Finland in Winter: Traveling While Pregnant

Let me preface this by saying that I am hardly an expert in this area, but there were some things I found useful when I travelled to Finland 13 weeks pregnant. I was not pregnant when I booked my trip, so when I realized that there would be an extra passenger along for the ride, I did what I always do - I spent some time researching. Below are some of the tips I found most helpful along with some reflections of my own.

1) I realized just how much I depend on caffeine to fight jet lag. You know what makes you realize that in your previous life you typically used copious amounts of caffeine to combat time changes and early mornings and lack of sleep? Not drinking caffeine. Although I had not given up coffee quite yet, I had cut back significantly to one cup (like one literal cup) per day. The decaffeinated tea I drank the rest of the day just wasn’t the same. Without my old friend caffeine, I had to find other, probably healthier ways, to combat jet lag, not to mention the lovely baseline fatigue I was feeling during the first trimester. This meant doing things like carefully planning a sleep/wake schedule to more easily adjust, being active, and exposing myself to daylight as much as possible. I also had to accept point number 2.

2) Naps are okay. So is being a less adventurous eater. Seriously, I had a great trip. I did fun things, I explored a new place, but I also relaxed. Like a lot. Although I tried to be thoughtful about the timing, I gave myself permission to nap and relax. If you know me and certainly if you’ve ever been on a trip with me, this kind of slowing down is not something that comes naturally. But truly, a slower pace made a huge difference in my ability to enjoy the more active parts of my trip. Speaking of things that don’t come naturally, I had to follow the sometimes strange and unpredictable whims of my appetite on this trip, often not being able to eat certain foods or even at all and at other times eating an entire bag of sour Lifesaver gummies in the middle of the night (by the way, why are these so hard to find?). I love trying new foods, but there were things I just couldn’t do on this trip. Thankfully, I was feeling pretty good the night I splurged on dinner at Olo.

3) Maybe just have the vomit bag in advance. Also in the realm of weird stomach things, I developed a violent case of morning sickness while flying. It was rather unexpected because for the most part I have had a vomit free pregnancy. I was not prepared for this moment, but thankfully I was not seated next to anyone and by some miracle of vomit aim managed to vomit into the hilariously tiny vomit bag from the seat back as I was standing to walk back to the bathroom. Why is this a miracle? Well, I managed to miss the kitchen sink when I was standing less than a foot away from it later in my pregnancy. The flight attendant kindly provided me larger bags to use as needed. If you’re pregnant and flying, I would recommend either asking for a bag early in the flight or bringing one with you. You never know when you might need it and it could be at a time when a quick run to the bathroom isn’t possible. I could have also been prepared with ginger or peppermint candies or essential oil to combat the nausea, as well.

4) Wear the compression socks. Just do it. Also get up and walk as much as possible. And drink as much water as possible, too. This will likely mean bringing on your own bottle. Bonus, drinking more water equals more bathroom trips equals even more walking. You probably want to choose an aisle seat. Or hope to get lucky and not have a seat mate like I did. Vomiting aside, the compression socks, water, and walking combo really helped me get through the flight mostly comfortably and to arrive without horribly swollen feet.

5) You might have to get creative when it comes to your wardrobe. Interesting tidbit. When I began packing for Finland and pulled out my winter gear, it didn’t fit. My stomach was juuuuust big enough that my snow pants wouldn’t zip. Perhaps I should have taken that into consideration before getting pregnant… Anyway, I was unwilling to spend hundreds of dollars on clothes I might never wear again, so I did what any reasonable person would do and packed a ridiculous amount of layers, starting with my favorite merino wool thermals, which thankfully still fit. I also brought hand and foot warmers for extra warmth. Honestly, I was pretty comfortable all things considered, although I would not have wanted to spend all day outside. So this isn’t a tip exactly, unless you count better timing pregnancy as a tip. Good luck with that one.

6) Saunas are okay. With some minor caveats. This may be pretty specific to Finland, but one thing I worried about missing out on was the sauna experience. It’s a major part of Finnish culture and something I was looking forward to about my trip. However, I also knew that saunas and hot tubs were off limits while pregnant, or so I thought. In true Cora fashion, I dug a little deeper into some more recent research. I don’t want to share the specifics because I am so not into providing medical advice on my blog (although if you ask my husband I’m pretty free with the advice giving in real life), but in short a sauna could be safe if my body temperature did not get above a certain point, which was best achieved by keeping the temperature of the sauna lower than average while carefully monitoring my temp and not staying in the sauna for too long. Good thing I had my own private sauna. Although it may not have been the true Finnish sauna experience, which involves much higher temps and jumping into cold bodies of water, I enjoyed my time relaxing in my in-room sauna. I even came prepared with face masks and other goodies to create a spa like experience. Yay for the joys of solo travel.

These are just a few things I learned or found helpful for traveling while pregnant. I would later put some of these tips to use when Brandon and I took a babymoon to Disneyland. But more on that later. What are your best tips for traveling while pregnant? Or with a child? Please send me all the tips for traveling with children.