What were your biggest pregnancy surprises and pet peeves?

Honestly, I just don't get your mothers! 😕
Especially those moms who are over 27, have established careers, and have been living on their own for years, only to turn around and try to lecture you like you don't understand the first thing about life or responsibility.

I’m 22, and since I found out I was pregnant, my mom hasn't once questioned whether I actually grasp the weight of what comes with having a child.
The reality is, sure, I'm young—but if my mother (who happens to be my harshest and most objective critic) can see that I am responsible and capable of taking care of my baby, I guess I just don't understand why your mothers can't see that in you. 🤷

Hannah Lewis2 said:I mean, why can't you just be straight with her? Just lay it out there—look, don't come over, here's the deal, and that's that. It shouldn't be this complicated.

I can—and I absolutely will—but honestly, I’m still reeling that she even thought that was an option. Truly, I'm in shock😢.
I have this nagging feeling that, in my mom's eyes, I've remained stuck at eighteen—the age I moved out of her house. Since we live so far apart, it feels like she hasn't quite grasped how much has shifted over the last seventeen years.
I don't get how she fails to see that I'm not some helpless kid anymore—she just doesn't see it 😢
. And then comes the lecture—the one where she compares me to some relative who's supposedly a "natural" mother (even though they were all much younger when they had kids than I am now)—all while warning me that my child isn't a pet. It’s heartbreaking; I lose any desire to explain myself and just tell her 😢.
She really tore me apart yesterday 🙂.
Usually, I just nod, say "aha," and shut the conversation down, but this actually got under my skin 😢.

Steven Reed said:I can—and I absolutely will—but honestly, I’m still reeling that she even thought that was an option. Truly, I'm in shock😢.
I have this nagging feeling that, in my mom's eyes, I've remained stuck at eighteen—the age I moved out of her house. Since we live so far apart, it feels like she hasn't quite grasped how much has shifted over the last seventeen years.
I don't get how she fails to see that I'm not some helpless kid anymore—she just doesn't see it 😢
. And then comes the lecture—the one where she compares me to some relative who's supposedly a "natural" mother (even though they were all much younger when they had kids than I am now)—all while warning me that my child isn't a pet. It’s heartbreaking; I lose any desire to explain myself and just tell her 😢.
She really tore me apart yesterday 🙂.
Usually, I just nod, say "aha," and shut the conversation down, but this actually got under my skin 😢.

And don't be sad about it; that's just how moms are. They just don't think... 🤣 My own mom tried to book ten days off work just to be there when I have my baby. But look, I don't want anyone crashing at my place until I actually figure out if I need the help. It's not that I hate visitors—I love guests!—but after a day or two, I'm done. Even if it's my own mother. I just want us to be alone with our little newborn and get used to being a family.

Well, one small mercy is that my husband won't be around during that window—I am genuinely terrified of being left alone with the little one. If he were actually here, nobody would dare step foot near us for at least the first two weeks. I know she’s worried about both me and the baby, but regardless... *starts slamming her head against the wall again* 😍

It honestly drives me absolutely insane whenever I stumble upon threads debating whether "positioning during intercourse determines the baby's sex" or any other ridiculous variation of the "how to influence gender" myth. Helloooouuu,there is absolutely nothing involved in this equation except for the sperm! Was it an X or a Y chromosome that won the race? Honestly, someone needs to go back to elementary school biology class and stay there!

There, I had to get that off my chest... 🙄

James Anderson8 said:It honestly drives me absolutely insane whenever I stumble upon threads debating whether "positioning during intercourse determines the baby's sex" or any other ridiculous variation of the "how to influence gender" myth. Helloooouuu,there is absolutely nothing involved in this equation except for the sperm! Was it an X or a Y chromosome that won the race? Honestly, someone needs to go back to elementary school biology class and stay there!

