4 Tips for Traveling While Newly Pregnant | Strouse House Baby
Traveling to the mailbox is sometimes a chore. Traveling to the mailbox when pregnant is always a chore. TRAVELING TO EUROPE in your first trimester is nomination grounds for "Chore Overcomer of the Year"! Here are a few things we learned about hopping time zones while pregnant:
1.) Eat Often -
Allie needed to eat every three hours on the dot. The second it hit 3:00:01 she would start to feel nauseous (husband note: and grumpy). It didn't have to be a large meal or anything significant. Just a little protein and not so much sugar that it would spike her blood sugar levels.
2.) Pack a Variety -
We flew budget airlines to Europe so we had to focus on packing minimally and efficiently. One thing we packed plenty of was snacks. We knew we'd be stuck in an airplane seat or on buses for long periods of time so Clif Bars abounded. One thing we should've done is packed more flavors. Allie's taste buds were at their discerning peak so after her third PB Clif Bar in a day she was about ready to swear them off forever. She still turns up her nose at the smell of them!
3.) Play Hard and Rest Hard -
As a husband constantly on the move, it was hard for me to adjust to Allie's slower morning start and need for afternoon naps. We woke up at a normal time, but with the morning sickness and immediate need for something to eat, our start time ended up being delayed by an hour or two. We typically did a tour or visited a landmark in the late morning, ate lunch, took the Underground back to our hotel for a nap, and then headed out for another locale and dinner. These late starts, tri-hourly (made that word up) snack breaks, and afternoon naps were a vital part of keeping Allie happy and functioning.
4.) Comfort over Couture -
This is a no brainer for all traveling, but comfort over fashion is especially important when the feet of your pregnant wife are swelling like a balloon and the clothes she packed two weeks ago are no longer as loose as they used to be. We raided several inexpensive clothing stores for items like more flexible/flat shoes and tops with more give. Allie is the queen of finding clothing bargains while still remaining fashionable and European stores didn't stand a chance with her in town. Our good friend, JANINE from England, gave us some great advice for blending in fashionably- no brightly colored tennis shoes, no cameras or wallets around your neck, and no shirts proclaiming your love for the USA or any of it's specific states/cities. Golden advice!
(Note: Allie picked this picture to show how unflattering traveling while preggers can be. :-D)
Every pregnancy is different and I'm 100% sure that traveling with a baby brings a whole new set of challenges, but these tips were uber-helpful for us....when we figured them out 3/4 of the way through the trip. We hope this blog brings comfort to all the pregnant travelers out there and peace to all the husbands of pregnant travelers out there!
What trip did we learn all these tips on? Our #STROUSEHOUSEADVENTURES!
Missed our other #STROUSEHOUSEBABY posts? Catch up here!