Transcript: Babymoons: Planning Your Pregnancy Vacation

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Preggie Pals
Babymoons: Planning Your Pregnancy Vacation

Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

[00:00:00]

[Theme Music]

Sunny Gault : When you're pregnant, people like to tell you how difficult life is going to be once your little one arrives, so why not gear up for the big event with a little break? They're called babymoons, and they're growing in popularity amongst pregnant couples. Today we are learning all about why you should take them, where you should go and what you should do. This is Preggie Pals, episode 57.

[Theme Music/Intro]

Sunny Gault : Welcome to Preggie Pals, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. Preggie Pals is your weekly online, on the go support group for expecting parents and those hoping to become pregnant. I'm your host, Sunny Gault. Are you looking for older episodes of Preggie Pals? Be sure to visit the episodes link on our website and check out the episode guide for links to all of our episodes. And thanks to all of our loyal listeners who have joined our Preggie Pals Club. Our members get all of our archived episodes, bonus content after each new show, plus special giveaways and discounts. You'll also get a free subscription to Pregnancy Magazine. You can visit our website, PreggiePals.com, for more information. And another way for you to stay connected is by downloading our free Preggi Pals apps, available in the Android and iTunes marketplace. So let's get started by introducing our panelists. You guys know a little bit about me, my name is Sunny, I am the host of the show, I am pregnant with my third baby. Due date, this is tough one, I had my first prenatal appointment a few weeks ago, and they couldn't quite tell me when my due date is, I'm just going to go with December. Baby gender, obviously don't know yet, and number of kids, I have two little boys already, and my first baby was born vaginally, I had an epidural, my second baby was a C-section. Annie, what about you?

Annie Laird : My name is Annie, and I'm a systems engineer. Due date, kind of the same thing, kind of up in the air, we're saying Octoberish. I'm actually adding about a week to my due date, just because that way people hassle me less, and I get less phone calls questioning, “Have you had your baby yet?” I had the baby and I just didn't tell anyone, I'm so introverted like that. We didn't find out the gender with our second baby, and we're going to do that again this time around.

Sunny Gault : Well I have to ask, do you have any thoughts? Any feelings?

Annie Laird : Yes. The only thing is that my midwife has what she calls the hairy leg test, so according to the hairy leg test, I'm having a little girl, again. I have two other little girls, one is about to turn eight, the other one is about to turn one.

Sunny Gault : You have to explain this, the hairy leg test.

Annie Laird : Hairy leg test, that is when you shave in the morning, you have shave maybe later in the week, maybe three-four days later, and you're doing OK, you're like, “Hey, this pregnancy thing is really awesome! I don't have to shave as much”, then that's a little girl. If you shave in the morning and you have a five o'clock shadow on your legs by lunch, and by the evening you're a hairy beast, it's all the testosterone that's coursing through your system, from your baby boy.

Stephanie Saalfeld : I disagree with that, I had the opposite.

Sunny Gault : So you had a little girl?

Stephanie Saalfeld : I had a girl and I definitely felt a hairy beast, so I think it's the opposite, I feel that it's the estrogen that makes all the hair grow.

Annie Laird : Well, we'll see. It's just kind of a fun thing, we'll happy no matter what, 'cause my second child is only one, I have all the girl close, so we have two little girls and that's nice, so we'll be happy with whatever comes out the vagina. And type of birth is home birth is what we're planning.

Sunny Gault : That's awesome. OK, Stephanie, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Stephanie Saalfeld : I'm Stephanie, I am a stay at home mom and producer of Preggie Pals. I have a little girl, Savannah, who is about to be five months old, and let's see, oh, I forgot to say, I'm 30, I just turned 30.

Sunny Gault : Oh, I didn't give my age either, I'm 35, I'm advanced maternal age, but that's a whole other episode.

Stephanie Saalfeld : And we had a hospital birth and unplanned C-section.

Sunny Gault : OK, well ladies, thank you for joining us today.

[Theme Music] [Featured Segment: 5 Minute Birth Stories]

[00:04:58]

Sunny Gault : Before we get started with today's show, we have a brand new segment here on Preggie Pals, it is called “5 Minute Birth Stories”, and that's exactly what it is. We're asking our listeners to call our voice mail, which is 619-866-4775, and share your birth story in five minutes or less. And if we read your birth story on one of our shows, you're going to win a free one month subscription to the Preggie Pals Club. And we already have our first winner, it is Robin from Atlanta.

