"precious" pregnancies

I renember standing at work about 7m pregnant and balancing a cup of tea on a saucer (yes I know. It was 31 years ago) on the bump. Saucer rattled and you could see the ripples even under my voluminous frock .Two male colleagues were absolutely riveted by this so I asked if they wanted to feel (both married but neither a dad)They accepted with alacrity. I knew them well and they were lovely people though it did feel a bit weird .They thought it was amazing .I guess now they would have just patted a protuberant bump ..

I have never seen DD (due next week) hold up her bump. in fact I talk to my grandson via the bump. I think it'd great that her boys are bonding with their brother before he's born

Wrong side of the bed indeed!
A first much wanted pregnancy is indeed very special.( Every pregnancy is special, but we just get better at dealing with it. )
Sadly the younger generation are in many cases finding that conception is not as easy as it seemed. When you have been trying with all your might NOT to conceive, it can come as a shock that the opposite is not always the case. I hear more often than I would like expect of miscarriages, stillbirths, and severe defects detected in the various scans available and my DDs (one of whom has experienced one of these) each have had in their NCT group friends who have had to face tragedy.
So no, let them enjoy their bumps, revel in those precious months before all hell is let loose (births whichndo not go to plan,emergency sections,, tears, stitches, "leaking", cracked nipples, sleep deprivation, exhaustion, toddler tantrums, endless laundry of rugby shirts and shorts the hell of the teenage years)
Remember the joy of pregnancy? Happy days!

Yes, i think some young Mums do expect the world to revolve around them as soon as the become pregnant, some turn up to work and expect to earn a wage for not doing the job they are paid to do and some believe that the whole world are waiting with baited breath for the next update on fakebook etc. Some just get on with it

'Get husbands/partners, to help with this task'

gasp You can't possibly be suggesting that the man that impregnated the woman must pull his weight.

Well bless my cotton socks that's just not on!

My DD's pregnancy was precious, I call it a miracle, she had ICSI, similar to IVF but more technical. It was wonderful to feel baby move and hold her abdomen. Life is a gift, I give thanks for my one and only GD

Did you get out of bed the wrong side OP? - it is lovely they are happy and enjoying it.

What was it Phillip Larkin said about sex being invented in 1963. The current lot seem to think that pregnancy was invented last week.

They will get over it.

I'm with the OP here, with some pregnant women you would think no-one had done it before and they constantly stroke/fondle/ feel their bump all the time. I long to say just wait dear just wait.

I don't like to see a bare bump in public ( why show it off like that?) I don't like to see bare midriff anyway...on anybody, thin or fat, in public unless on a beach.
I made myself some really nice maternity dresses ( should have kept them to wear now!) Close family liked to feel the baby kick, certainly wouldn't have wanted anyone else to.No, didn't do the talking thing, no need as the baby can hear talking and music and all that goes on anyway.

I wouldn't begrudge them that and I think it is rather nice that they no longer feel they have to hide their bump under a voluminous tent of a maternity smock surmounted by a flipping great bow!
Less pleasant though is the "other side". Expectant mums can (IMO rightly too) feel their space is invaded by people who insist on touching or feeling their bump.
Older women often, sadly

Many years ago, before I was married let alone pregnant I worked with a pregnant woman who kept trying to get me to feel her bump. She was very thin so you could practically see tho outline of the baby under the skin and it made my flesh creep. She wasn't a first time mother, in fact for those days she was rather old (27) I made sure I didn't inflict my bumps on anyone but DH..

Yes, I can't see anything wrong with siblings having a bit of a pre-birth chat with the new baby - might help them to accept him/her more readily, especially if they're very young themselves.

(Never felt the need to 'hold up' my pregnant tum, nature has a way of doing it for you...)

I think it's quite cute for siblings to talk to the tummy . But I really don't want to see bare bumps , tshirts rumpled above, trousers tucked in below.

I'm sure it's lovely to the expectant Mum but I don't need to see your bump to share your joy !

Hold up expanding abdomens? You can get a special girdle for that, great relief!

and nothing wrong with siblings chatting to the baby and feeling it kick (or was I a New Age Mother?).
I wouldn't have asked anyone else to participate though.

Judthepud2 thanks x

I think this perhaps tends to be first time mums Blodwen

And bless them, they are so excited about their coming babe. Blissfully unaware of the nitty gritty of labour, birth and being a parent. They should be allowed to enjoy it while they can. With subsequent babies, who has time for that?