What were your biggest pregnancy surprises and pet peeves?

Serena Williams, seriously, don't let this freak you out. What happened to me? It’s a total freak accident. I’m clearly one of those one-in-a-thousand pregnant women where everything just goes sideways for no reason at all.

blueotter28 - still navigating that first year plus of postpartum life.

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Hey ladies!
I’m 22 weeks along, and I'm 36. This pregnancy was definitely planned. Before this, I was pretty active, and my job keeps me on the move and constantly interacting with people. But ever since I got pregnant, things have been a mess because I dealt with an ectopic pregnancy right before this one. Back then, my doctor basically told me to just stay home and manage the complications myself. For about eight weeks, everything seemed fine, but then my own personal "Golgotha" began. I started having light bleeding, which turned into this endless, exhausting marathon of bouncing from specialist to specialist because nobody could figure out what was actually happening. The baby was fine, it turns out—they finally realized there was just a hematoma near the placenta that was absorbing itself. That whole ordeal left me totally traumatized; I spent weeks constantly sprinting to the bathroom, checking everything, terrified something was wrong. That constant anxiety lasted for over a month and a half, and even after I finally felt a bit more settled, my next checkup sent me right back into a spiral. They were measuring my cervical length again, and while they said it wasn't too short or too long, the uncertainty just triggered all that old panic. Now I'm stuck in this loop of obsessively researching and monitoring every single sensation in my body. It has completely ruined what was supposed to be this "blissful" experience for me.

Justin Rivera17 said:blueotter28 - still navigating that first year plus of postpartum life.

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Oh, okay. I get it now.🙂

Rachel Jones57, I am so incredibly sorry you went through all that stress. Honestly, I’m just relieved the worst part is behind you and that the rest of your pregnancy will be way more chill.

To be totally real with you—both of my pregnancies were textbook perfect and went exactly by the book, but even then, I didn't feel "blessed" or anything. I know this one acquaintance who spent both of her pregnancies stuck in bed and she absolutely loved it. At the end of the day, it’s such a personal thing.

If your doctor gives you the green light, try to get moving a little—for me, regular yoga was a total game-changer and helped me so much. Also, read! And I don't just mean those endless parenting manuals and baby books—find something actually fun for *you*. Personally, I think Terry Pratchett and Haruki Murakami are absolute legends.

Don't forget to take care of yourself and do things you actually enjoy, because people aren't lying when they say a happy mom means a happy baby.

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Varicose veins and capillaries everywhere, my legs look like an old lady's... and it's not just my legs, they're popping up all over the place😲 swollen pussy like a damn balloon!
The people who are actually close to me don't bother me... my family and his crew are fine... but acquaintances? Ugh, especially at work: "Oh, you're pregnant!" Like, excuse me, stop touching my stomach, Jesus, don't touch me, random coworker🙄
And don't you dare call me fat in the middle of the street, neighbor, because it's seriously not funny! I mean, I'm not fat—which is great, because I don't feel fat—but it's just not cool to cut in with those jokes😁
The pregnancy costs totally caught me off guard too... I know having a baby is expensive 😁 but man, being pregnant is freaking pricey too!
Anyway, I just needed to vent😁

"I can tell by the way you're wearing your lipstick that you've got a girlfriend."
"...or maybe it's just the bloating..."
"....given how much cinnamon you've been eating lately..."

Fuck Off.

Sean Ward22 said:"I can tell by the way you're wearing your lipstick that you've got a girlfriend."
"...or maybe it's just the bloating..."
"....given how much cinnamon you've been eating lately..."

Fuck Off.

Everyone kept telling me the same things—it’ll be a boy based on my skin, no morning sickness, a boy based on my bump... I even had some old lady just shout at me out of nowhere that it was going to be a boy. I almost lost it on her.
We're actually having a little girl 😵

I’m currently seven weeks pregnant—it hasn't been long, but we’ve been trying for this for quite a while now, and it finally happened.
To be honest, I don't really care if it's a boy or a girl at this stage; my only real focus is just making sure everything stays healthy and goes smoothly.
What I didn't see coming, though, was the nausea. For the last two weeks, it has been constant—from the moment I wake up until I go to bed. It’s relentless. This week, I couldn't even make it into the office. We haven't told anyone about the pregnancy yet, which makes things incredibly difficult because trying to hide how sick I feel is becoming almost impossible.

