One of the strangest parts about pregnancy for me has been the level of involvement from complete strangers. People see a pregnant lady and feel totally comfortable commenting on her choices (a random lady told me I had no right to give my baby a caffeine buzz when I was actually drinking decaf) or commenting on her body (telling a pregnant lady that she looks like she's about to pop when she actually has two months left to go will result in tears and quite possibly bloodshed) and then there's the touching. Oh the touching. People cannot resist a round, pregnant belly. It is so weird. I've been very "keep yer damn hands off me" throughout this pregnancy. I don't like being groped. Also? My belly hurts. All the damn time. The skin is stretched and painful and itchy. My belly button aches in a way I can't really describe, except to say that it's kind of like that horrible nervy toothache pain. I don't like how my belly feels most of the time so I certainly don't need people all up on it making it feel worse.
That being said, when I visited my 95-year old grandma in the retirement home yesterday (the 95-year old grandma who had a stroke a few months ago and who had us all worried about her chances) and she patted / rubbed / cupped / pointed out to her friends and various retirement home employees as my "condition" / kissed my belly? It wasn't weird or creepy at all. You guys, my grandma is going to get to meet my kid. How cool is that?
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Grandma meeting your kid *is* totally awesome.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have NO CLUE how you've made it through the touching and nosy comments without shanking someone.
I'm so glad your grandma will get to meet Willie!
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you handle the touching thing, either. I have a hard enough time with people touching me NOW, and I'm not even pregnant (yes, I have issues). I'm sure I'll be a heinous bitch if I ever get knocked up and people try to touch me. LOL.
I love this. And I'm also jealous about your grandma getting to meet your little man - that's so amazing.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I don't think I will handle the 'touching' very well either!
aw that is just precious. i really hope my grandma is still alive when i have kids one day too, it's just so special to share that.
ReplyDeleteYay for Grandma's meeting babies! That is seriously amazing and makes me happy to read! :)
ReplyDeleteI think I want to not get pregnant just to avoid the unnecessary comments and touching.
ReplyDeleteBut I want to be a mom soon so that my grandparents can meet my kids. I get it.
Once you have kids, people think you are fair game to make random comments about anything and everything. I'd liek to tell you that it gets better as they grow up but, nope.
ReplyDeleteSO excited about your Granny. I can't wait to see the photos of her and Willie. :)
Even if I were your real life friend instead of your virtual friend and we lived close enough to hang out, I'd still only give you virtual belly pats. :)
ReplyDeleteNo seriously, what do you ACTUALLY say to people when they touch your belly unsolicitedly? (That's a word right? Shut up.) If you actually tell them to keep their damn hands off you, you're my hero. And if you don't, I'm curious what you do say. I mean, is there even a polite way to tell people to keep their hands to themselves?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, being touched by people (including family) is one of my biggest fears about my personal reactions to being pregs. I'm not a toucher, or much of a hugger. So even now, not pregnant, it makes me uncomfortable.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for not getting stabby!
I know - somehow pregnancy makes strangers feel comfortable telling you what to do, think, etc. I don't think people actually realize how close pregnant women are to homicide most of the time.
ReplyDeleteSo stoked your Gramma will get to meet Willie. That's so awesome.
ReplyDeleteAwesome that Grams gets to meet Willie!!!! So exciting that she is super excited for you too.
ReplyDeleteHave you tried using Bio-oil on your belly? Adena used that and said it was awesome for the pain of the stretchiness & stretch marks too.
(PS sorry for my unsolicited advice :P at least I am not a stranger!)
love!
Eight weeks before Walt was born a clerk at the grocery store told me she could tell me that I was due ANY DAY NOW because of the way MY FACE LOOKED and that she was good with these things. Eight weeks!
ReplyDeleteThen I shanked her.
True story.
Touch them back! Invade their space a little! My wife dealt with the same touchy feely crap and when she started touching everyone back, it all stopped dead in the water. You'll feel weird doing it, but you don't feel as weird as some random stranger, or family member for that matter, rubbing your belly...
ReplyDeleteI'm totally with you about strangers and pregnancy. It's so presumptuous to assume you're pregnant in the first place (could be a tumor!) let alone to invade your space. I had all sorts of smart things to say to anyone who touched my belly, but I guess I gave off the Keep Off vibes enough that no one came near me.
ReplyDeletePS - Don't forget to get a multi-generational photo with grandma - that's really cool!
I HATE any pregnancy related phrase with the word "pop" in it.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised at how few people wanted to touch my belly, I didn't even think I'd mind it.
And yay for great-grandmas!
I HATE any pregnancy related phrase with the word "pop" in it.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised at how few people wanted to touch my belly, I didn't even think I'd mind it.
And yay for great-grandmas!