There, I had to get that off my chest... 🙄

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This stupid cold is starting to get on my nerves. I feel okay physically, but I just can't breatheeeeee properly 😠😠😠
so I'm just sitting here at home looking like an idiot with tissues stuffed up my nose. 🙄

Steven Reed said:Well, one small mercy is that my husband won't be around during that window—I am genuinely terrified of being left alone with the little one. If he were actually here, nobody would dare step foot near us for at least the first two weeks. I know she’s worried about both me and the baby, but regardless... *starts slamming her head against the wall again* 😍

My mother is coming to help out too, though not directly with the baby. I'll handle the infant while she tackles the housework, prep meals, and those other little things. The difference is, we have a 1,500-square-foot house, so we won't even notice her presence. Just try to stay calm and talk it through with your mom—she might push back initially, but eventually, she'll see reason (I hope) 😁

Oh, don't even get me started on mothers. I am seriously about to lose it. 🙂
So, yesterday we finally pulled the trigger on the crib, the mattress, all the bedding, that high-tech baby swing thing, and a bunch of other essentials.
And then she calls me up just to tell me—"You guys bought way too much, you shouldn't be buying this much stuff yet, it's far too early" 🙂.
It drives me absolutely insane. 😠
For crying out loud, where would I be if I actually listened to that kind of logic?! I’d end up giving birth with nothing ready, and then I'd have her and his mother staring me down while they buy everything for the baby anyway. 🙂

It kind of bugs me because my mom was planning on taking some time off work to come help out, and I told her she absolutely could—but just not right away. I want us to have some time as just the three of us first 😍, and then she can come by and help once my husband is back from his vacation 😁

She knows how to push my buttons, though. She’s already teasing me about sneaking around behind my back to hold the baby and all that nonsense... I know she’s just joking, but it still gets under my skin a little

Adam Evans62 said:I had a total meltdown today for absolutely no reason when I opened the junk drawer in the living room unit. 🙂
It was just a massive mess of computer cables, phone chargers, camera cords... God knows what else we haven't touched in years. 😠
I tried to organize it, but honestly, I ended up tossing almost everything except the camera cable, the digital camera, and some phone chargers.

I open the next drawer 😲—and there are literally 54 PC Gamer magazines that MM dutifully buys and reads year after year. He reads them once and then just stuffs them in a drawer because apparently tech never advances and he needs them 🙄.
I tossed 51 of them. Kept only this year's issues.

In the last drawer, there were about a hundred CDs and DVDs of games from the prehistoric era (probably for the Amiga and Atari 😛). He guards them like gold even though he’s constantly downloading and buying new stuff!
I threw them all out except one!

Then MM gets home.
Asks what I did all day. I told him straight: cleaning and organizing.
He says "okay."
I ask if he wants to see what I did.
He goes, "Nah, no time, gotta sleep then hit the gym..." So I just smiled and said, have fun!

He's gonna lose it when he sees what I did. ...🙂 and 🙂

Merry, you have my full support until the very last bug is squashed and the final game is tossed out the window!
I absolutely loathe clutter and useless junk.
Most people probably won't even notice those little things are gone.
A few others might notice, though. 😳 And then who knows what happens next.
But honestly, I bet that felt like a great way to blow off some steam and clear your head. 👍
Good for you! 🙂

Another reason I’m losing my mind: the mom + husband combo. Just kill me now.
So, my mom brought up the idea of me staying at her place for the first two weeks after I give birth. She’ll take her vacation time, obviously. My aunt wants in too. Honestly? I’d love that. My husband is basically useless when it comes to actual help—I mean, let’s be real, if it involves cleaning or cooking, he’s out. First off, I’d be leaning on my mom hard. Plus, my aunt works as a pharmacist (so she’ll definitely have all the supplies I need). And look, I can't exactly imagine anyone else helping me deal with potential recovery from an episiotomy wounds; my husband has this ridiculous theory that if you haven't lost an arm, a leg, or your head, you're just being dramatic—claims he hasn't even heard of Octeinsept in that context. And who else? My mother-in-law lives nearby, but God forbid I ask her for help. 😲
The other thing is, they live about 15 miles away. My mom doesn't drive, and it feels wrong to drag them back and forth every single day with pots of food and everything else—they aren't exactly in their prime, you know? At the end of the day, I think the most important thing is just me—making sure I actually recover properly during those first few days so things aren't harder later...
I can already see the look on my husband's face when I pitch this to him...

Everyone around me is getting on my nerves lately... I mean, what can you even do? It’s incredibly aggravating that everyone who thinks they have a say in my personal business assumes that if they just poke and prod at my stomach, my little girl will somehow magically respond... I'm honestly just sitting here waiting for someone to actually take a swing at me.

