Surviving hen weekend at 6wks pregnant!!!

[baystreetbaby]

Hello!

I’ve recently found out I’m pregnant, which I’m over the moon about. However, i very quickly realised I have my best friends hen party in a couple of weeks time when I’ll be 6 weeks pregnant.

I know I’ll be able to get through most of the weekend undetected (hopefully) by ordering and making my own drinks but we have a bottomless brunch booked and having been to these events before, it’s not going to be as discreet!

Anyone been in the same situation before and could give me some tips? For obvious reasons I don’t want it to be picked up on by my friends this early, especially not on my best friends special weekend! X

Say you are on antibiotics.

and congrats!

Congratulations! Could you pretend to feel really hungover for the bottomless brunch? Maybe ask the waiter in advance to just bring you orange juice instead of a mimosa?

‘Drink’ heavily the night before and be too hungover for the drink at the brunch. Such a shame.

Do not say antibiotics- it’s the same as saying pregnant.

I'm 5 weeks and have a pre-planned bottomless brunch tomorrow with colleagues.

I've been laying the most elaborate lie complete with backstory that I was starting with a water infection yesterday so went to the docs after work, today 'got my prescription' for antibiotics which I will be 'taking' over the weekend so won't be drinking much.

My plan is to have a glass of Prosecco poured and pretend to sip it occasionally, whilst also having a soft drink on the go or a mocktail.

You can drink with almost all antibiotics, so sadly that one is quite transparent these days!

To be honest, I struggled my way through, but it does make it pretty obvious if you’re usually a drinker. You just have to ride it out; a bit. Maybe sip at a drink, and if anyone picks up on your slowness, allude to a heavy night the night before?

Congratulations

@AppleKatie

‘Drink’ heavily the night before and be too hungover for the drink at the brunch. Such a shame.

Do not say antibiotics- it’s the same as saying pregnant.

So what? Why would it be so terrible if some of her friends suspected she was pregnant, when she is?

Congratulations!! I did this too. I was 10 weeks pregnant for my friend's hen weekend in Manchester. We were all staying in a massive hotel room together, whole weekend centred on drinking etc etc.

Don't say you're on antibiotics! You might as well tattoo "I'm pregnant" on your forehead.

I just pretended to drink the whole weekend. People really aren't watching your glass as much as you think. So allow a drink to be poured, then wander off "to take a photo" or whatever and pour a little away. I partly poured a few drinks down the sink so that I needed a refill. Put your glass to your lips etc. No one had a clue, they were gobsmacked a few weeks later when I announced it.

@northernlola

Congratulations!! I did this too. I was 10 weeks pregnant for my friend's hen weekend in Manchester. We were all staying in a massive hotel room together, whole weekend centred on drinking etc etc.

Don't say you're on antibiotics! You might as well tattoo "I'm pregnant" on your forehead.

I just pretended to drink the whole weekend. People really aren't watching your glass as much as you think. So allow a drink to be poured, then wander off "to take a photo" or whatever and pour a little away. I partly poured a few drinks down the sink so that I needed a refill. Put your glass to your lips etc. No one had a clue, they were gobsmacked a few weeks later when I announced it.

This is good advise if you can do it.

My plan is to do a bit of the antibiotic (as to why I'm not drinking heavily) but not declare I'm not drinking at all, and have a glass to nurse through the brunch.

@LemonSwan

Say you are on antibiotics.

Don't say this, it's an absolute guarantee that people will know you're pregnant

If you don't want people to know and you are generally a drinker you have to pretend to drink, they won't notice after a few. I went to a wedding at six weeks and gave my mate (who knew) all my drinks.

Say you have dental pain, abscess or something to that effect...

The antibiotics from the dentist should not be taken with alcohol at all! The name is metronidazole.

Good luck and congratulations 🥳

Just tell two key people who can help cover for you. You can pretend to drink and you'll feel more relaxed.