Protocols! It’s the protocols that caught me completely off guard.

It took me a minute to wrap my head around it, and honestly, it didn't even cross my mind before... but once you're inside the US healthcare system, you basically become part of a protocol.
Run this test during week X, or if Y happens, move to protocol Z and schedule blood work monthly...
If you show up at the hospital at 37 weeks pregnant and you're dilated just a finger's width without active labor, the protocol says send you home and have you back for a checkup in a week...
Everything is dictated by a protocol. And being my curious self, I’d love to actually see them. 🙂
I don't think protocols are inherently bad; they definitely help minimize mistakes or prevent someone from forgetting a step.
It’s just... it’s almost comical when a doctor tells you, "Look, according to protocol, I have to write down that you need a follow-up in a week, but if you feel fine, ten days is also okay—you don't have to be exact."
But that actually explains why veteran doctors are so much better. They’ve internalized every single protocol, and they’ve had enough experience with edge cases to know how to navigate those gray areas...
And why junior doctors or residents struggle—they probably haven't memorized all the nuances yet, especially those tricky outlier scenarios.
Still... at the end of the day, we're just a number assigned to Protocol 44. That’s where that feeling comes from—like you're just a cog on an assembly line...

I really wonder if there's some kind of handbook you get handed when you start working at a hospital, complete with a full list of these protocols. And how on earth does one get access to that magic book? 🤔 :klap:

Ugh, protocols and procedures. Seriously, no matter how much you prep, it’s always one of those things—you show up at the absolute worst time, or something’s broken, or some random piece of paperwork is missing, or the nurses are just having a total meltdown.

If you try to be proactive and swing by a few days early to ask questions, they just look at you like you're an idiot. It's always something.

Get this: this past Friday, I spent four hours (38 weeks pregnant, mind you!) just sitting there waiting for a CTG. Then, after three whole hours, the nurse finally mentions—like, casually!—that the machine broke and they'll bring a new one in "just a few minutes." She could have told me that three hours ago! If she had, I could've just gone to a private clinic, gotten it done, and brought the results to my doctor. Some people can't do that, sure, but if two women walk out to go private, that's an hour less of waiting for everyone else in line.

And it’s always like this. No communication, no nothing. Just sit there, shut up, and deal with it.

And don't even get me started on the fact that for certain things, you basically need "connections." You can't just walk in and pay for stuff—nooo, your doctor has to call in a favor or something. Honestly, I don't have the energy to risk being stuck in a hospital bed for seven days with some crazy, overly emotional mother or mothers, like last time. I got lucky back then, but right now? I am way too exhausted for that kind of drama.

And I seriously cannot deal with the mindless hormonal nonsense—the "will I love them immediately?" crap, or the constant "ohhh, I'm hiccuping," "ohhh, my boobs hurt," "ohhh, it's so hot," "ohhh, it's so cold," "ohhh, life is such a tragedy," ooooooooh my god.
I just can't.

🤣
That’s exactly why I started saving up for my own place.
I mean, my roommates haven't been terrible so far. We were mostly civil—we just stayed out of each other's way... except for the occasional snoring incident 👏. A couple of them were absolute lunatics, though. That was enough motivation for me to make sure I wasn't stuck dealing with their chaos on top of my own hormones.

I’m honestly getting pretty fed up. I feel like I’ve been fighting this cold for six weeks straight now. It started with a scratchy throat, then the congestion hit, back to the throat, and now I’m stuck with this dry, relentless cough. I’m actually starting to worry if all this coughing is going to cause some issues further down there.
And then there's the bladder situation. You know how it is—if I sneeze too hard or get caught in one of those coughing fits, I end up leaking a little bit.😠

briskdrifter2 said:🤣
That’s exactly why I started saving up for my own place.
I mean, my roommates haven't been terrible so far. We were mostly civil—we just stayed out of each other's way... except for the occasional snoring incident 👏. A couple of them were absolute lunatics, though. That was enough motivation for me to make sure I wasn't stuck dealing with their chaos on top of my own hormones.

