What were your biggest pregnancy surprises and pet peeves?

Honestly, I feel like I’m constantly hearing that whole "just you wait until..." line, regardless of whether someone is actually pregnant or not... 🙄 😠

Edward Williams8 said:In these last few days—and there’s probably another month and a half left of this—honestly, just go home and lie down. Don't bother showering, don't step foot outside, don't exert yourself. Just stay in bed. Don't eat anything except fruit. Sleep while you can, because you're all about to get screwed. You better get all that sleep in now, since you won't be getting any more anytime soon. Go grab a coffee while you still have the chance, or go catch a movie at the AMC, because there won't be any films playing for the next several decades... JUST STAY POSITIVE!

I mean, I truly don't understand...😕
is it sheer human stupidity? Is it jealousy? Pure malice???
What is it??

I look back at things from five years ago involving my own relatives. By then, they already had kids, whereas my spouse and I had decided to just live our lives, be hedonists, and enjoy being just the two of us for a little longer. It was as if they were somehow jealous that we were still actually enjoying ourselves—while they were all miserable, stuck in their endless "domestic servitude." 👎
I mean, seriously...🤷

Donna Chase12 said:Look, sure, things get tough sometimes, but when someone hits me with that nasty little comment like, "Just wait until you don't even have time for yourself, let alone your plants," while I'm sitting here three weeks after getting home having already bought a massive haul of new greenery, repotted everything, and spending my daily downtime watering and pruning... 😂 🤣 😂
That's just a textbook example of people being petty for no damn reason.👎

Well, that sounds perfectly normal to me—you simply know your own priorities and what brings you joy, so you organize your life around those needs. You went out to get more plants because that matters to you; someone else might just veg out in front of the TV, whereas I’d probably spend my time painting my nails.😍

Kate Cox2 said:I mean, I truly don't understand...😕
is it sheer human stupidity? Is it jealousy? Pure malice???
What is it??

I look back at things from five years ago involving my own relatives. By then, they already had kids, whereas my spouse and I had decided to just live our lives, be hedonists, and enjoy being just the two of us for a little longer. It was as if they were somehow jealous that we were still actually enjoying ourselves—while they were all miserable, stuck in their endless "domestic servitude." 👎
I mean, seriously...🤷

Most of my friends deal with unplanned pregnancies, and I'm actually in the worst possible position regarding this because they all have moms or mothers-in-law living right upstairs or downstairs, super flexible jobs, or they work for their husbands...
Me? I don't have a built-in babysitting service, my mother-in-law is non-existent, I have strict office hours, and in these last 8 months, I haven't once complained to them about how hard things are...
And I never let them make me feel inferior for not having kids yet and just enjoying life with my husband...

Edward Williams8 said:Most of my friends deal with unplanned pregnancies, and I'm actually in the worst possible position regarding this because they all have moms or mothers-in-law living right upstairs or downstairs, super flexible jobs, or they work for their husbands...
Me? I don't have a built-in babysitting service, my mother-in-law is non-existent, I have strict office hours, and in these last 8 months, I haven't once complained to them about how hard things are...
And I never let them make me feel inferior for not having kids yet and just enjoying life with my husband...

It is quite a heavy realization to face, isn't it? We simply don't have any parents around here to step in or offer that immediate support when things get overwhelming. It’s just me and my sister, and honestly, she’s working in the private sector—you know how relentless those corporate roles can be lately—and she can barely find a spare moment for herself, let alone her own daughter. 😢

But, quite frankly, I find myself agreeing with your sentiment entirely! It truly strikes me that those specific comments were almost exclusively coming from women who hadn't actually planned for a pregnancy... and honestly, I can't help but feel there was a distinct undercurrent of jealousy directed toward both my husband and me.🤷
It is truly baffling to me how some people develop such deep-seated complexes regarding my decision not to have children. I am not entirely sure what your specific circumstances might be, but for my husband and me, our five years of marriage without kids was a deliberate, conscious choice—not a matter of infertility or any other biological hurdle. In my estimation, that is precisely what causes the most friction. It seems to me that many of these critics haven't even experienced the reality of a committed marriage or a life lived together as a duo, let alone understood the fulfillment found in a child-free partnership. They judge from a distance without ever having stood in our shoes.

