The Reactions

One thing that amazes me about being pregnant and starting to "show" is how much people want to talk about it. A pregnant woman is either as an anomaly or a fellow club member. Moms love to ask me how far along I am or when I am due. They are the ones who rub my belly without asking, which I'm not saying bothers me.
Men are a little more hesitant about asking or talking about it. What they do instead is open doors or allow me to do things first that really aren't necessary, like choosing my apples from the produce stand or taking a menu at a restaurant. Men are mostly concerned that pregnant women get place to place safely and have constant access to food. I guess it's an instinct?
But there are always the women with an opinion. These are the ones you have to watch out for. This week in line at the grocery store, a girl in front of me chatted with the checker about how she gave up full sugar Mountain Dew for diet because she was breast-feeding. Am I going to judge her? Nope. I judged pregnant women for eating Chef Boyardee until I got pregnant. I no longer judge any of them. But then, the checker had to have an opinion. "Well, I don't think you're supposed to drink caffeine when you're pregnant." The breast-feeding mother laughed it off, obviously having dealt with The Opinion before.
"Yeah, they say a lot of things. My kids are all fine."
"Well," The Opinion went on, "doctors are concerned about growth restriction when it comes to pregnancy and caffeine."
Breast-feeding Mom, again, ignored the obviously wide open door to take The Opinion down and shrugged. I, being a new mom and new member of the club, felt the need to step in. "I'm pregnant and I have some form of caffeine everyday. My baby's doing fine."
Breast-feeding Mom looked back at me and smiled. "I'm pretty sure I had a beer or two, as well!" She laughed and walked off. That's right girl! I thought it, I didn't say it. Now it was just me and The Opinion.
"My friend is pregnant and she told me she can't have any caffeine and absolutely no alcohol," The Opinion announced.
I think I puffed up. "There are a lot of opinions and a lot of data, but fortunately for us, we all get to make the choice for ourselves."
The Opinion shook her head. "I just can't see putting my baby at risk."
Lucky for her, she was bagging my groceries when she said that and the transaction was over. It didn't leave me enough time to shove my Ramen Noodles down her throat. So, I looked The Opinion square in the eyes and said, "You know, like I said, it's up to each of us individually. But I can assure you, somewhere in Italy right now there is a pregnant woman eating a delicious piece of unpasteurized cheese with her glass of wine." And I waddled away.