Camping while Pregnant

Since there were multiple comments regarding sleeping while camping while pregnant, I decided I should tell you all exactly how my night went. You'll feel much better, I'm sure.

Just so you know this is the 3rd or 4th time we've camped while I've been pregnant. (If we waited for me not to be, we'd be pretty hard put to find a good time for it...) So, I know to take an air mattress. Also, we upgraded our tent (and are ready to do it again), so that we have space for all of us. However, an air mattress still has its problems -- like Derek outweighs me (thankfully), so it feels a bit like sleeping on the ground, but without the rocks/sticks issues. Anyway, it wasn't especially comfortable, but I was tired, so I did fall asleep.

Staying asleep was a whole different issue. It was really windy and tents are really loud when the wind is whipping them around, so I kept finding myself jolted awake. It's very disconcerting to awaken in an unfamiliar place, so I would have to come all the way awake, figure out where I was, then try to go back to sleep.

After a few awakenings, I realized that I couldn't breathe very well. I thought it was all in my head, then woke up enough to recognize an asthma attack. I had to go to the car and find an inhaler (lucky for me, Derek is also asthmatic, so he had one stashed in the glove box). Shortly after I was settled back in, DJ decided to wake up and wake me up, of course, so I had to put him back to sleep.

By this time I couldn't stand being in that cramped space with all the breathing, snoring, wiggling, and wind, so I decided to get out. This presented a new problem. I wanted to sleep, but wasn't about to try sleeping on the ground, so I grabbed two camp chairs, filled them with blankets, pillows and sleeping bag, and actually fell into a decent sleep. The wind was only annoying when I would move around enough that it could hit me in the face -- then it was cold. The chairs were not comfortable, but I found them livable, or at least sleepable.

Except for Michael waking and yelling for me (Derek thoughtfully slept soundly through at least 5 minutes of that), I slept pretty well the rest of the night. I will admit that I was not sad to see the night end, and I was very glad that we were only planning on staying one night.

So, now you can all stop thinking that I'm some crazy woodsperson, who endures and even embraces the great outdoors while six months pregnant. (Oh, as far as the bathroom breaks went, I got incredibly lucky and didn't have to go all night -- I don't think that has happened more than that one night in the last several months...) I hope you all feel much better. As I said in the last post -- we do these things for our kids. Their absolute love of the whole event was well worth it and I would (and probably even will) do it again. Then I shall come home with a whole new appreciation for my bed, my shower and my children's room!