WWYD - 30 and 33 weeks

[katiek]

I'll try to keep this short! I'm only 8 weeks, but these things need to be planned in advance and I have no idea how I'll be feeling. I know everyone feels differently, but I'm hoping there will be some sort of consensus.

1. H and I wanted to go on a Babymoon, and we mentioned it to FIL, who suggested the whole family go to Italy. Vacationing with them is fairly normal, but Italy is way further away than we planned to go, but we really want to go. The only time that works for any/all of us, though, is May. The plan would be to leave when I am 29w5d and get home at 31w2d. It would be an 11-ish hour flight to London, staying overnight, then 4-5 hour flight to Italy. So, my question is, if I am medically cleared to fly, will I want to? Were (or are) you too miserable/bloaty/uncomfortable to enjoy traveling or a vacation at 30 weeks? If I'm going to be uncomfortable, I'd rather not pay a lot of money to be miserable in Italy. I can do that for free at home.

2. I just finished all my classes for my undergrad degree, but the graduation ceremony isn't until June. I'll be around 33 weeks. It'll be a 2-3 hour ceremony, no chance for a bathroom break, and the room will be pretty hot. I'd like to go, and my parents want to come, but it's not super important to me. I'm worried about needing the bathroom, or about feeling dehydrated if I try to avoid needing the bathroom. Would you go?

Thanks! It's so hard to plan these things because I have no idea how I'll feel.

[annabear07]

1. At 30 weeks I felt amazing, so I would see no problem. Although a trip to Italy when I can't drink ALL the Italian wine and cheese is a bit of a bummer to me!

2. At 33wks I would have to have worn a bikini in a hot room never the less a graduation robe to be comfortable! If it truly is going to be a hot room in a polyester gown, I would possibly skip the ceremony. But that's just me.

[shelbyann]

1. I would probably do this, because it sounds like a pretty awesome trip, aside from the bummer of not being able to drink all of the wine. Is his family usually a go-go-go, sightseeing-dusk-til-dawn kind of crew? Because even though I am feeling pretty good at 30w, that would wear me out. But as long as you're OK with playing it by ear on the daily activities and passing on stuff if you need to, I'd probably plan to go. Sounds amazing.

2. That sounds awful even when not PG, haha. Can you arrange to sit near the back so you could take a pee break/get some fresh air if you need to? I have a hard time believing they'd tell an 8-months-PG lady "NO!" if you tried to excuse yourself to the bathroom. But is there any reason you need to decide now? I would probably punt on this one, unless tickets are advance purchase only or really expensive or something.

[changedname]

1) I would do for sure, just check with your doctor that you are ok. I flew cross country (5 hours) last week and was fine. The jetlag might get to you more than normal.

2) This I am not sure on for the same reasons as pp. I cannot hold in my pee anymore. It physically hurts when I need to go and I would be stressed about it the whole time. ( on the flight coming home last week, I had a middle seat and I was on edge the whole time about going to pee and annoying the person in the aisle.

[simpsongal]

Ditto OPs.

#2 soudns more doable b/c you could probably leave the robe off and sit near the back to use the bathroom. I can go a long time without going, but that's not everyone's experience.

#1 is a tough one. If they're paying, I would probably 'eek it out. But if you're paying, I would probably save my money for a trip earlier in my pregnancy. I felt pretty decent at that stage but flying is brutal. And I know a lot of ladies on this board have had a rough go around that time.

[browneyedgirl9]

1.) I would def go on the trip if you are cleared by the doctor! Sounds like so much fun! At 30 weeks I was feeling really good still. I would just take breaks, and not do all day/ all night activities as that will wear you out.

2.) I dont see why you couldnt get up to pee during the ceramony for the graduation or to get some fresh air. Especially if people know you are 8mon pregnant. I will say at 35 weeks, there are times I can go 3-4 hours without needing to pee.

[vmars]

I felt my best between 20-27 weeks. Later it hurt to walk a lot and I had bad swelling. If the trip was a few weeks earlier I'd go. However everyone is different and you may feel great.

I personally would need to pee and drink water. That would be too long to wait. Again, you may be ok but I'd see if you can bring a water bottle and sit near a bathroom.

