What NOT to Say to a Pregnant Woman

I am currently 8 month pregnant, and as a pregnant woman I am TRULY shocked by the things family and even complete strangers feel they can say to pregnant woman. It is like people lose any filter they normally have, and just say whatever pops into their minds. The following is a list of real things people have said to me or other people I know while they were pregnant.

1. "Are you feeling fat yet?" Seriously? Are you saying that I look fat? Would you ask someone who isn't pregnant this? No? Okay, then don't ask a pregnant woman this. Ever.
2. "Are you sure there aren't two in there?" This picture says it all... 
3. "Wow! You are huge!" There again, if you wouldn't say it to someone who isn't pregnant, don't say it to a pregnant woman either. Size can be a sensitive thing for a pregnant woman. Avoid saying anything about her size, even if you think her belly is small. A lot of woman whose body types hide pregnancy well are just as self conscious about their size as woman who start showing at 8 weeks. 
4. "Can I touch your belly? Will the baby kick for me?" The baby probably won't kick you, but I can't promise I won't... Unless you are really, really close to the pregnant lady this is probably not a good question. Most people like their personal space. That goes double for a protective mama-to-be.
5. "Wait! You aren't due until when???" Yeah, she knows exactly how much longer she has to go. Saying this makes her think that she must look huge, and she is probably already worried what she will look like in the next couple of weeks or months. 
6. "Did you hear about the Duggar chick who was in labor for 70 hours and still had to have a c-section?" I am sure that most pregnant woman are nervous enough about labor without hearing more worst case scenarios. Leave conversations about possible scenarios to the doctors. This includes stories about the mother or baby dying or being in critical condition.
7. "I hope the baby doesn't have his dad's head! Ouch!" Trust me, that thought already crossed her mind, and terrified her. 
8. "How haven't you had that baby yet?" She knows exactly how far along she is, and if anyone is ready for that baby to come, it is the momma. I mean, she is the one who is waking up three times a night to pee, because a baby is jumping on her bladder.    
9. "How often do you have to pee?" All the freaking time. How about you? Oh, you think that is gross to ask? Me too!
10. "Enjoy your sleep while you can. Once that baby comes, you won't sleep ever again." But I can't sleep now... Between the number of times she wakes up to go to the bathroom at night and the fact that she can't get comfortable in any position, sleep is foreign already and she doesn't want to worry about the lack of sleep cause by a new baby right now. 
11. "Was this a planned pregnancy or an accident?" That is a little bit personal, don't you think? Either way, I don't think God would say it was an accident.
12. "I wish I had an excuse to eat whatever I want, whenever I want too!" Yeah, it is great. I love not drinking soda, most sea foods, or sandwich meats. I also love counting  my veggie servings and trying to eat 90 grams of protein in a day.
13. "When will you guys try for another?" Can we find out if we even like this one before signing up for another? Seriously though, we are going to take this one pregnancy at a time...

37 weeks...almost

On Thursday, I will reach the 37 week mark! That might sound like just another random week, but it isn't. For some reason that is the milestone they like you to reach at least before having the baby. At 37 weeks, your baby is still considered a preemie, but I guess risks are dramatically lowered. It just takes away some of the anxiety for me to reach that mark. Obviously it is better for the baby to wait until "full term" (aka at least 39 weeks) so that her lungs and brain can develop more fully, so we aren't giving her the eviction notice yet... But boy, am I ready to be done with being pregnant.

36 and 1/2 weeks

(Pretty sweet tan line from last Labor Day haha)

At this point our baby should be about 6 1/3 pounds and just over 19 inches long. I can definitely tell that she is running out of room. I feel like I am still getting bigger and bigger all the time, but I guess not fast enough for her. Most of the the time, you can tell exactly where she is. Her little booty is constantly sticking straight out, causing my belly to look more like a torpedo than a basketball.

I am finding that I have some days where all I want to do is sleep and even eating is a tremendously tasking chore. Luckily, nesting mode has set in hard core. It almost overrides the tiredness. Almost. Some days I get more done in that one day than I could have managed in the whole first trimester. I am organizing and reorganizing everything. I am driving Eric a little crazy. Poor guy. He will get home from work and just want to relax with me... But I can't until the dishes or whatever other mess in my line of sight is taken care of.

The biggest problem with nesting though is that I am soo big that I can't always tackle the jobs I feel are important. For example, I am not suppose to stand on chairs, and Eric doesn't think standing on a step stool is any better, so I couldn't reorganizing the kitchen cabinets when I was home alone. Trying to do laundry is a joke now too. I may or may not have used kitchen tongs to get some socks from the bottom of the washing machine the other day. I have been very proud of myself though for not letting nitty gritty cleaning jobs from driving me crazy. Normally dust behind the toliet or dirt on the floor boards would drive me insane once I noticed, but I have just been doing what I can with those tasks my belly makes nearly impossible and figuring that it can be hard core taken care of eventually. Luckily, Eric is amazing and helps out A TON. Instead of getting frustrated when I ask him to do something I can't (and to be honest, he doesn't find particularly important), he usually just laughs and does it. You should have seen his face the first time I asked him to buckle my sandals for me, but hey, he did it. The only problem was that he wasn't home when I needed to take them off... 

One of the best things about Eric is that he reminds me constantly that even on days when I literally accomplish nothing, that I am doing something important and important things are rarely easy. I am sure he would prefer it if I cooked more, and if he didn't come home regularly to dishes waiting for him (Some days I still can't manage the smell or grossness of them), but he tells me that it is just fine. He also tells me about three times a day that he finds my pregnant belly adorable. Thank goodness he does, because sometimes (especially at night when I need to get out of bed to go to the bathroom for the umpteenth time) I just feel like a beached whale or like the photo below.

Anyways, that is it for now. My next post will hopefully include pictures of our baby. :)