Congrats! It’s time for your babymoon.
We love how couples take time away together before they are expecting.
If you’re like most soon-to-be moms, there’s a lot to think about. What better way to relax, destress than take a pre-baby trip.
While you’re planning your babymoon, here’s a few things to consider.
1. Find a great destination.
From a relating a luxurious spa among the red-cliff rocks in Canyon Point, Utah to vising the arts scene in Asheville, North Carolina, there are plenty of destinations to visit. We like this list for Fodor’s Travel. For a more international-based list, check out BabyMoon Travel’s “10 Best Babymoon Destinations for 2016.”
Ideally most experts say it’s best to go during the second trimester (14 to 28 weeks) after morning sickness has passed and before you’re close to your due date and its uncomfortable.
2. Know what to pack.
We love Bethaney Davies’s tips on flashpackerfamily.com. Her suggestions include:
- Wear compression socks on flights since being pregnant can put you at a higher risk for blood clots.
- Pack snacks for pregnancy-friendly foods since so many options are off limits.
- Find out what medications are safe to tack including motion sickness and anti-nausea pills before you leave.
- Bring stretchy, comfy maternity clothes you can grow into, especially if you’re around the 20-week mark where every week can make a difference. Think bigger bras, leggings, tunics, empire-wasted tops, maxi dresses and your SHOLDIT pocketed nursing scarf that looks like a normal infinity scarf that can also hide a passport, keys and other essentials and later double as a nursing blanket after you little one arrives.
3. Review travel insurance, know your rights.
Typically insurance companies will cover someone between 20 and 26 weeks depending on the policy. Some may cover more, even up to 36 weeks. But do your homework first.
It’s also important if you’re going to be visiting America, the U.S. government effectively requires travel insurance if you’re pregnant.
Bring a copy of your prenatal records in case you need them, and check airlines regulations about flying because many will require a doctor’s note or not allow women to fly who are late into their third trimester.
4. Stay hydrated and bring healthy snacks.
That’s what Jan Rydfors, a California gynecologist/obstetrician and co-creator of Pregnancy Companion: The Obstetrician’s Mobile Guide to Pregnancy, told TravelingMom.com since pregnant women tend to become dehydrated faster. According to the American Pregnancy Association, pregnant women should drink eight to 12 glasses of water per day in order to ensure that their amniotic fluid is renewed and breast milk production is on track, among other health benefits, according to the Huffington Post.
5. Keep moving, but make sure you have a comfortable bed. As Emily Dugan writes in her babymoon piece for the British-based newspaper, the Independent:
“Sleeping becomes a bit of an obsession in pregnancy. You're a weird shape, permanently hot and get kicked every time you drift off. The difficulty getting shut-eye is not made any easier by parents constantly telling you with a haunted look that this is your “last chance”. So I was grateful for the enormous and very comfortable bed, which gave me the best night's sleep I'd had in months.”
In short, make sure you have a big bed and somewhere to rest. While we know it’s important for you to keep moving, to keep your blood circulating, it’s just as important to have a good place to rest at the end of the day or with a well-deserved nap.
