On Pregnancy: The Things People Say

One of the things that never ceased to amaze me during my pregnancy was what people (somehow) felt comfortable saying to me. I had childless people tell me how labor and delivery was going to be, other moms tell me what my pregnancy was going to be like, and more people that I can count comment on my growing belly, my swollen feet, my diet, etc etc. It was super annoying and a lot of times downright rude, and I just had to force myself to brush it off and even laugh. The most irritating thing was that people thought they had a right to comment on my body, just because I was pregnant. I do not go up to fat people and tell them they should diet; I do not comment on how other people's clothes do or do not fit them well; I do not bring up the subject of another person's body shape/type every. single. time. I see them. Let's not do that to pregnant women, either! If you feel the urge to say something to a pregnant woman (especially one with whom you are not close), please think before you speak! And say something kind, like what an exciting time for you! or you are glowing! or you look wonderful! In the mean time, here are a few of the things people said to me over the past 9 months, for your reading pleasure :)

[after announcing at work that I was pregnant]

Female co-worker: Oh! So that's why you've been eating so much lately!

[at Thanksgiving dinner]
My 5 year-old niece: Are you getting your baby from China?
Me: No...

Female co-worker: I knew you were having a girl! Do you want to know how I knew?

Me: How?

Co-worker: Because your face has gotten VERY round.

Lady at church: Congratulations! When are you due?
Me: Thank you! June 13.
Lady: I usually am hesitant to say anything this early on, but you're just so skinny everywhere else!

Female co-worker: Are those new jeans?
Me: No. 

Co-worker: Oh wow! You're still fitting into your old jeans?

Me: Oh, no. These are maternity jeans.

Co-worker: Oh I was going to say - you'd be doing pretty good if you were still wearing your old jeans!

Me: Actually, I do think I'm doing pretty good. [I'm 20 weeks pregnant, thankyouverymuch, and I don't think I should still be wearing pre-pregnancy skinny jeans.]

My other 5 year-old niece: Aunt Sherri, have you ever had a baby before?
Me: No! This is my first baby! You would know if I had another baby.
My 6 year-old niece: But are you going to even know how to take care of it?

[at my 24-week appointment]

Doctor: Your weight gain is a little excessive. 

Me: [silence]

Stranger in the ladies' restroom at church: Oh wow, you are coming along!

Me: Yes, I'm 32 weeks!

Stranger: And you're sure it's not twins?
Me: Yep, I'm sure.

[at my 32-week appointment]

Doctor: Have we discussed your weight gain before? 

Me: Yes.

Client at the office: When are you due? Tomorrow?

Me: Six weeks.

And then there was the sweet young mom behind me in line at Target, two days before I delivered, who said, "I know you probably feel terrible right now, but you look so cute!" Please be one of those kind souls and make a pregnant lady's day :) 

On Pregnancy: The Books I'm Reading

The market is over-saturated with books to read while pregnant, which makes it difficult to narrow it down to what you really want to read. I am a big reader, so it's no surprise that I enjoyed reading books on pregnancy and parenting. I thought I would share what I've been reading, for those that find browsing on Amazon a bit overwhelming. 

1 // Getting Ready to Get Pregnant // I read this when we were thinking about trying to get pregnant (duh). I actually ended up reading the book twice, once when I thought I might be ready (I wasn't) and then again when I actually was ready. The whole premise of the book is to begin taking care of your body before pregnancy even begins, which I totally agree with. There were helpful chapters on nutrition and stress relief, as well as preparing your home and environment to be healthy and clean. I thought it was worth reading, remembering that you can do your best to be healthy and prepare your body for pregnancy, but it doesn't guarantee a healthy baby or pregnancy.

2 // Great with Child // When I was first pregnant, I didn't want to read anything about the actual pregnancy. I didn't want to read statistics or see a list of everything that could possibly go wrong with me, the baby, or my pregnancy. So I picked up this book, which I remembered Joanna raved about on Cup of Jo. It's a book of letters written to a newly pregnant friend, so it includes sweet memories, honest feedback on mothering, etc. I really enjoyed reading it, and it made me focus on motherhood and the wonderful gift of pregnancy rather than worrying about things.

3 // Bringing Up Bébé // Everyone who has ever read anything about parenting has certainly heard of this book and all of the hype surrounding it. In looking back at my Amazon orders, I bought this book precisely three days after finding out I was pregnant(!), and I have to agree with all of the hype. I loved reading about parenting in another culture and was particularly struck by the chapters on sleeping, eating, and waiting. There were a lot of good principles that we plan on incorporating into our scheduling of the baby and parenting. Highly recommend!

4 // On Becoming Baby Wise // This book is somewhat controversial in the parenting world, but I really liked it. Both of my sisters scheduled all (seven!) of their babies, and their kids slept through the night at a very early age, had predictable schedules, and were generally happy babies. We are planning on doing a lot of the same things that my sisters did, and this book is a good source of information. If you like the idea of a schedule for your baby, my sister also broke down her method in a very helpful blogpost here.

5 // The Birth Book // When I was looking into hiring a doula, the one I interviewed highly recommended this book as preparation for a natural labor and delivery. We took a birthing class, so a lot of the information in the book I already had learned from the class. What I found the most helpful from this book, though, was the emphasis on not fearing labor, how to relax during labor, and the options for different laboring and birthing positions. If you are interested in learning about how to manage a natural birth, I would recommend checking this book out.

What books have you read on pregnancy, birth, or parenting?

On Pregnancy: Taking a Babymoon

Last month we took a babymoon to Savannah! You can click through to see more pictures, if you'd like...

On Pregnancy: The First Trimester

8 1/2 weeks

People have asked me if this space is going to turn into a "mommy blog", and the answer is no. I do not plan on exclusively writing about diapers, feeding, and my baby. I will, however, write about my baby and motherhood and any of the other things that this new stage of life ushers in, just as I write about many aspects of my life now. The baby posts will just be in addition to all of the other posts. With that said, this is the first post in my pregnancy series, beginning with my first trimester. This is mostly for my sake to look back on in the future, but click through if you're interested!