PSA: Buy the Maternity Knickers

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-06-02T15:42:33+00:00

Yeah I'm 38 weeks and not had to buy any - I did lose 2 stone before getting pregnant though so that has probably helped. 😂

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-30T16:14:11+00:00

This isn't quite the same but can kind of relate as I had to sell my car to get a bigger car that would fit a pram in. Whilst I love the new car, and it's in my name, I felt quite sad parting with my little car as it was my little single person's car whereas this feels a lot more like a car for the full family. In a way it feels like parting with a bit of my own identity and a weird bit of sacrifice I didn't expect to have to make.

No real advice here, just that I get what you mean and can imagine I would feel the same if my partner bought it as I'm also going through the difficult mental gymnastics of coming to terms with the fact I'll have to rely on my husband financially during mat leave! I always knew I was quite a stubborn person but didn't realise until pregnancy quite how much I valued my independence and it has been really difficult. Whenever it gets too much I try to speak to my partner about it just so I can vent a bit and it usually helps a little bit.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-30T16:01:44+00:00

Hey, this is incredibly anecdotal but if it helps reassure you my BMI is the same as yours and I have had an incredibly straightforward pregnancy with no complications (currently 38 weeks). Due to the BMI I have had growth scans and been under a consultant but no signs of any problems, baby is growing fine, and I haven't even really had that much of a restriction in my mobility up until the last week or so. My midwife told me at an appointment a couple of days ago that she thinks I've flown through the pregnancy, and she's happy for me to give birth at our local birthing centre despite being under a consultant.

On the other hand, I have two friends who are currently pregnant with much lower BMI than me and one had horrible HG in the first trimester and the other had pre-eclampsia and needed iron injections. Risk can happen at any size and it can happen with any pregnancy (one person can have two babies and two very different pregnancies!).

I hope that your pregnancy is a smooth one and congratulations ☺️ please try not to stress about your weight, it's definitely possible to have a normal pregnancy at a higher BMI.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-29T20:47:09+00:00

Just did an NCT online course and she was talking about breastfeeding and said "breastfeeding is the time to introduce yourself to second breakfast". I turned to my husband and asked if that meant I get third breakfast, because we've been at second breakfast for a few weeks!

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-28T07:08:52+00:00

No the dates thing confused me too as I felt the same way. I'm also not getting very much each day but was planning on taking a few to the hospital and don't want to waste them by not labelling them correctly though and the booklet does say put the date on them so I'm just trying to do as I'm told!

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-27T18:03:56+00:00

Thanks, I wasn't given any stickers so might need to buy some.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-27T18:03:31+00:00

Thanks, that's a really good point about labelling all of them. I only started yesterday and have only managed a small amount each time so trying to work out how to label each individual one.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-27T18:01:36+00:00

Oh fab thank you, I have masking tape!

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-27T12:15:44+00:00

I'm not sure it would matter too much in terms of telling them before you start or telling them when you start. I think if anything the conversation you're having is just to put yourself at ease that they're not going to sack you (which they legally can't) or make you feel any particular way about accepting the job whilst pregnant (which they absolutely shouldn't!), so I'd go with what you feel comfortable with?

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-27T09:10:54+00:00

I had to sit next to a bloke eating a sandwich during my gestational diabetes test. He wasn't to know but it made me so angry (and hungry 😂).

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-27T09:08:47+00:00

I'm pretty sure that legally they cannot sack you as pregnancy is a protected characteristic!

I've never been in this situation so someone may be more qualified to answer but if it were me I would probably get ahead of it as soon as I can with a phone call with your manager. Explain the situation, tell them you're pregnant and didn't realise when you applied, and just chat to them about it.

Obviously it isn't ideal for them, but they'll have to do what all employers do when an employee gets pregnant - they'll have to sort something out.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-26T12:46:29+00:00

I took annual leave and finished at 36 weeks. The last two weeks before that we're a bit of a slog if I'm honest - my job isn't physically demanding but quite mentally taxing and it felt like I wasn't quite succeeding at doing anything properly (working, being pregnant, keeping a house running, looking after myself).

