Getting Real with Kira Hazledine
The first time I had heard the phrase “baby moon” I was pregnant with my first. I didn’t really see the point in taking a small vacation before the birth of my child, as if I was losing my freedom in my transition to parenthood. Even so, I understood people wanting to take off for a few days to just relax, because having a newborn is no joke. I just disagreed with it being necessary.
There’s this notion that you can’t travel once you have kids. Honestly, traveling with an infant is so much easier than traveling with a toddler. Sure, there are some limitations, but you can still have an awesome time. I’ve loved every trip I’ve taken with my daughter, and although challenges (and prices) have increased with a 2-year-old, the experiences are more valuable. Hallie has such a great time on her adventures and is learning every second.
So why the baby moon?
I guess nobody really needs an excuse to take a vacation. I could have considered my cross-country move at five months pregnant a type of baby moon, because my husband and I did have a lot of fun together. But we never specifically arranged a vacation. However, as we prepare for our second, I’m feeling a bit differently about the baby moon.
My husband and I are trying to plan a weekend getaway before I get too pregnant to enjoy anything, and this “baby moon” is more important now than it ever was before. Why? Because we have Hallie. This time, it’s less about sacrificing our free time to become parents and more about smothering our firstborn child. It is going to get crazy, not just for us, but for her. There is going to be an additional person, and I know that Hallie will love her little brother like crazy. Still, we want to spend time with our girl before that attention has to be split.
The love for each child will grow and grow, but there are still only two of us. We physically, mentally, and emotionally won’t be able to offer the same amount of attention to Hallie once a sibling is born. So we are going on a vacation, or a baby moon if that’s what you want to call it. We are celebrating our existing family, despite our excitement for the addition that is to come.
I didn’t consider a baby moon important before, but I consider it important now. Perhaps this isn’t everyone’s definition of what a baby moon should be, and I think that’s ok. Whatever vacation you need before a baby is born, whether it’s your first or your sixth, do it. Kids or no kids, do it. Take the time to do what is special to you and label it with whatever fits your life. Right now, Hallie is our world. So we are going to celebrate that. We will continue to celebrate our children individually, and then together. When the baby moons end, they’ll just be called family vacations.
