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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Working in early pregnancy

21 replies

Melrose86 · 15/08/2018 13:04

Hi everyone. Just wondering how people are coping or any advice for coping at work when struggling with tiredness and nausea? I am about 7 weeks pregnant and due back at work as a teacher tomorrow and i am worrying how i will cope as i feel yuck all the time at the moment! I also have a class with challenging behaviour issues so extra stress! It's a small school so most of the time there is no other adult in the room to help me out.

Thanks for any advice!

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Havetothink · 15/08/2018 16:01

Remember you can still have some caffeine, time it for when you need it most.

Havetothink · 15/08/2018 16:02

Also boiled mints/sweets can help keep nausea at bay a bit.

myotherbagisgucci · 15/08/2018 16:07

I've heard that Apple juice works wonders for nausea and morning sickness.

Havetothink · 15/08/2018 16:10

I did drink only Apple juice for about three weeks but only because I couldn't stomach much else, maybe there's truth in it.

Marriageoftrueminds · 15/08/2018 16:26

Ginger sweets. You can get them from Holland and Barret. They are amazing at stopping nausea. I’m a teacher and - obviously everyone is different - but I actually found that getting to work nice and early (I’m guessing you do already) really helped because my morning sickness had reduced by the time the kids actually came in. I also got up a bit earlier to give myself longer to get ready. I ate breakfast as soon as I got up (so about 6am) and took a snack to work to eat at around 8 ish (kids come in just before 9), I found eating really helped.

7-10 weeks was, in my experience, the most nauseating bit, after that I began to feel a bit better. The other thing I did was to tell a member of office staff that I might need to call on her if I felt sick or needed the loo! So she would pop down to let me go for a couple of minutes. You can then send a child to the office with an agreed message that the office staff will understand means you need them.

Congrats on your pregnancy. It gets better, it really does!!

Modestandatinybitsexy · 15/08/2018 16:27

I found that once I was in and keeping busy doing things it helped to keep my mind off it. Not a teacher though.

Babdoc · 15/08/2018 16:32

How close is your classroom to the toilets, if you need to rush out and be sick? If you think you might not make it, keep a few sick bags in your pocket. I still remember being sick in a patient’s sink while in full scrubs trying to put in an epidural on labour ward! At least I got my mask off in time...

Original poster

Melrose86 · 15/08/2018 16:43

Thank you all for the advice! I have found that sometimes being busy helps as it takes my mind off it. Luckily my classroom is close to the toilets! I have heard apple juice helps too so I will try that. Thank you x

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PurpleFlower1983 · 15/08/2018 16:52

Mints helped me and a bottle of water to hand! I also navigated the classroom on my desk chair.

dragonmummy17 · 15/08/2018 17:02

I had a really tricky class when pregnant with DS and felt nauseous all day. I kept a stash of ginger biscuits in the drawer and nibbled when I needed to and made the children come to me as much as possible. My HT knew at 6 weeks because I needed time off for an early scan so that helped. Ultimately I ended up being signed off sick for 2 weeks though so maybe I'm not the best example!
Congratulations on your pregnancy

Original poster

Melrose86 · 15/08/2018 17:10

Thank you. I'm planning on telling my headteacher tomorrow as I have my booking in appointment on Friday afternoon. I definitely plan on having biscuits or sweets in my cupboard :)

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Marriageoftrueminds · 15/08/2018 18:45

I don’t know what age group you teach OP, but I was in year 2 and once the kids knew (which admittedly wasn’t until 20 weeks in my case because I had a few complications) they were incredibly sweet and very keen to help me with things so I didn’t have to fetch and carry etc. It brought out the best of some of them!

StyleOfTheTimes · 15/08/2018 19:09

I’m 14w3d now and I’ve only just started to feel human again. I found that making sure I was really hydrated helped. I would put my water bottle in the freezer half full and then top the rest up with water. The icy cold somehow seemed to help the nausea? I didn’t find ginger sweets that helpful. They made me feel more sickly. I did try and have mints or gum as I developed, and still have, the metallicy/ mouldy milk taste in my mouth 🤢 maybe a tall stool so you can rest whilst teaching. I know I had to sit down quite a bit at first. Good luck!

AliceRR · 15/08/2018 19:14

I think just keep snacking, eating sweets, whatever helps. Rest / sit down when you can. Tell you manager so the can make adjustments if need be. Just adjust your expectations of what you can do. In my first trimester I really struggled at work. I felt so exhausted and quite sick most days and I was not very productive at times. I had to just accept my body was doing other things and try not to get too frustrated. I also feel better after telling my manager as he has noticed the effect on my work and was very understanding now he knows why.

Original poster

Melrose86 · 15/08/2018 19:24

Thank you. I am hoping my boss will be understanding. I am in a p6/7 class and i'm sure they will be helpful once they know. I am going to find it hard keeping it a secret as it is a small village school so news always spreads quickly! I want to wait a while before telling anyone though as I am nervous of something going wrong. We tried for a year and I ended up pregnant the same month we got married! We were unsure if we would even be able to have children as my husband had chemotheraphy 2 years ago and the doctors weren't sure if it would affect his fertility

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JLG19 · 15/08/2018 19:34

Congratulations on your marriage and pregnancy OP!

I also felt quite nauseous during the first trimester. I found eating little and often helped, I had a handful of nuts the minute I woke up! Keep hydrated as well.

Hope it passes soon and wishing you a happy, healthy pregnancy.

SpottingTheZebras · 15/08/2018 19:37

Congratulations!

Your school will need to do an a health and safety assessment regarding your pregnancy and if you need any particular adjustments, this is your time to speak up. They might not be able to accommodate your adjustments, so you might need to talk with them further and don’t forget you can have further assessments throughout your pregnancy in case your capabilities change.

Original poster

Melrose86 · 15/08/2018 19:43

Thank you. I will talk to my boss about that tomorrow. I have found that whenever I eat I feel better so been eating loads. And i have taken a strange liking to cheese sandwiches with worcester sauce crisps in them!

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Marriageoftrueminds · 15/08/2018 20:56

We tried for two years too and I got pregnant with this one the one month we weren’t really trying (as we’d had an ectopic pregnancy the month before and were still grieving). I’m 34 weeks now. Funny how things work out! Very happy for you.

Original poster

Melrose86 · 15/08/2018 21:26

Congratulatuons! It is funny isn't it. We had just been to the doctors a few days before getting the positive test to find out about getting my husband's sperm tested!

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Izzyw1983 · 15/08/2018 23:10

I actually couldn't find anything that helped except...crystallized or raw ginger and trainings green tea with ginger...only things that worked xx

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