Tips for being a teacher and coping with pregnancy

[BellaBear]

Hello any teachers out there! I am a secondary teacher and 26 weeks pregnant.

I was so so so tired just before half term, although I usually am, and have ended up going home early today because I overdid it yesterday and then couldn't sleep and then was no use to anyone.

I am finding it very difficult coping with 11 hours + days at school - I think if I could have a nap at midday I would be able to cope!. But I also very aware that not being in school means other people covering lessons, and I really want to avoid taking time off. I am terrified of the eight week run up to Christmas. It's mostly the tiredness and the being on my feet all the time and the relentless being-asked-questions all day - I reckon I'd be able to do the hours if I was sat down for the same amount of time!

So any tips for staying in school? And generally coping?

BellaBear I'm so glad you got your chair, it makes a world of difference!

I teach Yr4, am currently 34wks and to be honest am dead on my feet! But am trying to sit down as much as poss, and I am lucky that I have a brilliant SEN in with me a lot of the time, I see groups at my desk and she whirls round the room attending to everyone else, I think actually she is doing more of my job than I am at the moment...eek...mental note to buy a box of choccies...!

It is a very hard job to do while PG, the only benefit seems to be that we get the option to get up, walk around, sit down etc, the girls at my AN class work in offices and are having terrible trouble from sitting still 8hrs a day. Then there are people on my AN thread here who work in shops etc and have to stand up all day, so at least we have the variety!

Totally understand re maternity leave - I've had some very disapproving responses when I've said I'm working to 38wks, but we are skint and I'd rather have the time at the other end. My main fear is going into labour early without having had a couple of weeks rest - if I was to go tomorrow I hate to think how I'd manage.

Sorry, long post, but GOOD LUCK! I remember thinking I'd never get here, now only a few weeks to go!

You have to be disciplined about using your chair, Bella - old habits die hard if you are used to being on your feet. I am on my feet almost 100% of my teaching time, and it is really weird if I do have an opportunity to sit down (eg if they are doing a test).

What do you teach?

It does feel v weird sitting down! And I have to be honest and say I think behaviour/discipline suffers for it (I have quite a "rumbly" bunch of children - don't you just love it when people say that about a class, you know what they really mean....).

But I am at the point now where sitting down is the priority!!

Oh, I do so feel for you all! I am a secondary Maths teacher too and really struggled when I was pg with ds1. I wish I had known all of this then it's a great thread!

I suffered so badly from tiredness (and have a history of ME) that my GP signed me off with "Pregnancy Related Fatigue" at about 30 weeks iirc. I then started my maternity leave at the planned time. It was all a while ago now and I can't remember the details but it worked out ok and I didn't end up losing any money or mat leave.

good luck to you all - and I really hope you can manage OK.

Tiggerish - thread hijack, sorry - has your ME resurfaced at all throughout/after pregnancy? I was signed off for a year about 5 years ago with CFS and I'm scared it comes back to get me! Hope you are doing ok.

Worked to 36 weeks 1st time & 38/9 weeks 2nd time.

I didn't stand on too many chairs to reach the whiteboard, made the smellier boys sit at the back and marked like a demon to get it all done before mat leave.

Hints and tips:

• Your expanding stomach intimidates teenage boys, exploit this when confronting them.
• Plan routes to the toilets that avoids 3 flights of stairs, the smell of grease from the kitchen and single male teacher frightened of women who attempts a witticism every time he sees you.
• Plan for damage limitation re mat cover - give the cover teacher the part of the syllabus that you can teach again in 3 weeks flat on your return.

Caz - no i have been really lucky and have had no problems at all really. i was really worried about it when expecting ds but I was careful and was ok. With dd, i wasn't working full time and it made such a difference.

I am still careful and listen to my body - stop when it tells me to etc.

Sympathies to all of you, having taught through 3 pregnancies I know how you feel. you need to be very careful, if feeling very tired get it checked out, in my second pregnancy I developed a heart murmer bought on by aneamia, resulting in being signed off sick from about 26 weeks until the start of my maternity cover. If you are sick your mat leave doesn't start so you are not loosing time at the other end. I think you need some time before the baby is born too, my experience is school is still contacting you for the first couple of weeks to iron out problems, also you need time to rest / prepare. A friend who worked till 38 weeks and had the baby the next day really did take longer to get up and about after the birth as she hadn't had that time to rest before.

Hooray for the chair! I agree it's weird sitting down and I couldn't do it with all classes but I could do it with years 7 and 8 and top sets.

ScienceT: very good point - will I get bored of propelling myself about the room by my feet though? Probably! Actually, I did have to force myself to sit down in some lessons. With year ten I sat under my Smartboard with a counting stick hitting the board - great fun!

Am a maths teacher, btw. This means I am currently perfecting the 'give them lots of sums and they come to you for marking/help' teaching technique. Didn't really learn that one at college.

I wish there were more spaced out staff toilets in my school - they are all on the ground floor. However spoke to Head and HoD and if necessary they agreed to swap my room. They offered to now, but I want to stay in my room as long as possible, it's mine and I know where everything is!

I think this is my most successful thread I've started, thanks very much all you pregnant (past and present) teachers!