Stuff work, your baby comes first...

I hear this a lot, usually from well meaning friends and family.

Immie has been poorly again this week. Which has resulted in OH taking a day off work, me taking 2 days off work. And of course people are right, Immie DOES come first. But it isn't as simple as people think to be able to just walk out of work/not go in to work and not to worry about the impact on my job/OHs job.

My job in particular relies on continuity with my classes and completing lots of other tasks like learning walks (thats an observation to most people), work scrutinies, department meetings etc. Yes they can get a supply teacher/cover supervisor in to cover my classes and I can set appropriate cover work but there comes a point where you need a subject specialist, there is only so much appropriate cover work I can set. For example year 9 are creating videos, yes they can do all the planning and scripting etc but there comes a point where they actually have to video something, and when you don't know who is covering your lessons you cant leave some poor unsuspecting soul the job of managing a class of teenagers and video cameras!

The learning walks and work scrutiny are done by me. I have to be physically in school to watch someone teach, I cant observe from my sofa.

There is also the fact that after 5 days off with Immie, they won't pay me (OH doesn't get paid at all!), so far I have had 2 & 1/2 days off and Ive not managed a full week at work, how would that look to my employer/potential employers, all this absence in a short space of time??

If you are lucky you might live near family who can share the childcare, but we don't. So it is literally me and OH sharing it between us. I'm not moaning, it is our choice to live where we do (well it's down to OHs job but you know what I mean), but it does make life complicated. All my friends locally are teachers so they can't help out.

So yes, Immie does come first, of course she does, but that doesn't mean there aren't massive impacts elsewhere in my life. This is certainly all stuff I didn't consider before we had Immie, not that it would make any difference though!

Hopefully Immie's immune system will sort itself out soon and we can get a proper routine going!

Mama x