manageable to far. I've been drinking gingerale, but no issues other than that. I think I've been fortunate so far. 

pinnerk

I honestly hadn't even thought of this until it was brought up. 
I work in a semi casual office so my wardrobe changes between leggings and jeans daily. So hopefully adding baggier then normal shirts will make it a bit easier. 
I'm not telling anyone in my office until I'm at least 12 weeks. My jobs very high stress so most of the pregnant women in my office don't actually last that long (longest was 31 weeks) so I hope I can cope better. 
Before my coping was a glass of wine in the evenings lol. 

kns1988

NatashaSprout, that's awesome that you're a firefighter! Lots of respect for you.

OP, so far the only thing making it hard for me is the morning sickness. I eat every 2 hours to keep it at bay. Luckily, I work in an office job where I could stuff my face all day if I want to. I don't know how I'd survive if I were in a profession where my time were more regimented (like teachers - they can't just be eating all day). A few people have asked me if I'm okay, though, because I know I look sick some days. 

Clothes - hoping my work clothes continue to fit. They're a little snug some days based on the bloat.

Office food - I pass up on communal food pretty frequently because of allergies, so it's nothing new for me to skip it. 

Happy hour - I quit drinking over a year ago, so that's another one that doesn't impact me. 

Morning sickness - the worst!

ETA: Another thing I'm struggling with is wearing sea bands. I've convinced myself that they help, whether it's real or a placebo effect, but it's starting to get a little warmer out. I don't know how much longer I'll want to wear long sleeve sweaters and cardigans. Sea bands definitely aren't discrete! 

kristah2

I also just started a new job (last Monday!) so I know the feeling. 

• Wardrobe - making any changes yet? - not yet. Managing just fine. But Friday's are jeans day and those are starting to become real uncomfortable. 

• Office food - if any "no nos" are brought in, are you avoiding them? (we had deli sandwiches during a lunch meeting yesterday and apparently I suspiciously didn't have one) - I bring my Lunch so there's no worries there! 

• Happy hours - declining the event altogether? Or giving a good excuse for not drinking? - yesterday they had an office party with green beer and wine. I had Sprite. Luckily there's lots of people there who don't drink. I usually play that I'm a light weight or that I don't think that particular type of alcohol. 

• When/how will you finally tell your employer? - I'm trying to hold off until June. We will see how that goes. 

• If you have morning sickness, how are you handling it at work? - not well. I'm eating a whole lot of crackers and gingerale. Some people definitely think somethings up. Others think it's my snack of choice. 

It's a tough one. Good luck! 

Ash9614

• Wardrobe - I don't quite need to change this yet as my clothes still fit, but I bought a few looser-fitting blouses for the spring (I live in the south, so we're regularly hitting 75 degrees). 
• Office food - if any "no nos" are brought in, are you avoiding them? (we had deli sandwiches during a lunch meeting yesterday and apparently I suspiciously didn't have one). - Haven't had this one happen yet....my boss is KU and due in June. Maybe our meetings will be together and she can be the one to say no to certain foods.

ficbot

I told my boss right away. She knew we were trying because I needed time off for appointments during the IVF cycle. Also it is a school and if certain illnesses occur it is important they disclose to me. Also told one coworker who is pregnant and I wanted to pick her brain before she went on mat leave.

Oakleypoozles

My office is a very small office with only men. I have made it clear to management that I had intentions to become become pregnant. In fact since it is all men they had to create a maternity policy specifically for me. I have shared the news with a couple of my co-workers that I'm close with but have held off from telling the big boss. 

We are a small business so FMLA laws do not apply to us. The policy as far as I am concerned kind of sucks and I'm not ready to process the kind of financial hardship it's going to cause us at the moment lol.

