I am due on August 22nd and we start school about the middle of August. I am very anal and like my classroom a certain way. I am very nervous that I will not even make it the first day. But, after talking to my dh, I am like "who cares"! This is my time, so I am taking off until after the Christmas break.
Stop stressing and enjoy your pregnancy you will have plenty of time to catch up on school.
I would go for it! Perfect planning does not always work out. We had been TTC for four years and I am now due in March--The week of state testing for us. Due to the number of sick days I have, I plan to work up until the day she comes and hopefully everything will be smooth.
Thanks again to each of you! It's nice to know that I'm not the only one whose perfect timing plan didn't work out! I think from this point forward we'll just try and see what happens. :) Best of luck to all of you!
Amy, good for you! Life is too short and I think your husband is a very wise man. GOOD LUCK! I can't wait to see a BFP post from you!
I'm an SLP in the school system and totally understand what you're going through. My husband and I were trying in October and November to avoid getting an early Fall baby...I don't want our next baby to miss the school year by a few weeks because God forbid they get held back one year for any reason and then they'll be 2 years older than their peers. Sounds crazy, but I don't have any school system friends that have babies in the Fall for that reason and for yours. I think if you got pregnant now, you'll be able to set up your classroom and even work for a few weeks. Good luck with everything :)
I'm waiting until March to start trying again...we're hoping for a December/January/February baby. I HATE having to wait...but it'll be better in the long run. My sister-in-law is a Pre-K Multi-VE teacher in NC and she just had a miscarriage last month. They're putting off trying again for a few months for the same reasons...it just makes sense.
It doesn't make a difference. I tried to get pregnant for September to make the most of the maternity pay ad have the summer off but not lose pay. I gave birth to my twins on 22/10 even though they are not due until 12/01!!! I was at school up to the Friday before and had my classes well behaved and doing well.
That is not the case now they have supply and they are being awful, even the good kids and the other thing is that I really couldn;t care less. I have been through so much with the twins being preemie and in hospital for weeks and now they are home it is hectic and this is the first time I have thought about school.
My friend had her baby in June, and she took the first 3 months of school off for maternity leave. We had a retired veteran teacher who has taught 1st grade with us forever as her sub. She will also be my sub in March. It worked out great for her, and she loved it. I think it depends on if you have someone you can trust. If we hadn't gotten pregnant in June, we would've just kept on trying. Once we started, we weren't stopping because of time. I am 30 years old, and we have thought about 3 kids, so we had to get moving! We'll try for the same time again for number 2, but it may not always work in our favor! We got lucky this time, because I'll just take the remainder of the school year for leave! Good luck!
Great topic! I too an a teacher. DH & I started TTC # 1 last March. Still no bfp. I just had a Lap done Tuesday (12.30). So, I am very hopefully to be preggo very soon. I should be AF next week (I was put on BC this cycle, my sugar pills start this Sunday). So, if I were to get preggo this cycle I would be due in October. Not bad, I can take up to 12 weeks. I get a few days off for T-giving.. then I could return to school after X-Mas break. When we first started trying we were trying to time it being due next summer...it didn't work out. I am to the point where ... hey, it is more important to me that I have a succuessul pregnancy rather than when I am due. When it happens, it happens. It will all work out!
I am a kindergarten teacher and I began TTC with a spring baby in mind....but now....whenever the baby wants to come it is fine with me! If we do conceive then I will ask if there is anyway that my sub can team teach with me a couple of days before I leave! So she/he can see how I do it and how I want it done!!
i also tried to time conception to be convenient as a teacher. Neither time worked. The first time it took me 6 months to convceive, this time it took 4 or 5 months.
How long of a leave are you planning on taking?
the first time it worked out well in the long run. DD was due August 13, but due to complications, I had to have her a month early. At least i didn't have to suddenly leave work unexpectedly because it was the summer.
