Local Meteorologist Shares His Eye-Opening Empathy Belly Experience

There are some things about pregnancy that you just have to go through to really understand. From carrying the literal weight of your future family around all day to dealing with unwanted bump advances, there are plenty of everyday inconveniences that add up.

In an effort to get a better picture of just what expectant parents are going through, CW39 Houston’s Chief Meteorologist Adam Krueger recently wore a sympathy pregnancy belly for a day of work on set. Luckily for all of us, they videoed his experience. The now-viral video opens with someone off-camera asking Adam what he thinks. He responds, “It’s no fun. And it’s been like two minutes,” setting the tone for his experience.

Amid the discomfort, there’s more. Someone sweeps in to touch the belly without Krueger’s consent, prompting him to respond, “Oh, that’s not invading my personal space at all.” The popular meteorologist continues to comment on how he now understands why moms-to-be hold their bump while they walk. He even jokes about craving snacks, from pickles to crushed ice, with a foot rub on the side.

As he continues to walk around the office, lamenting his added 30 pounds, he chats with his co-anchors about the experience. “I feel like it’s affecting my breathing. I’m sweating. Um, you said my blood pressure will go up,” he says somewhat frantically. His co-anchors check in, asking, “Are you okay?” to which he replies, “I will be okay. Cause this comes off,” he jokes.

The dad of two agrees that he wished he had spent some time in the empathy belly when his wife was pregnant. “You can read and hear about it all you want, but I mean, you get a really good sense of just how drastic and how different you feel,” he adds. Amid a struggle to pick up a toy off the floor, Krueger’s co-anchors are quick to note that there’s still plenty he doesn’t understand just from wearing the empathy belly. “You get hot and you get winded. And the bladder. You’re not getting the bladder effect right now,” they joke.

By the end of his time with the empathy belly, Krueger certainly had a newfound respect for expectant parents. “Moms, you’re amazing!” he simply captioned the video.