Robin : Hi! My name is Robin, I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, and I was just calling to share my home birth story. My son was born on October 29th, our due date was November 23rd, so he was born four weeks early. That night it was about 10 PM, and I felt a little gush, and I started to get what felt like menstrual cramp, but I didn't think that I was actually in labor, so I just kind of ignored it, tried to walk it out, pacing around the house, thinking that maybe I had eaten something bad, and then before I knew it, it was 2 AM, and the pain was getting stronger, so I thought that maybe I should wake my husband, so I got back to my bedroom, he was already starting to get up, because he noticed I wasn't there anymore, and I told him what was going on and that we need to call our doula. And we called our doula, and it turned out that our midwife was out of town, so we had to call back our midwife, because no one had expected that I would go to labor that early, our midwife was actually coming back into town on Monday. And we had to call her back, and it was like 2 AM, and our doula arrived and 2:30 AM, and I told her by the time that she got there I was already starting to get that urge to push, and she told me to hold on and wait. It was the hardest thing ever because I really felt like I had to push, my body and everything inside me was telling me to push, but I just tried to breath through it as much as I could. I had planned to have a nice water birth, so we started to get the sheets on our bad. At 3 AM, the midwife arrived and she got all her utensile settled in, she researched my history quickly, made sure that everything was OK. She was a little bit nervous about me going into labor at 36 weeks, she wanted me to go the hospital, but my midwife said that it's OK for me to stay home, so we opted to stay home.

So like at 3:30 AM I could go ahead and start pushing. And with that first push, my water broke, and luckly everything was clear and good, so I pushed for about an hour. And I felt like I wasn't making any progress, whenever I would push, the baby's heart rate would drop, so the midwife started saying that we need to start thinking about going to the hospital, and we didn't want to fight that, we were like OK, if our baby is seriously in danger, we'll go to a hospital. So my husband got the car ready, and the midwife stepped out to call another midwife that she works with, and my doula was in my bedroom and she was talking to my midwife, and I remember I heard her saying something along the lines of something like, “I don't know, I think she can stay home, she can do it” . So when I heard her say that, I thought to myself, “I think I can do this, I can push the baby”, so I just tried with everything that I had and I started to push seriously, much harder than I was previously, and then everyone came back and said, “Oh my God! She's coming!” So my husband quickly came back into the room and said that we're not leaving, we're staying here, and within 30 minutes, my son came out, and it was pretty amazing. We gave him his name right away. So it was a pretty funny story, it was funny because I kept hearing how your first labor is always hard, but I was prepared for a really light birth and it took about six hours. Which is pretty great, and that is my little story that I just wanted to share with you, thank you!

Sunny Gault : Awesome story, Robin, thank you so much for submitting that! And for all of our listeners out there, your story could be next. All you have to do is call our voice mail, no one is going to pick up, it's just a voice mail, and you have five minutes to leave your birth story. Again, that number is 619-866-4775.

[Theme Music]

Sunny Gault : You've probably heard of a honeymoon before, you may have even taken one yourself, but what about a babymoon? It may just be the perfect way to kick off your new life with your new baby. Here to tell us more about babymoons is Darcy Allen, she is the owner of Travel By Darcy, which you can find at TravelByDarcy.com, it's a boutique travel agency. Darcy lives in New Hampshire, so she is joining us on the phone. Hi, Darcy, and welcome to Preggie Pals!

Darcy Allen : Hello, thank you for having me!

Sunny Gault : Absolutely. So why are babymoons so important?

Darcy Allen : Well, it's like a honeymoon, a babymoon is that romantic retreat that you can take with your significant other before the baby comes.

Sunny Gault : Usually, people have – I don't know, they're pretty opinionated about this, either they think, “I have to do this!”, or “It's just not something that's really important in my pregnancy”. Why would you say, what are some of the reasons that you think it's important for couples to take a babymoon?

Darcy Allen : I think there are actually many reasons. My personal top 4, I think would be for relaxation. You know, pregnancy can be a really anxious time, and a babymoon encourages both of you to just slow down, relax, focus on each other, and the simple things that really matter most. It's also a really good time to bond with one another. Remember all those reasons why you are a great couple, and why you'll be great parents. It's also a good time to give yourself a timeout, you'll get practice with that once you have children, but for now you give yourself a timeout. It's so hectic being pregnant, you have to create a nursery, you have to a google search on the best car seat, and then figure out how to install it, there are all these things that cause that distress, and I think it's just important to take a break, give yourself a timeout. And also, not to be too dramatic, but it's really your last chance, so to speak, once the baby comes, that baby rules the roof, and it's going to be even harder between diaper changes and car pools, and soccer practice, to carve out the time that you need with your partner.

Sunny Gault : I don't know if we fully recognize this until after you have a child. People tell you this, your life is going to be busy, and I think in the back of your mind you know that, but you really don't know what to you expect, so unfortunately, I think it's probably the parents that already have children that recognize the importance of spending that time with your significant other and really relax before the baby comes. Let me reach out to the panelists here in the studio, did you ladies take a babymoon, and what was your reason for taking one? Annie?

Annie Laird : Yes, we took a babymoon before our first daughter, and we went to a self-sustaining kind of environmentally based, all organic food type of spa, that was just for couples, just for adults, no kids allowed. Which was kind of nice, I didn't realize how nice that was until I had children. And so it was just really quiet, just me and my husband time. I can't remember the name of it.

Sunny Gault : Was it local, here in California?

Annie Laird : It was in California, we were living up in Monterey at the time, so it was south by an hour or two.

Sunny Gault : So how far did you have to travel?

