Teachers! Come in here!

JaneArson

The beginning of the school year is about to start and in some places around the country it has already started.  Yikes!  Where did summer go?

I teach high school math and while this will be my second pregnancy, I've never been pregnant at the beginning of the school year, which is an exhausting time without being pregnant.  How do you plan on fighting morning sickness, peeing approximately one million times per day, and keeping your energy up without the usual caffeine overdose?  

chelle087

I also teach high school math and this is also my second pregnancy.  

I am not really sure how I plan to handle the exhaustion, maybe decaf coffee will trick my brain into thinking I am awake!  I know that working out through my last pregnancy helped fight the fatigue, so hopefully I can manage that this time around.

 I guess I will have to spend a little more time organizing in the morning so that I can use the few minutes between classes for pee breaks instead of transitioning from one course to the next. 

I am also praying that I left my classroom somewhat organized before I left for the summer...I really can't remember!

cookies754

I teach first grade. I am really nervous about battling morning sickness, fatigue, and all that fun stuff. We have a super crazy calendar year because of construction, so we don't have many days off. Woohoo. 

I plan on having lots of preggie pops nearby, lemon water, and decaf coffee. 

When are all of you telling your principals? We are having individual meetings with her this week so I'm debating on telling her now or when we start school. I see pros and cons to each. Ugh. 

chelle087

@cookies754 I probably won't mention anything to my principal until October or November, if I can keep it a secret that long. I don't necessarily want him to find out through the grape vine, but also want to avoid telling too early.

JaneArson

@chelle087 great advice on working out for energy.  I haven't run since I got my BFP, but that's mostly because it's been ridiculously hot where I am.  I need to just get up early and get it done.  When I was pregnant with DD I swam a few mornings a week and that worked really well for me.   I had totally forgotten about that!

@cookies754 I'm not going to tell my principal until 12 weeks or so because it won't affect any planning or day to day stuff if I wait to tell.  I think it may be different in a big high school though than in an elementary school.  I did tell my department head (and school BFF) today because he can cover for me if I'm sick or running out of my room to pee.  

cookies754

@JaneArson that's why I was debating on telling her sooner rather than later. I'd like her and my team leader to know so she knows why I'm running to the bathroom and can have someone cover for me. 

Breesy14

I teach Kindergarten and plan to find a good reader to read to my class while I nap every day after lunch.  JK!! I have ginger tea (non-caf) that I make the night before and mix with honey.  That is my nausea cure.  I sip it whenever the feeling hits.  I was pregnant at the beginning of the year a few years ago, but the majority of it had already passed.  This time I'm only going to be 6 weeks when school starts!  It's bananas because that first week, our whole team does lunch and recess duty - so there are fewer breaks.  And the herding cats thing is REAL in Kindergarten at the beginning of the year!  So, I told my H that I will not be cooking or making any kind of dinner for at least 3 weeks and will come home and promptly collapse on the couch for at least one hour before moving or speaking.  He is in charge and as long as we all eat, I won't care!

Good luck everyone!  It will be hard for a few weeks, then we'll be on our way to 2nd tri and things will get easier!

cookies754

@Breesy14 When do you plan on telling your principal? Looking for some input from someone else who teaches primary. 

JaneArson

@Breesy14 I'm trying to make some freezer meals that can be dumped in the crockpot or thawed and cooked without any extra prep.  I feel like I need it now just like I'll need it after delivery! 

ebloom3

Hi ladies! I found out I was pregnant in October 2010 with DD, so it was basically the beginning of the year. I was coaching volleyball at the time and the fatigue kicked my butt. I was lucky and did not have morning sickness, so I didn't really have to worry about that. I told my athletic director (because of coaching and liability if I got hurt) fairly early. 

This time around morning sickness hasn't kicked in yet (I know it still can...it's early), but the fatigue and need to pee definitely has. I teach high school (English), so I can ask a colleague to cover class to run and pee, if needed. I am debating about when to tell my principal and department chair. My husband also teaches at my school, so that helps. My BFF also works with me, and she knows. I am thinking about telling my principal and DC after my first appointment on Friday. I will definitely put it on my emergency card for the school nurse. 

I feel like we need a weekly thread for a teacher check-in!

Jennx2

I teach 4th grade.  I told my principal as soon as I found out because I will be leaving school right as the bell rings or taking days off for the millions of doctor appointments I will have (I'm also Type 1 diabetic so there are more risks involved).  Our principal is new to our school this year and I didn't want her thinking I was a flake or not involved.  

JaneArson

@ebloom3 I think I have pregnancy amnesia.  I totally forgot the constant need to pee this early on.  At least I remembered the fatigue.  

