Ten Things You Should Never Say to a New Mom
I can’t really do Memos from a Grouchy Pregnant Lady even though I’m still grouchy (at least some of the time). But, hey! I have a new baby who wakes me up a few times every night, so I have plenty of justification for feeling grumpy! (Yay for excuses!)
So here are the things overly-helpful strangers feel inclined to say when they see me:
1. When are you due? You’ve got to be kidding. The car seat, the diaper bag, the baby didn’t give it away? If you’re not sure people, just don’t ask. (Luckily, I think I’m past this phase. Phew.)
2. How many more are you going to have? Seriously. SERIOUSLY? Can you give me a few months, nay, years to think about it?
3. You had three kids in five years. On purpose? Actually, yes. No, I’m not crazy…yet.
4. You look exhausted. Thanks for pointing it out. I am.
5. Oh…she/he must look like your husband. And although that may be true, I did all the work to get this baby here. Can’t you just say, “she’s lovely” or something similar?
6. Is your husband a different ethnicity?/You had this baby together? This was especially bad with Critter No. 2 who was born with super thick, black hair. When she was a week old I went to the mall with my mom and the store clerk said, “How long have you had her?” She thought my baby was adopted!
7. You should do XYZ with your breast milk. Okay…I don’t care what magical qualities it has, no stranger is going to tell me how to use it. *gag*
8. Your baby is too young to be out here. It’s not that I disagree, but groceries aren’t going to magically appear in my fridge. Unless you can get one of those Star Trek food zapper-thinga-majigs I have to go shopping.
9. Can I hold your baby? I hate to be rude, but no. I don’t let strangers pick up my five-year-old. I’m certainly not going to hand my infant to you. What if you ran away and I had to like tackle you? Or worse, when was the last time you washed your hands?
10. Is it a boy or girl? This wouldn’t bug me if I didn’t always have a bow of some sort on my baby’s head…and she’s in pink 90 percent of the time. Good golly, people! Peek before you speak!
Things to say to a new mom include: You look great! Your baby is beautiful (or if not, compliment said baby’s outfit). And yeah…that’s pretty much it.
Okay folks. I’m off to take a nap and hopefully de-grouch myself. Wish me luck.
And don’t forget to leave a comment on my Awesome Author Interview with Jen Knight if you’re interested in winning a ten-page crit!
So here are the things overly-helpful strangers feel inclined to say when they see me:
1. When are you due? You’ve got to be kidding. The car seat, the diaper bag, the baby didn’t give it away? If you’re not sure people, just don’t ask. (Luckily, I think I’m past this phase. Phew.)
2. How many more are you going to have? Seriously. SERIOUSLY? Can you give me a few months, nay, years to think about it?
3. You had three kids in five years. On purpose? Actually, yes. No, I’m not crazy…yet.
4. You look exhausted. Thanks for pointing it out. I am.
5. Oh…she/he must look like your husband. And although that may be true, I did all the work to get this baby here. Can’t you just say, “she’s lovely” or something similar?
6. Is your husband a different ethnicity?/You had this baby together? This was especially bad with Critter No. 2 who was born with super thick, black hair. When she was a week old I went to the mall with my mom and the store clerk said, “How long have you had her?” She thought my baby was adopted!
7. You should do XYZ with your breast milk. Okay…I don’t care what magical qualities it has, no stranger is going to tell me how to use it. *gag*
8. Your baby is too young to be out here. It’s not that I disagree, but groceries aren’t going to magically appear in my fridge. Unless you can get one of those Star Trek food zapper-thinga-majigs I have to go shopping.
9. Can I hold your baby? I hate to be rude, but no. I don’t let strangers pick up my five-year-old. I’m certainly not going to hand my infant to you. What if you ran away and I had to like tackle you? Or worse, when was the last time you washed your hands?
10. Is it a boy or girl? This wouldn’t bug me if I didn’t always have a bow of some sort on my baby’s head…and she’s in pink 90 percent of the time. Good golly, people! Peek before you speak!
Things to say to a new mom include: You look great! Your baby is beautiful (or if not, compliment said baby’s outfit). And yeah…that’s pretty much it.
Okay folks. I’m off to take a nap and hopefully de-grouch myself. Wish me luck.
And don’t forget to leave a comment on my Awesome Author Interview with Jen Knight if you’re interested in winning a ten-page crit!
16 Comments
Nicole Krell
Loved it. I remember those days. I still want to take a nap and my youngest is 8.
Becky Wallace
@Nicole I had really good intentions…but my pantry sucked me in and won’t let me out til it’s clean. No nap for me. 🙁
Jess
I can relate to those! My nemesis is number 4…why on Earth do people feel the need to point out when I look tired, or like I’m not getting much sleep??? Seriously, people! It’s basically saying, “Boy, you’ve definitely looked better before.” I hate that. Clearly, I’m already tired, and now I have to worry about looking like crappola too. Thanks. Thanks, friend. (boy, I guess I needed to vent a little :))
Kirsten
I’m not sure what makes people lose their filter around pregnant women/new moms, but it’s a strange universal phenomenon.
Barbara Kloss
Yikes. I’m sorry 🙁 I don’t have any kids myself but I’ve heard some of these from my BFF. The ignorant things people say never ceases to amaze me…though, I’m sure I’ve said some pretty dumb stuff to people without realizing it. 😀
JEFritz
Sheesh, the things some people say. I think I’d be able to tell that a baby in pink with a bow on her head is a girl. Have a nice nap 🙂
Jeigh
I once had an older lady reach over and tuck the blanket tightly around my baby, telling me the store was much too cold for what he had on…Which was a onesie, pants and socks. In the summer.
Errrrr.
Carrie Butler
Eek! How do you let them down, when they ask to hold the baby? I’d never even thought about such a scenario–let alone the tackling!
Great, informative post. 🙂
Avery Olive
Gah, I hated when people were just plain rude, or dumb. I totally agree with all these, and had several of them happen to me.
Good post, a friend of mine has one similar on his blog about what not to say to a pregant woman. Too funny.
Lindsay N. Currie
Oh, I hate it when strangers get chummy with my kids or when they would ask to hold them when they were infants. Let’s face it, we live in a huge city where my kids have been taught to AVOID strangers. Think before you speak people.
And BTW I’m sure you look great – I can’t imagine it otherwise:)
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