ladies with desk jobs, when did you cut back?

Hi, I'm 25w and my desk job is wearing me out. I live and work in NYC, so the 40 minute commute is tough (I don't always get a seat on the subway) and by 1-2pm my back is aching, I'm tired and I can't stay focused. I've already cut back to 4 days a week in the office, but I still feel wiped out.

For those of you with desk jobs, when did you cut your hours/days in the office?

Thanks!

 

I worked until 37 weeks and went in for my induction at 37 weeks and 5 days. I had a 55 minute commute one way, but didn't have to ride or walk to the subway. Talk to your doctor and you do what is best for you and those babes!!

GL!

 

I never did. I worked 43 hours up until the day I had them (38 weeks). Looking back, that was probably stupid, but I would have been bored at home. It worked out for me. It all depends on how you feel. I felt fine. There were no complications at all. It sounds as if you need to cut back. You need to make your twins your priority. :hug:

 

I cut back to 20 hours a week at 30 weeks and stopped working altogether at 34 weeks. My commute is only 15 minutes and my desk job is pretty easy, but I was still tired all the time and wanted a nap in the afternoons because I wasn't sleeping well at night. I am so glad I was able to work four hours a day (five days a week) for a month and then stop. I think it kept my girls cooking longer than they would have if my body had been stressed. I felt slightly guilty about taking time off since I had a nice cushy desk job, but it was what I needed.

If I had a 40 minute commute on the subway, I supect I would have cut back even earlier than I did. So if you are looking for advice... I'd say you should listen to your body. If you're tired and achy and unable to focus by the early afternoon, and you can afford to work less, I'd say do it!

 

I worked full time until 30, then part time until 32, at that point I was taken out of work because I couldn't drive anymore. :blush: BUT I most definately didn't have a 40 minute commute and there were no subways involved {seriously, they don't get up when they see you?? } I think every body is different and whether its a desk job or a standing up job, if your body is giving you the signs that it's had enough, I'd definately give your OB a call and tell her. See what they say and hopefully you can get some much needed rest. :hug:

 

I am a bank teller, so I can sit, but do wind up spending some time on my feet. Luckily my commute is about 10 minutes, so I can't complain about that. I cut back from 40to 30 hours when I found out I was pregnant. I am now in my 22nd week and am starting to feel pregnant...achy feet, back, heavy belly, the usual complaints! Not sure if and when I might stop working, my doctors are going to see how I feel, how I and the babies are doing before they make that decision.

 

That was right about when I started to lose it too. At 22 weeks I was telling my doctor I thought I'd work full-time until 30 weeks and then part-time until 34 weeks. HAH!! By 25 weeks I was cutting out early nearly every day -- it just killed my back to sit in a chair all day, I couldn't stand up for more than 15 minutes, and it was exhausting just to haul myself into & out of the car. (I can't imagine doing it on the subway.) And at 29 weeks I had an episode of contractions that landed me in the hospital overnight, so I had to quit work altogether.

If I were you, I'd ask your doctor for a note saying you should go on short-term disability. Better to do it now than wait till you overdo it and something bad happens.

 

I worked up until I was pretty much addmitted to the hospital for Pre-E... I did cut back at about 32 weeks... I had a pretty easy job, no lifting at all and mostly sitting all day. I can say sitting all day did a number on my back though! Good luck!!!!

 

QUOTE(nycmomma @ Dec 16 2008, 02:25 PM) [snapback]1112801[/snapback]
Hi, I'm 25w and my desk job is wearing me out. I live and work in NYC, so the 40 minute commute is tough (I don't always get a seat on the subway) and by 1-2pm my back is aching, I'm tired and I can't stay focused. I've already cut back to 4 days a week in the office, but I still feel wiped out.

For those of you with desk jobs, when did you cut your hours/days in the office?

Thanks!


I was struggling by 17w! It probably would have been better if I'd had a place to lie down/nap during lunch break, and maybe a lumbar support pillow or something. But yeah, my back really bothered me and I was exhausted.

 

I am an accountant and cut my days back to 4 at 28 wks and continued to work 32 hrs a week until delivering at 33.4 weeks. I am now working from home two days a week and it has been 2 weeks since I delivered by c-section.

 

I worked in NYC too when I was pregnant. I commuted in on the LIRR from Mineola for about a 35-40minute ride but I did get a seat. I didn't have a problem at my desk job, I had more of a problem getting up and actually getting to work on time. I just went at my pace as I got futher along and my boss thankfully was ok with it. I was never in later than 10am.

