[NiksMom]

Okay, I'm really nervous to tell my boss that I am pregnant. The main reason being that DH and I (we both work at the same college) have a split shift. I work from 6 - 1:30 and he works from 12:30 - 8:30. My boss has said in the past that it won't last forever. We're going on 4 years now. He also came into my office last year and asked when I was planning on getting pregnant again. I told him I didn't know as I really didn't know at that point. He said that if I was to get pregnant then that we would be up the creek without a paddle.
So now I'm officially in the second trimester. No reason now not to tell work. But I am scared sh#tless! I am so afraid that he will bring up my hours. Ugh. But I can't really not say anything much longer, you know? When did you guys tell work that you were pregnant? Anyone not say anything yet?

 

[SharonAnne]

Ick Lorrie, rough sitch. I really have not a ton of advice.

s

My DH and I have our own company, so my "boss" was the first to know! Well, fourth, actually. Me, the cat and the dog all knew before him :LOL

Can you perhaps anticipate some of the things your boss is going to be concerned about and come up with possible solutions?

I know one thing DH and I were concerned about is that I'm the only office worker. So, when I go out on maternity leave, the office is going to hell in a handbasket. I came up witha few solutions to this, and then we discussed which one woudl work best for us.

If you show your boss you're being proactive and that you're concerned about the same issues he's concerned about, you're liable to score some serious points.

Good luck!

 

[~Nikki~]

Isn't it against the law to be let go for being pregnant? It seems like he was threatening you that if you got pregnant, you'd lose your job. That doesn't seem right to me. He could get into trouble for doing something like that.

I'd do what SharonAnne suggested. Figure out what his concerns are regarding your being a pregnant employee, and assure him they won't be a problem. Let him know it won't affect your work, your hours, things like that.

My work has known that I was pregnant practically since I found out. They were spraying the office for fleas (we had a blind guy working for us at the time, and his dog brought them in), and I had to explain to them why I didn't want to be around for that. They're very accomadating, though. I actually get "prenatal appointment" time that I'm allowed to take off, and still get paid for (which is why I'm home today

).

 

[NiksMom]

Nikki, I don't think he was threatening to let me go if I got pregnant at all. My boss is, how shall we say, COMPLETELY politically incorrect. You should hear some of the things that have come out of his mouth. When I was pregnant with DS, I went into his office to complain about someone on campus who was giving me a REALLY hard time. He actually asked me if this was ME talking or my pregnancy hormones. He's always making sexist jokes.
Oh, my hubby and I met at work. We started ttc a couple of months before our wedding (we were living together too) and I got pregnant about 2 months beforehand. I was so excited that I let slip at 6 weeks that I was pregnant (I ended up miscarrying at 8 weeks which is why I wanted to wait until my first trimester was over this time). Instead of saying 'congratulations' he made it very clear that he didn't approve because we weren't married (he's pretty religious). The man is harmless enough, but completely oblivious.
When he came into my office last year and asked if I was planning on getting pregnant anytime soon, I think he was worried that a) I might leave after baby #2 (as several other women who work at the college have done in the past few years) or b) taking another 4 month maternity leave when we were a staff member short would be hard on the office.
My main worry with telling him right now is that he will question my hours again. I've been trying to slip under the radar because last year he had told me that DH and I couldn't keep our work hours indefinitely. I'm so scared that he'll make me go back to regular work hours. I can't and won't do that and my family can't afford it right now, you know? Sigh.
The good news is that I told my direct supervisor who is a step up from me and step down from my boss. He was ok with it. I didn't lie at all- I told him that I was afraid to tell our boss and what he said last year. He would like to go with me when I tell my boss. He even asked if I was planning on keeping the same schedule and I told him that I wanted to so much and since our hours worked well and no one has ever complained, I would like to continue them indefinitely. He seemed to think that that wouldn't be a problem. So now I'm a little calmer about telling my boss but I'll have to wait until Friday because I'm in training all day until then.