Crazy to take vacation at 7 mo pregnant?

[starfish79]

It's our ten year wedding anniversary this year right around time first baby is due (October 15, baby due Halloween).

We haven't taken a "vacation" in 2 years.  We've traveled to see family and had a day off here or there for holidays, but not like a week-long break from everything.

We're not rich, and I'm definitely concerned about saving money and vacation time for maternity leave.   The vacation we're considering is Maui using airline miles and paying between $105 - $209/night  for accommodations (6 nights).  This would be over Labor Day, so I'd take 4 days vacation and get a "bonus" day in there because of the holiday.

Only we can decide if the vacation time / money is worth it of course.

But gut check here: does this seem nutty?  What about the idea of traveling at 30/31 weeks (7 mo)?

Thank you for your thoughts. We've got the itinerary on hold for another couple of days.

[rbp]

You'll probably be ok. I would buy travel insurance. We are traveling to Cancun when I am 29 weeks, and I purchased "cancel for any reason" insurance for about $200. Just in case something happened and my doctor suddenly told me not to travel. I haven't been pregnant before, but I feel fine at 25 weeks (just moving a bit slower), so I'm not concerned about how I'll feel four weeks from now unless something unexpected happens.

I guess my biggest concern would be about the long flight. Have you considered a closer location? Where are you located? Maui is like a nine-hour flight from here, so I hope you're on the west coast! Regardless, make sure you get up and walk around every hour or so to avoid blood clots.

ETA: I should add that travel insurance was particularly important for our trip because we are traveling to an all-inclusive resort, and all accommodations are pre-paid. If you can get a refund for your accommodations and only be out a few hundred dollars, that's a chance I'd be willing to take. 

[starfish79]

Yes! Forgot to add: we're in LA (5 hr flight).

We've never purchased travel insurance before, but you make a great point. I should look into that!

[blushing]

I think for most people it would be fine, but for me it would be a problem.

I was high risk in my last pregnancy because of my blood pressure. From 32 weeks I needed to be seen every second day, and that was after spending 4 weeks mostly in bed.

I think purchasing that insurance would be a good idea as you don't know how your pregnancy is going to go. Up until 24 weeks last time I had no problems and then suddenly it all came tumbling down.

[mrspost08]

Ask your doctor at your next appt his opinion & get the travel insurance. We bought travel insurance last year for our Alaskan cruise. I didn't worry about all my health issues or the trip since we had insurance.

[Deleted]

I would! We took a mini vacation to San Francisco around 28 weeks- it was a lot of walking but I was fine. We're not going on a trip before this baby because it's not as fun with a 2 yr old in tow and we would take her but before the first baby I Would totally take a trip to Hawaii!!

[pacificrules]

I'm not quite 7 months, but am flying tomorrow for a mini-vacation and feel totally fine about it. I'm staying in the contiguous 48 though; I think I may feel a little bit different if I were flying to Hawaii. Could you do somewhere nice in CA? Or somewhere closer and within the lower 48? I'd feel a bit more panicky flying across the ocean, though that's probably not logical.

Congrats on 10 years!

[curbsideprophet]

I would ask you provider. For some people it would probably be fine. For others it might be a bad idea.

[hokiegirl82]

I actually asked the same question early on in my pregnancy about flying 3 hours direct at 31 weeks and most people said they would feel ok with it. I thought I would be super fine with it, even if a little uncomfortable. H and I talked about it and he was convinced I would be too uncomfortable and cranky at 31 weeks to fly even 3 hours direct, because I forgot about the hassle of getting through security, etc., so we decided not to go on the trip we had planned.

That trip would have been a week ago, and although I'm sad we didn't get to go to the event we were hoping to go to, I'm very glad we didn't go. I know every pregnancy is different, and some women feel amazing at 31 weeks, but I have started to get to the uncomfortable stage the past few weeks and the thought of schlepping through the airport and trying to sit in a small space for 3 hours sounds like torture to me right now.

With that said I would talk to your doctor about it, and if you do plan to go, get travel insurance.

I'm so jealous - we went to the Big Island for our honeymoon and absolutely loved it!

[SJ]

I am 29 weeks and feel great. I am going to NYC this coming weekend with my girlfriends for a getaway, but that will probably be the last time I fly.

It is hard to plan as you have no way of knowing how you will feel, so I agree with others that having a backup plan or travel insurance makes sense.

[pinotgrig]

We're heading to FL later this week and I'll be 32w. Our flights are relatively short though and my doc gave me copies of my medical records to take with me jic (though he was completely fine with me going).

I'm still feeling great so other than wearing my compression socks and making sure to get up and walk around lots due to blood clot concerns, I think it'll be pretty close to traveling like normal.

[pinotgrig]

Also, we did not purchase trip insurance. We only paid for one flight (had flight vouchers from getting bumped on a previous flight) and our hotel is paid for with points that are cancellable up to 24 hours beforehand.

[robinsbff]

it's not a vacation but we will be flying at 30 weeks for my SIL's graduation. we got the trip insurance in case we need to cancel for any reason (we booked the flights several months ago). it's only a 1.5 hours flight though, i'm not sure how i'd feel with a 5 hour flight. i'm just starting to get restless on longer car trips, need to get out to move/stretch my legs and such. so just keep that possibility in mind.

[scribellesam]

We did a trip from CA to NYC when I was 29/30 weeks pregnant and it was great! The flight was a little uncomfortable but not too terrible. NYC was kind of a tough choice though because I wasn't up to walking around the city for very long. Maui would be perfect! We did get travel insurance though, just in case.

[statlerwaldorf]

It is really going to depend on the pregnancy. With my first pregnancy, that was the point where I started feeling uncomfortable. I would be slowed down a little and need to rest a little more than usual, but a low key vacation would be fine.

With this pregnancy, I have SPD and I'm miserable at 29 weeks. I am in a lot of pain and have trouble sleeping. I am starting to have trouble walking and I'm not even sure I could make it through the airport on a bad day.

[katiek]

I asked a similar question several months ago and got about 50/50 answers. Some people said they would feel perfectly fine, others said they felt miserable at 30 weeks. We decided not to go, and I'm glad we did. I didn't like the 50% likelihood of feeling crappy on a vacation.

I'm only 26 weeks, and I would not be a happy camper on a vacation right now, especially with a 5 hour flight. If I sit longer than half an hour at a time in the same position, both legs fall asleep and my back kills for days. I also have sciatic pain that makes walking difficult, so if you wanted to do any walking while you're there, that could be a potential problem.

Even if you're medically fine to go, which you may not know until closer to the date, you may not enjoy the trip if you don't feel well. I'm sorry to be a downer! It's a hard decision to make so far in advance.

[sillygoosegirl]

I can't comment on what being 7 months pregnant feels like, but in my experience, traveling over a holiday to save a day of vacation is normally a false economy because flight prices go up around holidays. I think I'd spend an extra day of vacation time to go earlier in the year/pregnancy, whichever week is cheapest to fly, even if that means taking an extra day of your maternity leave unpaid. (Though I guess this depends somewhat on how much you make.)

[starfish79]

Thanks for all your ideas and input, everyone. You've given me things to think about that I .. well.. hadn't thought about!

5 hours on a plane with a big ol belly isn't sounding so great... I'm doubting whether this is a good idea, much as a relaxing vacation is needed...