OK, so I have been in some deep thought for the past day or two. Since I am late which = grouchy, emotional and frustrated, I have decided to come create the 'Pregnant Womans' Oath' and to swear by it. I am sure some of us (if not all of us) have experienced an opinion (or two, or three) from strangers, friends and family on all things pregnancy. Since I am mucho emotional right now....I thought this would be a good oath to swear by that way I never piss off a future expecting mom. Here it is:
1. I promise to ALWAYS give encouraging words to a mom-to-be. I will not bore her with my own experiences...good or bad, unless she asks herself. I will just smile at her and tell her congratulations.
2. I will never, EVER touch a mom-to-be's belly. Especially if I do not know her personally.
3. I will never tell a mom-to-be how huge/big she is, that she looks as though she is expecting twins, that she is going to 'pop' anytime now, or say, 'Wow. You must be miserable right now.' I will just smile politely and tell her congratulations and that having a baby is such a wonderful blessing.
4. Upon asking and finding out a mom-to-be's due date, I will NOT tell her that she looks as though she is due yesterday or that she barely looks pregnant at all. I realize that ALL expecting women carry differently and just because she is not carrying how I did does not mean anything is wrong. Again, I will smile and tell her how great she looks and congratualtions.
5. I promise to open all doors and give up all chairs to any expecting mom I see in public realizing that she is carry something far more precious than my stellar Gucchi bag or pride.
6. I promise to always purchase off of mom-to-be's registry for every baby shower, realizing that if I do not then she may be stuck with something she may not be able to return. I also vow to include a gift receipt that way the returning process is smooth and easy remembering what a pain in the @$$ it was when I had to return my shower items. If I choose not to get anything off of her registry it will be because I gave her a gift card or $$ that way she can use at her leisure.
7. I vow to never, EVER tell a mom-to-be, who is team green, that she is "definitly having a B or G" due to how she is carrying. I understand that this is BS and that she does not give a rat's @$$ what I think she is carrying (can you tell that I am team green?). I will just tell her how exciting it is that she is waiting and congratulations.
8. I promise to never, ever tell a pregnant woman 'what worked for me' when I was with a late baby. Baby will come when baby comes. I will just tell her to hang in there and that it will be worth it in the end. I WILL NOT tell her how late I was, i.e. 'I was 2 weeks late with my first' knowing that any mom-to-be who is late WILL NOT want to hear this.
9. I vow to never, ever get a new mom a huge bouquet of flowers upon delivery. Flowers are beautiful and as a woman I do love a gorgeous bouquet now and then, but a bouquet just = work for new mom. The last she wants to do when she has a baby stuck to her breast is change the water of a bouquet, and/or watch flowers die. My gift(s) to her will be one of the following: a starbucks gift card (cause she WILL need it), a gift certificate for a mani/pedi, a gift certificate for a massage, a gift card to a nice restaurant (for first date night) or a gift card to her favorite shopping place for a nice treat for herself. Mom deserves something for herself.
and last but not least...
10. I will encourage her and be there for her if she is having a rough time when baby gets there. I will not tell her what she is doing wrong or 'needs' to be doing. If she asks for my help and/or advice I will lovingly give it.
Am I missing anything? If so please do share...otherwise, let's all take this vow. We owe it to our (future) pregnant selves and future moms-to-be.
Now LET'S ALL HAVE A BABY TODAY!!
Re: The Pregnant Woman's Oath. Let's all take it.
I would consider adding :
I will never text message an expecting mother to ask her if baby is coming, if she is having contractions or if the baby is "READY" to come out yet. I understand that this will most likely make the expecting Mommy hulk-like angry and I may be the cause for her to break her precious iPhone.
A lesson I learned courtesy of my MIL.. and it wasn't an iPhone it was my LG flip phone that I was lucky enough to humpty dumpty back together again.
Yah what is with this? I was told not to let my water break while I was at breakfast the other day since I am overdue. Yah....thanks ladies. The worst thing is I know they have kids so WTF?
Also I second the comment about adding in not texting. I'm not even gonna go there. Haha
AMEN to all of that. Especially the incessant checking in past the due date. I haven't posted anything on FB today because I was enjoying the sunshine and hanging out with my sister and now I've got three FB posts on my wall and two text messages asking if she's here yet. For the love of Pete, people!!! I'll tell you when there's something to tell!
I will also add "Whenever I see a new mom and her baby, I will always say hello and hug mom first, then the baby, so she still feels like an important human being and not just an accessory to baby."
I love this! thank you
Andrew Brandon Bentley Joshua