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Belly Touching - yay or nay?

post #1 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:18pm
Thread Starter 
So what do you all think of friends, family, and even strangers touching your belly?

With my first, NO WAY BACK OFF. With my 2nd and this time it's no big deal.

I came across a Dear Abby about it and one of the responses was this:
Quote:
In my culture (Hispanic), it is considered good luck to touch something you admire so that no harm comes to it.
I thought that was so lovely! It reminded me of when a Hispanic woman was speaking Spanish to my little blonde white daughter, looking at her with absolute adoration, and caressing her cheek as she passed by. Some ppl might be totally weirded out by that, and I admit it was different, but something about that woman got to me. I knew she had nothing but absolute love for my little girl even though we had never seen her before or since. I wonder if the above explanation is why the woman reached out to my dd.

I think it is very sweet when ppl come up and rub the belly. And it cracks me up. I make jokes about rubbing for good luck. Guess in the Hispanic culture that's not far off from the truth.

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post #2 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:26pm
LOL, we are blond and live in a predominantly Hispanic area - aye, yi yi! I can't even go through the grocery store without being stopped on every single aisle so someone can rub my kids' heads! I'm really tolerant and understanding about it, but it does get exhausting.

I don't like people touching my belly - ack. Nobody tries that here, but maybe it is because they are too stuck on the kids. Hopefully, it's not because they just think I'm fat! LOL. But I'm not touchy feely with adults - kind of weirds me.
post #3 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:32pm
NAY - to strangers!

EH (not YAY!) - to friends/family. I don't LOVE it, but some people have never touched a preggo belly before... so I oblige sometimes.
post #4 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:38pm
I say nay to strangers- it would just feel wierd. Strangers don't randomly rub people's belly's, so why do they have to do it to pregnant women?

As for family and close friends- I guess. I wouldn't say no, but it's only happened once and she was rubbing my belly before I even had the chance to process it! I joked with my dh about it later (he's the only one that really touches my belly but it's his baby too ).
post #5 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:41pm
Family are okay. Actually, women in the family are okay to touch the belly (except DH, of course!). With DD, DH's father touched my belly and I was more than a little uncomfortable with it.
Women I know are okay to touch the belly.
Strangers, no way! Step away from the belly.
post #6 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:44pm
I didn't mind
post #7 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:52pm
I'm not in your DDC but my first thought was "only if I can slap their hands!"

Jenn
post #8 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:56pm
Ive been preg 4 times. I dont think anyone has ever asked, really. And if they did, I said yes and if they didnt ask and touched anyway, I dont remember it.

LOL
post #9 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:56pm
No one has tried. I don't leave the house very often, though.
post #10 of 35
6/29/07 at 4:57pm
Sorry not in your ddc but I love to lurk and remember what Im in for in the near future. Anyways I dont mind most people touching the belly but for my last pregnancy I worked in a resteraunt for a few months, a place I had worked off and on for 10 years.
So I worked with this 21 year old guy who was absolutely drop dead gorgeous. He was 6' 4'" totally buff with cute hair and a little tuft of chin hair and he was in love with my belly! Did I mention he had dark hair and dreamy dark eyes?
He would come up to me and rub and caress my belly (after he asked if it was ok...kudos) and call me "sexy mama" and "gorgeous" or "Beautiful" everyday. I basked in the glory.
I felt that I was doing the world a service by telling and teaching him how to treat his future babies mama. I would tell him the inadiquacies (sp nak) my husband had and told him things like "if your wife cant reach to shave and she asks you to help, just smile and say, "sure sexy mama" and he would say oh yeah of course, I never thought of that.
He learned to be kinder to all the women we worked with and was genuinely in awe of pregnancy.
He was never inappropriate btw just perfect and I felt sexy!!!! Man if I were 10 years younger...well not really but I did have some great pregnant crazy dreams with him in them!
Angela
post #11 of 35
6/29/07 at 5:29pm
HELL NO. My belly bites.
post #12 of 35
6/29/07 at 5:50pm
nay for strangers, but they've done it anyway.
nay for anyone but they all still do it anyway I have already had people touch my belly with this one, mostly when I was like 16 weeks. After they did I told them "you know that's just my fat, right?" The baby wasn't high enough. She still isn't high enough
It creeps me out but so does hugging some people. I figure if they really want it, then why not
Sometimes I have grabbed my mom's hand or friends hand to fill the baby moving, but that's different
post #13 of 35
6/29/07 at 5:55pm
Yay. I like the attention.
post #14 of 35
6/29/07 at 6:05pm
I read the same article yesterday. I thought the responses were funny. I did appreciate the traditional response from one culture (forget which) that said if you put the hand of a beautiful person on your belly while you are pregnant you are passing on that beauty to the child.

