"Do you know who the father is?"

"You look like you're having a girl, I can tell, I breed llamas."
Hand to God some stranger said this to me when I was at the mall and 7 months pregnant. She was right though.

"This was an accident, wasn't it? You didn't do this on purpose, did you?"

That's my mother for you.

The most obnoxious thing is not something people say but something they do. Strangers think that being pregnant gives them the right to come up to you and touch your belly.

Hah! The stranger's hand on the belly thing... the sister of a boyfriend of mine cold-cocked someone who did that to her, with her knapsack containing an assortment of microbiology and medical textbooks. Got away with it, too (I believe that that sort of hands behaviour is at the borderline of actionable, in some states, although I may be mistaken about that).

Hah! The stranger's hand on the belly thing... the sister of a boyfriend of mine cold-cocked someone who did that to her, with her knapsack containing an assortment of microbiology and medical textbooks. Got away with it, too (I believe that that sort of handsy behaviour is at the borderline of actionable, in some states, although I may be mistaken about that).

Isn't it kinda intrusive and personal to bring up a woman's pregnancy at all? i try to keep my mouth shut about it until she mentions it. Otherwise, it's really none of my beeswax, i think.

'Slut.'

'Being over 30 shouldn't give folks a license to talk to you like you're a dried-out old cooch.'

THIS.

While some of these things are certainly annoying, there are far worse things I'd heard when I was pregnant. The nonstop unsolicited advice I received about pregnancy and parenting was far worse than any single comment. I got really tired of people telling me I "didn't look that far along." My son was 6 lb 2 oz when born full term, and I think people secretly thought I smoked or did drugs when I told them how far along I was. (Never did. Even before I was pregnant.) That went right along with "You don't even look pregnant from the back!"

"Are you going to breastfeed?"
"You aren't going to breastfeed, are you?"
"Do you think you should be eating that?"
"A little deli meat won't kill you."

And the sex questions from people who had no right to be talking to me about sex. *shudder*

Labor horror stories. Parenting horror stories.

Funny stories, yes. Comforting stories, yes. Encouraging stories, yes.

Horror stories, no.

How about asking how far along the woman is...only to find out she isn't, in fact, pregnant?

How's this for a weird conversation... Was at a social function and someone asked a lady if she was pregnant, to whick she replied "No." Generally awkward, but what makes it weird is that she was indeed pregnant. I'm assuming that either he didn't know yet, or didn't want everyone to know yet (maybe a job issue?). Poor guy felt embarrassed unnecessarily.

In this YouTube video is a little something that all pregnant women want

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zad1TB2-tmM

Funny that you mentioned Triscuits and cheese cubes... that's exactly what I craved! Ate them every day. Yep.

Anyway, I was a teen pregnancy case so you can imagine all the lovely comments and questions I got. Still to this day I constantly get "you look way too young to have a kid!" I always just say "well, apparently I'm not." Oh man, just thinking about soccer practice in the suburbs makes me nauseous.

You forgot to mention the "M" word. Never EVER EVER say "moustache" around a pregnant woman. For that matter, don't comment on any of her hair, expect the lovely mop on top of her head. Say it looks nice, even if its got dried morning sickness in it. But otherwise, don't mention armpits, upper lip, legs or, especially, her downstairs moustache.

Oh this was great! I'm not planning on having any kids for at least five years, but I so have to remember some of these comebacks. I have quite a few friends with kids, so I'm fully aware of all of the stupid things people say to pregnant women. I think the worst is being constantly badgered about what you should be eating, etc. And after you've given birth, some people still think they need to tell you how to raise your kid! It's so annoying, and I'm so looking forward to telling those idiots off when I have mine. ;D

So, I see you like sex.

Worse thing to say to a pregnant woman ever....

Got Milk??

I got smacked a lot for that comment when my wife was pregnant.

A very religious woman got in on a conversation I was haveing about my baby's last name. The father and I were not together and I said I didn't want my baby to have a last name different than mine. She had the gall to say "Well, there is one way you could change that"...meaning marry the guy(out of the question) so I looked her in the eye and said "Yeah, there is another thing I could have done about it too but I don't think God would've been to happy about that either." Never another word was said to me from her.

"The most obnoxious thing is not something people say but something they do. Strangers think that being pregnant gives them the right to come up to you and touch your belly."