It drives me nuts how people just wander aimlessly through malls or on the subway... nobody’s actually looking where they’re going! I’m constantly having to dodge everyone just so I don't get slammed into, or I have to be like, "Excuse me!" just to get some space. It's ridiculous. And then they have the nerve to ask, "Are you hot?" Yeah, no kidding—it’s not the heat, it’s just that there hasn't been a decent breeze in days...

Cyclists are absolutely flying out here like maniacs! Honestly, I’m low-key terrified one of them is gonna plow right into me at any second.

🤷 Honestly, I’m constantly bumping into things because I have zero sense of how much space my stomach actually takes up—I’ve just always been used to squeezing through tight spots. God knows how many times I’ve accidentally clocked someone in the face with my gut while trying to shimmy between tables at a crowded Starbucks 😬... At this point, I’m more worried about bruising people than anyone being worried about me

rustyrider20 said:🤷 Honestly, I’m constantly bumping into things because I have zero sense of how much space my stomach actually takes up—I’ve just always been used to squeezing through tight spots. God knows how many times I’ve accidentally clocked someone in the face with my gut while trying to shimmy between tables at a crowded Starbucks 😬... At this point, I’m more worried about bruising people than anyone being worried about me

🤣
I experience this exact same thing... I completely lose track of my own dimensions and regularly end up slamming right into doorframes or banisters...🤦

One time, I actually smacked my stomach so hard against a door handle—the poor elderly woman watching me practically turned pale from the impact! 😁

Kate Cox2 said:Well, that sounds perfectly normal to me—you simply know your own priorities and what brings you joy, so you organize your life around those needs. You went out to get more plants because that matters to you; someone else might just veg out in front of the TV, whereas I’d probably spend my time painting my nails.😍

Look, I get it... obviously your kid comes first, period. But you don't just stop existing because you have a little one. You’re still going to do the things that make you *you*—it’s just gonna look different now. You'll reorganize your life, maybe drop the stuff that doesn't really matter anymore, but that's on you. For someone to sit there and predict that you won't be able to handle the things that actually matter to you? Honestly, that's just obnoxious. It's borderline malicious, if you ask me.

Yeah, well... even when it comes to sleep... they were talking a lot about that too—just wait until you see the absolute mess they make of things.
Honestly, I’ve always been a bit of a light sleeper—even during my pregnancy, I was lucky if I got six hours of shut-eye. My little one is pretty much a pro at sleeping through the night. When they need to nurse, they just sort of stir around a bit, grab a quick meal, and then drift right back off. Most nights, they'll pull a solid 10 to 12-hour stretch with maybe two or three feedings mixed in.🤣 The only real drag is that the kid is constantly wheezing—I’m basically running on zero sleep because I'm stuck worrying about them. But even if I *did* manage to get more rest than I used to... yeah, I still wouldn't be sleeping.😁

Kate Cox2 said:🤣
I experience this exact same thing... I completely lose track of my own dimensions and regularly end up slamming right into doorframes or banisters...🤦

One time, I actually smacked my stomach so hard against a door handle—the poor elderly woman watching me practically turned pale from the impact! 😁

Personally, I manage to slam my stomach into the car door on a regular basis🤣
and let me tell you, it hits hard enough to leave a mark.😲 😂

Look, I think you’re hanging out with too many idiots who just don't have a clue. Seriously, stop wasting your breath on them—it's bad for your mental health. Just say no when they ask to grab a coffee or whatever. You don't need that nonsense in your life. Go take a hike in the woods instead.
I'm actually glad my husband doesn't get interrogated by people whenever we're out together; they only seem to have questions when I'm on my own. So even if I have to deal with a bunch of loudmouths, I'm sticking right by my man.🤣

