What were your biggest pregnancy surprises and pet peeves?

I was at my local Chase branch the other day—absolute chaos inside.
There were only three chairs in the waiting area, and of course, all three were taken: some older gentleman, a guy in his late 30s who looked like a local entrepreneur, and a woman in her 50s.
Everyone else, including moms with kids, just had to stand there—myself included.
Then, the teller tried to head out for her break, which triggered this lady in one of the seats to absolutely lose it on her. It’s like, is there no shame left? Taking a break when there’s a pregnant woman standing right there in the bank? Suddenly, everyone turned on me, asking why I didn't just stand up if it bothered me that I was sitting down. It spiraled into this huge, ridiculous shouting match where everyone ended up arguing with each other because of me. Honestly, I realized there was zero point in getting involved, so I just🥳

rustybison19 said:I get it. Most of the time I just assume they're being polite old ladies who don't want to offend me by thinking, "maybe she's just gaining weight..."
But I already mentioned this—I've always had curves, and now that they've combined with the bump, I definitely look much further along than I am. Plus, yesterday I was literally wearing a maternity shirt with a baby print on it, holding medical results, and clutching my prenatal folder because I'd just come from an appointment and wanted to read the doctor's notes.
So, there was zero chance of confusion yesterday. It was just some bitter old ladies who, let's be real, have nothing better to do than wander around looking for trouble in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon.

😂
Well, then you really couldn't have gone unnoticed 🙂.
As for people getting erections on the subway, usually it's men, but lately, I've noticed some women doing it too. But the absolute worst are the teenagers—they practically race each other to grab seats next to elderly people, and they can never just sit still; they're constantly gesturing wildly and swinging their backpacks around... I always end up moving to the far end of the train just in case I get hit by something. And they never offer seats to anyone. I really need to make a mental note to teach my little one how to behave on public transit when that time comes. 🙂

That whole situation with the lady on the light rail sounds wild. Honestly, I don't know what you said to her in the shop to make her swing at you... (just kidding, obviously, it’s absolutely terrible that you had to deal with that 😲)
I actually had a surprisingly pleasant encounter with a local parking enforcement officer today. I was heading over to the Social Security office and pulled up right in front of a meter to drop some coins in, when this young man in a high-vis vest across the street calls out, "Ma'am, you don't need to pay for parking!" I thought he was joking, but I really was just there for a minute to file some paperwork. Then he tells me, "I can see you're pregnant, you don't need to worry about the fee." I told him thanks, that was a lovely surprise, and he just says, "No problem, anything for the country!"
wtf?? 🤣

Lucky you.
I actually got a card from $67 yesterday because I was five minutes late—I honestly thought I’d make it on time, but I clearly miscalculated.

hollowmarlin49 said:then my dear husband just hides away because I give him such a hard time with my sharp tongue.

It’s the exact same thing with my husband too...🤣🤣

But honestly, I’ve run out of patience for everyone. My tolerance levels are at zero.
I’ve got enough of a belly now that you can tell...
And if they don't let me cut ahead in line...
I was at Walmart today being perfectly polite—well, I *could* have been—since pregnant women get priority...
Nobody actually dares to say anything to my face because I'm 5'11" and nearly 200 pounds,
but I can see them whispering about me the second I walk past...
As if I actually care what two old hens think about me...
If they hadn't let me through, they would have faced a verbal hurricane from me...
And my mom was right there with me, and she probably would have snapped at them if they even breathed in my direction...

And as for that crazy group of people you were talking about lately—I'm sending them all a massive dose of pepper spray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let them be blind for a few days since they clearly aren't using their brains anyway!

So about two weeks ago at Chase... My dad was all like, "Hey, just be nice to the teller, don't be rude" (I only went because they lowered my overdraft limit due to some pregnancy fee nonsense). And since I wasn't even listening to him, I totally snapped at him... like, why is he lecturing me on how to talk to some lady at the bank 🙄

So, I was at Target earlier today and some lady actually apologized to me for not letting me go ahead of her because she just didn't see me... honestly, I was stunned. I've never had someone be that decent before.
I guess there's still hope for civilized people out there.👍

hollowmarlin49 said:So about two weeks ago at Chase... My dad was all like, "Hey, just be nice to the teller, don't be rude" (I only went because they lowered my overdraft limit due to some pregnancy fee nonsense). And since I wasn't even listening to him, I totally snapped at him... like, why is he lecturing me on how to talk to some lady at the bank 🙄

I honestly die of embarrassment when I see those 70-year-old tourists stripping naked right in the middle of the beach while my sister-in-law's six-year-old kid is standing right there...
but frankly, I couldn't care less,
I tell them exactly what I think, and usually, they either cover up or clear out...