The second time I gave birth, they shoved me into a room with a woman who had just lost her baby after a late-term pregnancy. She was in a coma.
She seemed okay, but my heart was just absolutely breaking for her.

There I was, my baby, her, and that empty little crib where her child was supposed to be.

They just told me there wasn't any space in the other rooms.

My boss is seriously getting on my nerves, honestly. Before this pregnancy, I actually dealt with a miscarriage, and then almost immediately after that happened, I got pregnant again. For those first three months, I had to take some time off to rest, which gave him way too much opportunity to run his mouth at the office; he was going around telling everyone he thought it would take forever for me to conceive again after a loss, so now the whole damn company knows my private business. And now that I’m finally back at work, he’s acting like my pregnancy is some kind of contagious disease.

Megan Newman83 said:My boss is seriously getting on my nerves, honestly. Before this pregnancy, I actually dealt with a miscarriage, and then almost immediately after that happened, I got pregnant again. For those first three months, I had to take some time off to rest, which gave him way too much opportunity to run his mouth at the office; he was going around telling everyone he thought it would take forever for me to conceive again after a loss, so now the whole damn company knows my private business. And now that I’m finally back at work, he’s acting like my pregnancy is some kind of contagious disease.

What a total jerk.👎

My mother-in-law is honestly a sweetheart, and she’s totally losing her mind with excitement over this first grandbaby... but man, the constant unsolicited advice and "expert" tips on what we should buy are driving me up the wall. According to her, we don't even need to touch a crib, a stroller, or any baby clothes until after the kid actually arrives. Then there's the endless commentary on how many doctor appointments we need to hit. Thank God I have nerves of steel, because if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to just smile and nod through all of it...

As I get closer to my due date, my tolerance for absolute nonsense is plummeting toward zero. 😁

Yesterday’s debacle: I went in for a medical appointment—nothing related to the pregnancy, just a routine checkup. After sitting in a packed waiting room for ages, I finally get called back, only to find the exam room is sweltering, like a literal furnace. It’s like they haven't opened a window in three days. There were two doctors, a nurse, and some elderly lady in there. Right in the middle of the exam, because of the heat, my head starts spinning, I feel nauseous, and I'm on the verge of passing out. So, being the fool that I am, I try to apologize, explaining that this isn't typical for me, only for the nurse to snap at me with the most condescending tone imaginable: "Maybe it's because you're pregnant. Tee-hee, ha-ha!" And then the whole room erupts in laughter. 🤔

Another incident from yesterday: I'm standing in a damn line to get blood work done, everyone from teenagers to seniors ahead of me. Now, I don't have an ego, and I wasn't expecting anyone to cut, but suddenly a group of five older women—not even that old, maybe in their 60s—starts lecturing the air about how today's youth have zero manners. They're going on and on about how nobody respects etiquette anymore, and how back in their day, everyone stood up and let their elders go first. 😁 Meanwhile, I'm standing there, practically ready to pop right then and there. 😁 But I won't make a scene; we can skip the part about manners. 😁

And one more situation, which seems to happen to me constantly and is truly the peak of human audacity. 😁 At the checkout in the grocery store, lines everywhere, and this guy walks right up to me and asks, "Can I jump ahead? I only have a few things." 😁 <3

I had a moment today that actually ticked me off. I walked into a packed waiting room—almost every single seat was taken—and this woman had her purse sitting on the chair right next to her. She’s sitting there occupying two spots at once. Look, she’s pregnant, fine, but her handbag isn't exactly expecting a baby. It felt ridiculous having to ask if the seat was actually available, especially when any normal person would just keep their bag on their lap. When I did ask, she just told me it was free but didn't move an inch. So, I guess I just nudged her bag out of the way with my hip to make space.
It's just that general lack of manners you see in lines lately. I doubt anyone would ever be polite enough to offer up a spot if they saw someone struggling.

The only time I actually cut in line during my entire pregnancy was back in my ninth month. I was at the post office waiting behind three elderly ladies who were in a massive rush and a couple of high school kids. Suddenly, the lady at the counter spotted me and called me up right then and there, saying pregnant women get priority. One of those older ladies just turned around, gave me this little grin, and said, "Honey, if I'd heard you, I would've let you go ahead!" Haha, as if! She totally sized me up the second I walked through the door 🤣🤣 but whatever.