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Original poster

Crazy to book 13.5hr flight to Japan in 2nd trimester??

78 replies

JuniperGem · 07/12/2023 22:32

DH and I have booked an exciting and packed trip to Japan (also very expensive) for Spring 2024 but I want to start TTC this month... is that crazy??

We have felt ready to ttc for a while but been travelling a lot this year, checking some bucket list places off first. The only reason to wait is this one final big trip next year, and I feel like I'm "on hold" for it as much as I'm excited to go, I'm impatient to start our next chapter as parents (god willing).

but if it were to work first time (we are both 29, both healthy) then the trip would be right at the start of my 2nd trimester with a 13.5 direct flight each way and lots of busy activities planned when we are there.

Should I just be patent and wait until after we get back to TTC? Or would it be fine to do a big trip during 2nd tri?

Crazy to book 13.5hr flight to Japan in 2nd trimester??
OP posts:
Xiaoxiong · 07/12/2023 22:42

I'd book it, you never know how TTC is going to go so you can't time these things. And be prepared to change the dates if you need to.

Pepperama · 07/12/2023 22:46

Start of second trimester should be totally fine unless you’re unlucky with morning sickness throughout. And as poster above said, it could well take a while anyway

KingsleyBorder · 07/12/2023 22:52

You’re 29, a few months will make no difference to your plans for a family. However bring pregnant would add a whole extra layer of concern and hassle to this big trip. Do you drink alcohol? If yes, why deny yourself that pleasure while on holiday? Not to mention having to be more careful about food. You might also be more tired than usual.

I’d say use contraception up until the trip and then shag like crazy when you are there, you never know, you may come back with an extra souvenir and you can give the baby a Japanese middle name!

Plumful · 07/12/2023 22:56

You’re still young. Enjoy the holiday of a lifetime without being pregnant. I’m in the second trimester now and struggling with PGP - there is no way I could handle the flight or sightseeing

jclm · 07/12/2023 23:06

I agree with Kingsley Border. See if you can get travel insurance whilst pregnant and how much extra that would be. Would the insurance pay out if you had a medical issue? I would not want the worry...

I spent a month in Austria when I was five months pregnant which was tricky scheduling of the various tests, scans etc but I managed.

NorthernAttitude · 07/12/2023 23:44

I went to Japan first trimester, at the same age as you and it was great. The biggest challenge was the food because I had absolutely no idea at what I was ordering which made me a bit anxious being newly pregnant.

Whataretheodds · 07/12/2023 23:46

I wish I'd done a bigger trip in my 2nd trimester.

I already had an annual travel insurance policy - make sure you are covered.

Pollywoddles · 08/12/2023 03:39

I would never put off anything, you don’t know how long it is going to take. I did a month in Europe at the start of my second trimester including an 25 mile hike over 2 days and it was absolutely fine.

Check your insurance will cover etc. but I say do it! You’ll be barely showing if at all so should still be pretty comfortable.

laladoodoo · 08/12/2023 03:48

Absolutely go! Life is for living and while you can still take those trips with kids, let's face it, it'll be a completely different experience and the kid free trips won't come around for a while!
I am so happy I travelled loads before my DC but for me it's never enough - it's the best life experience in my view. Enjoy Japan!

HachiAndNana · 08/12/2023 04:12

Go but do so with open eyes. You may miss out on some aspects of the trip but only you know how important those are. So consider if you'll be disappointed to not eat sushi, or being sober in Roppongi, maybe limited in onsens, what treks/hikes do you have planned?

So I would hold off because I'm a huge foodie and Japan is such an awesome place for food but that's me. What would you feel you would potentially miss out on?

Rabiz · 08/12/2023 04:21

I did a big trip in my second trimester. Second trimester is usually the best for travelling. Usually morning sickness and the bone crushing fatigue of the first trimester has passed (usually). You’re not so big that walking around and sleeping is uncomfortable (usually).

Japan is a clean safe country with good healthcare so no particular worries there. Definitely you’d need top notch insurance to get you home in a crisis.

Although, you never know what kind of pregnancy you’re going to have. There could be twins or hyperemesis or other unpredictable complications with you or the baby.

At 29 and married you’re not in a desperate rush and you could wait.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 08/12/2023 04:22

For the sake of 3 or 4 months I'd delay. I spent weeks 6-18 in and out of hospital with hyperemisis Gravidarum and was utterly miserable.

