Driving/riding in a car for 23 hours while 8 months pregnant??!! - Page 2

[WifeofAnt]

Originally Posted by oliviacw

Seriously, consider taking the train.

I looked it up for my trip and its seriously the worst of both worlds. Not only does it take 12 hours longer than a car ride (36 vs 24) but its more expensive than a plane ride ($40 more per person). Maybe its nice for short cross-state trips but not a good option for cross country.

[MonP'titBoudain]

I might do it but I'd be worried about a couple of things:

1) positioning issues: sitting in the car for that long is going to put your body in a position that can encourage a malpositioned baby (think breech or posterior at best). Maybe sit on a board to keep your hips higher than your knees and you leaning a bit forward rather than reclining? Plus making sure to do lot's of cat/cows and forward inversions when you did stop for the night.

2) Food and water. I was so tired this time around at 36 weeks that I wouldn't have had the energy to prepare a bunch of healthy food for us to bring along. Which leaves pretty much fast food while driving cross country. Plus, the not-so-healthy options at Disney (I had *such* a hard time finidng even vegetarian options last year!) And, I wouldn't want to get dehydrated.

3) My midwife wouldn't be so keen on my going that far that close to term... however, I do have a history of earlier births. It's worth talking to your care provider about it, though!

I guess if I felt comfortable with any solutions to those problems, I'd risk it. It sounds like an important trip to make with your family and that's a lot of money to save!

[mbhf]

I just drove 10 hours each way to visit my ILs, my trip back was at 33 weeks. It wasn't awful, but sitting for that long was not fun. Every time I got out of the car I felt like I could hardly walk, but honestly I feel that way if I sit anywhere for more thna maybe 10-20 minutes so it wasn't a huge surprise. I did have to stop and pee a lot, but that shouldn't be a big dea for you since you will be with your dh, you can just run (or limp/waddle depending on how long you've been sitting!) in and run out.

I would do it. I prefer driving over flying for pretty much any length of trip, though.

[loonar]

I'm only 24 weeks, and more than an hour or so in the car has already become impossible for me thanks to some lovely pelvic/hip pain. I think it will depend a lot on your personal experience of pregnancy.

How does the money math work out for your husband and kid driving while you fly? The savings would be less, but maybe still some?

[Earthy Mama]

I could never survive it. I was in the car for 7 hours a few weeks ago (I'm 25 weeks) and thought I was going to die. I could barely walk when we got to the hotel.

[St. Margaret]

For me, driving about 4 hours to Santa Barbara at like 36 wks was really hard. I was achy in the car, and REALLY stiff trying to get in and out of the big beautiful bed at the B&B But I must have done okay walking up and down State Street the next few days... I remember just feeling slow and hurting a bit.

This time is wayyyy worse already, I can't even fly right now, couldn't sit straight for more than a minute.

I would say it depends on your experience of back pain and all.

[mrsberman]

I did it last year. We drove from RI to the Chicago area and only stayed in a hotel one night. I was a little over 36 weeks when we left and we returned after DD was born. We also were traveling with two cats in the back. My MW understood we needed to be with family and advised that we stopped every three hours so I could walk (she said I could get a blood clot from sitting too long) and to drink plenty of water. I guess it really depends on if you think you can do it or not. You know your body best and what it can do.

[Angelorum]

I flew from the states to Europe and back at 29 and 32 weeks pregnant last year. I don't remember the total flight time, I think it was 10-12 hours one way. For me, it was completely doable, but I was very comfortable even at that stage of pregnancy. Things I did to stay comfortable-

Compression stockings- I had zero swelling until I sat on that first plane, and then my feet got pretty fat. They still swelled with the stockings, but it kept it down somewhat, and I hoped lessened the risk of a blood clot.

Lots of water

Belly support band- This also helped with the circulation in my lower limbs and helped support my lower back.

Lots of pillows- on the flight home I had one inflatable neck pillow, one regular neck pillow, a wadded up sweatshirt and an airline pillow all tucked around various parts of my body. LOL. At a minimum, I definitely needed lumbar support for any time I was sitting for more than 15 min.

I also brought my mp3 player with meditations and fun stuff to listen to and an eye mask to help me sleep. I needed a lot of rest the days after the flights, but that was probably more due to the jet lag than the exhaustion of traveling. I think you can do it if you are a generally comfortable pregnant woman, with no crazy back/pelvis issues. Good luck