When do you ladies start school?  Has anyone started already?  For me, teachers start next week and students arrive on the 29th.  With high schoolers, I can run out to pee whenever I need to - although that's easier later in the year when I know which classes can handle me being gone for a few minutes.  

I'm not the biggest fan of the million weekly threads we seem to have going on so far in this BMB, so I'm hesitant to start a weekly teacher thread (but, duh, feel free to override me, I am not the queen of A17).  Soooo, can we just write on this thread for forever?

  

belocin

I teach 5th! My first pregnancy I was about 8 weeks when school started and Was in the trenches with morning sickness. I wore sea bands and drank ALL the ginger ale! The nausea hit about 6 weeks last time so I'm crossing my fingers for two more weeks before I feel like I'm on a boat all the time. I plan to tell my admin closer to end of first tri, as long as the bloat doesn't give me away before then!

Breesy14

@JaneArson I do have some freezer meals, but not more than about 10 days worth.  Plus, I just made them over the last 2 weeks and I'm so not wanting to eat them again already.  I'm trying to save them for that weird time between Thanksgiving and Christmas break when life at school is completely chaotic - thank you district testing, report cards, and extra holiday activities in only 15 days.  I also like the idea of keeping this to one thread and totally dig your gif!

School starts on 8/22 for us and we are back this week!

@cookies754 I already told my principal because I had to go to my 1st appointment today.  It was today or next week and I figured it was better to miss some professional development than any time during that first week of school!  Also, our principal is new to our school this year and I thought it would be better to go ahead and let her know.  I told her that I was not sharing the news yet because it's still so early.  She was very nice and understanding.  I also told her that I was hoping to score a really fantastic long term sub and wanted her to let me know if she knew any good ones.  She was happy to hear that too.  Oh, I did tell her that I like to schedule all my appointments in advance provided there are no complications.  The news was well received and I think it's going to be a great year!

java1982

I teach 6th grade in a middle school. Fortunately, we switch classes every 40-60minutes so running out to the bathroom won't be horrendous because I'll just ask students to wait outside my classroom. I was 4.5 months pregnant with twins at the beginning of the school year during my last pregnancy, so I actually felt really great (can't wait for those second tri pick -me ups!) I'm super nervous about juggling work, household responsibilities, and coming home to 2 needy toddlers every day. If I'm tired now, I can't imagine what it's going to feel like in a few weeks. I'll get through it because I have to, but I am by no means looking forward to the added fatigue.
I'll tell my principal when I tell the "rest of the world"-- beginning of second trimester. I have a great relationship with him and he's a huge family man, so I'm not worried at all about his reaction.
Why do summers always seem SO short?! Ugh.

WkoutMomtoBe

I teach at a university so it's a little different BUT it's only my 2nd year. I just got married in May and my plan was to have a May/June baby (classes are done early May, if someone else had to give my already made final, no big deal) BUT I did not think it would happen this quick. Wowsas! Additionally I plan to start a master's degree/terminal degree program this fall. This is the only way I can keep my job is to get this degree.

I wanted to tell my department chair asap but DH says to wait until after first official appointment/sonogram this Fri in which I'll be 7 weeks (I had one 2 weeks ago and they could actually see faint flutter of heartbeat). I'll tell him next week but it'll be crazy since classes start next Wed. & all the activities, etc leading up to. I have no clue what they do at university when someone has a baby....I'm due in early April. There is no one to cover me, they are down several professors as is and I teach 4 classes - 3 of which are different) My suggestion is going to be to make the classes 1 hour and 15 min instead of 50 and have a shorter semester. This should bring me right to my due date (though I fear of any complications as I am "elevated risk" BUT I'm sure I'll be fine. I think I was told I could go early too....). I teach M, W & F and am done by 1:50 pm but I have office hours etc, but it's nice that I have a lot of flexibility in which to schedule my appointments. Starting at 16 weeks I'll start seeing maternal fetal as well as ob/gyn and that'll be every 2 weeks for ultrasounds and/or stress tests to watch baby's heart beat.

 I'm nervous about morning sickness, peeing, etc. The tiredness was big in weeks 3, 4 & 5 but now it's just nausea but the ginger, etc seems to help. BUT to be "on" and teaching for 3 hours in a row, then a lunch and then another hour..ugh. This is when I miss my office job..lol.

I agree...no separate threads for updates, just keep this one

JaneArson

@java1982 I wish we could skip right to second tri!  It is glorious!

