I must be huge!

I know people mean well, and most are just trying to make conversation, but we as a society have got to come up with more tactful things to say to a very pregnant woman. Why every person I pass in the hall feels obligated to make comments such as, “Wow, you’re huge!”, “You look like you’re about to pop!”, and “You still haven’t had that baby yet?!” is beyond me. To be fair, I DO look like I’m about to pop. Thirty-nine weeks is VERY pregnant. But on the other hand, I have been getting some of these comments since I was a good 6 weeks or more away from my due date. There are not many things more disheartening than to hear, “So, any day now?” when you are only 7 months pregnant.

Now, I probably was guilty of these types of borderline insults in the past, but now that they are directed toward me at 39 weeks gestation (or earlier), I know that they for the most part do NOT make a pregnant woman feel good about herself. More often than not, they just make her feel fat. And for a society that tip-toes so carefully around saying anything that might make anyone feel bad about themselves, why do we make this exception for pregnant women? As I am finding out from personal experience, pregnant women do not like to be told they are fat more than all the other women. Maybe we should try more flattering comments such as, “My, you are looking great today. I can’t believe your due date is coming up so fast!” You just might get a real smile out of her, rather than the stiffening of her upper lip as she braces herself against the onslaught.

I can’t help but notice that many of the birth weight guesses in our baby pool are over 9 lbs, and at least half the guesses are over 8 lbs. How am I to interpret this, especially when I notice that the same people are guessing that the baby will come about on time, if not a few days early?… I must be huge! Okay, so it’s a just a fun game, and we definitely have friends who like to be extreme. But what about the prediction for a 10 lb 3 oz baby to be born tomorrow? Or the 15 lb 9 oz baby to come next week??? Do these friends of ours wish me harm? Of course not, I try to tell myself, they are only being silly. *Sigh* I don’t know… maybe it’s just hard to have a sense of humor about things at 39 weeks.

So the moral is, next time you see a very pregnant woman waddling along, minding her own business (probably heading toward the bathroom for the fifth time in 45 minutes), try not to verbally assault her. Just be nice.