What were your biggest pregnancy surprises and pet peeves?

My old man used to tell me I was getting too heavy,🙄(though honestly, I only started putting on weight this past winter; since becoming pregnant, I’ve barely gained a few pounds) but he can't see himself—his gut is massive from all the Budweiser he drinks. 😠

Lately, though, he’s finally admitting that I make a beautiful pregnant woman.

Jessica Vaughn said:Good grief... everyone keeps telling me I'm FAT... give me a break, I'm not fat, and I haven't even gained that much weight... what is wrong with them...
Fat? My ass!

Exactly.
I honestly don't get why people feel the need to comment on pregnancy—or postpartum—weight in the first place.

Men or women, it doesn't matter... I just can't wrap my head around how some people have the nerve to interrogate you about it. Like, "how much did you gain?" or "is it noticeable?" Give me a break. 😲

It's peak rudeness, yet somehow it's totally normal... just awful.

Frank Jackson5 said:Honey, this isn't the same thing as clinical depression. Honestly, my pregnancy hormones protect me from that—even from social anxiety, panic attacks, or those daily tension headaches that have me sobbing for days. There’s no weakness here, no shakes, no chronic exhaustion... sometimes things sting, sometimes I cry, but this period is honestly a trillion times better than not being pregnant. I'm home, relaxing, staying away from that job that was destroying my mental health. I only hang out with people I love, watch good movies or series, just total relaxation, and my husband is always taking care of me... how could it be any better? I'd stay pregnant forever if I could!😍😍😍

I happen to be prone to depression too, unfortunately... are you taking anything right now? My doctor prescribed some Ativan, but I'm a little hesitant to take it. She mentioned it’s more for managing the stomach pains and physical symptoms since it doesn't do much for the mental side of things.😕😕

It looks like you're going to have plenty of kids, huh?😍😍

Edward Wells said:I don’t know about all of you, but the whole ordeal of putting on underwear is enough to drive me up the wall... Honestly—between being unable to bend over properly, the constant pinching, and feeling like I can't even catch my breath—it's just a disaster. One leg gets stuck, then the other starts bunching up, and suddenly everything is a mess. Wouldn't the simplest, most efficient solution be to just "NOT WEAR THEM" at all?🤷😂

I didn't bother wearing any around the house all summer😁
but I finally started again because I ended up with a bladder infection last week, so...

frozenpanther18 said:I happen to be prone to depression too, unfortunately... are you taking anything right now? My doctor prescribed some Ativan, but I'm a little hesitant to take it. She mentioned it’s more for managing the stomach pains and physical symptoms since it doesn't do much for the mental side of things.😕😕

It looks like you're going to have plenty of kids, huh?😍😍

I went through one really bad depressive episode before getting pregnant and was on antidepressants for three years. I'm not on anything now. I might take a Xanax here and there, but that's more for calming down—it's an anti-anxiety thing, not a mood lifter. It seems like pregnancy was actually my best antidepressant.🤣 😍

It’s honestly surprising how much every single pregnancy is its own thing when it’s the same woman

I used to go barefoot all summer long, too.🙂
But now... having to wear socks??? Good grief, it feels like some endless, exhausting Sisyphus task!

Putting on socks is the easy part.
The real nightmare? Pantyhose... first you have to bend over—slowly, mind you—and handle them with extreme precision so you don't snag them immediately. Then you have to bend over *again* to pull them up from the feet to make sure they aren't bunching up at the ankles... ugh, what a workout.

To top it all off, I’ve already dealt with two headaches from the clerks at Walgreens... I haven't even used my pregnancy voucher book yet, but apparently, it expired on August 31st, and now suddenly they’re refusing to honor it. It’s ridiculous—back before I had this bump, they never gave me any trouble about getting a new one if I lost it or if it expired.🙄

It’s incredibly frustrating being unable to swap stories with other expectant mothers regarding Braxton Hicks,
those little hiccups, and all that—it feels like I’ve been completely bypassed. I’m nearly 28 weeks along now and
I still don't feel even a single tap against my stomach.
So there you have it... damn it all.

twisted, I didn't really start feeling it until I was about 27 or so... It’s much more intense now when I have a pillow propped up in front of me, and those kicks just hit harder. Now that I'm 31, we don't even need to lay a hand on my stomach to feel them; we can just watch parts of my belly jump. Besides, our little one is a bit calmer 🙂

What really annoyed me was being told in a direct message that you only get one single medical record booklet throughout the entire pregnancy... and now I can't even get a second one with the updated insurance coupons!

rustyrider20 said:Putting on socks is the easy part.
The real nightmare? Pantyhose... first you have to bend over—slowly, mind you—and handle them with extreme precision so you don't snag them immediately. Then you have to bend over *again* to pull them up from the feet to make sure they aren't bunching up at the ankles... ugh, what a workout.

To top it all off, I’ve already dealt with two headaches from the clerks at Walgreens... I haven't even used my pregnancy voucher book yet, but apparently, it expired on August 31st, and now suddenly they’re refusing to honor it. It’s ridiculous—back before I had this bump, they never gave me any trouble about getting a new one if I lost it or if it expired.🙄

Wait, what exactly is this pregnancy discount booklet thing? 🙈
Do I just ask for it at the register, or am I supposed to swap it for points on the rewards kiosk?😕

I honestly have no idea what kind of book that is! What am I even supposed to ask for at the checkout counter?

