Hellobee

Mr. Dolphin and I took a “babymoon” before Lion was born and I insisted on taking another big trip while pregnant with Panda. We took both right around the 24 week mark and had very different approaches to the two trips, in part because we had a toddler in tow for our second adventure.

For our first babymoon, we went to Israel and Jordan. For our second, we flew to Venice and spent a few days there before hopping on a cruise that went to Greece, Montenegro and Croatia. They were vastly different experiences, but both were absolutely perfect (even when things went massively wrong) and I would definitely do it again.

Our traveling koala on the ridge above Petra’s monastery.

Here are some considerations for a babymoon, as well as some general considerations about traveling internationally while pregnant.

Why Babymoon?

Mr. Dolphin and I are passionate about traveling and have been to more than 25 countries together, plus numerous others individually. Before we had Lion, I started having some freak outs over whether we would still be able to travel with children. Having one big final trip helped me delay some of these fears because I was focused on planning our first trip to the Holy Land. We also wanted to spend some time to connect.

Pictures like this made me eager to visit Petra!

When I found out we were pregnant with Panda, I immediately brought up the idea of a babymoon and Mr. Dolphin agreed. We brought Lion along because we firmly believe in the huge benefits of traveling with children. We knew that with each addition to our family, travel will become more expensive and more difficult (but still worth it), so it made sense to try to have another big trip before we had another baby. Additionally, because Lion could still fly free as a lap infant, we figured we would maximize the value and fly somewhere internationally. Note: lap infants do not pay any fees while traveling domestically, but you will pay the taxes and fees flying internationally and must therefore declare your intention to have a lap infant at the time of booking (otherwise you run the risk of exorbitant fees at the airport because these taxes and fees are based on the price of the ticket at the time you pay the lap infant fees).

Picking Your Destination

Considerations

• Is the place safe to travel?
• Is the water safe to drink (note: I always drink bottled water in developing countries and even brush my teeth with bottled water in some locations)?
• How many layovers will it take to get there? How much time will be spent in transit?
• What is the cost?
• What season will it be at the destination at that time? What will the weather be like?
• Is it a place we could go to with young children, or a place that is more suited for adults only?
• How many days will it take to fully explore the destination?
• Are there adequate medical facilities, if necessary?
• Are the activities you want to do at the destination pregnancy friendly?

The first time around, we wanted to go to a place that had long been our lists and go somewhere that we had never been to together. We granted the location bonus points if it was somewhere that we didn’t think we could (or would want to) go during the first five years of Lion’s life, thus ruling out almost all of Europe. It also had to be a place where we thought we could reasonably see what we wanted in 7-10 days because I was newly employed and didn’t want to burn too much vacation time since I would need some of it for maternity leave. Ultimately, we narrowed our choices down to Ecuador and the Galapagos, Patagonia and Jordan. After talking with my OB, we nixed Ecuador/Galapagos because he wasn’t sure whether it would be safe to scuba dive while pregnant and that would be a primary activity we wanted to do. Plus, it’s a place I want to take our kids to when they are relatively young. Your considerations may be different; would you be crushed if you went to Italy and couldn’t drink the wine, or went to France and couldn’t eat their unpasteurized cheeses? With respect to developing countries, would you be disappointed not to be able to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables that are in abundance in places like Malaysia (in which you should be very careful if you’re not peeling it because they are often washed in local water which is not always safe to drink)? Would you be disappointed not to zip line in Costa Rica? Trips to these places may be better delayed until you’re no longer pregnant. Think about what it is you want to do in a certain destination and whether your pregnancy would inhibit these activities.

Enjoying our last day of babymoon #1 in Amman, Jordan.

For our second babymoon, I wanted to go somewhere relatively easy and Mr. Dolphin wanted to go somewhere we hadn’t been before. We thought about doing a train trip through Europe, hitting up Austria, Hungary and Romania; I felt like Europe was very safe and easy to navigate with a toddler. I also advocated going to Southeast Asia which was less easy for a number of reasons, but I was eager to do because I traveled there extensively for work and wanted to go with Mr. Dolphin and Lion. I found some incredible deals like flights under $500 to Vietnam, but the drawbacks were the longer flight times and the fact that there is a 12-13 hour time difference. Mr. Dolphin then learned from a colleague that some cruise lines have nurseries or babysitting for children under the age of 3 and we thought we could take advantage of having some alone time on the trip. We found a great deal on an itinerary made up of cities that we hadn’t been to before and booked it. We used miles to get to Venice, the port of embarkation, and decided to go a few days in advance so that we could take time to explore the city. While we used the nursery very sparingly, it was so nice to be able to enjoy at least some time to ourselves, especially because we never used a babysitter at home before. The price was extremely reasonable: $6/hour during the day hours or $8/hour during the evening.

Traveling in Europe on a cruise for our second babymoon was a good choice because it is safe, developed and easy with all the conveniences we needed.