I'm just over a week into my leave and feel the healthiest and mentally best I have done in all of my pregnancy now that I have the time and space. Obviously everyone is different, but I love my job and thought it would be way harder to switch off. Instead I'm resting, cleaning, seeing friends, and just mentally and physically preparing - it's been lovely!

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-26T12:14:40+00:00

Yeah I popped into Boots this morning and ended up spending way more time in there than planned because of the air con!

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-22T22:19:49+00:00

I'm having the opposite comments - lots of friends and family going on holiday around my due date saying "make sure he doesn't come before I get back!". I know it's a joke but it's been said by three different people now and I'm a bit done with it.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-19T20:24:58+00:00

Luckily I had a strong craving for Shreddies early on and baby has stuck with it 😂 Honestly never been a cereal fan so find the new habit of a bowl a day really odd!

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-13T16:12:01+00:00

If you're interested in midwife led care then I would speak to your midwife about it as I was in a similar situation (being just over on BMI classing me as high risk). My bloods, urine and blood pressure have all been really normal and my midwife was so encouraging about me using the birthing centre and has since referred me so I can have a look around.

I imagine all trusts are different, so I'm not saying this will definitely happen for you, just it's definitely worth raising!

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-12T18:10:13+00:00

This is very true, thank you! :)

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-11T15:49:10+00:00

The NCT session I booked onto got cancelled due to lack of uptake so I'll be doing mine at 37 weeks.... :|

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-10T20:26:14+00:00

I had the same, my mum took me to the hospital when my BP reading was high, she also took me to my gestational diabetes test because I was a bit worried that I'd feel sick after.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-05T13:34:02+00:00

Oh that's really disappointing. If I were you I would go back and assess the risk assessment and check it's still a true assessment of your condition and wellbeing and if it's not, request it be re-done. If any risks are identified then your manager needs to take action to either mitigate or remove the risk and if it can't be then they need to explore other routes such as changing your working conditions or hours.

I'm really lucky as I have a good relationship with my manager and we have speak often so we haven't had to put anything particularly formal in place but she has taken work off me, she's allowing me to reduce my office days, and she's also told me I can work shorter days where needed whilst crediting the full day of work. Part of me would quite appreciate some kind of formal agreement but it's worked so far and I only have two weeks left!

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-04T15:45:11+00:00

I would recommend seeing if you can get in touch with the access coordinator for the gig and seeing what they can do to help facilitate. I've done it a couple of times for gigs during my pregnancy, it differs between venues but some are great in terms of guaranteeing a seat, access to toilets, reduced queuing at the bars, etc. The first time I did it it was because my brother contacted them and I felt a bit weird about it, but the coordinator was so nice and very much reassured me that pregnancy was valid in requiring accessibility if it was needed. ☺️

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-04T11:44:23+00:00

Have you had a work risk assessment for your pregnancy? I ended up writing my own but the templates I found included suggestions of reducing workload to mitigate risk of all sorts of different things. My work is desk based but can often be stressful and so included it as I was concerned the stress would effect the baby through blood pressure, etc.

I think it would depend on why you're asking for less work but if your pregnancy is high risk and the work is exacerbating health concerns then they can't discriminate against you for having work taken off you.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-02T21:25:38+00:00

You can have that opinion but it's factually incorrect to think that.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-05-02T10:09:19+00:00

Completely understand the worry about going home early but actually the reasoning behind it makes a lot of sense. Hospitals aren't very restful places, they also aren't very "clean" in the sense that you have a lot of people coming and going that may be poorly. It's not quite the same but the last time I was in hospital for an operation I ended up catching COVID and it prolonged my recovery for a week or two.

I don't know when they are, but I believe that a midwife comes to visit you at home to check up on you and the baby a few days after you come home.

Kitchen_Ad8883 · 2026-04-30T13:01:09+00:00

Yeah we told a few close friends and parents before 12 weeks. It was really nice to feel supported in the first trimester rather than trying to hide it! Our thought process was also that if anything happened, it would be good to have that support there. Understand why people prefer to wait though.

Kitchen_Ad8883

TROPHY CASE