If they want to be naked, they can find a nudist beach,
because Lord knows I’m not showing up to a nudist beach in a wetsuit...
not that there'd be much to look at anyway, then I wouldn't even bother saying anything...........

Nah, we aren't stupid enough to drink more and end up with a stomach ulcer during pregnancy 🤣
...

Man, things were absolutely wild at the stock exchange today... I honestly thought my blood pressure was going to hit 200...
I finished up some paperwork and headed toward the restroom, and this older lady who works there also headed that way. She actually stepped aside to let me go first—honestly, looking at her midsection, she’s in incredible shape. So, I finish up, head to the sink to wash my hands, and right as I'm doing that, she finishes up in the other stall and comes out to stand behind me waiting for the sink. Then, out of nowhere, she looks at me and goes, "Take your time, honey, just dry your hands yourself... I can tell you're PREGNANT..." I was just like 😲😕😲, and I told her, "I am not a cow!" then I just dried my hands and bolted

Seriously though.... 😠

Potholes... there are just endless ones everywhere... I swear they’re popping up on these streets every single second...😲😲😲

I can’t even go to the grocery store anymore... I always get hit with a sudden cramp and have to just freeze right there while I wait for it to pass because I physically cannot move. It’s driving me insane... the pain is brutal, and being stuck like that in public is just humiliating. Imagine if this happened to me mid-crosswalk at a busy intersection in Chicago.😕

So I was at the DMV recently getting my passport sorted, and honestly, what a total headache... though waiting wasn't even the worst part because I was actually feeling pretty great that day, until this Rom guy—not to be rude, but he looked a bit rough—comes rushing up from the front of the line and insists I skip ahead of everyone else... I told him no thanks, but he wouldn't take no for an answer and basically shoved me right to the front... 😁 talk about a surprise... then later, when I had to head back to the DMV to pick it up, my blood pressure dropped and I started feeling all dizzy, and the line was out the door... I was practically gasping just trying to get anyone to notice me, but between the old ladies and the loudmouths in line, nobody even offered to let me go first... 🙄

It was the exact same vibe when I had to go in for my glucose test... I called ahead to schedule, and the lady tells me that since I'm pregnant, I don't need an appointment, I just need to show up before 7 AM to be first in line since I have to fast for two hours before they draw my blood around 9... so, all smiles, I head over there with my husband, walk straight up to the nurse, tell her I'm there for the OGTT, and hand over my paperwork... she just tells me to go sit in the waiting room and wait... so I waited... and waited... and waited... eventually, people start whispering, asking why I'm not cutting the line since I'm pregnant, and I'm like, "I checked in and she said she'd call me," but nothing... finally, some guy gets up and goes to tell the doctor that I'm still sitting here waiting... still nothing... then the whole waiting room just erupts into this massive shouting match, half the people defending me and the other half being totally against it... these women started a literal uprising about how life is hard for them too and how they worked their tails off through everything, while others were arguing that I shouldn't have to starve and wait when the baby is suffering too... I just sat there quietly, trying not to get involved so I wouldn't become the target of more drama, but I was honestly on the verge of tears because it was so exhausting... it just hit me hard seeing everyone fighting and hurling insults because of me... I didn't do anything wrong, I was just trying to follow the rules like everyone else... in the end, I ended up being the very last person, and when I told the nurse I didn't think I could make it until 10 without eating, she just shut me down, saying the sugary drink she gave me counts as nutrition so I wouldn't pass out... I was just done... 🙂

Anyway, sorry for the massive rant 😁

Amanda Reed4 said:I honestly die of embarrassment when I see those 70-year-old tourists stripping naked right in the middle of the beach while my sister-in-law's six-year-old kid is standing right there...
but frankly, I couldn't care less,
I tell them exactly what I think, and usually, they either cover up or clear out...

If they want to be naked, they can find a nudist beach,
because Lord knows I’m not showing up to a nudist beach in a wetsuit...
not that there'd be much to look at anyway, then I wouldn't even bother saying anything...........

🙏 seriously though, bravo.
one of the grossest things I've ever seen at the beach—some lady, probably in her 60s, just sitting there topless on a lounge chair with her chest hanging down to her lap 😲😂
and yeah... this was at a family beach swarming with kids 👎

Honestly, nothing gets under my skin faster than pregnant women who act like they aren't even carrying a human being. They’re out here smoking, drinking way too much, riding motorcycles, hitting up tanning salons, and rocking massive stilettos right up until the delivery room like, "Oh, this isn't happening." Then they wait until the last second to take off their jewelry and wonder why the jeweler can't resize everything instantly, or they start making crazy plans about not taking the baby home in an Uber or whatever. It’s wild because there are so many women out there struggling just to conceive, yet these ones are out here gambling with it every single day!!
Ugh, I just had to vent somewhere.