I have a strong aura of "F**k off", and thus, the belly rubbing wasn't an issue for me.

When are you due? (when they are not pregnant)

they also get pissed off if you breathe. it's the hormones

I was at my ob/gyn the other day and a woman asked how far along I was. I told her "two years and nine months!" My son had just turned two the day before and I am NOT pregnant.

@Jill aka The Nerdy Bird and @amandak.

I said to a women once how far is she in her pregnancy. Turned out she wasn't prego, just fat.

Oh, amandak, if you are that fat that someone thinks your a prego, how about losing some weight. If not for yourself, then for your son. Really, if someone cannot look at you and tell if you are a prego, lose some freaking weight. Get off the couch, walk the dog, hell, walk the cat. Anything.

Is this site a man-hater site? Seems like a bunch of nasty-mean chicks in here.

Why have a kid with a guy you hate? I read this sentiment in several comments. Girls, stop blaming men for your actions. If you spread-em for a loser, you will have a loser for the father. Simple.

Weight is not directly proportional to how much you exercise. It's not that simple.

Down South Frumpin'!
http://www.filthyrichmond.com/2008/09/down-south-frumpin.html

Amanda, you're right. It's also proportional to how much and what you eat ;-)

Wow Jack, I'll bet you don't hang out with women much, huh? Why don't you push away from the computer and get a girlfriend who doesn't have the last name of dotJPG and learn how to speak to people like a decent human being.

And take Pete with you.

One I'm surprised didn't make the list:

"Are you having twins?"

My woman is 8 months pregnant, and gets this one all the time.

Jack, I made the same mistake one time when I worked at a retail store. My own son (now 7) was just a year old, and I was all stoked about babies, and a woman I could swear was 6-7 months pregnant came to pay for something at my register. I asked something like, "Got a passenger, I see" to which she just looked at me deadpan and said "What?"

Never again will I comment on ANY stranger's pregnant state. My mouth still tastes like shoe leather after that.

Your response to #1 is silly. MANY women still don't go back to work after their first pregnancy, or if they do, it's after several years and a career change. I know more women who didn't go back to work after their first pregnancy than ones who did (including my own wife).

No... it's not the 50's. It's 2009, and that is still a legitimate question. A RUDE question, yes... but a legitimate one.

@Katt: how did you restrain yourself from breaking the fingers of every @55hole who touched your belly without permission?

That has been happening to my woman lately as well, and it totally dumbfounds me. After all, unless you want to get maced or kicked in the groin, you don't go touching the breasts or asses of women you don't know without permission, right?

Or am I missing something?

@Molly:

Oh-SNAPPPP!

VERY well done!

Best response to "is it a boy?": "I'm just hoping it's human this time."

My OB/GYN asked after my confirming the pregnancy of my fourth child:
"How does this keep happening to you?"

My response:
"I think I need a new gynecologist if you don't know the answer to that."

Here's a switch... how about pregnant women stop believing that society owes them something because they are fvcking pregnant?

Regardless of whether or not you wanted to get pregnant the simple fact of the matter is that you chose to get put yourself into a situation that got you pregnant.

You sit here and whine about being pregnant... the weight gain, the larger breasts, the back ache's, the pain, the swollen feet etc. When in reality pregnancy is the single most awesome thing that could happen to a person. It is a beautiful experience. YOU ARE CARRYING A HUMAN LIFE INSIDE OF YOU! Stop treating it as though its a burden and start appreciating it for what it is... a gift. If people want to ask about your pregnancy wear it as a badge of honor. If they give you advice you don't want tell them "thanks I'll keep that in mind" and move on about your day.

Bottom line is STOP COMPLAINING!!! Unless that pregnancy is a result of a rape I don't care what physical/mental issues you are going through.

I was always getting hassled for not breastfeeding and would have to explain that 1. I didn't have any milk come in despite the fact that my boobs were HUGE 2. I was on medication for preeclamsia when the baby was born and not allowed to breastfeed even if I did have milk.

I'm pregnant with my second and I hate people insisting that I really want a boy this time since I have a girl already. No, actually, I want another girl so I don't have to buy all new clothes and equipment for a boy since everything I got at the shower was pink and you usually only get one baby shower.

