I was watching a rerun of Rhoda, and Rhoda’s chronically pregnant friend, Susan can’t tie her shoes as she’s so fat from being pregnant, to typical hilarious results. Of course why a woman who has been pregnant five times before doesn’t wear shoe that slip on, instead of needing to be tied, I don’t know.
So anyway, I thought I’d ask of you pregnant women now, and of those past pregnant women, what embarrassing thing could you not do once you got “big” from your pregnancy.
For the sake of this thread, I don’t mean anything serious or life-threatening, I mean comical. Like when Allie (from Kate & Allie) got stuck behind the steering wheel of her car and had to be rescued (in a pregnancy flashblack)
Again, I am not looking for serious things but things that are mildly amusing or things you thought you could do but couldn’t.
The only one I can think of is one time when I was washing dishes in the sink. My then-husband’s friend came through the kitchen, laughed and said “Oh I see you’re fixing to have that baby!”. I asked him why he said that. He said “You’re standing there sideways”. It was true! I hadn’t noticed what I was doing, but I had my hips and baby bump turned sideways and my arms and shoulders oriented properly to wash dishes. Otherwise I couldn’t have reached the sink.
Not really funny, but I do my weekly shopping at a shopping centre near my house.
There is a Marks and Spencers at one end, a Sainsbury’s at the other and various clothes shops in between.
When I was about 37 weeks pregnant I went there to pick up a few things- I parked by M&S, went to the pharmacy, bought a few baby clothes and some groceries at Sainsbury’s…and then realised halfway back to the car that I couldn’t physically carry the bags any further, because I had bought too much.
That’s right.
I was stuck in the middle of a mall, too pregnant to carry my own bags back to my car.
I will be forever grateful to the security guard who carried my bags to my car for me.
I had my car repaired and they asked if I wanted to drive it off the ramp myself.
I was halfway to the car when I realised A: it was 2 metres off the ground. B: It would have to be reversed down some very skinny ramps and C: I was six months pregnant.
The images rolled through my head like my own private sitcom of that fat lady (me) comically clambering up to the car, then being unable to twist in the seat enough to see where I was going. The results were hysterically funny in my head.
I let one of the mechanics drive it out of the yard for me.
Judging by the looks all round, I think we were all equally relieved.
I must have been very small (and I was doing yoga and pilates 3-4 times a week) but there was nothing I wasn’t able to do - getting up off the floor or a sofa was easy, I could still tie shoes, shave my legs and paint my toes. The hooha grooming was harder to monitor, but a regular wax saw to that. I reckon most of what you see on TV is for comic effect. Although I did burn my tummy with the iron once, not used to how much space I really needed for it - does that count? (NB to self this time around, make sure singlet is pulled down next time I play with hot things…
I am currently a little over 12 weeks pregnant and I cannot climb up our bed anymore…gracefully. Our bed is a little high off the ground and in the past I could just playfully jump on to it and not care. But now it feels like I have to prep myself each time…like I am climbing up a steep set of stairs. My fiance saw me struggling the other night and I just gave up and asked him to drag me up on the bed. Since then, he just offers me his hand to prop myself up every night. I think a step stool will be needed soon.
Couldn’t bend over easily to paint my toenails? (still can’t, but don’t have pregnancy as an excuse!) Towards the end, I developed excrutiating pain from pressure on the sciatic nerve. Pain, pain, pain, standing, sitting, lying down. When I did sit down, I had to call someone to come haul me to my feet because it was so agonizing trying to stand up. (usually, I brace myself, count to three, and launch myself upright, but couldn’t do it preggo).
I think the only thing I couldn’t do was fit in a restaurant booth when I was 8 months pregnant with Dweezil. We tried to sit down, I realized this was a Problem, and had the waiter seat us at a regular table. Other restaurant booths were not a problem, it was just this one location.
I don’t think I had much trouble with shoes - then again I’m long-waisted so the belly never got in the way as much as other people have found.
I very nearly burnt my belly on a hot oven door when I was leaning forward to check if something was ready.
I kept brushing up against people when I’d try to squeeze past them and under estimate how much space I needed.
My friends mocked me relentlessly when my partner took a photo of me asleep on the couch and my belly was overhanging the edge - I was too big to fit on the sofa.
I had to turn sideways when using the sliding guillotine at work because I kept cutting a curve into things - my belly would push the paper forward as I leaned to reach the cutting head.
Being able to reach round the bump & wipe after having a bowel movement was starting to be an issue - I was nearly dislocating my arm by 41 weeks. Thankfully I had the baby before it became completely impossible!
I’m so glad somebody else posted this. It’s exactly what I was thinking! I always, um, persevered until I was clean, but it was not easy toward the end.
Edited to add: I don’t reach down between the legs to do it; it was just hard to twist around. (I know fubbleskag’s question wasn’t directed at me, but there you go.)
When preggers with #3, I couldn’t pick up anything off the floor. If I dropped something, it would have to stay put until hubby could come home pick it up for me.
