I traveled the world while I was pregnant. Here are 7 reasons I'm glad I did it, plus 3 things I wish I did differently.

I've traveled to well over 50 countries and lived in five. I do it because I love it — but also because it's part of my job and my husband's job. I'm a travel writer and he works for Make Life Skate Life, a company that builds skate parks in countries around the world.

When I first started telling people I was pregnant, many people reacted by saying things like "Well, it's a good thing you traveled when you did," or "Wow, your life is about to change."

And while I understand that sentiment, I knew I would never give up my nomadic lifestyle entirely for an SUV and a home in suburbia. My love for navigating new places and adapting to new cultures runs deep; travel is my happy place.

I wanted to continue traveling while pregnant, but I also didn't want to put my unborn child in any danger. So before I did anything, I sat down with my doctor.

She gave me a rundown of what I should and shouldn't do, and a list of appointments I'd need to be at over the next several months, though many of the appointments could be done via video call due to COVID-19. She also loaned me a fetal doppler heart monitor so I could check for my baby's heartbeat anytime I wanted.

It's worth noting, however, that everyone's circumstances are different, so what was appropriate for me, won't be for everyone and anyone considering travel while pregnant should first talk to their own doctor.

My experience traveling internationally while pregnant started with a last-minute opportunity to go to the Galápagos Islands for work. I was five months pregnant and my husband and I spent 10 days exploring the western Galápagos Islands on a luxury cruise and got to swing with sea lion pups, watch the blue-footed boobie courtship dance, and observe baby sharks feed. After the cruise, we spent a week exploring Ecuador.

At seven months pregnant, we left for Beirut, Lebanon, for four weeks and our experience was the polar opposite of the Galápagos trip. My husband and I spent our time lugging skateboards in and out of cabs and helping out at his skate park build, though I spent more time trying to escape the heat under the shade of a tree than working.

Then, at eight months pregnant, we arrived in Paris, France, which felt like coming home. I lived there for a period of time in 2016, and again for the year of 2019. This time, we weren't traveling for work, but for ourselves. We hit our old haunts, saw friends, and ate at our favorite grab-and-go falafel spot, L'As du Fallafel.

All of these experiences were ones I felt I was sharing with my daughter.

When I was five months pregnant, my daughter and I swam with hundreds of baby sea lions in the Galápagos. And I like to think she felt my fear-turn-to-courage when a shark glided by below us and my joy when a sea turtle swam over to say hi.

From the start of my pregnancy, I struggled with the idea that as a mom, I should meet a handful of stereotypes put forth by mainstream society — a three-bedroom house, an SUV, and a gaggle of stroller-pushing friends.

Traveling while pregnant showed me that parenthood has many paths. I didn't take the one expected of me by society, and I don't plan to take the path expected of me now that I'm a mom.

That mentality, combined with my passion for travel, pushed me to get my daughter's passport just a few months after she was born. It is also why we took her on her first international trip at just five months, and why we plan to take her on a three-month trip to France this fall.

I admit that it is significantly easier and more comfortable to stay home during your pregnancy, to remain in a place where you know the language and the quality of the hospitals.

But, I think it's easy to forget that people all over the world give birth every day, often in circumstances that are different from we're used to in our home country. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to witness other parenting perspectives around the globe.

In Paris, I rode the metro alongside mothers who carried happy babies on their backs, attached with a scarf. It was a reminder to me that all that stuff we're told we need by society, companies, and other moms like high-end strollers, heart-rate tracking baby monitors, and expensive carriers are often just clever marketing.

I also personally felt safer in Beirut at seven months pregnant than I would have at home in Colorado because in Beirut, I lived only one block from a hospital. At home, the nearest hospital is a 30 minute drive away.

Growing a baby takes a lot of energy, and access to good nutrition and plenty of food is more important than ever.

As a result, food played a central role in my time abroad. I ate well onboard the Galápagos cruise, and during our time in Paris, but for me, nothing topped the food in Beirut.

I thought the herbs and veggies I ate tasted extra fresh and I particularly enjoyed the hand-rolled pita coated in za'atar, which is a special blend of spices and seasonings. And if you've never had labneh, a super-thick yogurt I often ate for breakfast, you're missing out on one of the great joys in life, in my opinion.

Usually when I travel, I find people don't pay me much attention. That was not the case while I was pregnant.

In Beirut, shop owners offered me a cold drink from their personal stash, no payment required. In Paris, people gave up their seats on the metro and paused to hold open the door for me, and in all airports, I was constantly ushered to the front of the line.

It may sound like I skipped around the globe worry-free, but every trip came with struggles.

I was scared I would get COVID-19, that I might push myself or the baby too far, have to give birth in a foreign country, or not have quality medical care if something went wrong.

But another part of me knew that if I gave into those fears before my daughter was born, my journey as a parent would become overrun by them. I made the conscious choice to let go of control from the start because I didn't want to be a fearful, scared person. And I don't want my daughter to be a fearful, scared person, either.

From the beginning of my pregnancy, it felt like I was racing to get in every child-free experience I could before I gave birth. It wasn't until the final month of my pregnancy that I returned home and gave myself permission to put up my feet and take naps with my cat.

If I could go back in time, I would've done more relaxing from the start. I wish I gave myself the space to marvel at my changing figure, get pampered by others, and nap more.

Traveling while pregnant was painless — until it wasn't. Near the end of my travels my economy airline seat felt like a slab of concrete and I couldn't tie my shoes.

At seven months pregnant, I thought the heat and humidity of Beirut felt oppressive. And on my return flight to the US, I knew I was pushing the envelope in regard to the recommended cutoff date for flying internationally while pregnant, but did it anyway.

I'm glad I traveled internationally while I was pregnant and I'm proud that I battled my fears, but I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't hyper vigilant about me and my baby's safety.

Before I arrived in each country, I looked up the nearest top-rated hospitals, planning out what would happen if something went wrong. I was hyper aware of everything from busy roads to stray cats who might be carrying diseases.

In retrospect, I wish I would've found a better middle ground between my desire to carry on as normal while also accommodating the biological changes telling me that I needed to slow down.

After all the ups and downs of traveling while pregnant, I ended up having my daughter in Colorado, as planned. She arrived one week early and is absolutely perfect.

I'm already on a quest to show her the world.