For both trips, we decided to stay away from some places on our lists that are considered less safe. We also thought that there would be adequate medical facilities (or that we could quickly get to adequate medical facilities) in case we had a pregnancy emergency. We mentioned our travel plans to both our OB/GYN and MFM to ensure that they thought it was safe to travel.

Specific considerations will depend on your individual circumstances. We were lucky that we didn’t have to worry about the Zika virus while we traveled, but obviously any countries affected by Zika would be off the table for us if we were planning a babymoon today. Malaria might also be a consideration, though a medication I was taking to reduce the likelihood of fetal heart block was an antimalarial and therefore not a serious concern for us.

Comfort while traveling

Considerations:

• What is the mode of travel?
• How long will you spend in transit? Will you be able to move around? Will you be comfortable in this mode of transit while X weeks pregnant?
• Are there opportunities for upgrades?
• What should you pack to make your trip more comfortable?

While pregnant with Lion, I still had 1K status from a past life when I traveled internationally almost 50% of the year and we wanted to use my perks and fly United. We took a different routing than we originally considered, simply so I could apply my complimentary upgrade certificates and fly business/first. I appreciated having a lay flat bed, plus the extra attention I got from flight attendants who seemed insistent that I never run out of bottled water.

Lay flat seats were an appreciated luxury on a nine-hour overnight flight.

When we went on our second babymoon, I sadly lost all of my airline status and we ended up just using miles on saver awards to fly coach. We could have paid more for business class, but I wanted to save the miles for future trips. We had a window and middle seat going, two middle seats on the return (after we were rebooked and rerouted during the Lufthansa airline strike). I normally prefer the window seat while traveling, but if I had to do it over again, I would have selected an aisle seat to allow my pregnant self to go to the bathroom more often and walk around the plane.

For both trips, I packed a pair of running compression socks/calf sleeves to help with any swelling, improve circulation and help prevent blood clots. I also packed ample snacks for myself (and, of course, for Lion on our second babymoon) including dried cranberries which help reduce blood clots. I brought a small blanket that I could roll up and put behind me for better back support in the event that it started bothering me, in part because I had been in a car accident just a few months prior. We bought two liters of water in the airport before boarding the plane because I always get crazy thirsty during pregnancy, drinking between fifteen and twenty glasses a day.

Timing of the Trip

Considerations:

• How far along in your pregnancy will you be?
• Are there any restrictions on travel on your air carrier or other travel carrier?
• Are there high-risk factors impacting the timing of the trip?

We picked the same timing for both trips: 23-24 weeks pregnant. We knew that many airline carriers restrict air travel during pregnancy (usually much further along, though some carriers start requiring a doctor’s note beginning at 28 weeks). We wanted to avoid the peak travel season, so April and November made a lot of sense. At 23 and 24 weeks, it seemed like a relatively stable time in pregnancy to travel. Because I was having weekly fetal echocardiograms, I did clear the travel with my doctors first to make sure they were okay with me traveling. The second time around, we were slightly more concerned with the timing giving my past experience with a placental abruption at 32 weeks, which meant I had an increased risk of another abruption. When we decided to take a cruise, we had the additional restriction of having to be less than 24 weeks pregnant, which made our decision a bit easier about how far along I could be and still travel.

Hiking in Petra while 24 weeks pregnant.

Because we were so close to our cruise line’s cut off point for travel, I did get a letter from my OB stating how far along I was in my pregnancy and that it was safe for me to travel. No one asked to see it, but I didn’t want to risk being turned away!

Activities While Traveling

Considerations:

• Are the targeted activities safe during pregnancy?
• Are these activities advisable during pregnancy?
• Do you want a more relaxing babymoon or an action packed babymoon?

As noted above, many of these considerations factored into our destination decision. After realizing that I could not dive while pregnant, we nixed places like the Galapagos and Australia where our primary purpose would be scuba diving.

Graffiti wall in Bethlehem.

We actually wanted to be relatively active during our babymoon. I know that some people would prefer to have a super relaxing, chill babymoon because of the craziness that enters your life when you have a new baby. For us, it was the opposite, and we wanted to do and see as much as possible because we knew that a child would dramatically change our future travel; even though we still like to travel with the kids, the activities we participate in today are different.

When we visited Masada, Mr. Dolphin insisted on hiking to the top instead of taking the aerial tram. That was day one of desert hiking.

On our first babymoon, I was super excited to see Petra, not even realizing what a trip there would mean for someone who is 24 weeks pregnant. There is a lot of hiking involved (we also went hiking in Masada, Israel), which ended up being fine. However, I somehow didn’t think about the fact that hiking 12 or more miles a day in the middle of a desert while 24 weeks pregnant might be a little exhausting. I’m still really glad we did it and I would do it again in a heartbeat, but definitely something I wish I had considered in advance so we could have planned better. I was lucky that I felt great in the second and third trimesters both of my pregnancies and was happy to have a lot of activity; I had no back pain or fatigue. At the time, my high risk factors didn’t have me on any activity restrictions. We were constantly on the go because there was so much to do in Israel and Jordan and we wanted to try to see as much as possible.

