Last October, I raised some eyebrows with my post about Why New Moms Need a New Reality Check, and I think some of you thought I might not appreciate my kiddos … or perhaps that I might not fully appreciate the beauty of being a parent.
So, you won’t be shocked that I’m the one writing about how annoying some people can be while you’re pregnant. You know you’ve met them. Those people that comment on how big you are “already,” or the ones that give you nothing but bad news (something I was accused of back in October).
How do you handle these people? Kill ‘em with kindness (as my dad has always told me).
People that try to touch your belly. I hate this. People that come up and just touch your belly because you’re pregnant. Like your new baby is some sort of communal property. You can either ask politely or grin and bear it. If you want to be snarky, you can always threaten to bite someone’s hand off.
Those people that just “drop by.” I don’t know if this ever gets better. Even with a toddler, we still have people that drop-in unannounced, which makes me crazy. Our rule when L was born was very strict: no one was allowed to come to the hospital and no one was allowed to come to the house when we got home, until we invited the. Thankfully, they listened … not willingly, mind you. But they did.
Know-it-alls. Well, we know these people. These are the ones that will give you the parenting advice you never knew you wanted or needed. Here’s the deal: you will always run into these people. And there’s no point in arguing. If someone believes they are right, they won’t change their position.
Instead, you just need to tell people that you and your partner are happy with the choices you’ve made … whether that means breastfeeding, birthing, or just plain nursery colors.
photo credit: ec-jpr
