Honeymoon with baby..

Johnnyhpipe

Hi,

We've a 2 year old toddler and are debating whether or not to bring him on our honeymoon or leave him with grandparents for a couple of weeks... any thoughts??

On one hand it sounds terrible to leave him - on the other its a once in a lifetime thing... anyone been in this situation?

volchitsa

Not been in that situation, but my feeling is that it depends on what you (both) want, not what anyone else thinks. Like the wedding really - forget other people's expectations, do what you want.

One thing that is outside your control though is the grandparents, their state of health and lifestyle - would you and they and he be happy for him to stay with them or would one or both of you be fretting about him?

If either of you would be happier to have him with you (but not because of how it seems, but because you're not sure you want to be away from him) then I'd make it the family holiday of a life time, and just make sure you book somewhere where they have proper babysitting facilities so that you can have a bit of time to yourselves, but you can also have a great time with baby.

The whole honeymoon thing is all a bit pointless nowadays anyway, except as a great excuse to pamper yourself - but it was really about the young couple who sometimes barely knew each other getting to know each other and have a bit of privacy for what was probably their first sexual experience.

Not many people (baby or not) really need that nowadays!

jimmycrackcorm

Johnnyhpipe wrote: »

Hi,

We've a 2 year old toddler and are debating whether or not to bring him on our honeymoon or leave him with grandparents for a couple of weeks... any thoughts??

On one hand it sounds terrible to leave him - on the other its a once in a lifetime thing... anyone been in this situation?

Leave him with the grandparents. You won't get another chance for such a break for another decade and a half.

coolhandluke

Why a couple of weeks ?. We brought the kids to Eurodisney for a week and then we went to the states for 2 weeks just the 2 of us.

eviltwin

Are the grandparents offering to mind him? If so I'd take them up on it. Not sure I'd do a full two weeks away from a toddler tbh but definitely a week on your own is okay. I didn't bring my daughter on honeymoon, I felt a bit guilty about us getting a holiday and she was stuck here but we weren't going to a child friendly place and she would have been bored. It's not often you will get the chance to go away on your own so take advantage of it while you can.

AvonEnniskerry

Personally i wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my children for that long. But it's totally up to you guys and what you feel comfortable with. It's the holiday of a lifetime but to me it wouldn't be the same without my family around me. I would have done something child friendly and brought them along.

Sunny Dayz

Depends how long you are planning to go away for?
We didn't bring our child (6 y/o at the time) on honeymoon, but we went to Italy for 5 or 6 nights. If we were going further away or for longer we would have brought him with us. Plus it was during term time so he was in school for much of the time we were away.


It also depends on the child. Is he easy to mind? Has he stayed with his grandparents much? Is he a good sleeper, good eater etc? Also will he mind being left in his grandparents for a couple of weeks? Or is he anyway clingy with ye?

Sunny Dayz

Personally I don't think you will enjoy the honey moon properly with a small child in toe. You can have late nights out and get drunk, go to night time events, do many activities during the day where a child can't be present (which is a lot of activities). You won't be able to even relax on the beach or by the pool as you will always have to be doing something with or for the child. I'd go so far as to say that if you aren't willing to leave him now you should put off the honey moon until you are happy to leave him for a few weeks.

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

Or is he anyway clingy with ye?

If he is then leaving him might be a better course of action to get him out of clingy behaviour.

Sunny Dayz

Wesley Stocky Horse wrote: »

If he is then leaving him might be a better course of action to get him out of clingy behaviour.

Oh gosh clingy was probably a strong word to use. I guess what I'm wondering is if the child is used to being left in the care of others and is ok with it? My son was happy to go where-ever, stay where-ever, rarely had an issue going to crèche, school, stay with relatives etc. He was nearly delighted to get away from us! But other kids aren't like that.

irishgirl19

Totally up to you. We will be honeymooning in Florida with our daughter who will be 2. That being said if either of our parents would mind her we would've loved to go somewhere on our own

Rose35

Was in that position last year. I just could not leave my 3 year old behind and we were only going for a week, made a family holiday of it instead of 'honeymoon' as such.

ChewChew

Op, it's a really tricky one. We just got back from our honeymoon after our wedding in march.There's absolutely no way we could have done our trip without our daughter who will be 2 in may so we brought her and had a great time! But we are leaving her with granny and grandad this weekend and we're heading off to a nice hotel and spa for a few days just the two of us. While we had a fantastic holiday we are also really looking forward to a few days on our own so could that possibly be an option?

January

We went to Vegas for 6 days for ours, left the kids with my mum and dad. They stayed with them at our house so they still slept in their own beds and went to school each morning (except the youngest, he was 8 months at the time.). I wouldn't have went for longer though.

fg1406

My parents got married when I was almost 3 and they went to Italy for 2 weeks for their honeymoon. I was left with a set of grandparents for a week each. I didn't mind but I suppose it depends on the kid. I loved it at granny's for my holidays and my parents got a well deserved break and didn't get another one for 20 years since my brother came along 9 months after the honeymoon!

ShaShaBear

We left our two girls with their nanny - we went to Amsterdam for 5 days. Wouldn't have left them any longer than that because I was fretting without them! I certainly wouldn't like to be too far away or gone for too long! I think any more than a week and I'd have to take them with me!

missjuly

Like others have said it depends what you're comfortable with and how long you go for. Personally I wouldn't go for longer than a week because any longer than that ( like two weeks) is almost like a life time to a two year old. We left out little girl for four days to go to Portugal when she was one and half. She was minded by grand parents in our house. She was fine so delighted to see us when we came back she looked so relieved lol. If I was in your position id go somewhere for a week just the two of you because it's a nice time to be care free and relax and unwind after the wedding madness! You could always plan another little family holiday for later in the year too! Best of luck

CelticRambler

We left our 5-month-old with MrsCR's parents for a week. That was the last holiday we had as a couple without children, and it was a great decision. Even with twenty years of holiday adventures of all kinds since, including a few child-free long weekends, we still remember it as a proper honeymoon, doing honeymoon things that we couldn't have done if we hadn't left baby with granny.

In fact the memory's lasted longer than the marriage! :pac: