Posts by Chris Mitchell4

The public transit in New York City is 👎. Credit where credit is due, though.
I haven’t personally dealt with an > situation, but the rest have left me with some pretty awkward memories. Back when I used to commute to NYU from the other side of town—using the subway through Midtown—I had plenty of extra time to encounter a few uncomfortable moments.

Samuel Patel4 said:Chris Mitchell4, your dear man has clearly watched way too many Hollywood movies 😬
The whole family shows up, the wife screams twice, squeezes three times, and boom—there's the baby.
It’s as if those films were scripted by people with the mental capacity of a goldfish..

I had my own ridiculous moment,
A friend of mine drops by, reaches out toward my stomach, and asks if she can touch. I let her.
She stays silent for a few seconds before asking, with this completely deadpan expression, "Is everything okay? Nothing's moving?!" As if... why on earth would anything be moving right now??
😲
Good grief, I really shouldn't have been so accommodating. How am I supposed to explain to her that there isn't some little hamster running on a wheel inside my abdomen all day long 🙂

Seriously—another one of those ridiculous movie tropes: the water breaking. It’s always portrayed like a dam just burst—as if she’s a literal water tank instead of a pregnant woman. Then, of course, there’s the frantic rush to the hospital, the desperate race against the clock, and suddenly she’s giving birth in two pushes flat. It’s just not how it works. 🤦
That’s exactly why my husband kept warning me—he insisted I put something under me before going to sleep, just so any leaking wouldn't soak right through to the mattress if my water broke unexpectedly. I suppose I should probably mention... my water didn't even break until they actually had me in the delivery room at the hospital.
He honestly expected three liters of water to just come pouring out of me the second my water broke—and honestly, I can’t even blame him. Before I actually did my homework on how labor works, I was thinking along the exact same lines.

It honestly makes my blood boil—seeing those totally unrealistic portrayals in movies, and him too. 😁

I haven't seen any posts from mrvica-maky yet. Once they start posting, I'll be ready to handle their content. kaže:
So, I had this ridiculous situation—
A friend of mine comes over, reaches out toward my stomach, and asks if she can touch—I gave her the green light.
She just stays silent for a few seconds—dead quiet—and then asks, with absolutely zero emotion, "Is everything okay? Nothing is moving?" As if... why exactly isn't anything moving?
😲
Good grief, you’re being completely unreasonable—you can say whatever you want, but that doesn't make it true. How am I supposed to explain here that my stomach isn't running some kind of endless marathon on a hamster wheel all day? 🙂

Yes! 🤣 People seem to have this misconception—that a baby is just constantly kicking and moving around inside the womb.

And all those people who just want to touch your stomach?! I don't know about the rest of you—but personally, that always got right under my skin.

My partner actually intended to bring his parents to the hospital during my labor—just to sit in the waiting room! 🤦 I absolutely lost it. I told him straight up that if they weren't out of the picture, I’d just drive to a different city to give birth instead. He even had the nerve to suggest my parents should come along too (they live 75 miles away, by the way) if they actually cared about me! Can you imagine? A whole crowd just sitting there waiting for me to deliver. I was acting crazy, I know. I hadn't realized that other women were being accompanied by the whole family at the maternity ward! Luckily, mine are sane enough to find the whole idea hilarious. I don't need an audience standing outside my door—but he took offense to that. Honestly, since reasoning with him wasn't working, a threat was the only way I could get him to scrap the plan. In the end, he just stayed quiet and told his folks we wouldn't be going to the hospital. It was late at night, thankfully; otherwise, I have no idea how that would have gone.
Of course, they still showed up during visiting hours, despite me making it crystal clear that I wanted peace and quiet. A few hours after giving birth, I really wasn't in the mood for guests—especially while I was still bleeding through everything. :-/

Justin Allen81 said:When my daughter was born, we weren't together—it was just her and me—so those questions never even came up. Her father... I don't know if he celebrated, maybe he did, but he was a completely different person back then; thankfully, we weren't married. I certainly wouldn't marry someone who would celebrate without me being there.😁

That was nine years ago, so I can't recall every single detail.😁

But generally speaking, from what I gather, this is normal for some people. Just think about it while the mother is stuck in the hospital. About two years ago, a relative of ours threw a celebration like that; honestly, it felt incredibly wrong for us to attend a party while his wife was lying in a hospital bed. 😢 We told him straight up that we didn't feel like showing up, and he took offense... He basically said, "Fine, if you care so much, come along, but it won't be done our way."

It’s just tacky—everyone is partying, roasting lambs or whatever, drinking and celebrating, while the poor woman is stuck in the hospital. Then, once she's finally home, the party's already over, and she's left to deal with diapers and maybe get a few cookies in the afternoon. 🤣
It’s as if she’s an incubator rather than a parent who should be celebrating the birth of their own child. Personally, I’d feel terrible throwing a party without my husband, and he’d feel the same without me. Look, to each their own, but that’s not how we operate—they can judge us all they want.☕

Look, I don't see it that way at all. It’s traditional for the man to host a little something while the wife is still in the hospital, and I didn't mind it one bit. I'm not saying everyone has to follow that rule—that's your call—but I never felt neglected; I was just happy my husband had a reason to celebrate. There weren't any massive backyard feasts going on.

I actually wanted him to celebrate—after all, he couldn't exactly stay in the hospital room with me! And honestly, it worked out well that it happened while I was away; at least I didn't have to organize anything or deal with the cleanup afterward!
Personally, I didn't want any visitors after coming home from the maternity ward, except for immediate family.
Besides, if you're breastfeeding, you really can't drink at all! :-/ I was much more relaxed during pregnancy, but now that I'm nursing, I'm way more careful about what I eat and drink.

Honestly, I’ve reached a point where nothing surprises me anymore. At first, I thought people just couldn't tell I was pregnant—that's why they’d rush past me or elbow their way through—but now that I’m at 31 weeks, I’m still dealing with the same lack of basic decency on the NYC subway. Luckily, I don't rely on it every single day, but every time I do, I'm just floored by how rude and oblivious people can be.
I’m not even asking for a standing ovation, but not once has anyone actually offered me a seat. Not even when I was lugging around a travel bag and my laptop. I stand there, minding my own business in the crowd like everyone else. It’s not just that nobody offers a seat—people actually shove right past me just to race toward an empty one.😲
And then there’s the shoving while boarding the train. Usually, I prefer entering from the back because I can't stand the frantic pushing, but now I enter last just to stay safe. Some rude women will just wedge themselves in and push me aside as I'm trying to get on.
I can almost excuse the teenagers—they're living in their own little world, probably exhausted from sitting around all day, plus they haven't learned manners yet—but middle-aged adults have absolutely zero excuse for being this inconsiderate.

On another note, the constant commentary about my pregnancy is getting old. Fine, maybe in a small circle of friends, but at work? When we're all gathered during a break, it feels awkward when the interrogation starts. Look, I enjoy talking about it, but I don't initiate those conversations because I don't want to be pushy—I know some people aren't particularly interested in my business. Especially the men. 😁

And I am really not a fan of the belly rubbing. At all. Only my boyfriend is allowed to do that. If anyone else tries, I make sure to politely shut it down.