What were your biggest pregnancy surprises and pet peeves?

I truly hope that one day, all of us women who have contributed to this discussion will find ourselves being much more tolerant toward pregnant women—especially considering the absolute nonsense we were forced to endure back in our day...

Regarding that whole situation at Walmart, if I were in your shoes, I’d just say it loud enough for everyone to hear: "Well, there are plenty of other stores!" then I'd leave the ice cream right there on the counter and walk out...

And as for the bus or the subway, you should just walk up to the most arrogant person on board and ask, "Excuse me, could you please help me sit down? I'm feeling dizzy and can't stay on my feet," just to see who decides to suddenly go deaf right then

I honestly can't stand those arrogant idiots. I'd give every single one of them a piece of my mind, because that's exactly why people walk all over us—because we don't know how to speak up for our own rights....

Edward Williams8 said:Screw the tourists who shop at Walmart while they're on vacation...😂 😂

That’s exactly what I said when I hopped in my car! Literally those exact words!!! 🤣🤣🤣

Kate Cox2 said:I truly hope that one day, all of us women who have contributed to this discussion will find ourselves being much more tolerant toward pregnant women—especially considering the absolute nonsense we were forced to endure back in our day...

Personally, I can say I’ve always let pregnant women, moms with kids, and even seniors cut in front of me in line... even though everyone else in line usually gives me death stares...
I even let a woman with a much bigger bump than mine go ahead of me at the CDC clinic while I was pregnant (not that anyone besides me actually noticed her presence)...
And back when I was in college in Chicago, I always gave up my seat on the CTA...
even for people who aren't even fifty yet...

Dammit, maybe I'm just stupid—my parents raised me that way and I can't help it...
That’s why what I’m going through now (and it seems like many of you are too) feels absolutely surreal...

vividhawk87 said:Regarding that whole situation at Walmart, if I were in your shoes, I’d just say it loud enough for everyone to hear: "Well, there are plenty of other stores!" then I'd leave the ice cream right there on the counter and walk out...

And as for the bus or the subway, you should just walk up to the most arrogant person on board and ask, "Excuse me, could you please help me sit down? I'm feeling dizzy and can't stay on my feet," just to see who decides to suddenly go deaf right then

I honestly can't stand those arrogant idiots. I'd give every single one of them a piece of my mind, because that's exactly why people walk all over us—because we don't know how to speak up for our own rights....

But what am I supposed to do when their mascarpone flavor is literally the best thing on the planet... 🤦
(though my mom actually picked some up for me after work today 🤣 👍)

Edward Williams8 said:Screw the tourists who shop at Walmart while they're on vacation...😂 😂

😁 😁 That's awesome!

I gotta stop posting about my vacation and these tourists. Ever since we hit the coast a few days ago, I can’t go to the beach without everyone staring at my gut. It’s like a cartoon—every time I head toward the water, I feel the whole beach tracking my every move. Like, seriously, WHAT IS SO INTERESTING about a pregnant belly?? 😕
The worst part is when people on the beach try to strike up a conversation, asking what week it is or trying to give you unsolicited advice. I’m just sitting here waiting for someone to ask if I’m actually getting any sun or how I even manage to get into the water.

Sarah Johnson7 said:😁 😁 That's awesome!

I gotta stop posting about my vacation and these tourists. Ever since we hit the coast a few days ago, I can’t go to the beach without everyone staring at my gut. It’s like a cartoon—every time I head toward the water, I feel the whole beach tracking my every move. Like, seriously, WHAT IS SO INTERESTING about a pregnant belly?? 😕
The worst part is when people on the beach try to strike up a conversation, asking what week it is or trying to give you unsolicited advice. I’m just sitting here waiting for someone to ask if I’m actually getting any sun or how I even manage to get into the water.

Ugh, gross. That sounds like one of those beaches packed with bored older ladies... I was at a spot where nobody was over 35 or under 15, and my bump went completely unnoticed. Everyone was too busy eyeing those fit girls in bikinis with tattoos on their backs—and honestly, I was looking too, 😁those girls were absolute perfection

My nerves were absolutely shot today at the OB-GYN clinic. A bunch of husbands and partners just sitting there comfortably while a crowd of pregnant women are forced to stand...

Ethan King75 said:My nerves were absolutely shot today at the OB-GYN clinic. A bunch of husbands and partners just sitting there comfortably while a crowd of pregnant women are forced to stand...

Yeah, I noticed the exact same thing during my last checkup at the hospital 😠
The waiting room was like 150 degrees, you wait forever to be seen, and the pregnant ladies are just standing there...
As long as those guys get to sit down and relax, right? 👎...

Ethan King75 said:My nerves were absolutely shot today at the OB-GYN clinic. A bunch of husbands and partners just sitting there comfortably while a crowd of pregnant women are forced to stand...

