Amazingly tactless things complete strangers say...

[HollyBollyBooBoo]

Whilst pregnant

New potential supplier in meeting at work infront of 5 of my team: '...have you put on much weight? You look asthough you have or were you always that big?'
I'm a size 14 and put on 10lbs during entire pregnancy, needless to say the b!tch didn't get the contract.

With new baby (for info DD has a small birthmark on her right hand)

Old man in supermarket: '...what's that on her hand? Did she burn herself on the stove?'
Me: 'Yes I always let my 8 week old play on the hot stove, gotta start 'em young'

Woman doing a food demo in a up-market foodie place: 'Ah lovely baby. Is she hungry?
Me: No, no she's just had 10oz for her lunch!'
Woman: 'Look she's so hungry she's sucked her hand red raw!'
Me: 'No it's a birthmark' (turn on heel and walk off in disgust)

Feeding 5 week old DD a bottle of formula in TK Maxx to prevent her crying her eyes out.
Old man approaches; 'Is that breast milk?'
Me: 'No, formula'
Old man: 'My wife had 5 children and breastfed each one of them for the first year of their lives, so much better for them and cheaper than that stuff'
Me: Cry my eyes out for failing to suceed at breastfeeding despite trying and having counselling.

DD had crying fit for no apparent reason and had eventually calmed down but was bright red and always goes blotchy.
Random old woman in supermarket: 'Is she sunburnt? You really must cover them up at this age for goodness sake.'
Me: Too dumbfounded to even speak to made goldfish impressions with my mouth for a minute until DH came back with the ketchup.

Do I attract the nutjobs out there or what?! Had no idea my DD would be such public property!

My DS was screaming his lungs out on our first trip to the supermarket as I was hurrying through the checkout, completely stressed out. As I walked away an old lady at another checkout was standing there with her hands over her ears grimacing. I walked on by (the right thing to do I know) but I still wish I'd whacked her with my handbag!

MrsBowie I'm sure you wish you'd said 'Wow, you're a bitch!'

My DD has a birthmark on her face (temple) and a few people have asked me if it is eczema, which I thought it was to start with. But the enquiries have been by people I know and they weren't unkind. I too have been told it might fade away. It certainly gets darker when she has carrots - why? My plan is to say 'everyone has a fault and aren't you lucky that's all you have' - or maybe not, I don't know - any ideas anyone?

I was glared at a few times if I BF in a cafe. Always by old men. They couldn't see a thing as I was super discreet, but I was just waiting for one to abuse me. Thankfully they kept quiet. Maybe they were annoyed I was so discreet!

Random shop assistant in the States - And where are you visiting from?

Me - The Virgin Islands

Shop assistant - Oh, what do you do there, are you retired?

Me - Erm...no. I'm 38.

My stock response to situations like these consists of a withering look and a sarcastic 'Gosh, are you quite sure you want to be a diplomat when you grow up?'

ina bus old lady came to me to look in my pram and to tell me that i better formula feed my baby as this will ensure that he sleeps through the night and i don't have to bother breastfeeding, also that i should wean him at about 3 months old as current advice is just rubbish the docotrs made up, she thought this was her duty as she was a retired midwife.
i told her it was a good thing she was retired.

also a woman on dh's work that i've never seem before told me that if i insist in breastfeeding him at least i should put the milk in a bottle or he will never sleep. i just laught there, i'm afraid.

dh was at the doctors with ds and a woman came to tell him that his baby was hungry, so he just said, i know i am trying to starve him.

about 1.5 hours ago with 4month old DD in adsa

woman -It's too late to have her out

me - pardon?

woman - mothers nowadays just don't think of their children first it's not good for her health, I think it's terrible her being out so late.

me - nor is you being twenty stone, but i'm not sticking my nose in directing you to the nearest weightwatchers.

now. but at the time it felt soooo good.

Attilia , well done !

but a tiny baby has no schedule! silly thing to say. not like she had school tomorrow, is it?

Attila - love it! I can never think of things to say at the time like that.

I'd just love to know why people think that I'm incompetent with my own child, even people who know me, latest example - MIL asked DH what she could buy my DD for xmas. I said if she wants to buy clothes to get her 9-12 month clothes as DD is 97th percentile and always in the next age size up in clothes than the age she actually is. MIL said 'is DIL sure about that?' in such an accusatory way that even DH (who never bad mouths his DM) said 'Yes Mother she changes her outfit about 3 times a day, she knows what size she's in'.

A classic today was a woman in a cookshop telling me to add cooked oats, pushed through a sieve into DDs bottle of milk. When I said current guidance is not to wean until 6 months and DD is only 4.5months, she said 'well I did it for my son from 2 weeks old and he's ok' - yeah apart from chronic IBS I assume?

A Jehovahs Witness, outside the station - 'Can I give you a copy of this magazine? It's got an article on anorexia in it. I don't know if you're anorexic or not, but you are very thin. Please read it.'

