What were your biggest pregnancy surprises and pet peeves?

Of course I’m going to ask for a hand if my legs aren't working properly,
but that’s not really what I’m getting at here.

Honestly, everyone kept giving me these weird looks, wondering how I haven't put on a ton of weight or why I’ve stayed so slim.
I mean, seriously, you guys would not believe it—some of us actually stay fit even while pregnant!
And just look at my little bump.

Honestly, I haven’t really felt triggered by anything just yet. I mean, granted, I mostly hang out in this super tight-knit little bubble of people who are totally cool with me being part of the crew—you know, just family, relatives, and those nosy old ladies from down the block—so if I were out in the wild, I’d probably be losing my mind, but for now, I'm chill. Actually, it kind of drives me nuts sometimes that nobody even bothers to ask how the pregnancy is going! 😁 😁 😁

You can't just say things like that!
Don't even go there.
I never did any of that.
My OB-GYN told me I wasn't allowed to swim while pregnant, and they wouldn't let me touch certain foods either. Don't even think about drinking lemonade; stuff like Kraft Foods isn't good for you when you're expecting.

We were over at my aunt's place, and her daughter is pregnant right now, pretty much where I am.
Both our pregnancies have been totally smooth.

"You know, my T. isn't even cooking lately because of this heat; she's being so careful," they said.
"You know, don't pick up the kids, you shouldn't be lifting anything heavy" (Seriously?! My toddler isn't even walking yet—what am I supposed to do, let her faceplant every time she climbs out of bed, or wait for her to crawl all the way to the dresser just so I can change her?!)
"You know, you shouldn't go to the beach, that's what the doctor told my T."
And the absolute winner of this nonsense award goes to...
"My T. is going to use her own stroller" (She's 28!). They're still in great shape, and honestly, they won't even go anywhere once the baby arrives anyway.
"What do you mean they won't go anywhere?"
"Well, the baby is due in the middle of winter, so by the time the christening is over and summer hits, they won't be taking him out for walks before then."
"Well, they'll go to the doctor, and take short walks."
"I mean, you can carry them to the doctor, but no walks until after the christening, which won't be for another six months."
All I did was nod along; I was honestly too terrified to even bring up the topic of car seats.

Man, even after 30+ years, I'm still not allowed to go for a walk. 😁

cosmiccyclist172 said:You can't just say things like that!
Don't even go there.
I never did any of that.
My OB-GYN told me I wasn't allowed to swim while pregnant, and they wouldn't let me touch certain foods either. Don't even think about drinking lemonade; stuff like Kraft Foods isn't good for you when you're expecting.

We were over at my aunt's place, and her daughter is pregnant right now, pretty much where I am.
Both our pregnancies have been totally smooth.

"You know, my T. isn't even cooking lately because of this heat; she's being so careful," they said.
"You know, don't pick up the kids, you shouldn't be lifting anything heavy" (Seriously?! My toddler isn't even walking yet—what am I supposed to do, let her faceplant every time she climbs out of bed, or wait for her to crawl all the way to the dresser just so I can change her?!)
"You know, you shouldn't go to the beach, that's what the doctor told my T."
And the absolute winner of this nonsense award goes to...
"My T. is going to use her own stroller" (She's 28!). They're still in great shape, and honestly, they won't even go anywhere once the baby arrives anyway.
"What do you mean they won't go anywhere?"
"Well, the baby is due in the middle of winter, so by the time the christening is over and summer hits, they won't be taking him out for walks before then."
"Well, they'll go to the doctor, and take short walks."
"I mean, you can carry them to the doctor, but no walks until after the christening, which won't be for another six months."
All I did was nod along; I was honestly too terrified to even bring up the topic of car seats.

Good grief. This whole thing is just 🤣
Sometimes I almost feel bad that I don't have this many gems around me just to give me a laugh every once in a while.

Why aren't they allowed out for a walk until they've been baptized?
Does splashing some water on a baby's head count as a permit to go outside? 😁

At this rate, my poor kid is never going to see the light of day...

cosmiccyclist172 said:You can't just say things like that!
Don't even go there.
I never did any of that.
My OB-GYN told me I wasn't allowed to swim while pregnant, and they wouldn't let me touch certain foods either. Don't even think about drinking lemonade; stuff like Kraft Foods isn't good for you when you're expecting.

