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My husband, niece and I are planning on a trip this weekend to visit my dad and his side of the family. Any good travel tips I should know in advance? We're driving and it's about 8 hours.
Post by billyhorrible on May 18, 2015 8:24:24 GMT -5
You're going to want to stop every 2 hours or so to get out and stretch your legs. Even if you feel like you don't need to. Get out, walk around, go to the bathroom...
And drink lots and lots and lots of water.
Personally, I'm in the "I can't eat anything" stage of pregnancy because I'm never hungry and always full feeling, but if you're not, pack lots of snacks.
Stick your hospital bag in the trunk, just in case, and if you haven't installed your carseat, stick that in there too.
Are you staying within the state? If not, contact your insurance to check their policy if you need to go to an out of state hospital.
Post by honeybunches101 on May 18, 2015 8:28:24 GMT -5
You may want to check your insurance, some may not cover delivery expenses if you travel too close to your due date. And look into hospitals there in case you go into labor! I am impressed you have the energy to travel this late!
Plan on lots of stops for bathroom breaks and to walk and stretch your legs to prevent blood clots. My tail bone gets really sore after siting for a while, so maybe a pillow to sit on?
I second everything billyhorrible said. I also can't stress enough how important it is to try to elevate your feet when you can. I just took an 8 hour road trip at 36 weeks, and I couldn't believe how swollen my feet and calves got because I insisted on driving. I wish I had sat in the passenger's seat and propped them up a little.
I scrolled through a few pages to see if this was already brought up and didn't find anything (on mobile). If it has been brought up feel free to turn into a fun gif party!
My husband, niece and I are planning on a trip this weekend to visit my dad and his side of the family. Any good travel tips I should know in advance? We're driving and it's about 8 hours.
Have you talked to your Doctor about the trip?? I was supposed to go 2 hours away but with me being 37 weeks pregnant and having some pretty intense pressure she advised me not to go. Mine was only supposed to be a day trip.. Might be something to talk to her about, along with your insurance company.
I hope you aren't driving in the direction of a beach (I forget where you are geographically) and if you are, you probably want to avoid/minimize travel during the peak times. I've been telling myself for weeks that I was going to go on a much shorter but still a few hours away trip this weekend, but recently I have been starting to have second thoughts about it. If we do still go, the last thing I want is to be stuck in a traffic jam.
I hope you aren't driving in the direction of a beach (I forget where you are geographically) and if you are, you probably want to avoid/minimize travel during the peak times. I've been telling myself for weeks that I was going to go on a much shorter but still a few hours away trip this weekend, but recently I have been starting to have second thoughts about it. If we do still go, the last thing I want is to be stuck in a traffic jam.
I second this!! Last weekend we went over the Bay Bridge (I am in MD) and got stuck in a horrible accident coming home. They closed the bridge for about 4.5 hours to get it cleaned up...We did not know this when we started driving and I sat in a car for 6 hours...Not only were my feet horribly swollen but i felt like I was hit by a truck for the next 3 days. It hurt to move, to stand, to sit so lift am arm. There was no way for us to get off the road or anything either. Make sure you know of alternate routes as well so that you dont have the same thing happen to you!
I scrolled through a few pages to see if this was already brought up and didn't find anything (on mobile). If it has been brought up feel free to turn into a fun gif party!
My husband, niece and I are planning on a trip this weekend to visit my dad and his side of the family. Any good travel tips I should know in advance? We're driving and it's about 8 hours.
Have you talked to your Doctor about the trip?? I was supposed to go 2 hours away but with me being 37 weeks pregnant and having some pretty intense pressure she advised me not to go. Mine was only supposed to be a day trip.. Might be something to talk to her about, along with your insurance company.
Ditto talking to your doc. I'm not sure how far along you are/which pregnancy this is. But my OB nixed at 2 hr overnight trip for me at 36 weeks. ..
You will need to stop every 1.5-2 hours to stretch your legs to avoid blood clots (if you're like me you'd have to stop to pee anyhow)
Agreed about stopping to get up and walk around. I also went to the local drug store and bought compression socks on my last flight at 35 weeks and then again home at 35+5 and they helped tremendously. They were white ugly giant socks so not the cutest look, but they were awesome in keeping my blood flowing. If you can, put a bag down by your feet that you can rest on to keep your legs elevated and drink TONS of water. Have fun!
Thanks ladies!! I already have a case of water waiting for me and planned in lots of healthy snacks (and a few unhealthy ones) for the drive. I'll be 35w 2d when we head out and 35w 6d when we come back. This is my first pregnancy. We knew we were going to need to stop more frequently, DH is going to be happy to hear it's not every hour. I'll still probably make us stop every 1.5 hours though. As for compression socks- can I use any compression socks or are there specific pregnancy compression socks (probably belongs in our SQS thread!) I have compression socks I wear when I run, can I just wear those? Thankfully no beach traffic. I live in the Chicago area and we are driving to the Lincoln, Nebraska area. My family owns land out there and we get together every year for Memorial Day weekend. Maybe 1.5 hours of our entire drive is spent not on the interstate.
Thanks ladies!! I already have a case of water waiting for me and planned in lots of healthy snacks (and a few unhealthy ones) for the drive. I'll be 35w 2d when we head out and 35w 6d when we come back. This is my first pregnancy. We knew we were going to need to stop more frequently, DH is going to be happy to hear it's not every hour. I'll still probably make us stop every 1.5 hours though. As for compression socks- can I use any compression socks or are there specific pregnancy compression socks (probably belongs in our SQS thread!) I have compression socks I wear when I run, can I just wear those? Thankfully no beach traffic. I live in the Chicago area and we are driving to the Lincoln, Nebraska area. My family owns land out there and we get together every year for Memorial Day weekend. Maybe 1.5 hours of our entire drive is spent not on the interstate.
With you being so close to 36 weeks, I would 100% call your doctor before you guys leave!!
Once again ladies, thank you for all the wonderful travel tips. Turns out DH, my niece and I won't be making the drive. Not because of labor or anything baby related. DH wasn't able to get as much done in the shop as he needed to. By time he finishes the project he's currently working on it wouldn't make sense for us to go. I'm not sure who's more bummed about this- me, DH, or my dad. We haven't seen him since thanksgiving when we told him I was expecting.
Sorry you couldn't go, but this close to the end of pregnancy it probably is for the best, like megd said. Hopefully you can see your dad after baby is born and it will be that much more special of a visit (whether he comes to you, or you go to him)!
Post by tatersalad on May 22, 2015 21:07:48 GMT -5
I'm also sorry you couldn't go. I'm fairly cavalier about travel late in pregnancy and I had to cancel a trip with some of my best friends this weekend. I just can't handle a 6 hour road trip that would be at least 7-8 hours with bathroom stops this late in the pregnancy. It still sucks though. Hope you can see your dad soon.
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