Pregnancy is no cakewalk, but from what I’ve heard it’s nothing compared to new parenthood. Your life starts revolving around the sleeping and pooping schedules of a tiny, squalling dictator, to the exclusion of all else, at least for a while. That’s why my husband and I, while excited about the pending birth of our first child, are not a little apprehensive. And that is why we decided to take part in a new trend in pre-parenthood: the babymoon.
Unlike a honeymoon, which takes place after the wedding, a babymoon is a vacation you take before having a baby. It allows a pregnant woman and her partner to step back from the speeding train of pregnancy, with its doctors’ visits and nursery decorating and planning for childcare, and to really connect as a couple – to strengthen that bond before introducing a new person into the mix. The travel industry has, of course, jumped on the bandwagon with sites like babymoonfinder.com, or Baby-Mood.eu, but there’s really no need to go whole hog with the $3400 5 night babymoon package at the Peter Island Resort in the British Virgin Islands (not that it wouldn’t be nice). All you really need is a little time without the distractions of errands and well-meaning relatives to do adult things that you might not get to do when the little monster angel comes – at least not for a while.
My husband and I decided to save money (you know that fancy stroller is calling your name) by sticking fairly close to home – for us a three day weekend in San Francisco was the ticket. We found a great deal on a hotel (who greeted us with a lovely congratulations welcome gift), and indulged in a couple of nice dinners in romantic restaurants. We also went to museums and art galleries, and just spent time hanging out on a lawn in Golden Gate Park. Most importantly, the trip gave us time to talk – about our hopes for the baby, about our fears, and maybe best of all, about things totally unrelated to the baby. We got a chance to remember those things that drew us together in the first place, and I’m sure that in a few short months when we’re in a haze of sleeplessness and arguing over whose turn it is to change a diaper, we’ll be glad of that.
It’s so easy in pregnancy to lose sight of the fact that, as important as the new little person will be in your lives, your partnership is what made it all possible in the first place. I would highly recommend taking a little getaway to stop and consider and enjoy the present relationship, before that coming leap into the future unknown.
AmuseBouche
That sounds heavenly. We didn’t do it with our first, but we will definitely go somewhere next time.