Go on a Babymoon Before the Baby Comes
My husband and I are discussing where we want to go on our second Babymoon. A babymoon is simply a little vacation that you take with your spouse to enjoy your time together before the baby arrives. I remember hearing about the idea of a vacation to enjoy your time together before your world is turned upside down and I thought it was a fabulous idea. We love to travel, so this seemed like the perfect excuse to take a vacation.
Our plans for our first babymoon started grand with a week in Paris. Then the trip got downgraded to a weekend in New York City, then we decided to drive to Austin for a weekend, then we came to our final decision to just drive north into the Texas hill country and see where we landed. The weekend turned out wonderfully spontaneous in our Mustang convertible. Little did I know that that would be one of the last times we could go for a ride with the top down. Driving with my windows down on the Camry just isn’t quite the same.
We found a hotel and mentioned that we were on a babymoon. Then the front desk clerk gave us a deal on the room. The next day we found a hole in the wall BBQ place playing John Wayne movies. As we walked around Inks Lake I saw an old couple in blue jeans canoeing. I thought that if they could do it, then I could canoe eight months pregnant. Rowing around the lake was the highlight of my entire weekend.
We took our trip about two months before I was due. I actually felt infinitely better towards the end of my pregnancy, than in the beginning. My friend took her babymoon towards the beginning of her pregnancy before she got uncomfortably huge. I don’t think it matters when you take your babymoon, just as long you do one.
Taking the time to be together and not worry about commitments or the future was invigorating. We appreciated the peace of the trip before we got back to painting the nursery, birth planning, and sleepless nights. Of course I miss the spontaneity of being a DINK, but I really feel like we celebrated the end of our childless phase with our babymoon. I am glad we took the opportunity to take a small trip with just the two of us. Now we will be taking our second babymoon, before we become a family with two children under the age of two (at least for two months)! I want to appreciate the quiet of only one child, before my life becomes even more full of the joys of parenting.
How about you did you do anything special before the baby came?
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It is a great idea but it gets harder the more kids you have!
When i was pg with Ewan we went to Sand Diego for work and tacked on a few extra days for fun. That was our last shin dig before becoming parents. We have done some overnight “super dates” when it was just Ewan and Isaac. We didn’t do anything before we had Graham. Now it just feels hard to ask parents to watch 3 kids for more than one overnight stay. I guess Ewan and Isaac are a little easier now that they are bigger but it tires me out so I know it would exhaust grandparents!
I just feel glad to go on a DATE with my husband.
It is certainly harder to go one with one child. We are still figuring out if we want Daniel’s parents to spend the night at our house or figure out how to get her crib or a crib at their house. I don’t know….
I think a super date is awesome! i know what you mean about a date… since I have been sick, we haven’t done anything.. I am so ready for a date! I just shaved my legs, so I feel we should go out now.
My husband and I went on two babymoons before the arrival of each of our daughters. We highly recommend taking advantage of the last chance to get away as a couple without having to lug half the house along or worrying about little ones you left back home. In fact, I created a website all about babymoons (from the super high end luxury escape to the very reasonable overnight getaway at a nice b&b). If you’re looking for babymoon ideas, you can find lots of them at http://www.Babymoonguide.com
My husband I took a week babymoon trip in Oregon during my 1st trimester before Caleb was born. We wanted to avoid doing something during the winter months in the NW (Caleb is a March baby). We visited Crater Lake in Southern Oregon, and biked, camped, and went cave hiking in Bend (central OR).
When I was pregnant with Ava (the end of my 5th month of pregnancy), hubby and I took a week long Caribbean cruise out of Galveston. It took him a long time to convince me to go since I had never been on a cruise and didn’t want my 1st experience to be while I was pregnant. But it was the most relaxing vacation I ever had while filled with adventure at the same time!
After your 2nd babymoon, you’ll have to let us all know how it went!
We went on a cruise before our first child arrived. It was a glorious trip, with us getting to go hiking, sea kayaking, and snorkeling. We were so glad that we did that!
But we missed out on a babymoon this second time around. I was so sick the entire pregnancy, we just couldn’t make it happen.
We’ll have to make it a point to make up for that.
Oh WOW! Two under two–I did that. And I’m still alive to tell the tale. And hey, they are too! Trust me, with that, you NEED the babymoon!!
We went off to New Orleans four weeks before I delivered number 1. Had one of the yummiest dinner and desserts of my LIFE! And after that, we didn’t really take them. Frankly, (and bluntly) doing IT isn’t so much fun that prego, and going away together alone just isn’t as fun without IT. So we took trips when the babies were old enough to be Weaned and left with a grandparent.
With all that said, GOOD LUCK! But you don’t really need it now–you need it when they are three and two, respectively. Yep.
Laura Lee–Your comment made me LAUGH! My first 2 are 14 months apart and we all made it through. The first year is hard but then the fighting begins when they are 3 and 4–mine are 3 (4 in 2 weeks) and 5 and I felt like all the real battles started last year. They play together great but when they decide to get on each others nerves they can really go at it.
My husband and I went to Kauai for our babymoon nearing the end of my first trimester. I didn’t want to be so sick as to not enjoy the trip nor so huge that I couldn’t see anything. The timing worked out well! As we think about when to have Baby #2, we may do our next “babymoon” more as a kickoff in anticipation of Baby #2