In the Pregnancy Know

So I have never been the type of person that you would consider to be in the pregnancy know. I mean I am not the type of person who would ever really know what to say or how to act around a pregnant person. For those of you like me I am putting together this little guide of things NOT to say or do...

1) If you don't know that someone is pregnant and it isn't 100% obvious, better not to ask. This is due to the fact that the woman may or may not be pregnant at all. It's always a little ackward when you ask how far along a woman is and she replies "I am not pregnant". OOOPPPSSS! Ackward, ackward, ackward.

2) Once pregnancy is established don't say, "How far along are you? Are you sure you aren't having twins?" This question, though may have good intentions, it does nothing but make the husband have to explain to the wife for the next week that she looks great and that she is not too big.

3) Along with the previous question, don't ask "How far along are you? You look tiny." Though this may seem like a compliment this leaves the wife wondering if her baby is growing okay and once again leaves the husband having to reassure the wife for the next week that everything is okay.

4) Everyone has a delivery story and for some reason nobody wants to tell the good ones. If you have a bad delivery story to tell, keep it to yourself. The wife doesn't want to hear how painful giving birth is and how many hours of pain she will be in or how many things can go wrong. If you feel you have to tell these stories wait until after the delivery and compare stories. On the other hand if you have a nice and peaceful story now is a good time to bring that up.

Some acceptable things to say to a pregnant person would be as follows:
When are you due.
You look absolutely great, you are totally glowing.
I have never seen you so happy.
You are going to be a wonderful parent.
Congratulations.
Do you know if it is a boy or girl? If they aren't finding out and you don't think that is a good idea keep it to yourself...They aren't going to change their mind because you think it is hard to have family or friends buy the baby stuff before they are born.
Give them a call once and a while just to see how they are feeling.
Send them flowers to let them know that you are thinking of them.

One thing I have learned thru this pregnancy process is the MAJOR sacrifice that women make to bring us all into this world. Any hard thing you have ever done in your life (Ironman, college, etc.) is NOTHING compared to this. This is an endurance event unto its own. This event takes both a strong physical and mental toll on the woman and anything you can do to make it easier is ALWAYS appreciated. It is during this time in a woman's life that she needs extra reassurance that she has friends and family who care about her.

With all this said I must say SORRY to any of my friends, who were pregnant in the past, if I said anything to offend you it is because I wasn't in the know and I am sorry. I am hoping that people who read this blog that are like I was are now aware of what can be offending. So next time you see a pregnant person, whether you know them or not, let them know how beautiful they are and how much you admire what they are doing.
-Ryan