Man, one guy actually made my skin crawl... he showed up at the clinic with his wife, who was clearly past her due date—huge belly, visibly struggling just to stay upright... there wasn't a nurse at the desk at that moment, so she's stuck standing right there at the counter, and this absolute jerk just sits himself down in the waiting room chair... seriously, gross. How can you be such a pathetic excuse for a man?!...
It would have been the decent thing to do if he’d told her to sit down while he stood there by the desk...

rustyrider20 said:Man, one guy actually made my skin crawl... he showed up at the clinic with his wife, who was clearly past her due date—huge belly, visibly struggling just to stay upright... there wasn't a nurse at the desk at that moment, so she's stuck standing right there at the counter, and this absolute jerk just sits himself down in the waiting room chair... seriously, gross. How can you be such a pathetic excuse for a man?!...
It would have been the decent thing to do if he’d told her to sit down while he stood there by the desk...

She really lucked out with him.
And as for those husbands hanging around OB-GYN clinics, I’d unashamedly tell them to get up.
What are you guys so afraid of?
Make *them* feel the awkwardness for once.

I don't get priority anywhere—not at the post office or even at the grocery stores. Given how things are lately, I've just accepted it. It’s not like I expect anything special. But every once in a while, if I actually get through a line quickly... like that one time at Walmart, just once. I only needed to grab some cereal, but everyone else had full carts piled high. In those moments, I actually feel lucky, mostly because I wasn't even expecting it.😍

It honestly drives me crazy how much people stare... especially my grandma. She just can't seem to take her eyes off my stomach. I try to act like I don't notice, but I can practically feel them running the numbers in their heads—calculating my weight, guessing the gender, figuring out how far along I am... they look at me like they're some kind of Terminator 🤣🤣

My stomach is officially starting to block my view... today I slammed right into this tiny stool that was just sitting there on the floor where it didn't belong—couldn't even see it because my gut got in the way 🙄
Now I look like some victim of a street fight, sporting a massive bruise and a nasty scrape on my shin... and the worst part? It’s too damn hot to be wearing pants, so I have to parade this bruise around for the next two weeks—which feels like an eternity to me. And please, spare me those "remedies" for bruises suggesting you rub margarine or butter on them—total garbage. I slathered butter on my leg immediately and it still turned blue anyway.

I mean, I just love walking out to grab some milk and bread at Walmart, only to have the ladies behind the counter and everyone else start grilling me... like, seriously, why are you even out right now? Just chill out, guys, I'm just trying to run an errand, it's not like I can just teleport...

Honestly, what kills me most is how these old ladies rush me in the aisles. Like, move it, lady, I can’t even get past you. And this is me with a shopping cart at Walmart where the aisles are wide enough for three people to pass comfortably... seriously, learn how to steer around folks. If you can't manage that, you aren't gonna last long 😠
. And apparently, they plan on sticking around for a while (meanwhile, I’m down on my knees grabbing potatoes like, hello?! You won't be around much longer if I trip over you right now and break these three bones that are already shot 😠).
Basically, it’s just the old ladies being rude because they don't care about anyone but themselves. They're used to getting priority everywhere and just march straight ahead because they're old and helpless... 🙄

On the flip side, it surprises me how everyone else is constantly asking if I need help or if I need them to grab something. At the gas station, random drivers will try to pump my tank for me, and the guy at the corner store offers to carry my stuff home... it’s super weird because I’m not even immobile. I catch myself wondering what I look like to make everyone act like that... it’s wild how helpful most people are toward me, if you ignore those old ladies 🙄
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What really gets to me, though, is not being able to just get out of bed normally. Turning over in bed or moving on the couch—I’ve had to develop specific techniques for every single movement since I was seven months old because this sciatica follows me everywhere. And having to get up for the bathroom in the middle of the night... everything else is fine 🙂

CE3PENULA said:I second this. 🙏

Kate Cox2 said:I truly hope that one day, all of us women who have contributed to this discussion will find ourselves being much more tolerant toward pregnant women—especially considering the absolute nonsense we were forced to endure back in our day...

I have always been tolerant toward pregnant women with disabilities and moms with small children.
Nobody had to lecture me or terrorize me into adopting that mindset.
Either you are sensitive to others, or you aren't. It's that simple.

A few years ago, I broke my leg and spent nearly two years on crutches—surviving multiple surgeries, mind you—and yet, I never once, ever, took a seat from a pregnant woman, a person with a disability, or a mother with a child. Not on a bus, not at a checkout counter, nowhere.

Edit: Oh, I forgot to mention—yesterday at Target, they actually refused to let me get to my aunt at the register just so I could ask her how much the security deposit was for a case of Bud Light. She's pregnant. Absolute nonsense.
Whatever. Back then, I was practically disabled myself, but I kept thinking—well, I’ll recover, but someone with a permanent impairment won't.

