Soon after the 12 week scan, we decided we wanted to plan a holiday, or babymoon as it is often called now, so that we could enjoy some sun and relaxation before our world was turned upside down in the best possible way.
With very busy, stressful jobs, it would also be a time to pause and reflect on this beautiful experience and to spend some quality time together. Having a baby will undoubtedly change our relationship in many ways, so we wanted to create time to put each other first for the last time in a while.
When considering where we might go on babymoon, these are the three top considerations we made:
When to go?
We knew that it needed to be some time in the second trimester as this is when you are supposed to get your energy peak and the sickness from the first trimester has eased a bit. It's also before bump gets too big and you feel more uncomfortable so we opted for around 25 - 26 weeks which was going to be in Spring but you should think about whether you are a seasoned traveller, how healthy your pregnancy has been so far, your own energy levels and also the time of year.
Airlines can be strict about letting you fly past 28 weeks without a doctors letter (they are all different but we flew Ryanair) so make sure you check with your carrier.
Flight time
We have done a lot of long haul flights in recent years and we cope well with the transfers, lack of sleep and airplane food in normal circumstances but being pregnant, you get more uncomfortable quicker and if you're like me, very restless. Those teeny airplane seats do not provide much room to spread out and I always feel so conspicuous scooting up and down the aisles to stretch my legs. So we knew that a mid haul flight was the maximum we would be prepared to do, so between 4-7 hours
Weather
It had to be a sun holiday for us as our last trip was an Autumn adventure around
Canada and North America (which was amazing by the way) so the Carnivore was missing his vitamin D. I'd seen some sun in September in
Croatia but was ready to get away from the harsh, wintery weather here and feel the warmth on my face. You have to be careful in pregnancy to not get too hot though so we needed somewhere with a decent breeze and not too humid.
In the end we opted for the canary islands, somewhere we've both been several times before and we knew would hopefully offer the right combination of sun and breeze at the end of March, a short-ish flight time and we could get reasonable flight to.
Once we narrowed it down to the Canaries we set to work looking for a nice hotel that offered a bit of nightlife (I..e good restaurants, no bar hopping for this mama-to-be) and lots of relaxation. Hesperia Resorts in Lanzarote looked idyllic and offered 5* comforts and a quiet town just outside of Puerto Del Carmen, where we had stayed in the past.
The resort was in Puerto del Calero, a small town with a marina, enough restaurants to keep us happy for a week and not much else. The resort had five restaurants of it's own, a bar, a spa and several pools, as well as sea views and gorgeous costal walks if we felt like stretching our legs.
We arrived after a leisurely flight from Leeds Bradford Airport, which seemed to take a blink of an eye, unlike our recent adventures where we've had long journeys to Heathrow and then overnight flights.
I can manage with hand luggage for a week usually but we wanted to take full size toiletries and jackets for the evening so we opted to book one 15kg case for the duration, which was perfectly adequate. We could have paid £20 each to upgrade to more leg room but we decided to sit in normal seats.
I was fine with the leg space but found that when putting my tray table down it was very snug against my bump and so with hindsight would have opted for the extra leg room seats for this reason. It wasn't a massive deal though and I managed for the four or so hours.
Upon checking in to our hotel which was about fifteen minutes from the airport, we entered a very large and light lobby and were greeted warmly and offered some fizz. My bump obviously wasn't giving the game away so we politely declined.
The hotel was enormous with 1000 occupancy and so it took us a while to walk to our room but when the porter eventually got us there we were pleasantly surprised to see a sea view balcony, large king size bed and a luxe bathroom. They, like many other 5* hotels, had opted for a frosted glass toilet and shower and open 'his and hers' wash basins.
I very rarely unpack because we tend to move every day or two to a new place but with a whole week ahead of us, I set to nesting and found a place for my things. Feeling quite settled, we were ready to go explore.
We could hear the tinkling of the piano from the lobby and dusk was drawing in, reminding us that diner time was around the corner. We wandered out onto the terrace with its trendy outdoor sofas and past the pool bars. Eventually we found a coastal path that invited us out of the resort and to follow it wherever it may lead.
The sea glistened in the half light and lovers held hands looking out over the blue yonder. After a 10 minute leisurely stroll looking at little boats bobbing along the water, we reached a modern marina with various designer shops, such as Hugo Boss and Ralph Lauren, as well as a good variety of restaurants. Italian, Indian, Japanese, Spanish, it was all there for the taking.
The Carnivore opted for Garlic Prawns, whilst I, the Herbivore, had deep fried Brie to start, and then we both had Paella for our main course. I had a sniff (ok, and a few sips!) of the most yummy tasting Rioja and wanted to take the glass but moved onto my lime and soda instead (sigh).
Full to bursting we headed back down the path lit by amber glowing lamp posts and headed to bed. We woke to the sun peeking through the heavy drapes and headed down to breakfast, which was included in the stay.
The most enormous buffet was laid out before us with everything from eggs any which way you liked, cooked fresh by the chefs, cereals, cheese and meats and even a gluten free corner. The fresh smoothies became my favourites every morning and I never got bored with the choice.
The days were mostly for relaxing and I felt most comfortable in this Mamalicious swimsuit which I ordered from Very. There were a number of activities we could have participated in, such as yoga, archery, aqua fit and diving lessons. We noticed lots of families there with small children, as the resort had its own kids club, and it felt very safe for children to play as there was nothing else around for miles.
The weather was good but we picked the one week where there seemed to be a lot of cloud but we got several hours of sun each day and a pleasant 20-22 degrees, which was just right to stop me overheating.
We lunched at the resort, favouring a few little tapas dishes to keep us going until dinner, the odd toastie and sometimes sharing a pizza from the pool bar. There were two lovely pool bars, one looking out to sea which became our favourite spot.
We even got chance to do an impromptu maternity shoot one afternoon as it was just so beautiful and provided lots of inspiration. I also got another chance to wear my beautiful Free People Kaftan that I wore whilst getting ready at our
wedding.
It was rather pricey for food but we soon realised that most guests were there on an all inclusive basis. We generally prefer to head out on an evening, as it provides a welcome change of scene and more variety for herbivores like myself, so didn't bother with all inclusive. Besides, with not drinking we didn't think we'd get our moneys worth this time!
The resort was definitely top end and we loved the little touches, like these beautiful Balinese style gazebos, but some of the finesse may have lacked to make it truly 5* luxury accommodation but it was absolutely beautiful none the less.
We would return to the Hespria Lanzarote but a week was enough for us this time, as we had almost exhausted the restaurant options by the end of our stay and might have wanted a bit more to do. Although we could have ventured over to Puerto Del Carmen if we'd wanted to. However, once little one is here, if we want a relaxing break where we have the option of kids activities, it would be ideal.
All in all we felt we picked well for a babymoon vacation and would recommend it to others looking for a sunny, relaxing break before bubbas arrive.
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