So, when's the due date? This is one question that's definitely going to make an expectant mom nuts – at least right now. Small things often drive expectant moms crazy, and it’s no wonder why. Their feet feel like balloons, their belly is swelling and their moods range from borderline Disney princess in a meadow to full on raging. That’s not to mention the aching boobs, sore back and the gas, oh dear God the gas.
Mama's growing an entire other human being inside her body. Shouldn’t that mean that everyone around her cuts her some slack? Or at the very least, shouldn’t they avoid doing all of those little annoying things that make her want to scream? After all, she's eating for two, sleeping for two and apparently feeling emotions for two.
Okay, not everyone is going to tiptoe around an expectant woman. After all, it’s not like she's the first pregnant mama to walk the Earth (and reading that probably drove some women crazy too!) Most expectant moms feel like they're a bit sensitive when it comes to – well, everything.
Hey, no one's alone here. Lots of preggo’s also go a bit bonkers when it comes to certain, um, comments, actions and otherwise annoying things that other people do. Sure, a woman's emotions are on high alert during pregnancy. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel like the world’s working against her. Even the seemingly small things that wouldn’t mean much to the pre-pregnancy her are allowable annoyances now.
What drives expectant moms absolutely nuts? Check out the top during-pregnancy crazy-makers!
15 Any Comment On How She Looks
Aww, so sweet! Or, not. It’s typically a totally innocent comment. Yes, you are getting a bit bigger. You have a baby growing inside of you – and it’s making your belly swell. Yeah, you are ever so aware of your bulging bump. Every time you squeeze yourself into a pair of maternity jeans or look at a pre-baby pic of yourself, you start feeling like a whale.
So, you absolutely, positively don’t need anyone reminding you about your growing size.
Here’s the thing, a comment such as, “Wow you’re big!” or, “I can’t believe that your belly is so huge now!” typically isn’t meant to be mean (and if it is, that’s much more than annoying -- it’s wrong). Even though your co-worker doesn’t intentionally want to call you fat, that’s what you’re hearing.
It doesn’t matter whether you see a SI swimsuit model with a beach ball under her shirt or a female sumo wrestler when you look in the mirror, the words “You’re so big now” will drive any mama-to-be crazy.
14 Men, Need We Say More
Seriously. They don’t understand you. Some of them try. And, that’s kind of cute. But, when it comes down to it – no man can ever really, truly know what it’s like to be pregnant.
So, what about men drives expectant moms crazy? Well, kind of everything. Not trying to empathize with you will make you nuts (and probably make you yell, “Care more!” in some sort of mega rage). Then again, over-emphasizing might also make you want to scream.
You know that your baby-daddy, male co-worker, dad, uncle or best guy friend could never, ever possibly get just how alien you feel as a soon-to-be mommy. And that makes you nuts.
Saying nothing makes you want to scream. But, saying that he understands why you’re so emotional or that his feet hurt too will also make you equally as crazy. He knows there’s pretty much no getting it right. And, if he doesn’t, he’ll learn quickly.
13 Celebrity Moms
Hmm, okay so not every celebrity mom is a crazy-maker. There are plenty of actresses, singers and models (maybe not so many models) who get pregnant, get huge and act like real, regular ol’ mamas. But, sometimes the “we’re just like you” bit isn’t exactly cutting it.
You click on the latest headlines on your fave gossip site, and see that some pregnancy celebrity is whining about her massive baby weight gain. Then you look at the pics and see a size 0 with a teeny, tiny little grapefruit on her belly. And, she’s two months ahead of you in her pregnancy too. Grrr!
Along with the visual angle, you’re also finding yourself annoyed at how unrealistic the so-called real celeb mamas are. Their baby showers cost more than your first house did and they have closets filled with mini designer duds for baby (your own clothes don’t even cost that much). Ugh! Couldn’t there be a celebrity who grows into a size 12, shops at Target and doesn’t have an entourage of nannies?
12 Belly Touchers
You’re pregnant and suddenly it seems like your baby belly is public property. Never in your pre-preggo life would a stranger walk up to you rub your stomach and expect to get away with it. No way! You’d totally file harassment charges. But, when that baby belly pops, everyone thinks touching it is a-okay.
Sure, most of the time it’s completely innocent. More often than not the “toucher” is a kindly grandma who just wants to re-live her own younger years or is so over the moon about babies that she wants to cuddle them whenever – even if they’re still on the inside. But, occasionally you get that random creepy guy (or gal) who you just want to go away.
