Mark, Seven Weeks and One Day

I learned I was pregnant when I peed on a stick in Walmart’s bathrooms (not my most classy moment, I know). I told Feng the news ten minutes later, and then I called my mother. My friends in Ottawa were the next to know. Then, little by little, I announced it to the rest of the world but I was slow to do so, mostly out of superstition.

I only published the “by the way, I’m almost about to give birth” news on this blog when I was eight months pregnant. It caught a lot of people by surprise because I had just come back from a trip to the U.K. and France.

Yes, I travelled when I was pregnant. Why not?

Mark was “made in Mexico,” so technically my first trip with the mini-baby was in February 2012, when we flew back to Canada. Of course, at the time, I didn’t know yet I was pregnant.

In March, as I had just found out I was expecting, my mother underwent a serious surgery. I didn’t think twice and bought my ticket to France—I wanted to be by her side. I was a very confused but otherwise fine seven-week-pregnant traveller. The trip was pretty smooth—I didn’t even have a baby bump then and no one could tell I was expecting, which led to funny conversations with my grand-parents who scowled at me for passing on that supposedly delicious French wine.

When I came back to Canada, Feng and I drove to Toronto to see Bryan Adams. At the time, I thought it would probably be my last trip outside Ottawa for a while. Pregnant women aren’t supposed to stray far from home, right?

Yeah, right.

In the bliss of the second trimester, I got itchy feet. The baby was fine and I hadn’t changed my routine much—I was walking a lot and going to yoga twice a week. Sure, there was a mini-us inside me, but he wasn’t interfering much with my life so far.

In June, we decided to take off to New York City and explore New York State. I was almost six months pregnant then and I was just starting to show. The most annoying pregnancy-related symptom I had was that I needed more bathroom breaks than usual. Thank God for Starbucks and fast joint restaurants in NYC—I think I peed in every single bathroom available in the city.

Six Months Pregnant in NYC (June 2012)

The rest of the time, I forgot I was pregnant. We stood on top of the Empire State Building, explored Chinatown, walked on Brooklyn Bridge and visited all the landmarks. My belly bump seemed to expand as the day went by and as I was eating and drinking: in the morning, it would look flat and then I would walk by a window a few hours later and bam, I was showing!

When we headed back to Ottawa, I really thought it would be my last trip when pregnant.

Until late July, when Feng and I had a chance to go to London. Did I want to go there for a few days? Hell yes! Sure, I was almost seven months pregnant, but who cared? I was given the green light by my ob-gyn and we started packing.

However, for a brief moment, I wonder about airline policies for pregnant women. We flew Air Canada from Ottawa to London—no issue there, Air Canada allows pregnant women to fly up to the 37th week (i.e. right until the end). But from London to Nantes, we flew Easyjet and its policies weren’t as lenient. A doctor’s certificate was required if travelling between the 28th and 35th weeks of pregnancy. And the certificate must be issued by a doctor or midwife and must be dated within 5 days of the outbound travel date.

I was 28 weeks pregnant so technically, I should have gotten a note from my doctor. But I couldn’t have produced another note dated within 5 days of the trip for the trip back to London, since I didn’t have a doctor in France.

Screw the note, I just took my Roots hoodies, very handy to cover a baby bump. I stepped into the plane holding my bag in front of my belly and no one asked questions. Phew. I was barely showing anyway but I had read news about a pregnant woman thrown off an Easyjet flight because she didn’t have a note from her doctor, and I certainly didn’t want to have any problem.

Once again, in London and in Nantes, the most annoying side effect of pregnancy was that I needed to pee all the time. I was starting to get a bit tired when standing for extended periods of time but I was fine when walking.

Seven Months Pregnant in London, August 2012

Exploring London with a seven-month-pregnant belly was a really fun experience, and being able to see my family again so far into my pregnancy was great. In the evening, my mother and my sister loved playing “poke the belly and make the baby kick” game!

