6
Dec
2009
Babymoons – essential pre-child experience, shameless marketing ploy or clever female trick to squeeze in another massage? Also – how the Sydney Morning Herald shamelessly stole my scoop.
naff swimming costumes TOTALLY optional on babymoon
So I have been planning for weeks to write about babymoons and how good they are. And then Rachel Browne from the Sydney Morning Herald COMPLETELY STOLE MY STORY. I suspect some sort of espionage – the SMH has probably been hacking into the back end of the onedayyoullthankme website trying to get the edge on us. Don’t blame them – we are fully on top of the key stories. Like babymoons. Anyway – Rachel talks about how ‘Along with the pram, bassinet, nappies and size 000 singlets, expectant parents are adding babymoons to the long list of must-have items before their newborn arrives.’ WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT MY OPENING PARAGRAPH WAS GOING TO SAY. Almost – except for the size 000 singlets. And I was going to say buggy, not pram. And had a much better use of alliteration. So basically I am a much better writer than Rachel Browne. Journalist, shmournalist – I have a pink blog. Plus, I tend to write in bullet points, which is commonly understood to be a much more innovative approach than say, paragraphs. Here are my top tips:
- If you can take a babymoon, do it. I know you can’t drink which takes some of the fun out of it (or 50% of the fun for me, but don’t tell my husband) but first child, it’s the last chance you’ll get to spend a holiday together with no child in sight or in memory. EVER. It might take you the rest of your life to get over that fact. If it’s your second or third child, you still need to have one – it’s the last time you’ll have a holiday with only one (two, three whatever) children playing on your mind. You get the picture. Not the picture about how your life gets increasingly worse with each child. It doesn’t. Well, only in some ways. Seriously, if you’re reading this and you’re pregnant for the first time, stop reading. In fact, stop reading this blog.
- You should be more than 20 weeks pregnant, less than 36. No morning sickness and close enough to baby to appreciate it, but not so far along that all you want to do is lie around and eat chocolate feeling sorry for yourself. (or if you already have kids, rush around eating chocolate feeling sorry for yourself) And this site gives you many more (frankly terrifyingly) tips than I could bring myself to research. Personally I think the ‘carry mace’ tip might be taking things a bit far, unless you are planning your babymoon in Chechnya or Bogota. By the way – how good is the internet? It just does all the work for you. I envy students these days – I had to literally copy and paste large bits out of my Funk & Wagnall encyclopedia in order to plagiarise – far easier now I imagine.
- You should go somewhere within 2 hour flight or drive. By the time you get round to a babymoon you won’t be feeling like long/complex travel. No get off a plane/catch a bus/walk 2 kms/catch a cab type complex rigmarole type transfers. Get off a plane/get in cab to nice hotel or drive in car/meet friendly BnB owner is more what we’re going for.
- Go somewhere where they have a spa that does pregnant people stuff (see also my previous excellent post on massages) and ensure you book some treatments in before you get there.
- Don’t plan on large amounts of sightseeing or rushing around. This is a lying around and eating holiday with a little bit of shopping and magazine reading thrown in. Even so, pack comfy shoes – by 30 weeks you’re not fooling anyone with the sexy momma act, so let it go and embrace the sneaker. No Eco shoes though – you’re not 70.
- Ensure your travel partner is aware that this is all about you. You may need a little sign that says something of that sort to wear around your neck as a reminder – in case he or she thinks they might get to choose the restaurant or side of the bed.
These are cool places to go for babymoons in Australia. And America. And here and here and here. How’s that for research – take THAT Rachel Browne. Over.
photo credit: Schwangerschaft
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We had a babymoon planned for a few months before No2 was scheduled to arrive. Was excited by the thought of my first break in a couple of years and lazy days eating our way around Noosa.
Unfortunately, I was admitted to hospital with threatened premature labour a week before we were due to depart. I never did get that holiday. Sigh.
Reading this I am remembering, somewhat bitterly, my ‘babymoon’ where I stupidly allowed Husband to plan a holiday for us in Mexico and he booked a hideous all inclusive SCUBA DIVING vacation reasoning that I could snorkel in the freezing Pacific waters after a sickening boat ride, unable to take motion sickness pills (how fun for me!) because this was his last chance to do something fun before the baby arrived. Then it rained solidly while we were there, the hotel had no heating and not enough blankets and he went off on dives anyway while I fumed in the hotel feeling hard done by. I insisted we left early after two or three days of pure hell and never let him book another trip again. Now we have two children and I have developed the habit of taking little holidays on my own. Those of you who have children will know already that ‘family vacation’ is an oxymoron.
BTW Thanks for visiting my blog. I was late to the party with GHDs because I live in the arse end of nowhere but I have caught up now and can even curl my hair with them without assistance xo
Ah Amanda – you clearly need to learn about holidays from Mothership – little ones on your own! Kate.
Hi there, while I would never claim to have written the definitive piece on babymoons I just want to put it on the record that I’m not in the habit of stealing other people’s stories. I do, however, have a good sense of humour. Nice work ladies.