Lego' My Prego'

I didn't think it would happen to me, but it did. I was folding clothing at work when a stranger walked up and proceeded to ask me about the various Levi's we had on stock. I politely engaged in some conversation on the difference between "recreational" jeans and the more professional looking jeans-the ones you can wear to work with a nice blazer or suit jacket.

Little did I know, it was just this gentleman's way of starting a conversation in which it continued with one minute of him discretely finding out that I am pregnant and then 20 minutes of him giving me advice. (It's the hardest thing you'll ever do; don't think it's easy; you think one is hard, try having 4; go swimming a lot, maybe even buy a tube and fall asleep in the pool as long as your husband is watching that you don't drown; etc.) I smiled for the first 5 minutes, spent the next 5 hoping my supervisors weren't watching, then prayed for 5 minutes that I wouldn't lose my job over this guy, and the last 5 minutes finding the right exit strategy.

Finally, one of my supervisors did come to my rescue. The man said his parting goodbyes, brought up the jeans again, and then left.

I don't mind pregnant advice from strangers...if: (A) it comes from a woman; (B) it can be summed up in two or less sentences; (C) it's not about how hard it's going to be; and (D) they don't assume that I don't know anything about babies or children. For example, a woman who came through my line a couple days ago with her one year old gave me the good advice to drink a lot of fluids, maybe cranberry juice and definitely water. Simple, polite, woman to woman advice.

The only two significant things I can relay to others about advice giving are keep it simple and it's better and much more appreciated when it's asked for. Think of it like a new sport. I'm an athlete and there's nothing worse than trying something new, and someone coaching you from every angle. Before you can even try it out or try to get good at it, someone's telling you how to hold your hands, correcting your posture, it's all in the hips, follow through, etc., etc. It makes you hate the sport!

I'm going to hate parenting before I'm ever a parent if there's too much advice coming from all angles. Let me try to be a mom first! If I have questions along the way, I'm going to ask my family and family-in-laws, aunts, doctor, close friends, and my husband. I got lucky marrying a guy who's the third of eight kids, having a father who is the fifth of ten children, and having a mother of 5 kids who also did daycare and teaching.

I don't mean to be rude, but I've got plenty of amazing sources for advice. And, who knows, maybe you strangers out there know how to do the parenting thing like a pro. In which case, I fully support you in writing a book, blogging it, or twittering daily tweets all about it!