Remember how I said that Hawaii in March would be our last trip before baby? And then how I said that St. George in April was really our last getaway? Turns out, we were able to sneak in one last hurrah in May. But that was truly the last one! From here until my due date, we need to stick a little closer to the hospital, I think.
Memorial Day weekend was a lot of fun and a lot of driving. We left Friday morning, drove about 8 hours to Colorado and returned to Utah on Monday. In between, we had a delightful time enjoying nature with our dear friends from college and their kids. It is so rare to find a family where the moms and dads get along so well, and the kids love each other, too! Our friends’ kiddos’ ages line up with ours pretty closely except that they welcomed number four last year, and we’re still working on ours.
The weather in Colorado was cooler than here in Utah; plus, there was a nice on-and-off drizzle. This seemed less than ideal for some, but for me, it was perfect. Now that Utah is in the 80s and 90s, my hands and feet swell up when I’m not in air conditioning. In Colorado, this wasn’t a problem.
We did some walking and a little climbing, but mostly, I took it easy with my big ole’ belly. (I know there are women who run up until their delivery, but I seriously don’t see how.) The most strenuous thing I did was sit in the car for 8 hours at a stretch. On each leg, we made two stops, one to eat and one to gas up. Note: There are very few restaurants in Wyoming—actually, there are very few towns!
When I was at the doctor’s office yesterday and told the nurse what we’d done for the long weekend, she gave me a talking-to about road trips and circulation. She said that at this point in the pregnancy, I should get out of the car and walk for 15 minutes for every 2 hours of driving. I agreed that I really should have done that. Sitting for such a long time was super uncomfortable, although I guess I’m lucky I didn’t come away with blood clots! I just reclined my seat back and stretched out the best I could. On the way down, I drove half the time; coming back, I let Shawn drive the whole thing while I complained about stiffness and too-tight pants.
In short, I could have had some real problems if I’d come back from Colorado with blood clots, or if I’d gone into labor and had to deliver away from my doctor and hospital and without any of my stuff. But, I got lucky and came back with no regrets!
SOURCE:http://www.pnmag.com/blogs/week-37-road-tripping-at-36-weeks/