I never minded the belly groping though. In some weird way it's almost like they are having a divine experience when they do it and who am I to take that away from anyone. Besides, my own husband felt my belly ONCE the whole pregnany (denial I guess), so I didn't even mind the nice mexican man who dried my car at the carwash groping the belly and asking questions about when, boy or girl, etc in his limited english.

Can I just say I hate being pregnant though? I hate my clothes not fitting right, the pants rolling down, the shirts rolling up, the huge knockers (40DDD), the clumsiness, the hubby in denial and refusing to have sex with me while pregnant when I'm like 10X as horny as I normally am. Seriously, even the stuff that's supposed to be cool like feeling the baby move just creeps me out.

I know, I'm cranky. But I keep the crankiness contained to anonymous internet posts because it's not PC to detest pregnancy especially not when you planned to get pregnant.

When I was pregnant, I got "Are you having twins?" And I wasn't, I was only having one. But one lady asked me if I was SURE. Thanks for making me feel like a beached whale that sprouted legs, lady.

The ones about asking a non-pregnant woman if she's pregnant remind me of a scene from How I Met Your Mother...

Marshall: Our mail carrier hates me ever since I asked her when the baby was due.
Robin: She wasn't pregnant?
Ted: No, HE was not.

@ Fred....it's a beautiful experience? Yeah, DUDE, you would know all it about. STFU.

Goodness, it sounds like anything anybody says to you is something for you to cry about. It's almost as if you were cranky and high-strung for some reason, and were just waiting for somebody to say something you could go off on. Strange. You're pregnant? REALLY? I'm stunned.

I once witnessed the following exchange at work:

Office Mail Guy: Hey Carol, when are you expecting?
Carol: What?
Office Mail Guy: You're pregnant, right?
Carol: No, just fat. A-hole.

I guess I am with the other guys on the forums. If you are so fat that you look pregnant, don't be offended if someone makes the mistake. Weight IS a direct relation to amount of calories absorb vs calories burned. Eat less, exercise more always works.

AG you are right, I will unfortunately never know what its like to be pregnant and give birth to a beautiful child. Nature decided that for me.

That does not restrict me from having my opinion on pregnancy however. Yeah I know pregnancy can suck at times. My wife has birthed two children with me. However I also know how happy she was when our son and daughter were born, and she is still extremely happy.

Don't sit there for a second and think my opinion has no merit. If you don't want a baby then don't have a baby. If you do choose to have a baby then don't whine about it. It was YOUR CHOICE.

Thank you so much for the useful guide. You, like so many others seem to think that you're the first person ever to be impregnated. Oddly, it has happened once or twice before and people go on dealing with it despite all the mean things people may say...you know by making coversation. Don't you worry though, yours is special and unique, like all the others.
Alright, I said mine, now flame away pregos.

"My wife has birthed two children WITH ME"? I don't think you did much birthing, Fred. I think that should read "I got my wife pregnant, then my wife birthed two children and I knew what she was thinking then and I know what she is thinking now".

I will never know what it is like to be a jerk. Nature decided that for me. That does not restict me from having an opinion about jerks however.

Don't sit there for a minute and think that my opinion of your opinion of my opinion has no merit. Opinions are like asssholes, everybody has one.

You do know that pregnant women are about the most obnoxious people in the world right?

Oooh, I have to send this meal back, it's just not quite what the baby is in the mood for. You guys don't mind waiting another 30 minutes to eat do you?
Do you mind carrying this?
It just feels sooooo magical to have life inside you.
Fell the baby, go on, feel it!
Oh, don't worry, you'll have one some day.
You'll feel differently when it happens to you.

I don't give a shit that you are pregnant. When you are ready to hold normal conversations and participate in regular adult activities, I might want to spend time with you again.

About no.6, Pregnancy often brings with it a good excuse to overeat. In fact, many mothers feel they'd be neglecting their baby's nutritional needs if they didn't indulge in extra helpings. But the idea of eating for two is simply a myth.

Fred, you are exactly right and your wife sounds like a wonderful person. I loved being pregnant, every part of it (twice)! Oddly enough no one ever said anything rude to me and if they did I don't remember it because it rolled off my back. By-the-way, I am also one of those who did quit my job after my first child.

