What were your biggest pregnancy surprises and pet peeves?

We’ve all had those discussions about how pregnant women are often overlooked or ignored when it comes to finding a seat on the bus or the subway... but today, I actually experienced something different. A woman, probably in her late fifties or early sixties, stood up to give me her seat. I’ll admit, I felt a little flush with embarrassment, but of course, I took it. After all, I am quite literally carrying a tiny human being—who could possibly have a greater claim to a seat on public transit than an expectant mother?

In truth, shouldn't the shame lie with those younger than that lady who didn't even bother to notice me?

And thank God it was sunny and relatively warm out, which allowed me to unbutton my jacket just enough so my bump was visible.😁

Ugh, what an absolute idiot my partner turned out to be today. He actually had the nerve to say that women just deal with pregnancy and birth without any issues... as if I’m just being dramatic when I tell him everything hurts and I can't do anything. Like, I'm not crazy, I'm just pregnant... and he thinks it’s weird to be scared of something women have been doing for centuries... whatever...

Honestly, now I'm really starting to wonder if I even need him in my life...

Eric Fowler3 said:Ugh, what an absolute idiot my partner turned out to be today. He actually had the nerve to say that women just deal with pregnancy and birth without any issues... as if I’m just being dramatic when I tell him everything hurts and I can't do anything. Like, I'm not crazy, I'm just pregnant... and he thinks it’s weird to be scared of something women have been doing for centuries... whatever...

Honestly, now I'm really starting to wonder if I even need him in my life...

Oh, please! Give me a break! 😠 People like that drive me absolutely insane. Like, oh, sorry, does he have to pass a tiny little kidney stone through his system? God forbid! They act like a 99-degree fever is a death sentence and then proceed to complain about it for hours!

My father-in-law once told me how his wife used to pour concrete for their stairs while she was heavily pregnant, yet here I am, barely able to mop the kitchen floor. By the way, I'm currently on strict bed rest...
But hey, his son turned out fine, thank God. I don't even want to think about what would've happened otherwise. Since I became pregnant, he has done a complete 180°. For the better, obviously.

Hannah Lewis2 said:Oh, please! Give me a break! 😠 People like that drive me absolutely insane. Like, oh, sorry, does he have to pass a tiny little kidney stone through his system? God forbid! They act like a 99-degree fever is a death sentence and then proceed to complain about it for hours!

My father-in-law once told me how his wife used to pour concrete for their stairs while she was heavily pregnant, yet here I am, barely able to mop the kitchen floor. By the way, I'm currently on strict bed rest...
But hey, his son turned out fine, thank God. I don't even want to think about what would've happened otherwise. Since I became pregnant, he has done a complete 180°. For the better, obviously.

Exactly. ☕ Just like how they’d be digging up gardens until the very last second—hauling water from wells, dragging in firewood, all that nonsense... and then, oh yeah, dying during childbirth (or even before it) like flies. God, those "good old days." It's wild how selfish and reckless people could be.
Bandera, honestly, I don't even know what to say to your father-in-law's nonsense... personally, I think he deserves a good smack for being such an idiot.

Eric Fowler3 said:Ugh, what an absolute idiot my partner turned out to be today. He actually had the nerve to say that women just deal with pregnancy and birth without any issues... as if I’m just being dramatic when I tell him everything hurts and I can't do anything. Like, I'm not crazy, I'm just pregnant... and he thinks it’s weird to be scared of something women have been doing for centuries... whatever...

Honestly, now I'm really starting to wonder if I even need him in my life...

