Pet peeves

A good rant post, meant to be purely fun! The social (and medical) perceptions of pregnancy that absolutely drive me crazy:

When people say pregnancy is actually 10 months.
Pregnancy is not and has never been 10 months! People say this because they say that pregnancy is 40 weeks, and 4 weeks = a month so it must be 10 months. First of all, it is not 40 weeks, it is 38 weeks, which I guess is a whole other pet peeve. The first two weeks of pregnancy is before conception. And besides that, every month besides February has more than 4 weeks in it. Get a calendar, and literally count 40 weeks and you'll come up with 9 months and 1 week. Subtract the 2 weeks that count as being pregnant when you're not and you end up with 9 months minus 1 week. So technically, an average pregnancy is less than 9 months +/- a week or two.

Stork Parking
That's right, I think stork parking is ridiculous. Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm disabled so I don't want to be treated as such! I actually think stores should have more parking for parents with young children so they don't have to drag toddlers through busy parking lots. But all people could use a bit more exercise, including pregnant women.

The big deal about fish
Certain types of fish should be avoided during pregnancy (actually avoided always) because of high mercury levels. These are large predator fish. So unless you are a shark connoisseur, you usually don't have to worry about what fish to eat. Shark, mackerel, tilefish, swordfish... I have actually never had any of these fishes. The only fish I like that should be avoided is tuna and tuna steaks, otherwise fish is not only a go, not only healthy, but essential! Baby brain development relies on Omega-3's, so a lot of health prescribers are suggesting pregnant women take a fish oil supplement. So eat your salmon!

Soft Cheese
While I'm discussing food, every pregnancy book, website, and information sheet I have read says to avoid soft cheeses. Why? Because it could possibly maybe not be pasteurized. I'm not going to get into pasteurization, but if you get your cheese from the mega-mart I guarantee it is pasteurized. They all say on the package too. I literally stood in the cheese bin at Kroger looking at every piece of Brie they had and didn't find a single one that was unpasteurized. And goat cheese? Ultra-pasteurized!! I have heard women get totally freaked out if they accidentally eat some Brie at a party. Unless you can find specialty unpasteurized cheese from a cheese monger in a major city (even then it will be farmed and produced well and unlikely to carry bacteria), I really don't think this is something to get worked up about.

People who think being pregnant gives them the license to eat chocolate (or french fries, or ice cream)
I'm no stick in the poo. I splurge too. I love, love, love (love, love) sweets. I eat dark chocolate pretty regularly, had a piece of cake a a colleague's retirement party yesterday, and even got a small milk shake from Sonic last week. (Who can resist buy one get one free!) But its when pregnant women believe that now that they are pregnant, they get to eat like a pig that really bothers me. Pregnancy is one time in your life that it is so essential to eat well. Eating processed and fried junk food regularly results in excess weight gain, constipation, and worse things like gestational diabetes, and even worse yet, a weak unhealthy baby. This is the one time that women should be more conscientious of what goes in their bodies since it is not only their health and well being, but their baby's. So what to do about those sweet cravings? I eat small pieces of dark chocolate, and also make my own baked goods. I can make delicious cookies and cakes using all natural and unprocessed ingredients. Way better than a box of Oreos!

What are your pet peeves? Please share, I'd love some reader involvement! (and if you can't think of any relating to pregnancy, well, just give me a random pet peeve :) )