Friday, May 21, 2010

Goodbye Hot Ride, Hello Mom Car.

As I mentioned before, Jack and I recently took our first solo trip together in mommy's car.  Yes, I realize he's nearly 3 months old, but at first I was recovering from having him cut out of my abdomen, and then I was too scared to take him out by myself, AND THEN my car was having some body work done from a minor dent that I put in it last Spring, but now I finally have my car back and we're ready to roll! 


I drive a car that I love.  It's a 2006 Mustang and I seriously LOVE it.  It makes me happy.  It's so pretty and shiny and awesome!  Sometimes, I like to just pet it and tell it that it's pretty.  It's my dream car.  I've wanted a Mustang since before I could drive.  It was my first "real" car.  I mean, I bought a car prior to this that I drove from the time I was in high school until I bought this fine piece of machinery, actually it was a Camaro, but this was the first car that I bought once I got my first full-time job.  It was expensive.  It was new (to me).  It still had new car smell!  It was everything that I wanted and I still do. 

But... things have changed a bit in my life.  My new role in life is a mommy and with that comes not only a baby, but a bulky car seat and other baby paraphernalia.  Secretly, part of the reason why I was scared to take the baby by myself was because I was afraid that it wouldn't be possible in my car and to be honest with myself, it really isn't. 

You see, my gorgeous, fabulous car has a nearly non-existent backseat.  What is there is barely functional, complete with bucket seats, which means no middle seat to install the car seat, which is the safest location in a vehicle.  It's hard to nearly impossible to get said bulky car seat in and out.  Which means Mommy has to climb into the nearly non-existent back seat to strap in the car seat.  Ugh, it is so sad.  You shouldn't be breathing hard and glistening from putting your baby in the car. 

Not only is it nearly impossible to have a car seat back there, but our stroller physically won't fit in the truck, which means it had to be wedged in to ride shotgun.  This cuts down on visibility and also means that the bulky car seat had to be placed behind the driver's seat.

This meant that I had to sit at an awkward angle even closer to the steering wheel than I already am!  I'm only 5ft tall and I have some short legs, so I already have to sit close to the steering wheel, any closer and I'm going to be resting my chin on it.  I had to inch a little closer to make room for Jack's seat in the back.  Grrr... this makes me sad.

So with all of the above said, and all of the safety issues considered, it's just not going to work.  I'm afraid that I have to say goodbye to the last vestiges of my life before baby.  I hope that people don't think I'm selfish for feeling sad about giving up my car.  I KNOW what's important in life and I love being a mom and I wouldn't give it up for anything, but... my car.  It's MY CAR!!!  I know it's right to get something more baby-friendly, but that doesn't mean I won't cry when I sell my gorgeous car.  And that doesn't mean that I have to like it. 

Part of being a mom is making sacrifices.  Sometimes that means missing a meal while getting your baby fed.  Sometimes that means saying goodbye to things that you love.  But that's life. 

Well, I'm off to Craig's List to see what sort of vehicles are available that won't make me feel like a total Soccer Mom.  Wish me luck! 

And P.S. if you don't think it's selfish of me to feel sad about having to give up my car let me know because I'm feeling a little guilty : /

6 comments:

  1. You are SO NOT selfish! I have had a few new cars myself and every single one of them was hard to let go. The hardest one, though, wasn't even a new car. I drove my Mom's mini van that she got when I was pregnant with my first up until 3 years ago. So, she bought it in 1996. I started driving it in 2003. I drove the heck out of that Chrystler. I didn't CARE that it was white and kinda aged. It was my MOM's car and that meant a lot to me. Besides, because she got sick, the thing had really low mileage when I took it over.

    SO! Don't you dare feel guilty for feeling sad about giving up your dream car (for now).

    Babies grow up. My oldest will be driving my latest van in the next 2 years. And you know what I am doin' when she does? I'm buyin' MY dream car- and it won't have a back seat! (It might just be a convertable too!)

    Be careful with Craigslist. I would use Autotrader before I use Craigslist. People are soooo shady! Sorry for the unsolicited advice-ola...

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  2. BTW- I have owned 3 different mini vans from 3 different makers. Ford, Chrystler and Nissan. My Nissan is by far my fav and NO ONE complains about the amount of leg room it has (it really is VERY nice inside). But it is BIG. And wide. You have to be comfy with yourself to have a fat ass car... but it had the most horsepower in the base model of any of the cars I looked at.

    I don't know if you were looking at vans or sedans, but that's my 2 cents on the van bit.

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  3. You won my giveaway!! Woo hoo for you! Email me at thesouthernbellebaby@yahoo.com and we'll get you squared away. :)

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  4. You are not selfish. I had a little car that I LOVED, but had to trade it for more of a "mom" car...my two little guys just wouldn't fit in that smaller car...but I must tell you, that I aboslutely LOVE my "mom" car...I'm sure you will too, just make sure it has the dvd option...I don't think I could live without it ;)

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  5. This same thing happened to me. My mustang was grey/silver "silver bullet". Loved that car until the car seat wouldn't fit in. Boo! 3 kids later I love my Sequoia! Bigger is better, lol! They have so much stuff!

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