After a very hectic 3 weeks in my new job, I finally had a quiet-ish afternoon yesterday and my mind turned to IVF and breaking it to the new boss.
Deep down I know they're going to be really unhappy about treatment and time off (I had to take a days holiday for a dental appointment...) and I also don't currently have a manager. My manager left the day I started, and her replacement isn't starting until March 3rd, which will be after our first cycle.
My new manager has previously worked for the company, and doesn't have a good reputation...and he's a man, who apparently hates working with woman and has had complaints placed against him from female employees in the past (How he has been re-employed I don't know!) so needless to say, I'm not overly keen on how he's going to react to my baby-challenged ways. Sigh.
Given that I only have a 'stand in' manager until then, and I don't really want an office full of people I barely know knowing all about treatment, I've skipped the middle men and gone straight to our head of HR for some 'confidential' advice. I'm waiting to hear back from her...
I'm getting more panicky about this, so I think next week I'll finally tell people. They do have an IVF policy anyway, which claims the university prides itself on being 'sensitive' and 'empathetic' to those going through fertility treatments...lets see!
This lead me to getting the calendar out this morning and calculating that if AFs are on time (fingers crossed they have been so far) that IVF begins in 6 weeks! ARGH only 6 weeks!!! I have 2 weeks left at work, then 10 days off for Christmas, then I return to work on 3rd January and IVF is due to start around the 28th. This is going to go so quickly.
I've also calculated the if it works, baby briggs will have an EDD of 4th November 2014, and I will be eligible for maternity pay and 52 weeks off work with a job to return to...although I'm trying to keep pessimistic edge to this....honest :)
It's such a balance between work and family. Do you think you'll go back to the job? If you're certain, maybe dropping comments around that will make it an easier pill for them to swallow?
ReplyDeleteWhy be a pessimist? In most cases, IVF is successful on the first try if everything goes smoothly! I think if you read both Karen's story and mine, it's a pretty good chance that the cervix difficulty was the reason for failure. Don't go by our stories. :)
I have my own very complicated cervix to deal with too :( my file has instructions on how to navigate it!
ReplyDeleteI do plan on going back to the job, if I still have a job to go back to after all of this. I'm sure they'll be very supportive, I just know how much slack people are going to have to pick up while I'm doing all this, so that's the worrying part! Eeeek!