‘Baby’ versus ‘the baby’

[Orangebitters]

Does this give anyone else an irrational rage?

I am recently pregnant and I keep hearing......

‘When baby comes’
‘Best for baby’
‘I bet you can’t wait for baby’
‘Is baby a boy or a girl’

I miss the definite article.

@Orangebitters It is super irritating.

YANBU!

@LikeSilentRaindrops

Throwing in ‘mum’ for good measure. 30 mins after giving birth, soaking in the bath, in pops the midwife - ‘and how’s mum doing now?’

RAGE.

ARGH! I hate this too.

I do get why they do it, and it is irrational to be annoyed by it, but I still AM annoyed!

*Anyone using “Baby” as a proper noun should be taken outside and shot

Seconded*

Thirded. What did the poor definite article ever do to these people?

OMG, you are absolutely right OP.

Just saying "baby" sounds buttock-clenchingly twee, doesn't it?

Our Dc were IVF babies, so weirdly DH and I referred to the by their medical names at various stages until they arrived people were But, I didn't think of them as babies until they came out, in case they didn't, after previous experience... However, I do find Baby, peanut, grape, blah very twee!

Christ yes, it's awful! I've never even had a kid and it's making me rage.

I much prefer Baby but then I call my kids Baby :o

Ex's friends used to use "Bump" as a name, I found that weird.

Also hate when MY is missed before mum . Eg. Mum is ill today , should be My mum is ill today. Drives me nuts.

Just you wait for The Nipple - when your body parts stop belonging to you.

And vice versa when an unnecessary “the” gets inserted

I do this pretty much daily to piss DH off because it entertains me and Im stuck home homeschooling our spawn while hes in his cushy office with a PA bringing him coffees and lunch . "Just going to THE tesco". "it was on THE netflix". It gives him the rage big time.

My pet hate is ‘little’

Ask anyone whose had a baby they will say they had a ‘little girl’ or ‘little boy’

I didn’t think you’d given birth to a fully grown adult, why the need to add the little?

We say "the baby"

YANBU. In tandem with 'We are pregnant' makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

God I agree with you.

I hate it almost as much as "changing their bum".

e.g. "I'm changing baby's bum" vs "I am changing the baby's nappy".

I can feel my heart rate rising just typing those words.

@cheeseismydownfall

God I agree with you.

I hate it almost as much as "changing their bum".

e.g. "I'm changing baby's bum" vs "I am changing the baby's nappy".

I can feel my heart rate rising just typing those words.

Me too. It always makes me think I might vomit, I don't know why, it just gives me the shudders!

Apparently I do something annoying accidentally though....When telling anyone about my family I will say "my sister did..." rather than "Rachel did". It drives MIL insane. She has known my sister for the best part of 30 years but it just doesnt occur to me to assume people know who she is and use their name. Also same for "my nephew, my work colleague" etc.

@HarrysWife I do similar to my DH. He hates it when I add an S to a supermarket name, ie Tescos, Asdas. 😜 it does make me laugh.

“ Baby” is irritating.
“The baby”
Not so.

But the colossal space hopper bra and knickers posts online are Uber naff.

No one wants to see that, surely.

One vacuous “sleb” gets the space hopper out, and they all do.😐

This drives me up the fucking wall. It sounds so twee and is only used by people who go insanely PFB, in my own experience. Ugh. I can’t bear it.

@ChocolateSantaisthebestkind
Urgh!!
Changing his bum Is ghastly grim.😳

@AriataBrown

YANBU. In tandem with 'We are pregnant' makes me want to scratch my eyes out.

We’re pregnant Soon to be followed by “I’m divorcing”

This way of being informal slides into familiar and trivialising.
Some of you recognise this but in my opinion it is even more off putting for men who have become 'bit players' at this stage anyway.
It seems to trivialise the entire pregnancy / birth process. Somehow it tries to make it a game or 'an experience'. It is a complex experience in itself. It don't need pretty bows and coloured baubles.
One poster made an important point, wait until it is born healthy before you start gushing.
It is not 100% certain.

Apols if I got too serious.

“The” is dehumanising. It’s like when doctors talk about “the mum” rather than saying just mum. Baby is person.

@BubblyBarbara

“The” is dehumanising. It’s like when doctors talk about “the mum” rather than saying just mum. Baby is person.

* THE baby is a person.

It’s twee as fuck.

A relative of mine drops the definite article, and then uses “Baba” instead, which is worse, IMO.

Likewise, she also uses “boob monster” and “boob buffet” to refer to her breastfeeding.