I was due Aug 22nd and was told by my OB that I should stop commuting in June because he felt it would be to stressful. I was allowed to pick the day and chose June 10th. I beleive that was about 10 weeks before my due date and had my girls at 34.6 weeks. I went back into the office one day a week and a half later to take care of some paperwork and it was rough since it had gotten warmer and I was not used to the commute anymore.

I do think you have a much harder commute that I did since after I got of the LIRR I didn't need to take any subways.

 

I worked right up until the day I was put in the hospital on bedrest at 24 weeks.

 

thanks for your responses. i sorta feel like a wimp, but it's probably time for me to scale back even more. with the holidays i only have to work one a day a week until the new year and I see my OB on the 31st, so i'll talk with her about cutting back further.

oh, i did get a seat today, but i'd say half the time people don't offer me one. last week this guy was giving me dirty looks b'c my belly was hitting his paper! only in NYC...

 

QUOTE(nycmomma @ Dec 17 2008, 10:24 AM) [snapback]1113767[/snapback]
thanks for your responses. i sorta feel like a wimp, but it's probably time for me to scale back even more. with the holidays i only have to work one a day a week until the new year and I see my OB on the 31st, so i'll talk with her about cutting back further.

oh, i did get a seat today, but i'd say half the time people don't offer me one. last week this guy was giving me dirty looks b'c my belly was hitting his paper! only in NYC...


Don't feel like a wimp! You are growing 2 babies!! Do what you feel is best for you and your babies. I also work at a desk and my commute (by car) is about 30 minutes. The hardest part of my "commute" was walking from the parking lot to my desk, so I couldn't imagine having to deal with the subway and all that walking! I worked til the day I delivered, but if my situation had been any different (or anything like yours ) I would have cut back/stopped much sooner!! Good luck!!

 

QUOTE(nycmomma @ Dec 17 2008, 09:24 AM) [snapback]1113767[/snapback]
thanks for your responses. i sorta feel like a wimp, but it's probably time for me to scale back even more. with the holidays i only have to work one a day a week until the new year and I see my OB on the 31st, so i'll talk with her about cutting back further.

oh, i did get a seat today, but i'd say half the time people don't offer me one. last week this guy was giving me dirty looks b'c my belly was hitting his paper! only in NYC...



That people wouldn't offer you a seat is just crazy!! I worked until 37.5 weeks pretty much 40 hrs a week and did have a 40-50 minute commute, but I'm Superwoman!! HaHa, JK! I didn't have to deal with public transportation and had a very short walk from my car to the office. I propped my feet up as much as I could under my desk. I guess I was just lucky, I had a pretty easy pregnancy with the girls.

Just listen to your body. If working is becoming too much, cut back to what feels comfortable. I definitely would have if I had needed to.

 

QUOTE(nycmomma @ Dec 17 2008, 10:24 AM) [snapback]1113767[/snapback]
thanks for your responses. i sorta feel like a wimp, but it's probably time for me to scale back even more. with the holidays i only have to work one a day a week until the new year and I see my OB on the 31st, so i'll talk with her about cutting back further.

oh, i did get a seat today, but i'd say half the time people don't offer me one. last week this guy was giving me dirty looks b'c my belly was hitting his paper! only in NYC...


You are so not a wimp. I know from experiance that NYC is not the most commuter friendly place for pregnant people. I recall having to stand on the LIRR a few times while I was pregnant and you are right they just don't offer the seats. I did once have a very nice older gentleman give me his seat.

 

QUOTE(Kyrstyn @ Dec 16 2008, 08:58 PM) [snapback]1113423[/snapback]
I worked right up until the day I was put in the hospital on bedrest at 24 weeks.


I had a desk job while pregnant, and unfortunately had to give it up at 24 weeks when I was hospitalized. I can tell you though, I was already done with it at that point. I can't imagine if I had needed to work longer than that.

 

QUOTE(twoin2005 @ Dec 17 2008, 10:20 AM) [snapback]1113850[/snapback]
I had a desk job while pregnant, and unfortunately had to give it up at 24 weeks when I was hospitalized. I can tell you though, I was already done with it at that point. I can't imagine if I had needed to work longer than that.



Thanks for asking this question. I too have a desk job and commute over an hour each way. Last night it took me 2 1/2 hrs to get home!! (it was snowing out). I am only 14 weeks and already am starting to feel like I should cut back. I mostly sit behind a computer all day, but I get so tired and I just want to lay down in the afternoon. I am hoping to be able to work from home a few days a week soon, but am trying to hold out as long as I can. We really can't afford me not to work, so my other thought was perhaps they will lay me off and I can collect unemployment. Has anyone done this?

