Everyone wants to touch the baby, especially during the pregnancy but no one every asks. If you haven't noticed yet, the minute you start to show a tummy everyone else will gladly show you. The tummy becomes this magnet for hands and everyone wants to handle it. It doesn’t matter if you are walking around in a store, sitting down in a restaurant or walking on your own street, someone is bound to start rubbing all over it.
You aren’t the only one that is being driven nuts by this either, take a look at your husband. Sure he seems like a trooper but deep inside he’s probably ready to put someone’s lights out. Talk with your husband and see how he feels. Even if you don’t mind, he might not like other men’s hands on you. He may not care if it is a female touching your body but he can mind about a man. Think about how you would feel if you saw some woman rubbing her hands all over your husband’s chest. Maybe the two of you can come to an agreement, after all do you have to let everyone touch the baby?
Your belly, clothed or not is a personal space, sure there is someone intruding inside you but that person in welcome. But to actually touch someone else’s belly one should ask before they do it and respect your answer. If you don’t want them to touch it, tell them. While some women don’t mind all the attention, there are other women that don’t want their belly’s touched, let alone them to be showing for the whole world to see. Maybe they’ve gained 10 pounds and feel conscious enough about it, or they could be a very private person.
Children may also want to touch the belly, normally it is because they know someone that has had a baby and they were able to do it. If you don’t like it, let them know. If you don’t mind, you may want to place their hand on your belly. Children tend to get excited and actually smack the belly when they are trying to reach for it.
Forget about the rubbing the belly for a moment, be careful that you don’t get the person that likes to poke at it. That hurts more than anything and half the time they don’t get it. Try explaining to them as nicely as you can that it hurts. They may only be doing it because they want to see the baby move and when you jump they just think it is part of the pregnancy reaction. They may think twice before doing it again to you or anyone else.
If nothing else seems to work and you’ve been polite in letting people know that your belly is off limits, feel free to sick your husband on them or start swatting. You’ve already given fair warning. Don’t feel bad if you smack a person that lifts up your shirt in broad daylight either. This is a normal reaction and people should really think twice before doing it. They wouldn’t do it if you weren’t pregnant.
