Driving bebe

I've mentioned we have an Aygo. Perfect city car, we go with it everywhere. A friend commented that a car means independence and I am here to tell you what the car means to me as a new mum.

I was driving all through my pregnancy and even joking I'll end up driving myself to the maternity. At the time, I was working 45km away from my home and so if labour started early, I had 45 minutes of driving to my maternity of choice or 15 minutes to the closest one. Many were surprised I wasn't carpooling any more but I felt free and wanted to be able to leave fast if any contractions so I preferred to drive by myself. I continued driving for errands during my maternity leave, I was even driving the night before my son was born.

Because I had a c section, I was afraid the safety belt would bother me and I would be unable to drive. This made me sad, I knew I would be home with my son only and I wanted to be able to use the car if necessary. I also wanted the freedom a car gives me.

I was surprised to find that adjusting the seat was different then when my big belly helped - knew how far I had to be from the wheel because the belly stopped me - but other then that, the belt didn't bother me at all. So I drove the car about 2 weeks after my son was born and I think it helped against the baby blues: wind in my hair and the possibility of going anywhere meant that life was moving forward ok even with a baby. The big football match that day meant no free parking space around the city centre and a 20 minute walk in the rain for me: I should have taken the tram instead.

Life part 2 started, now with a kid and I enjoy putting him in his baby car seat and taking him for rides to visit friend or shop or whatever. Mobility is so important for us, we don't have to stay inside all day long, we can go anywhere. As winter approaches, my husband will take the car to work instead of the bike as he does now. I will miss the car but the trams and buses are a good alternative even if they don't takes exactly where we need. We just have to put an extra layer of clothes on us to keep warm. But this is another discussion: who to dress your baby for trips outside?