by Charity Buntz

Created on: October 17, 2008

The best one for me is when people think they are giving you a compliment by saying, "you don't even look pregnant." Oh great, so I always look this fat! Most pregnant women, especially first-timers, want to look pregnant. As soon as we start gaining weight, we wish we could wear a sign that says, "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant!" so that everyone knows.

And why is it that people always think they can give pregnant women unsolicited advice? You wouldn't walk up to a drunk at the bar and start giving them the 3rd degree about the effect of alcohol on their liver, yet you stop every pregnant woman with a diet coke and tell them they shouldn't have caffeine. Well, we will have you know that you don't have to eliminate EVERYTHING from your diet. Sure, stop smoking and no drinking or drugs. But let a girl have a chocolate bar, please!

Oh yeah, and the belly rubbing. Everyone thinks a pregnant woman is just a free pass to feel her up. If you never touched my belly before I got pregnant, don't touch it now! And please, don't put your hand on my stomach and wait for the baby to kick for 5 minutes. If I want you to feel it, I will let you know when she's kicking! They don't do it on demand and sleep almost just as much in the womb as they do when they are born.

My husband and I didn't decide on a name until I was about 8 months pregnant so people were hassling us all the time. And when they find out you haven't picked a name, they spend 10 minutes trying to sell you on the idea of naming your baby after them. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to name my baby after my husbands long-lost drunk buddy from high school named Melvin! My mom also got in on this and asked up to name the baby after her. Her first name is slightly outdated and her middle name is overused. What's wrong with wanting to give your baby a unique, individual name that's just for them anyway? I could just see it now, if I named the first one after my mom, his family would certainly expect the second one to be named after them. I didn't feel like starting a family feud!

So please, next time you see a pregnant woman, consider her feelings. Pregnant women spend almost 10 months being tired, sick, aching and all around moody. The last thing we need is something other than our huge pregnant bellies keeping us awake at night. Just give us a hug and tell us we look great. Not "great considering we're pregnant," just great!

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