I realize I’m way late on posting an update on our Mexico trip so here goes. I thought for sure, with 100% certainty that I would be an advocate of vacationing without Dane. I figured I would enjoy days of sleeping in and no responsibilities and a totally carefree vacation. But, if I’m being totally honest with you – it was HARD. I missed Dane from the second we left until the second he was in my arms again. I wrote a blog for Lake Country Family Fun a few weeks ago on vacation sans kiddos so here’s my follow-up.
That being said – we had a great time! We unfortunately had a few days of bad weather but spent some amazing quality time together – just us.
Here are my 5 reasons to vacation sans-kiddos (from my earlier post). I’m responding to them below after we’ve actually gone through it.
Pre-vacation: The whole reason you have a child is due to the connection you have with your partner. Parenthood is a hard gig, and it’s important to take time away from the daily stress to remember why you wanted a family in the first place.
Post vacation reaction: YES! This is completely true. We were able to remind ourselves of how much we love each other, and how happy we are.
Pre-vacation: Vacations like the one we have coming up are meant for relaxation, enjoying a few days without responsibilities and worry and catching up on SLEEP. Dane is sleeping easily through the night and has been for a while, but that doesn’t mean that Casey and I get good sleep when we’re home. There are so many other contributing factors to poor sleep (work stress, other anxieties in life, etc.) By sleeping more, and better – we’ll come back to Dane refreshed, and better parents.
Post vacation reaction: Haha… this one is hilarious actually. I think we learned that we are in fact, geriatric when it comes to our sleep habits. We DID enjoy going to bed extra early and not feeling badly about it because it was our vacation. We also realized that just because we didn’t have our little buddy waking us up at the crack of dawn each day – our bodies are so use to it, we were early birds. This ended up being okay though, lazily starting days on the balcony and with big breakfasts, which was a great perk.
Pre-vacation: I am a working mom, so I get to participate in intelligent conversations all the time during my time at the office. But I really miss having meaningful, deep conversations with my husband on a regular basis. Most nights are spent playing and jibber-jabbering with Dane, who is right on the edge of stringing real words together (of course this is fun and I love it). Alone time for Casey and I is a perfect time to reminisce and give thanks for all that we have, but also time to make plans, talk about our goals and think about the future.
Post vacation reaction: This one was especially true for us. We had this pool right outside of our room, one that hardly had anyone else in it so we called it “our pool” the whole time. We spent a lot of time sitting, talking and making plans. It was exactly the kind of reinforcement we needed.
Pre-vacation: It’s hard to remember what life was like before Dane was born. His presence is all consuming and he’s an absolute tornado of a joyful almost toddler. But there was life before him, and it was FUN! Taking a trip allows Casey and I to revert back to that life where all of our energy and time was spent on each other, even for just a few days. It lets us truly listen to each other, and work on our marriage. I can’t wait to spend all my time focusing on my first true love.
Post vacation reaction: As I mentioned above, we missed Dane a lot while we were away. I recognize that it was important for us, but upon landing in Chicago – we both agreed that we are excited to vacation with him for a while. I do think it’s important to get away and refresh our relationship, and we’re lucky enough to have family homes in both Door County & the Northwoods, where we’ll be spending a lot of time this summer.
Pre-Vacation: While we’re gone, Dane will be with grandparents and other family members. Not only is it great for him to spend time with these loved ones – it’s so wonderful for them! It’s really important to us that he is comfortable with adults other than us – especially family. One of my very favorite things about becoming a mom has been watching our families become grandparents, aunts and uncles. It’s a special bond that Dane has with each of them, and even though he’s young and probably won’t remember this stay in particular, it’s so meaningful. There’s something nostalgic to me about my memories of going to grandma and grandpa’s house when I was young.
Post vacation reaction: Yes, yes yes. Completely agree with all of this!
Conclusion: Getting away is so important, but we just love our little guy so much – we want to cherish all the days and little changes with him. No doubt in a few years we’ll need another real vacation, but until then I think we’ll enjoy some mini-getaways stateside and check off some bucket list cities.
Have a great day! xo
Staying Martha 