😱

My guy gets crazy sometimes, but hey, maybe not *this* bad🙄 (not exactly comforting, but whatever)

Wait, so how do you even respond to stuff like that?
It sounds exactly like my mother-in-law back in the day, who used to haul firewood up the stairs eight times a day—imagine carrying a massive basket up multiple flights! And then you've got a husband who’s a total lazy bum (my father-in-law, RIP) who just spent his whole life jerking off instead of helping...
God, the stuff we put up with... for what??? Seriously, I find myself asking a thousand times a day if we even need someone like that in our lives...
Here's one for you 🙂

Edward Rodriguez4 said:😱

My guy gets crazy sometimes, but hey, maybe not *this* bad🙄 (not exactly comforting, but whatever)

Wait, so how do you even respond to stuff like that?
It sounds exactly like my mother-in-law back in the day, who used to haul firewood up the stairs eight times a day—imagine carrying a massive basket up multiple flights! And then you've got a husband who’s a total lazy bum (my father-in-law, RIP) who just spent his whole life jerking off instead of helping...
God, the stuff we put up with... for what??? Seriously, I find myself asking a thousand times a day if we even need someone like that in our lives...
Here's one for you 🙂

I just tell him exactly what Bandera wrote above... about the little things and the constant bickering... then I just retreat to my own corner and cry because my hormones are driving me crazy right now...
Mine hasn't changed at all since I got pregnant, though I really expected a bit more empathy...
Some days he’s been so rude, telling me that I'm the one who chose him in the first place... well, I did, but that doesn't mean I have to just "deal" with everything... and then the sarcasm about doing the dishes... "I WASHED THEM FOR YOU"... for me? We live together, don't we? And he eats off the same plates... seriously... instead of getting some rest near the end of the pregnancy, my nerves are just shot every single day

honestly guys, I don't even know what to say after reading that besides 🙂 and 🙂 😢

I don't know, I just feel like you have to give people like that a really cold shoulder. You’ve got to let them know—without sugarcoating it—that their behavior is getting under your skin and actually bumming you out... because honestly, just hoping they'll take the hint or subtly signal that they're being too much doesn't cut it. It's not enough... I mean, repetition is how we learn, right? 😬 assuming the issue is just about them not catching on rather than them just being straight-up selfish... 🤷

It honestly drives me up the wall when my grandparents start asking if the baby is "back from the dead" or some other nonsense... I’m just totally over having to explain myself constantly. And don't even get me started on seeing people I haven't run into in ages. Their very first comment is always, "Oh wow, you've put on weight." Then, once I tell them, "I'm pregnant," they hit me with that incredibly dim-witted, "Oh, ah, sorry, I didn't realize..." If you're going to be that tactless, then please, just don't say anything at all.

Sean Long4 said:It honestly drives me up the wall when my grandparents start asking if the baby is "back from the dead" or some other nonsense... I’m just totally over having to explain myself constantly. And don't even get me started on seeing people I haven't run into in ages. Their very first comment is always, "Oh wow, you've put on weight." Then, once I tell them, "I'm pregnant," they hit me with that incredibly dim-witted, "Oh, ah, sorry, I didn't realize..." If you're going to be that tactless, then please, just don't say anything at all.

-"Man, you've really put on some weight..."
-"Right? Honestly, looking at you, you have too. Anyway, I'm pregnant. You been hitting the buffet lately?"
😁

Allow me to jump in here....

I’m seriously contemplating a divorce and sending my husband off to some distant outpost, and honestly, I can't help but wonder why on earth I ever said "I do" in the first place, let alone why I've spent the last ten years working right alongside him.🙂🙂🙂

For two days straight now, I have been practically begging him to just ride along with me to the hospital for an appointment—just so he could see where the clinic is, locate the maternity ward, get his bearings—but no, apparently that’s too much of an ordeal because he’s "exhausted."

Yet, funny enough, he had plenty of energy yesterday to sit around for three hours grabbing beers and burgers with a buddy, and then today he managed to squeeze in some quality time with his brother, all while I was left scrambling to make it to my check-up on time.... I suppose it just goes to show that a man always knows exactly what his priorities are.

It honestly drives me crazy how mindless banks, retail stores, and just about every other institution can be. There’s absolutely no mention of priority access for pregnant women anywhere in their policies.