Inyourwildestdreams · 08/12/2023 06:37

@JuniperGem Go and enjoy Japan 😊 sounds amazing!

Being pregnant wouldn’t stop me going. As others have pointed out, if you go while pregnant then definitely double check that your travel insurance covers you for pregnancy related issues just incase.

Personally I would hold off TTC 😊 until I was about 20 weeks I had quite severe sickness that was mainly triggered by smells and various different foods. I know I wouldn’t have been able to fully enjoy a holiday at that stage. But then I have friends who didn’t experience any sickness at all - you just never know how you’ll be.

In your situation I’d book the holiday and leave the contraception at home when we went 👍🏻😊 I’d let that be the start of TTC 😊

endofthelinefinally · 08/12/2023 06:42

I had hyperemesis all the way through, so I would wait to TTC until I got home. Go and have a wonderful trip then TTC on return.

FallingAutumnLeaf · 08/12/2023 06:45

I did a similar length trip in my second trimester with both babies. The second one, with an 18 month in tow was quite tough.

I'd be happier travelling in second trimester than first.

hopingforapeainapod · 08/12/2023 06:55

I agree with lots of comments above - you simply don’t know how long it’s going to take! You may be lucky and fall pregnant straight away but it’s impossible to plan these things. I started trying Xmas time last year and kept thinking oh maybe I shouldn’t do that because I could be pregnant then and I’m now 12 months in without a bfp and very glad I haven’t put my life on hold this last year unnecessarily!

Avacardo2023 · 08/12/2023 07:17

I would do the trip first and then TTC, no way would I book Japan and risk having it ruined by being pregnant. With all of my pregnancies I was really ill and two I was hospitalised with HG.

Go to Japan and do all the things, eat and drink whatever you like and then come back and TTC, or TTC while you are there. A few more months will make no difference at your age.

I was seconded to Tokyo for a month and visited other areas during time off, and the air is really polluted in some parts so I would put off TTC for that reason alone.

Outliers · 08/12/2023 12:14

Enjoy the holiday while to can. Once the babies arrive its a different experience.

KingsleyBorder · 08/12/2023 12:55

All those saying “you don’t know how long TTC is going to take” - OP is only 29 and the trip is next spring.

That is entirely different from someone in their mid thirties and a trip next summer, for example.

I’ve been to Japan. I’ve been pregnant. Personally, there were aspects of our Japan trip that I’d have been gutted to miss out on due to pregnancy.

KingsleyBorder · 08/12/2023 12:56

And the kind of trips really are the kind of thing that you will not be able to do in the same way after you have kids.

The length of the flight, by the way, is a red herring. Long flight while pregnant, no big deal.

PastelFlowerJelly · 08/12/2023 13:07

You seem extremely confident that you will conceive the first month. Not to rain on your parade but pregnancy and TTC rarely work that way. The worst scenario would be that you conceive later than you think and end up being first trimester with morning sickness during the trip.

A better plan would just be to wait a bit and start TTC during the trip. If it works you'll have memories of a lifetime without any of the potential side effects. DD was conceived on a long haul trip and it's a long running joke with DH that she actually isn't "from" our home town but the much cooler location we were holidaying at 😆.

TheIsleOfTheLost · 08/12/2023 14:00

I had hyperemesis. No way I would have wanted to spend a fortune on a holiday to be sick and miserable and potentially unable to fly. Just wait a few months before starting trying to conceive and enjoy your holiday.

YoullCatchYourDeathInTheFog · 08/12/2023 14:06

I'd say that you're more likely to be first trimester than second, and that might be difficult if you have morning sickness. I did a city break to Florence in my second trimester and honestly the tiredness ruined it. That's fine, I can go back to Florence any time, but for the trip of a lifetime, at your age, I'd wait. Shag like bunnies on the trip itself and hope to come back with an extra souvenir.

Daisies12 · 08/12/2023 14:09

I’d start trying during the trip. Having had a miscarriage I’d never travel during first trimester, i would want to be home in case worst happened. You’re so young, why rush and ruin an expensive trip.

Daisies12 · 08/12/2023 14:09

And please honestly readjust your expectations that you can plan anything when it comes to TTC and pregnancy. I learnt the hard way.