by While the ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ journey can attract supportive and informative comments from well-wishers, at other times, it can lead to ʙᴏᴅʏ-sʜᴀᴍɪɴɢ. Eliana Rodriguez was one of those women who faced a flurry of ɪɴsᴜʟᴛs from social media users. Here’s how she rose above it. ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ has become more of a public journey for many women with the popularity of social media. Many women revel in the support and encouragement that people send to them during the long and arduous process that ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ can be. But for 29-year-old Eliana Rodriguez from Las Vegas, Nevada, her ᴜɴᴜsᴜᴀʟʟʏ ʟᴀʀɢᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴏᴛʀᴜᴅɪɴɢ baby ʙᴜᴍᴘ was a source of curiosity and ɪɴsᴜʟᴛs from many strangers.
A week before his arrival, she showed off her bare sᴛᴏᴍᴀᴄʜ on Instagram while sharing some of the things strangers have said about the size of her ʙᴜᴍᴘ. There were some people who bluntly stated she was “ʜᴜɢᴇ” and “ᴍᴜsᴛ ʙᴇ ɪɴ ᴘᴀɪɴ.” Others were convinced that she was ᴄᴀʀʀʏɪɴɢ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʀᴇɴ. one person commented: “You look like you’re having ᴛᴡɪɴs,” someone else asked: “Have you checked if there’s another baby in there?”
As Rodriguez turned from side to side to side, she lip-synced the lyrics “I didn’t even notice” from Doja Cat’s hit “Say So.” There were plenty of viewers who took to the comments to assure Rodriguez she looked great, and mothers who have dealt with similar lines of questioning could relate. one mom wrote: “It’s SO annoying isn’t it, I’ve noticed people say this to almost every ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ woman… There’s a whole baby in there what do they expect.” Someone else added: “I was that big with all of my kids, stuck straight out and had all of these comments.”
But there were also people who missed the point and couldn’t resist asking how many babies she was carrying and how big she thought the baby would be. Some Instagram users predicted her son was going to weigh 10 pounds or more, but he was just 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and 20.5 inches in length when he was born. In a more recent post, the mother of two shared a throwback video of herself ʟɪꜰᴛing her ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ belly, saying her husband weighed 10 pounds when he was born.
She asked her followers who hadn’t seen her ʙɪʀᴛʜ announcement to guess her son’s weight, and people were still sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ by the size of her sᴛᴏᴍᴀᴄʜ in her ꜰɪɴᴀʟ ᴛʀɪᴍᴇsᴛᴇʀ. One person wrote: “Never seen [someone’s] ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ belly get this way unless there was ᴛᴡɪɴs!!!’ , while another added: “I have [never] seen anyone able to ʟɪꜰᴛ their baby like that in their tummy.”
She added that some comments directed at women during such a ᴠᴜʟɴᴇʀᴀʙʟᴇ time could easily trigger a ɴᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ ᴍɪɴᴅsᴇᴛ in some of them, especially if these women sᴜꜰꜰᴇʀ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴘᴇʀɪɴᴀᴛᴀʟ ᴏʀ ᴘᴏsᴛᴘᴀʀᴛᴜᴍ ᴅᴇᴘʀᴇssɪᴏɴ. She said: “I’m aware that some people lack compassion for others, I am a woman of faith, and … I feel so ʙᴀᴅ for people saying ʜᴀᴛᴇꜰᴜʟ comments.”
Despite some of the ɴᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ comments that Eliana received during this experience, she remained open to the joy of her ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ journey. She said: “I was so ᴇxᴄɪᴛᴇᴅ that I wanted to share — we had been trying for a second baby and hoping for a boy, and I am an open person.” Eliana’s positive attitude is a reminder that regardless of the ɴᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ things people say, our perception of our reality is what can add joy to our lives. Have you ever had a situation where you received ɴᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ comments on your appearance?