Wardrobe - I'm fat to start with so I doubt anyone will notice anything different for like a really long time. 
Office Food - I'm kind of a hippie so they are used to me turning down things. 
Happy Hours - My family is a party pooper I guess we don't do that sorta thing anyway lol. 
Morning Sickness - Haven't had any 0.o (if you do though don't feel sad my last pregnancy I had hypermesis gravadarum and I barfed many many times per day every single day until the day I delivered) 

hellopartyof5

Once I started puking in the morning I told my immediate boss and he said he guessed 2 weeks ago because I kept getting up to pee.  I figure if anything bad happens, they can know why I'm in an awful mood and have to take time off.

kms456

I work in an office with around 30 employees.  There was been a bet going around with when we would get pregnant with #2 - so that's fun. Two people in my office know. I plan on telling my supervisor when I am 12 weeks.
Wardrobe - no issue yet
Office Food - usually when we do lunches, everyone individually orders their own meal. So no issue there.
Happy Hours - we aren't that kind of office. Only time we drink together is annual Xmas party
Morning Sickness - haven't had any.

nibu

I'm really lucky because I work from home, but as someone who has suffered a loss I feel like I don't want to get too excited  (or tell ANYONE) until the baby is in my arms! Ok maybe it won't happen quite like that but I want to hold off as long as possible.  

I'm just over 6 weeks (nov 7 due date) and, knock on wood, really haven't had any symptoms yet. I've also lost 4 pounds just eating healthier and working out. Which is good for the baby AND so far has given me a good excuse - can't eat that because I'm counting calories, can't drink for the same reason, etc.

For me since I don't usually have to see my colleagues or clients in person, I'm not as worried about appearance. But the dr appointments I'm still trying to think of excuses for. Taking 2 hours off every other week is not a normal thing for me!

I've looked at various belly pics of ladies and it seems like you can reasonably expect not to really show at least to 13 weeks. Maybe with some blousier tops.

ShallowSeas

I haven't had to deal with much of these except for wardrobe and when i'll tell my boss.

I have started wearing loose shirts because of the bloat and a lot of jackets.  I'm sure I'm probably the only one that notices the bloat but I feel uncomfortable in my tighter shirts.

I haven't told my boss yet and I'm not sure when I will.  I would like to wait as long as I can, so I'm sure I'll wait until I can no longer hide my belly. I've had so many doctor's appointments between the fertility treatments and early pregnancy that I kind of wonder if my boss thinks I'm dying. 

atcwag

MissAmeliaPond said:

• Wardrobe - making any changes yet? 
• Office food - if any "no nos" are brought in, are you avoiding them? (we had deli sandwiches during a lunch meeting yesterday and apparently I suspiciously didn't have one)
• Happy hours - declining the event altogether? Or giving a good excuse for not drinking? 
• When/how will you finally tell your employer? 
• If you have morning sickness, how are you handling it at work? 

Wardrobe -
Just got my BFP yesterday, so no changes yet. With DS, I was able to wear non-maternity clothes until well after 1st tri, so I didn't have that issue. Even after, I was able to make much of my wardrobe still work. 

Office food -
I live by "everything in moderation", so I'm not a huge stickler for the food side of things. I avoid alcohol, but do have lunchmeat in moderation as well as sushi from reputable places. Specifically, lunchmeat is ok if you warm up to steaming. Since you're new, maybe you could warm your sandwich/meat in the microwave to make it "safe" and no one would think it was anything but normal for you?

Happy hours -
No advice. This isn't a staple in my work group. I'd just decline unless they are required/strongly encouraged. Or go, and ask for something virgin inconspicuously. Or get a drink and pretend to sip it. 

When to tell -
I may tell my boss (who will keep it confidential) earlier than my coworkers just for planning purposes. He's going on paternity leave June-September and I'll be gone in August, so there may be some temp hiring that needs to be done. I'll probably just email him and ask for a short meeting. Definitely after we see the HB and farther into 1T, maybe sometime between 8 and 12 weeks?  The rest of my coworkers will be after 1T. Yet to be determined. One is getting married this summer, so I'll probably announce "If anyone needs a DD, I'm your girl..."

Morning sickness -
Didn't have any with DS and haven't had any yet, so no advice. Probably try all the known remedies and pray they work. 

MollySm

I have my own in-home daycare.  We are trying not to tell anyone until we see a heartbeat and know that little one is actually growing in there.  

Clothing - parents are used to me wearing comfy, baggy clothing that works for playing and sitting on the floor.

Morning sickness - only queasyness, which is what I am used to in pregnancy.  I did think I would vomit yesterday, but we were outside and I kept it together.  

Happy hours - We are close with the parents I work for, and have been to social events with some of them since finding out.  I've been drinking mocktails that H or I make for me.  I'm pretty sure no one is noticing.  I've managed to have our social events in homes, and not out which helps.  

MissAmeliaPond

I'm so glad I started this thread! Thank you all so much for your responses!