This time will hopefully work out well in the long run as well. I am due Aug 29, and school starts right after Labor Day. This seems far from ideal, especially since I will have a c-sec and definitely won't even be able to go in and set up. But i realized there's a reason for this timing as well- DD, who will turn 2 in July, will have me to herself all summer. I'm not really a religious person but these journeys have taught me that there is a plan of sorts out there- it just may not be what I thought to be the ideal situation initially.
but to answer your question, i think a month would be sufficient, even with a class as young as mine. hopefully your district is better about hiring leave replacements than mine- my district relies on day to day substitutes! absolutely ridiculous! luckily, my sub on my last leave was dedicated enough to show up everyday.
Thanks everyone! Tiger - your comment really hit home with me. Life is too short to obsess about "planning everything" like I do! Actually when I was talking to DH last night he said something similiar. "We tried to do it OUR way and it didn't work. Let's just see what happens". SOOOO, we did. :) I am pretty sure I am ovulating sometime soon based on my EWCM but I'm not using an OPK or BBT or anything so we'll just see what happens. :)
It is hard for me to relent control to someone else. That's just my personality! ;) My classroom concern comes from a coworker who delivered in August and didn't start the year until Oct. She had an awful year trying to gain the respect of her students because they began the year under a sub who was very different than she is.
I would only take the basic 6 week maternity leave (or however many sick days I have accumulated + what the time I thought we could swing without a paycheck). Since my original 'end of the school year baby' plan didn't work I was hoping for a November baby so that the vacation already given for Thanksgiving plus Christmas would help pad my maternity leave and I could be gone longer. I'm just feeling that 'itch' to start TTC again sooner than 'planned'!
Anyway, I'm rambling but THANK YOU for helping me put my life into perspective. A HUGE push for me this holiday season was my 2.5 year old daughter naming her new baby doll "MY BROTHER". Yes, that's the baby's name!! LOL! HINT HINT to mommy and daddy! ;)
Amy...I would start now...especially since you have older students who will pick up on routines and expectations faster than someone with students like mine...I still have some that are lost during the day (even with several schedules posted around the room and one on their journal!). If you don't get pg this cycle, then you have the next etc. I would hate to see you wait only to have you miss it again! Last year I had my mc in December (was due for a last day of school baby...June 17th) and DH and I started ttc immediately because we just weren't sure how long it would take! It took us 7 months of ACTIVELY ttc the second time (two months the first time)...sooooo who knows, it could take you a month, or it could take you 6 months. Start now...don't waste a cycle and your students will be fine-although it is hard to believe anyone can do our job like WE can =)
I'm not a teacher (well, I homeschool but that's different). Anyway I just wanted to say good luck! And..... most people conceive when they're not trying. That's what happened to me my last pregnancy. I tried for 13 months and when we stopped, I got that BFP. So no matter what you decide to do it may happen anyway!
I'm a teacher in Australia and can relate to your concerns. Are you planning to take leave for a year or have the baby then return shortly after? If you are planning to return shortly after bubs is born then i think it should give you enough time to set up if you are able and fit enough to actually get to school that close to your due date!
I'm lucky because I start the school year in jan and i'm due in july. So i will get almost six months teaching in next year before i leave.
In answering your question, i think you should TTC this month! Life is too short to wait for the things you really want. I learnt that when my father suddenly died of a heartattack in 2007 and he was only 50!
Good luck and i hope you are able to make a decision! You sound like a very passionate teacher (like me) so you probably need a push to "look after yourself" and put your needs first!
I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. Go with your gut, if you wanna go for it and don't mind not being at school for a few weeks during the school year than I say go for it, get off the computer and get to baby dancing!!!
Thanks! :) That's what we were able to do with my daughter (born in April) but we were not successful TTC for those "ideal months" this time around for some reason. (tried for March, April, May AND June...VERY disheartening). Of course September isn't ideal, but it's the first opportunity to start trying again after our failure those 4 months. :)
I'm not a teacher but my sister is. This would cause you to have wait longer than you want but she had scheduled both pregnancies to work out that she is due in April or May. That way she can go on maternity leave when she has the baby and by the time maternity leave is over it is summer time and no school, this allows her to be home full time with the baby for like 6 months (12 week maternity leave included) with out missing out on teaching.
Good luck on what you decide and lots of SSBD if you want it :)