AG great job. Instead of coming up with your own well articulated opinion you instead resort to name calling, copy and paste my post then and editing my post withrandom abstract verbs and nouns. Your parents must be proud. Way to go internet tough guy (or girl as the case may very well be). I can't wait till this degenerates down to you informing us how "high paying" of a job you have, or how many forms of martial arts you have mastered.

Thanks, Fred. Let me correct you by saying that I did not copy and paste. I typed it all out, all by myself. Fun stuff for a dull Friday afternoon.

Comments made to me after my first baby receieved by MALE co-workers "Are you breastfeeding?" a little awkward.

Comment from another MALE co-worker after announcing I was pregnant again " you gotta stop having sex"

Both comments not so much appreciated and definitely not other people's business how much sex I have or not in my marriage.

Oh yes Fred, cause you know EXACTLY what it feels like. Please do not tell me how I should feel when I'm pregnant until you go through a pregnancy or two (complete w/ delivery w/ no drugs).

I never said I know exactly how it feels Jessie. I unfortunately will never know. I am not even telling you how to feel. I happen to think pregnancy is a beautiful thing and think it should be appreciated that way.

What I always wind up hearing from pregnant women however though is a bunch of whining, and bitching all the god damn time with small amounts of "I'm happy". "Wah my figure is gone. Wah my ass looks hidious. Wah I don't feel sexy. Wah I have to lose al this fat from the baby now. Women in our country of the USA take pregnancy for granted. Maybe if having a child was something you had to earn rather then something that was given to you you wouldn't be on here bitching at me, and instead agreeing with me.

Bottom line is this... you can feel HOWEVER you want about your pregnancy. Just stop whining about it to everyone like its some kind of god damn punishment.

"My condolences to the father. He's walking dead, now."

If I were a woman and I was pregnant, I'd sure want to guy like Fred to be right there by my side. He'd be SO loving and supportive. As long as I kept my mouth shut.

Hey Fred good idea arguing with the pregnant ladies, I'm sure that once you clarify your position they'll realize that they're being silly and admit you're right. Any minute now you'll bust through their whiny crust and reach the ooey-gooey logical center.

They can't stoic it off like normal pain, they're getting ridiculous loads of fvcked up hormones dumped into their brain and especially the first-timers are not going to be able to handle it. Being irrational is part of the difficulty of the whole thing. Of course they're going off over what other people would call casual conversation.

You're the one arguing with them, and I'll bet you can't use hormones as an excuse. Just let em be pard, time and the mood swing coming later in the day will change their attitudes, however briefly.

Can't help but wonder how many of the comments are ice breakers? Like hows the weather but since you're pregnant they have something new to ask. They've been saying "How you doing" and "funny weather isn't it" all day so asking "How far along are you" is something new. For them. You, being pregnant have heard it a billion times in the last hour. I know I get pissed hearing the usual greetings when at big meetings add in a pregnancy and how the belly is like an instant ice breaker for any stranger and you've got a recipe for mayhem. Maybe we should start a movement where people ignore the pregnancy. So if they don't know you they aren't going to come talk to you just because you are pregnant. Just my two cents.

AG is this your first one?

Fred, I have to say that I agree with you, and this is coming from a woman who's currently pregnant with her FOURTH! Personally, I love being pregnant! I love feeling the baby move inside of me, and I love the fact that sex is 1,000x better while pregnant. I love the fact that I can eat what I want without having to worry about my figure, and I love the big breasts and cute little belly bump.

It's not that I don't have all the same pregnancy symptoms as most other women--I do! I get the morning sickness the first trimester. My feet swell the second trimester, and I have back pain from the second trimester on. I get the baby kicking me in the ribs and head-butting me in the bladder when I really have to pee. I get the extreme fatigue and all those other bad pregnancy symptoms. But I also know that when I'm pregnant, I'm more beautiful than I am at any other time in my life. I'm the Mother Goddess, bringing forth new life. That makes up for all the bad parts.

But Fred, I don't think women really have as hard a time with pregnancy as they pretend to. To be honest, I think women use it as an excuse to be a b****. During this pregnancy (I'm 15 weeks), I've had three instances where I broke into tears and started sobbing over something silly and unimportant. I've never yelled at my husband or my kids, because I believe that even with hormones, there's this thing called "personal responsibility". If I'm acting like a brat, it's because I'm being irresponsible about controlling my emotions and my actions. Since I'm an adult, I'm supposed to have control over myself.