Ever since I found out I was pregnant, it’s been one thing after another—first the morning sickness, and now it's constant heartburn and pelvic pains. I'm already 22 weeks along, but my bump isn't huge yet; if I throw on a tunic, you wouldn't even know. People always comment on how small I am. One woman actually had the nerve to tell me I'd probably have a tiny baby; I nearly lost my cool right there in the middle of the store.
When I wear a tighter shirt, my neighbor asks me how much longer I have left. No matter how I dress, I just can't win.

I'm already dreading winter and trying to figure out how I'm going to layer all those heavy clothes. Honestly, I might just stay indoors until spring.

The most shocking part of my pregnancy wasn't even the symptoms; it was what my OB-GYN told me. She hit me with "you’re on bed rest starting today," and then a month later, she just dropped the hammer again: "still on bed rest." 😲 Seriously? Are you kidding me?
It made zero sense to me. When I saw that positive test, I was on top of the world. Despite the nausea, I was energized, happy, and actually looking forward to heading into the office every day, being around people, and making the most of this. Now? I've been stuck at home for two months, migrating from the couch to the bed. I'm drained, and this isn't how I pictured this experience at all. It’s a nightmare I never saw coming. But hey, what can you do?🤷

Just tell them you're pregnant at the checkout. They'll hand you a workout DVD and some pregnancy coupons.

Edward Wells said:I don’t know about all of you, but the whole ordeal of putting on underwear is enough to drive me up the wall... Honestly—between being unable to bend over properly, the constant pinching, and feeling like I can't even catch my breath—it's just a disaster. One leg gets stuck, then the other starts bunching up, and suddenly everything is a mess. Wouldn't the simplest, most efficient solution be to just "NOT WEAR THEM" at all?🤷😂

😂😂 Oh my god, tell me about it... I seriously struggle with underwear too... my husband basically has to pull them on me like I'm a toddler and then help me get my shoes on...😂

What’s actually driving me crazy?
First off, I’ve picked up so much useful info on this forum, and honestly, after devouring tons of American parenting magazines and books, I feel like I really know my stuff... but then what happens?
Every single one of my girlfriends, acquaintances, even my relatives, are still stuck on all those old wives' tales that just get passed down forever, and whenever I try to explain the actual facts to them, suddenly *I'm* the one who sounds clueless... like I'm just being a know-it-all instead of them realizing they're wrong, which makes it impossible to have a normal conversation or share anything cool I've learned here. It seriously gets under my skin, which is exactly why I need to hang out here with you guys!☕🙂

So, here’s the deal. First off, the way our state laws are set up really gets under my skin. Pregnant women who have only been registered for three months—which was my situation—only get $267 month of benefits. It’s ridiculous. You can barely cover the absolute essentials, let alone buy maternity clothes, which I desperately need since I’m usually a size 3, and everything is starting to feel tiny on me... 😠
2. Then there are the old ladies who constantly drone on with "as long as they're healthy" followed by "as long as it's a boy." I honestly can't stand that sexist nonsense. I couldn't care less about the gender. Though, knowing my husband isn't exactly intuitive, I went to check right away just to prove to him that our maternal instincts aren't lying to us (right, ladies?) ...
3. It’s also incredibly annoying when those same old ladies try to pick out names, and of course, they always pick the exact same names his parents used. It's gross... 🙂
4. Lastly, and most importantly... my husband is driving me crazy. He acts like I’m completely incapable of doing anything. He won't let me drive, won't let me go for walks—he's basically one step away from banning me from breathing air filled with pollutants or something. I've always been an active person, but now, because of him, I can't do a thing. He calls non-stop, hovering over me: "Are you drinking enough water?" "Have you gone to the bathroom?" "How was your stool?" It's exhausting. On top of that, I'm still dealing with this E. coli infection, and he's constantly nagging me to get another urine culture to see if the levels have dropped. If they end up being higher, he loses it—and obviously, they might be higher because, hello, I'm still on medication. It's a disaster. I get that he wants to be caring, and in theory, that's fine, but I just need some breathing room. I'm also getting tired of having to prep heavy meals every single day... 😁

He doesn't really ask about my massage needs; it’s pretty obvious his main concern is just how he’s feeling... or rather, making sure he can settle his own nerves by checking if the baby is okay and worrying about that 🙂 bacteria. He's incredibly high-strung right now—he’s even started smoking again. Then, when I try to tell him the little guy is kicking like crazy, or that I’m chugging four liters of water a day, or that I've practically lived in the bathroom today—it's like I've gone through a whole pack of Marlboros—he instantly calms down. But what about me? What about the cellulite I'm dealing with, or the fact that I have to spend three days begging him just to step outside for a walk to help clear it up? Or how I'm expected to be glued to my phone every time we drive somewhere? None of that stress seems to matter to him. It's all just part of the deal, apparently.😁

It’s like when I’m just chilling at home, I’m constantly sprinting to the bathroom, but the second I step out for a few hours, my brain starts spiraling, obsessively mapping out every single restroom in the area and how I'm actually going to get to them 😠

Whenever we go out, I find myself praying people will just slow down—I can't exactly extend my stride anymore... what am I, some kind of marathon runner, Conan O'Brien?
I don't think I'm sick, just pregnant, but that doesn't mean I can be out there digging 😬 or running around aimlessly...

I suppose I’m going to have to start being a bit more careful about how much I push myself. 😁