Confession

I have a confession to make... the reason I have been SO bad about posting lately is that I've been a little preoccupied. Corporate Chickee is going to be a Working Mom! I've definitely been preoccupied with the pregnancy so far and been slacking off on this blog. I apologize to my readers!

This change of events is likely to have an impact on my topics... probably to that of working mothers! I will be coming back after maternity leave full time, and that introduces a whole new host of struggles with balancing work and home!

In the meantime, I have a wonderfully supportive husband, and together we're working on getting the house ready for baby. We don't know yet if it's going to be a boy or a girl... but I'll share the news when we know it!

Now for the work-part! When it comes to telling work, it's a personal decision. The "rule of thumb" is to not tell anyone until after the first trimester, when risk of miscarriage is much lower. However - I personally would want my family and close friends to be there for me if the worst happened. So, we chose to tell family pretty quickly (around 6-8 weeks), and then started telling some of our really close friends around 10-11 weeks. Then, when week 13 rolled around, I stopped denying it at work.

I did fess up to my boss pretty early, after we told our families around week 8. I figured that I want my boss to know what I'm going through so that if I'm a little late one day, or not quite myself, she knows why. I also figured that if the worst happened, she would end up knowing anyways because I would probably miss some work. I'm SO glad I told my boss first - that eliminated the possibility of her finding out through the grapevine as the gossip mills started churning. Speaking of the gossip mills... your coworkers pay a lot closer attention to you than you think! A few of the things that tipped off my coworkers:

1. I wore flats one day. (I'm known for my sky-high heels around the office.) Apparently one pair of flip flops deems you knocked up!

2. My eating habits changed. Can't do much about this one... just interesting how much they notice! I ate McDonald's for lunch one day - even if it was just a Happy Meal... they noticed!

3. I looked "soft" around the midsection. Again... not much you can do hear, but sure glad I actually was pregnant and not just gaining weight!

4. I looked tired. Well, yeah, I was exhausted! But, never underestimate the value of "faking it". I could have tried harder to hide my exhaustion, but I didn't have the energy.

Luckily, I was fortunate enough to not suffer through weeks of morning sickness - which by the way, isn't necessarily in the morning! That would have been a surefire giveaway. So, my pregnancy advice to my fellow corporate chickees, if you do get knocked up, fess up to your boss early. Much better for them to hear it from you personally (even if it's a secret) than to hear it the through the grapevine and wonder about you for weeks!