Checking into news from the past week or so…..Here are some stories that caught my eye.

Hooray! TSA expanding PreCheck , so you can keep your shoes on at more airports, says NBC News.

The New York Times wrote about compensation for delayed or cancelled flights, and how Europe has better protections than the US.

Be still my heart….Etihad Airlines launches “Flying Nannies” program, via The Today Show. Sounds glorious!

So gross. USA Today has a rundown of some of the worst airports.

From WSJ Middle Seat: Apparently rental car companies are keeping cars longer, and they are unfortunately worse for the wear.

For you moms-to-be, I just found a great blog all about dressing for work while pregnant: Work That Bump (via Corporette). She is adorable and has super taste, and plenty of her outfits are perfect for business travel. (Where was she last year when I was pregnant??)

Readers, any news stories catch your interest this week?

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It’s the final stretch! You’ve gotten through the nausea of the first tri, had a grand old time during the second tri, and now you’re in your final trimester. In case you haven’t realized it, traveling while pregnant requires a lot of adjustments. I’ve covered tips for making travel easier during the first and second trimesters, so now onto the third tri. My final flight was at 34 weeks and my final trip was at 36 weeks. I was huge, hot, and very slow moving. In a nutshell, my advice is to take it easy and give yourself lots of time! Trust me, you will need it. (Pictured: Motherhood Maternity Side Ruched top, on sale on Amazon for $9.99.)

Compression socks. Even more important in the third trimester, compression socks will help keep your circulation going. This reduces your risk of a blood clot while flying, as well as keep swelling to a minimum.

Stay hydrated. Even though you are probably running to the lav every thirty minutes, it is SO important to drink enough fluids. Being dehydrated can cause false labor contractions, and those can sometimes turn into real labor, which you definitely don’t want while far from home! So drink up.

Check your bags. I wouldn’t recommend trying to carry on your bags in the third trimester. They are probably too heavy to comfortably lift. Plus it’s hard enough just getting yourself around a large airport, much less muscling suitcases around.

Give yourself lots of time. Typically I arrive at the airport about 45 minutes before my flight takes off. But during that last tri I got there about an hour and a half ahead of time. It just took me sooooo much time to get around that I needed the cushion. It also alleviated a lot of potential stress to know that I had plenty of time.

Take assistance if you need it. If your connecting gate is too far for you to make without over-exerting yourself, use airline assistance. Either a cart or a nice person with a wheelchair will get you to your gate. Just remember to bring a few dollar bills for tip! Another option is to schedule more time than normal between flights. Read more of this article »

I have spent years working on my travel wardrobe. I have capsules for winter and summer, and enjoy adding to it on a regular basis. So it was a bit disconcerting to realize when I got pregnant that I would basically have to start over, and get a completely new wardrobe. Even more so to know this wardrobe would only be good for about six months, and had to accommodate a growing belly. Here are my tips for putting together a maternity business travel wardrobe:

Use non-maternity pants as long as they are comfortable. There are these miracle things called Belly Bands, sold all over the place, that you can use to hold up your unzipped non-maternity pants. They are great at the beginning of your pregnancy, and some people can use them throughout. They stopped being comfortable for me for a few months, but I have started using them again recently.

Use non-maternity cardigans. As long as you don’t need to button them, your non-maternity cardigans should work just fine. Using them really helped me stretch my maternity wardrobe!

Don’t buy too much at one time. This is a good rule of thumb for all maternity wear—don’t go crazy at the beginning buying stuff, because you just don’t know what will fit you comfortably as you get bigger. I actually found that once I got past 20 weeks and was feeling pretty good, I could wear my non-maternity pants with the belly band again. If I had spent a ton of money on a bunch of different maternity pants, well, it would have felt like a waste!

Dresses are tricky for travel days. I love dresses, and normally love wearing them for travel days. But during pregnancy, because my ankles would swell so dramatically, I had to wear compression socks on the plane. This meant I could only ever wear pants, which involved some planning.

