Picture this: the scenic rolling hills of the countryside, a beautiful brick Colonial home, a wide open field full of fuzzy alpacas, a delectable, gourmet breakfast greeting you each morning, utter peace and quiet…
Sounds downright Utopian, doesn’t it?
While pregnant with our first child, my husband and I spent a long weekend “babymooning” at this charming bed and breakfast. We got massages, went out to nice dinners, slept in, and read by the fireplace. Not to mention we basked in the vast, snowy farmland of rural Kentucky. I basically felt like the heroine in my own personal version of Wuthering Heights (minus, you know, all the brooding).
Honeymoons have been a newlywed standard for over a century, but babymoons are more of a novelty in modern parenting. In the past decade or so, babymoons have gained traction as a way for parents-to-be to enjoy one last carefree getaway before the onset of sleepless nights, countless diaper changes, and incessant dirty laundry.
Now that we are expecting our second child, we contemplated taking another babymoon, but ultimately decided against it. We’ve been lucky enough to take a few adults-only trips since our daughter was born two and a half years ago, so we didn’t feel the need for babymoon part 2.
Instead, we decided why not take a family moon? (Some people define ‘family moon’ as a married couple bringing children along on a honeymoon, but for my purposes, it will be bringing our toddler along on our last trip before baby 2.)
We wanted to do something special with our girl before she becomes a big sister and her world as she knows it is totally rocked. We chose a Christmas themed inn in Tennessee and went for a long weekend right as the holiday season was kicking off. (If you know me, you know that Hallmark holiday movies are my jam, so this was basically like my version of Disney World!)
Here’s the part where I’d love to tell you that our daughter was an angel during the trip. She had zero meltdowns, was perfectly pleasant and agreeable, and did exactly as she was told the whole weekend…
Just kidding – this is real life!!
Our daughter does not always do well with deviation from routine, which sometimes means that weekend getaways and vacations don’t always go as planned. To put it kindly: girlfriend was in a mood most of the 3 day weekend. While it can be disappointing when your child doesn’t always cooperate, I remind myself time and time again that she’s two and half years old and has big feelings that are not only challenging for us but also for her.
Even though there were several tantrums, there was also a lot of fun. I’ll always be able to remember my daughter’s joy at hearing the glockenspiels chime as she danced along while shouting, “The bells! The bells!” While she wouldn’t give Santa the time of day, she gleefully ran around waving and smiling at a life-sized Rudolph. She giggled and zig-zagged around the trees and gingerbread houses, marveling at all of the details.
Though it wasn’t a perfect or relaxing getaway, there was something so right about it because it marked the season of life we are in right now. While I am so excited to be bringing another sweet baby into our world, there is a part of me that is somewhat sad that our time as a family of 3 is rapidly coming to an end. We have our groove, and it works. I know that with our new addition, we will find a new normal, but I’ve never been great with change.
Our imperfect family moon was so important because I was able to savor this fleeting time while it is still just the 3 of us. As we were all huddled together in our Santa Claus themed bed, I did just that.
Would you ever take a family moon?
