1st Trimester

Newbie with a question about telling your employer

Hello! I have just(this past week) gotten the official word that I am pregnant! I haven;t had a due date or anything like that yet, but my best guess is that I am 4-5 weeks along. I have been experiencing some mild cramping all week and today had a small amount of spotting. This is my first, and needless to say I am a nervous nellie about this. I called my doctor and he said the small amount that I had was probably fine but that I should go home and rest and if anything changed to call him back. I had to leave work early. Anyway, long story short, I have done this today and am feeling better after reading all the information on here and my spotting has stopped.

Anyway, onto my work question. I work in a fairly active and demanding job( I am a physical therapist who works with adults and kids with developmental disabilties. I was scheduled to go to a preschool this afternoon and deal with 4 wonderful, but challenging kiddos who make me run around, make sure they don't fall, lift them, etc etc. I basically bailed at the last minute, not telling anyone what was wrong, just that I was sick. I really don't want to tell my boss that I am pregnant yet....my first appointment isn't for another 2 weeks and I really don't want everyone to know yet, esp if the spotting turns out to be a miscarriage. But at the same time I think I need to tell them asap so if I need to leave at a moment's notice everyone will be understanding. I am also nervous about what I will be able to do at work and for how long, but that is probably for another post.

 Anyway, so what would you do. I would love to know what others did especially if they had demanding jobs. 

 

Thanks for reading my long and boring e-mail. 

 

Julie

Re: Newbie with a question about telling your employer

  • Congrats! I am a nanny and I told both of the families I work for right away. I wanted them to know incase something did happen and I had to miss work, and for their support too. Maybe wait awhile and see how your pregnancy progresses and then decide.GL
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  • I told my manager because I thought I was 7 weeks and I wanted to know how this company deals with leaves and FMLA and I ended up being only 5 weeks after having an ultrasound. I felt I needed to let them know so I could ask for my doc appointment times off and they'd understand. It's up to you but I'd wait until you've gotten the vaginal ultrasound and everything is confirmed. 

     

    Do you have an assistant or someone who helps with these kids? At my chiropractor's office there is a physical therapist that is about 6 months pregnant and she has someone help for the parts she can no longer do. 

     

    Good Luck and keep us posted.

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  • I am a teacher and although I do not have to lift my students I did tell my principal at 8 weeks.  It was right after my first appointment.  My students like to through furniture, fists, and fits so I wanted him to be in the loop just incase a situation did come up.  (He knew before my parents!)

    If you are concerned about lifting then either tell work you have a bad back and try to cover up your pregnancy for a few more weeks or come clean.

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  • Because of your demanding work I would be inclined to tell right away, for your own safety.

  • I teach children with disabilities and it also involves a lot of lifting and controlling tantrums, etc. I told one of the assistants in my room right away and she has been great with handling all the physical aspects for me. I just told my principal at 13 weeks and he just told me to be careful and call for help when I need it. If you would rather wait to tell them, call your doctor and have them write you a note that you have lifting restrictions. I've had to do that many times in the past for various medical concerns.
  • I work for an insurance company, so it's not a physically demanding job, but I felt the same way you do.  I'm about 7 weeks and I just told my manager on Thursday-about a week and a half after we had our first ultrasound, saw and heard the heartbeat, etc.  It was more stressful to me feeling like I was trying to sneak around to make dr's appointments, taking time off, etc.  For me, it helped put my mind at ease by having one less thing to worry about.  I just let my manager know that it was very early and that I had just gotten everything confirmed, so I wasn't ready to tell my co-workers yet.  I think he appreciated me telling him early so that he knew what was going on and could plan around it as needed.  I think it just depends on the relationship you have with your boss and how you feel he/she would handle it.  Good luck! 
  • It's your call, but you may want to tell whoever your direct supervisor is sooner rather than later. I understand your worry that it could be a miscarraige but if you do miscarry you'll likely want some time off anyway and may decide to tell then anyway. There may be things your employer can do to cover him/herself in case you need to be gone - or they may adjust your work schedule so you can be gone if you need to, etc.

     

    also, since you are still early on you may still come down with morning sickness. Mine hit around week 6ish and I had no choice but to tell me boss, who was incredibly understanding about it. She also agreed to keep it hush hush until DH and I were ready to tell more folks.

     

    Congrats to you, and best wishes! Hopefully your pregnancy will stick!

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  • My job has heavy lifting (50-100Ibs is normal 150 is not unusal) and chemical exposure at 4 weeks I let one person in my group know so he volenteered for all the tasks that I shouldn't do.  He had kids and had already guessed that my frantic trips to the bathroom where a good thing.  At 8 weeks I let everyone else know since we deal with so many bad chemicals/heavy metals I really need to avoid them and they are all very understanding.  Being the only female in my division at the company does make it harder they don't really know what I can or can't do but they ask and are happy to help when they know I can't do a task.
    Me DOR amh .64 ng/mL  
    DH Brain Cancer
    BFP #1 12/11/08 DS born 8/23/09
    BFP#2 10/13/11 DC 11/4/11
    BFP#3 12/6/13 Lost 12/29/13
    Told IVF is the only option and have not found a clinic that will take me.



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