Ugh, this is going to be tough!! My mom had hypermesis gravadarum with me until she delivered too, and that didn't kick in until she was 7 or 8 weeks, which is about when I'm supposed to start going to client meetings. I haven't had any MS yet, but I feel like I should probably be expecting it. I also had a CP a couple of months ago which was really hard for me, and stayed home from work for a full week with my previous employer (who loved me and it was fine). I guess maybe I should tell my boss early just in case circumstances require needing extra time or help? I'd prefer to keep it a secret as long as possible, but I don't know if that's the best route for me. 

MrsDramaK

• Wardrobe - making any changes yet? - I Wear scrubs to work, so no major changes needed.  I might just buy a belly band and a scrub jacket and try and wear normal sized scrubs as long as possible.
• Office food - if any "no nos" are brought in, are you avoiding them? - We don't Really bring in food, but I'm a picky eater so it shouldn't be too suspicious if a skip stuff.
• Happy hours - declining the event altogether? Or giving a good excuse for not drinking? - I am actually going to one tonight, my drink of choice is cranberry juice with amaretto, so if I have a cranberry juice no one's going to notice if there's no amaretto in it.
• When/how will you finally tell your employer? - Waiting at least 12 weeks, I want to announce to my extended family on memorial day, so I'll probably announce to friends and work a week or so after that.  My one coworker who I am close to already knows (she guessed and I didn't deny it).
• If you have morning sickness, how are you handling it at work? Haven't had any yet, but I have a history of migraines so if it happens, I'll just blame it on that.

grannysmith912

• Wardrobe: Since DH and I got engaged last April (and knew that we'd be TTC immediately when we got married in September), I've been trying to stock up on looser clothing that looks good on me now, but will also hopefully cover me for the next several weeks before I tell anyone at work and before my belly really starts popping. It's nice that loose, flowy clothing is pretty trendy these days! We'll see if my plan actually works, as I'm rather petite and might show a bump quite obviously, but it's been good so far! I plan to tell my supervisor after our first ultrasound at nine weeks and wait until twelve or thirteen to tell others at work.
• Morning sickness: I've had some pretty gnarly all day sickness for the past week. I work at a small liberal arts college, and my office is on a hall with a lot of professors (mostly male), many of whom I know pretty closely. Luckily, I'm the only one in my office, so if I have a gag reflex or something, nobody is going to notice. However, yesterday morning I did have to scurry to the staff restroom to vomit, and the restroom is right next to the staff lounge where the microwave and coffee machine are. Fortunately there was no one in the lounge yesterday, but I can just imagine that it's going to happen again, and that I'm going to walk out of the restroom with one of my professor friends standing there asking me what's wrong. What am I supposed to say?? "I'm fine, don't worry, what I have isn't contagious..." Haha. In any other circumstance throwing up would be warrant to go home, so I don't know how to explain that I'm okay. Any ideas? Otherwise, I keep ginger and mint tea, a bag of candied ginger, and a sleeve of saltines in my office at all times, and constant munching/sipping helps me keep things down for the most part. This is the first time I've felt lucky for having a job that requires me to sit in one place for hours on end!
  

RiverSong15

Wardrobe - nothing yet. My office is casual, and I wear jeans every day. I'll buy bellabands when it becomes necessary, but as I'm a FTM, I'm hoping I won't start obviously showing before second tri.

Food - I'm avoiding generally. I either skip the gatherings or order something I can eat.

Happy Hours - I've been coming up with excuses, either working later or having other plans. I've used the "antibiotics" excuse with some work friends, and when my H can join happy hour, he drinks for two (I just carry a drink around).

ANZ116

• Wardrobe - No changes yet- but I wear pretty flowy stuff in general 
• Office food - I never take office food anyway, so it hasn't been an issue yet
• Happy hours - not that kind of office
• When/how will you finally tell your employer? I told my boss first and HR second. I thought telling HR was the best way to keep me protected for any time off I have to take. 
• If you have morning sickness, how are you handling it at work? Not well! Thankfully I just have waves of nausea so far, no actual vomiting. I keep saltines in my drawer and preggie pop drops in my purse if it gets really bad. 

rspalding001

I have been pretty open about my struggle TTC with the people I am close to at work. So they all know I got a BFP already. They also know however that everything can still go wrong and that Im not jumping for joy until I see a strong heartbeat. I think its different just because they have been a part of this journey in a casual kind of way for the last year. They know not to say anything and are just crossing their fingers for me that it all works out. So long story short I'm not hiding it.

