Preggy on the Road

Being pregnant on the road had its challenges, but living in a van is honestly the best way to travel when you're pregnant. 

You have a real bed anywhere you go. We left home towards the end of my first trimester, so I was still feeling pretty terrible. I was nauseous most mornings. We didn't have to check out of any hotels, and didn't have any time pressure. So every morning I slept through my nausea until 11 or 12. Yes!!! It was the best!!! Dom would go out for hours in the morning and explore, or play guitar quietly near by, before he would rustle around a bit, finally needing his "morning coffee" at noon. 

No luggage!!! In the afternoon I was fit and ready for adventure. You don't have to carry any luggage with you when you live in a van. I absolutely loved this part of vanlife. For day trips we just took a small bag along. Honestly backpacking through Europe when pregnant would be a nightmare. My stamina is pretty much non existent. A camping or backpacking trip would have been bad. We also never had to totally pack up and move, we did have to secure everything so that it wouldn't rattle and shift around, but we could even leave a few dirty dishes in the sink and drive to the next spot.

Eating on the road is great. We cooked yummy meals on the road. With my growing appetite, it was fantastic to have a kitchen with us, to warm up a soup quick or cook a fresh meal. We were in Scandinavia so eating out is super expensive on a German salary. So we didn't eat out much.  The stove in the van is honestly better than our stove at home so cooking in the van was great. I had lots of snacks and fruit along in our pantry, so I never went hungry/hangry.

I could always find a place to rest. Resting is not only super healthy when pregnant, it's unavoidable, your body can't take standing for long. You want to be horizontal most of the time. We would go on walks, and explore, but we took a lot of breaks. Our pre-pregnancy city trips involved hours of urban hiking. On this trip it was more of a walk to a cafe to sit and read, or a walk to the beach to lie down. haha.

Beautiful views from home. I got to see some of the most beautiful landscape without even leaving my bed.  Norway especially, had such wonderful places to park with the most amazing views. We didn't have to hike for hours to enjoy some of the most beautiful natural views. It's a lazy hiker and pregnant lady's dream.

Well, have I convinced you yet? If you're planning a babymoon any time soon, make it a vanventure.

I'm excited to see how traveling in a van with a tiny baby will be. More on that, when it decides to come.

Thanks for reading.

Anna