Pregnancy is not an excuse. The complaints over "getting fat" are just vanity, and any woman who wants to complain about "getting fat" because she's pregnant is too vain and self-centered to ever make a decent mother. Any woman who can't control her emotions during pregnancy enough to where she's not scaring away her husband and her friends is a woman who lacks the self-discipline and responsibility to effectively parent a child. Any woman who thinks pregnancy is an "inconvenience" or a "chore" or a "nightmare" is too focused on their own selfish desires to ever be a decent human being, much less a functional and loving mother.

1) Are you going to have more?

2) You should totally do 'X' after the kid is born - it's THE best thing.

3) (RE first pregnancy from people who aren't our friends anymore) Did you guys actually 'plan' to have a kid 'now'? (my hubby and I had been married 3 years at that time).

Brad,my first what? Attempt at entering into a debate on an emotionally loaded subject like pregnancy in a ridiculously limited venue like the internet? Entry into a long yet amazingly boring diabtribe on an emotionally loaded subject like pregnancy with guys who have no patience with pregnant women because those women are really just funsuckers? Pregnancy?

I was very supportive to my wife when she was pregnant. See the problem with you AG is you believe that "supporting" your wife during her pregnancy means treating her like a princess and making sure she never has to lift a finger. Thats complete bullshit. Pregnant does not mean "I get to do nothing for nine months"

We both still did laundry, cooked, cleaned, and did all those other things you MUST do together in a marriage. As she got further along in her pregnancy there were less things she was physically able to do and as such I picked up the slack on it.

Did I call bullshit on her when she tried to use her pregnancy as an excuse so she did not have to do certain things she was more than capable of doing... yes your god damn right I did. Did I continually remind her of how many many women who would kill to be able to conceive a child who were unable to when she would whine about being pregnant... sure as hell did.

Our first son together was healthy and born over 9 pounds. Our daughter was born healthy and over 9 pounds as well. This is partly due to the fact that my wife never stopped doing normal things. How many women never do a god damn thing during pregnancy and wind up having premature children or very small children?

Your claims about me and my wife are unfounded and simple mudslinging to try and discredit me and my opinion. Its a cheap ploy thats used often in the political world to try and discredit a politician with a strong opposed stance to the normal train of thought. Nie try though.

See that worked great now AG's gonna post that she's sorry and has seen the light.

Frankly, I think today we ALL won the internet. Good work gang :V

AG: pregnancy. Just a guess of course XD XD XD

This one might just be an eastern Canada one:

"Are you sure it's yours?"

Brad, not pregnant. Good guess, though. SO, unfortunately, I'm left to incessantly whine about all the usual stuff. Like, why do women bitch, moan and want to be treated like queens for 9 long months, just because they are pregnant?

AG women act like that because they are raised to believe that that is what they should expect. Society perpetuats it also and men are made to feel as though if they do not cater to her every whim and treat like a godess that they are a bad husband. Its all fuckng bullshit.

I don't know why I keep reading this. It's so obnoxious. Why don't you go play with your kids or something. Sheesh.

It's interesting Fred, that now you seem to know what I believe! If you were paying attention...you'd notice that I have not yet stated what I believe or why and I've not made any claims about your wife. Read a bit more carefully and you'd also notice that I did not elaborate on what "loving" or "supportive" means. In your haste to score points...you've not really even read the words.

You are right about one thing, though. It is all bullshit!

@Yourmom

I'd love to go play with my kids... if it just weren't for this darn deployment to the middle east I am doing right now

Thank you for your service to our country - my family appreciates what you do!

"Congratulations, when are you due?" OOPS, she wasn't pregnant. At a Christmas Party, and she wasn't swollen but had an extended tummy. Talk about awkward.

Thanks Heather thats sweet of you to say. I do what I do for everyone here. One of the rewards of my service is watching people utilize the rights I help guarantee... like freedom of speech.

If it's a woman I know, I always like to ask "It's not mine, is it?" Having been completely monogamous since I met my wife in 1990, the idea is patently absurd, and has served as a good mood-lightener and conversation starter with pregnant friends and colleagues who know my sense of humour.

