Warning: Serious mama bear rant ahead…
(Note: this clearly does not apply to certain people, and you’d better know who you are by now!)
Ever since people have found out that I am expecting, I have noticed that many of said people also feel that it is now their place and duty to tell me how to act and feel. But mostly, they have the nerve to tell me not HOW to take care of myself but TO take care of myself in general… my health and my baby too.
Are you people really serious? Do you think I have been doing anything BUT that 24/7?
“May I humbly suggest that you take care of your health”, “your priority is YOU now”, “make sure you take care of my (insert relationship here)”, “you can’t eat/drink that”, “you’re a mom now, you will have to make sacrifices”, “you should sit/stand”, ”you should get more sleep”, “shouldn’t you be gaining/losing more weight”, “you’re going to breastfeed, right”, and so many more! And you know what? That thing that everybody says in defense, that these comments are being said with good intentions? Bullshit! That’s right; I said it and mama swore too!
Most of these comments have been made through pure ignorance by people who clearly don’t know a thing about me!
Since before this embryo was even placed in my uterus I have done nothing but give my all to this child. I have improved my health tremendously, especially over the last 2 years, in anticipation alone! I have never been monitored so closely in my life and I have never been so hard on myself about my diet either. Not to mention the humongous medical team I have following me every step of the way (you know, those people who go to school for years and years to become experts) who are very happy with my progress, happier than I am! And no, my priority isn’t ME, it’s my child and I will do everything to take care of this baby! Why do I even have to point that out?
I know what I can eat and drink, I know when I need to sit/stand, and I know how much sleep I need and when to go to bed. Whether or not I am losing/gaining enough weight is none of anyone’s business but my doctors. My plan to breastfeed or not, affects you how?
The best was when know-it-all pointed out that I should be eating a large bowl of fruit at night instead of the small bowl of ice cream I mentioned treating myself to because actually, in MY case, WRONG!
Besides which, I am not a toddler! Is it so hard for people to understand that at 35, nearly 36, years of age I might actually be fully capable of taking care of myself AND another human being simultaneously without everyone’s two cents? I have raised myself, BY myself, since I was 20 years old! In fact, there were a couple of years that the only person I could truly count on and rely on was DH and no one else. And, while I admit there were a few rough patches in my past, I am pretty damn proud of where I am in my life today and where we are headed together! I made it here without any of the people who are making these comments, so trust me… I don’t need you interfering and telling me how to live my life now!
What I choose to do to my body is between me, DH and the tiny being growing in my uterus… and that tiny being always has the final say!
Don’t get me wrong, I have some really good friends and family whose advice I purposely seek out and even welcome freely, but I am seriously in love with a onesie I found online that says “My mother doesn’t want your f*ucking advice!” and I am wholeheartedly considering getting them in every size possible! Hell, if they had an adult version I might just get that too!
Rant over!