And don't even get me started on what I witnessed during those two years on crutches.
The lowlifes would stand perfectly still in line at the register, staring straight ahead as if I were invisible, while I was chugging along on my crutches like a steam locomotive.
Back then, I felt too ashamed to say anything or ask someone to let me cut ahead—but today? If someone so much as sneezed in my direction, I'm certain people would scramble to clear a path and bring me a chair.

Olivia Robinson6 said:Honestly, what kills me most is how these old ladies rush me in the aisles. Like, move it, lady, I can’t even get past you. And this is me with a shopping cart at Walmart where the aisles are wide enough for three people to pass comfortably... seriously, learn how to steer around folks. If you can't manage that, you aren't gonna last long 😠
. And apparently, they plan on sticking around for a while (meanwhile, I’m down on my knees grabbing potatoes like, hello?! You won't be around much longer if I trip over you right now and break these three bones that are already shot 😠).
Basically, it’s just the old ladies being rude because they don't care about anyone but themselves. They're used to getting priority everywhere and just march straight ahead because they're old and helpless... 🙄

On the flip side, it surprises me how everyone else is constantly asking if I need help or if I need them to grab something. At the gas station, random drivers will try to pump my tank for me, and the guy at the corner store offers to carry my stuff home... it’s super weird because I’m not even immobile. I catch myself wondering what I look like to make everyone act like that... it’s wild how helpful most people are toward me, if you ignore those old ladies 🙄
.
What really gets to me, though, is not being able to just get out of bed normally. Turning over in bed or moving on the couch—I’ve had to develop specific techniques for every single movement since I was seven months old because this sciatica follows me everywhere. And having to get up for the bathroom in the middle of the night... everything else is fine 🙂

So, I actually finally sorted one thing out the other day. I practically had to stage an intervention with my husband just to convince him we swap sides of the bed, because I was pinned against the wall and I was seriously losing my mind. Plus, I need to get used to the new setup before the baby arrives and we’re all cramped together. He started grumbling about the change, so I just looked him dead in the eye and asked if he expected me to nurse him in the middle of the night or something. ☕

Sarah Harris5 said:It honestly drives me crazy how much people stare... especially my grandma. She just can't seem to take her eyes off my stomach. I try to act like I don't notice, but I can practically feel them running the numbers in their heads—calculating my weight, guessing the gender, figuring out how far along I am... they look at me like they're some kind of Terminator 🤣🤣

Hahahaha 🤣🤣🤣

rustyrider20 said:My stomach is officially starting to block my view... today I slammed right into this tiny stool that was just sitting there on the floor where it didn't belong—couldn't even see it because my gut got in the way 🙄
Now I look like some victim of a street fight, sporting a massive bruise and a nasty scrape on my shin... and the worst part? It’s too damn hot to be wearing pants, so I have to parade this bruise around for the next two weeks—which feels like an eternity to me. And please, spare me those "remedies" for bruises suggesting you rub margarine or butter on them—total garbage. I slathered butter on my leg immediately and it still turned blue anyway.

But listen, there is actually one absolutely wonderful thing for bruises—this little balm made with essential chamomile oil (you can grab it at Aroma, I think it's only like $5... they have pure chamomile oil in a bottle too, but that stuff is way too pricey... this little tin lasts forever since you only need a tiny bit!) if you put it on immediately, the bruise won't even show up, and if one does start forming, it clears it up incredibly fast... I know this because I'm one of those people who bruises if someone even looks at me funny, I'm basically a walking bruise 🙄 and I am telling you, it really works👍

The absolute worst part was dealing with the trash left behind on the light rail; nobody would even dream of picking it up. It’s always those aggressive middle-aged women or younger retirees acting entitled. Then you have the idiots at the Target checkout—people who jump into the priority lane meant for pregnant women or people with disabilities just because they don't want to wait in the main line. I’ll grab a single loaf of bread, and suddenly they’re lecturing me about using the express lane. Fine, use the express lane, but I also use the priority lane when I see someone who actually needs it. If you show me proof of pregnancy or a disability card, I’ll gladly let you go ahead. But of course, once I call them out, it’s always "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize." What is wrong with people? Are you blind? My stomach is practically touching my teeth. Or they give me the usual lines: "What, are you just standing here for fifteen minutes? I'm catching a bus!" or "Why are you in such a rush?" No, lady, maternity leave exists specifically so I don't have to spend an hour vibrating with rage in a grocery line. Idiots.
Beyond that, I am beyond frustrated with the IRS. They are calculating maternity benefits based on an average net pay that has already been stripped of social security, income tax, AND local surcharges, despite having absolutely no legal basis to do so. We should be looking into a class-action lawsuit.