Briana

 

QUOTE(nycmomma @ Dec 16 2008, 01:25 PM) [snapback]1112801[/snapback]
Hi, I'm 25w and my desk job is wearing me out. I live and work in NYC, so the 40 minute commute is tough (I don't always get a seat on the subway) and by 1-2pm my back is aching, I'm tired and I can't stay focused. I've already cut back to 4 days a week in the office, but I still feel wiped out.

For those of you with desk jobs, when did you cut your hours/days in the office?

Thanks!


I can completely understand how you feel! I will also be 25 weeks tomorrow and I am just getting so exhausted at work lately. I have a 35-40 minute commute but luckily I can drive so I don't have to worry about sitting and I still feel terrible by the end of the day. The meetings are just wiping me out since they are typically in a building connected to the one I am in and it is a long walk. I have started working from home a couple of days a week and I am so much more productive and don't tire as easily. Would that be an option for you? As my pregnancy progresses, I am going to see if it is ok for me to work from home 100%. I think my manager would prefer me to continue working if I choose to do so. I am set up wirelessly from home so I could work from bed : )

 

I worked until my 35th week 2 days before I gave birth to my boys (I was put on light duty answering the phones). The rush hours here in Philly are crazy. I was rarely offered a seat coming home from work. The good thing is that my train station had a handicapped elevator so I did not have to do any steps. My boss new I was carrying twins so I just took my time coming to and going home from work. I was so miserable by my 30th week I don't think I could sit around in the house all day. I just wanted my babies out.

Try to hang in there as long as you can so that you can spend as much time home with your babies as possible after they are born.

 

I am also 25 weeks pregnant.. and i just cut my hours last week... i got a doctors note.. I work 4 days a week from 9-3.. i also commute to NYC but recently i started taking the command bus because noone ever offered me a seat.. my doctor said if all goes well we will reevaluate at 32 -34 weeks and at that point he will prob ask me to stay home... But yes i am exhausted at the end of the day.. i also felt really guilty when i was honest with myself that i had to cut my hours.. i felt like a wimp also, but honestly my dr said it's like a marathon you can go fast the whole time and maybe make it to the end or we can pace ourselves and make it to the finish line in one piece and that is my goal to have these babies healthy at the right time.. so just because we feel like we can do something we shouldn't bc we don't know the affect it will have on our bodies.. I know what you are feeling and you shouldn't feel like it.. we are working two jobs everyday, our job and keeping out bodies healthy- i feel it is a full time job.
good luck..

 

nycmomma, you need to be more pushy about getting a seat. This is about your health and the health of your babies.

I am about the same place as you, working a 40+ hour a week desk job in NYC and a 45 minute commute on the 2 or Q train. I have found the following to be helpful for getting seats: make sure your coat is unbuttoned and your belly is visible. Stand in front of middle-aged women, not men. White men in particular have never given up a seat for me, but latin american men will sometimes. If these tactics fail, stand in front of the priority seating at the end of the cars. If nobody gets up, ask if they would mind giving a seat to you. Tell them you are not feeling well and really need to sit down. DON'T FEEL GUILTY - I know that getting pregnant is a choice, not a disability, but I have gotten much less shy about asking for seats since my ankles swelled up a few weeks ago and I started feeling faint. Nobody wants a sick passenger on their train.

When my peri first told me that I'd probably want to stop work at 28 weeks, I thought she was crazy and planned to go to 32 or 34. Now that I'm at 24 weeks I am counting the days and I told my boss I'd be cutting down my hours. I am planning on going on short-term disability at 28-29 weeks. With the economy being what it is, my boss is actually happy to have me take more time off, and I will get disability pay from the insurance company with a note from my doctor. Even without the disability pay though, I just don't think I'd physically be able to keep going beyond that. I am already really struggling just to get around.

Good luck!

 

Thank you for this topic.
Because I am working in NYC but my commute hours - 1h30min each way and I took 2 trains and 2 subway to get to work.
I remember how hard it was with first pregnancy during summer time. and I was working until 38 weeks. afte rthat my OB said no more working I had terrible swelling on my ankles.
but now I am worried how I can handle it with twins. My OB already said that I will be on moderated bedrest from 24-28 weeks - and for sure no working. but after that I son't know.