Ronald Williams9 said:It honestly drives me crazy how mindless banks, retail stores, and just about every other institution can be. There’s absolutely no mention of priority access for pregnant women anywhere in their policies.

Honestly, I feel 😠
exactly the same way.

Eric Fowler3 said:I just tell him exactly what Bandera wrote above... about the little things and the constant bickering... then I just retreat to my own corner and cry because my hormones are driving me crazy right now...
Mine hasn't changed at all since I got pregnant, though I really expected a bit more empathy...
Some days he’s been so rude, telling me that I'm the one who chose him in the first place... well, I did, but that doesn't mean I have to just "deal" with everything... and then the sarcasm about doing the dishes... "I WASHED THEM FOR YOU"... for me? We live together, don't we? And he eats off the same plates... seriously... instead of getting some rest near the end of the pregnancy, my nerves are just shot every single day

The way you're describing him makes it sound like he read some "macho man" garbage about pregnancy and now he's trying to sell all that nonsense back to you. I feel like I've heard those exact same tired lines somewhere before...
Tell him to pick up a book written by someone with an actual brain.

My husband wants to "help" and clean up, but then it's always on me to go behind him and fix it.
It drives me crazy when he sweeps the floor—he won't even pull the broom and rag from the corner toward himself to actually collect the dust; he just swishes it back and forth and ends up shoving everything into the corners, under the bed, or against the baseboards.

And honestly, I am getting so incredibly frustrated with these inconsiderate drivers lately... Look, they have no idea that I’m pregnant, but that doesn't give them a free pass to park so poorly that I can't even get into my own car. It used to be that I could just squeeze past, but now? There's no way I'm trying to wedge my belly through any tight gaps. 😂

It’s honestly driving me crazy that I have absolutely nothing to wear. I haven't even picked up any maternity pants yet, so I'm just walking around with my button undone because my regular jeans are way too tight. Everything that used to fit perfectly now looks terrible on me. Instead of looking pregnant, I just look bloated and messy. It’s so irritating; I’m genuinely counting down the days until I actually start looking like I'm expecting.

And don't even get me started on my digestion—it’s been a total disaster. I went from being someone who had a very regular schedule to feeling like a literal trash can for waste that just sits inside me for two days straight. All that bloating makes me look pregnant before I actually am, hahahahahahahaha... It’s incredibly frustrating. I suspect people who didn't have regular digestion to begin with probably don't find this quite as maddening as I do..

It also gets under my skin when my grandparents start lecturing me about how "dangerous" ultrasounds are, acting like I'm getting one every single day.. 🙄

That's all for today, back to typing! 😍 😬

rustybison19 said:The way you're describing him makes it sound like he read some "macho man" garbage about pregnancy and now he's trying to sell all that nonsense back to you. I feel like I've heard those exact same tired lines somewhere before...
Tell him to pick up a book written by someone with an actual brain.

My husband wants to "help" and clean up, but then it's always on me to go behind him and fix it.
It drives me crazy when he sweeps the floor—he won't even pull the broom and rag from the corner toward himself to actually collect the dust; he just swishes it back and forth and ends up shoving everything into the corners, under the bed, or against the baseboards.

As if I can actually control him😍
I am genuinely fascinated by how men, with perfectly functional eyes, don't perceive the same amount of dust as we do? Like, for me, ten little crumbs on the floor is enough reason to grab the vacuum or a broom, but for him, it takes a thousand crumbs before he even considers touching them😲—and even then, he won't do it immediately because once I say that one disgusting word, I lose my mind... UGH😠