Annie Laird : We just drove maybe two, three hours, it wasn't very far away from home. We stayed pretty close, we didn't want to go international travel, I know we did that episode last month. But it was nice just to have that time with my husband spent. We definitely didn't have the time before my second one, my husband deployed when I was seven months pregnant with number two, and I was busy with my job, and I had my other daughter, so it didn't work out as well, it was not on our brain at that point, it was like, “Oh, I guess I'm going to be a parent again”.

Sunny Gault : It's so much more to think about, right?

Annie Laird : Yeah. It was like, “OK, is everything ready for the birth and for the new baby?” I think it would have been harder, who would have watched our elder child at school? And she was in school at the time, so that made it harder too.

Sunny Gault : For sure. OK, Stephanie, what about you?

Stephanie Saalfeld : We went to Vegas.

Sunny Gault : I like that!

Stephanie Saalfeld : That's probably a little non-traditional for a babymoon, it seems like it's not exactly the ideal place for a pregnant woman to be.

Annie Laird : I would have loved to go there.

Stephanie Saalfeld : We just went because my family, my mom happens to have a condo there, and we stayed for free, and we just went to have some nice dinners and to see some shows, it's not like we hang out in a Casino or anything like that. It's really funny actually, because I had a Virgin Mojito at dinner, and I got some dirty looks, they were looking at me – I was about eight months pregnant at that point – and they were just eyeballing me.

Annie Laird : Get used to it, everybody judging your parenting.

Stephanie Saalfeld : I know. So that's what we did, just a few days, and it was nice to just get away.

Sunny Gault : Yeah, I had a similar experience in Vegas, actually, I was just there a few weeks ago, and no one can really even tell I'm pregnant yet, but it was interesting because we were at a bar and there are so limited things that you can drink, a lot of times, these bars don't even make frozen drinks, so you can't do something like a Mojito or whatever, but anyways, we were at this restaurant – bar combination and I got a Virgin, what was it, Virgin Marguerita. So I'm drinking it, it's not weird, because again, I'm not showing, so people don't think anything of it, but then my toddler takes a sip, and people are like staring at me like, “Oh my God! She's letting her son drink the Marguerita!”, and it was really funny, I was like, “Oh, come on!” But then I was like, “Maybe I shouldn't do this, 'cause they have alcohol in some of these drinks sometimes, he's not going to know”. Anyway, it's nice in Vegas. So Darcy, how popular are babymoons? I mean, as the owner of a boutique travel agency, do you have people contacting you saying, “Hey! I'm interested in doing a babymoon, what do you recommend?” What are people doing, are they reaching out to you?

Darcy Allen : Definitely, and I think – I first started specializing in honeymoons, and so babymoons just became kind of a natural progression, I stayed with these couples for years, and hopefully we'll be doing trips and anything else. So I think babymoons really became... the term “babymoon”, maybe the last seven years or so, it's now in all the baby books, in the magazines, it's becoming a popular term. As far as those who take it, definitely first time parents tend to do the babymoon, versus others that have had multiple children, just because it's harder. But I think that it almost became like a honeymoon, babymoon now is almost expected with your first time pregnancy.

Sunny Gault : I've had, or at least I've heard of this, I've heard of people for their baby shower, it's kind of similar to when you're getting married, like on your wedding registry or whatever, having people be able to donate funds to your honeymoon, and I've heard of people doing this on their baby registry, or working with a service or something like that, but allows you to apply it towards a trip or cash or something like that, that you can use to go on a babymoon, and I was like, “That's kind of interesting”. If you already have other kids, or something like that, people want to do something nice for you, I thought that was a nice thing, have you heard of that before, Darcy?

Darcy Allen : I have, it's really new, honeymoon registries have been around for years, but now the babymoon registry is the same companies that offer honeymoon registries, they are now coming out with babymoon registries. I also get contacted quite a bit from grandparents trying to think of a gift to give to their daughters or their daughters in law, and so they'll do gift certificates that they can use. So it doesn't necessarily have to be at complicated that is doing a registry, you can just let people know that that's kind of in the plan, and gift certificates are a great way to help that couple experiencing something a little bit more than maybe they would have on their own.

Sunny Gault : Sure. So if you are planning your own babymoon, when do you start planning this? What is the process, is it you find out you're pregnant and you need to start planning it right away? I know sometimes – at least on my family – we have a tendency to wait until the last minute, 'cause we think – maybe not the very last minute – but we try to get those good deals that sometimes are kind of spur the moment stuff, but I know that there is a sweet spot for scheduling travel and stuff like that, so what is your advice on planning a babymoon?

Darcy Allen : I wouldn't plan it as soon as you find out you're pregnant, make sure you're healthy before you do anything, but if you're going to be flying somewhere, I generally recommend looking about a month in advance, if you can. It also depends on the time of the year that you're going to go. Certain areas you can go super last minute maybe it's low season for that destination. If you're having a baby though in January or February, and you want to go to the Caribbeans, that that's going to be a lot harder to plan that type of trip at the last minute, just because that's the most popular time to go to that destination. So you should think about that when you decide where you want to go on a babymoon.

