On Display Until March
Lately, it seems that no matter where I go, a conversation similar to the following takes place.
Stranger: Aawww, look at you! When are you duuuueee?
Me: March
Stranger: March? Really? Oh, you’re going to be huge!
(My husband just read this last line and said, “Come on, someone DID NOT say that to you!” And unbelievable as it may seem – hand to heaven – this is the stuff people are saying to me.)
I’ve had the same exchange so many times that I’ve lost my pre-conditioned “happy” face and now I just look downright disgruntled from the get-go. I’m hoping my new demeanor will scare off these whack jobs who feel the need to comment on my burgeoning belly.
But it makes me wonder: what draws people to ask very personal questions to pregnant women they don’t know? It’s something that I thought a lot about when I was pregnant with my first son too. I got so many inappropriate questions that I was beginning to think I was on a hidden camera TV show. “Was it planned?” That’s none of your business. “Are your breasts sore?” Do you really expect me to answer that? “Can I touch your belly?” I dare you to try it.
I see pregnant women everywhere. Not so much a novelty. Yet, by the plethora of comments I get, it seems we’re some kind of unique breed of animal on display right in your neighborhood and in the stores and restaurants you frequent. Look – she talks, she walks (well, waddles), and all without falling over on her face. Amazing!
The eternal voice of reason, a.k.a. my husband, thinks that people feel compelled to comment because I look “cute”, or because they can relate, or because bringing life into the world really is something of a miracle. I guess this last explanation makes quite a bit of sense. But as miraculous as it is, people, all I want to do is get through the checkout line as speedily as possible so I can go home and put my feet up.
Last 5 posts by MoltoMom
- On the cusp of 3… - October 13th, 2008
- The Trick of the Treat - October 20th, 2008
- Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid - November 4th, 2008
- Judging the Caffeine - November 13th, 2008
- The Birth of a Three Year Old - November 21st, 2008
So funny. I had much the same experience with my pregnancy. I remember my coworker took great delight in pointing out to others how large I was getting. Like I needed reminding as I huffed and puffed my way through the hot summer. And this was a woman who had three children of her own. Surely she should have been sensitive enough to recall her own pregnancies?!! No one ever tried to touch me, though. I guess my habitual scowling face frightened them off.
Once the baby was born, I was astounded at the freedom with which people used to ask me if I were breast feeding. And then give me a lecture on how beneficial this was!!! One diatribe came from a woman who was still nursing her 4-year-old! And they were preaching to the choir because I did nurse my son. I can’t imagine what would have happened had I been using formula. Note to self for next baby: Tell everyone I am nursing even if it’s a lie.