And, sometimes you just want to tell the rest of the world that your body is yours. Having a baby in there shouldn’t make it alright for anyone to reach out and touch you.
11 Maternity Bras
Oh, they’re so comfortable. Really, you feel like you’re wearing a t-shirt under your t-shirt. But, it’s a supportive one. So, how can these comfy, cozy, supportive bras make you crazy?
Well, the first part of the make-you-nuts equation is that you have to get something that’s actually called a “maternity bra.” Not, just a bra. It’s a maternity bra – specially made for these three trimesters. Will you ever wear it again? Maybe. Maybe not.
The next thing that’s making you crazy is the lack of sexiness. Yep, you’re officially a mom now. You might as well throw a man-sized sweatshirt over that maternity bra, because nothing is making it look any better. It’s flesh-colored, massive, has straps that are wider than the average human foot and doesn’t even have hint of lace or a cute little bow. It’s basic and doesn’t make you feel feminine at all.
10 Online Opinions
What has social media turned us into? There used to be a time when our frenemies simply snarked behind our backs. But, now they go online and comment and post to their hearts’ content.
Parenting isn’t easy. You don’t need “friends” (who aren’t actually your real-life friends) putting you down before the baby’s even born. You comment on a link to an article about pregnancy. Suddenly there are 50 responses all grilling you on your opinions and saying that you shouldn’t be a mother. Whoa!
Maybe in your non-pregnancy state you could let the social media comments roll off your shoulders. Now that you’re expecting, you just can’t. Every reply, response and repost annoys you. Above that, it makes you into a completely cranky mom-to-be. That’s completely understandable. You don’t need someone else judging you (and your parenting skills). You’ll have plenty of that in the years to come. Why start the social media judgment now?
9 Tall Shelves
Who would have thought that reaching a bag of chips from the highest shelf at the grocery store would irk you so very much? Pre-pregnancy you just stepped up onto your tippy toes, got into some sort of yoga-like pose and stretched yourself until the tops of your fingers could grab the bag. Now that you’re expecting, that baby bump is totally getting in the way.
You reach your arm up, but start feeling off balance. That’s the shift in your sense of gravity. Hey, that bulging bump on the front of you isn’t helping you to stay steady. It’s throwing off your balance, making seemingly small and simple tasks terribly troubling. No doubt, this annoys you to no end. So, you’re forced to bring a friend shopping or ask a total stranger for help reaching the top shelf.
The same goes for your at-home reaching. The bath towels that are usually within your reach are suddenly not so easy to get to. With the bump in the way, you’re constantly feeling slightly smaller (at least, when it comes to getting anything off of tall shelves).
8 Low Shelves
Yeah, those tall shelves kind of suck. But, so do the low ones too. You can’t reach up, and you can’t reach down. If only everything could be at belly level your life would be perfect. Kind of. Well, that’s not the only thing that would make preggo life better. But, it would totally help you to stay a bit saner – especially during your last trimester.
Now that you can’t bend at the middle, anything that’s put below where your arm can comfortably reach just annoys you. Instead of grabbing and going, now you’re forced to squat in some sort of awkward spread eagle pose every time you want to get a bottle of juice or box of crackers from the bottom shelf at the grocery store.
And, when you uncomfortably try to reach down (minus the weird squatting) you either lose your balance or completely miss your target.
7 Non-Expectant Friends
It’s Friday night and you get a group text, “Hey, we’re all meeting at the club. Come join us. 11ish?” Oh, your non-pregnant friends! You love them. After all, they’re your BFFs. But, you kind of can’t stand it when they ask you out to bars, clubs or anywhere that you can’t really have fun right now. Maybe in nine months, but not at this moment.
Not only does the, “Let’s go out and drink” part of your non-preggo friendships drive you crazy, but the fact that these aren’t-expecting friends can stay out as late as they want makes you nuts. You’re asleep on the couch before the sun sets, and they’re just going out hours later. You’d love to hang with them (even if you’re getting a ginger ale while they drink vino), but you’re just too pregnant to.
And, even if you do manage to stay awake past 7 p.m., you’re a little irked that they can all fit into skinny jeans – while you’re wearing that ridiculous belly band thing.
6 Due Date Questions
You’re totally excited to have your very first (or second or third) baby! You’re all about the countdown, and have your due date marked on your calendar with a big ol’ heart. But, that doesn’t mean you want to share with the rest of the world. At first you didn’t mind the, “So, when are you due?” questions.
They were innocent inquiries from people around you who were truly interested in you and your soon-to-be baby.
