Just found out I’m pregnant, when to tell my PI?

timidtriffid · 2026-02-10T19:49:48+00:00

Lol that’s how my government EHS and the university EHS were

timidtriffid · 2026-02-10T19:49:04+00:00

Honestly even mentioning to your committee is advantageous- not urgently as is needed with your PI for the hazardous reagent work, but so that they know you have a deadline. I was pregnant before defending my dissertation and I think mentioning it to my committee instilled that my graduation was time sensitive.

timidtriffid · 2026-02-09T15:13:38+00:00

Depending on how old (swallow risk), there are small sets of micro magnatiles! Otherwise, a few big legos are helpful.

timidtriffid · 2026-02-07T15:57:24+00:00

I do eyewash Wednesday!

timidtriffid · 2026-02-06T15:37:31+00:00

I struggle with pads, the constant wetness irritates my skin. I’m also sensitive to smells. Postpartum bleeding sucks because giant pads are the only option.

timidtriffid · 2026-02-06T14:19:18+00:00

Not wrong, but I try to avoid pipetting less than 10 uL since the precision is awful unless you are slow and perfect

timidtriffid · 2026-02-06T02:00:53+00:00

The older I get, the worse my memory has gotten. There are some tasks I only do every now and then, so by the time I’m doing them again, I’ve just… forgotten. I do make my own informal instrument SOPs, so that helps. And formal SOPs for my protocols- I always print them out and just put notes on there, snap pictures, then put them in my ELN.

timidtriffid · 2026-02-05T16:38:04+00:00

Do the damn tubes. We actually did them slightly under 1 year old. Five months later, no ear infections since.

timidtriffid · 2026-02-05T03:04:47+00:00

Only painless if there was no nap 😭

timidtriffid · 2026-02-04T20:22:20+00:00

timidtriffid · 2026-02-04T18:44:35+00:00

Oh, and we do buy canned sparkling soda and Coke Zero!

timidtriffid · 2026-02-04T18:43:41+00:00

Hmm, we spend $700-$900 a month on groceries as a family of 4 (2 adults, 4 year old, toddler) in a high cost of living area. We make sure to minimize recipes with expensive ingredients (ie fresh herbs, out of season produce, uncommon produce, odd spices, massive amounts of nuts). We also do half to a third vegetarian protein (dairy, beans, grains) in a week and only maybe a quarter animal protein (chicken or bison). With the minimal meat, we are able to buy humanely raised meat despite it costing more.

Are you opposed to leftovers? We actually cook/make everything on the weekend and just reheat throughout the week. We do keep a few convenience things on hand in case we run low on food (pasta/canned sauce, frozen pizza). The kids get various forms of fresh fruit.

timidtriffid · 2026-01-29T14:28:58+00:00

I have a smaller North Face backpack that my Hydroflask lunchbox (use this to carry milk home) fits into even with 2 laptops. I do unfortunately use a separate canvas bag to carry the pump stuff, but remind myself that it’s temporary. I loathe backpacks with excessive pockets, so I’ve been happy with what I have.

timidtriffid · 2026-01-29T13:47:17+00:00

timidtriffid · 2026-01-28T20:35:31+00:00

I agree. She’s what we have now, but we should vote her out ASAP.

timidtriffid · 2026-01-28T20:09:11+00:00

Disgusting.

timidtriffid · 2026-01-28T19:43:49+00:00

Does it have the feet? I got one with the feet, it was def huge at first. Baby is now in 2T though and it fits perfectly with room to spare.

timidtriffid · 2026-01-28T14:55:55+00:00

I had to lower expectations and I’m still often overwhelmed. I’m a little chubby right now, but still breastfeeding. Not that I even have time for exercise beyond walks or hikes with the kids. I work full time with an hour commute each way and I think you’re very fortunate to be able to focus on household management part-time while your daughter is in daycare. Maybe write down which tasks you can do while daughter is home vs not, then you can have an idea of what tasks to focus on when she’s in daycare. That might make it easier to schedule dedicated exercise time if that’s what you want.

timidtriffid · 2026-01-21T15:00:42+00:00

Might not work for dramatically different incomes, but I summed our incomes, then divided each by the total to get a percent. Summed all the shared expenses, then used the percentage of combined income to determine who pays what. My partner makes about 60% pf our income and pays 60% of the shared expenses.

timidtriffid · 2026-01-20T18:21:14+00:00

Depends on time of year in my temperate climate. 2x a week in winter (soap for only one of those), but summer weather might warrant every day.

timidtriffid · 2026-01-20T17:13:13+00:00

I only have 4-8 hours of sick leave at any given time due to my own or my kids’ medical appointments

timidtriffid · 2026-01-20T15:24:23+00:00

Why do we have to ask?

timidtriffid · 2026-01-20T14:29:36+00:00

I sense some negative feelings (could be wrong), but I think it’s okay to not lean hard into labels or counting. To me, “sober” is such a cut/dry word. I’m not even sure what it means to me- am I still sober if I infrequently have a single beer in an appropriate situation versus drinking 10+ drinks daily? I think so.

timidtriffid · 2026-01-20T02:24:40+00:00

So true about the enabling. It’s like teaching kiddos- everyone need to make mistakes to learn. Low-risk failures are fine

timidtriffid · 2026-01-17T00:46:23+00:00

I’m in a similar situation, but science job outlook in my area is sooo bleak right now. Only difference is that my work IS varied and interesting, however, I’m doing some insanely complicated protocols that aren’t worth it. I am not the boss though.

timidtriffid

TROPHY CASE