Sunny Gault : That's a really good point when you think about that. So when – and I'm talking about during the pregnancy – when do you usually advise people that reach out to you to go on a babymoon? We actually did an episode recently that Annie was part of, Stephanie, you were a part of our travel episode, right?

Stephanie Saalfeld : Yes.

Sunny Gault : We just released it, it was a few episodes ago. And we talked about travel during pregnancy and we had an OB on the show to really talk about what you should keep in mind when you should travel. So for our listeners out there, be sure to check out that episode, because it gives you a lot of really good information. But from your perspective, Darcy, what do you usually recommend, because you don't want to go so late in your pregnancy that you have trouble flying or you have trouble moving or being able to really enjoy yourself, because for a lot of women, that third trimester – that's a tough one. But anyways, when would you recommend that pregnant women go to really be able to get the most out of a babymoon?

Darcy Allen : It's actually a good thing to think about, because airlines actually have restrictions now on when you can fly based on how far along you are, so that might be a determining factor for you. I have three boys personally, and I did a babymoon with each of my children, in the first, second and third trimester, and I can definitely say for the second trimester, that's your sweet spot. You're kind of over the morning sickness, you can still kind of see your feet, you're feeling pretty good, you've got a little bit more energy, so that's definitely the time period, three months or so, in your second trimester, that I would recommend planning your babymoon.

Sunny Gault : That makes a lot of sense, because they talk about the second trimester being your honeymoon period of pregnancy, so it makes sense that you would go on a babymoon during your honeymoon period of your pregnancy, right?

Darcy Allen : Exactly.

Sunny Gault : Alright, well when we come back, we'll discuss Darcy's recommendations on where you should go for your babymoon, plus how you can save a few extra bucks in the process. We'll be right back.

[Theme Music]

[00:22:30]

Sunny Gault : Welcome back, today we are talking about babymoon with Darcy Allen, who is joining us on the phone. So, Darcy, in general terms, where should we go on our babymoon?

Darcy Allen : Well, I don't think a babymoon has to be something complex, it could be just an overnight stay at the local bed and breakfast, it could be a weekend at a spa resort, or a real vacation, go somewhere, maybe an adult only hotel or a resort, to kind of give you that piece of relaxation that you need.

Sunny Gault : We didn't actually talk about that in the first segment of the show, but that's a really good point, and that is how long do you go for? I want to bring that up with the panelists. Annie, how long were you gone for your babymoon?

Annie Laird : Just three days.

Sunny Gault : And that was enough, that was good for you?

Annie Laird : It was just a long weekend, at the time, my husband and I were getting our graduates degree, so we took a long weekend or something. It was pretty darn close to my due date, but I went very late into my third trimester, but because we were only a couple of hours away, and I knew that first time labor takes 24 hours, and was likely to go to 41 weeks, which I did. It was a little bit uncomfortable in the car, that's the only thing. We took that in consideration, how late we took our babymoon, with how far away we went and how long it was.

Sunny Gault : Stephanie, what about you?

Stephanie Saalfeld : We went for two nights. It was enough.

Sunny Gault : Did you drive to Vegas?

Stephanie Saalfeld : Yes.

Sunny Gault : You did drive, that's brave, because it takes about 4-5 hours from San Diego to get to Vegas, that's kind of a lot of driving.

Stephanie Saalfeld : Not a lot of places to stop, either.

Sunny Gault : No, there aren't. Actually, they just built a little nice rest stop halfway. But you're right, and being in the car can be kind of crazy. So, Darcy, you kind of mentioned this, but what about staycations, that's kind of a popular term that we're hearing more and more about – especially, we record in San Diego, and we hear a lot about staycations here, because San Diego is such a big vacation spot. So what do you have to say about that? 'Cause I think sometimes moms are like, “I can't go anywhere, I've got all these responsibilities”, and that may be perfectly true, but sometimes we forget that just getting out of the house and getting away from your daily routine to focus in on your partner and just to reconnect, to focus on yourself, to focus on your baby, from all the other distractions, can accomplish exactly the same thing as going a 1000 miles away.

Darcy Allen : Definitely, I mean, there is no rule that you have to spend the night or go for a week or what have you, it really should be tailored to the couple. The whole thing should be about – pick some place that's easy to get to, maybe that's a day at the spa, with a fantastic dinner, overlooking the beach or the ocean. Something like that, you're trying to capture that romance and that feeling of just togetherness, and you certainly don't have to go too far to get something like that.

Sunny Gault : Are there certain places that you know of, Darcy, that cater to babymooners? I was doing some research online for this episode, and I did find a couple hotels, but they were international hotels, that really promoted themselves as a great babymooning location. Have you heard of those before, and what are they?

Darcy Allen : Absolutely, I think hotels and resorts have really jumped on that babymoon wagon so to speak, they're adding specialty packages and treatments in their spa, or mocktails in their bar, special things to attract babymoon couples to come and spend some time at their place, and many will put together special packages, maybe with a candle at dinner for two, breakfast in bed. One of the resorts that I know does a decadent desert in bed at night, so you get breakfast in bed, you go out for a spa treatment, and you come back and they wheel in a cart fool of chocolate.

