Ok, yes, I promise I’ll stop saying the word ‘Babymoon’ after this post. It’s even grating on me at this point.
But after planning and enjoying our trip abroad to Portugal with Jet2, as well as having a relaxing spa day at Eden Hall, I figured I’d put together a ‘How To’ post on how you can plan your very own pre-baby getaway.
I should also mention that in my Babymoon Plans post I told you I was actually going on another Babymoon trip in the UK. And that was totally the plan. But honestly, I’m far too knackered at this point! I think I was a bit over-ambitious with how much travel I would want to do in my third trimester of pregnancy!
Anyway, I think I picked up enough tips to give you all the info, so yeah, here goes.
How To Plan The Perfect Babymoon
Should You Take A Babymoon?
For a lot of people, the idea of taking a Babymoon, aka a getaway with your baby daddy before your bundle of joy comes along, is quite frivolous. Babies are expensive and there’s so much to buy and so much to organise before your baby is born – can you really warrant the expense of a holiday at this time in your life?
It’s totally a relevant question. But I think you need to consider what you can get out of a Babymoon trip before deciding whether it’s for you.
Before I took one, I figured the main appeal of a pre-baby trip was to relax. I mean, it is so important to try to relax during pregnancy (although easier said than done). There’s enough anxiety and things to worry about throughout those 9 months, that taking time to recharge is a very welcome break.
But I also discovered that the trip to Portugal was actually quite important for my relationship.
I know everyone’s situation is different, but for me and Josh the whole ‘we’re having a baby’ thing was a lot to process at first and pretty much took over our lives. All we talked about was the baby. I mean, it’s a life-changing thing so I think that’s pretty normal. But it meant that life was feeling quite stressful before the trip, what with all of the baby and pregnancy worries on top of work stress and moving house and general life stuff.
So the Babymoon was a chance for us to escape and connect as a couple. It felt like we could talk about the baby in more of a fun way, just because we were so relaxed, you know? We would talk about baby names and what our daughter is going to be like, without the anxiety-filled ‘Oh my god we haven’t packed the hospital bag yet’ and ‘What pram can we afford’ conversations.
But we could also just be a ‘normal’ couple, without anyone asking us questions about the pregnancy all the time. I think it’s just something people do when they know you’re pregnant, it’s a topic they seem to bring up a lot. And sometimes you just want to talk about other stuff! So it definitely let us spend some quality time together and laugh and chat and eat and watch Jurassic Park in bed. Y’know, all the important stuff.
Another reason people often promote Babymoons is that ‘it’s the last chance for it to be just the two of you!’. I admit, this was one of my motivations to have a Babymoon in the first place, but on reflection I kind of think that’s a scare tactic. It’s like when people say ‘Enjoy the sleep whilst you can, you won’t be getting any soon!’. It’s not very encouraging and hey pal, you don’t know if my baby’s going to sleep! Same with the holiday thing. I actually think that if me and Josh want to go on holiday as a couple in the future, that’s totally ok. A few baby-free days whilst our daughter spends time with grandparents is allowed.
So yeah, I wouldn’t worry about that part.
I think the main thing you get out of a Babymoon trip is a relaxing break that’s good for you mentally as you can get away from the stresses of pregnancy. It’s also good for the baby as you’ll be relaxing and getting all of that good oxytocin, and it’s healthy for your relationship to be able to have a proper break together during what can be a stressful time.
Personally, I think those reasons make the trip worth the money. And what you do for your Babymoon can vary so much that you can definitely find something to fit your budget. From a two week luxury holiday in the Maldives, to a night away in a cheap B&B on the coast. Either way, the benefits are the same. I think it’s worth it.
When Is The Perfect Time To Go?
Timing-wise, the second trimester is 100% the best time to go on a Babymoon. It’s typically when pregnant gals have more energy and less of the annoying symptoms of the first and third trimesters.
To be safe I’d go away after your 20 week scan, when you have a bit of reassurance that the baby is ok, and your first trimester nausea and fatigue should have disappeared. But before 28 weeks, when you start getting a bit more uncomfortable and need a special fit-to-fly letter from your doctor if you want to get on a plane. So yep, that’s the sweet spot IMHO.
Of course it depends on what you’re doing and you might still like to go away after 28 weeks, to somewhere in the UK or to a nice day spa. But from my current experience, I think the later you leave it, the less enjoyable it is. I’m writing this at 33 weeks pregnant and I can barely make it to Tesco and back without feeling exhausted.
Is It Safe To Go Abroad?
As long as you’re considered a low-risk pregnancy and your midwife has no problems with it, it’s perfectly safe to go abroad before 28 weeks. Your midwife will be checking your blood pressure at every appointment anyway so you’ll know already if it’s too high to fly.
Although I should add a disclaimer here that I am in no way a doctor and you should definitely check with your midwife before you go. But if she’s anything like mine, she’ll be the one telling you to go on holiday!
It’s probably more of a personal choice of whether you feel comfortable going abroad. Some people feel that they wouldn’t be able to relax in a different country, just in case anything went wrong. And I admit it certainly took Josh a lot of convincing before our trip to The Algarve. What won him over was knowing that I would be more relaxed there, getting some vitamin D and chilling out, which is always a good thing.
And at the end of the day, people have babies in every country in the world. If anything did happen, there’s nothing to say that doctors in the UK are more equipped to help than doctors in Spain or France or wherever. Just make sure that you bring your maternity notes with you and check that your pregnancy is covered on your travel insurance. Seeing as we were in Europe, I also made sure I had my EHIC card with me just in case.
But if you think you’d be more relaxed on a UK getaway, by all means do that instead. There are plenty of lovely places to visit from a beach break in Cornwall to a cosy stay in the Lake District, there’s loads for options for your Babymoon.
What Kind Of Activities Should You Plan?
Talking of which, I think when planning your Babymoon, you should think about what you want to do on this trip. What are your priorities?
Like I said, I just wanted to relax, so a package holiday with Jet2, where we had transfers and a nice hotel near the beach and very little tourist attractions to explore, was perfect. Josh and I always go on city breaks or trips where we’re quite active, whether that’s driving the Great Ocean Road in Australia, hiking Cinque Terre or going on an overland adventure through Eastern Europe. So I wanted this trip to be very different and focus on doing nothing. I wouldn’t say we’re normally package holiday people, but for a Babymoon trip it was spot on. We read by the pool, ate lunch on the beach and had an afternoon nap before dinner. Totally dreamy.
Our other Babymoon experience was visiting a day spa together and I would definitely recommend that too. Pregnancy massages are amazing so if you can tie one into your Babymoon trip, definitely do! But again, it was also a great opportunity to relax together.
Definitely do some research when booking a hotel, wherever you end up. Pregnancy treatments are one thing but I was also adamant that I wanted somewhere with a nice bath. It wasn’t a specific Babymoon trip but we stayed in Cheshire for a wedding whilst I was pregnant and I fell in love with our hotel – The Roebuck Inn – with its dreamy rolltop bath at the end of the bed, delicious breakfast and a cosy countryside setting. Pretty perfect for a romantic retreat.
At the end of the day it’s totally your choice on where you’d like to go, what you’d like to do and whether you want to take a Babymoon trip at all. But personally I really found it relaxing and would recommend a pre-baby trip to anyone.
Are you planning or have you taken a Babymoon? What do you think?
Let me know in the comments below or head on over to my Instagram and Twitter pages for regular updates on my travels, my pregnancy and life in general.