I feel lucky I had an easy pregnancy and that I was able to stay active right until the very end. All pregnancies are different but if you are given the green light by your doctor, you can do a lot of things during these nine months!

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17 Comments

  1. Cynthia December 17, 2012 at 8:20 am

    You were lucky to remain relatively normal during the pregnancy!

    Reply
    1. Zhu December 18, 2012 at 7:28 pm

      Physically, yes… mentally I was a bitch 😆

      Reply
  2. Jeruen December 17, 2012 at 8:24 am

    I am not sure I nor a partner will be pregnant any time soon, but as this related to travel, I am interested regardless! You bring up an important point regarding airline policies and pregnant women. In fact, I recall that sometimes, there are also country policies where certain countries do not allow pregnant women to enter, due to citizenship issues. I believe most of these rules pertain to countries where citizenship is acquired through birth. I believe Australia is one such country but I am not really sure.

    Reply
    1. Zhu December 18, 2012 at 7:29 pm

      I didn’t know that! I guess it makes sense if the country doesn’t want citizenship claims.

      Reply
  3. Melanie December 17, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    On this topic, I highly recommend the movie “Away We Go” – the main character in it has the opposite problem you did – she looks like she’s ready to burst but she’s only 7 months pregnant. Obviously this proves to be a problem at the airport when she tries to get on a flight without a doctor’s note…

    Reply
    1. Zhu December 18, 2012 at 7:30 pm

      I haven’t seen the movie but I’m adding it on my list. Really, this is so subjective… I mean, how can airlines tell how far in the pregnancy a woman is??

      Reply
  4. Priyank December 18, 2012 at 6:06 am

    With a French-Chinese Canadian baby made in Mexico and pre-birth exposure to UK and US, I have wild predictions about the future. Good luck mommy!

    Reply
    1. Zhu December 18, 2012 at 7:30 pm

      I hope so!

      Reply
  5. Estefanía December 18, 2012 at 4:51 pm

    Hi Zhu! I haven’t left a comment for a while, but I always read your blog. Your baby is beautiful! I wish you 3 happy holidays!

    Reply
    1. Zhu December 18, 2012 at 7:32 pm

      Thank you so much Estafania, that’s really sweet of you! Happy holidays too 🙂

      Reply
  6. shionge December 18, 2012 at 6:27 pm

    Yes!!! that’s the way to go and usually for first pregnancy, we tend to ‘hide’ it better 🙂 My feet was like an elephant leg when I was pregnant the second time and feature totally changed 🙂

    Reply
    1. Zhu December 18, 2012 at 7:33 pm

      I’ve heard that it shows much earlier for second pregnancies.

      Reply
  7. Delph December 22, 2012 at 2:26 pm

    I always find it funny when people (including some pregnant women) think that you shouldn’t be travelling when you are expecting! I didn’t change any of my routine and at past 40 weeks I took a 8.5 km walk and I was fine (except the pee thing!). I flight to France at 6.5 months and we stayed on the tarmac for 3 hours before we left France and that was the most painful part of the travel (and yes I peed several times before we even left!!).

    By the way, you really don’t look pregnant on those photos!

    Reply
    1. Zhu December 22, 2012 at 11:34 pm

      I remember reading your travel story to France when you were pregnant (contraction at CDG, right? The “fake” kind?). I didn’t really hesitate to go traveling, I was feeling fine and I ha a straightforward pregnancy. Like you, I walked a lot and stayed active through it, I think it helped a lot with labour later on.

      Reply
  8. Anna December 26, 2012 at 4:20 am

    Good for you for not holding back on traveling while preggo! It’s a state of health, not a disability!
    My husband and I went to Mexico for our honeymoon when I was 7 1/2 months along… when I told my midwife I was going, she told me to wear a bikini and have fun.
    Keep traveling!

    Reply
    1. Zhu December 27, 2012 at 12:12 pm

      Same here, my doctor didn’t object at all… she just wished she could have come along 😆 As long as your pregnancy is straightforward, there is no reason to stay home! So, did you wear that bikini? 😉

      Reply

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