As an aside, if you've been employed for a certain amount of time in Canada, the government will pay you around 60% of your wages for a year while you stay at home with the baby. Or, if the woman chooses to go immediately right back to work, the partner can stay home and get the 60% of their wage. Or you can split the time any way you want. Your job must be open to you after the year, by law, should you decide to return. But, you know, we must be socialists to think of valuing parental time with an infant, and providing healthcare for all.

This article sounds so bitter, is there something in your past (or present) you're trying to vent about? :P

I was in line at Stop & Shop one day, and the lady ahead of me was pregnant, about 8 months or so (she had said to someone that she was due in 3 and a half weeks).

She was wearing a "Baby On Board" T-shirt.

Should have been a clue.

The guy at the register stopped, looked at her, read the shirt, looked at her again, and said "So, like, are you knocked up, or just fat?"

Without batting an eye, she looked right at him and stated "No. I'm just constipated and need to take a really big shit. Can you just gimme my fucking change?"

@Molly - "Yeah, there is another thing I could have done about it too but I don't think God would've been to happy about that either."

Abortion really brings out the little kid in you.

Some things to say to a pregnant woman -

1. So, I guess you've switched from anal.

2. Hey lady, are these stretch marks or a life sized relief map of the Martian canals?

3. So, do you know who the father is yet?

4. Isn't there a buffet you should be stalking right now?

5. So how do you plan to pay for the little bastard?

6. Got your food stamp card yet?

7. How many different baby daddies has it been so far?

8. Giving birth doesn't hurt. I stubbed my little toe once and THAT HURT.

9. Don't worry, just tell the doctor to put in an extra stitch down there when you tear. Your husband will appreciate it.

10. If that's trapped gas, I'll give you ten bucks for the mineral rights.

11. So, did you get pregnant for an excuse to get fat and stay fat?

12. So, the father's in prison?

13. What happened, forgot how to swallow?

14. Did you artificially inseminate or did someone actually put their dick in you?

15. Do you tip over when you try to wipe your ass?

16. Are you afraid your pussy will never be the same after you shoot a bowling ball out of it? Have you heard of vaginal rejuvenation?

17. Wow, pregnancy suits you. You actually have tits now.

18. The first one is always the hardest. After that they pretty much just slip out.

19. Are you eating for two or two dozen?

20. You already have wide hips so birthing should be easy.

21. Do you mind if I play your belly like a bongo?

22. No matter what anyone tells you those stretch marks never go away.

23. Do you have a glow to you, or is that just the sun shimmering off your body sweat?

24. Your pregnant? Really? Did someone actually do you, or is this some sort of swimming pool accident you can't get rid of for religious reasons?

25. It's triplets, right, gotta be triplets!

26. OOhhhh, you're pregnant? How did that happen? Tell me every detail.

27. LOOK OUT: SURPRISE ABORTION!! (then drop-kick her in the gut)

28. Quaid... Start the reactor! Free Mars!

29. So when do you appear on the Maury Povich show to find out who the father is?

30. What if you get deported before you give birth?

31. Don't you have any other hobbies?

32. How drunk was he?

33. Are you hoping for a retard, a deformed midget, or a pinhead to sell to the circus?

34. You look really swollen in the face, are you retaining fluids?

35. Aren't fat people supposed to be jolly?

36. Don't worry about those stretch marks. They'll look kinda cool... like tiger stripes!

37. Is it yours?

38. Was it planned?

39. Do you think it'll look human, or like you?

40. Are you growing a beard like a billy goat?

All these are mine, and anyone who says they thought of them first is a liar!

I have been watching all this for a while. I will tell Fred and a few other guys out there that just because your wife/girlfriend had an easy time doesn't mean every woman does. I am glad they did. I know many women that their pregnancy and it symptoms are not much of a factor in their daily functioning. Cute little bellies, occasional indigestion, and a little sleepiness from time to time. I wish with all my heart that I could have been one of them. I am a very healthy person when not pregnant but I was EXTREMELY sick all 40 weeks of my first pregnancy, had 3 or 4 MASSIVE nosebleeds a day that lasted at least 20 minutes each (blood running down my face, down the arm holding the tissue, etc. Sorry if TMI), and could barely walk. Everything I ate came back up, even water. Anti-nausea drugs did not work on me and I became so dehydrated at one point that I had to have IV's before I could give the docs a urine sample. I know what it is like to be literally starving and have food put in front of me that the sight/smell makes me run to the toilet to dry heave because I haven't been able to keep anything down in almost a day. It is the most helpless and demoralizing feeling. Not every woman handles pregnancy the same, or even well. I agree a lot of women do complain too much about their pregnancies and yes, it gets on my nerves too. But because we do feel awful while we are pregnant doesn't always mean we are not thankful and in awe of the miracle that is going on inside of us. I am thankful every day for my children and would not change a single moment, because it kept them healthy and perfect.