[Deleted]

1. I travel fairly often and I would not want to do this in my 3rd tri, especially if this would be your first time to Italy/Europe. Like pps mentioned, you would want to enjoy all the wine, cheese, and cured meats, etc. (If I went to Italy and couldn't eat proscuitto, I would cry!) Also, I have had a super easy pregnancy but I get tired if I'm on my feet for more than an hour. Europe requires a lot of walking and standing in line at museums, etc. Check travel restrictions per airline and country if you decide to go though. I would prefer going on a babymoon early-mid 2nd tri and someplace more relaxing tbh. Oh, also would not want to go on a family vacation as a babymoon. My husband and I went on a very small trip and it was a really romantic bonding time for just the two of us.
2. I'm not at 33-34 weeks yet but I think I could hold my pee for 2-3 hours if I planned ahead. I wouldn't want to miss my graduation ceremony.

Oh one more thing...I know this is not common but there are just way too many ladies lately who have gone into early labor that makes the thought of leaving the country in 3rd tri to be so scary to me. I think the healthcare in Europe is good but the out of pocket costs for going out of network could be crushing.

[sunshineluv]

1. I am 30 weeks right now, and the thought of an 11 flight sounds like pure hell to me. Also, I get tired walking pretty quickly, my back gets sharp pains if I stand too long. I want to go to Italy very badly, but I have ZERO desire to go right now. (If this was a free trip my answer may be swayed for you, but if this is your money, I vote no).

With DS1 we went on a babymoon to st. marten, and while the trip was nice, I think I enjoyed it the least of all the people I was with (3 couples). I want to go back some day so I can truely appreciate the island. I would hate only getting to partially enjoy Italy.

#2) I skipped my grad school graduation for no real reason, I am not a big fan of the long cermonies. But if you want to do it I think you can. I use the restroom a lot, but if I planned and didn't drink much that morning I could be fine for 3 hours. (I think

[bugandbibs]

1.). There is no way I would fly to Italy at 30 weeks. I was having constant BH while walking and that much sitting would have given me a terrible backache. It just doesn't sound like fun, and it's a lot of money to spend on that much uncertainty.

2.). I would attend my graduation, and just try to plan ahead. It only happens once.

[katiek]

Thanks for all your responses! It's good to get different perspectives.

We would be paying for the trip ourselves, but it would be cheaper because we would be splitting costs of rental cars, the villa, stuff like that. The ILs are pretty fast-paced vacationers, so H and I would probably branch out by ourselves. You guys are right, though, I wouldn't want to go all the way to Italy and not enjoy it because I don't feel well or can't do/eat everything I want.

The graduation thing isn't urgent, but I have to fill out a form by February 1st if I want them to mail me my diploma, which would have to happen if I wasn't going to the ceremony. But you all gave good suggestions of ways I could adapt things if need be. I'll probably wait a little while to decide about that one.

[dukesilver]

Obviously, it is so dependent on the person and the pregnancy, but I still felt really great through 37 weeks or so. I think I would have been fine doing both of those things.

[formerlyak]

1. For the trip I know I am in the minority, but I went into labor at 32 weeks and felt like hell from about 30 weeks on during my first pregnancy. I did take a trip from CA to FL around 5 months and that flight sucked and it was only 5 hours. I was so uncomfortable having to sit in the airplane seat for 5 hours. I did get up and walk and take breaks, but it's just really a pain. And if the seatbelt light is on and the baby starts using your bladder as a trampoline (which my current one does), you are in for a long flight. I would probably opt out of the trip because of my past experience, but everyone is different and you don't really know what it will be like for you. If you do opt in for the trip, talk to your insurance now to see what you do if you have any complications during the trip.

2. I would call the department at your college that coordinates graduation and talk with them about it. They have to accommodate people with different needs, and I'd bet you wouldn't be the first pregnant graduate asking to sit on an aisle near the back in case you need to sneak out to pee. All of the universities I have worked at would have been happy to make that accommodation.

[humpforfree]

I would pass on Italy- I am 29 weeks and for the last 2ish weeks I've had crazy bad pain in my butt/leg that it turns out is a punchcard nerve/sciatica. It hurts to just walk a couple of feet- I wouldn't want to be sore and not able to sightsee everything.

I would do graduation & like PP said, try to sit in the back if you aren't in alphabetical order. We just had a card with our name on it and order didn't matter.

[redpenmama]

Personally, I would not do the Italy flight. Too long -- I was quite uncomfortable by 30 weeks, and I wouldn't be up for all of the sightseeing, etc. It would have worn me out.

A short car ride for graduation sounds doable at 33 weeks. The boredom associated with graduation ceremonies might be the deterrent here, though.

[ilikedonuts]

I felt absolutely amazing both pregnancies the entire time and you couldn't have paid me to fly to Italy. 30+ weeks cramped on a plane for super long flights and then being in a foreign country? No thanks.