I just got back from the farmer's market and I am so incredibly annoyed I might actually start laughing.
Basically, I went out to grab a head of basic lettuce—just some standard endive, nothing fancy, definitely not any of those overpriced organic boutique brands that cost a small fortune.
The second I step onto the market grounds, this lady about twenty feet away starts shrieking at me: "Honeyyyyy! Sweetieeee! How can I help you, sugar pie!!!!"
Why do they feel the need to baby me? 🤷 Like, I’m not your honey or your sweetheart or your gold, and you aren't my mom or my grandma or my aunt, so why do you love me so much 😍? 🤷
I was already irritated by the noise, but fine, since she’s making such a huge production out of it, I walk over and pick out a simple head of endive. I ask how much it is. $8.25/lb. I nearly pass out right there, but whatever, I'll just take one head. The old lady weighs it and drops a price on me that is $2.25, obviously just shouting it out, but I figure: I don't want to start a fight and I've already got my cash out, plus I really need to eat something healthy,
But then she begins her epic saga titled: The Holy Grail of Salads: It's so fresh, it's healthy, it's young, it was just picked...
My blood pressure is hitting the ceiling; I'm not an idiot, I can see through this stuff!!! 😲
I can clearly see the lettuce is already wilting, that it was probably picked last Saturday, and that she's just been trimming off the brown edges with a knife every single day...
Yet she keeps going: It's perfect for your little ones, it's fine, it's healthy, it's fresh...
She shoves it in the bag and I walk home with my "holy" salad which, no, it wasn't imported from Italy, it wasn't grown via GMO tech somewhere near the highway to New York City, but it was "picked from fresh, dew-covered pastures, probably grew wild and is rarer than a unicorn. Honestly, the salad in my bag is practically an endangered species." ☕

I am seriously losing my mind.

Time to go make a salad.
Add to the to-do list: Avoid the farmer's market until I have kids, because I'm apparently going to start getting bullied by freezing grandmas at 3 p.m., and that's just not cool.

rustyowl52 said:As if I can actually control him😍
I am genuinely fascinated by how men, with perfectly functional eyes, don't perceive the same amount of dust as we do? Like, for me, ten little crumbs on the floor is enough reason to grab the vacuum or a broom, but for him, it takes a thousand crumbs before he even considers touching them😲—and even then, he won't do it immediately because once I say that one disgusting word, I lose my mind... UGH😠

I’m exactly the same way.

Whenever I hear that word "later," I instantly lose my patience. 😠

Ashley Price57 said:It’s honestly driving me crazy that I have absolutely nothing to wear. I haven't even picked up any maternity pants yet, so I'm just walking around with my button undone because my regular jeans are way too tight. Everything that used to fit perfectly now looks terrible on me. Instead of looking pregnant, I just look bloated and messy. It’s so irritating; I’m genuinely counting down the days until I actually start looking like I'm expecting.

And don't even get me started on my digestion—it’s been a total disaster. I went from being someone who had a very regular schedule to feeling like a literal trash can for waste that just sits inside me for two days straight. All that bloating makes me look pregnant before I actually am, hahahahahahahaha... It’s incredibly frustrating. I suspect people who didn't have regular digestion to begin with probably don't find this quite as maddening as I do..

It also gets under my skin when my grandparents start lecturing me about how "dangerous" ultrasounds are, acting like I'm getting one every single day.. 🙄

That's all for today, back to typing! 😍 😬

My mother-in-law actually gave me that exact same lecture the other day...😠
But what really got under my skin today was this prenatal class. It feels like every day we get a different nurse with their own specific brand of "wisdom," and half the time they’re all saying completely contradictory things. To top it off, the woman leading us today was just incredibly intense—full of these unsolicited pieces of advice, basically telling us we better enjoy ourselves now because once the baby arrives, well, life as we know it is over!!! 😠 Honestly, why on earth do people feel the need to scare pregnant women with those kinds of tropes? "Enjoy it while you can," "Get some sleep while you can," "Eat what you want while you still can"... 😠 It’s genuinely chilling.

I honestly don't know what to say. My little one is only a year old, and I just found out yesterday that I'm pregnant again. Of course, my grandmother immediately asked if I was losing my mind—as if I couldn't have just waited another year or so
I have to admit, it stung a bit. Everyone else is absolutely thrilled, though, especially since they all know how hard it was for me to get pregnant after those two miscarriages before my son was born