What were your biggest pregnancy surprises and pet peeves?

I recall a particular instance where some elderly gentleman decided to make quite an entrance right in front of me at the checkout line. I had a mere three items in my cart—I was roughly eight months pregnant at the time, if memory serves—while he was practically hauling a full trolley. And yet, he still had the audacity to scurry about, trying to beat me to the register as if it were some sort of Olympic sprint.

It’s all just pure madness—honestly.🤣

It happens constantly—older guys cornering me on the subway or in grocery stores—and I honestly can't figure out their deal. They were relentless before I was pregnant, and they haven’t slowed down since. I don't even know any of these people, yet somehow, I’ve become their absolute favorite target.🤣

I’ve noticed a pattern—people tend to get significantly more obnoxious when it's summer and my arm tattoos are on full display, or when I'm wearing my lip piercing. It’s like they can't help themselves. Fast forward to winter, I take the piercing out for a routine trip to the dentist or the doctor, and suddenly everyone is perfectly polite—as if the jewelry was some sort of visual barrier to their basic manners. I also have that "perpetually youthful" look—it’s a blessing and a curse. Back when I used to pick up cigarettes regularly, convenience store clerks would constantly demand my ID. My husband actually didn't believe me about it—until he saw it for himself—and he nearly died laughing.😁 So, I guess they've decided I'm some kind of juvenile delinquent.🤣

What exactly does that justify? Is being a jerk now just a byproduct of someone having a tattoo or being a teenager? Especially with the age thing—that’s some real "punching down" logic right there.

Let me be clear—I am certainly not some pushover. I was simply mentioning that I have a nine-year-old daughter. In the grocery store, they actually had the nerve to ask if I was buying something for my sister.🤣

If some Grandma hits me in the gut with her elbow on the subway, I’m pretty sure she’d end up needing a full set of dental implants.

Both my pregnant and non-pregnant friends find old men and women incredibly irritating. Honestly, I’m sure some kind of karma will eventually catch up with me, but I have zero patience for any elderly people outside of my own grandparents and my mother-in-law. As for everyone else? Stay far away from me.
Everyone around me constantly teases me, claiming I'll end up just like them once I get older.😁
Miraculously, pregnancy hasn't made me particularly sensitive to most things—aside from the classic symptoms you all mentioned. Either that, or I am simply a harsh individual, which causes people to think twice before speaking in my presence.🤣

I’ve been lurking here since the very beginning of my pregnancy (I’m currently at 31 weeks and 4 days), and I honestly spent most of it worrying that I’d be the absolute worst kind of expectant mother. But I have to admit, certain things are starting to get under my skin—not even the physical stuff like people touching my belly, necessarily, but rather how close friends and colleagues act. It’s sweet, I suppose, and I feel like I’m just passing along the little one's greetings, but it can be a bit much. 😍

Then again, you could probably understand my mood if you were stuck in a packed subway car—I just sit there glaring, wondering if anyone is actually going to try and take a bite out of me; I’m constantly on edge, which is likely why no one has dared approach me yet... 🤣

But honestly, the cashiers at Target are what really get to me lately! I’ve finally realized the pattern—it’s my stomach; it isn't massive, but it’s definitely there, visible, and it’s obvious I’m struggling while I’m hunched over trying to grab items from the cart. She just sits there waiting for me to pull out a six-pack of chicken breasts or a giant gallon of milk by myself, and I find myself wondering if she could maybe just stand up and use that little handheld scanner so I don't have to bend over for the heavy stuff—but no, apparently I'm expected to lift everything myself. And then, like some sort of idiot, she starts spinning that huge heavy item around under the laser scanner while the actual handheld gun just sits in its holster waiting for retirement. It is absolutely infuriating.

Honestly, both during my first pregnancy and this one, I’ve found it so annoying when movies depict labor. They always have the woman start screaming immediately, making these faces like her eyes are actually going to pop out of her head from the pain.

restlessviper2 said:Honestly, both during my first pregnancy and this one, I’ve found it so annoying when movies depict labor. They always have the woman start screaming immediately, making these faces like her eyes are actually going to pop out of her head from the pain.

