When to tell Principals I'm pregnant!

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I recently learned I am pregnant and will be about 15 weeks by the last day of school. My EDD is Nov 16. I plan to tell my family in the beginning of May. Should I tell my boss I'm pregnant at the end of the school year, or come in during the summer and let her know? We have 2 teachers who are pregnant right now, and everyone is very kind and supportive. I just don't want them stressing out all summer about coverage when I take mat leave

Specializes in ICU/community health/school nursing.
14 minutes ago, jnemartin said:

TBH, although I am very happy to be starting a family and this is my first successful pregnancy, I am very committed to making as LITTLE fuss about this as possible. Mostly because I have been pregnant before and lost the pregnancy, and during the short time I was pregnant, I was under constant assault of unsolicited advice. I found the more you talk about it, the more people want to tell you their opinions.

Hugs to you and my best wishes for an uneventful pregnancy.

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21 minutes ago, jnemartin said:

RE the contract: we actually got our contracts a week ago, but I sent mine back asking for a lot more money ?

So yeah... after I get my official, post-negotiation offer, then I will sign and tell them in May ? (I have to sign by the end of this week)

Good for you!!!

And your story makes me so much happier for you! You don't have to tell anyone else but your principal and you have every right to ask them not to announce anything to your coworkers either.

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Thanks, guys! I'm excited for a raise AND a baby ?? I feel optimistic about both

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Oncology, School Nursing, OB.

Congrats! How exciting!! ??

I only told two people I was pregnant when I left one school at the end of summer because the county assigned me to a different school for the following year. Well you can imagine the surprised faces when I had to go back to that school to pick something up and was 6 1/2 months pregnant! ?They were very excited for me though!

I'd tell as soon as you feel comfortable with everyone knowing the news. That way if you need to leave early for a dr's appt or have any type of activity you aren't comfortable with (like if they say help me lift a kid) you'll have a good excuse and they'll know why!

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3 hours ago, jnemartin said:

TBH, although I am very happy to be starting a family and this is my first successful pregnancy, I am very committed to making as LITTLE fuss about this as possible. Mostly because I have been pregnant before and lost the pregnancy, and during the short time I was pregnant, I was under constant assault of unsolicited advice. I found the more you talk about it, the more people want to tell you their opinions.

I literally did think how funny it would be to just not say anything to anyone - haha! I have a teacher-friend who was kinda chubby pre-pregnancy, and made it into her final months without ever "announcing." Finally, she was like "Oh, yes, this... I'm pregnant." I won't be able to get away with that, although it does sound blissful.

Sorry for your previous loss :( I wish you an uneventful pregnancy!

People love to give pregnant ladies advice! When I was pregnant, I worked as a hairdresser and I felt like my clients felt like we had a closer relationship and would give me all kinds of advice and touch my belly all the time without asking. The second pregnancy was twins and it seemed like everyone wanted to tell me horror stories and then try to feel both babies move.

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3 minutes ago, kidzcare said:

Sorry for your previous loss :( I wish you an uneventful pregnancy!

People love to give pregnant ladies advice! When I was pregnant, I worked as a hairdresser and I felt like my clients felt like we had a closer relationship and would give me all kinds of advice and touch my belly all the time without asking. The second pregnancy was twins and it seemed like everyone wanted to tell me horror stories and then try to feel both babies move.

I do have a bit of a chip on my shoulder about the advice thing... I mean, I am an "older" mom, the pregnancy is planned, I have a dozen nieces and nephews (plus I'm the oldest in my family), and I am a nurse. If I want some advice, I will certainly ask for it, but I'm not like floundering in distress about pregnancy/motherhood, I feel confident. I get annoyed when people start offering unsolicited advice.

I do realize the irony of me writing all this, along with posting a pregnancy-related question on this board haha! But I am referring to the unsolicited advice about motherhood in general.

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Specializes in NCSN.

