I had some pre-arranged trips even before I tested positive. I thought about cancelling them but after discussing with my husband and OB and reading a lot of information - both myths and facts - I decided to travel with my little cheesecake inside my tummy.
Take note: Mine is a non-complicated pregnancy. And my OB allowed me to travel.
Taipei, Taiwan
Dennis was with me during this trip which made it a little easier for me. But we both didn't enjoy the trip specially him. He had to take care of me the entire time. He was always wary whether I was doing ok, if i was tired or stressed.
I had just crossed the critical 1st trimester and I was on my 13th week. I made several changes to our original itinerary to make sure that I won't be doing the baby any harm.
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| Figuring out our route to the nearest MTR station. |
I had to forego some activities that we initially planned. I wanted to do another hiking like what we did in Bali. (I got my monthly period after climbing Mt. Batur that time. And I surely didn't want to see any blood at that point of my pregnancy.) We also had to stay in the city and couldn't go too far. I would have wanted to go to Jiufen which was the inspiration for the animated film "Spirited Away".
I also couldn't pack too many activities in a day as I didn't have the energy to walk the whole day. Although I was on my 2nd trimester and my energy was supposed to be back but I was still too lazy to wake up early. And walking to and from the MTR station to our hotel which was relatively near was tedious for me. We usually went out after lunch and came back early in the evening. And because of all of these, we only managed to visit some of the major attractions.
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We visited Taipei 101 on our 1st day. I would have loved to see it from the top of Elephant Mountain. But the 10-15 minute hike was something that I could not risk the baby for. Our 2nd day was the most happening one. I was feeling great and energetic so we decided to visit Beitou where they had the famous hot springs and public baths. But this tiring day led to a migraine episode the following day. So our 3rd day was wasted just staying inside our room - Dennis spent the day browsing the internet while I buried myself under the sheets. On our 4th day, my migraine was still tormenting me so we only went out late afternoon. We visited the Huashan Creative Park and then headed to Ximending.
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| We could have rented this U-Bike using our EasyCard if I were not pregnant. |
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| Outside the Taipei Public Library in Beitou with my peeking baby bump :) |
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With old folks at one of Beitou's public baths.
Would have soaked longer if hot temperature was good for preggos. |
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| At the Beitou Thermal Valley. |
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| Huashan 1941 Creative Park |
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| At Ximending |
Taipei is famous for its street food. It was something I looked forward to. I did lots of research on what to eat at their night markets. But we only managed to visit one - the Shilin Night Market and I hardly ate anything. Aside from not having any appetite back, I also didn't like the smell of chinese food. Sigh... I didn't get to try the authentic Shilin Fried Chicken Fillet nor the stinky tofu and oyster mis hua.
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Some Japanese ramen.
Hubby finished most of this, as has always been the case these days. |
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| My Comfort Food: Yoshinoya's Beef Rice Bowl |
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| I did get to enjoy a big cup of Pearl Milk Tea. |
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| This looked good but I just didn't like its smell. |
Sydney, Australia
This was an all-expense-paid trip from Singtel as a reward for my good performance for the past year. At times, when I felt that my pregnancy was making me so unproductive, I looked back at this incentive trip and felt good about myself again. Even if these past months, I may have always been sleepy during meetings, have forgotten what was discussed, not pro-active, called in sick a bit too often, I was and will be a good employee again soon, haha!
Dennis did not travel with me since it was a company trip so I had to take care of myself and take extra precautions.
We had a fixed itinerary which was packed and started early morning until 7 or 8 in the evening. I was on my 17th week then and felt more energetic compared to the last trip. We visited the Sydney Harbour and Sydney Opera House on our 1st day. Spent half of our 2nd day meeting our colleagues at Optus before going on a cruise in the afternoon. On our 3rd day, we went to Port Stephen where my colleagues did some sand boarding. After that we went for dolphin watching. I spent 2 nights meeting up with some old friends.
Although my hubby was not with me, I was so thankful to travel with caring colleagues. They always checked if I was tired or hungry. And they helped me carry some of my stuff. It's great to be pregnant and get extra love and care from the people around you :)
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| Huge serving of Fish & Chips at the Sydney Fish Market, perfect for the hungry preggo. |
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With Madison and Aakilah at one of Sydney's many parks.
Can you see my growing baby bump there? |
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| Sand on my feet. Baby in my belly. |
After finding out that I am pregnant, I wondered how much it would change me - how much freedom it would take from me. It is common for expectant ladies to be bombarded with all the "Dont's" the moment they find out they are positive. Whether these are pieces of advice from your OB, friends and families, your hubby, from some expert bloggers or authors or your own self-imposed rules, all of them can make you feel like your life is over and all you need to focus on is your little bun. But with these trips, I realized that it's possible to continue to do the things that I love even with certain adjustments. And along with certain restrictions, I also get to enjoy certain privileges. Who doesn't love boarding the aircraft first just because of your big belly?!
For more about travelling while pregnant, you can check out the tips from What To Expect When You Are Expecting.
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