Did anyone find as soon as you started telling people you were pregnant the judgement from others started rolling in?
I'm just over 30 weeks.
My family have been particularly bad for this and it's started to really get me down. My mother has made me feel like I'm just going to sit the baby on front of the TV all day (not sure where she's got this from as as a couple we only watch a maximum of an hour of TV a day, and don't have 'live' TV as such, just a subscription service. But my mother pretty much always has the TV on.)
My sister has kindly been sending out links to me of baby items, but it is always super expensive stuff and if I opt for something slightly different or a cheaper alternative it is picked apart about why it's not as good as the item sent as a link to me. The majority of items I've brought so far have been second-hand, but as soon as a mention buying something new myself my family make me feel as though it's either the wrong choice or that I'm being excessive and materialistic. It's not like I'm even just dropping these things into conversation, they ask about something and I respond. I was made to feel bad for buying a few bits of clothing for myself (4 items of clothes, 2 of which were second-hand, so not even that much!) that will last me through the rest of the pregnancy and are suitable for breast feeding and beyond (I was wearing a new piece of clothing when they saw me so they commented), but my sister shops like it is an Olympic sport and nothing is ever said about this.
My grandma made a comment the other day on how I cried a lot as a baby and that I was a "bad" baby, whatever this means, and asked if was I going to have a baby that cried a lot too. I was just like all babies cry, some more than others, I have no idea what they are going to be like 🤷
My family have also been very critical of me mulling over the option of having a homebirth/birthing centre/midwife led unit and dismissive that I'll be able to manage a unmedicated/low medicated, hypnobirthing birth saying they think I'll end up getting an epidural anyway. I know this one is definitely out of love that they are trying to dissuade me on where to have the baby, but I'm low risk and have a lot of anxieties about a hospital birth and need to do what is right for me and my baby. I will of course go to hospital if it is needed.
Just feeling very unsupported and that it's a lot of negativity that I don't need around me right now. I also feel like it's only going to get worse when baby is here with other things that come up like baby's name, breast feeding, getting baby to sleep, what clothes to put them in etc. I'm not sure if I'm just being completely oversensitive with hormones and probably a bit grumpy with how hot it has been recently 🥵 or whether these things would bother you others too or if others have experienced similar to this too? I'm not really sure how to deal with it as don't feel like I can say anything to them so am just sort of biting my tongue on it.