Annie Laird : That sounds delightful.

Sunny Gault : I love that. Now, the big question is, these places exist but how in the world do you find them? Do we go through a travel agent like yourself to be able to find out where these places are? Someone who has the know-how and the in with facilities, these places?

Darcy Allen : Definitely. I think it's important to work with a travel agent that plans babymoons, not just someone who's heard the term and goes, “Oh, yeah, somewhere you go when you're pregnant”. They have to really understand the needs of a mom, and I think, for myself, having gone through pregnancies and babymoons, that really helps me to understand my clients a little bit better. A good travel agent that does specialize in babymoons also has a network of hotels. So, for instance, I have hotels that I work with on a regular basis, and depending on where my clients are based, and where they're going, I know that these hotels have the facilities and services to really offer that memorable getaway for a babymoon couple. Now, if you are a DIY travel planner, I think it's important to ask a tone of questions, you want to really make sure that this is the right place for you. Just because it has babymoons splash on the package, doesn't necessarily mean that they really specialize in prenatal services, for instance if it's a spa, I think that's really important. And play the baby card, I think that's important.

Sunny Gault : I was actually going to suggest that, because I did that – especially, once I'm showing, I really do play the baby card in a lot of ways, like, “Oh, I'm sorry, can you get the door for me?”, whatever. But I was thinking like, sometimes they just want to be nice to you, I know when I've been pregnant in the past, and my husband and I have taken a trip or whatever, my husband would say, “Oh, this is our first baby, we're celebrating this” or whatever, and usually they'll knock off some money off the price tag.

Darcy Allen : Definitely, it never hurts to say and to look miserable at the same time, you get a better seat on an airplane, get a better room with a view. For me, when I have a plan, I always email the manager of the hotel to say, look, these are my clients, they're pregnant, this is what's happening, and I always try to work with the manager to see what we can do. Discounts aren't as readily offered, but value added is a little extra, maybe it's a complimentary room upgrade, or spa discounts, and it never hurts to ask.

Sunny Gault : Absolutely. Since we're on this money kick here, what are some smart ways to save money? Because even though the economy seems to be improving a little bit, a lot of us are still pinching pennies, we want to enjoy ourselves but at the same time it's got to make sense for our budget, so what are some good ways to save money if we're planning a babymoon?

Darcy Allen : Plan ahead if you can, especially if you are going to be flying. If you're working on a tighter budget, look local, look at the solutions in town, or the next town over, look at things that are a little bit closer to home. The farther that you have to go, the more expensive is going to get, for transportation costs and other things like that. I think that's really key. And don't be afraid to work within your budget. I think a lot of moms choosing, “I just don't have a lot of money so I'm not going to do anything”, maybe then you just go and spend the day and get your toes done, or do something special, I think that's really important.

Sunny Gault : What about activities, what can we do – this was what I was thinking about when Stephanie was talking about her trip to Vegas, and she kind of touched on some stuff – but, sometimes we're like, “Man, the stuff that I would normally do on a vacation!” You may be a little bit more active, you may – I mean, there's the whole drinking thing, but that's kind of beside the point, right? But what are some activities that you typically recommend for clients to just be able to relax or reconnect and be together during this time?

Darcy Allen : It's definitely not the time to try rock climbing or something like that. Think about relaxing things you can do together, whether that's a drive to the countryside, frequent potty breaks, maybe going and taking in a Broadway show, if you are going to do a city stay somewhere, plan a day at the spa, go to a new museum exhibit, walks at the beach, take a nap – now that I have kids, I would love to just take a break and sleep for three days, I think that would be huge. Think about good conversations, good food, and a comfortable place to sleep.

Sunny Gault : Good advice. Well thank you, Darcy, for joining us today, we appreciate all the great information you shared with us. If you want some more information about our expert, Darcy, as well as our panelists today, you can visit the episode page on our website. This conversation continues for members of our Preggie Pals Club. After the show, Darcy will share her top three recommendation babymoon vacation spots. To join our club, visit our website, PreggiePals.com.

[Theme Music] [Featured Segments: Baby Nursery on a Budget]

[00:27:50]

Sunny Gault : Before we wrap today's show, here are some tips for keeping your baby nursery on a budget, from Cynthia Kaiden.

