Cheryl is about 4 weeks behind me in the gestation journey, and has her own dear blog, but she keeps it mostly private (who could be arrogant enough to think that strangers would want to read about things like your boobs anyway? Oh, right...).
So, when I read this post below, I knew it needed to be shared with my pals but will respect her wishes of just saying that this was written by my funny friend Cheryl and not directing to her blog. Pregnancy friends will understand, appreciate and laugh out loud...and non-pregnant friends...you probably will too.
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"I've come to learn that when a woman is pregnant, she should expect to be asked the same questions repeatedly. These questions come from perfect strangers, co-workers, friends, family members, and often are repeated from week to week by the same people. Welcome to...
Pregnancy FAQs
1. How are you feeling?
Interpretation: I know many women experience some type of discomfort in pregnancy, e.g. nausea, vomiting, fatigue, achy joints, difficulty breathing, etc. Are you feeling any of these symptoms? I don't really care what the answer is, but I heard someone mention something that helped them with a discomfort and I'd be happy to share that advice with you, even if you aren't experiencing it yourself. If you are feeling fine right now, I also have a horror story to share about how someone felt fine and then she reached x-week of her pregnancy when her symptoms/discomforts became unbearable, so prepare yourself for the worst.
2. How far along are you?
Interpretation: This is my opportunity to comment on the size of your belly, based on how big or small I think a woman at your gestation should be. You either carry small or you look like you're having twins, but I will never say you look dead-on how many weeks along you are. Mostly because I have no clue how a woman your number of weeks should look, and I also don't understand that different body types carry pregnancies differently, so there is no normal.
3. When are you due?
Interpretation: You told me how far along you are in weeks, but I can't subtract that number of weeks from 40 and quickly do the math to estimate when your due date is, so if you could just tell me an exact date, that would be great. Next time, if you tell me how many months you are, that would really help.
4. Are you having a boy or a girl?
Interpretation: You're either having a boy or a girl, and if you don't know, I'd like to make a guess based on my very scientific method of whether you carry high or low, how your face looks, how big your belly is, whether you say the baby is active, or other clues that my grandmother once told me. If you know what you're having, I will "awww" at the response. If you don't know what you are having, I might share a snide remark about how silly or impractical it is to wait to find out, or I'll share a story about how someone I know waited to find out, and I may also begin my very scientific method of guessing your baby's sex.
5. Do you have a name picked out yet?
Interpretation: This is my opportunity to either approve of or scoff at the name you have likely spent hours deliberating over with your spouse. I may love your name, or I may hate it. I may tell you about someone I know who is named that who has a terrible reputation, is ugly, has a disorder, etc. Or, I may tell you that the name you picked is terribly common or uncommon and that your child will either have no identity because everyone is named that or he/she will be picked on his/her whole life because no one is named that. If I am kind, I may not share my opinions with you, but I will tell someone else how wonderful or awful the name is you chose."
31 weeks, 5 days along
...and i am so glad that I have funny friends going through this journey with me.
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