6 Tips for a Fun and Safe Road Trip While Pregnant

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i was feeling pretty nervous about taking a 20-hour road trip while pregnant, especially in my first trimester. i did a lot of research on how to make this the best it could be for both myself and my husband, especially since our road trip consisted of hauling all of our wordily possessions from oregon to colorado. i am no medical professional so please be sure to check in with your midwife or doctor before you hit the road.

here is what i found most helpful to have a fun and safe road trip while pregnant!

road trip while pregnant

1) keep hydrated

we all know we should be drinking 8-10 8oz glasses of water even when our wombs are empty but these is even more important once you are growing a human! throw traveling on top of that and it’s even more important since we are sitting for extended periods of time.

my mother-in-law bought me this amazing metal cup (mine is white) for my birthday since i am trying to avoid drinking from plastic. even though you can find plastics that are BPA-free, my sometimes-conspiracy-theorist-mind keeps imagine them replacing the BPA with other potentially harmful ingredients and i don’t want to risk it.

keep a water bottle or cup filled your entire trip and keep on drinking those fluids. we bought jugs of water along the way so i could keep refilling my cup. staying hydrated will also help keep you from feeling gross and groggy as the hours pass.

2) make frequent stops

since you are consuming all that water, this won’t really be an issue of making frequent stops on your road trip. we generally stopped every 3ish hours because my bladder demanded it and a quick walk around the parking lot does a body good.

that’s the fun thing about a road trip – you control your travel time since you aren’t on a schedule to catch a train or a plane! making frequently stops will also help your blood circulate and give you and your fellow travelers some breathing room.

3) get compression socks + move your legs!

i’ve been using ones similar to these for years after i started running and they were perfect for my road trip! compression socks are important because pregnant ladies are more prone to developing blood clots. they can also help to relieve swelling and pain in your legs too so get a pair of these socks to wear even around the house!

my husband was very paranoid about me getting a blood clot so he started a friendly reminder happening about every 10 minutes. after the third time of this, i was getting annoyed so i started announcing any time i moved my legs, hips or feet to him so he would know i was moving my legs. i was in control of the announcements, which moved to about every 25 minutes.

road trip mountains pregnancy

4) bring your own pillow

traveling in a car is rarely the most comfortable place to sit for hours but then throw in the famous pregnancy backaches and woooof. i grabbed a smaller, rectangular pillow from our coach and threw it in the cab of our truck. that helped to alleviate some of the discomfort for my lower back and was also quite helpful around 3pm each day when i could no longer keep my eyes open and had to nap.

5) take some quiet time to yourself

i will not speak for all pregnant women because each woman is different but for me – my hormones can get a little crazy. i am not always rational (though in my mind i am absurdly confident in my mood swing) so there was a moment in our road trip when every single thing my husband did was annoying, irritating and just got under my skin. i am sure the exact same was true for him about me.

in order to keep the peace so neither of us actually threw the other from a moving vehicle, i simply put on my headphones and listened to a part of an audiobook. this allowed us both time to ourselves (as much as that is possible when you are are 3 feet apart in a car) and let my hormones mellow out so i could be a much more pleasant wife and road trip companion. it’s totally fine if you need to do something like this in the midst of your road trip because every single minute most likely isn’t going to be perfect.

road trip pregnancy

6) pack healthy and delicious snacks

most of our choices for meals on the road aren’t the healthiest so this is where you get some control over the snacks you pack. we packed a small, soft cooler (we have this one but in a less happy color) and i filled it with grapes, carrots and a few cans of 7-up should i need to settle my stomach. we had reusable freezer packs that we refroze in our hotel rooms during the night and it worked great!

of course the snacks your want/crave are up to you but go easy on the less-than-healthy things because chances are your main meals won’t be healthiest. my absolute favorite snack during our last road trip were yogurt covered pretzels. is there a better salty/sweet combination? i think not. plus, i only needed a few at a time and they satisfied that craving. also look for ‘whole grains’ in some of your favorite snacks like crackers or cheez-its!

most of all though, have fun! this is a great way to get away while it’s still the two of you so make the most of your road trip while pregnant!

road trip while pregnant

what are your vital road trip snacks and how do you ensure a good road trip, pregnant or not?

8 Comments

  1. Elyse

    March 14, 2016 at 10:16 am

    I may have laughed out loud at the not being rational but extra-confident in yourself…I’m not saying I am but I may be the same way every month…

    I also love the idea of chilling out to audiobooks or regular books because you’re SO right that it’s a ton of time sitting in a car together that even if you like your spouse it can get a bit irksome for a long period of time!

    • chelsea

      March 15, 2016 at 8:36 am

      oh my goodness it’s insane how confident i am in my “rightness” now! i mean i am sort of a moody person as it but i can generally tell when i’m being ridiculous but nowadays i’m like “BOOM MIC DROP!” 🙂

      the audiobook saved us and let me simmer down 🙂

  2. Sara

    March 14, 2016 at 11:44 am

    I agree with Elyse, I tend to have those irrational moments even though I’m not pregnant, lol. These are great tips for a road trip together with your significant other.
    Sara recently posted…Merging Messes as Newlyweds

    • chelsea

      March 15, 2016 at 8:37 am

      i should have clarified that i did too but now they are super intensified! ha! glad you found the tips helpful, sara! thanks for your comment!

  3. Audrey

    March 14, 2016 at 11:49 am

    I always pack a handy-dandy little snack bag for my husband when he travels. He and his business partner look forward to it! 🙂

    I would have been super nervous about blood clots- I’m glad you had the mister around to annoy you and keep those legs moving!! Haha!
    Audrey recently posted…The India Archive [1]

    • chelsea

      March 15, 2016 at 8:38 am

      awww you’re so good! i get such pleasure out of picking out snacks it’s amusing.

      yes as i was getting annoyed at him he said “well your blood is just sitting there pooling in your legs!!!” and i was like ‘okay okay…but let me be in charge!” 🙂

  4. Mar

    March 14, 2016 at 12:21 pm

    Some great tips. I wish we had of planned a ‘baby moon’ earlier in our pregnancy, but now that baby is set to make an appearance any day now, it’s a little late. We’re planning on taking a road trip to the East Coast of Canada next summer with babe, and I think these tips would apply to traveling with a babe as well. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    • chelsea

      March 15, 2016 at 8:39 am

      probably good call about staying close to home with your baby due any day! how exciting!!!! sending you lots of good thoughts for a healthy and happy birth! oh east coast/canada sound like a beautiful destination next summer – how fun!