Current Top 3 Pregnancy Pet Peeves

Everyone knows that during pregnancy, we’re all a bit more sensitive and there are things that bother us a bit more now. These are my current top three pet peeves (I’m sure the list will grow as my stomach grows).

1. One thing that drives me nuts is people touching my stomach, or asking to and not even waiting for an answer. I’m sorry but who gave you the right to touch me? Just because there is a baby growing in a belly does not give you the right to touch someone. I normally hate being touched to begin with as I am super sensitive, so, please, unless I tell you to do so, do not touch my stomach or any other pregnant woman’s stomach. It doesn’t matter if you’re family or friends (especially a random stranger!), always ask and wait for a response. If you see that they’re hesitant or uneasy at all, just don’t do it. Some moms may feel guilted into it and even though they’ve said yes, they’re still uncomfortable with it. You wouldn’t go up to someone and just pat their stomach now would you? Growing a baby shouldn’t change that, and the same goes for when the baby is born. Do not touch people’s babies without their permission. They are so much more susceptible to diseases and sicknesses that you unknowingly carry around with you all of the time. Respect the parents’ wishes and their baby’s health. I just know that the belly touching will drive me crazy as I get bigger. It hasn’t happened too much yet, as I’m not showing much, which leads me to my next pet peeve.
   
2. As you may or may not know, I am a first time mom or FTM in the pregnancy community. As a FTM my uterine muscles are tighter and don’t stretch as easily. I also have a long torso which gives my uterus more space to grow in, and a retroverted uterus (which essentially means that my uterus tilts backward instead of leaning forward). All of this adds up to me not showing much. I’m twenty weeks currently and I have a small bump. I can certainly see the difference, especially when I look at pictures from before, but there are many who don’t see it yet. I’ve been able to hide it from my students, but that’s because the school uniforms that we have to wear aren’t form fitting at all, and I always wear a sweater on top of it as well. What’s happening now is that people have known I’m pregnant for quite some time now, and I feel like they expect a huge bump from me. I’m not due til April, so sorry folks that’s not happening yet. It frustrates and upsets me though when people say I don’t look pregnant at all or when they say something like, “Where’s the bump? There’s no baby there. Are you sure you’re even pregnant?” That last comment really gets to me. My anxiety is already high enough to begin with. I do not need you to make me stress more or make me feel bad about not having a bump. I cannot control how big my bump is, and even though I am twenty weeks it is still hard to process that I’m pregnant. It’s still early; give my stomach time to expand. The doctor told me that she is measuring perfectly and is right in the smack dab middle of average size and weight (a long sweet potato and 12 oz).
   
3. Another pet peeve that I know might sound silly to some is when people ask me how the baby is. Unless I have just had an ultrasound that day, I cannot tell you. There is no window into my uterus. I cannot see what is going on in there. Trust me, I wish I knew. More than likely, everything is good, but the fact that I can’t answer for sure and that it’s something I’m constantly worrying about. I wish I had an at home ultrasound machine so I could constantly check on her to let you and myself know. I do have an at home fetal doppler so that I can hear her heartbeat, and that helps relieve some of my anxiety, but that doesn’t tell me how she’s developing. It’ll be easier once she is a bit bigger and I can feel her more clearly. At the moment it’s still hard to differentiate her movements from gas. I know that people mean well when they ask me this, but it just stresses me out more.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely loving being pregnant, and I am beyond happy. We are only human though, and we all have pet peeves. What about you? If you’re pregnant can you relate? Or how did you feel when you were pregnant? What are or were some of your pet peeves?