I mean, how else are they supposed to act? If they've never actually been through it, how would they even know what labor feels like?

Samuel Wells said:I mean, how else are they supposed to act? If they've never actually been through it, how would they even know what labor feels like?

Are you kidding me? I'm missing the emojis here, so I can't tell if you're being serious or just trolling.
I don't care about someone screaming in a hospital once things really get moving, but this idea that early contractions are so intense they'll make your eyes pop out? That's just wrong. Does anyone actually experience that? In my case, the pain intensity built up gradually, so I'm assuming that's pretty standard 😁 I'm talking about natural labor.

restlessviper2 said:Are you kidding me? I'm missing the emojis here, so I can't tell if you're being serious or just trolling.
I don't care about someone screaming in a hospital once things really get moving, but this idea that early contractions are so intense they'll make your eyes pop out? That's just wrong. Does anyone actually experience that? In my case, the pain intensity built up gradually, so I'm assuming that's pretty standard 😁 I'm talking about natural labor.

In my case, I was induced and given the gel, and even then, the contractions followed that same gradual escalation.

restlessviper2 said:Are you kidding me? I'm missing the emojis here, so I can't tell if you're being serious or just trolling.
I don't care about someone screaming in a hospital once things really get moving, but this idea that early contractions are so intense they'll make your eyes pop out? That's just wrong. Does anyone actually experience that? In my case, the pain intensity built up gradually, so I'm assuming that's pretty standard 😁 I'm talking about natural labor.

I'm dead serious. 🙂Most of those actresses don't have kids because their careers are basically a countdown until they lose that "perfect" look and get phased out. And let's face it—the writers, directors, and everyone behind the scenes are mostly men. We should actually be grateful it's even portrayed this way, right? :P

So I’m standing in line at the grocery store, right? Out of nowhere, this random lady I’ve never even seen before just charges at me and shoves both hands right into my stomach. 🙂

I mean, what the hell... 🙂

restlessviper2 said:Honestly, both during my first pregnancy and this one, I’ve found it so annoying when movies depict labor. They always have the woman start screaming immediately, making these faces like her eyes are actually going to pop out of her head from the pain.

My water broke around 11:30 PM. By 1:45 AM, my little one was already here. Well, that happened. The pains started hitting me pretty hard right away, too. It was intense.

restlessviper2 said:Are you kidding me? I'm missing the emojis here, so I can't tell if you're being serious or just trolling.
I don't care about someone screaming in a hospital once things really get moving, but this idea that early contractions are so intense they'll make your eyes pop out? That's just wrong. Does anyone actually experience that? In my case, the pain intensity built up gradually, so I'm assuming that's pretty standard 😁 I'm talking about natural labor.

Yeah. Natural labor... didn't get any IVs or gels or anything. She just popped right out.

Paul Campbell8 said:So I’m standing in line at the grocery store, right? Out of nowhere, this random lady I’ve never even seen before just charges at me and shoves both hands right into my stomach. 🙂

I mean, what the hell... 🙂

Just wait until you see someone snatch a baby right out of your arms because they weren't holding them properly. Or when people touch their hands and they immediately put their fingers in their mouths. Or when people get right in their faces talking way too loudly.
My mom, for instance, yells terribly when she talks. It’s so loud it actually makes my ears ring.
I’ve told her a million times to just tone it down around them. They haven't even fully developed their hearing yet, and she's shouting. But it's always the same thing. And every time, she gets louder. Then there's all the babbling in their faces. There's just too much of it. Better if I just stay quiet.

Jose Ramirez2 said:My water broke around 11:30 PM. By 1:45 AM, my little one was already here. Well, that happened. The pains started hitting me pretty hard right away, too. It was intense.

Yeah. Natural labor... didn't get any IVs or gels or anything. She just popped right out.

My water broke around 5:15 AM, and I gave birth just before 8:00. It wasn't until the last 2 hours that I felt that heavy pressure and the actual pushing pains. Everyone's experience is different, right?

