comments from people around you

Yeah, even here customers in the shop ask why I'm still working now that I'm "at the end," huh? How am I at the end? I'm 23 weeks pregnant.

What I found really irritating during my two pregnancies was people—colleagues, acquaintances, or neighbors—who would come up to me and say, "Just feel, she's probably sleeping," when the baby wasn't moving or kicking. And that happened every time, which was pretty annoying.

I don't know exactly why, maybe it's totally unimportant to others, but I couldn't understand why it made me so upset. For me, it was awful. I'd think, "Oh no, here we go again." Then I'd just burst from the inside.

I really didn't want anyone touching my belly, as if they were doing it on purpose, so to speak, of course.

Greetings, Madelene

terribly annoying!!!

I mostly get nice reactions about my pregnancy But sometimes it's less pleasant:
- Everyone thinks I'm about to give birth... No, I just carry it forward, that's all! Well, they can't do anything about it anyway, I scare myself when I see my profile
- 'Is it a boy or a girl?' I find that an inappropriate question; not everyone wants to know and not everyone who knows wants to tell everyone.
- The peak of annoyance: yesterday a colleague just grabbed my belly. I grabbed his belly too, and the message was clear. This was actually the first time that happened. I obviously radiate that I'm not fond of this. I do invite trusted people to feel my belly when the baby moves, but that's a totally different situation.

Unfortunately, I've already received quite a few comments here.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at the checkout of a large supermarket, and the cashier asked me when I was due. When I told her "January," she casually said, "Wow! You've got such a big belly! I thought you'd be giving birth any moment now!"... After a brief pause, she added, "Or is it twins maybe?" I really thought that was inappropriate, and to be honest, it did upset me a bit...

Fortunately, someone else told me the next day that I had a beautiful and subtle baby bump, so I felt a bit better again!

I can imagine that it’s not so nice when you feel like your belly is doing fine, but others think otherwise. In my case, it’s different: I know my belly is far from subtle (probably a lot bigger than yours, Kim ), so I can’t blame anyone for thinking I’m close to my due date, even though I’m only 30 weeks. Most women who are due around the same time have a belly like mine now! Plus, I get plenty of comments about how beautiful my belly is—and they’re right. This pregnancy, I’m just Edith + belly, not hugely swollen and gaining way too much weight like last time. I’m really happy about that, and I like it when others notice it too (especially if they knew me during my first pregnancy and see the difference).

During my two pregnancies, people mostly thought my belly was really small. Even the midwife wanted an extra ultrasound during my second pregnancy to check if the baby wasn't too small, but it turned out to be completely fine, not the case at all. My daughter was just a small baby but perfectly normal and healthy. Now she's 4 years old, and I get annoyed when my sister-in-law says she eats enough, she looks so thin. At the health center recently, the doctor said she not only has a good figure, she's perfect, exactly slim for a girl. Nothing to do about it, she's perfect for a girl. What I mean with this very long story is that people always have something to complain about, it's never good. I always intuitively knew my youngest daughter wasn't too small or too thin, I'm not fat myself either. I was always a slim girl too, so she probably got it from me. But I found the comments about "what, you still have a small belly" a bit unpleasant for myself because I would have liked to proudly show my pregnant belly. That was during my first pregnancy when they said that. The second pregnancy, luckily I got a belly a bit earlier, not much thicker but visible sooner. I loved it when people said now you can already see it clearly, you can't hide it anymore, I felt proud as a pregnant woman and it gave me a nice feeling that you could see my belly well. Because it was my baby inside and everyone should know that. Greetings, Madelene

@ Madelene that’s another example. Once you’ve given birth, they start talking about the kids. It even starts while you’re pregnant: “Oh, what a tiny/big baby.” And then they go on about how big their baby was, how quickly their baby could crawl, stand, walk, talk—it’s an endless competition. Fortunately, as a parent, I don’t have any doubts about my child. I know he’s healthy and growing well. He doesn’t need to be as fast as other kids. Every child has their own pace!

@ Edith, yes, sometimes you see someone with a really big belly (my girlfriend had one like that), and even my 4-year-old son said, “Hey, the baby is coming soon because that belly is sooo big.” She was only 6 months pregnant. So I understand that. Still, I find it annoying when strangers comment on it. It’s exactly what Kim1989 said—I really can’t stand that! And asking whether it’s a boy or a girl is extremely inappropriate! Sometimes they ask what name you’ve chosen. Well, with my best friend, I just ask her, and she asks me too. But that’s because of the bond we have. I wouldn’t ask anyone else what they’re having!

But anyway!

Fortunately, despite these remarks/questions, we can still enjoy our pregnancies/kids.

Greetings, Nikki