Babymoons Travel Tips for Expecting Parents

Dear Expecting Parents: Before you dive into the world of dirty diapers and sleepless nights, take advantage of your current freedom and go on a babymoon! This pre-baby vacation helps you connect as a couple while relaxing and rejuvenating before the stress of parenthood hits. If you're planning on having more than one child, make sure you take an extra long babymoon, since you may not have the luxury of traveling sans children for many more years.

Consider the following tips to ensure comfort, value and fun as you plan this important getaway.

1. Travel During Your Second Trimester
This is the most comfortable part of your pregnancy. Hopefully morning sickness has passed and your growing belly isn't making you feel like you're coming apart at the seams. Keep in mind, however, that some cruise lines won't sell tickets to women who are pregnant beyond 24 weeks, so check out this comprehensive list of cruise line policies before booking.

2. Visit Child-unfriendly Locations
Find a location you won't visit when children are part of your family. For example, a Disney Cruise is easy to do with little ones, but a spa and shopping mall is next to impossible with a toddler. A two-hour flight is relatively easy with children, but a flight to Hawaii or overseas will bring parents to their breaking point.

3. Eat Together
Plan plenty of quiet meals with your partner and cherish those uninterrupted adult conversations. It gets significantly harder to have a relaxing meal when a toddler is throwing food and screaming at the dinner table.

4. Visit a Spa
During your second trimester, you can again indulge in a relaxing massage and planning this during the beginning of your babymoon will help set the tone for the rest of your trip. Pedicures are also great, since it will soon be increasingly difficult for you to reach your toes.

5. Use Gift Cards
Save on your babymoon costs and buy gift cards at a discounted rate for your airfare, hotel stay, dining, car rental and spa treatments. Sites like GiftCardGranny.com have hundreds of travel-related discount gift cards for purchase, from airlines to bed and breakfast websites. Remember to buy your gift cards a couple weeks in advance to account for order processing and mailing time.

6. Be Adult-only Active
Participate in adult-only activities, such as going to a movie, dancing the night away, visiting museums, catching a theater show, going to a sporting event, or eating in a nice restaurant. Basically, think of everything you would not do with a squirmy toddler in tow, then plan on doing those things. Read "8 Best Babymoon Trips" from Parents Magazine for destination ideas.

7. HAVE FUN!
Delight in being adults; you have plenty of years ahead to enjoy being a kid with your kid. Take advantage of this time to do grown-up activities.

Maisie Knowles is a working mother of two with three-year's experience writing on parenting and partner issues. For all media inquiries, please contact Maisie Knowles at 970-672-1136 or email maisie@kinoliinc(dot)com