As always I'm doing as I'm told. But maybe she didn't mean it.
Anyway, she's basically got a gripe as a pregnant woman. And that gripe is that she's become public property. People feel that they can say anything, absolutely anything, to her. They look her up and down and tell her how she looks. Or they tell her she can or can't do things because of her condition (she hates that word). She also hates the fact that her belly has become the focus of conversation. People forget that she used to be able to chat about all sorts before getting pregnant.
The 3 main pregnancy cliches you're probably best avoiding when talking to Erin in the next 4.5 months are:
- 'You should(n't) ... In your condition.' The bit in the middle has ranged from biking to work to bringing a tray of drinks into a room for a meeting.
- 'Oh, are you craving that?' This is if she asks for anything to eat or drink - and it might be a cup of tea in the middle of the morning - it's automatically assumed she's craving.
- 'Oh, you can eat that now because you're eating for two.' Technically she's only supposed to eat an extra 300 calories a day.
Yes, Erin's a little bit Angry Pregnant today.
3 comments:
I agree with Erin and suggest you change the title of this blog to sassy pregnant :) The scope of this problem is far-reaching - literally!
When a women becomes pregnant others assume a growing stomach = a green light to reach out and touch.
As if women don't have enough exploitation to deal with on regular basis, we're not even safe when we're with child.
Whatever happened to the great Edward Hall and his research on proxemics and personal space?
When is it ever alright to reach out and touch a stranger?
..Just imagine for a moment if someone rubbed your belly and said "Boy, you're putting on a lot of weight."
That said, being pregnant is equally wonderful, bizarre, exhausting, profound, and enlightening.
An interesting article...you may want to check it out!
Protecting Your Personal Space
The most effective ways to deal with people who are too close for (your) comfort
http://www.realsimple.com/realsimple/gallery/0,21863,1195792,00.html
Ohhh I am so with Erin on this. It used to drive me absolutely wild!
A complete stranger told me I shouldn't be drinking Diet Coke 'because it's bad for the baby'. No, it's bad for the baby if I drink more than 8 cans a day. I'm not. Which you don't know because you have never met me before.
And people suddenly feeling they can rub your tummy. Would they ever do that to someone they didn't know well? Or a colleague? I tended to reach out and rub their tummies back, but was on the point of having a t-shirt made saying 'Touch my Bump, Feel my Fist'.
Sally, I just read your comment out loud. 'I love it,' says Erin.
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