So I’m crossing the street in town yesterday and this idiot just doesn't stop. He keeps rolling along like I'm invisible or he expects me to just freeze in his path... wtf?😕😂
Then he starts honking at me and shouting profanities. Just typical Smithsonian Institution behavior right there...😬

It’s honestly wild how my husband still hasn't caught on that I'm pregnant... I can't stand out in the sun for three hours, I can't wait around for two hours at a time, we aren't hiking the Rockies this weekend, I definitely can't lug thirty grocery bags around, I'm paranoid someone might bump into me, I have to pee constantly, I need a nap... just leave me alone...

Oh goodness, I am counting down the days until I finally give birth—and then, hopefully, I can get back to my regular routine again..
It truly irritates me how every little thing seems to be off-limits these days... and then there are moments where I completely lose my focus and end up doing something silly..

The other day, my little niece was playing with one of those bouncy balls on a spring attached to a pole—you know, the kind where you climb onto the extended part and just hop around..
Well, naturally, I decided to give it a go myself—and my husband absolutely lost it! He started yelling, "No!! Are you out of your mind?" 😁
And honestly? I suppose I wasn't... 😁

Ugh, early on in my pregnancy, he actually had the nerve to tell me I was out of shape because I wasn't walking fast enough or whatever... meanwhile, I’m standing there looking like a ghost because the morning sickness literally wiped 7 pounds off me.
Man, I let him have it. That was probably the last smart thing he ever said to me.

Now, the belly is the biggest struggle when I'm trying to sleep... it feels like my entire stomach is doing somersaults along with the baby. Then my arms go numb, then it's constant bathroom runs, then his snoring... plus I'm sweating through everything. Honestly, I'd happily just crawl into the fridge and live there.

I’ve gotta point out—even in this thread about surviving the heatwave, everyone keeps bringing up snoring husbands... seriously, does anyone actually have a partner who doesn't sound like a chainsaw?
Ever since I started working from home full-time, his snoring has become a total nightmare. It used to be fine—I'd just record him on my phone and laugh about it later, or honestly, I barely even noticed because he’d go to bed right when I was heading out to campus or running errands. But now that I'm stuck at home all day? It’s not funny anymore. It's just exhausting. 🙂

My husband hasn't been snoring much lately, but he certainly had his fair share of heavy drinking this past winter.
I'll actually wake him up just to tell him he’s snoring like a freight train, and he’ll look at me and go, "You're crazy, I've been wide awake the whole time." 😂

rustyrider20 said:I’m honestly driving myself crazy right now—just spiraling over how many terrible habits he’s inevitably going to pick up from his father. I can already see it happening in thirteen years: this rebellious, aggressive little terror with a cigarette dangling from his lip and a mouth full of profanity. It’s nauseating. And god forbid he inherits that "enthusiasm" for education that runs through his father’s side of the family... if that happens, I might need to start digging a massive hole just to hide in. I’m already dreading those parent-teacher conferences where everyone points the finger at me because my teenager decided to get into a scrap or act out.

I think I’ll just sit in the very back row during those meetings and pretend I don't exist... ha, ha... though it won't matter, he'll still be a little outlaw. Honestly, better a rebel than some total jerk, right? That's what we ended up with anyway.🤣

Kate Cox2 said:Honestly, there is something quite cathartic about looking someone right in the eye and lying through your teeth—you know, the whole "Oh, I'm perfectly fine," or "I slept like a baby," or "It wasn't hard at all" routine... just to get back at them for being so malicious and making those "threats" in the first place...😁>

Exactly. 👍
So, I went to see the lady at the local locksmith yesterday because my manager managed to lose my keys—again. When I asked her how she was doing, she basically told me my blood pressure was too high for small talk and then proceeded to give me a twenty-minute keynote presentation on her entire pregnancy journey, starting from the very moment of conception. Truly riveting stuff. 🙂