Cynthia Kaiden : Hello Preggie Pals! I am Cynthia Kaiden, founder of Trick My Crib Nursery and Kid's Room Designs, where I help your nursery dreams come true. I'm excited to talk to you today about money saving tips for the baby's room. Specifically, about saving on the crib. One of the first steps in designing your baby's room is to know your overall budget and develop a good idea of how much you have to spend on a crib. Second, explore whether you might have the opportunity to receive a hand me down, or borrow a crib from someone who isn't using theirs. Moms love to help other moms-to-be, as a side benefit, they get that unused crib out of their home. If you are going to purchase a new crib, shop around. Go to the big baby stores to look, feel and experience the crib hands on, but then go home and shop online. You will be amazed that you can find online virtually the same crib you fell in love with in the baby store, for hundreds less. Convertible cribs are huge money savers. If you don't by convertible, you should plan on buying a toddler bed in about two years, and then a big bed in another two years. I think that's a huge waste of resources, and it really is not necessary. The convertible cribs convert first to a toddler bed, and then to a full size bed, often with a head board and a bar that already fits and matches the room, they are great. Be aware that you can also buy a crib mattress that converts from infant to toddler, just by flipping it over. What a great money saver! I can help you find the perfect crib as part of my design service. Please like Trick My Crib on Facebook, and visit my page often for decorating ideas. Thanks for listening to today's money saving tips, and be sure to listen to Preggie Pals for more great pregnancy tips in the future.

[Theme Music]

Sunny Gault : That wraps up our show for today, we appreciate you listening to Preggie Pals, don't forget to check out our sister show, Parent Savers, for parents with newborns, infants and toddlers, and our show The Boob Group, for moms who breastfeed their babies. Next week it's a special father's day episode, if you want to share with your significant other, how does pregnancy affect men and what do these guys wish they had known prior to their babies being born? That should be very interesting conversation. This is Preggie Pals, your pregnancy, your way!

[Disclaimer]

This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. Though information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

[00:34:45]

[End Of Audio]

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Episode Transcript

Preggie Pals
Babymoons: Planning Your Pregnancy Vacation

Please be advised, this transcription was performed from a company independent of New Mommy Media, LLC. As such, translation was required which may alter the accuracy of the transcription.

[00:00:00]

[Theme Music]

Sunny Gault : When you're pregnant, people like to tell you how difficult life is going to be once your little one arrives, so why not gear up for the big event with a little break? They're called babymoons, and they're growing in popularity amongst pregnant couples. Today we are learning all about why you should take them, where you should go and what you should do. This is Preggie Pals, episode 57.

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Sunny Gault : Welcome to Preggie Pals, broadcasting from the Birth Education Center of San Diego. Preggie Pals is your weekly online, on the go support group for expecting parents and those hoping to become pregnant. I'm your host, Sunny Gault. Are you looking for older episodes of Preggie Pals? Be sure to visit the episodes link on our website and check out the episode guide for links to all of our episodes. And thanks to all of our loyal listeners who have joined our Preggie Pals Club. Our members get all of our archived episodes, bonus content after each new show, plus special giveaways and discounts. You'll also get a free subscription to Pregnancy Magazine. You can visit our website, PreggiePals.com, for more information. And another way for you to stay connected is by downloading our free Preggi Pals apps, available in the Android and iTunes marketplace. So let's get started by introducing our panelists. You guys know a little bit about me, my name is Sunny, I am the host of the show, I am pregnant with my third baby. Due date, this is tough one, I had my first prenatal appointment a few weeks ago, and they couldn't quite tell me when my due date is, I'm just going to go with December. Baby gender, obviously don't know yet, and number of kids, I have two little boys already, and my first baby was born vaginally, I had an epidural, my second baby was a C-section. Annie, what about you?

Annie Laird : My name is Annie, and I'm a systems engineer. Due date, kind of the same thing, kind of up in the air, we're saying Octoberish. I'm actually adding about a week to my due date, just because that way people hassle me less, and I get less phone calls questioning, “Have you had your baby yet?” I had the baby and I just didn't tell anyone, I'm so introverted like that. We didn't find out the gender with our second baby, and we're going to do that again this time around.

Sunny Gault : Well I have to ask, do you have any thoughts? Any feelings?

Annie Laird : Yes. The only thing is that my midwife has what she calls the hairy leg test, so according to the hairy leg test, I'm having a little girl, again. I have two other little girls, one is about to turn eight, the other one is about to turn one.

Sunny Gault : You have to explain this, the hairy leg test.

Annie Laird : Hairy leg test, that is when you shave in the morning, you have shave maybe later in the week, maybe three-four days later, and you're doing OK, you're like, “Hey, this pregnancy thing is really awesome! I don't have to shave as much”, then that's a little girl. If you shave in the morning and you have a five o'clock shadow on your legs by lunch, and by the evening you're a hairy beast, it's all the testosterone that's coursing through your system, from your baby boy.

Stephanie Saalfeld : I disagree with that, I had the opposite.

Sunny Gault : So you had a little girl?

Stephanie Saalfeld : I had a girl and I definitely felt a hairy beast, so I think it's the opposite, I feel that it's the estrogen that makes all the hair grow.

Annie Laird : Well, we'll see. It's just kind of a fun thing, we'll happy no matter what, 'cause my second child is only one, I have all the girl close, so we have two little girls and that's nice, so we'll be happy with whatever comes out the vagina. And type of birth is home birth is what we're planning.

