Grown-ups say the darnedest things*

*to you when you're pregnant.

I'm not sure what it is about a pregnant belly that makes people feel like they can say whatever they want to you. I get that I'm participating in the most basic and vital miracle of life and its beautiful, blah blah blah, but seriously, how is it that verbal filters get clogged and folks just let it overflow. Do they think the bump makes you less sensitive or will keep your fist from reaching their face?

Before I was really showing, like the extremely obvious "baby bump" I now sport, one of the nurses, who knew I was pregnant, was asking me if I'd gotten my work benefits squared away since she knew I'd been in a battle with my boss to get full-time benefits before I "came out" of the pregger closet. Another nurse, sitting near-by decided to pipe in with her oh-so-thoughtful advice. "Term it. Kids ruin your life. Just term it." (And for those of you not in the medical field, she meant terminate it.) Right then, the ER tech, who happened to also being sitting too close to the now very awkward conversation said, "Well, if you don't term it, there are always people who will buy your baby." Who said I was selling it? Who says I don't want this baby? These are also some of the same people who forget I'm married, even though Paul used to work in the same ER before he was hired at the PD and has been introduced to people as my husband on numerous occasions. These are the comments from the people who decided to join the medical field because they want to care and heal and help people. Makes you feel all warm and fuzzy now doesn't it.

And there's more:

ER Doc: "Is that uh, you know, what I think it is?" (As he puts his arm around my shoulder in a fatherly manner.)

Me: "I don't know Dr. C, what do you think it is?"

ER Doc: "Well I'm hesitant to say until it actually comes out."

Me: "You mean the baby?"

ER Doc: "Yeah, I didn't know if it might be a tumor or something"

Me: "Right, a tumor. 'Cause that's an obvious choice."

In the hospital cafeteria at the check-out line from a woman who has obviously never been denied a meal in her life. In her thick eastern European accent: "Is that you're dinner? Baby need more food."

A patient, who not minutes before was lying in her ER bed moaning and groaning incoherently, says loud enough to my co-worker so I can hear at my cubicle: "Is somebody working on a new somebody?" (Is that supposed to mean something?)

From across the cafeteria, "Jessy! You're huge!" (So, far, I'm only 24 weeks, with nearly 4 more months of growing, but ya know, apparently, already huge.) "Thanks Roberto, that's what every pregnant woman wants to hear."

And multiple times, this happens:

"When are you due?" I tell them. "Whoa, really?" (trying to hide their obvious surprise.) "Wow, you still have a ways to go, huh."

"Are you sure there aren't twins in there?"

"Are you having twins?"

"Twins, right?"

"You're not due till when?"

"You've got how many months?"

"Lemme guess? Twins?"

I'm sure the comments will keep coming as this baby keeps growing with, yes, 4 more months to go because as I now know, the baby bump gives people the courage to say things that they wouldn't dream of saying to anyone else.