Oh boy, I had such mild labor pains that I barely even felt them

Don't try to scare me. I've already seen enough while lying in a hospital bed at around 28 weeks, where women are literally screaming through contractions 🙂

Honestly, it’s better if I don't know what's coming. It'll be easier to deal with that way.

OT: That question, "Is it moving?!" Yeah, obviously it's moving—it's a baby. Either that, or my hormones are just haywire and everything is getting on my nerves. But those kinds of questions really grate on me.

I've never actually asked a pregnant woman that. I just assumed the baby was moving. For God's sake.

Paul Campbell8 said:Don't try to scare me. I've already seen enough while lying in a hospital bed at around 28 weeks, where women are literally screaming through contractions 🙂

Honestly, it’s better if I don't know what's coming. It'll be easier to deal with that way.

OT: That question, "Is it moving?!" Yeah, obviously it's moving—it's a baby. Either that, or my hormones are just haywire and everything is getting on my nerves. But those kinds of questions really grate on me.

I've never actually asked a pregnant woman that. I just assumed the baby was moving. For God's sake.

Look, those few hours fly by, and then you’re just left with this gorgeous, clingy little thing.

Samuel Wells said:Look, those few hours fly by, and then you’re just left with this gorgeous, clingy little thing.

Yeah, that’s what keeps me going. That's the whole point, right 😁?

The only thing is, judging by how much he's gurgling right now, my little guy isn't going to be doing much cuddling. He'll probably just be picking fights with us all day.😁

At first, everything was actually fine... nothing really bothered or annoyed me. During those first three months, I didn't even look pregnant. But then my belly started showing, and my chest just... exploded. Now I'm getting all these comments at work—I work at a hospital where I'm actually the only pregnant person because all the nurses, doctors, and other women automatically take maternity leave, which makes me quite the local celebrity 🤦—about how huge my breasts have become, or how much weight I've put on 🤔

like, why am I even working while pregnant?

people saying that back in their day, they were out digging up potatoes in the garden during their eighth month, yet here I am with a desk job, so what else should I be doing? 🤦

that I eat way too many fruits and vegetables

or that I shouldn't eat fruit and veggies at all because the baby might catch some kind of bacteria

that I'm not allowed to drink sparkling water (so I immediately had to go on Google to see if that was even true)

as if I think I'm being special just by having a cup of Nescafé

that I carry crackers around just in case I feel nauseous

or that I shouldn't eat the crackers because I'll gain weight

But honestly, the thing that got to me most was when I was about a month and a half along... mm, we moved our wedding up a few months so it wouldn't be too difficult later on. So, when I was about six weeks in, I bought a dress for the wedding, opting for a slightly larger size just in case I gained weight since the wedding was supposed to be two months after the original date. Well, those hens at work attacked me, telling me I should go get a dress two sizes bigger because there was "no way" I'd fit into it. Anyway... I fit perfectly 🎉 so there you go...

My husband is driving me crazy, mostly because he's the one who has to deal with my venting. Since I can't just snap at everyone at the office, he ends up catching the "best of me" once I walk through the door

It irritates me that I have to work; I could have taken maternity leave earlier, but we really need my paycheck... It also bugs me that I work with people and they drive me nuts, especially since my profession is actually psychology and psychotherapy...

And then there's this colleague who's turned my pregnancy into her own little drama, acting like it's so hard for *her* just because I'm pregnant 🤦🤔. Like, what if I do end up taking medical leave or heaven forbid something else happens? I've only been on sick leave for four days total in the last month, and that was just because a heatwave hit and I felt dizzy. As for the nausea and everything else, I just suffer through it in my office because, frankly, it doesn't matter to me whether I feel sick at home or at work ☕—it's all the same. I just don't wander around the hospital complaining about how hard it is 😵

Anyway, I'm done...

I'm just full of frustration, but today is one of those days where—hopefully 😁

It honestly drives me crazy that I end up staining every single shirt I own with food; I suppose it’s just because my stomach makes it impossible to lean in close enough to the table while I'm eating.