Now that you’re farther along, you’re starting to feel like the due date questions are judgment calls. When someone asks how much longer you have, you hear, “Whoa, you’re big. Must be baby day soon.” Even though they might not mean it, you still feel like asking about your due date means that someone thinks you’re huge.
With each, “How many days left?” you get that much more crazy. Maybe that’s because you have weeks, not days!
5 Unsolicited Advice
Um, you don’t remember asking for advice on breastfeeding, diapering or sleep cycles. But, that didn’t stop your co-worker from giving it to you. You already know that “breast is the best,” but Penny from accounting is all about giving you the rundown on why you need to nurse and how it helped her to bond with her baby.
You’re pregnant and everyone feels the need to give you their own little gem. It’s one thing when you ask for advice. And, it’s an entirely different situation when it’s just given.
You get it – you’re pregnant, and every mom, grandma, aunt and nanny out there wants to share her own personal experiences. That doesn’t mean that you have an extra half hour to stand outside of the mall and listen to your mother’s former college roommate share her pregnancy and parenting tips.
You’re a smart girl, you’ve read the books and you’ve done the research. If you have any questions, you’ll ask.
4 Judgement Calls
This often goes hand in hand with unsolicited advice. You haven’t even had the baby yet, but all of your friends, family and the other mommies out there are judging your parenting skills. It makes you nuts that from day one you felt completely judged.
What you’re eating, what you’re wearing, what you’re doing, what you’re going to eat, what you’re going to wear and what you’re going to do. These all seem like they’re up for grabs when it comes to judging you. Even a seemingly small little comment drives you absolutely batty. You’re feasting on fries and a burger.
That’s what you’ve been craving and you absolutely need that meal right now. But, that won’t stop your cousin from snarking, “Shouldn’t you be eating healthier? I only ate salads and lean meats when I was pregnant. After all, those are best for baby.” Hmm. Are you annoyed? Absolutely.
3 Others Blame It On The Hormones
Okay, so you’ve been known to occasionally blame your on and off again moods on your hormones. That’s no big deal. You’re the mama-to-be, and that means you’re allowed to say, “It’s the hormones!” But, that doesn’t mean you love it when anyone else uses your hormones to blame (not justify) your behavior.
You’re tired. You’ve been on your feet all day and just want to go to sleep. That glistening glow across your face is a combo of sweat from toting your pregnant body up the stairs and that splash of water you needed after your morning sickness session. The last thing you want to hear now is your S.O. complaining that dinner isn’t ready or that no one did the grocery shopping.
It’s not really on your list of priorities, and you don’t get why you have to be responsible for everything at home. So, you cry. You’re pregnant and you need a break. Of course, the response to your little outburst is, “Must be the hormones.” Uh, no, not even close. Yes, your hormones are on high alert. But, sometimes they have nothing to do with your not-so-pleasant mood.
2 The Waiting Game
Pregnancy is a constant waiting game. You waited until you were expectant enough to see that little pink plus sign on the test. You waited until you were far enough along to go to your first OB appointment. You waited for your belly to pop. And, you’re now waiting for your due date to hurry up and get here. With each waiting step, you get more and more annoyed.
That magical date when your baby will make her grand appearance is nearing. But, not nearly fast enough for you. The waiting is at points unbearable, and at best something that makes you completely crazy. Hey, it’s not like waiting is anything new to you. You’ve been doing it your whole life.
You waited for recess when you were in grade school, waited to get your driver’s license until your sixteenth birthday and waited for three hours in the hottest hair salon to get the highlights that just didn’t work for you. You weren’t thrilled about waiting back then, but you’re even less happy about it now that you’re expecting.
1 Frigging Shoes
If only those adorable little kitten heals didn’t feel like vice grips on your feet right now. Who would have thought that footwear could ever be so annoying? You have a complete collection of the best shoes out there. Okay, so they’re the best to you. They’re cute and come in all kinds of shapes, colors and sizes.
You have thigh high leather boots, ankle booties, 4-inch tall heals, ballet flats, mules, wedges, strappy sandals, gladiator sandals and so much more.
Now that you’re preggo, not one of your precious pairs fits. You try each shoe on, and like Cinderella’s stepsisters none of them fit. You’re shoving your swollen toes into those pointy heals and nothing is happening. Eventually you give up and give in, pushing your pretty pairs of shoes into the back of your closet.
Instead, you’re now wearing your gym shoes or flip flops 24-7. And, it’s making you crazy. Don’t worry mama, in less than nine months you’ll be back into those peep toes again!
Sources: AmericanPregnancy.org, BabyCenter.com, Womenshealth.gov