Congratulations on this rainbow baby to be ❤️

Tell them when you feel comfortable. I had a second trimester loss last school year and only 3 other people here know about it. When I got pregnant with my youngest, I had SUPER bad morning sickness and I was going to have to have a procedure to help me maintain the pregnancy, so I ended up needing to tell staff at 14 weeks because the rumors were already flying. In a perfect world, I wouldn't tell anyone till 20 weeks, but that's just me.

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48 minutes ago, WineRN said:

Congratulations on this rainbow baby to be ❤️

Tell them when you feel comfortable. I had a second trimester loss last school year and only 3 other people here know about it. When I got pregnant with my youngest, I had SUPER bad morning sickness and I was going to have to have a procedure to help me maintain the pregnancy, so I ended up needing to tell staff at 14 weeks because the rumors were already flying. In a perfect world, I wouldn't tell anyone till 20 weeks, but that's just me.

I'd prefer to wait until about 20 weeks when I really can't hide it anymore, but that would mean I'd have to come in the middle of summer and tell her. I don't want to seem like I was hiding it by not saying anything before school lets out, but I really also don't want to come in the middle of summer with a big bump and break the news ?

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Specializes in NICU.

You do not have to tell anyone but HR when you discuss your options for maternity leave ,it is no bodys business.Most will figure it out anyway eventually.Look up parental leave policies and short term disability benefit,vacation time,sick time,and any combination that can be used in case you go on leave earlier than anticipated.As for staffing it does not make any difference because management will not do anything about it until it is too late.We had nurses announce pregnancy practically on day of conception and yet mgmt waited until they had no coverage to try and force the staff to change shifts ,etc.Your baby 's health is your only priority.

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On 4/5/2019 at 9:23 PM, Leader25 said:

You do not have to tell anyone but HR when you discuss your options for maternity leave ,it is no bodys business.Most will figure it out anyway eventually.Look up parental leave policies and short term disability benefit,vacation time,sick time,and any combination that can be used in case you go on leave earlier than anticipated.As for staffing it does not make any difference because management will not do anything about it until it is too late.We had nurses announce pregnancy practically on day of conception and yet mgmt waited until they had no coverage to try and force the staff to change shifts ,etc.Your baby 's health is your only priority.

True. RE coverage (this is a bit of drama, but here goes): my "sub nurse" is a parent of a current student, and I have had reports of her being unprofessional while subbing for me. Specifically breaking HIPAA by disclosing information about student visits to other students and staff. So, I talked with my principal about it and now when I am out (usually only for half days or on Fridays when it's slower anyways) the principal or front desk lady fills in for me - so basically RX meds only and if there's any issue the kid's parents get called. They have not made any move to hire a new back-up. It sucks for me, because I feel like I'm on-call when I'm actually off, but I have to train myself to simply check-out when I'm on PTO. Anyways, it will be very interesting to see how they handle my mat leave. I intend to take every single day, as this is my first baby and I don't have any family nearby to help.

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Specializes in Pediatrics Retired.
8 minutes ago, jnemartin said:

True. RE coverage (this is a bit of drama, but here goes): my "sub nurse" is a parent of a current student, and I have had reports of her being unprofessional while subbing for me. Specifically breaking HIPAA by disclosing information about student visits to other students and staff. So, I talked with my principal about it and now when I am out (usually only for half days or on Fridays when it's slower anyways) the principal or front desk lady fills in for me - so basically RX meds only and if there's any issue the kid's parents get called. They have not made any move to hire a new back-up. It sucks for me, because I feel like I'm on-call when I'm actually off, but I have to train myself to simply check-out when I'm on PTO. Anyways, it will be very interesting to see how they handle my mat leave. I intend to take every single day, as this is my first baby and I don't have any family nearby to help.

You don't own the circus. You're just one of the performers and the show will go on if you're not there. Stay your course and enjoy every moment you can with the wee one. Time flies.

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