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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be p*ssed off when people try to scare me about impending motherhood?

74 replies

TwinklePants · 06/01/2011 12:32

I am pregnant with our first baby after IVF, it is much wanted and is a high risk pregnancy due to me having had cervical cancer (now in remission). Why does almost everyone I know who already have children (including close family) think it's ok to either try and scare me with stories about birth (I am having a c-section btw) or parenthood?

Just some of the comments I have had so far are:

  • "Oh you're 12 weeks pregnant, let me tell you all about the time I had a still birth at 15 weeks" (I cried in the toilets at work for an hour afterwards)
  • "You'll never sleep/ have a minute to yourself/ get dressed before lunchtime/ get your figure back again"
  • "You have NO idea what you're letting yourself in for" (usually said with a smirk - I get this A LOT)
  • (After spilling coffee all the way up my stairs carpet) "Oh well, you better get used to it, soon your house is going to be a shithole anyway"

What IS it with people? It's not like I can change my mind now anyway is it?

Is it just me or is none of this advice remotely helpful at this stage?

[bangs head on wall]

OP posts:
EvianBaby · 06/01/2011 14:23

Congratulations! You must be so excited to be pregnant after what I assume was quite a difficult time Smile

I'll second/third/fourth what most others have said... having a baby IS hard work and life isn't ever the same again (on the whole) however for most people it is the most amazing thing that you will ever do! It is truly worth all of the sleepless nights (and they don't last forever), the untidy house (you can have a quick tidy up if/when your baby sleeps if that makes you feel better!), and the change in your body (I had a C section so my body is certainly not like it was before, however over time i have just learnt not to look in the mirror!)

People do like to share their horror stories, I really do make a conscious effort not to do this to my friends who are currently PG. Everyone has an ideal of how their baby will be and I don't see much point in putting a dampener on this! It is wonderful, rewarding and worth all of the hard work!

Good luck and enjoy the rest of your pregnancy Smile

Oh, and yes, why do people feel the need to comment on the size of your bump? I am 31 weeks PG with my second child and only this morning my boss (of all people!) mock gasped when she saw me and then told me I was getting bigger each time she saw me!

Pinkjenny · 06/01/2011 14:24

chandellina - you are literally the antithesis of me. Grin

I do love my babies though.

theevildead2 · 06/01/2011 14:26

Everyone does it.. With out fail. Just say oh thats so sad you wern't prepared it must have been hard

rockinhippy · 06/01/2011 14:28

I also agree with houseofmirth pinkjenny & I will take you at your word & not bite, as you say earlier that "I don't want to turn this into a contentious thread" but you still mis understand me Wink

I used personal experience of course, but I simply meant, that as in most things in life, people who enjoy rubbing other peoples noses in anything, generally do so out of feelings of inadequacy & jealousy, & pregnancy horror stories are no exception to that rule, be it birth horror stories, or how hard life is going to be after birth,

yes of course it changes, & as houseofmirth eloquently says, until you are on the "parent" side of the fence you can't ever fully understand it, but IME, you will only get the negative 1 sided comments from those who are bitter & jealous for 1 reason or another, ....(I also had horror stories from others who later admitted they missed babyhood & knew they'd have no more) the rest of us might tell you its going to change your life forever, less sleep etc etc, but we will also tell you we wouldn't change it for the world & its the most rewarding thing we've ever done :)

Gongratulations, good luck & take no notice of the doomsayers OP

ProfessorLaytonIsMyLoveSlave · 06/01/2011 14:29

Mind you, sometimes it can be helpful. A friend of mine confided when I was pregnant with DS that she spent the first 12 weeks of motherhood convinced she'd made a terrible mistake and would have happily handed her DS1 back if that had been an option, and I was grateful that she did. But there the motivation was clear - to get across the "don't panic or think you're a bad parent if you don't take to parenthood right away" me If it's ssage, which I think is often missed out (I have seen a lot of threads on MN over the years from posters who are not enjoying the first few months and think there must be something wrong with them) . If it's a more general gloating "ooh, just you WAIT" sort of comment then it's really not justifiable. .

CheekyChoppers · 06/01/2011 14:30

Personally, for me, having a baby hasn't dramatically changed my life!!! It hasn't been the 'life changing', 'shock' that people talk about! So I cant go out in town at weekends, and I had to stay in over NYE, it's so worth it.

Having a baby has been great, tiredness has not been that bad (even though baby is up every 2hrs throughout the night), house is immaculate (due to having so much bloody time on my hands!) and all we do all day is play, meet friends and shop. It's brilliant fun.

There have been times when it has been stressful of course, but it's not as stressful as being in work every day!! I've heard people say to me that being a mum is the hardest job in the world! Try being a child
Protection social worker then try saying that!!

I guess what I'm saying is that everybodies experience is different, and that we all deal with it in different ways.

Kendodd · 06/01/2011 14:30

You know the flip side though?

I had three children in three years and found it dead easy, a lot easier than going to work. BUT... nobody is allowed to say that, I get jumped on if I don't tow the 'it's so hard' line.

Good luck with your baby, it doesn't have to be hard.

Pinkjenny · 06/01/2011 14:33

ProfessorLayton - that's what I was trying to say!

SantaObsession · 06/01/2011 14:34
Grin

It's very easy to slip into the horror stories but it's not about scaring you it's about the person reminiscing about being scared but coming through it. Selfish thoughts really but natural. I do make a concious effort not to do it but still slip. Blush

So relax and enjoy your pregnancy, everyone is different.

cory · 06/01/2011 14:37

Those statements may well be true, but they are a very selective part of the truth. For some reason, noone seems to feel impelled to tell a pregnant woman that in years to come there will be someone to bring you cups of tea in bed and pop down the shops for you when you have a cold, or make you laugh when you've had a rotten day at work. Somehow, it is only the exhausting aspects that are the Real Truth about parenthood.