I think you could definitely make #2 work. I would just ask about the bathroom again and tell them you will be pregnant and might have to go.

[sent]

Europe, possibly Italy, is my husband's favorite place to vacation. I've been twice to Italy since we got married and I would not go at 30 weeks as a tourist even if you felt awesome. It is a lot of walking and hassle compared to life in the US, and I base this on my experience of living in NYC for most of my pregnancy. Unless you were just going to lay around at a resort, but then you wouldn't be able to eat and drink much like the others said. It was hard enough to go to Hawaii with my husband at week 10 and watch him drink interesting cocktails and eat seafood while I sipped water and ate like a vegetarian. We did a little driving trip to Vermont at week 26 and that was not a bad experience.

[kershnic]

I am currently 24w with twins and would be pretty borderline right now on whether I could enjoy a trip to Italy. The standing and walking of the trip would be the hardest part. But there's a decent chance the plane would be incredibly uncomfortable. And I'd be terrified the whole time of preterm labor or other pregnancy complication.

[VillainV]

I'm only at 25 weeks, so I have no idea what 30-33 weeks is like. But a few weeks ago we did a short weekend trip to Belgium, and the walking around was exhausting. I've had really bad sciatica, and I was in absolute agony for most of the trip from walking and standing. H got really good at massaging my ass, and I was still in a ton of pain.

Having said that, we're about to fly home to the US for the holidays, so in a few days I'll be able to let you know how that goes. I'm nervous about being comfortable in the airline seat (I usually have issues with that when I'm NOT pregnant). We used miles to upgrade to business class for the overnight flight back, so hopefully that leg won't be too bad.

As for the graduation, unless it's really expensive to make reservations, rent cap and gown, etc, I think I would be inclined to make a game-time decision on that. Even if you're spending a few hundred dollars, if you feel like crap in the few days before you can always bail without feeling too bad.

[stealthmom]

1. Be prepared to go against doctor wishes. Mine doesn't like travel past 24 weeks. This would be something to ask about. I would also buy travel ins. Just in case you need to cancel. But otherwise I would totally want to go .

2. Totally plan on going. No question.

[countthestars]

Dec 16, 2013 11:44:08 GMT -5 @missy1 said:

1. I travel fairly often and I would not want to do this in my 3rd tri, especially if this would be your first time to Italy/Europe. Like pps mentioned, you would want to enjoy all the wine, cheese, and cured meats, etc. (If I went to Italy and couldn't eat proscuitto, I would cry!) Also, I have had a super easy pregnancy but I get tired if I'm on my feet for more than an hour. Europe requires a lot of walking and standing in line at museums, etc. Check travel restrictions per airline and country if you decide to go though. I would prefer going on a babymoon early-mid 2nd tri and someplace more relaxing tbh. Oh, also would not want to go on a family vacation as a babymoon. My husband and I went on a very small trip and it was a really romantic bonding time for just the two of us.
2. I'm not at 33-34 weeks yet but I think I could hold my pee for 2-3 hours if I planned ahead. I wouldn't want to miss my graduation ceremony.

Oh one more thing...I know this is not common but there are just way too many ladies lately who have gone into early labor that makes the thought of leaving the country in 3rd tri to be so scary to me. I think the healthcare in Europe is good but the out of pocket costs for going out of network could be crushing.

Agree with all of this.

[amaristella]

Maybe you could plan to go to the graduation and then if you're not really wanting to go when the time comes either cancel later or sit in the audience so that you have more freedom to get up if you need to.

I wouldn't do an 11 hour flight. Something shorter maybe.

[Deleted]

I am easy breezy about most things, but traveling internationally during the third tri would give me pause and I would probably opt to take a short trip somewhere in the U.S. instead. Plus, you don't know how you are going to feel at that stage. During my first pregnancy, I would have been fine, but my second pregnancy, it would have been a disaster.

[runblondie26]

1. The trip sounds amazing, definitely go for it! We went to Nice and Monaco when I was 31/32 weeks, and it was a terrific trip. Just have plenty of euros in hand to pay for the public restrooms Eat pasta with abandonment while you're there!

2. Yeah, I'd skip. The heat would really get me.

[crazygame]

There is no way I could have enjoyed a trip to Italy at 30 weeks. I have a separated pelvis and can hardly walk around my office. Sitting for that long would have been extremely painful. The trip sounds fun, but it would not have worked for me at that time.