There were so many gorgeous churches in Israel; my favorite was the Church of the Pater Noster where the Lord’s Prayer is translated into hundreds of languages on mosaics. 

The second time around, we took it much easier because we were traveling with a toddler, but still kept very busy. Although we did have one day of steep hiking to the top of the old fortress in Kotor, Montenegro, most of the days we spent on relatively flat ground. We didn’t have to worry about getting hotels or dinner, either, which let us enjoy being in each port. I feel like cruises are both relaxing in the sense that all the dinner is provided and most of the transportation is taken care of, but also very busy because I want to pack in as much as possible in each port. Having kids forced me to slow down a little bit, but it wasn’t exactly a lay on the beach vacation. It was the perfect balance for our second babymoon.

Mr. Dolphin asked me “Why have all of our last three vacations involved an entire day of climbing stairs?” since we had previously done Petra and Machu Picchu.

Insurance 

Considerations:

• What does your medical insurance cover while you’re traveling?
• Do you have or need travel insurance? Does your travel insurance cover pregnancy? How far into pregnancy are you still covered by travel insurance?

Insurance is always something you should consider when traveling. It’s a good idea to know not only what the quality of medical care is in your destination, but what your medical insurance will cover while traveling. Travel insurance is helpful if you need to cancel your trip for an illness or pregnancy related reason, but you need to be sure that your travel insurance covers pregnancy because many exclude it. Some credit cards, particularly premium cards, have travel insurance included. Travel insurance may also be used if you need to change your travel plans for covered reasons or need transit to another city, for example one better equipped to handle certain pregnancy complications. For both medical and travel insurance, it is worthwhile to see if there are limitations to coverage based on how far along you are in pregnancy; some only cover you until you are in your third trimester, others are more generous covering you until thirty-two or thirty-six weeks.

Some Additional Considerations When Babymooning with a Child 

As I mentioned above, we picked a cruise the second time around because the ship we went on had a nursery, which would allow us to spend some alone time when we wanted it. It wasn’t strictly necessary and we only used the nursery twice during our entire trip, but it was really nice to have that option. If you do want to have adult time, but don’t want to leave your toddler (or child) behind, there are a number of resorts and cruises that can accommodate childcare. The options are greatly expanded if your kids are three years or older because many of the kids clubs start accepting kids at the age of 3. Many cruise lines, like Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Disney all have kids clubs; Royal Caribbean and Disney also have nurseries and babysitting for a fee. Some cruise lines have special character tie-ins, too. We also looked at Club Med, which has kids clubs starting at age 4. Many of their locations also have a Baby Club Med for ages 4 months to 23 months, also for an added charge (I’m not sure what they do for kids ages 2-4). These locations included the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Mauritius, France, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. We took a look at Beaches, which has certified nannies and their programs are all-inclusive, which is nice. They have separate activities for babies, toddlers, young children, pre-teens and teens. For an added fee, babysitting is available after “camp” hours. There are resorts everywhere with nannies, kids clubs or babysitting available; these are just some of the bigger names out there.

Cruises are great for kids. Lion loved being on the ship.

Because we had a fifteen month old who was still dependent on a bedtime bottle of milk (we intentionally waited to remove this last bottle until after the trip was over because we wanted the trip to go as smoothly as possible; we cut him off immediately upon our return home), we also had to make sure that we had a decent plan on finding warm milk wherever we were. In many countries, it can be more difficult to find milk and even harder to find warm milk. We didn’t have a microwave or kitchenette in our hotel, but being in Italy, coffee shops were plentiful. There was a coffee shop a block away and each night, I would ask for a cup of hot milk. On the cruise ship, I similarly went to the coffee shop the first couple of days until they started charging me for the milk (the coffee shop was a pay-for item, though all meals in the dining room or buffet were free). After that, at dinner I would just ask our waiter for hot milk and he put it in a hot pot for us to take back to the room for use later in the evening.

We normally just do a interior room to save on costs, but having a window was well worth the extra cost because Lion was obsessed with peeking out each day.

Traveling while pregnant is fun and doable. In fact, if you’re traveling internationally, you’ll most likely be treated like a rockstar because most other cultures are much more pro-babies than the United States seems to be. While traveling, I was constantly stopped by people asking if I was having a boy or a girl. Little children would run up to me, point to my stomach and ask, “Baby inside?” I was given free candy and water in stores by clerks who announced that they were treats for the baby. I was allowed to take water past security points in the Frankfurt airport because the security agent pulled it out of the bag, pointed to my stomach and said, “Water for baby? Okay.” When flight attendants knew I was pregnant, they constantly checked in to see if I needed more water.

I really appreciated the opportunity to take both babymoons and, if we have a third child, I would absolutely want to take another. It is a great way to take the time to celebrate life as it is now, before celebrating the addition of a new child. We treasure the memories of our last trip without kids and our ability to take a few more risks and be on the go all the time. We also treasure our last trip with Lion as an only child.

Did you take a babymoon? Where did you travel?