starting2get really peed off with people asking..when do u think the baby wil come!?!

[steph1512]

ok so im prob a little hormonal and tired,
but is it just me that is finding it so annoying that on a daily basis im getting asked..

how do u feel any signs?
when do you think baby will come?
do you think it might come next wk
early or late?

arghh im not even at my due date and this started a couple of wks ago im 38plus4 today!

sorry felt the nedd to have a moan before i actually lose it n end up not smiling sweetly at someone the next time they ask n end up saying ..do i look like i have a crystal ball!?!

Actually - do say that! Great response.

It is possibly the most wearisome phrase (and phase) of the whole pregnancy - you have my full sympathy. My FIL used to ring to "see how I was doing". I did tell him at one point, that had we had the baby, we would have told him! And I was only 2 days late, can;t think how it would have been if I have been properly over.

Anyway, ignore, ignore ignore. And good luck with the rest of the pregnancy.

Poor you!

Hope it's soon, my DD was 15 days past her due date (that probably isn't very encouraging, is it?!).

It is almost as annoying as when one person says "your bump is really big" and the next person saying "you have a tiny bump"!

Do you look like a crystal ball? I know I looked like I had a crystal ball up my jumper when I was at the same stage!!

do i look like i have a crystal ball!?! -thats a FAB answer!!

all 3 of mine went late and the constant questions and comments drove me bonkers!!!!

I am 33 weeks and it has already started! I think it's just people trying to think of something to say to you. I say "no idea!" and then breezily move on to the Obama healthcare reforms/how scarily thin Nadine from Girls Aloud is looking/how funny James Corden was on Sports Relief or whatever the next topic of conversation is...

It drove me nuts. If there's a next time I shall definitely lie about my due date.

I agree with tablefor3, be as sarcastic as you like to people

Try looking horrified and saying "Baby? What baby?"

I'm due in a few weeks and am getting a bit grr with the people trying to touch me! GET OFF.

the worst is some of the questions are from friends who have two children (this will be my third)..and it drove them mad when preg, they must have forgotten.

dont think it helps that my first was a week early n second only a day early but think people are assumed i wont go overdue..think ill go mad if i do!

YANBU - the last days of pregnancy are tough enough without stickybeaks pestering you! One of my friends phoned me every day in the last weeks, to check up on me (bless him). Towards the end, I was just picking up the phone and shouting, 'NOT YET!'.

OP YANBU. Someone asked me this when I was 36 weeks and I had had enough. I said "dunno but I hear smoking heavily during pregnancy usually means the baby will be early AND small so......" She didnt ask again

YADNBU. Not sure why people do this, and the worst offenders in my case are my Mum and MIL, both of whom you would think knew better. I am currently 37+3, but my DD1, who is 2, was induced at plus 14 days - so there isn't a huge amount of chance anything will happen early this time.

Just to add insult to injury, my MIL last night launched upon a potted history of the accumulated induction horror stories of her family/acquaintances (of which there appear to be a never ending supply). I actually turned round and cut her off mid-sentence, almost shouting 'enough of the horror stories THANK YOU'. She replied, 'oh, but you don''t have anything to worry about, you weren't late or induced last time' . I answered that actually yes, I was induced - not only that but as a result of a retained placenta I needed surgery and haemmoraged, which is why I had to stay in hospital nearly a week. FFS! It was only a couple of years ago!

I have started telling those who don't know/have forgotten my due date 'oh, sometime around early June' just to see them struggle before deciding to say nothing about how large I am!

'Do I look like I have a crystal ball' is a rude, sarcastic and unpleasant response to people who show interest in you, your pregnancy and your baby.

I can only assume that the people who write and respond to these threads have never asked anybody a basic, polite question that perhaps others might have asked them too.

You never talk about the weather? Ask people if they have holiday plans? Enquire after their kids etc?

Thank god that in RL small talk is welcomed and not met with rudeness and sarcasm as espoused by this thread.

I think it depends a lot upon the tone it is said in TBH, MorrisZapp. I personally think the crystal ball thing is a witty response that allows you to let off steam and gently let the person making the enquiry know that they have hit a sensitive chord with their question.

Threads like these are great for letting off steam, and I don't think anyone seriously wants to offend anyone genuinely enquiring after their well-being. Hope you don't meet anyone near their due date anytime soon - sounds like you have NO sense of humour.

Well yes, what Morris says.

I appreciate that it can be tiresome but good grief, people are taking an interest in you and your baby. Would it be better if nobody gave a damn?

MorrisZapp - as discussed, yes, we all acknowlegde that the bulk of the time it is just making conversation (which is not quite the same as "being interested in your pregnancy" - see your comment about the weather).

Which is also why, for the bulk of the time, we politley respond with something like "oh, it'll come when it's ready" or "no, no real twinges" etc.

The response (with a smile) "I don't have a crystal ball" is a perfectly fair response. It is also useful in the work situation where a) one may choose not to particularly talk about one's pregnancy, but, obviously, there is no disguising at some point and b) you are chatting to your colleagues, not friends or family.

I can pretty much guarantee that all the women on this post will have asked about other's people's lives, but in a more tactful manner than "have you had it yet".

Sorry, how is saying 'Do I look like I have a crystal ball' humour?

It just sounds openly rude to me. I also hope I don't meet anybody near their due date soon, as I am a naturally chatty, inquisitive person and yes, I would ask when it it due, do you think it'll be soon etc.

These are apparently unacceptable questions. Presumably you're meant to meet an enormously PG woman and say 'gosh did you see X Factor' or something, though no doubt then you'd casue offence by not showing an interest in their pregnancy.

Can't bloomin' win. I'm 12 weeks just now with my first and hope I never respond rudely to people's polite interest in my PG, though of course it's all uncharted territory for me.

otter - I'll say again, a lot of these people don;t really have an interest in the pregnancy. They are simply chatting just as they would about X-Factor or what they are having for lunch. It is harmless unless you don;t particularly want to discuss your pregnancy, in which you need a gently deflecting answer.

Family and close friends are a different category. However, you must remember getting closer to the end of the pregnancy and wanting to have had the baby, and having people asking about it just added to the sense of frustration that it hadn;t come yet!

Classic example from my first pregnancy: I was being sent for extra scans for lack of growth, probably fine, but potential problems there. Well-meaning colleague, who used to see me everyday, looks me up and down and says "Table - you look really big today". I just sort of smiled and headed to my office.

I know I'm probably a bit sensitive, but if I don;t bring up my pregnancy generally, I would hope that others would get the hint.

"Sorry, how is saying 'Do I look like I have a crystal ball' humour?"

When it's said with a smile.

MZ, just wait until you get to term
Honestly, it does get a leetle wearing
[has taken to hiding in the house to avoid even strangers asking]

For the record, with pregnant women whether I know them or not, I tend to ask "How are you feeling?" or "You are looking very well" so that if they want to make it PG-related they can or else keep it general.

It's being the centre of the attention as well
I prefer chatting about other stuff than myself