Posted by adorablyconfused at 4/27/07 5:42 a.m.

And later in the pregnancy there's also the problem of really needing to go to the bathroom every 10 minutes or so. Makes you very intolerant of late buses and slow people getting on/off the bus.

Posted by unregistered user at 4/27/07 8:32 a.m.

When I was seven months pregnant, I boarded a bus that had every seat filled. An "unpregnant" 20-something student had to have an extra seat in the "disabled, elderly, and young family" seating area at the front of the bus for her bookbag, which I imagined must have been even more pregnant than I. I stomped down the aisle, looking for a seat, stomped back up, then I exposed my belly and stomped down a second time.

Someone offered her seat then. It wasn't the girl with the bookbag. Do people pay twice to store their cargo on a seat that is marked for disabled, elderly, and young families?

Posted by kimdnw at 4/27/07 8:48 a.m.

Bus Chick,
As an alternative to jeans, I found overalls to be a quite comfortable replacement for the duration of my pregnancies. You have the convenience of lots of pockets, and built in expansion joints. Buy them to fit a little loosely now, then as the construction zone expands, you can loosen the shoulder straps a little and best of all, using some thick cloth covered hair bands looped through the side buttonholes and over the buttons, you get your own custom made expansion joints that will move with you.
Enjoy! Kim

Posted by bobh at 4/27/07 8:52 a.m.

On a lot of buses you wouldn't be the only person with your fly partially undone...

Posted by Sean98125 at 4/27/07 9:34 a.m.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, buschick. You and the hubby didn't waste much time, did you?

I'm interested in hearing your bus experiences when you're lugging around the baby and the baby's supplies.

Posted by unregistered user at 4/27/07 9:36 a.m.

I'll be living without a car for the next six months and relying on public transportation in a small midwestern town (easier said than done). I'm blogging abou the experience at http://6monthsnodrive.blogspot.com/

Posted by superherokaren at 4/27/07 2:08 p.m.

Regarding puking en route, lemon drops helped me immensely with staving off nausea (or cleaning the palate if I didn't get to the lemon drops in time).

Also, having some kleenex of handerchiefs handy to help filter odors is a good thing. ;)

Also also, as you get bigger, I'd say you're entitled to use the elderly/disabled seats - the driver will support you in that.

Posted by Bus Chick at 4/28/07 12:38 a.m.

Thanks, everyone, for your good wishes--and good advice.

Sean98125: You're right--we were in a hurry, but that's just because of that question your posed way back last June--about whether there were any committed car-free types raising kids. Well, there will be soon. I'm kidding. (Sort of.) In fact, this whole thing was a bit of a surprise to both of us (Bus Nerd is convinced that my mother's spirit is involved), but we're rolling (yes, I said "rolling") with it.

Posted by Rett at 4/30/07 5:45 a.m.

I'm a bus rider in Minneapolis/St Paul and started a site called Bus Tales for people to share their stories from riding the bus. Anyway, I thought you'd get a kick out of this story about a pregnant woman riding the bus home: http://www.bustales.com/route/260/pregnant-and-nauseous/

Posted by Buca at 5/7/07 12:56 p.m.

I'm catching up on my BusChick reading, so just heard the news. :) Congratulations! As a seasoned mommy whose taken her tot on Metro since birth, let me just warn you: be prepared for all the attention you will soon be getting. Everyone will want a piece of your child, and will think that just because they commute with him/her regularly, that they are somehow related to him. Someone actually wanted to buy my kid presents and hold her ("back away from the baby bjorn!"). We do have a "Bus Grandma" though, and she's alright.

And there are rewards - I was so proud when my daughter, at less than 2 years, started to say "I ride the 21...express!"