How did you manage work and morning sickness?

[dejags]

Okay I know I deserve this for moaning about lack of symptoms but here goes.

I have been feeling absolutely dreadful - not been getting sick so much (besides one day last week) as retching and feeling dizzy. I am also so tired I just can't concentrate. To those of you who have full time jobs and another demanding toddler what did/do you do?

I am tempted to book a weeks holiday but my husband says I shouldn't have to use my holiday entitlement when I am sick and that I should just take as much time off as I need and then get the doc to give me a note. Problem is, is that I have just been given my first project to manage and it's an important one, I am scared that if I take time off now I will be branded one of those woman who use morning sickness as an excuse?

Ideas / thoughts???

TIA

What do you do?
I was very tired when I was preg with ds, and had just started (2 weeks into it) my theology degree as a mature student. I think my pregnancy did annoy people, but 2 years later i got a first so phnar phnar to them all.
I imagine taking holiday or sick would both be just as bad from a poeple thinkng you weren;t concentrating on the project p.o.v? Would it be the sort of thing you could do at home so the time of didn't actually get you behind much? And where do you work - I found having a 2-hour lunchtime nap helped no end, and I also refused to stand anywhere as I then got faint. Going sick but effectively working from home might help - hopefully you could spin it as 'I'm dreadfully ill but going out of my way to soldier on because obviously I put my work first'?!
Alternatively, does the doctor have to say its pregnancy related - couldn't you just be ill, as anyone might be with flu etc at this time of year?
Hope it goes well, M.

me too - as in, full-time job, toddler (although wonderful dp looking after him!) and my sickness/nausea/dizzyness has returned - I'm nearly 31 weeks pregnant...

I'd just started a job at the begninning of the pregnancy, so tended to stay at work until and unless I'd thrown up - which handily normally happens in the afternoon so I'd then go home a bit earlier than usual. Last week I felt truly awful, so took 2 days off sick and was able to spend most of them sleeping which did me the world of good, so I went back to work for the rest of the week.

It's really tricky - I don't think you should take annual leave either - maybe take 2 - 3 days sick leave and see how you feel - try to sleep as much as possible and see if that helps. I'm thinking that I'm just going to take each day of the week at a time and get through as best as I can - the most important thing is you and how you're feeling/coping - work will still be there if you have to take a couple/few days off...

Dejags - I am in the same position as you. I work in an environment that isn't exactly woman-friendly and have already had comments about me getting pregnant to have 6 months paid holidays! .... no witnesses of course!

I also have 1.5 hrs travelling on 3 forms of public transport to and from work. I have coped by sitting for half an hour every morning and eating ginger snaps, drinking fruit juice.... just having ANYTHING that I could face eating that would raise my blood sugar. On the train I have sucked on wine gums or chewed chewing gum. Whilst at work if I've felt dizzy or sick I have just taken as much time as I've needed and sat in the loo until I've felt better.
Then when I get in a night I crash out the minute ds goes to sleep! I survived knowing that it IS just a phase and it DOES pass.
How many weeks are you now??

And I agree with your DH.... there are men in my office that have a week of for a COLD! Don't tell them its Morning sickness.... just tell them you have a nasty tummy bug and can't get off the pan. And take a week off.

I have also found it easier to have perhaps one day off a week. So instead of using a full weeks holiday, just book one day next week and another day the next and hopefully you'll be over the worst by then.

I had terrible morning sickness when expecting DS and managed by taking dry biscuits into work and we had a sofa in the breakout area so I could rest during my lunchbreak. I also took a couple of 15 minute breaks during the day. Managed to sneak away...
I think you can take a couple of days to get some rest, but apart from that I think it's just one of those things you have to go through when pregnant..........Hope it passes quickly!

I certainly wouldn't use your annual leave. I struggled on because I hadn't told many people I was pregnant. Always had some boiled sweets with me, which helped a bit. In hindsight I'd have taken sick leave/worked from home, lots of other peopel do, it just didn't occur to me to do it! Morning sickness is not an excuse, you'll be off sick because you feel sick! If you weren't pregnant and felt rotten you'd stay off surely.

I had really awful morning sickness (thank god no toddler to look after) and soldiered on to the point of being ridiculous. I would take time off (sick, with a doctor's note) if I were you, by the time you're back off maternity leave they'll have forgotten everything anyway.

But, if it helps, my coping strategies were - bowl and a roll of kitchen paper in the car (lived 8 miles from work, journey never failed to make me puke), drink small amounts regularly of something that you can keep down (grapefruit juice for me strangely, but try ginger ale, flat lemonade, camomile tea), find somewhere you can escape to to have a power nap or just sit and cry (I went for car, park bench, shop changing rooms).

Oh and ignore all those people who say they had morning sickness all through their pregnancy. You don't need to hear that.

If you were feeling this ill and weren't pregnant would you hesitate in taking some time off?

With my first pregnancy I struggled through 50/60 hour weeks, getting up at 5.30am and not getting home until 7 or 8pm and spending most of the day throwing up in the wastepaper basket - I look back now and wonder if I was seriously deranged?! No job is worth it.

If you're really more worried about work, think of it this way, how well are you going to be able to do this project if you feel this ill and are this tired?

IMO you should ask your GP to sign you off for a bit. If you can get some rest (not easy with a toddler!) then maybe you can get past this stage quicker!

Hope you feel better soon!

I used lots of holiday entitlement and all my standard sick days & just dragged myself through it. Very hard, though, if your sickness and fatigue lasts 6-9 weeks like mine does; I don't know how many employers would like somebody being signed off for morning sickness for 2 months. The only helpful thing was I was working part-time so I could make up hours later, too. Is there any scope to go parttime right now?
I've said this before, but the one & only thing that helped morning sickness for me was Vitamin B6 -- American doctors actually prescribe it, 25mg twice daily.

I had a week off school (teacher) signed off by my doctor as I was being very sick and was faint and dizzy for a while. Doctor didn't feel it was safe to drive. He was quite adament that I should not be at work, as did HV. My friend was off for 6 weeks - signed off my HV/doctor - for similar reasons.

Rest of the time I used to warn the kids how I was feeling. Luckily the toilet was only 3 doors a way and I used to regularly leave my class to be sick

Spent lots of time on mumsnet - it seemed to help somehow

FWIW I think you are better going to the doctors and getting a sick note for a week off than just taking the odd couple of days or so. At least that way you have the doctor's documentation to back you up. A doctor's note can hold a lot more comments at bay than simply your word. At least that is what I have found.