Read more of this article »

Traveling for work while you’re pregnant is tough. Oh, right. You might be wondering how I know. Well…..I have some news. The Home Warrior and I will welcome our little bundle of mini-warrior joy in August! We are very excited, and can’t wait to meet our baby. As you can imagine, being pregnant has meant a lot of adjustments travel-wise. Some women don’t have any issues in their first trimester of pregnancy, and I say more power to them! Unfortunately, I was not those women. I felt terrible my first tri, nauseous and exhausted virtually all the time. There were a few things I learned that made it easier, if not fun. Here are my tips:

Adjust your schedule as needed. One thing I learned early on is that day trips were just not going to work. It was too exhausting to only get 4-5 hours of sleep and then be gone for 18 hours. Flying in the night before meant I was well-rested, which meant an easier work day. I would still fly home in the evening after my meetings, which was tough, but doable. If you are really sick or exhausted, it may be better to fly home the next day. Also, if it’s available to you, think about spacing out your meetings more than you would otherwise. Again, it made me able to do quality work, instead of being a zombie.

Plan food ahead of time. During the first tri I had to be eating constantly, as often as every thirty minutes. I brought a lot of stuff from home (pretzels, crackers, fig Newtons, fruit), and some things I made sure I could get on the road. Sometimes I needed a certain food. For about six weeks, I had to munch constantly on Hot Tamales (the candy). For a while it was lemonade. Then it was sandwiches. The most important thing was to make sure I had food All. The. Time. This involved a lot of prep work, whether it was bringing food from home or knowing what the food options around the hotel and office were.

Stay hydrated. I preach about this a lot in general, but hydration is so important when you’re pregnant. If you can’t handle water, try Gatorade or juice. Just make sure that you are drinking at least 64 oz of fluid a day, and more if your doctor tells you more. For the first few weeks, water, normally my favorite beverage, tasted terrible to me, and I got so dehydrated I nearly passed out. I don’t recommend that!

Sit in the aisle. Whether it’s because you need to use the restroom, are feeling sick, or can’t handle being crowded in, I recommend sitting in the aisle if you can. It made me feel so much better when flying. Also, wear comfy clothes while flying. I actually started flying in dresses or yoga pants because it made me nauseous to have anything constrictive around my middle.

Check your bags. Again, this is something I don’t usually push, but it may be easier if you go ahead and check your bags. This way you won’t have to carry heavy things around the airport when you’re already feeling terrible.

Sea bands. They don’t work for everyone, but sea bands really helped me feel better and less nauseous. Of course it meant I had to wear long sleeves, since I was still hiding my pregnancy at that point…..

Be gentle with yourself. It’s okay that you can’t do everything the way you could before—your body is working really hard to build that baby! Give yourself extra time, since you may be moving more slowly than normal. Do whatever you have to do to feel better. The first trimester is all about survival!

One last note—there is a lot of different information out there about safe levels of caffeine intake. My doctor was perfectly fine with me having 200mg per day, which seems to be a common recommendation. There is only 35mg of caffeine in a can of Coke, and Coke made me feel SO much better when I felt sick. (Or had a headache. Or was tired. Okay it was kind of like the miracle beverage….) So if your doctor is cool with you having a limited amount of caffeine, don’t be afraid to drink a soda if it makes you feel better.

I am almost done with my second trimester, and I have to say I feel TONS better. I will post later about traveling during the middle of pregnancy, and once I have experience with it, traveling during the third tri. The most important thing to remember is that it’s okay to take longer to do stuff, it’s okay not to feel awesome, it’s okay to need naps. Just build time for that stuff into your schedule, do what you need to do to take care of yourself, and you will be just fine. And know that you WILL feel better!

Readers, have you had to travel while pregnant? What made it easier for you?

(Don’t forget about our awesome contest!! Win a vacation for two from Home2 Suites by Hilton!! Open for one more week.)