Traveling while quite pregnant

Most of you know I flew to Illinois when I was about 27-28 weeks pregnant. It went swimmingly, and I managed to stay comfortable the whole time. I'd like to thank my aisle seats for that.

Fast-forward more than a month later, and Matt and I took an innocuous 4-hour road trip this past weekend, at about 33 weeks pregnant, to visit friends in South Carolina. Of course, Baby makes three, so this wasn't your ordinary trip. Baby Girl and I managed to compromise along the way so that we each had an enjoyable time. I also learned a lot. Here's how it went:

A 4-hour road trip easily becomes a 5-hour road trip when your pregnant. The site-seeing along the way is excellent if you like public restrooms, as I learned by stopping at most of them. I found that it's best to avoid gas-station restrooms on trips like these, unless you're literally about to cry. This is because you might wind up in a stall next to a stranger talking randomly about "...men. You can't live with them, you can't shoot them," and asking to borrow your cell phone. I practically ran out of that one. Matt could barely keep up as I made a beeline for the car, and locked my door once inside. I probably shouldn't have been so spooked, but I also saw no reason to dawdle. Baby Girl gave me an appreciative kick.

I should mention that there's a direct correlation between passing up a public restroom and then desperately needing one five minutes later. As much as you hate them, you should never pass them up while pregnant. This is one of the torturous conundrums of pregnancy.

Adding to the conundrum is the fact that you're supposed to stay well hydrated when traveling while pregnant. I'm not sure why, but the experts say to do so. Sometimes I think they're sadists. I did manage to stay very well hydrated, as evidenced by the previous paragraph.

We arrived at a spectacular bed and breakfast that's set in a castle, with excellent amenities and chocolate (as well as lots of healthy foods) scattered throughout. Oops, wait, it's actually my friend's new house, and we stayed in their presidential suite. I mean guest bedroom. We were awed, and contemplated moving to South Carolina where houses are large and uncluttered. Baby Girl could relate.

As part of our visit, we all went to the zoo! I love zoos, but learned that they're one of the worst places for a pregnant woman. I saw quite a few other preggos there, but I was the furthest along, or so I judged by sizing up bellies, and therefore the bravest. A zoo visit is a combination of a long walk, public restrooms and unique smells, all of which are not recommended for us. Fortunately, I did have a great time. We took it easy, used every public restroom at least once and made note of the exits to buildings where smells might overpower me. I was disappointed to only get a glance at the penguins before my gag reflex told me to run, and fast, but I was proud of the fact that I kept my cookies, and even the hot pretzel Baby made me buy.

Which brings me to my next point: when traveling with anyone other than your sympathetic husband, make sure at least one person in the group has been pregnant recently. She will understand that yes, you need to take the zoo tram downhill in addition to uphill, and that snacks--and lots of them--are vital to any successful trip. If you're...er...lucky, she'll also join forces with the aforementioned sympathetic husband in forcing you into the public restrooms (here she has an advantage since she can accompany you in) and making you sit down on a bench every so often. Of course, I could've kept going--it was Baby Girl who needed the rest.

Which brings me to yet another point: it's also a good idea to have a cute baby along. The baby serves to remind you there's a good reason for your discomfort, immobility and voracious appetite so you won't get too annoyed along the way with certain members of the family who are not yet born.

I haven't even started on the subject of food for traveling pregnant women yet because fortunately for me and Baby, meals were deliciously uneventful. Our recently pregnant host had stocked the pantry and fridge with just the right things. No stopping at roadside sushi bars for me!

So we all managed to have a nice trip, and Baby Girl simply added to the adventure. She's earned herself a place in the car on wherever our future travels take us. Hopefully back to South Carolina.