Travel during late the third trimester/ early after birth

This is a draft of a post I wrote in early August regarding travel in the third trimester.  I didn't publish it then, but  I think its a good thing to think about.  I also added a bit regarding travel close after brith...

Third trimester travel
Recently I went on a company trip to Montreal for a week. A ship was up in Port of Montreal and I was asked to go to Montreal, spend the week onboard, and really learn how repair work and steel work happens. Any other time of my life I would have jumped on the oppurtunity to get onboard and learn this stuff, but I had to face a decision. To travel this late in MWs pregnancy or to pass up the opportunity to get onboard and get some real shipboard experience.  I decided to go for it.

The biggest issue for me was not so much the fact that I thought I would miss JW's birth.  That did weigh on me, but really the biggest thing was that I was not going to be there for MW.  Its very stressful in the last month of your pregnancy and it killed me to know that MW would be just waiting by herself while I was running around onboard ship.  We spoke every day and luckily her family was around and spent some time with her but seriously reconsider before you travel that close to your baby being born.

Travel after birth
Pre-birth travel was stressful, post birth travel was one of the biggest deals of MW and my relationship.   I had made plans months before to travel to Baltimore soon after JW's birth to attend a green shipping conference with a colleague.  I had discussed it with MW and we decided it was a great opportunity and that she would be ok with it.  Pre-birth thoughts and post birth reality are two vastly different things

It was one of the most difficult things to have my wife (my exhausted and hormonal wife) at home in Boston with a brand new baby, while I was in Baltimore.  Overall I think that MW handled it amazingly, with very little freak outs, but I realized that it was really not worth putting her through that all for a silly conference.  After birth I suggest clearing your schedule at least for the first 4 months or so.  At 2 months you feel so much more comfortable with baby and I would imagine by 4 months things have really started ton feel like a routine!