What They Don't Tell You About Being Pregnant v.3

Figuring out how to tell your boss you’re pregnant is scarier if you google it first.

So you’re pregnant. You’ve told your parents, your best friends, and close family but there is inevitably one person left looming over your head that has to know. Your boss. Perhaps, your situation is nothing like mine and telling your boss you’re knocked up could easily fit into one of the painless categories above because you two just get each other. This was far from the truth for me and I’m going to paint a picture for you that explains why.

Finding out we were pregnant was one of the best days of my life. We had a pretty strong feeling that I was but we kept taking test until we got the green light. I’ve never seen my husband smile in such a way until he saw that glorious pee stick. As momentous of an occasion this was it was shadowed by one small detail. This detail came in the form of a conversation with my boss at the time that said I had till December to find another job or I was gone. I cried in the office as he sat there. I cried to Mike when I got home and to my mom over the phone. I had no idea what to do, where to apply, and how to stop being so depressed. How do you tell a person that just threw the biggest fork in your road that you’re pregnant?

In my case, you don’t. A caveat to this news was that if I ‘show and prove’ through September I could keep my job (for as long as I kept showing and proving). It was exhausting but I did it. Took more trips into my work territory and threw up in more hotel bathrooms than I care to count, but in September I got the word that my job was still mine… for now. Some of the stress was relieved and I was able to get back to enjoying the amazing gift that God had given to my husband and I. I was really feeling like myself again.

And then it got better. A previous manager recommended me for a new position (within the same company) and I got it! I still remember jumping up and down in excitement outside of a San Francisco restaurant as they told me the news. But now I was faced with telling a new manager that I barely knew that I was four months pregnant. So, as most people do now on a search for ultimate knowledge, I googled it. All I got in return was articles, posts, and message boards from women stating they got fired, or mistreated, or shamed. Great.

The baby was getting bigger and after two weeks of working and bonding with my new team I knew it was time to share the news. Palms sweating and heart beating fast I walked into my manager’s office with fears of being looked down upon and or fired. Guys, it couldn’t have gone any better.  He hugged me and congratulated Mike and I. He didn’t ask about what my plan for maternity leave was and it honestly felt like I was talking to a friend more than a boss. It was amazing.

This post turned out much longer and much more serious than I intended but the moral of the story is that the Devil (and Google on occasion) is a liar and will fill you with so much fear you don’t know how you’ll see straight again. With good times come some rain storms but you can get through them and what is meant for you will be yours. Also, googling anything about your pregnancy fears, probably not a good idea. Just don’t do it.