mrs_hoyahoo

• Wardrobe - I second the bellyband. It can buy you some extra time in your current wardrobe. 
• Office food - Always be prepared with your own. I find the diet excuse to be pretty effective - if you're not someone who needs to lose weight, you can talk about 'cleansing' or 'eating whole foods' for a few days. You just can't walk around with a bag of cheetos afterward  
• Happy hours - The cleansing/eating whole foods thing works here too. I also just order drink away from the crowd and get club soda with lime. And then LIE if anyone asks what I'm drinking.
• When/how will you finally tell your employer? I plan to tell around 12 weeks, but if it comes up before that (or I start showing, since this is #2) I'll mention it sooner. 

hellopartyof5

I may be one of the only people that hates the bellaband.  I have one, but I really hate it. It's always scrunching up and the hair tie trick is uncomfortable.  Once you try on maternity pants you will wonder why you waited so long.

earichar23

I'm also not a fan of the bellaband. I assume it scrunches up too much on me because I'm hourglass shaped. The hair tie trick works fine for those days when you start out feeling normal and around 2pm you want to rip your pants off but are still at work. 

ShallowSeas

@nauticallife @earichar23

I don't care for my Bellaband either.  I was really hoping to love it, but mine folds ups also.  I'm just doing the hairband trick for now and wearing a long tank top under my shirts to cover my zipper.

SweetiePateetie

• Wardrobe - making any changes yet? Not yet, but it's my first so I have a little more time to fudge it. 
• Office food - if any "no nos" are brought in, are you avoiding them? (we had deli sandwiches during a lunch meeting yesterday and apparently I suspiciously didn't have one) We had deli sandwiches yesterday, too! Luckily, it was build your own. So I just made myself a nice veggie one.
• Happy hours - declining the event altogether? Or giving a good excuse for not drinking? We drink a lot on the job. It's part of the gig. We also have numerous wine education events and open a bottle or two every Friday afternoon. I will probably use the antibiotics or diet excuse. I'm known for jumping on the fad diet bandwagon so that works to my advantage. 
• When/how will you finally tell your employer? My boss is BSC. She does not have a life outside of our company. She often says how she can't imagine why anyone would ever want a child. No one in our department has ever been pregnant. I also got passed up for a promotion because (from what others have told me) she's just waiting for me to get KU and leave. (I know, totally illegal, but there's some truth to it, so I don't really care to fight it.) So.... I have no idea when I will tell her. I just know that I'm terrified and even before my BFP it is the one thing that has given me the most anxiety about TTC. I go back an forth thinking I'll tell her early (for planning purposes - Fall is by far the craziest time of year for our team) to waiting until I can't hide it any longer (because I have a feeling that she will hold it against me and treat me like shit - as she has been known to do without any good reason).
• If you have morning sickness, how are you handling it at work? No MS yet. I have my own office though and pretty easy access to the restroom. I might stock up on gingerale and saltines pretty soon, just in case.

rooftop

My work situation is a little bit different. I'm a stripper.
As far as wardrobe goes I'm not doing much different, I wear a garter belt to hide the pudge from my last baby so it's nothing new to be hiding my stomach.
We order our food from the sports bar individually so no issues there.
When it comes to drinking I've told both of my bartenders so they give me decoy drinks, something that looks like a mixed drink but is really just juice.
I'll tell the manager when I'm starting to show and therefore quitting.
Morning sickness sucks but I can blame it on "drinking" if need be. been drinking lots of ginger ale.

AdmiralKitty

Wardrobe - making any changes yet? 
I wear an unforgiving uniform that is killing me slowly with all this bloat. As soon as I start to show I'm going to have to tell everyone at work and transition to Maternity uniforms (which are fugly but comfortable).
Office food - if any "no nos" are brought in, are you avoiding them? 
There is lots of food at work but it's all ok- nothing I need to avoid. Just trying to bring my own stuff more often than not for health purposes.
Happy hours - declining the event altogether? Or giving a good excuse for not drinking? 
This one is tough. There is lots of drinking during the down times at my job. I've managed to avoid most of it recently, but on my trip to Maui my coworkers were giving me loads of crap about it (I'm a pretty active social drinker normally). I gave them the old "antibiotics" line and they mostly left me alone but I also got pregnant jokes the whole weekend. They'll all laugh at me when I eventually tell them. 
When/how will you finally tell your employer? 
I'll definitely let HR know and file for FMLA early. I can't do my job after about 5/6 month so they'll have to provide me with office work which takes some time to set up. I'm planning on telling most people between 8-12 weeks. I'm not concerned about telling people too early as there are a lot of women that are currently or have just been pregnant and loss is a pretty open topic for many of us. 
If you have morning sickness, how are you handling it at work? 
The pregnancy chews from Target and ginger chews. I've mostly just had "sour stomach" and not full blown nausea so we'll see how these hold out. 

