Now that I am just about 24 weeks along I am definitely looking more and more pregnant these days. Enough that people who don't even know me are starting to make comments, particularly patients in the ER. Not that I mind, they are usually nice things, such as; Congratulations! Boy or Girl? How exciting! Is this your first? That sort of thing. Last night however I got a few comments that caught me off guard.
The first one was a lady who asked me when I was due, I said December. She said "Oh I know someone who is due in December. She's a lot smaller than you are though." She tells me this just as I am about to stick an IV in her arm. Not smart lady! I said gee thanks, that was really nice of you to say. Of course I said this with only a hint of sarcasm, since I was at work and all. She immediately realized what she said and tried to fix it by saying "Oh I didn't mean anything offensive by that, I just meant that she was very small before she got pregnant." Oh, that makes me feel so much better, thanks for clarifying! (Of course I didn't actually say that.)
So later on during the night, or actually early this morning a 16 year old girl comes in who was assaulted by her boyfriend. She asks me if I am expecting. I tell her yes. (Duh? at this point it's sort of a rhetorical question, esp after the other patient told me how big I was.) She then proceeds to tell me how hard it is going to be, way harder than I think, life will never be the same... etc..etc.... Wait is this 16 year old girl really giving me advice on having a baby? I soon find out that yes she is, and yes she is talking from experience, she had a baby when she was just 15 years old. Poor girl, no wonder it's hard, your still a kid yourself, and clearly not in a good living situation.
I always imagined when I was growing up that I'd be done having kids by the time I was 30. Of course back then 30 seemed really old! It doesn't so much anymore, thankfully. Anyway, here I am 30 and just now having my first baby. I guess I should count my blessings, it sure beats being 30 and having my first baby already in drivers ed.
7 comments:
you look very cute. don't let anyone tell you otherwise. just wait...people LOVE to give advice to pregnant women...it will get worse.
I agree... I was just telling my boss today that while I may not have much right now, I'd rather be 27 and single then 27 and divorced with 3 (or more) kids...
Again, I'm blessed.
Well, I've finally realized how backwards I ended up doing things. I wish I had gone to school in my 20's and started with kids in my 30's
I truly believe that people don’t mean anything bad by their inconsiderate comments; they just don’t seem to think them through before uttering. The ones I hated most were food related “Do you really think you should be eating this?”, “Is this tuna sandwich really good for the baby?” – it felt like suddenly everyone thought they have a right to comment on my diet.
Well, you definitely handled that situation with tact. Good for you. And I hope you enjoy every minute of your pregnancy. Congrats on your baby!
What's bad is how much worse the comments get. And I agree that people don't mean anything by them, but for some reason, people feel like it is perfectly ok to say anything they want to you when you are pregnant. Towards the end, people will tell you all the awful stories they know about labor...which is so comforting. :)
I bet you look great. I love being able to hide in my scrubs. I hate it when I have to put on any other clothes!
The worst comments (but then again, endearing) came from my students. One 7th grade boy timidly raised his hand after looking at me quite puzzled for over a week. I was about 6 months pregnant by then, and very big. He said, with his face all scrunched up in true confusion, "I thought when you were pregnant only your belly got bigger?" Ay yay yay! I thought I'd learned from that incident and then strictly enforced the SPANISH ONLY rule in my classroom. One girl, also a 7th grader, found her way around that one, even with her limited language skills... "En septiembre usted... Muy, MUY pequena. (They hadn't learned the past tense yet, and I was a size 6 before getting pregnant.)Ahora usted es muy, MUY grande (said with true alarm and fear as she looked at me). ?Como en septiembre el bebe no esta mas en usted? (hadn't learned the future tense yet, either)" I then replied, quite simply with a smile, "!Drogas! Muchas drogas buenas!" and everyone cracked up.
Good luck and enjoy it!!!
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