Babymoon and earlymoon: Couples are taking mooning to the next level

Life is stressful. And many would argue it’s never quite as stressful as when you’re planning a wedding or getting ready for a new baby. That’s why couples are making a concerted effort to plan a getaway around these events that allows for total relaxation and a break from the prep work.

According to a survey conducted by Liberty Travel and BabyCentre, 59 per cent of Americans have taken a babymoon that involved getting away for at least one night, and 41 per cent say they take it as “one final getaway for just us.”

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Just as celebrities like Kate Hudson and Ivanka Trump were responsible for making babymoons popular, now couples are starting to plan earlymoons, a quick getaway before the wedding to relax and recharge. You can thank recent high-wattage brides like Pippa Middleton and Hannah Bronfman for sparking the trend.

“Weddings are very time-consuming, and it’s easy to get stuck in the planning, and get overly emotional and tense,” says Carmen Luk, founder of Devoted to You Wedding Planning Co. “An earlymoon is a chance to get away and spend time as a couple while not talking about the wedding.”

It doesn’t have to be an expensive trip, she says — no, you don’t have to jet off to St. Barts like Middleton did — just enough time to relax and take your mind off wedding preparations.

“Couples will still want to spend more money on their honeymoon, so it’s usually a quick getaway like a camping weekend or a road trip. The honeymoon is still reserved for something exotic that they can enjoy before having kids,” Luk says.

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To that end, the babymoon is also a time to take a break from prepping and stressing about the impending arrival of a new baby.

“Having a kid is exciting but it’s also overwhelming, so it’s nice to have a relaxing vacation before the baby arrives,” says Luk, who planned a babymoon before the birth of both her children. “You want to be relaxed before the storm. You’ll have a lot of sleepless nights for the first few months.”

Before planning a getaway of either nature, there are some considerations. With an earlymoon, for example, you want to make sure you’re not going to be missing out on any important wedding deadlines.

“Go away before the invites go out,” Jo Piazza, author of How to Be Married, said to Conde Nast Traveler. “Many of the big decisions and stressful moments happen at the two month out mark, when the invites go out. So, if you really want to get away, take a pause on planning before this time. You’ll be recharged and ready to tackle the big decisions when you return.”

But because sometimes planning doesn’t stop just because you do, make sure everything is saved to a cloud, Dropbox or Google Drive for easy access.

Planning a babymoon involves a little more preparation. According to What to Expect, timing is everything — the second trimester is ideal because it’s usually after the period of morning sickness has passed and before most women start to get too big to be comfortable.

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Also, make sure you’re going to a place where you can communicate easily with medical staff, whether in English or another language you speak well. BabyCentre has a suggested list of documents to travel with while pregnant, and advises expectant mothers to pack any medication they’ll need, whether prescription or over the counter.

But above all else, Luk says, “go away, get pampered and relax. It’s the perfect way to prepare for the chaos.”