I took my son to see a movie today and a lady in line looked at me and said, “You’re not going to have that baby during the movie are you?” I smiled, “No, it’s twins and I’m not due for another two months.” Her response hit me like a big fat contraction—“Oh twins! Well I thought you were too big to still have two months to go.” TOO BIG? TOO BIG? Are you kidding me right now? I couldn’t believe this woman whom I have never met just told me my stomach was big! I just pretended to be the polite, sweet looking pregnant woman and went about my business.
I started thinking about the size of my belly. Is it really that big? Do I look like a water buffalo or something? Leave it to some nosey stranger to prompt the hormonal thinking that all pregnant women have. But I came to the conclusion that my belly, big or small is not for public comment. There’s something about being pregnant that propels strangers to make an unsolicited comments.
Here’s my rule: If you wouldn’t tell a woman her belly is big when she’s not pregnant—don’t tell her when she is.
