Depending on who you ask, us included, taking away someone’s coffee is absolutely grounds for murder. But, listen — you didn’t hear that from us. A pregnant Reddit user, who goes by CountingTheRavens on the site, took to the r/BabyBumps forum to vent about a truly bonkers experience she had at her local coffee shop. According to CountingTheRavens, some random lady threw her freshly-made coffee away because she was afraid that the caffeine would cause CountingTheRavens to give birth right then and there.
Um… excuse?
In a post titled, “Random woman literally took away my coffee? Is this grounds for murder?”, which CountingTheRavens posted in April at 36 weeks into her pregnancy, she details the bizarre encounter minutes after it occurred. And tbh, the confrontation seems so infuriating that we’re shocked CountingTheRavens didn’t go into labor from the stress alone.
She labeled the TLDR (“too long, didn’t read”): “Crazy lady wanted to take away my coffee because I’m pregnant, and I yelled at her,” which sums up the experience quite nicely.
And yes, the lady deserved to be yelled at 100%, as you’ll find out soon enough.
Despite being grumpy, CountingTheCrows was having a normal day.
“I’ve ordered the coffee (just a grande cold brew, nothing crazy), and am standing at the end of the counter waiting,” she wrote in her April post. “The barista calls my name and drink order. I go to take it.”
She informed readers that she was 36 weeks along, “and it’s very obvious I’m pregnant. I’m huge. Massive. Uncomfortable. Tired and grumpy.”
So, as is true for many, coffee is the one thing that makes us feel better — more human, if you will.
“You can’t have that.”
CountingTheRavens didn’t think that whoever said the above phrase was actually talking to her. She continued to reach for her cup until she heard again, louder this time, “YOU CAN’T HAVE THAT. YOU’RE PREGNANT.”
She turned to see a woman, whom CountingTheRavens described as a “grandmother,” addressing her.
After assuring the grandmother that one cup wouldn’t hurt her pregnancy, the grandmother replied, “NO YOU CAN’T HAVE IT YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED.” She then “takes cup from my hand and drops it, full, into the trash next to the counter,” CountingTheRavens wrote.
“My doctor said it’s fine.”
As if CountingTheRavens owed this woman an explanation, she told the grandmother, “You cannot be serious. It’s fine. My doctor even says it’s fine.”
She continued, “Please leave me alone. I’m tired, and want my coffee. I get one cup a day, this is it. Please go away.”
Meanwhile, the barista has chosen a side.
CountingTheRavens said that she made eye contact with the barista, “who is just standing there, mouth agape.” The barista let her know that she’d make her another coffee.
Thank goodness someone was there to witness this, right?
Grandma doesn’t quit.
“NO YOU CAN’T HAVE IT YOU’RE PREGNANT IT WILL MAKE YOU HAVE THE BABY NOW YOU CAN’T DO IT I WON’T LET MY DAUGHTER DO IT EITHER BUT SHE DRINKS IT ANYWAY AND IF I CAN’T SAVE HER I’LL SAVE YOU INSTEAD,” the grandmother continued, according to CountingTheRavens.
“(I don’t think she breathed during this at all. Also, what? Save me?)”
CountingTheRavens said that, at this point, the grandmother was making her panic. She told the barista to just hand the new cup of coffee to her directly to bypass grandma.
“Barista hands me my cup directly, and this insane woman GOES TO TAKE IT FROM ME AGAIN,” she continued.
It was time to get defensive.
“So I yelled,” CountingTheRavens wrote. “I literally, loudly (and even now have a bit of a shake from doing it), shouted PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE. YOU’RE MAKING ME UNCOMFORTABLE AND I DON’T WANT YOU THIS CLOSE.”
Thankfully, the grandmother did stop, and gave CountingTheRavens an “UGH FINE” before she left.
“The barista gave me a drink coupon and apologized for the stress, but goodness,” she wrote. “How can someone think that’s OK?”
Reddit came to the rescue.
“Idda been like, ‘OK Grandma, let’s see if [it] does, shall we?'” one Reddit user wrote about the grandmother’s claim that the coffee will make a pregnant woman go into labor.
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Another person commented underneath, “And then squat. SQUAT and concentrate without breaking eye contact.”
The eye contact is key.
How did grandma know that this wasn’t the goal?
Perhaps drinking coffee to stimulate labor was CountingTheRavens’s goal.
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Some women go on walks to induce labor. Others eat spicy foods. Perhaps CountingTheRavens decided coffee was going to do the trick?
Rude of grandmother to assume she knew best.
And what if CountingTheRavens had ordered decaf?
Grandmother would have looked even more stupid.
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“Outrageous” is an understatement, no matter how you slice it.
In fact, many doctors give women the okay to drink small amounts of caffeine while pregnant.
“I drink safe amounts of caffeine (often in the form of coffee) almost daily because my own doctor told me to do so for my constant migraines which were impeding my ability to function,” one Redditor said.
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“That’s actually why I was given the OK,” CountingTheRavens replied. “I get insane headaches.”
Even if this woman truly thought CountingTheRavens was putting her child in danger by drinking coffee, she still had no right to invade her personal space and throw away the coffee that CountingTheRavens bought.
Grandmother should be lucky she came out of this unscathed.
“I would have decked her,” on Redditor commented.
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Honestly, same.
“I wanted to but I’m such an anxious mess anyway lmao,” CountingTheRavens wrote back.
This whole thing is stranger than fiction.
“Can someone please make this into a short film? I need to see it,” another person wrote.
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Someone who works in the early childhood field and deals with pregnant women on the daily chimed in, “Honestly a series of short films about the nonsense pregnant women have to go through would be AMAZING.”
“One on belly touchers. One on unsolicited advice from friends. Another on the pressure to not let pregnancy affect work, but to also be the perfect doting mother who puts family first,” they continued. We feel so bad for our pregnant comrades.
Because confrontation is always better than caffeine.
Lordy.
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Obviously, the grandmother in this situation is lacking a lot of logic.
We feel bad for the daughter she mentioned in her argument.
CountingTheRavens summed up her own query best:
“For some reason, people seem to think pregnancy makes you public property.”
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Sadly, as many who have been through pregnancy can tell you, this is the honest truth.
Can we vow to leave pregnant strangers alone unless they ask for your advice? That would be great, thanks. We’re so sorry CountingTheRavens had to go through this minor crisis and hope that by her spreading the word, others will kindly back TF off.
