I'm Pregnant...Can I have a Seat?

I'm happy to make the announcement, in the urban parenting blogosphere, that I'm pregnant with my second child!

Not only am I pregnant, but I'm having a baby boy!

I'm due between Christmas and New Years which means that by the beginning of 2013, I'll have my perfect little pair...son and daughter.

It's funny how your view of pregnancy changes once you actually become pregnant. Quite honestly, I didn't even think about being pregnant until I hit 35.

I had this vision in my head that I would see the little "+" sign on the
pregnancy stick and squeal for joy the way Liesl did in The Sound of Music when she receives her first kiss from Friedrich.

It wasn't quite that romantic and exciting.

While I was very happy, I was also a bit scared of the unexpected. And when I saw the "+" sign the second time around, I was again happy, but immediately wondering how I would take care of two little ones under the age of three.

The media also has a funny way of portraying pregnancy and pregnant
women.

As soon as I found out I was having a baby, I thought I would be throwing up every hour, eating pickles and chocolate all day long and sleeping like a hibernating bear for months. I was lucky to not have much morning sickness, but quickly learned that while eating bonbons would be nice and completely feasible, I would not be able to do so unless I wanted to gain 80 pounds.

But I think what has been most shocking to me is the way pregnant women are treated by society. I know that other people have disabilities that require much more attention than my growing belly and swollen feet, but a tad more respect would be nice.

I ride the Metro every day and have been shocked at how unresponsive riders are not only to their fellow passengers, but their surroundings as well. It infuriates me when I step onto a hot, crowded train, with an obvious baby bump, yet nobody offers to give up their seat.

Interestingly, Dana Hedgpeth of The Washington Post had a similar experience and wrote about it back in June. Her article points out comparable observations I've made which are that Latino and African-American men are the most likely to give up their seat while young 20-somethings are the least likely. Some might say that's a generational commonality, as young people seem to be more pre-occupied with their technological gadgets; I call it plain rude.

Most shocking about her article was the comments it generated. Some readers agreed that Metro riders should be more sympathetic to expectant mothers while many don't feel like pregnancy merits priority seating at all.

Pregnancy aside, I feel like citizens should be more aware of who they're
sharing public space with and just be a little more respectful and kind towards your neighbors.

Is it really necessary to send one more e-mail or check your Facebook  feed rather than offer your seat up for someone whose leg is in a cast or a parent with a young child?

Let's step it up a notch, Washingtonians and become better citizens of the
world!