I've never had anyone touch my belly besides my husband so I don't really have an opinion. When I was 9 months pregnant with ds people finally started noticing that I was actually pregnant! Oddly, when I walked the dog with the baby neighbors I'd never spoken with came out of the woodwork. I guess they'd been watching for months and waiting.
post #15 of 35
6/29/07 at 6:33pm
when you get as big as me in pregnancy you have no choice, people just run to the tummy. lol I too live in a HUGE Hispanic community and they all love Allison's curls.
post #16 of 35
6/29/07 at 6:44pm
Strangers - NO WAY! People/men that I know but not well, no. I had one neighbor (older male) just walk up and put his hand on my stomach before I knew what he was doing and it was really startling. He meant well, but it freaked me out.

Friends and friendly co-workers (female), yes if they ask first! I have one friend who's thinking about getting pregnant and I let her feel if the baby's kicking.
post #17 of 35
6/29/07 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelaB View Post
Sorry not in your ddc but I love to lurk and remember what Im in for in the near future. Anyways I dont mind most people touching the belly but for my last pregnancy I worked in a resteraunt for a few months, a place I had worked off and on for 10 years.
So I worked with this 21 year old guy who was absolutely drop dead gorgeous. He was 6' 4'" totally buff with cute hair and a little tuft of chin hair and he was in love with my belly! Did I mention he had dark hair and dreamy dark eyes?
He would come up to me and rub and caress my belly (after he asked if it was ok...kudos) and call me "sexy mama" and "gorgeous" or "Beautiful" everyday. I basked in the glory.
I felt that I was doing the world a service by telling and teaching him how to treat his future babies mama. I would tell him the inadiquacies (sp nak) my husband had and told him things like "if your wife cant reach to shave and she asks you to help, just smile and say, "sure sexy mama" and he would say oh yeah of course, I never thought of that.
He learned to be kinder to all the women we worked with and was genuinely in awe of pregnancy.
He was never inappropriate btw just perfect and I felt sexy!!!! Man if I were 10 years younger...well not really but I did have some great pregnant crazy dreams with him in them!
Angela

Lol. Now why didn't I get people like that rubbing my belly
post #18 of 35
6/29/07 at 7:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2bluefish View Post
LOL, we are blond and live in a predominantly Hispanic area - aye, yi yi! I can't even go through the grocery store without being stopped on every single aisle so someone can rub my kids' heads! I'm really tolerant and understanding about it, but it does get exhausting.
Yes!! We're in South Texas - I totally get it!

Do kids rub your belly? And how do you all feel about kids touching? I've had some kids touch, but not many.
post #19 of 35
6/29/07 at 7:34pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Codi's Mama View Post
Family are okay. Actually, women in the family are okay to touch the belly (except DH, of course!). With DD, DH's father touched my belly and I was more than a little uncomfortable with it.
Women I know are okay to touch the belly.
Strangers, no way! Step away from the belly.
Oh, interesting point! I'm ok w/ most women. Men, definitely not.
post #20 of 35
6/29/07 at 7:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vicitoria View Post
I read the same article yesterday. I thought the responses were funny. I did appreciate the traditional response from one culture (forget which) that said if you put the hand of a beautiful person on your belly while you are pregnant you are passing on that beauty to the child.
Yeah, I thought that one was interesting! Phillipines, I think.

Quote:
I've never had anyone touch my belly besides my husband so I don't really have an opinion. When I was 9 months pregnant with ds people finally started noticing that I was actually pregnant! Oddly, when I walked the dog with the baby neighbors I'd never spoken with came out of the woodwork. I guess they'd been watching for months and waiting.
Awww!
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Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Archives › Pregnancy Archives › October 2007 › Belly Touching - yay or nay?