Two amusing exchanges in the past seven days:
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I am at the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Will. The pharmacist asks, "Are you having a boy or a girl?"
Girl, I say.
"Oh, that's what I thought! Because you're carrying so small!"
(Puzzled look from me...since she's never seen me before).
"How far along are you? [...pause...] Seven months?"
Chuckle from me. Six, I tell her (and really, I'm just at the beginning of six).
"Oh!"
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I get into a taxi cab on my way to work (I am strongly supporting the taxi industry these days).
"I don't mean to be rude, ma'am, but are you pregnant?"
Yes.
Much information and excitement about this gentleman's eight grandchildren....the youngest of whom is three months.
"When are you due? [...pause...] Next month?"
October. (and really, the end of October).
Much excitement and talk ensues from taxi driver about pumpkins, which is perhaps what it looks like I am carrying.
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I will post a picture soon so you can draw your own conclusions about my potential hugeness.
Mo
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I bet you're not huge at all. People just underestimate how big pregnant women are at different stages.
ReplyDeleteThough it was pretty weird when a woman last summer saw me on a subway platform and said, "Let me guess, you're 6 months? Due beginning of October?" and she was completely right.
I'm so excited for you! The summer will go fast and then little Magpie will be here :)
Can't wait to see! :-) It is funny what people say. I would hear in the same day, "You're carrying so small!" and "Oooh, you're getting so big!" For me, it was a big deal when my belly FINALLY stuck out further than my huge boobs.
ReplyDeleteGlad you're supporting our city's cabbies. xoxo
The most astonishing thing to me when I took Yoga for Pregnant People was how different our bodies were with due dates right around the same time.
ReplyDeleteBut why strangers feel the need to comment on the bodies of pregnant women is really fascinating....
Ha! I love that you are getting to enjoy the excitement of grandfatherly taxi drivers as they contemplate your new addition.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I both enjoyed and hated when people commented on how small/big I was. I'm just glad you are getting to experience it all...wait till people start TOUCHING your belly!
ReplyDeleteI found the second comment weird for I don't think someone could guess a difference between 6th and 7th month, but perhaps it was just that, a guessing game. i was bigger at 4th month with first one than a friend of mine at 9th month with her second. Go figure !
ReplyDeleteI love it! Being pregnant really does get you a lot of attention, doesn't it? And people get so excited. I've been getting all the early questions...how are you feeling? Are you hoping for a boy or a girl? Are you showing yet? I'm so glad that you have big (or not) pregnant belly out there that is getting attention...you deserve all the excitement surrounding being pregnant. Even if some of it might make you feel insecure. I say, wear that belly (small or large) with much pride. Which I'm sure you are doing anyway. I can't wait to see a picture!
ReplyDeleteI get the same thing! I'm 35 weeks and have felt pretty huge since 24 weeks or so. Half the people comment on how small I am, the other half think I'm due tomorrow. The funny thing is I'm measuring about 4 weeks ahead (fundal height) and the baby is 4-5 weeks ahead. So yeah, those who say I'm small are obviously crazy.
ReplyDeleteHeheheh. I honestly think people just like talking about it because it gives them a few minutes in your happy-pregnant-lady space, and for the most part, I think people just like thinking about babies.
ReplyDeleteI thought you looked lovely, and pretty much the perfect size. Pregnant enough that you LOOK pregnant, but not so pregnant that you look like that baby's coming in THIS taxi ride.
And I really don't think most people have any real idea how enormous a full-term belly really is. I certainly didn't. I STILL have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact of my hugeness two years ago, and I was THERE, experiencing every second of it.
Enjoy the attention--I really do think most people just want to talk 'baby' when they get the chance because the idea of a baby (at least in the abstract) makes them happy.
And, btw, you look lovely, truly! Not just "you're pregnant, so you're beautiful", but you are one pretty, pregnant lady. I hope you're taking lots of photos!
the contrast between the two is hilarious. People like to think they know what they're talking about when they don't. I'm glad you can find that charming (as it was with your cab driver).
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to that belly pic.
Two things not to say to a pregnant woman... "You are so big for --- weeks!" "You are so small for --- weeks!"
ReplyDeleteBoth are libel to make her feel bad or worried. I am sure you're the perfect size. I was told both how big and small I was during the same pregnancy.
Standing up versus sitting always makes a huge difference, even when you're not pregnant.
ReplyDeleteLOL! People just love to talk to pregnant ladies and saying all sorts of random stiff. It is like you are a walking pregnant Roschach test. :)
ReplyDeleteJust came across your blog. I am currently in the infertility/IVF shuffle. Its always nice to hear I'm not alone. Good luck to you!
ReplyDelete-Ashley Rimini
www.recentlyrimini.blogspot.com
I am short-waisted and always looked enormous. Got asked if I was having twins a lot (even the first time, before my abs got to be like a deflated-reinflated-deflated-reinflated balloon ... the pg where I weighed 116 the day I got my bfp). Whatever.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you are gorgeous.