We were over at my aunt's place, and her daughter is pregnant right now, pretty much where I am.
Both our pregnancies have been totally smooth.

"You know, my T. isn't even cooking lately because of this heat; she's being so careful," they said.
"You know, don't pick up the kids, you shouldn't be lifting anything heavy" (Seriously?! My toddler isn't even walking yet—what am I supposed to do, let her faceplant every time she climbs out of bed, or wait for her to crawl all the way to the dresser just so I can change her?!)
"You know, you shouldn't go to the beach, that's what the doctor told my T."
And the absolute winner of this nonsense award goes to...
"My T. is going to use her own stroller" (She's 28!). They're still in great shape, and honestly, they won't even go anywhere once the baby arrives anyway.
"What do you mean they won't go anywhere?"
"Well, the baby is due in the middle of winter, so by the time the christening is over and summer hits, they won't be taking him out for walks before then."
"Well, they'll go to the doctor, and take short walks."
"I mean, you can carry them to the doctor, but no walks until after the christening, which won't be for another six months."
All I did was nod along; I was honestly too terrified to even bring up the topic of car seats.

John Doe. This is right up there with an Alexander Hamilton column,
“You mustn't give a child a hard-boiled egg until they can say 'rock' so that the soft spot on their head heals through the hole children breathe from—and apparently, it heals slower in girls.” 🤣🤣 🤣

Besides, once summer hits, it’ll be far too hot to even bother going outside.

Typical.

The other day, my mother-in-law actually grabbed my belly and started kissing it 😲 I was honestly just frozen in shock 🙂
It’s really getting to me that this pregnancy is being so much harder than the first one—I'm constantly overheating, running to the bathroom every five minutes, and now I've got a five-year-old son who still needs constant attention.
I feel old. 🙂

Whenever I feel those little flutters or nudges in my abdomen, I tend to interpret them as my baby saying hello; honestly, I find that kind of attention quite lovely.

However, what has truly caught me off guard is this unbearable pain and numbness spreading through my arm. My pinky finger on the right side keeps twitching, and there is this persistent, uncomfortable ache that lasts all day, making it nearly impossible for me to even make a firm fist.

On top of the fact that it won't even be ready by the time the baby is baptized, I’m seriously losing sleep over the thought of using a stroller that’s 28 years old. Honestly, I wouldn't even dream of buying a car that was nearly three decades old.

(Look, I’m not saying everything has to be brand new, top-of-the-line, or some ultra-luxury status symbol) but 28 years? Really?

And let's be real—those strollers have probably been passed down through at least seven different kids by now.

I mean, what kind of safety standards were they even following back then?

Look, I couldn't care less about people driving their kids around in those vintage strollers—or the folks feeding them flour mixtures just because that’s how their grandmas did it back when things were tough and resources were scarce... Honestly, what really gets under my skin is the sheer arrogance of people who think they’ve unlocked some universal truth and feel the need to lecture everyone else, all while being completely oblivious to how backward their own ideas actually are.
I’ve heard this exact same nonsense regarding baptisms and leaving the house too early from people in my own circles. One acquaintance even went so far as to ask a local priest about it—and the guy told her, obviously, that you can go outside whenever you want—but she’s still stuck in this mindset, clinging to these old-school superstitions like they're gospel.

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And then there’s the rule about not hanging freshly washed baby clothes outside—unless you hang them upside down instead? Or those red strings tied around a baby's wrists and ankles to ward off bad luck? Not to mention how strangers aren't even supposed to look at the infant until they've been baptized?
I won't even get started on the whole "no hair washing for 40 days after birth" thing. 😁
All of this happening in the 21st century on Maui. 🙂

Donna Ramos54 said:Look, I couldn't care less about people driving their kids around in those vintage strollers—or the folks feeding them flour mixtures just because that’s how their grandmas did it back when things were tough and resources were scarce... Honestly, what really gets under my skin is the sheer arrogance of people who think they’ve unlocked some universal truth and feel the need to lecture everyone else, all while being completely oblivious to how backward their own ideas actually are.
I’ve heard this exact same nonsense regarding baptisms and leaving the house too early from people in my own circles. One acquaintance even went so far as to ask a local priest about it—and the guy told her, obviously, that you can go outside whenever you want—but she’s still stuck in this mindset, clinging to these old-school superstitions like they're gospel.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy using Reddit

Well, obviously you can! It's all just superstition. Honestly, if you're that worried about every little thing, maybe you shouldn't even bother with a baptism, because clearly, you don't have any actual faith if you're this terrified.

