Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for March 14, 2013

Oh my God, she is her mother’s daughter.!

No ! She’s my daughter, when she was pregnant with my grandson !!

he is funny!

Alex, cool it! You have a treasure of a husband, keep him that way.

That IS Alex – Insecure to the max.

An artist you produce… that you KNOW your wife has insecurities about! C’mon, dude, take a bit of responsibility here. Don’t play the “oh I forgot” card; this is the sort of thing you’re supposed to pay attention to.

Give two Pamprin/Midol and come back in two hours.

Given that the drama-mama bit is JJ’s character, not Alex’s, are we to conclude that GT believes pregnant women are emotionally unstable? I’m sure the forces of Correctness will quickly descend upon GT to inform him of his insensitivity, etc….

I don’t know why this should have anything to do with being pregnant, but my ex was very insecure and acted like that all the time…

Oh, for God’s sake, Alex, take a chill pill. Being pregnant is no excuse for being a jerk.

Pregnancy releases a flood of hormones, but it does hit each person differently, so some glide through it and others get a little crazy. I don’t think you can predict how it’s going to hit any particular woman.

I’m just really annoyed that Alex is even pregnant in the first place. She is too young and has too many things she should do before entering parenthood.

Cue waterworks.

Toggle’s at fault here. What does it hurt to not talk about about beutifull, unpregnant women at a time like this. Of course, he learning this the hard way, just like everybody else does

While some women deny it, all women who are pregnant, with morning sickness, swelling bodies, and ankles that look as if they belong to an elephant, have some problems with their looks, and wonder how their significant other truly feels about them. As the months past, their anxiety increases whether they share those emotions or not. All women would feel and be much better, if all men lived up to Rana Ravens expectations. (Changing the subject, I wonder if “Ravens” has anything to do with the Baltimore Football team?)

You mean important stuff?

lol, beautiful unpregnant women. love how society creates these “accepted” versions we all have to be. the farce that we can be “society’s child” anyway. we are so different and so commonplace at the same time.

to watch Alex lose it due to hormones, lol. wonder if she’ll ever return to the Alex we all loved and knew before “hormones.” lol

This is the same woman who has a due date for twins at the same time as when she has to defend her PhD?

of course you guys would be just fine with your wife hanging out with a male “artist” she produces & hopes to make a career with while you wait in bed to deliver the twins you will be caring for while the two of them are out and about at the studio and at the nightclub and at the diner after the show. a little Mercy for the insecure & fragile lover, please.

they will deny it, but women get crazy when pregnant. Toggle is trying to share something he’s proud of from WORK. It has little if anything to do with a woman singer. Alex is being insecure. What gets us men is the total irrationality of Alex’s reactions; you can’t figure out what’s going to bug them next. Not sexist, a response to a specific circumstance. After three kids (who turned out extraordinary), the husband just grew to accept some craziness and just spent of lot of time apologizing for whatever. Hang in there Toggle, it gets better.

hormones, pregnancy, and weird food cravings at 2 am.

I agree with kjhudlow. As a character, GT could have taken her in other directions. As it is I feel like I’m reading a sitcom script.

What’s Toggle supposed to do? Hang out a sign that says “No female clients for the next seven months?” Not really sure he has that sort of clout.

He could be reassuring about how Alex is the most beautiful thing in his life right now, but otherwise I think he has a pretty good grip on the real problem here (May I speak to Alex, please?).

Toggle was working all day, and he has something interesting and exciting he NEEDED to share with someone when he comes home. Better Alex than another (female) person.

Sorry Toggle, but Alex has left the building.

Elaine, I was just about to post that, after years of marriage, I finally figured out that he needs to hug her and tell her she’s still the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, especially when she’s great with their children (there’s an old phrase!). And then maybe prove it.

When the mama is a nut, you ignore that fact at your peril when you take up with daughter.

There is no Alex only Zule.

Guys do not get it. Many women, pregnant or not, are insecure about their appearance. When you’re pregnant, it’s worse. Then you go from some one normal to something you never expected to see-fat you. And each woman gains weight differently. My nephew’s girlfriend has, literally, a baby belly. Some weight elsewhere, but still looks good. Some women aren’t as lucky. Whatever you eat-half goes to baby, half stays with you. Then they father stands there and acts as if nothing is wrong. Toggle got the idea a lot sooner than most dads do. Tomorrow’s strip will show Toggle hugging Alex and telling her he doesn’t even notice other women. And after watching Toggle and Alex, I think that is totally true. And as to Alex being too young. She’s in her mid 20s and, while it would be nice to have waited, getting it over with earlier makes for a nicer middle age.

Bring her to Colorado,and give her a big fat Spliff,and take a couple of hit’s your self,and relax!

He’d be safer walking alone in Baghdad wearing nothing but a pair of boxers made from an american flag

Is everyone missing the reference to the Exorcist?

Amen. Maybe GT should do a childfree-and-loving-it couple, for contrast.

(Second wife, third daughter, now 25): We called it “hormone salad”, as in well-tossed. Listen, nod, say (and mean) “Yes, dear”, serve her well, and she may let you live.

prego women get bitchy…it’s in their nature :-)

I’m a Skye fan. Leo would do better hooking up with her. They even look alike. Alex will do fine living with dad.

Okay, she’s a little crazy, but you would be too if you had a pair of parisites confining you to bed (bed rest is manditory for the last trimester of most high risk pregnacies, and she’s hit 3rd tri if due in June) whilst the guy who infected you was braging about make 4 grand in a few hours with some hot chick he’s been idolizing already.

I’ll never forget how a friend of mine who was a med student reacted when he found out I was expecting. He pointed out that pregnacy is basically a disease, luckly for him he wasn’t my hubby or that would have been a dead man walking.

Shame, calimesajim. Can’t you see Alex and Toggle need our support right now?

Iraq, 4,486 dead. No WMDs found. Typical right-wing investment.

And so are you to assume you can tell an entire person from a few sentances. ;} I was making a point of how highly educated medical professionals see it. .@pbarnrob Nice try, but he was European. And the c-sections rates are much lower there. My first one was induced due to an early rupture of the membranes and I was not allowed out of bed thanks to the IV’s and montioring so birth wasn’t exactly a joy despite Lamaze training. The 6 years since have been though and that’s what matters in the end.

And the prize for contributor of the day goes to (drum roll please)

jpirard, for his thoughtful, incisive and above all respectful contributions to our happy friendly little community here.