I had my first at 35, so, no I was not some whiney little girl, considered myself a princess or anything like that. I was not over weight, nor am I now. However, not being able to catch my breath after walking across the house because my baby is in my lungs or dry heaving (if I am lucky) out of the blue while having a conversation in public because he/she at 32 weeks suddenly decides to slam into my stomach does get to you. The babies in my husband's family are 11-14 lbs, and are not always easy to carry. I went through 26 hours of natural childbirth, breastfed for 14 months, and diapered my baby with cloth diapers that *I* washed. I am a well educated woman who has a graduate degree in the science field and I own my own business that allows me to be home with my children where I feel my greatest contribution will be. I love my husband dearly and we love our children with every breath in our bodies. Does that sound like a princess to you?

I was SOOOO happy to be pregnant the first time (planned), and after a miscarriage, I am SOOOO happy at almost 38 to be having have a second within the month. It has been a little easier, mainly because my docs have the experience with me now to know how my body handles pregnancy and how to help me through it. However, this one has not been easy either. Many people around me insist on trying to get me to take it easier and do less than I do, and want to to the babying of me that I do not do myself. I refuse most of it because I am determined to be strong and self sufficient. This will be my last one, and the thought makes me sad, though it is necessary.

As far as the way we feel, have you ever been extremely sick with a stomach virus that has you both puking and sitting on the toilet for hours or days. Have you been so constipated that you had the sweats begging to be able to go because you haven't in almost a week? Are you cheerful during that time? How about if you had to do that for 40 weeks (almost one year)? How would you feel at the end of it? Would you appreciate your life any differently or not feel that you are still thankful for the life you have? How would you feel if you had a 10 lb weight hanging from the end of your private parts while your pelvis was separated and the ends grating together like they were broken every time you stood up and walked. THAT IS WHAT IT IS LIKE. Our hormones do a lot to our systems that is physical, not emotional, and it does not pass in 24 hours or a week. Added to that, we cannot take most medications that you can to make us feel better because 1. they are contra-indicated for pregnancy and 2. because they treat the NORMAL reasons for the symptoms, not the pregnancy related ones (i.e. they don't work).

Unless YOU have been pregnant (male or female), it is really hard to say what it is like to be so. Again, I do not deny that some people complain too much, but you cannot deny, either, that there are a lot of people that have a tough time of it too. Telling them to "get over it", or judging them to be "princesses" is a luxury you have, and actually quite arrogant unless you know the circumstances of their situation. All I ask is that you stop and think before you judge someone who is pregnant and not constantly sun-shiney a princess.

I had no problems with my pregnancy, but a friend of mine had alot of trouble. She had constant heartburn. her doc gave her some medicine for it and told her it was just normal during pregnancy. the heartburn got worse as the pregnancy progressed. at 38weeks, she delivered a healthy 8lb14oz baby girl. her heartburn persisted. at her 6 week post natal checkup, she told her doctor. the doctor gave her some more medicine for heartburn. a few days later she had heartburn worse than she had ever had. her neighbor took her to the hospital. that night, her gall bladder was removed. i saw a pic of it. looked like a huge plate of caviar. (the hospital gave her the pic because they had never seen so many gall stones in one person's gall bladder). when she asked her obgyn if he knew it was that bad he told her that he thought she had the prego-princess syndrome(his slang term for a pregnant hypochondriac).

Your list was on our local morning radio show today.

http://www.markandmercedes.com/home/?eID=1706

Fred, you're an know-it-all, arrogant idiot. STFU.

That is all.

Women, quit whining about being pregnant and what people say to you. Unless you were raped, you are at fault for being pregnant. And you can always get an abortion, since babies are obnoxious anyway. Oh yeah, if someone thinks you're pregnant and you're not, lose some damn weight.