Babies are a blessing, and a life event that bring peace, love, joy and harmony; well, most of the time. Sometimes it feels like the blessed event can be a curse. Not all bundles of joy turn out to be a triumphant idea. And telling loved ones that one is expecting can turn out to be a harrowing and cold experience. But hopefully as time rolls along, everyone can come together for the sake of a new life. It's just the initial announcement can be.... bumpy.
Redditor u/Beeblebroxia wanted to hear from people who have had some shall we say "unexpected" reception when discussing their stork delivery by asking...What is the worst reaction you've ever witnessed to a pregnancy announcement?
I'm out....
escaping saoirse ronan GIF by A24GiphyThe story goes that when my uncle's wife told him she was expecting their second child, he stopped the car on a busy highway, got out, and started walking.
Grandma says you're an idiot......
My grandma's reaction to my cousin's 2nd pregnancy.
1st baby was in high school, everyone acted as calmly as they could because what was done was done and teenagers are idiots. Best to support and move on.
8 years later and pregnant by a boyfriend of 2 months.
Grandma forgot all her English and began straight yelling at my cousin in her first language. Cousin only spoke English and kept asking me what Grandma was saying. I honestly didn't want to translate, Grandma was pretty much saying she was glad that our Grandpa was dead so he didn't have to see his granddaughter disgrace herself and the family for the second time.
And that if she died soon it was going to be because her dumb granddaughter couldn't figure out how to keep her legs closed.
My translation to cousin: Grandma says you're an idiot.
Never with Thai...
When I told my estranged father I was pregnant. I hadn't talked to him in a few years and he asked to take me for lunch, we went to a Thai place and I was about 4 weeks pregnant and couldn't keep anything down. I had to excuse myself from the table to throw up and when I came back I refused any more food. He straight up just said "are you pregnant or something?" And knowing his reaction I started to cry and said yes (even though it was a planned pregnancy and I was excited about it).
He went on a huge rant in this restaurant about how I'm a disappointment and a failure. He hadn't met my fiancé so he didn't know who the father was, and when he did meet him he didn't like him for getting his daughter pregnant.
Well now I have two kids and he's never met the second and only seen the first one twice so I'll take it as a win.
Fool
Tea Smh GIF by moodmanGiphyWhen my mom got pregnant after 18 years of trying, she called my dad to come home. He did and my mom told him the news. He looked at her as though she's crazy, said "don't be an idiot" and walked out. Mom got pissed and called him a bunch of times to come back. Took him another solid half an hour to believe her.
Pass the Binky....
When my husband and I found out we were expecting we couldn't wait to tell family. My parents were away for the weekend so we wanted to get to my grandparents first because we knew once my mom found out, she would call them.
My grandmother wasn't home but my Gramps was. We couldn't wait. We let him open the bag with a binky in it that said "please hold on to this for me, knowing my mom she'll forget it. See you in 7 months."
My gramps opened it, looked at it and then us and said nothing. After waiting a bit he said "so is this supposed to be a good thing?" The very first person we told & he said that. We said uh yeah and kept the motto of "it couldn't have gone worse than Gramps" when we told the rest of our family.
Edit: I totally forgot to mention my grandmother watches our daughter 2 days a week. She adores her and he does too however when we said we were having our son 2 years later. He said "this is crap."
Get Out...
I got pregnant when I was 18 and married the baby's father. My mom called me a slut, told me I ruined my life and said that "you just killed your grandparents, is that what you want, to give your grandfather a heart attack!" Then she kicked me out of the house, but not before telling my husband that he was marrying a whore. I only told her because she accused me of stealing a bottle of vodka that I couldn't drink because I was pregnant.
Turns out my brother stole the vodka and blamed me.
I've been married for 23 years now and my mom is on her third divorce. We don't speak anymore. Oh and my grandparents loved my husband and my baby and didn't care that I got pregnant.
Miracle?
Cousin announced her pregnancy 4 months ago. Her husband has been working overseas for over a year now and they haven't gotten together since.
She's been saying it's a miracle baby but everyone knows she's been hooking up with her deadbeat ex-boyfriend who no likes and will probably run off somewhere else if it weren't for the lockdown.
No one is happy about the announcement aside from her. Her mom had to be taken to the hospital because of increased blood pressure and heart problem, stemming from the stress.
Her husband wants a divorce or annulment, whichever one is faster and has refused to help her out.
Evil....
mad broad city GIFGiphyI was told by my future MIL that she didn't understand why I was so excited, because I was just going to miscarry anyway. (I have had miscarriages previous).
"Uh-oh..."
When my wife told me that her younger brother and his wife were expecting, my reaction was an "Uh-oh...".
A little background:
Her brother and wife were the type who constantly fought all the time, were really bad with money (multiple car repos and a bankruptcy), she was lazy and didn't want to work, and it was obvious they wanted a baby to "save the relationship". So what do they do ? Went on to have two kids, she developed a pill habit that cost her her nursing-job (caught stealing oxys), the fighting gets more intense, and then they end up in divorce court.
So my "Uh-oh" reaction was from me seeing the outcome of this in my head and I was spot-on.
Now these poor kids are messed up in the head (the son has severe anger issues) and my wife's brother almost ended up in jail for falling behind on child-support.
If I could predict the stock market like I can predict what this guy is going to do next then I'd be a billionaire.
Happy Holidays....
retro merry christmas GIFGiphyMy sister announced her pregnancy during our 30-people christmas family dinner... with her baby daddy that she was dating for only two months.
The place went dead silent, I awkwardly congratulated them, my mom went to grab a shot of anything strong enough to help her swallow the news, my cousin and her boyfriend went outside for a smoke. I wanted to eject myself from that situation ASAP.
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.