When did you start wearing your baby on board badge?

[sophied1983]

Sx

I wear mine at work! So people don't feel embarrassed asking and also in the vain hope that patients might not ask me to crawl around on the floor looking for things/ lift them up the bed etc

I wore it from around 8 weeks - terrible sickness and sitting down helped so I started wearing it to prevent having to get off the train to throw up!
I hid it when I got to my work stop as wasn't ready to tell colleagues until 12 weeks. I think it's worth wearing them if you have a busy commute - don't understand a couple of people here who feel they are above wearing badges... Perhaps they had one of these pregnancies I've heard about where you feel amazing all the way through and have lovely hair and nails? People don't realise how lucky they are!

I started wearing it about 16 weeks after some "gentlemen" barged in to me and it took my breath away and hurt quite a bit... He was in a hurry and was trying to squeeze through the gap of walkers.... The joys of London. I never really needed it for the train as the train station I got on at I was always lucky to get a seat, it was more for the 10 minute walk through London

Malvin South West Trains are doing something similar for season ticket holders now too.

Is that clear enough for you?

Much better, thank you. If he chooses not to wear a badge, that is his choice. It no way impacts on whether or not a pregnant woman, who chooses to wear the badge, should or not. Is that clear enough for you?

The badge issue is irrelevant in your argument - what you're essentially saying is that no pregnant woman should ever ask anyone else to give up their seat, or imply they need a seat in any way, in case it shames or upsets someone with a hidden disability which means they require the seat just as much as or more than the pregnant woman. In which case you should probably stop posting here and go start a MN campaign outlawing anyone asking anyone else to give up their seat on public transport. This includes elderly people, those with visible disabilities, those who are coming home from work with a terrible migraine, etc etc.

Also not sure how berating a woman to "prove" she is pregnant = person has a hidden disability, but ok.

I don't go into London often but I have worn mine. I tended not to bother unless I was feeling "pregnantly" knackered. I've had a fairly easy time and 9 times out of 10 I was either happy to stand or found a seat. I think I asked twice...no issues at all.

from about 6 weeks as I started fainting on the tube when standing up.

darth you seem very angry with me, not sure why?

Most of the reasons I don't wear them have been mentioned but I do think it's personal and sort of irrelevant. If people don't feel comfortable on the tube/standing/asking for a seat, this gives them an option which might make their journey less of a ball ache. That's a good thing, no?

With my first, it took a while to come though but with my second, as soon as I started to feel faint when standing up for long periods of time (so almost immediately). It was weeks 8-16 which were the real killer for me on the tube - once I was big enough to show it wasn't such a big issue...

Didn't get one. Always felt able to stand so didn't see the need. Now I have a big bump (37wks) I get offered a seat most days but rarely take it up.

fair I'm not angry with you, I'm having a debate. Way to ignore my points in favour of a popular tactic to try and shut down conversation, though.

I'm sorry darth. I seem to have upsest you. I didn't mean to. I also thought I was having a debate so maybe we are on the same page?

FWW I don't have anything against badges, I can just see how people without them might feel too.

I started wearing mine when my morning sickness kicked in ....Most mornings I'd have to get off the tube at finchley road and sit on a bench sweating and feeling faint. I didn't have a bump yet so I just looked drunk or hungover! Once I started wearing a badge it got easier as getting a seat meant I didn't have to get off the train and be late for work .

I'm sorry darth. I seem to have upsest you. I didn't mean to. I also thought I was having a debate so maybe we are on the same page

When you don't address any of my points to go "Aww, have I made you angwy? " then I think it's pretty clear you're no longer debating, so not sure why you thought you were still "having a debate", unless you kept talking to yourself after you hit "post"?

Then you come back and do it again, accusing me of being upset, but still don't address my points. I'm not angry, or upset, or hormonal, or hot, or cold, or a bit cranky, or headachey - in case you're still worried. I'm just a poster who doesn't smile and nod at nonsensical arguments. Surely I can't be the first on MN.

Anyway, to stop this ridiculous derail - OP, wear your badge whenever you feel you need to.

darth it seems to me that you just want to argue with me. And you want to have the last word. I'm really not fussed about that, so have it.