Speaking of gorgeous ... are you going to have any pregnancy pics done? Is that too fraught? Or not your style (I never did it myself ... I am crazy camera shy)? Also ... I know this might feel like too much spitting in the wind, but ... have you thought about nosing around for photographers for newborn pics? (If I were closer, I would so volunteer. I should email you some of the cards I've done using tinyprints.com -- highly recommend them) I just mention it/plant a seed because ... those early weeks are are so damn exhausting. I regret that I didn't make arrangements and that I don't have more photos of that special time. I tend to blow off hiring pros because I have some chops myself. But in retrospect ... I was always so tired and hormonal ... those wee baby days got away from me every time. The announcements are great to plan ahead, too. Not even so much to show off, but as a keep sake. Years later, I look back on the ones I did and I love them to death. The first time out, though, I missed out completely because I didn't plan it ahead enough and it got swallowed in the postpartum procrastination haze. I'm sorry if this is an insensitive or nosey suggestion. It's just that you've worked so hard for this. And yet it will still go by SO fast. Make sure you look out for preserving your memories, is all. ;-)
BTW, just so you know ... you could post three times a day and I would never get sick of reading your happiness. It makes my day every time.
I realize it can get annoying, but isn't it simply lovely to be visibly pregnant enough for strangers to notice? Yes, awkward and all of that, but oh my word, what constant validation after infertility!
ReplyDeleteEven with carrying HOM, I'd sometimes be focusing on something else and sort of "forgetting" that I was visibly pregnant to others. Even though there were *plenty* of truly awkard interactions, it always left me with a feeling of, "Yep. Definitely still overwhelmingly and completely pregnant!" I'm excited about seeing your next belly pic, Mo. By the way, how are Will and Moxie doing?
That's awesome... I'm looking forward to all that sudden randomness from strangers, someday soon hopefully!
ReplyDeleteI'm southern and we typically are less outspoken... but I was taught that you never acknowledge a lady's pregnancy unless she, herself, has mentioned it or unless you see her crowning. And you never say, "you're getting so big!" instead you say, "my goodness, your baby sure is growing!".
ReplyDeleteI'm just so excited that you're still pregnant! Let that little pumpkin cook all the way until October!
It seems like people want to say SOMEthing, but that something can be a little awkward.
ReplyDeleteAmusing, though!
As others have mentiond, I suspect all the workd (or so it seems) likes to comment on or make note of a pregnant woman's belly so they can share in the joy. No one ever commented on my belly with anythign but a smile. A sympathetic smile sometimes, as in "Do you know what you're in for?" But always a smile.
ReplyDeleteI know I would smile if I ran into you, too.
I was huge, and loved the complete lack of ambiguity once I got that big. I did not look heavy, I looked poppingly pregnant. I bet you do too! LOVING the magpie updates, and the Mo updates, and LOVING with every breath your amazing pregnant self. How incredibly wonderfully great. Hot damn, I say. Hot damn.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Kate
I never dare ask anybody if they're pregnant, no matter how much they look it! It was one of the things that always surprised me, how early people do start asking.
ReplyDeleteWith my daughter, I looked enormous. I'm not sure how much of that was because it was all belly--I had no swelling nor put on weight anywhere else--and the fact that I'm so short to start with.
It was a little weird because I still had plenty of energy at the end and had no problems getting around, aside from severe pins and needles as my pelvis loosened, but people seemed gobsmacked that I wasn't falling flat on my face all the time.
I have to admit... it was kind of fun to get those reactions though. Glad you're getting that same experience. And gosh, six months already?
Yay for being huge! That means Magpie is getting bigger and that's all that matters! Go get a large milkshake and rest it on your belly while you drink through the straw. (If you're not there yet, you're not HUGE). Xoxo.
ReplyDeleteBig or small, it doesn't matter. YOU ARE PREGNANT! And carrying your beautiful little girl. I'm so stoked. Yeah for reaching milestones! xoxo
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing these comments throughout both pregnancies, I've decided the only thing to say to pregnant women is "You look great!" or "You look just right for how far along you are." No one I know has a degree in baby bump size, so I don't need anyone's opinion on it.
ReplyDeleteSo funny. I got the gamet of responses to my belly also. I carried my boy like a girl (all over) and my girl like a boy (right out front)...so there was always a whole bunch of nay sayers out there just convinced we were wrong...Oh well...sometimes it was fun...sometimes annoying...but all the time just happy to have the experience. I chuckle when I hear stuff like this. Now that I have been on both sides....I never comment about size...I tell every pregnant womany she looks great and that I am thrilled for her blessings. It kind of catches them off guard...I think they don't get many positive, neutral comments that don't try to infer some sort of "knowing" insight.
ReplyDeleteI'm just so happy you are getting the chance to experience all the silliness that comes with this....
kd
Really, I'm sure you just look lovely. And unambiguously pregnant, which is just so cool that I can't stop smiling. Every time I read your updates I am happy.
ReplyDelete