27 weeks pregnant and struggling with the thought of working for another 11 weeks 😞

[flawless29]

I have a desk job and I am getting increasingly uncomfortable sitting at work all day.The amount of work I have to complete before my departure for 8 months of mat leave. I am finding myself wishing this baby would come early so I dont have to be here every day, going home absolutely exhausted at 5-6pm at night. The lack of sleep isn't helping either and I find it extremely hard to concentrate for the 8-9 hours I am at work. I do a fairly mentally challenging role which means I can't just switch off and cruise to the end of this. It's really getting me down. Any other professional mums to be in the same boat and how are you coping?

At 27 weeks I’d be speaking to your MW about this, as it’s certainly not normal to feel so exhausted at work unless in a manual role.

Can you take some annual leave?

Agree with PP.

Is there a reason you aren't sleeping? Have your iron levels been checked? You may need a supplement as your energy levels could be depleted by low iron stores.

Are you eating well enough during the day to keep your energy up?

Oh and can you work from home for the last part? At least then you can change positions or make yourself comfortable with cushions etc

I agree with silver - poss get your iron checked?

But also, don’t think about it as ‘stuff you need to get done before Mat leave’. Do what you can in sensible working hours in the weeks you have left. Manage upwards so people know what to expect, but if things don’t get done, it’s not your problem!

I'm 37 weeks and off work now, but was absolutely exhausted too. Nothing wrong with my iron etc - it just is exhausting!

I just took it a week at a time, stocked up on chocolate biscuits, and tried to be mindful of my body (e.g. sitting down to give presentations I'd normally do standing up etc).

You can start your mat leave 11 weeks before
your due date if this is something you could consider (obviously you’ll have less at the other end).

The lack of sleep isn't helping either and I find it extremely hard to concentrate for the 8-9 hours I am at work.

Good luck being a 24/7 parent! Do you have any idea how exhausting it is? You don't get to switch off at 5.30pm.

@PinkFrogss Unfortunately I don’t have any annual leave left for this year. I work for a private company therefore I prefer not to take sick leave unless absolutely necessary

Another vote to get your iron tested. One pregnancy I felt like you at about that stage, so exhausted I could cry all the time, turned out to be low iron.

I had my bloods done last week. I rang surgery to check and receptionist said “no news is a good news” . So I assume they tested iron ( I believe it’s routine in pregnancy ) and it’s normal

Iron testing doesn’t seem to be routine, I’ve never had mine tested and am 37 weeks currently (and still working)

What does a private company matter when it comes to sick leave?

Do you not get paid sick leave?

@Silverpining maybe it varies by area as I had my iron levels checked at my booking bloods and again at 28 weeks and that was only last year.

Yes, iron's checked around 28 weeks, but it will probably be lower than your norm even if it's still "normal". Some iron rich food can help. But tbh pregnancy insomnia can be a total pain, and it's not surprising if your concentration is worse - there's just a lot going on with your body at the moment, and it affects everyone differently.

Good luck!

I agree don’t look at anything as ‘things you need to get done before mat leave’.
The reality is you could have 15 weeks left before the baby comes which is ages!
I’m sure they will have checked your iron if they did your blood last week but no harm in asking. They will be lower in pregnancy in general.
Make sure you eat well as it gives you more energy. It’s normal to be uncomfortable in the night and a bit more tired but you shouldn’t be struggling so much with tiredness that a desk job at 27 weeks is this difficult.

Seconding getting iron and ferritin checked. There’s lower thresholds in pregnancy but I felt like you and mine were through the floor. I was signed off for almost all the third trimester and my mat leave started at 36weeks. I literally couldn’t climb a flight of stairs without passing out and ended up needing multiple iron infusions.

Ignore all the haters. I was absolutely knackered by about 25 weeks. Started my mat leave somewhere between 32 and 34 weeks. Reduced my working hours around the 27 week mark. Best thing I ever did.

I'm 29 weeks and exhausted too! I also have a four year old and for his pregnancy I don't remember feeling so fatigued at this stage.

I had my bloods taken last week too and they're normal so chalking this down to general pregnancy tiredness, chasing after my 4 year old and the time of year (January is never an energetic time for me, always feel like I'm working at 60% til early spring).

As I know I'm approaching maternity leave, I'm also struggling with motivation at work. Constantly getting looped into issues and projects I won't be around to work on or complete.

Could any of these factors be impacting you also? As others have said being pregnant IS knackering anyway- the body is doing so much at every stage of it.

I would say it's worth talking to your boss to see if you can reduce your hours or someone else can take on some of your work etc. In my workplace they allowed us to reduce our hours if necessary when we got to the 3rd trimester.

But please be careful what you wish for. My baby came at 28 weeks and spent 5 weeks in intensive care and 7 more in hospital after that and I wouldn't wish that on anybody. Thankfully my DD is well now though x

Any other professional mums to be in the same boat and how are you coping?

I work a high pressure job that requires me to be ‘on’ all the time. I developed a level of bloody mindedness that was big, even for me and used it to exercise every single day, as I’ve always done anyway but would have been forgiven for not doing while pregnant. I always felt better afterwards, and was stronger and had no back or pelvic pain as time went on. The day before I had my C-section I jumped my horse one last time. I had to dig so fucking deep to exercise some days but I did it because it gave me energy, strengthened my body, kept me in shape so I did the much-maligned on here ‘bounce back’ and made me feel in control and accomplished.

I just gave birth to my 2nd and am in a high pressured job - lawyer.

I was exhausted by about 33 weeks this time as was doing drop offs, pick ups, commuting to London in a packed train and finishing work late.

but that was because my bump was getting bigger which meant I was slower walking and also made sleeping difficult - and also had gestational diabetes so couldn’t eat much

In my experience anyway, if this is your first - 27 weeks is quite early to feel like this tbh. Can you work from home more frequently if you have a long commute - or at least get later, less busy trains? if you need to go in you need to ensure your occupational health team sets up your desk and chair ergonomically - your employer has a duty to do so. Also definitely get a blood test.

in terms of sleeping, make sure you use a good pregnancy pillow eg dreamgenie

Unfortunately you are likely to become more uncomfortable as time goes on - and of course you won’t be able to sleep as much with the baby here

so it’s worth nipping these issues in the bud now to try and get as much sleep as you can now

I was truly exhausted and barely staying awake from around 30 weeks, had to cut my hours at work , stayed in hospital for 5 days post birth, slept maybe 2 hours a night, baby is now 5 months old and I still have not been anywhere near as tired as when I was pregnant, in fact I have more energy now than even before pregnancy!

She's struggling with pregnancy fatigue, it doesnt mean she'll be the same post partum.