My fiancée was baptized at 25, and God knows how much "bad luck" she's supposedly carrying around since then. 🤣

Patrick Anderson4 said:And then there’s the rule about not hanging freshly washed baby clothes outside—unless you hang them upside down instead? Or those red strings tied around a baby's wrists and ankles to ward off bad luck? Not to mention how strangers aren't even supposed to look at the infant until they've been baptized?
I won't even get started on the whole "no hair washing for 40 days after birth" thing. 😁
All of this happening in the 21st century on Maui. 🙂

Putting socks on backward is just my personal favorite.
👍
My uncle would occasionally put socks on kids backward, not because of any ritual, but just because he was distracted and didn't care for two seconds. And every single time he did, I’d immediately think of all those "bad luck" stories.

Ever since my grandmother became a widow, she refuses to be the first one to do anything. She won't visit anyone first, she won't be the first to give a hug, nothing. I remember when I had my little girl and we stopped by her house—it was just the two of us, and I was desperately needing to run to the bathroom, but she wouldn't even hold the baby! Apparently, a widow isn't allowed to hold a baby until the child is baptized.

In the end, I basically had to shove the baby into her arms.

Hey ladies, 😉 this is my very first post in this thread, and I’m really hoping you'll welcome me into the group 🙂.
I just couldn't sit here by myself and not vent about these incredibly irritating comments. Even though I'm only 12 weeks along, I am already losing my mind over certain situations. It just so happens that my sister-in-law is three weeks further along than I am, and since we aren't exactly on amazing terms—well, given the dynamic between her and my mother-in-law—I don't even need to mention the constant comparisons and snide remarks.
"We used Nifty, why won't you? How can you say no? We could afford it. Do you guys just not have the money?"
"You aren't interested in knowing the gender? We found out we were having a perfectly healthy little girl back in week 8, so now we can finally relax. We even picked out a name already. What about you? What are you waiting for regarding names?"
"A real pregnant woman shouldn't look like that."
"You're too thin. You should stop worrying about your appearance and focus on the baby; you really need to start eating."
"Why don't you go to the high-risk clinic? M. went straight to the specialist immediately."
"How much longer do you plan on working?"
"It's not good if your blood type is positive. You need to see a doctor right away to find out what to do next. Your pregnancy could get complicated and lead to a miscarriage. Having a positive factor is never good. M. has a negative factor, while her husband is positive, and the doctor told her that's actually the ideal combination."
"It's not good for the baby that you're so skinny. M. has already gained 8 pounds."
"Why are you exercising? That isn't good for the baby."
And then there are a million other stupid little sparks like that...
For context, this is my first pregnancy, and everything is going perfectly (knock on wood). Don't think for a second that I've become some "skinny obsessed" person; I weigh 108 lbs at 5'3", and I've only lost about 4 pounds in the last month. I am eating exactly what I need to. Honestly, I haven't had any issues, and I truly hope I can keep working until about 45 days before my due date. My work situation is a bit complicated; after nine long years, I finally have the chance to sign a permanent contract starting September 1st (I work at a school). I just hope that amidst this madness—between the strained family dynamics, an unplanned move happening on short notice, and all this other circus—I can resolve this massive stressor called "my career," and then finally just settle in and enjoy being pregnant and waiting for my baby.

It honestly drives me crazy when people assume our baby was some sort of accident just because we conceived before the wedding, even though everything about our marriage had been planned down to the smallest detail and we both felt completely ready for parenthood after having several deep conversations where we decided we simply didn't want to wait any longer—so this child was entirely intentional. I am constantly met with these ridiculous comments along the lines of "well, I guess things just happened ahead of schedule," and all that nonsense.
I really don't get why people feel such a desperate need to point out if a baby wasn't planned, even if that were actually the case!

Nicole Williams5 said:It honestly drives me crazy when people assume our baby was some sort of accident just because we conceived before the wedding, even though everything about our marriage had been planned down to the smallest detail and we both felt completely ready for parenthood after having several deep conversations where we decided we simply didn't want to wait any longer—so this child was entirely intentional. I am constantly met with these ridiculous comments along the lines of "well, I guess things just happened ahead of schedule," and all that nonsense.
I really don't get why people feel such a desperate need to point out if a baby wasn't planned, even if that were actually the case!