You get to have the last word and that's fine with me. Take it, enjoy it and I wish you a good evening

I wore mine from about 14 weeks. Not because I felt awful or needed to sit. But I hated being barged and squashed, and I found people gave me a little more space when I was wearing it. And if offered a seat I sat, particularly on buses. Because I didn't want to go flying if the bus did an emergency stop as I had on a few occasions pre preg.

I started wearing mine at 7 weeks as I had hypermesis and standing made me feel faint. I still wear it now but I only actually accept the seat if I am going more than a few stops or if my SPD is causing me particular bother. However the other day after an intense physio session and in a lot of pain I was travelling on the jubilee line from Waterloo to Stratford and this happened... So we get on the tube and there are 2 women in front of me at the doors. Only One empty seat which happens to be for pregnant ladies. So woman one rushes to the seat and sits down. Clocks my bump and looks away! Woman 2 walks a bit down the aisle and I walk behind her to find a pole to hold and DH stands by the door. Young lad in the third seat in clocks me and immediately jumps up to give me his seat which woman 2 takes! Says oh is that for me and before the lad had a chance to say no her butt was down. The man looked at me and I just nodded and said thank you. Then lad in seat 2 quickly jumps up and gives me his seat. I said thanks and sit down to which woman 2 says I am so sorry I didn't see you and tries to give the first guy his seat back but he obviously couldn't have it back as then he would have been a dick. So girlfriend of guy 2 is mouthing NOT to give me the seat and the guy had walked off. In the mean time woman 1 has made eye contact with me realised she is the cause of musical chairs and quickly gets a book out. The whole carriage is staring at me, woman 2 keeps apologising, the girlfriend is in a strop and I'm mortified!
The badges don't make a blind bit of difference to most. I swear I've been pushed and shoved more since being pregnant. However at least when I am brave enough to scream give me some space my badge feels like a back up.
What I don't get though is I'm more than happily to get people to give up seats for my pregnant friends and family but I'm too embarrassed to ask for one for myself!

You learn something every day. Who knew there was such a thing?
I think the antagonism surfaced because your thread title assumed folk would dutifully be wearing said badgetastic affair, op. Hints of the London commuter-centric
Aside from not realising there was such a thing (having not lived in London for some time) and mistakenly assumed you were referring to the poncetastic car stickers that assume people are going to drive differently knowing you have a baby in the car (as opposed to using the vehicle as a dodgem and shunting anyone without a baby on board sticker off the road, as always happens...) it rather assumed that there was some sort of necessity to the badge wearing and that people would go along with it.

Lots of assumption in both my part and yours.

'Did you wear a baby on board badge? If so, from what point in your pg?' Might have gone down better.

But hey. I've learned something today. Baby on board badges. Who knew?

Well yes madwomanbackintheattic I live in London, so of course it's London commuter-centric. Not every post written on this site has to be something that's suitable to be read nationwide.

If people don't know what the badges are or have never needed one, then there's not really much need to comment. Especially one of the earlier posts that suggested wearing a baby on board badge was to show-off about being pregnant and that it would be worn through smugness.

If you read my comments, I got physically pushed out of the way by a man on the Tube the other day and although a badge won't prevent all idiots behaving like that, it just might help when you're standing up on a packed tube and have someone elbowing you in the stomach because there's barely any standing room. It's not even about getting a seat, it's just so that people are a bit more aware.

Honestly... talk about taking the shine off someone's mood after posting an innocent question. I wish I hadn't bothered asking!

madwoman there was no assumption and no stick-up-the-ass need for anyone to take the offense. It's obvious that the OP meant "for those of you in London and surrounding areas on the tube and train network, when did you stay wearing your Baby on Board badge - this is directed at those of you who did, obviously". Anyone with half a brain could work that out, but the professionally-offended brigade on MN need something to get pissy about, don't they, or they get restless.

Indeed she got a bunch of whingers, as usual, who most likely got lost on the way to AIBU.

OP I just wanted to apologise if my comment upset you. I just typed it answering the question and didn't think, it wasn't helpful and I'm sorry.

I don't live in London but I used the tube while pregnant and some people were arseholes so if you want to wear the badge, go ahead!

X-post - sorry about all this shit, OP. This site is fucked up most of the time but the pregnancy board is usually ok.