Working full time & Pregnancy with type 1

[marie85]

Hi guys, and Happy New Year
Just wondering how many of you faired when pregnant and working full time? Did you reduce your hours? Or Go off early before mat leave started?
I'm nearly 20weeks and have a stressful-ish job with some long days leaving house at 7.30am back home 7pm.
After initially having a nice burst of energy after the morning sickness of first trimester I find that I'm getting more tired & I'm still having nighttime hypos(getting less though)... I set my phone alarm twice/night to check that I'm within range(not high or low) and also have a Dexcom but my nighttime hypos were severe in first trimester and afraid to rely on it 100% incase it fails. (Just a side note-couldn't recommend it highly enough though-I don't have a pump but find the CGM invaluable - last Hba1c was 41/5.9% partly thanks to it!)

So between the waking every few hours at night combined with the tiredness of being pregnant and working full time I'm starting to wonder how other people coped? The baby will always come first but I'm afraid of letting people down too by calling in sick etc! If I call in sick, my colleagues will have to take on my work.
Any advice/previous experience would be great

 

[tigger]

Congratulations on your pregnancy! It all depends on you. I worked full time for my 1st 2 pregnancies (no. 2 was twins) and was ok. I was working in the City for my 1st so that was long hours. For my 3rd pregnancy i worked nearly full time (earlier start, earlier finish) but that was harder going as i had 3 kids at home to deal with. I went off at 35 weeks for pregnancies 1 and 3 as i knew when i was being induced and that felt right to me. I went earlier with the twins as I wanted to avoid a premature birth.

I had nighttime hypo unawareness ending in comas in my 1st and 2nd pregnancies. I didn't call in sick the next day as if i can keep going i will. Also I consider anything related to my control a personal failure so would hate to call in sick for that reason. That's my choice. With my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies my employer was a lot more encouraging about working at home so I did ask to do it one morning when i kept on vomoting every 10 mins and didn't fancy the tube in that state! I felt fine apart from that.

Ultimately it all depends on you and your circumstances. I never felt i was pushing myself past my limits. However I was also motivated with my 1st by the fact i had no paid sick leave, a big mortgage and had started a new job where i wanted to impress. I was in a better situation with my next 2 but also had a more flexible employer so worked at home if needed and used leave to work shorter weeks in the last few weeks.

I hope that helps. Good luck! I always found the first trimester hardest as you can't tell anyone and have ao many hospital appts to explain away.

 

[kitty55]

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I had a baby on 10th August (EDD on 6th August) and went off for 2 weeks annual leave on 24th June (my sister got married in Germany) and started my mat leave officially on 11th July. I couldn't be bothered to go back after my holiday even though I could have done it.
I think I almost sort of wasted a couple of weeks of mat leave and would potentially do it differently next time (if there is a next time). But as @tigger said it really depends on you and your job. My job was stressful yes, but I was able to go in early (some days before 7am) so could go home early as well as I found I was getting tired in the afternoon. My boss knew early on about my pregnancy as it was an IVF so she was well aware about everything and very supportive.
I had an alarm twice a night as well just to check BS and yes, it was tiring but well worth it in the end as I managed to go to 40+4 weeks without induction and baby was all well and healthy and my hba1c better than every in my life. Good luck and hope that helps!

 

[azure]

Hi @marie85

I worked full time in my last pregnancy and started my maternity leave at 30weeks. I got very tired and I didn't have such long days as you. I found it harder to get up in the mornings and hated being 'tied to my desk' as some days I felt uncomfortable in the third trimester.

If you're feeling unwell, then don't ever be afraid of calling in sick. You're not letting anyone down, you're doing the best for you and your baby. That's more important than any job.

Could you speak to,your boss and see if you could reduce your hours? One of my colleagues did a shorter day later on in pregnancy, and the manager was very accommodating in helping her arrange that.

 

[marie85]

@tigger @kitty55 @azure

Thanks ladies for advice, good to hear what others are doing.
I'm feeling ok health wise at the min, just unexpectedly tired after the short break over Christmas!...I had a vision of going back nice and rested!
Will see how it works out going forward, will definitely speak with manager in near future too & see if I can make adjustments.

 

[Postitnote]

Wanted to add, don't do what I did! I too have a stressful job. Long hours and 4 hours commuting every day. I left on mat leave at 37 weeks. Induction scheduled for 37+4. I had no time to myself to just relax and prepare. BIG MISTAKE!

 

[1Sarah1]

Hi @marie85 i too had a v stressful job with my first pregnancy I finished about 33w (took leave etc) but had pre eclampsia and had to deliver early. Second pregnancy (twins) I was really ill (sick, pain and issue with my little boy twin) and got signed off sick at my 20w scan. I used to set my alarm (didn't need to second time as dd was up lots in the night!) twice too but had hypo awareness throughout.
Anyhow when my twins were born my little boy had a severe life threatening complication that we didn't know about and has luckily pulled through and done well but I felt at least I had myself and babies first so I had done all I could. Work need to make adjustments for you if necessary-have you had a risk assessment?
My little boy came home after a few weeks in hospital (my twin girl was in hospital for 2wks too as they were prem) then my just 2yr old was diagnosed type1 too. That was the final nail that I wasn't going back to work!
I think you have to do what's right for you. If you need to make adjustments then ask and if you need to go in late then do that. If you drive that can sometimes be an issue if you are particularly low overnight as you need to be high enough to drive to work. Anyway take care x

 

[Belucky1_]

Hi I worked full time with my first luckily for me I was not sick but it was a very hot summer so was very tired. My son was six weeks early so I did not take any leave. When i had my daughter I made sure I left six weeks early. If you are feeling fine go as long as you can then you can have longer after the baby is born.