@WkoutMomtoBe Is that a 3 hour class or 3, 50 min classes?  At least if it's 50 minutes you can run to the bathroom in between!  Last pregnancy I had 3, 47-min classes in a row with just a 3 minute break in between and my 3rd class just knew I'd be late to class everyday 

Also, remember - even though you don't know what the university will do with a pregnant lady, they probably have done it before and have some things in mind  

marshmallowmadness

I was teaching 6th grade LA when I was pregnant with my last. The bathroom and guidance counselor's office was directly across the hall from me so I would just call her over and she'd watch my class for 10 seconds while I went pee!  

I would still get Starbucks 2-3x a week and I kept lifesavers gummies in my desk for days I felt slow. Not at all healthy but I survived! 

Im not teaching this year (going back to school instead), but I wish you all luck!!

belocin

Me yesterday: I'm not going to tell my admin until second tri!

Me today talking to AP: Don't tell her, don't tell her, don't tell her, don't tell her

I just wanted to word vomit all over the place with the news but I held it in! 

cookies754

I told my principal today. I had my individual meeting with her to set goals and felt it was an appropriate time to let her know what is going on. She the took the news very well and is very supportive of me. Phew! One less thing to worry about..

JaneArson

@Tinkerbell413
I am jealous of your close proximity to the bathroom!  The ladies room is a long walk from my classroom - and during the third tri it feels even longer.

@belocin  You are better than me.  I CANNOT hold it in, especially when I get to "don't tell her don't tell her" mode.  I am an expert at keeping other people's secrets but terrible at keeping my own.  

JaneArson

@cookies754 That's great that it went well!  I'm beginning to think of telling my principal so that I can get first dibs on some new air conditioning units that are (hopefully) being installed in the next week or so.  I'm on the third floor of my building so it is surface-of-the-sun hot and I have an AC that works only if you are standing 1 cm from it.

Omie_Wise

Hi! I am an online teacher! Because I work from home, I'm not too worried about my work. I don't plan on telling my principal until next semester. I'm just a bit nervous about the idea of grading exams with a new baby. Good luck to everyone as the year starts! 

cookies754

@JaneArson that's how it was at my previous school! It was torture!! Definitely get in on those A/Cs! #pregnancyperks. 

bww_0331

I'm split between two schools so I have two different administrators to talk with.  Nervous about telling both of them and finding a sub willing to have such a hectic schedule.    We go back next week so luckily I still have some time.

ebloom3

We've had two days of extra training because we go to one-to-one devices this year. Tonight, my butt is officially kicked. Tomorrow morning teachers return (we have 5 days of training/planning before students return), and we begin at 7:15. Eck!

JaneArson

@Omie_Wise I had DD in December so I graded midterm exams when she was 2-3 weeks old and it was very doable.  Babies sleep a lot!  

@ebloom3 7:15 is EARLY!  When I was a student in high school that's when we started, but I can't imagine it now.  School starts at 8:15 for me now and even then lots of kids are late.  I want to shake my cane at them.  "When I was your age I had to be at school at 7:15... up hill both ways!"

cookies754

@ebloom3 I feel your pain. My kids start coming in at 7:20. Not only am I exhausted, but they must be too. 

picklesplease

I teach English as a Second Language for high school students. I teach higher level ELLs, so most of them are one or two credits away from graduation. This is my 6th year teaching and I'm already tenured, which I worked my butt off for!

Thankfully, I have a very supportive department. My classroom is right across the hall from the faculty restrooms. We do block scheduling, so our classes are around 99 minutes, which I'm sure will suck when I desperately need to pee. Thankfully, though, my supervisor is one of my close friends and she knows I'm KU. She has already agreed to help out as much as possible, even though she's away on maternity leave until the end of October. I'm just going to have to use my students' independent work time as much as possible as my restroom break time. They are good kids and I usually don't have to worry about trusting them.

lovelongdog06

I am not a teacher, but married to a teacher. Luckily he doesn't have to worry about running to the bathroom any more than usual . However, apparently his district policy states he can only take 2 personal days at the time of birth as the father of a newborn child. Is that even legal? He's not announcing to his principal until I'm 12 weeks, so we are just scratching our heads until then. He has more than 2 personal days accrued. I really hope it's a poorly written/poorly interpreted version of reality. We were hoping he could stay home at least a week, preferably 2, and we really can't afford for him to be on unpaid FMLA leave. If I end up with a c section, I won't even be out of the hospital in 2 days. Am I supposed to take a taxi? Yikes.

