Getaways for Expecting Parents

When you’re expecting your first child, people will share intimate details of their lives that really just aren’t acceptable in social settings.

Like, for instance, the woman at my husband’s former workplace who spent 30 minutes during their lunch hour detailing the horror story of her “birthing process.” Yeah, because you want to hear about how you can almost die in labor THE DAY BEFORE YOUR WIFE’S ABDOMEN IS SLICED OPEN.

Or the check-out girl at the grocery store who feels compelled to tell you about the monster hemorrhoids she developed in her third trimester, while ringing up the six boxes of “supplies” you’re buying because every time you sneeze, you pee your pants a little.

Then there is my personal favorite: “Your lives will never, ever be the same again.”

This dire prediction is usually delivered with a pained look, and comes from people whose eyes have so much baggage that their pupils need a passport. These people are generally wearing dirty clothes and mismatched socks, and they look kind of feral, like cats that haven’t been fed in about 30 days. Sometimes, they smell.

And you know what?

THEY ARE TOTALLY RIGHT.

Your life never is the same. Your freedom is curtailed to such a degree that the first four weeks sometimes feel like a prison term. My husband and I had one of our All-Time Greatest Fights when he called me from work six weeks after our daughter was born and asked if he could go to happy hour.

I answered the phone just after emerging from my first shower in three days.

He said “happy hour,” and what my brain heard was “divorce him.”

Babymoon to the Rescue

We survived, but barely. Luckily, we’re quick studies and this time we decided to partake of some solo couple time before No. 2 makes his appearance.

Little did I know that our getaway qualified as a whole new segment of the travel industry—the babymoon.

Yup. It even has a brand name. We’re so hip and trendy, n’est-ce-pas?

Kate Ward, online director of TheNestBaby and herself a new mom, said these prepartum trips range from an overnight in town to a full-blown resort vacation.

• The London Eye gives this expecting mother a breathtaking view of Big Ben.
• Daniel Lobo

This trend of couples taking a special trip together before their incarceration—uh, I mean, parenting—begins has increased significantly in the past two years, Ward says. It is so popular now that TheNestBaby has an entire section of its Web site dedicated to planning babymoons.

But this isn’t just a flash in the pan, she adds.

“I think it’s really based on word-of-mouth and is less of a travel industry-driven thing,” Ward says. “New parents are telling other new parents that they need to do this.”

And by “this,” she means taking time to be a couple before you become a family or add another child to the mix.

Ward asserts that babymooning is more popular now than, say, when our parents were having babies, because couples are waiting longer to marry and have kids.

“People are used to spending that time with their spouse, and it has become a way of life for them,” she says. “Also, because people are waiting so much longer and are therefore more financially stable, they’re able to take a nice trip together.”

From Simple to Elaborate

According to TheNestBaby, some of the more popular babymoon destinations are Jamaica, the British Virgin Islands and Charleston.

Resorts and hotels are offering packages directly geared to the gestating, with perks like prenatal massages, information about infant care and even gifts for your unborn bundle of joy. [Read our Babymoon Deals article.]

Ward says the decision to add the information to the site was based on consumer demand.

“People were asking for it,” she says. “They were looking for information to help them plan their trips.”

Trips to all-inclusive resorts and luxury hotels may sound wonderful, but what if your budget is more bed-and-breakfast than Breakfast At Tiffanys?

Ward says babymoons need not be elaborate, expensive propositions.

“Even if you can just take a two- or three-hour car trip, you’re still getting out of your normal environment,” she says.