I don't get around much any more. I'm 8 1/2 months (34 weeks) pregnant. I can't see my feet, which hurt all the time. My legs always feel like they're falling asleep. My belly is heavy and always moving (thanks, Princess Pokey). My back aches and it's hard to bend or sit for long periods of time. And I'm waking up every 2 hours to either stretch my aching legs or go to the bathroom or both, so I'm never fully rested.

Needless to say, it's getting more and more difficult to get around. Walking is exhausting - it feels like I've got "museum feet" all the time (you know, the tired feeling you get after walking around a museum all day on hard marble floors?).

So, in order to make travel easier (and in anticipation of when the baby comes), we got a car. (See, hospitals won't let you take a baby home without a car seat, and in order to have a car seat, you need a car.)

Having a car is weird. Born and raised in Manhattan, I never had a car of my own. Even when I moved to NJ in high school, I used to borrow my dad's car once in a while and drive up and down 9W or the Palisades. But the only responsibility I had was to fill it up, which was full-service (state law in NJ), and wash it occasionally (which I did in the driveway on hot summer days), and then return it.

But now I have to worry about parking it (and moving it for alternate side), keeping it clean, filling it up, and maintaining it. Of course, I'll have to do all that for the baby, too...

But when both the car and the baby are running smoothly, I'll be able to get around again. And I'll teach her how nice a drive in the country can be - especially for naps!