Sunny Gault : That's awesome. OK, Stephanie, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Stephanie Saalfeld : I'm Stephanie, I am a stay at home mom and producer of Preggie Pals. I have a little girl, Savannah, who is about to be five months old, and let's see, oh, I forgot to say, I'm 30, I just turned 30.

Sunny Gault : Oh, I didn't give my age either, I'm 35, I'm advanced maternal age, but that's a whole other episode.

Stephanie Saalfeld : And we had a hospital birth and unplanned C-section.

Sunny Gault : OK, well ladies, thank you for joining us today.

[Theme Music] [Featured Segment: 5 Minute Birth Stories]

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Sunny Gault : Before we get started with today's show, we have a brand new segment here on Preggie Pals, it is called “5 Minute Birth Stories”, and that's exactly what it is. We're asking our listeners to call our voice mail, which is 619-866-4775, and share your birth story in five minutes or less. And if we read your birth story on one of our shows, you're going to win a free one month subscription to the Preggie Pals Club. And we already have our first winner, it is Robin from Atlanta.

Robin : Hi! My name is Robin, I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, and I was just calling to share my home birth story. My son was born on October 29th, our due date was November 23rd, so he was born four weeks early. That night it was about 10 PM, and I felt a little gush, and I started to get what felt like menstrual cramp, but I didn't think that I was actually in labor, so I just kind of ignored it, tried to walk it out, pacing around the house, thinking that maybe I had eaten something bad, and then before I knew it, it was 2 AM, and the pain was getting stronger, so I thought that maybe I should wake my husband, so I got back to my bedroom, he was already starting to get up, because he noticed I wasn't there anymore, and I told him what was going on and that we need to call our doula. And we called our doula, and it turned out that our midwife was out of town, so we had to call back our midwife, because no one had expected that I would go to labor that early, our midwife was actually coming back into town on Monday. And we had to call her back, and it was like 2 AM, and our doula arrived and 2:30 AM, and I told her by the time that she got there I was already starting to get that urge to push, and she told me to hold on and wait. It was the hardest thing ever because I really felt like I had to push, my body and everything inside me was telling me to push, but I just tried to breath through it as much as I could. I had planned to have a nice water birth, so we started to get the sheets on our bad. At 3 AM, the midwife arrived and she got all her utensile settled in, she researched my history quickly, made sure that everything was OK. She was a little bit nervous about me going into labor at 36 weeks, she wanted me to go the hospital, but my midwife said that it's OK for me to stay home, so we opted to stay home.

So like at 3:30 AM I could go ahead and start pushing. And with that first push, my water broke, and luckly everything was clear and good, so I pushed for about an hour. And I felt like I wasn't making any progress, whenever I would push, the baby's heart rate would drop, so the midwife started saying that we need to start thinking about going to the hospital, and we didn't want to fight that, we were like OK, if our baby is seriously in danger, we'll go to a hospital. So my husband got the car ready, and the midwife stepped out to call another midwife that she works with, and my doula was in my bedroom and she was talking to my midwife, and I remember I heard her saying something along the lines of something like, “I don't know, I think she can stay home, she can do it” . So when I heard her say that, I thought to myself, “I think I can do this, I can push the baby”, so I just tried with everything that I had and I started to push seriously, much harder than I was previously, and then everyone came back and said, “Oh my God! She's coming!” So my husband quickly came back into the room and said that we're not leaving, we're staying here, and within 30 minutes, my son came out, and it was pretty amazing. We gave him his name right away. So it was a pretty funny story, it was funny because I kept hearing how your first labor is always hard, but I was prepared for a really light birth and it took about six hours. Which is pretty great, and that is my little story that I just wanted to share with you, thank you!

Sunny Gault : Awesome story, Robin, thank you so much for submitting that! And for all of our listeners out there, your story could be next. All you have to do is call our voice mail, no one is going to pick up, it's just a voice mail, and you have five minutes to leave your birth story. Again, that number is 619-866-4775.

[Theme Music]

Sunny Gault : You've probably heard of a honeymoon before, you may have even taken one yourself, but what about a babymoon? It may just be the perfect way to kick off your new life with your new baby. Here to tell us more about babymoons is Darcy Allen, she is the owner of Travel By Darcy, which you can find at TravelByDarcy.com, it's a boutique travel agency. Darcy lives in New Hampshire, so she is joining us on the phone. Hi, Darcy, and welcome to Preggie Pals!

Darcy Allen : Hello, thank you for having me!

Sunny Gault : Absolutely. So why are babymoons so important?

Darcy Allen : Well, it's like a honeymoon, a babymoon is that romantic retreat that you can take with your significant other before the baby comes.

Sunny Gault : Usually, people have – I don't know, they're pretty opinionated about this, either they think, “I have to do this!”, or “It's just not something that's really important in my pregnancy”. Why would you say, what are some of the reasons that you think it's important for couples to take a babymoon?