JaneArson

@lovelongdog06 in my district I can take days that are "personal charged to sick" so I'm basically using my sick days if I need to.  I would definitely ask around though. Also if he takes FMLA, can he still be paid by using sick days? I betcha there are some ways around this strange policy. 

chelle087

@lovelongdog06 I am pretty sure father's in my district can use 3 personal days, but if they have "rolled over" remaining days from the previous year (we can have up to 6 total) they can ask for permission to use more...usually it's approved. FMLA is also an option as @JaneArson mentioned...this is unpaid in my district, but allows you to keep your health insurance.  

If his district is unionized, I would suggest that he talk to a union rep about his is options first, but otherwise I would hope that his administrators would be accommodating when he breaks the news. Good luck!

Rileypie

@lovelongdog06 when I was teaching, a male teacher in our building was able to use his sick days just as a female teacher would when his wife gave birth. He took 6 weeks. It was technically FMLA, but ypu can use up your sick days to make those days paid. We were on ohio if that helps. Definitely talk to the union if he has one. 

bunnymama87

Hello all! Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm a professor gearing up for my second year of teaching. Currently employed on a 9-month contract as a full-time non-tenure track lecturer (with annual renewal). Got pregnant a bit earlier than expected so my due-date is about 2 weeks before the spring semester ends, and as I noted in the Intro thread, I'm feeling a bit nervous about how the department will handle that. My guess is that they've dealt with these things plenty of times before, and I know the faculty union should back me up, but I'm a worrier so I have this crazy fear that they won't let me teach at all in the spring or that they won't renew my contract. Anyway, enough drama from me. Overall, just feeling very excited about being pregnant and to have a place to get tips for surviving the first trimester without throwing up on myself during class!

WkoutMomtoBe

bunnymama87 said:

Hello all! Just wanted to introduce myself. I'm a professor gearing up for my second year of teaching. Currently employed on a 9-month contract as a full-time non-tenure track lecturer (with annual renewal). Got pregnant a bit earlier than expected so my due-date is about 2 weeks before the spring semester ends, and as I noted in the Intro thread, I'm feeling a bit nervous about how the department will handle that. My guess is that they've dealt with these things plenty of times before, and I know the faculty union should back me up, but I'm a worrier so I have this crazy fear that they won't let me teach at all in the spring or that they won't renew my contract. Anyway, enough drama from me. Overall, just feeling very excited about being pregnant and to have a place to get tips for surviving the first trimester without throwing up on myself during class!

I'm in exact same boat as you. I'm non-tenure track instructor with just annual contract. This is my 2nd year teaching. I'm due 4 weeks before last day of classes. I wanted to go to my department chair asap but hubby says to wait until first ultrasound, which is tomorrow. 

I'm on a Mom's in Academia FB group and advice I got is to teach a shorter semester. But that's going to put a lot of stress on me as I teach 4 classes, plus advise a club and plan to start on master/terminal degree. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do or how they'll take it...no faculty union

Beckyf321

I'm not a teacher, but am the food service director for a local school district.  I'm nervous for the beginning of the school year because I get really sick and am trying to hide the pregnancy until at least my first appointment.

Also, I was the interim director last year and was officially named the new longterm director in May, BUT I'M STILL WAITING ON MY CONTRACT.  UGH!!!  Rumor has it that those of us waiting on contracts won't get them until September, which I don't understand because the school year starts Aug 31.  My boss is new to the district, too, and I don't really know how I feel about him.  He's not very personable and that's tough for me (I'm outgoing and talkative).  He's literally the only person I'm dreading to tell.  Could this be considered a "pre-existing condition" and it could void my contract? I'm just so paranoid about it!

JaneArson

@beckyf321 pre-existing contracts are for health insurance, not jobs.  My suggestion is don't tell the new boss until you absolutely have to.  In addition, if you suddenly are told the contract is voided you would have reason to sue.  You 99% wouldn't need to, but you could threaten it.

Beckyf321

@JaneArson, yeah, that's what I'm thinking.  I'm just so paranoid!  This is my first "big girl" job and I worked my ass off to get it.  My previous supervisor was amazing and I would have had no problem telling him.  This new guy sort of fought to oversee the program......I just don't know, man.  Oh well, what will be will be!

mrsw0920

I teach High School economics. Luckily I have a co-teacher first period so if morning sickness kicks in he can take over for me. I'm a first-year teacher and I am terrified to tell my principal/administration. Our school started two weeks ago (august 4th). I was hired the Sunday before school started and then found out on August 14th that I'm pregnant. I go to the Dr. August 6th and will probably tell administration after that appointment. 

JaneArson

@mrsw0920 Just remember that even though it's new for you, your school has definitely dealt with maternity leave before  They probably won't even bat an eye.

mrsw0920

@JaneArson Thanks! That's exactly what my mom said lol.