In my case, it was the exact opposite since we waited quite a while to start trying. Wow, having your first child at 31! Every time I announced the pregnancy, my mother would say, "Gosh, I actually thought you guys were struggling and I’d never get to be a grandmother..." It was completely intentional, though; we just wanted to travel and have some fun before settling down... I almost lost it right then and there.

As for what happened with Nifty... what I'm about to say is terrible because it's so recent. A very close friend took a test and everything seemed perfect... until two weeks ago when, during her 18th week, her water broke prematurely and the baby's kidneys hadn't developed properly... I won't go into the details of what followed... It's a great test, but some things simply cannot be predicted...

So, as Goethe says, Live and let live...

Hannah Taylor2 said:Hey ladies, 😉 this is my very first post in this thread, and I’m really hoping you'll welcome me into the group 🙂.
I just couldn't sit here by myself and not vent about these incredibly irritating comments. Even though I'm only 12 weeks along, I am already losing my mind over certain situations. It just so happens that my sister-in-law is three weeks further along than I am, and since we aren't exactly on amazing terms—well, given the dynamic between her and my mother-in-law—I don't even need to mention the constant comparisons and snide remarks.
"We used Nifty, why won't you? How can you say no? We could afford it. Do you guys just not have the money?"
"You aren't interested in knowing the gender? We found out we were having a perfectly healthy little girl back in week 8, so now we can finally relax. We even picked out a name already. What about you? What are you waiting for regarding names?"
"A real pregnant woman shouldn't look like that."
"You're too thin. You should stop worrying about your appearance and focus on the baby; you really need to start eating."
"Why don't you go to the high-risk clinic? M. went straight to the specialist immediately."
"How much longer do you plan on working?"
"It's not good if your blood type is positive. You need to see a doctor right away to find out what to do next. Your pregnancy could get complicated and lead to a miscarriage. Having a positive factor is never good. M. has a negative factor, while her husband is positive, and the doctor told her that's actually the ideal combination."
"It's not good for the baby that you're so skinny. M. has already gained 8 pounds."
"Why are you exercising? That isn't good for the baby."
And then there are a million other stupid little sparks like that...
For context, this is my first pregnancy, and everything is going perfectly (knock on wood). Don't think for a second that I've become some "skinny obsessed" person; I weigh 108 lbs at 5'3", and I've only lost about 4 pounds in the last month. I am eating exactly what I need to. Honestly, I haven't had any issues, and I truly hope I can keep working until about 45 days before my due date. My work situation is a bit complicated; after nine long years, I finally have the chance to sign a permanent contract starting September 1st (I work at a school). I just hope that amidst this madness—between the strained family dynamics, an unplanned move happening on short notice, and all this other circus—I can resolve this massive stressor called "my career," and then finally just settle in and enjoy being pregnant and waiting for my baby.

Actually, it's the exact opposite. Your mother-in-law is just talking nonsense. If she is Rh negative and the fetus is Rh positive, then in every subsequent pregnancy where the baby is Rh positive, she'll need medical intervention.

You don't have to worry about this happening to you since you are Rh positive.

If you want to shut down her nonsense more effectively, just Google "Rh incompatibility." 😁

Linda Price5 said:Actually, it's the exact opposite. Your mother-in-law is just talking nonsense. If she is Rh negative and the fetus is Rh positive, then in every subsequent pregnancy where the baby is Rh positive, she'll need medical intervention.

You don't have to worry about this happening to you since you are Rh positive.

If you want to shut down her nonsense more effectively, just Google "Rh incompatibility." 😁

Oh, I did, and I did it immediately. 🍿 Since finishing nursing school, I’ve been more than qualified to handle this kind of topic. 🙂
What absolutely infuriates me—what truly gets under my skin—is the sheer lack of tact and basic human decency. I have never been the type of person to comment on someone else's life, let alone their most private matters. Yet, I witness this behavior daily. Whether it’s people telling me I’m "too old" or speculating about what kind of child I might have (I'm 33, apparently an old lady now), or implying we can't have kids because if we could, we would have had them ages ago (we only shared our happy news with a tiny inner circle).
Eventually, you just start tuning it out, but when someone you barely even know approaches you during your morning commute and tells you how he and his wife were just discussing us—noting that we shouldn't wait any longer because we're getting too old—🙂 you realize the world has completely lost its mind. 😵