I'm a normal size 8, and have never had any issues with food.

also nothing but milk in the bottle, and my mil is starting to think i am an awful mother for not putting breakfast ceral in ds bottle but i am standing my ground.

I have had a large number of comments on DS1's birthmark - it is a large strawberry mark in the centre of his chest.

wannabeglam I always make a point of telling people who mention it how much I love DS1's birthmark, how cool it is becuase it is so distinctive, and we have always told him it's his "superman" mark, and it's a shame it will eventually fade. This normally cuts people off, although not the HV who attempted to "reassure" me about it, telling me I mustn't worry, and that it would go away eventually...it was the way she said it...

wannabeglam - I would be inclined to market the birthmark as an added extra rather than a "fault". My brother had one and we nicknamed it "the big freckle" and I was always jealous that he had one somewhere visible and no one could see mine. My daughter loves her different coloured eyes, even though others sometimes react with amazing rudeness. I would say something along the lines of, "not everyone gets to have one - aren't you lucky?" or similar. Make it a positive and something you love about them rather than something negative.
Just an opinion but dd is 9 and loves being different.

Thank you - I hadn't really thought how to handle it until today and knew I'd got it wrong as I wrote it - great help.

And Atilla I wish I could think on my feet like that!

dexterrocks can i say i think having different coloured eyes is such a beautiful feature and so rare , i think anyone who makes rude comments is either jealous or plain ignorant.

my ds chews everything that goes near his mouth i mean everything! and certain family members will say he is hungry make him a bottle, i will say he was fed two hours ago, he has food on the dot of four hours and is happy with that if he is hungry at 3.5 i willl feed him then no biggie
no they will say he is definately hungry and so on til i want to scream i know my own fooking baby !!

my poor mam got loads of stick when i was young because i had very very frizzy hair , total strangers would come up to her and say , i think its disgusting crimping your childs hair like that or what is wrong with her hair! like i was a freak and i think they thought i couldnt hear them and it really hurt my feelings to the extent that when i was a teenager i had it cut off up to my ears , thankfully it grew back and i wouldnt have it any other way

Adrenaline thank you, I think so too. Before I had the dcs I was a teacher and taught a girl with a grey eye and a brown eye and thought then it was beautiful.
Unfortunately a lot of cartoons give the evil baddie different coloured eyes which doesn't help the self image.

We have had a lot of positive responses from people too though and she has a very positive self image so it is not an issue. Hopefully that will remain through the teenage years.

A conversation with a mum at DS's school while i was heavily pregnant (first ever convo)
me: I heard it's harder to recover
her: Yes it would be for you but I had a husband to help me...

I'm 27 but look like one of the very young mums at the school and she just assumed i'd be a single mother..I can imagine I would be even more annoyed if I was.

Shortly after she was pulled aside by her teacher for her child being naughty..Go home and discuss that with your husband!!!! :o

sorry my overwrite got the better of me....it was a convo about c - sections ..:)

the only one i ever had was when i was walking along with my nephew.
He was 3yrs and only wanted to walk everywhere. He had his reigns on and a lady walked past commenting
"some people treat their children like animals!"

completely gobsmaked!!!

In M&S yesterday buying ready meal curries with my 10wk old DS. The Old Boot (lady) in front shows me her whole chicken and other bits that she is getting in the "two can dine for £10" promotion saying what a great deal it is.
Me(making a joke): It's a great deal but then you have to cook it!
Old Boot: Oh. Don't you cook?
Me: I did until DS came along, hahaha.
Old Boot: I had 4 children and I always cooked from scratch condescending look
Me: (what I wish I had said) Good for you bitch. Thanks very much for that piece of wisdom.

The upshot is that me and DP do try to cook most nights but reserve the right to get convenience food on Friday nights or other particularly stressful days and refuse to beat ourselves up over it.

When DS was born, he had a shock of jet black, spikey hair. Some soft sod tutted at me in the supermarket and said loudly to her other half, "He's far too young to have gel in his hair!"

He's so skinny!

Don't you feed him?

Have you thought about giving him more food?

Have you tried giving him any mashed up vegies?

He's so skinny!

Over and over and over again until I was a nervous wreck and sure that I was a useless and cruel mother and someone, anyone, could do better for my darling ds1.

(BTW pediatrician said "Yes he's underweight, but I can see that he is well cared for and you can't force him to eat! and GP said "some babies scream blue murder until they are bursting and some eat just enough to take the edge off their hunger and then turn their attention elsewhere)

Ooh OOh another one! -A bit off topic.....

In the supermarket, both kids (about 2y & 5y) giggling and telling each other jokes. I was about to shush them since they were getting quite loud and I was at the end of my patience. An old lady comes up and I brace myself for the telling off and she says " It's so lovely to see such happy children, you must be doing something right." I was in tears for the rest of the shop.