In my own case, the shock of some aspects of new motherhood was balanced by finding how little I was bothered by some other aspects that had worried me during the pregnancy.

ToysRLuv · 06/01/2011 14:43

I have 3 university degrees, and parenthood has been the hardest thing I have ever done, or will ever do (I developed PND). For me the shock of it all, after my perfect pregnancy (and perfect dreams), was too much, so I understand these "doomsayers". However, would never say anything unless asked. Maybe you are more prepared than I was.

Still, whatever happens, in the end you just cope, because you have to, and because in the end it'll (hopefully) be worth it. Some people seem to be helped by their love for their children, but I still struggle to love my DS (15 months), and I know there are a lot of people out there like me. It may be good for you to know that "bonding" may not be instant.

ShowOfHands · 06/01/2011 14:49

I think ProfessorLayton about sums it up.

I hold my hand up and admit that I am guilty of occasionally being brutally honest about my experience. And I do it for two reasons. Firstly, I'm trying to help. I'm never saying this will happen, or it will be this way for you but I am saying if it does, if you do find yourself feeling this way or experiencing these things, you are not doing it wrong, you are not failing, you are not a bad mother. I closed down in pregnancy to the horror stories, to any story of instrumental deliveries or cs or panic or worry because I didn't want to hear it. And dear God I wish I'd listened. I understand now what my friends were doing. The gap between expectation (my expectations, my family's expectations, the expectations of a sleb culture where you can do it all and bounce back from birth in minutes) and the reality was the gap I fell into. And I ended up with PTSD that robbed me of months of my dd's life. Because I didn't want to hear it. It was my mistake. I am now one of those women who is probably painted as an interfering old nag. And I don't tell horror stories or scare people but I do try and reassure that there's a wealth of normal out there and you're not alone.

Secondly, you'll find that people need to share their experiences. Especially when they've had a difficult time, particularly the tragedy of losing a baby. Them talking about it is their need to deal with it. It's difficult and might seem insensitive but they are dealing with their own grief, not wishing it on you.

And the good bits. The sheer, overwhelming, beautiful, wondrous experience of creating a life and having the privilege of raising a child is not something you can put into words. Chilbirth fucking hurt is quite emphatic and straightforward, the mystery of holding your own child for the first time is not something mere words can express. That's why we try and sum it up as 'you have no idea' because really nothing's comparable.

I try to approach it from the point of view of largely, people are trying to help. Equally, people are sharing a sort of dark humour with you. Because new babies are shit and vomit and lack of sleep and the only way through it sometimes is to try and share it with other people and laugh. At the same time, yes there are idiots out there who say stupid things but that's nothing to do with having a baby, they're just hard of thinking.

JamieLeeCurtis · 06/01/2011 14:52

cory - had my first cup of tea in bed this week (DS1 - 10)

ShowOfHands · 06/01/2011 14:57

My 3yr old makes me breakfast in bed.

Pint of milk, 3 shreddies floating forlornly atop said milk and an overflowing beaker of oj.

Lovely. Grin

GnomeDePlume · 06/01/2011 14:59

Very well put ShowOfHands

Pinkjenny · 06/01/2011 15:01
ShowOfHands · 06/01/2011 15:03

Oh give over.

at GnomeDePlume.

ginnybag · 06/01/2011 15:03

Congratuations!

Don't expect perfection of yourself, your baby or your partner and you'll have a great time being a mum.

Oh, and to 'you'll never get your figure back...' I look better now (DD is two weeks shy of her 1st birthday!) than I have for a decade. All that running around after her did wonders for my weight! So even that throwaway remark doesn't have to be true!

TwinklePants · 06/01/2011 15:03

Thanks for the advice all, I think it will really help me not to take these comments too much to heart, but to see them for how they are (usually) meant, a bit of a "welcome to the club, it's not easy but we wouldn't change it" kind of message.

The feeling i'm getting from everyone is that having a baby is a bit like learning to drive a car. You can take the theory test and have all the lessons you like, but its not until you pull away for the first time behind the wheel by yourself that you properly start to get the hang of it. I hope i've got the right kind of idea.

OP posts:
Pinkjenny · 06/01/2011 15:05

Twinkle - I think you have exactly the right idea. Take it as it comes. Don't put any pressure on yourself. Enjoy your pregnancy, I wish I had savoured every moment of my first pg, there wasn't really any time to savour it second time around Grin

ShowOfHands · 06/01/2011 15:08

It's going to be brilliant. Don't waste an ounce of energy on what anybody tells you what it should be, just appreciate it for what it is.

And if all else fails, there's always MN.

Pinkjenny · 06/01/2011 15:09

SOH - were we this wise on the May 07 ante-natal threads?

ShowOfHands · 06/01/2011 15:32

I think the phrase is 'bumbling along in denial whilst draping out bumps in toilet paper'.

We're alright now though.

sethstarkaddersmum · 06/01/2011 15:38

lovely posts from ShowOfHands.

One of the most useful things I was told was 'Oh, when you've got a new baby you'll be lucky if you manage to get yourself dressed by midday.'
This was not, in fact, the case for me - I was randomly allotted a baby that slept but it meant I felt good about being up and dressed by 9 rather than feeling shit about not being up at 6.30am Gina Ford-style.

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