Vacation: as it applies to Jude

Last week Ryan and I went on our first cruise. Now, the cruise doesn’t really have anything to do with our little guy growing inside, but I thought I’d reflect on it a little with the view point of a pregnant woman. I went into the trip fully expecting to do what I want (keeping our child’s health and mine in mind) and not pull the “pregnant” card and I think I came through pretty well for the most part. There were of course things that I just couldn’t or shouldn’t do and I made sure to stay clear of these things. However, it didn’t really set me back on many things at all.

A list of things I found I was NOT able to do that I would have otherwise attempted:
- Rock climbing on the ships rock wall. Lifting myself (more than my limit of 30ish pounds) and being that far above the ground just didn’t seem smart – but there was no pregnant woman rule posted anywhere I could see.
- Testing out the wave machine thing (a pool-like thing that simulated a wave and allowed you to try surfing/boogey boarding). This machine didn’t have a rule posted against pregnant woman either, but people who fell off were being thrown all over the place – it just didn’t seem smart.
- Drinking – duh. It wasn’t a huge deal though. The drinks on board were pretty expensive and Ryan only had one “heavy drinking” night which left him feeling crappy the next morning (not good when you’re trying to enjoy the trip). Other than that he only had random drinks with dinner and while socially hanging around. In the event that we were sitting around a bar or just hanging out I ordered some flavored non-alcoholic drinks. One night in particular he had a glass of wine with dinner which I sipped (oh so yummy). In addition I had hoped for a Mexican margarita, but our schedule didn’t really allow for it anyway so whether I was pregnant or not it probably wouldn’t have happened.
- Intense snorkeling. One day (while at Grand Cayman) we were super excited to go snorkeling. The water wasn’t as calm as usual so our tour was cancelled and we were left to find a spot on our own. One of the spots we tried I couldn’t go into it as much as Ryan because the water was just too rough. We were hanging around some large rocks and with the pull of the water it just didn’t seem safe. After a little time there, we moved further down the beach to a clear area with calmer water and no rocks and I was able to keep up with the rest of the group and have a great time.

I really think that completes the list and isn’t really anything that would ruin the trip one way or the other. I was a little more tired that most others on the trip, but that was fine b/c there wasn’t too much going on in the evenings that caught my attention anyway (and if there was I took a nap before hand to get through), so hitting the pillow a little earlier to make the most out of the day was fine by me anyway.

All in all, it was a good vacation!

Also, while on the trip, something exciting happened! (I’ll start with a little background info):

When I went for my most ultrasound I was told I have an anterior placenta (did I already blog about this?). Basically this means that my placenta is closer to my belly button than it is to my spine (front, not back of uterus). The doctor confirmed that this is not a problem, they sometimes just fall in different spots and as long as it’s not covering my cervix it’s not a big deal. However, after a little research and a little common sense I realized that the biggest downfall to this is that it serves as a buffer between baby and the outside world (aka making it harder to feel the first few tiny flutters that I could have otherwise felt and making it even harder for Ryan to feel kicking).

Since my first blog about kicking I had been feeling the movements randomly and in the past week and a half or so it’s become pretty much an every day occurrence. I’ll be honest that I thought originally that I’d be freaked out by the moving, but it’s not nearly as creepy as I’d expected.

Anyway – while on the trip there was one night in particular that I felt some stronger movements further down than usual and I positioned myself so that I could try and feel it from the outside. Ryan and I were laying in the bed and I told him to put his hand where I felt the movement and he got two or three kicks out of the little guy. I was happy that he was finally able to feel it and hope that he can do it again in the near future. Ryan really seemed to enjoy it and you can tell that he too was glad to finally get a little action.

Now, according to the doctor and the info I read, the anterior placenta only buffers the movements a little when they’re still tiny and not very strong, but later on with stronger/bigger kicks we’ll feel things like normal. In addition, it’s not uncommon for the placenta to move to the back a little as the uterus stretches and grows over the next few months – but even if it doesn’t it shouldn’t be a problem.