Nicole Tasker Woods

In all the baby books I am reading, they give you advice on how to handle people rubbing your belly without asking. I am totally fine with the belly thing. I love being pregnant and I love getting attention. I even love having my belly rubbed. I joke around with my friends and rub their bellies (who are not pregnant) while they rub mine.

The baby books also tell you how to handle friends, family and even strangers throwing their two cents your way. Sometimes I silently scream inside when getting advice that is just ridiculous from someone (whether they know me or not).

Now that I am finally pregnant, I can tell you first hand that EVERYONE HAS AN OPINION! In my opinion, helpful tips are fine and I welcome them, especially from women close to my age who just went through their own pregnancies. I find those tips to be the most useful to me.

But when someone starts with “You know, you really…” I don’t want to hear it! I have gotten really good at turning a deaf ear to all those so called “words of wisdom.” With all the two cents I’ve gotten, I’m about a dime short of being a millionaire. And I know that it will only get worse once I get ginormous and everyone around me will be able to tell that “Yup, she’s pregnant (not just a fatty-mc-fatty-kins) and nope, she shouldn’t be carrying those groceries like that!”

I don’t want to discourage anyone from handing over tips from their own personal experiences. I like to hear everyone’s horror stories and I enjoy finding out what you think is the right thing for me to do. Then I can decide for myself if it is something I want to mentally file away or forget about immediately. I have turned it into a little game. I start the day off wondering, “How many tips will I get today?” Then I end the day reflecting on good information OR with a good laugh because something I heard was outrageously absurd.