So, could you go at like, ANY DAY?

There are some things that you just shouldn't say to a pregnant woman. For the life of me I DON'T KNOW why they're not just common sense, but they're not. I have had more than my share of people say things to me as I began to look more and more pregnant that I just don't understand how they think they're appropriate or welcome.

These include:

"So, any day now, huh!" (if you say this to a woman who has more than one week left before her due date, she'll give you laser stabby-eyes, more than likely. Because it sucks for someone to A) Say they think you're big B) Remind you that you have WEEKS left of discomfort.)

"You have X weeks left? Wow, are you sure you're not having TWINS!" (I don't know how anyone thinks this is cute or acceptable to say. People know very early on now if they're having twins and they'll tell you if they are. Again, calling someone big is rude. I think we pregnant women should counter with,"No, no twins for me. But man you ass is HUGE. Are you gaining weight?")

"From the looks of you, he/she is gonna be a big baby!" (OK, I get there is some weird cultural thing that lauds big, fat, healthy babies. But again, comments like this just make a girl feel huge AND you may acutally be bringing up a hard issue. If a woman has been told by her doc she's measuring behind or the baby isn't gaining enough weight, you have more than likely just opened up a very hard can of worms. Good job, tactolicious!)

and, for my final one...

"God... it must be terrible to be so pregnant in X weather!" (I know you think you're commiserating, but after the 1 millionth time of someone pointing out how miserable you must be because of a climate you cannot change, it gets old and annoying. I seriously want to look people in the eye and say, "Oh wow.. YEAH I HADN'T noticed! Gawd, if you hadn't brought up that it was broiling out there since I was 30 weeks pregnant, I just wouldn't of even thought of it. Man, this IS uncomfortable, WOW!")

Nice things that are always welcome in my book are:

"You look beautiful today." (you don't have to mention The Glow. Please don't, in fact.)

"You are carrying your pregnancy wonderfully! You look great." (even if you don't mean it, it's nice to think we don't look like inflated blueberries.)

"Girl, you look hot!" (it's nice to not be called "cute" all the time.)

Just remember that the whole world seems to think that pregnant women are public property- we get touched, manhandled, talked at by crazy strangers constantly, asked our due date about five million times a day, our food choices are openly scrutinized by family, friends and strangers and given parenting advice we don't want. So be kind to us and, once in a while, try not to act like our personalities and all of our lives revolve around being pregnant/a mother. We were individuals with all sorts of hobbies, passions, fears and hopes before getting pregnant. Just because we're pregnant now doesn't mean we still aren't those same people. We don't throw off the mantle of numerous years on this earth and brainwash ourselves once we get a positive on a pee stick.