To find this irritating

[ohdeerdolly]

Already mum to one lovely boy and pregnant again. Don't know gender yet but plan to find out when we can.

Already lost count of the amount of people who have told me how lovely it would be if this one was a girl. Various reasons such as nice to have one of each, girls are more loyal and caring when they grow up whereas boys just abandon you for their wives family and so on.

This really annoys me because before we even know the gender it feels like people are hoping for a girl and it does turn out to be a boy it'll be a disappointment and less worthy of celebration.

Why do people feel the need to make these comments?

When you're pregnant you become public property apparently.

People ask about your uterus, your boobs, touch you, offer unsolicited opinions about everything, tell you how massive you are.... on and on it goes, that's even before they start in about their horrific labour where they almost died.

Just tell them you don't care because you're raising your baby gender neutral so won't be announcing the sex anyways.

No idea. My SILs both separately condoled with me when my first (and I knew would be my only) baby was a boy -- I had no sex preference at all and said so, but they thought I was 'putting a brave face on it', because they couldn't understand I didn't share their frankly idiotic beliefs about sex and gender and that, despite my lifelong lack of interest in clothes shopping and beauty treatments, I wasn't mourning the loss of having a daughter to do these with.

It's probably not accidental that they both kept having sons (two in the case of one SIL, three in the other) until they 'got their girl', and that all five boys (now well into adulthood) are delightful, driven, well-balanced human beings while the two girls, both in their early 20s, are both spoiled, petulant and clingy homebodies.

Certainly do feel a bit like public property at the moment.

Never quite understand these people who keep going until they get the gender they want, they could be 10 kids in and still no girl!

I will be happy either way but it grates that others have made me feel like a girl would be more worthy of celebrating.

Well, you could console yourself with the knowledge that people who feel like that are idiots. And have to go through life being idiots. Congratulations on your second baby 🎉 and I hope you have a happy and healthy rest of your pregnancy.

Sometimes I think people just want something to say, so they trot out a load of cliches that every pregnant woman in the world has heard.

And anyway, having several children of the same sex doesn’t mean the same personalities, interests and energies.