Products are independently selected by our editors.
We may earn an affiliate commission from links.
When my partner (finally!)
Photographed by Arthur Elgort,Vogue, September 1998
Words cannot express how much this framing irked me.
In fairness, there were several reasons for him to be worried the road was about to get rocky.
The year after baby is often very difficult for couples.
This is a period of transition, and when we transition into anything, things change.
While some of these changes are temporary, they can exert tremendous pressure on relationships in the short term.
She needed to get home to her babies.
Together those interests make for busy, stimulating, and ultimately exhausting vacations.
Once you become a parent, youre tired…. A lot.
Like, all of the time.
A weekend away with your partner has a totally different meaning than it did before, she says.
when you land kids, theres nothing more luxurious than a robe and room service at a nice hotel.
The issue then becomes that many people dont feel comfortable leaving their kids for that length of time.
Of course,babymoonsare designed to cover a lot of this ground.
Butoverly ambitious itineraries during this time can backfire.
(I know this because I am currently nine months pregnantbut more on that in a moment.)
Its an all-hands-on-deck kind of situation, and our boat only had two sets of hands.
In Italy, I averaged 25,000 steps per day.
These happy consequences do not surprise Stein.
Taking risks and doing adventurous things creates confidence and security in a relationship, she says.
It also helps build what Earnshaw calls a couples emotional bank account.
That well can be the good feelings, memories, and experiences you built with each other pre-baby.
At my 20-week pregnancy scan, I was placed on travel restriction and pelvic rest (a.k.a.
a total sex-and-orgasm ban) for the duration of my pregnancy.
This meant we couldnt have gone on a babymoon even if we had wanted to.
It also meant that in total, we would be spending around six months celibate.
Its been rough, generally, and very rough on our relationship.
As such, your vacation doesnt have to be extreme to qualify as a last hurrah.
It just needs to be you.
The journey itself should reflect who the couple are, says Marchant.
For inspiration, he advises consulting your bucket list.
You also dont have to spend a ton of cash to go big.
And honestly, my baby registry only listed one item: cash.
What the baby does need, I secured through hand-me-downs and OfferUp on the cheap.
Personally, Id rather have a memory in Kefalonia than a bunch of brand-new $45 onesies.
