Pregnant on the L

Commuting to work is getting harder and harder.  I’m now over 6 months pregnant.  My ankles are usually swollen and I’m always tired.  I STILL have morning sickness.  My growing tummy is ensuring that my center of gravity is off and that throws off my balance.  Then there are the random aches and pains.  Plus the baby does flips when we are on the train.  The movement is crazy.  I can’t tell if she loves it or hates it, but I know she’s affected and of course I feel her strong reaction.   All of these symptoms make riding the train more difficult than it used to be. 

On this day, I had an interesting Red Line experience.
A fight almost broke out and I was tripping on feet to
get away from the argument that was happening less than
2 feet away from me.  No one moved or gave me a seat.
I clearly look pregnant.

Commuting is understandably more difficult, but what I did not expect was the rudeness of my fellow L riders.  I was on the train a few weeks ago and a woman obviously traveling from the airport had her Louis Vuitton handbag on the only empty seat on the train.  I, naturally, asked her if I could please sit down.  She rolled her eyes and moved the bag.  I was in shock.  The passive aggressive me took out my iphone and facebooked so she could read it on my screen. 

Dear tourist,

Your Louis Vuitton will not sit in the handicap seat as my pregnant swollen everything stands.

Nice try though!

Me

I brushed it off as “she’s from out of town, maybe New York,” and moved on. 

In the following weeks I was surprised by how many people did not offer to let me sit.  They would often look at my tummy and either stare or look away, but I would stand.  I would complain to my husband who would say “Cristina, you need to tell them you are pregnant and ask for their seat.”   I don’t like that idea.  My response to him was “No way! That’s like admitting I need help.  I can handle this.”  

I have had two women and one man give up their seats to me (in 6 months of commuting).  One man was so nice, he got up immediately, and he was going a long distance on the train.  As he was standing in front of me I thought, “I need to buy some Starbucks gift cards and give them out to nice people like him.” I want him to know how rare and appreciated his act of kindness is.  This joy was short lived, because yesterday a nicely dressed man in a suit with a very nice looking smart phone had a plastic bag on the only empty seat on a crowded train.  I asked if I could sit down.  This man gave me an attitude and huffed and puffed.  He moved the bag, but did not move another plastic bag he had on the floor.  He did not put something on his lap he just kept the bags on the floor by my feet.  The hormones in me took over and I kicked the bags out of the way making room for my swollen puppies.  I could not believe it.  His actions were rude if I was just a fellow commuter, but I’m 6 months pregnant!

Cristina's Starbucks Challenge

I still think the Starbucks gift card idea is a good one.  My husband says people should not be rewarded for just doing what is right.  He thinks I should take pictures of the rude commuters and do some public shaming.  Of course, he’s a little protective of baby and me.  I know he was upset when I told him the story.  He said, “you should at least blog about it.”  So I’m blogging. **Smile**

What do you think I should do?  How should I take on this task to teach train etiquette?  

UPDATE: You can read the follow-up here:
Pregnant on the L Part 2