Sarah Harris5 said:Honestly, nothing gets under my skin faster than pregnant women who act like they aren't even carrying a human being. They’re out here smoking, drinking way too much, riding motorcycles, hitting up tanning salons, and rocking massive stilettos right up until the delivery room like, "Oh, this isn't happening." Then they wait until the last second to take off their jewelry and wonder why the jeweler can't resize everything instantly, or they start making crazy plans about not taking the baby home in an Uber or whatever. It’s wild because there are so many women out there struggling just to conceive, yet these ones are out here gambling with it every single day!!
Ugh, I just had to vent somewhere.

oh yeah, totally agree!

as for what you asked above... honestly, just total idiots... 🙂

I just realized today—well, okay, maybe not *today*, let’s be honest, I am only admitting this publicly right now 😁—that I have spent my entire pregnancy (and honestly, probably long before that, too) being my own absolute worst enemy. 🤦
It was all those anxieties, the endless paranoia, the obsessive prepping, the constant overthinking, followed by more fears (about the pain, about the enemas, about shaving, about weight gain, then back to the pain, and oh god, the enemas again... you get the idea)...
I have thought a hundred times that life would be a million times easier if I were just some blissfully ignorant person who didn't even know what an enema or an IV drip was, or had ever even heard the term "episiotomy." I imagine walking into that delivery room at Mayo Clinic completely clueless, not giving a single damn about which doctor is top-tier and which one is mediocre, and frankly, not caring what they do to me—because if I were truly that uninformed, I wouldn't even realize what was happening, and they could feed me whatever nonsense they wanted...

But no. Not me. I had to know everything about everything. I felt compelled to have a meticulously detailed birth plan typed up on my laptop a full year before I even conceived 🙄. I had to read every single page available regarding labor and delivery methods, and worst of all—what irritates me most—is that I always feel this exhausting need to be a "fighter," whether I'm fighting *for* something or *against* something. It just makes my life unnecessarily complicated...

So, to bring it back to my point: I truly wish I could just be oblivious and dull. If I were, I wouldn't care about any of this, and I certainly wouldn't be driving myself this crazy...

Emily Rogers75 said:Since I live way out in the sticks, I actually have to trek into the city for stuff. Usually, I'm pretty quiet and just take whatever people throw at me... I basically just suck it up. 🙄 It drives me absolutely insane, especially now that I'm pregnant... but I can't help being this way. 🙄 🤷 🙂

I was exactly the same before I got pregnant, but honestly, living in a place like NYC makes you lose your chill. There are so many rude people out there that life basically forces you to learn how to fight back, and you end up getting a sharp tongue—just like my mom used to say.
But I’ve been a little more mellow during this pregnancy... God, I hope my sass comes back soon!

Ever since my first checkup with Dr. Wahid—who was such a breath of fresh air during my pregnancy—I’ve just stopped overthinking everything. He basically told me, "Look, you're a mom now; stop being so hard on yourself and fight for your kid, it's totally normal."

And man, I gotta mention all those judgmental old ladies constantly digging into my business while I was pregnant. Like, seriously? It's like they think every pregnant woman forty years ago was out there tilling fields or something... was the whole country just one giant farm back then or what?! 😕

Sarah Harris5 said:Honestly, nothing gets under my skin faster than pregnant women who act like they aren't even carrying a human being. They’re out here smoking, drinking way too much, riding motorcycles, hitting up tanning salons, and rocking massive stilettos right up until the delivery room like, "Oh, this isn't happening." Then they wait until the last second to take off their jewelry and wonder why the jeweler can't resize everything instantly, or they start making crazy plans about not taking the baby home in an Uber or whatever. It’s wild because there are so many women out there struggling just to conceive, yet these ones are out here gambling with it every single day!!
Ugh, I just had to vent somewhere.

This stuff used to drive me crazy too, especially because I knew someone nearby who, once she found out she was pregnant, basically said she didn't know if she wanted to laugh from joy or cry from sheer misery,😲 and then she kept drinking and smoking even though the ultrasounds were showing things weren't looking great from the start...
Sadly (or maybe—call it luck😕), she lost the baby...
And then, when she came to meet my little one, she acted all devastated like it was this huge tragedy, despite the fact she did absolutely nothing to protect her own pregnancy... I just don't get it...🤷 Sure, maybe she would have lost the baby anyway even if she’d been on strict bed rest and stayed sober, but if I were in her shoes, I’d always be wondering if I was the one to blame.😢