Pregnancy comments from strangers

It was only fair for me to accompany a dear friend in her baby registry this morning as it can be such a daunting task to a new mother. Not to mention she accompanied me for mine since Erik knew that it would be a nightmare and I would most likely not consider his opinion of products anyway. Although that day nearly 3 years ago was more like the blind leading the blind, not to mention we kept thinking we must have looked like a lesbian couple registering, just glad the bump proved that I at least played the girl ;) just kidding. Anyhow, Sarah is also not finding out what she is having just like we did with Kimball, the good ole "surprise" method. As we were considering product "A" over product "B" taking into account the unisex aspect, I was reminded of the #1 comment people gave me ALL through my last pregnancy and it got so dang old. And though I found out this time about our little girl, I will always have sympathy for those "surprise" parents who have to deal with the stupid comments. Here goes:

Stranger: "When are you due?"..... "Wow, so what are you having?"

Me: "Actually we didn't find out"

Stranger: "OH MY GOSH YOU ARE CRAZY, I COULD NEVER DO THAT, I AM SUCH THE TYPE OF PERSON THAT HAS TO BE SO PREPARED I JUST COULDN'T HANDLE IT.

Me: "Well yeah, we're excited, and actually it doesn't really eliminate much prep work ;)"

What the person meant to say was, I have to have a whole closet full of gender specific baby clothes and very girl or very boy bedding that co-coordinates with the curtains and rug.

Newsflash: your newborn lives in onesies and layettes for the first couple weeks of it's life unless you seriously want to undo full blown (no pun intended) outfits every hour to change the diaper. Heaven forbid you have white onesies (which babies are cutest in anyway no matter the sex). 2 weeks after Kimball was born I went out and in one afternoon got his entire summer wardrobe and it was a lot better being able to choose what he wore than receiving random whinnie the pooh outfits (if someone would so dare). And say you are a first time mom having a girl, it's not like you buy a pink stroller, a pink pack and play and a pink carseat and if you do, well, I just hope that when you do have a boy he turns out alright.

So listen stupid comment makers, next time re-think what you are saying, I promise the surprise parents have prepared just as much as you have, they just have a few less outfits in the closet and a few more dollars in their pockets. So cheers to all you "surprise" parents, it is so much fun!

And my #1 stranger comment this time around?

"Oh my, I don't know how you do it in the summer! Aren't you just so miserable?"

Honestly, I appreciate their sympathy and realize that there just probably isn't a whole lot more to say so this becomes the default comment to pregnant women in the summer but I haven't been bothered any moreso by the heat than I would be if I weren't pregnant. I guess I can't speak for all and I'm sure there are those that do get miserable when it's hot but I actually prefer pregnancy in the summer over the winter and here's why:

I slip on my flip flops in the morning and go. Enough said. There was nothing more annoying and dreadful to me in the winter of 2006 than bending over every morning to put on socks and then tie shoes or pull boots on and off when you can't even see over your belly much less trying to reach all the way down to your feet and get something accomplished. Not to mention the several layers of clothing you have to pack and shed each day. Such a nuisance. There's my 2 cents.

Happy pregnancy to all you others out there along with me and just remember to not pay any attention to any other stupid stranger comments you may receive but if they make a good story, feel free to share...