MissAmeliaPond

@AdmiralKitty are you a flight attendant?

AdmiralKitty

@MissAmeliaPond - Yes!

MissAmeliaPond

@AdmiralKitty what an exciting job! I always thought that sounded like a fun profession! I freaked out about flying this past weekend when I was only 4+1 and 4+2, but I'm sure it did nothing to the poppyseed, right? 

AdmiralKitty

I've flown almost every day since my BFP and most of my friends flew full time up to 5/6 months and have totally healthy babies... so you should be juuuuuust fine

It can be a very fun profession but also incredibly draining and lonely at times. I was 23 when I started and it was wild and crazy partying all over the country all the time. Now I'm such an old lady, when I get to my layovers all I want is sleep and food- haha. I'm very lucky my hubs worked in the industry for most of his 20s (on the ground) and "gets" it because not too many people understand this level of travel. I'm lucky these days in that I'm usually not away for more than 1 day at a time and mostly work day trips where I'm home at night- the schedule is the most addicting part. I work about 14-17 days a month and that is considered "full time". Unfortunately, I think I'm going to be giving it all up in November when this little nugget shows up... I'll probably take my maternity leave and not go back. I just can't imagine being away from my child that much. 

MrsV55

Wardrobe- I wear black scrubs everyday so it's been fine so far. Once they get too tight I'll just use my uniform allowance to get a bigger size or the maternity ones

Office Foods- Ironically the only foods brought into the dental office I work at are usually sweets so nothing that's a big no-no. 

Happy Hours- our office does a lot of fun events together that always involve drinking so this is going to be tricky. We have a happy hour this week but we're leaving for the beach that day so I'll avoid this one. The next planned event is towards the end of April so I'll probably tell them by then. With DS I was KU for our office Christmas party and it was too early to tell them so me and DH just kept discreetly switching beers. So it looked like I was drinking mine too. No one noticed.

How will I tell them- My best friend (also KU & works with me) already knows. She is one of 3 KU girls in our office... Well, 4 now that I am too I will tell our practice administrators sometime after we hear the heartbeat. 

Morning Sickness- Thankfully I haven't had any. Didn't have any with DS either so I hope it stays away. It would be tough to clean people's teeth while nauseous

mrsasolomon

AdmiralKitty said:

Wardrobe - making any changes yet? 
I wear an unforgiving uniform that is killing me slowly with all this bloat. As soon as I start to show I'm going to have to tell everyone at work and transition to Maternity uniforms (which are fugly but comfortable).
Office food - if any "no nos" are brought in, are you avoiding them? 
There is lots of food at work but it's all ok- nothing I need to avoid. Just trying to bring my own stuff more often than not for health purposes.
Happy hours - declining the event altogether? Or giving a good excuse for not drinking? 
This one is tough. There is lots of drinking during the down times at my job. I've managed to avoid most of it recently, but on my trip to Maui my coworkers were giving me loads of crap about it (I'm a pretty active social drinker normally). I gave them the old "antibiotics" line and they mostly left me alone but I also got pregnant jokes the whole weekend. They'll all laugh at me when I eventually tell them. 
When/how will you finally tell your employer? 
I'll definitely let HR know and file for FMLA early. I can't do my job after about 5/6 month so they'll have to provide me with office work which takes some time to set up. I'm planning on telling most people between 8-12 weeks. I'm not concerned about telling people too early as there are a lot of women that are currently or have just been pregnant and loss is a pretty open topic for many of us. 
If you have morning sickness, how are you handling it at work? 
The pregnancy chews from Target and ginger chews. I've mostly just had "sour stomach" and not full blown nausea so we'll see how these hold out. 

Pregnancy chews? I have never seen or heard of these, they are for MS? What section are they in? Must go buy some. LoL