Going to Museums as a Pregnant Person

Today's entry brings together the already-described benefits of being pregnant while in public and the use of bathrooms while out and about.  Now is a good time for me to get out of the apartment as much as possible while I still have some freedom. My daughter is in school full days and I have relative mobility and a museum pass. By relative, we all know that I waddle. Well, if a bus were about to run me over, which I envisioned today, I could certainly break into a run. Getting on public buses means I get to sit in the handicap seats in the front of the bus. Someone immediately shoots up to offer a seat.  So transportation is the best it's ever going to be and I am going to use it as much as possible while pregnant.  Today's museum was the Brooklyn Historical Society. My culture card gets me in free to just about every museum, zoo, and botanical garden in NYC.  But once at the museum, I need to pace myself because within 15 minutes, the feet start to ache. Luckily, this museum was small. I got to every section, utilized the sitting spots and bathrooms strategically. The museum staff let me use the cargo elevator to get to the upper floors. I feel like cargo! A group of students let me go in front of them to view the Vietnam War exhibit. I got a special tour of the reading room. The museum visits seem to go very well with the pregnant belly as my best friend.  But sooner rather than later, hunger and the need to sit for half an hour strike, so my museum stay comes to an end.  I waddle back to the bus, where my front row seat awaits me, all the while people clearing the path to let me enter and exit. I get home only to think about what museum I'll go to next. Once I had a problem at the American Folk Arts Museum because they wouldn't let me hold my water bottle. I can't go a few feet without a sip, so it goes with me everywhere. Did these people honestly think I was going to pour water on a painting? I thought I would get some latitude with my belly and all. But policy is policy, it was explained to me. I left, foregoing the art in favor of water. Oh, one more thing I've learned to do is to empty that bladder before getting on the bus. NYC buses are notoriously slow. If the urge comes and your destination is still far, you must hold it or get off at the next stop and hope there's a bathroom nearby. I have a nice black bag that holds my reading materials for the long bus rides, my freshly-filled water bottle, and snacks and fruit. I plan to get in as many museums as possible, because I know once December comes, the cultural outings will come to a halt. Unless by then they install baby-changing tables in every building!