Pregnancy and Strangers

I've finally popped. Although strangers have periodically made kind comments about my pregnancy for the last couple of months -- a bank teller asked me excitedly when I was due, a woman behind me in the grocery store told me how beautiful I was -- now there's absolutely no mistaking it. My belly is growing exponentially.

While some strangers, like those above, have treated the bump with kindness, others are more annoying. And at least one stranger had a pretty hilarious response.

The annoying people fall under one category: those who won't give up their seats. I understand subways are crowded and no one wants to stand up after a long day of work. And I don't even try to give anyone a dirty look, instead just gripping a bar until someone kindly offers a seat. This is just as often a woman as a man.

Admittedly, this doesn't come up too often. I almost always get a seat on the way to work without anyone shifting, and I usually do on the way home, too. But a few commutes home I've had to wait. And my back doesn't care for it.

And once, I was made to feel guilty for grabbing a seat. I try to catch a bus from my doctor's office to our apartment almost a mile away. Once, the bus was especially crowded, and an older woman with a cane was left standing right in front of me. No one seemed willing to budge, and I briefly considered it. But I was almost 7 months pregnant and stayed down.

Another woman, a few seats over, offered her seat, which spurred a nearby man to do the same. The woman -- who may not have been able to see that I was pregnant because of the way our seats were positioned -- threw a chastisement in my general direction about people staying put when older passengers needed seats. I stayed quiet, but not in my mind.

Another annoyance came in my doctor's office itself. My doctor was running way behind with her appointments, and all of the seats in the waiting room were taken, with several people standing. I found a spot to stand against a wall. And then I noticed at least one seat taken up by a man. Now, Paul's been to a few appointments with me, and I obviously have no problem with a significant other being there for support. But give up your seat! You're obviously not waiting for an OB/GYN for any medical reason yourself.

The funniest story, however, happened just last week. I need a few more pieces of clothing to get me through the last month of this pregnancy, so after work I went to the Century 21 department store in our neighborhood. I stopped a saleswoman and asked if there was a maternity section.

Not really, she said. But they had some lace underwear that was stretchy.

Thanks, but no thanks.