Baby on Board badge

[InDreamland]

My baby on board badge came in the post today from Transport for London. Now I just need to pluck up the courage to wear it.

Was planning to just have it in my bag ready to pop on if I am having a bad day but sometimes the dizziness comes on when I'm on the train. Also worried I'll just get looks from people because at only 7 weeks I don't look pregnant yet.

Other thing worried about is bumping into people I know on the tube. I know so many people who live along the same line as me and it's not uncommon to bump into them. I don't want anyone to know until week 13 or 14..........apart from my parents and sister (FIL can wait longer and therefore will have to hold off on telling SIL).

For those in and around London, when did you start wearing yours? If you started wearing it before bump showed what reaction did you get? Did you start wearing it before telling colleagues and friends?

I commute into London everyday, I'm 11 weeks and have been wearing mine since extreme sickness kicked in at 6 weeks!

Also the one time I didn't wear it the other week, a man tried tripping me down the stairs because he didn't like that I cut in front of him. Very nearly fell down the stairs and I was furious!

It's not just for seats, commuters can be aggressive! :(

@BubblesPls that's awful. People can be so rude, aggressive and self centred on the tube. I hate it. I've been trying to work from home and leave the office earlier the past 3 weeks to try and avoid the worst of it.

I started wearing mine to avoid the awkwardness people appeared to feel not being sure I was pregnant or not. So 19-20 weeks. Just made it a lot clearer. Took me a long time to stop feeling guilty at people offering seats, until someone told me that at the very least, I should sit to avoid falling down if the tube driver slammed the brakes on (which they often do!)

Happily I didn't suffer any early symptoms so didn't need it before then.

I did actually have someone castigate me once for NOT wearing one when she realised I was pregnant and offered me her seat. It was on my coat i'd taken off! Had a lot of weird and awkward encounters on the tube. Worst ones were when everybody sitting pretended to be asleep, and someone standing near me would invariably tell them all off

I started wearing mine quite early in my pregnancy as I had bad morning sickness. I also suffer with postural hypotension (my blood pressure drops when I stand up) and I figured people would probably rather I sat than risked fainting on the train and causing them delays.
I didn't ever ask anyone for a seat (I just feel that you don't know why someone is sitting and chose to assume that if they didn't offer their seat the needed it more than I did) but overall my experience has been very positive and I have very rarely had to stand on national rail or the tube.

I think if you want to ask for a seat, it’s best to just say “excuse me, is there a spare seat please?” to the air, and then people will look up (as invariably they’re on their phones/have their eyes shut and haven’t seen you) and it’s likely that SOMEone will be able to stand and let you sit. But doing it this way means you’re not singling someone out who actually needs the seat for an invisible reason, by asking them directly in front of a crowd and putting pressure on them. :)

Also the one time I didn't wear it the other week, a man tried tripping me down the stairs because he didn't like that I cut in front of him. Very nearly fell down the stairs and I was furious!

I'd assume, unfortunately, that a man who tried knocking a woman down the stairs wouldn't be concerned about a baby on board badge. Some people are just terrible terrible cunts.

They actually serve a purpose and not attention seeking. If you were standing on a moving train and it emergency breaks, you can easily fall. the first seat close to a door is most appropriate as u wouldnt want to trip over someones feet so i get angry when people dont respect the pregnant one. You dont know their story for what its worth they might have struggled a long time to finally conceive. So never judge!
I support those wearing it as you dont always show, especially early on and if your in your thick winter coats!

Of course it's not attention seeking.

Pregnant women have a high chance of falls. So it's better to sit than stand on a moving train and the badge allows people to give you a seat without having an awkward conversation. I've given up my seat countless times to pregnant women in the past because of the badge. Otherwise you can't always tell if they are actually pregnant and could offend someone by suggesting it!

Now that I'm pregnant, the badge allows me to sit in first class on my morning commute when the train is packed without getting a fine from the ticket inspector.

Lastly, it does make people take a little more care around you. London at rush hour can be hectic, people just bump into you all the time. The badge definitely creates some space for you as people are more mindful. I mean who wants to elbow a pregnant woman in the belly?

Yes definitely wear the badge, I keep it in my bag as I take it off before getting into work and put it on before I get on the train. The relaxin and all the hormones have made me quite unstable and much giddier than before. Pre-pregnancy I would stand and just be able to keep balance, whereas that has pretty much gone now! So rather than fall on someone, better to just wear the badge and ask for a seat. I didn't wear my badge yesterday, I am visibly pregnant but the people in the pregnancy seats had headphones in and heads down into their phones, which makes it really awkward as they don't see you, let alone the badge.