Work stress issues

[emaitken14]

After 2 years of trying and a little help from chlomid I am now 17 weeks pregnant and over the moon.

However, I left my old job and started a new one 8 weeks ago-just before finding out I was pregnant. I also sold my house and bought another (that is a building project due to start soon). We are currently living in a family members house.

I have always been ambitious but since I have been in this role I have felt an increasing amount of pressure to succeed when actually, succeeding in business is not my priority anymore, being a mum to a happy healthy baby is.

The company have been supportive but telling them I was pregnant felt like I was a huge letdown to them and I feel a bit useless. I have been working weekends and late in the evenings as expectations are high.

I have felt fatigued over the last couple of weeks, having low iron levels, picking up a nasty virus and having 2 bleeds last week. I also woke up this morning with a terrible headache which has made me sick all day. After visiting the midwife (who is actually fairly useless) she told me I am either run down or am getting over another infection and she advised I rest. I feel sick about the amount of work I have to do and the results I am expected to achieve before I go off on maternity. I am still on a 6 month probation and am terrified they will find an excuse to get rid of me, making me feel like a complete failure. I almost want to fast forward the next 4 months of work left as I can't seem to get my brain into the same place as it used to be. It seems to be like mush and I find focussing on things really hard. I feel like the luckiest person in the world finally being blessed with this baby and want to enjoy every minute of it without being clouded by work! Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this? I am keen to hear how other mums-to-be have tackled situations like this. Thanks :)

[NeedMoreSleepOrSugar]

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I had a similar situation, pregnant after 3 years of trying, happened just after a promotion and move to one of the most notoriously difficult and demanding roles in the area (the last four people in the role all left due to stress).

To begin with I did similarly to you, tried to be all things to all men and ran myself ragged. Then I had a bleed and realised it just wasnt worth it. I still worked hard and new role went well, but I made my pregnancy my priority and made it clear that I wouldn't be made to feel guiltily about that (even though I did! ).

So so glad I did that. Dd is a brilliant and chilled little thing and I'm convinced that me keeping happy and (relatively) relaxed was a big part of that. I also thoroughly enjoyed my pregnancy and look back on it fondly instead of it being a stress filled time. Honestly, you have it right in saying that your baby is the priority - and I'm sure you're great at your job too, so relax and do what you can, but don't try to be super woman - enjoy this wonderful time

[littlelen16]

Thank you so much for your reply. (I have recently changed my name on Mumsnet).

I'm new to Mumsnet and was initially nervous about posting but I'm so glad I did now. It's great to hear from someone who has had a similar experience. It is such an amazing time and I do need to relax a little and enjoy my time being pregnant. I have new rules in place, one of which is to shut the laptop on at 9am and off at 5pm for me and bump time :) I always want to do well and over the last few weeks have felt I have a lot to prove before I go on maternity.

I'm resting up at the moment as the infections have made me really ill. I plan on getting myself fighting fit for next week ready to start again sensibly.

Thanks again for sharing your experience

[NeedMoreSleepOrSugar]

:) Bump time is great! Enjoy!!