#momlife, Travel

Why Babymoons Are Overrated

I understand the point of Babymoons, and I gave it the good college try. It just didn’t happen to work out so well for me, and I can’t imagine I’m alone here.

We were going to be in New England anyway, so I chose to book my own Babymoon experience at Topnotch Resort in Stowe, Vermont (pictured above). They have a Babymoon package that is touted all over the Internet, but I wanted to piece meal it because there were aspects of the package that I didn’t necessarily want to pay for and it was just far cheaper to do it my way.

Unique to my situation, my baby daddy got called away to work and left me in Vermont for a few days to Babymoon on my own. Not ideal, but it worked out fine for me, since they had everything I needed at the resort, and I didn’t have to share the King-sized bed when no position I could find to sleep in was comfortable after 30 minutes anyway. The food at both the restaurant and the bar was outstanding, and the views from the resort were beautiful, especially covered in snow in the winter.

I’m not knocking the resort at all. I would love to go back without being somewhat physically impaired. What I take issue with is the concept of the Babymoon. To me, it just wasn’t worth it, and here’s why:

Spa Packages

Pretty much all Babymoon packages come with a prenatal massage. I had a fabulous 90-minute massage at Topnotch. The problem is that the massage comes with the use of the spa facilities for the day, and the spa facilities are filled with no-nos for pregnant women. How about a nice dip in the Jacuzzi? Nope, can’t do that. How about a nice relaxing stint in the sauna? Nope, can’t do that either. Super fun, guys, thanks.

No Alcohol

Many of the Babymoon packages also include things like free bottles of champagne in your room upon arrival. Now, how much sense does that make? Let me save this bottle for 3 months from now. Or even worse, let me watch someone else drink it by themselves while I have, maybe, a sip. Some packages are thoughtful enough to include a free bottle of sparkling cider, but why? Just reminds me of things I cannot have. Pass.

Food Restrictions

Depending on how much of a destination trip your Babymoon is, this can be a major bummer or barely register on the frustration radar. In Vermont, this was not such a big deal. Had we gone to the Caribbean, for example, I would have been lamenting how much fresh seafood I could not eat. In general, traveling to me is about trying local cuisine, and if I can’t do that, I’d rather hold off on the trip until I can.

Limited Physical Activity

In Vermont, I could not ski or even go hiking. I was kind of okay with this, but again, for certain locations in particular, why go until you can fully experience the destination? Winter was particularly treacherous because I felt like I couldn’t really even walk around the grounds much without fear of slipping on the icy walkways. Destinations that are conducive to a lot of laying around are probably better choices.

Travel Itself

We drove to Vermont because I hated flying while pregnant. Driving had its own pitfalls, but I wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as I was in those tiny airline seats. Driving required its own set of rules, including many stops and a finite amount of travel time per day, so it was a pretty inefficient way to travel 1,000 miles. We made it work, but the trip was about 3 times as long.

I wouldn’t necessarily rule out a Babymoon if I got pregnant again because we travel so much and I’d end up tacking pregnancy-related activities on to whatever trip we were on anyway. I just wouldn’t plan a trip specifically to have a last hurrah before the baby came. It’s just that I’d rather my hurrahs include a glass of wine and some fresh oysters.

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24 thoughts on “Why Babymoons Are Overrated

  1. I never had a babymoon with my son, good to see that you think their overrated. I was so moody when I was pregnant so I think if things didn’t go how I pictured it, it would have been a disaster and my husband would suffer..hahaha #ablogginggoodtime

    1. Yeah, I was pretty grumpy because I couldn’t use most of the spa facilities or drink anything. Better to save the trip for when you’re less high maintenance! Thanks for commenting!

    1. I think I would have designed a far different trip so that I wasn’t reminded of things I could not have. Glad yours went well though! Thanks for commenting!

  2. I didn’t even know places did babymoon packages! And to include champagne or spa access?!? Stupid and so annoying! We didn’t do a babymoon, didn’t even think about it as far as I can remember. I’d rather stay at home with a sofa a chocolate and venture out for a massage! #ablogginggoodtime

  3. We never had one probably wished we had because it’s sounds great super post Thanks for linking to the #THAT FRIDAY LINKY come back next week please

  4. Huh. I’m glad I read your post as I totally hadn’t thought about any of these challenges and frustrations. Think I’ll save the money and splash on something I can really enjoy.
    #Dreamteam

  5. I had an unofficial babymoon when I was 4 months pregnant. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it. But because all my previous holidays had been so alcohol fuelled it did seem a little weird. #dreamteam

  6. Haha all the yes to this post! I didn’t have a babymoon, for many of the same reasons you mention. I went on a spa day when I was 8 weeks pregnant and not ready to tell the world yet…and I basically couldn’t do a thing 🙁 Thanks for linking up to #dreamteam x

  7. Wtf? Champagne on a Baby moon?? I would be super annoyed about this, I was literally dying for a sip of champers by the end of it all! At least you got to sleep in the king size bed in any position you wanted, but other than that I completely understand why you wouldn’t have liked the babymoon! Thanks for sharing with #StayClassyMama!
    The Mum Project recently posted…#StayClassyMama Link Party No. 50My Profile

  8. I’ve never been on a Babymoon. Not because I didn’t want to, I’ve just never thought about it really. I didn’t think it would be much fun 🙂 You make very valid points. Thanks for sharing with #globalblogging

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