It's really not that big a deal to tell people you're close to, who you would tell anyway if you had a miscarriage, which is the main reason most people don't go about telling everyone.

So what? Why would it be so terrible if some of her friends suspected she was pregnant, when she is?

Er did you read the OP 😂🤣 she literally said she didn’t want people to know as it’s so early and for thunder stealing reasons.

Say you are taking heavy duty antihistamines for an allergic reaction to a new soap or something and you tried drinking even though it says not to and fell asleep at 7pm. So you arent going to drink because you want to stay up late and party.
Then randomly itch and ask people if your skin looks red on your arms/tummy/back

My experience is that unless you're the bride, no one really pays that much attention to if you're actually drinking. It's much easier to fake than you'd think. Let people pour you drips & pretend to sip then tip some out in a sink of accidentally spill it.
I was pregnant on my birthday and no one noticed me not actually drinking.

@wombforanotherone

Just tell two key people who can help cover for you. You can pretend to drink and you'll feel more relaxed.

It's really not that big a deal to tell people you're close to, who you would tell anyway if you had a miscarriage, which is the main reason most people don't go about telling everyone.

It might not be a big deal to you but everyone is different. The only people I told before 12 weeks were my husband, medical staff, and actually my boss as I was signed off work. There is no one else I would tell in the event of things going wrong. Maybe at a later stage I'd choose to but not then. Some people find it helpful to share, I have supported friends through pregnancy loss, but I am more private.

But to the OP, antibiotics is the biggest give away, don't even go there.

As an aside I think it's one thing to guess someone is pregnant but really rude to ask, if they haven't told you it's because they don't want to share the newd yet.

I found that as long as you had a drink in your hand, most people are only worried about their own glass being full!

I managed a hen do and my own big surprise birthday pregnant.

The bottomless brunch should be easier to cover, as people get so drunk so quickly at them & won’t notice what you are drinking.

I agree with what someone else said, is there one person you trust to tell? They can look out for you and help cover up

I was at a hen do 2 weekends ago when I was 8 weeks pregnant and told one friend, who would drink my drink for me, and swap my glass for lemonade! It’s nice if one person knows, so they can look out for you

Congratulations by the way 😃

Is the Hen Party in October?

Sign up for Sober October, set up a JustGiving page for Macmillan and tell people you're doing it for charity. Gives you a great excuse not to be drinking, and the good cause / money raising element stops people trying to persuade you to 'just have one'. Plus you might raise a few quid for Macmillan too. Win win.

Come November you can say you enjoyed it more than you expected, feel great sober and are going to do another month, and then repeat until you're ready to tell people

Love the comments on this 😂 definitely sounds like just pretending to drink is the easiest way to avoid any suspicion whatsoever! I’m soo glad I was pregnant in lockdown and didn’t ever have to do this 🙈 Being hungover at the brunch sounds like the best plan, fake being sick, don’t wear makeup so you look rough 😂 You could always take some screw top bottles of wine emptied out and filled up with non alcoholic wine

I would also just pretend to drink rather than bring attention to yourself. My friend came on a races day and I could have sworn she was drunk. But a few weeks later announced her pregnancy and said she had some non alcoholic drinks. I think the rest of us were all that drunk that we didn't notice.

You could actually order a drink at the brunch then say you’re going to the toilet and nip up to the bar and tell one of them and make sure whatever you order is a mocktail version

Sober October could be a good idea, or you could say you've gone on a new medication which has been causing bad headaches & nausea, & you don't want to make it worse or trigger one with a hangover or by being drunk, & spoil the day.

Thank you all for your replies - really didn’t expect this many 🙈 Appreciate all your advice, saying I’m on antibiotics is a no go - agree that this will make it too obvious. I’m glad that some of you have said that no one will really be paying attention, this is what I thought - so glad you agree!! Think the ‘pretend to drink and chuck away when no ones looking’ approach is going to be the one I go for! Xx