I used to always tell myself how lucky I was that nobody ever felt the urge to poke at my stomach.
But... clearly, it just wasn't big enough yet.
Now that it’s actually grown, everyone seems to think they have a right to touch it. It's honestly such a nightmare.🙂

Personally, I don't mind a bit of poking in the stomach... but the knocking? Good grief. It’s not like they're knocking on my front door expecting someone to come running and let them in.

Luckily, nobody ever messes with my stomach
Except for MM (which I’m totally down with) when we’re hanging out in bed and they give me little belly kisses before heading off to work.
And my sister a couple of times when she wanted to feel my abs—but hey, that’s family, and she always asked first if it was okay.

But if some random stranger tried touching my stomach? I would absolutely lose my mind.

Why does this bother anyone? I honestly don't get it...

I mean, it's not like I'm walking down the street and letting just any random stranger come up and hug me... It’s usually people who actually matter to me in the grand scheme of things. I really don't see why that would be an issue for me.

On another note: I was riding the light rail yesterday. It’s getting harder for me to stand for long periods, so I sat down. (This was later in the evening after finishing up at work, running some errands downtown, and hitting the grocery store for a few things for the house).
I deal with low blood pressure, so cramped spaces and standing for too long really take a toll on me.

So, I hop on the train. It wasn't packed, but there was only one open seat—and it happened to be one of those priority seats reserved for people with disabilities. Naturally, I took it.
There was an older gentleman sitting directly across from me using a cane, but he was already seated. (He had been there before I boarded, so I wasn't taking a spot away from him.)
Then, a woman in her 50s comes on and stands right next to us.
Suddenly, the old man with the cane turns to her and asks, "Ma'am, would you perhaps like to sit down?" Honestly, I was thinking, *WTF? Is he picking on me?*
The woman just says, "No, thank you."
Then he goes, "Well, I suppose I have to be the one to ask when the younger generation won't... I can certainly take the priority seat while you stand there." 😠
I just stared at him in total shock and disbelief. 😲
My mind started racing: first of all, why wouldn't he just take the priority seat himself if he's making such a big deal about the right to use it? I looked him straight in the eye and asked, "Would you like to sit here?" He told me, "No." 😕
I then asked the woman if she wanted to sit, and she said no.
Look, I needed to sit. I couldn't stand, and since I was wearing a heavy coat, nobody could even tell I was pregnant. But that old man completely blindsided me.
Later on, he even muttered to the woman, "It seems the young lady is unwell..."
The sheer audacity of that man! 😠 😠

James Anderson8 said:It honestly drives me absolutely insane whenever I stumble upon threads debating whether "positioning during intercourse determines the baby's sex" or any other ridiculous variation of the "how to influence gender" myth. Helloooouuu,there is absolutely nothing involved in this equation except for the sperm! Was it an X or a Y chromosome that won the race? Honestly, someone needs to go back to elementary school biology class and stay there!

There, I had to get that off my chest... 🙄

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Sean Long4 said:Why does this bother anyone? I honestly don't get it...

I mean, it's not like I'm walking down the street and letting just any random stranger come up and hug me... It’s usually people who actually matter to me in the grand scheme of things. I really don't see why that would be an issue for me.

I'm not entirely sure why, but it does.
Up until now, I've read people complaining about it here, but I hadn't really felt it myself until recently.
And since I've experienced it firsthand, I can tell you, it's a total joke.

Hey Nata, maybe your little guy is just too small, so you haven't quite felt the urge to nitpick yet...?! 🤷

I honestly don't even know how I'd respond to him...

I’d tell him... man, there's a lot I could say... but most importantly, I’d just tell him that I'm pregnant...

I caught myself wondering if I should have just said something, 🤔 but honestly, I completely froze up in the moment,
and if she had actually acted like a lady and offered her seat, things would have been different.
I can't help but think he’s an absolute idiot—isn't it true there's some kind of bad karma for being rude to a pregnant woman?

My mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts; he's a man, so of course he doesn't get it, but did he even stop to consider what his own mother went through during her pregnancy? God...
And then there's the nerve of him suggesting that even if I wasn't pregnant, I'm just some irresponsible kid. Why is he even sticking his nose in my business? He just sits there.