Of course I'm a little sad about that. Traveling is my absolute favorite thing to do in the world and I would love one last trip without the kid. That is, until I kind of got one this weekend.
Flights
I had always heard that once you hit your third trimester, airlines won't let you fly anymore without special permission from your doctor. Realizing that I had just entered the "no fly zone", I decided to check up on this myself. The Delta Airlines website didn't mention anything about pregnancy, so I called them. For Delta, there IS NO policy on flying when you're pregnant - they allow it! They just recommend that after your 8th month you check with your doctor first. I haven't checked with other airlines, but I would hope they would all have similar policies. Yippee! So it turns out my options for travel aren't entirely closed yet. Each airline has a different policy, but I found this excellent list of policies on Baby Center.
Cruises
My friend Sara, who is also pregnant just a couple months behind me, happened to check on cruises. Those do have hard and fast rules and the cut-off is early - 23 weeks. I suppose if you're going to be on a boat for over a week, the chances of you going into labor in the middle of the ocean greatly increase. So, the moral of the story is to get your cruise in quick, you'll probably enjoy it more in your second trimester anyway!
Road Trip
This weekend, I had the chance to ride along on Nathan's first business trip! We drove five hours to Fort Scott, KS with an 1871 ambulance carriage in tow so that Nathan could talk about it as part of the town's Good Ol' Days celebration!
The trip has been fun so far, but it's made me realize that traveling while pregnant is NOT as fun as traveling without an extra watermelon shoved in your stomach. For starters, a Chevy Silverado's seats were not created to ergonomically fit a pregnant woman's needs. So, we stopped often and my back hurt like crazy at the end of the trip. My doctor had mentioned that it's best to get out of the car every 1.5 hours to avoid blood clots. The good news is, there's no problem remembering to do that when you have a full bladder and are generally uncomfortable.
This weekend, the temperatures soared into the 90's and the entire festival was outside during the heat of the day. I can lug around a water bottle, but can't stay on my feet all day long anymore. So, I've mapped out all the shady benches in the city and don't argue with people anymore if they want to give up their prime seating spots for the pregnant lady. I've found I really need to take it easy and am enjoying comparing aches and pains with the old ladies I'm seated next to. Ha! I also found making sure there's time for a two-hour nap every day helps a lot.
Finally, as much as I love deep fried spam curds, fair food is just NOT what I want to be eating right now. Contrary to popular belief, dill pickles, fried green beans, and the canned corn masquerading as the "Vegetable of the Day" at our hotel restaurant are not vegetables. I have to try really hard to find good food at this shindig and will admit that I miss my kitchen!
Conclusion
So, how is this post related to eco-living? Well, I've never before endorsed the idea of a "staycation". Seeing the world is the best way to see the beautiful places that are threatened by our current lifestyle choices. It's also how you realize how far your own community has come (e.g. catalytic converters are amazing!). However, just like the articles warned me, traveling during your third trimester is not a piece of cake, and a staycation might be just what the doctor ordered. Besides, I'm excited to introduce the new baby to the world, so bring on the fun of traveling with kids!
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