Darcy Allen : I think there are actually many reasons. My personal top 4, I think would be for relaxation. You know, pregnancy can be a really anxious time, and a babymoon encourages both of you to just slow down, relax, focus on each other, and the simple things that really matter most. It's also a really good time to bond with one another. Remember all those reasons why you are a great couple, and why you'll be great parents. It's also a good time to give yourself a timeout, you'll get practice with that once you have children, but for now you give yourself a timeout. It's so hectic being pregnant, you have to create a nursery, you have to a google search on the best car seat, and then figure out how to install it, there are all these things that cause that distress, and I think it's just important to take a break, give yourself a timeout. And also, not to be too dramatic, but it's really your last chance, so to speak, once the baby comes, that baby rules the roof, and it's going to be even harder between diaper changes and car pools, and soccer practice, to carve out the time that you need with your partner.

Sunny Gault : I don't know if we fully recognize this until after you have a child. People tell you this, your life is going to be busy, and I think in the back of your mind you know that, but you really don't know what to you expect, so unfortunately, I think it's probably the parents that already have children that recognize the importance of spending that time with your significant other and really relax before the baby comes. Let me reach out to the panelists here in the studio, did you ladies take a babymoon, and what was your reason for taking one? Annie?

Annie Laird : Yes, we took a babymoon before our first daughter, and we went to a self-sustaining kind of environmentally based, all organic food type of spa, that was just for couples, just for adults, no kids allowed. Which was kind of nice, I didn't realize how nice that was until I had children. And so it was just really quiet, just me and my husband time. I can't remember the name of it.

Sunny Gault : Was it local, here in California?

Annie Laird : It was in California, we were living up in Monterey at the time, so it was south by an hour or two.

Sunny Gault : So how far did you have to travel?

Annie Laird : We just drove maybe two, three hours, it wasn't very far away from home. We stayed pretty close, we didn't want to go international travel, I know we did that episode last month. But it was nice just to have that time with my husband spent. We definitely didn't have the time before my second one, my husband deployed when I was seven months pregnant with number two, and I was busy with my job, and I had my other daughter, so it didn't work out as well, it was not on our brain at that point, it was like, “Oh, I guess I'm going to be a parent again”.

Sunny Gault : It's so much more to think about, right?

Annie Laird : Yeah. It was like, “OK, is everything ready for the birth and for the new baby?” I think it would have been harder, who would have watched our elder child at school? And she was in school at the time, so that made it harder too.

Sunny Gault : For sure. OK, Stephanie, what about you?

Stephanie Saalfeld : We went to Vegas.

Sunny Gault : I like that!

Stephanie Saalfeld : That's probably a little non-traditional for a babymoon, it seems like it's not exactly the ideal place for a pregnant woman to be.

Annie Laird : I would have loved to go there.

Stephanie Saalfeld : We just went because my family, my mom happens to have a condo there, and we stayed for free, and we just went to have some nice dinners and to see some shows, it's not like we hang out in a Casino or anything like that. It's really funny actually, because I had a Virgin Mojito at dinner, and I got some dirty looks, they were looking at me – I was about eight months pregnant at that point – and they were just eyeballing me.

Annie Laird : Get used to it, everybody judging your parenting.

Stephanie Saalfeld : I know. So that's what we did, just a few days, and it was nice to just get away.

Sunny Gault : Yeah, I had a similar experience in Vegas, actually, I was just there a few weeks ago, and no one can really even tell I'm pregnant yet, but it was interesting because we were at a bar and there are so limited things that you can drink, a lot of times, these bars don't even make frozen drinks, so you can't do something like a Mojito or whatever, but anyways, we were at this restaurant – bar combination and I got a Virgin, what was it, Virgin Marguerita. So I'm drinking it, it's not weird, because again, I'm not showing, so people don't think anything of it, but then my toddler takes a sip, and people are like staring at me like, “Oh my God! She's letting her son drink the Marguerita!”, and it was really funny, I was like, “Oh, come on!” But then I was like, “Maybe I shouldn't do this, 'cause they have alcohol in some of these drinks sometimes, he's not going to know”. Anyway, it's nice in Vegas. So Darcy, how popular are babymoons? I mean, as the owner of a boutique travel agency, do you have people contacting you saying, “Hey! I'm interested in doing a babymoon, what do you recommend?” What are people doing, are they reaching out to you?

Darcy Allen : Definitely, and I think – I first started specializing in honeymoons, and so babymoons just became kind of a natural progression, I stayed with these couples for years, and hopefully we'll be doing trips and anything else. So I think babymoons really became... the term “babymoon”, maybe the last seven years or so, it's now in all the baby books, in the magazines, it's becoming a popular term. As far as those who take it, definitely first time parents tend to do the babymoon, versus others that have had multiple children, just because it's harder. But I think that it almost became like a honeymoon, babymoon now is almost expected with your first time pregnancy.

Sunny Gault : I've had, or at least I've heard of this, I've heard of people for their baby shower, it's kind of similar to when you're getting married, like on your wedding registry or whatever, having people be able to donate funds to your honeymoon, and I've heard of people doing this on their baby registry, or working with a service or something like that, but allows you to apply it towards a trip or cash or something like that, that you can use to go on a babymoon, and I was like, “That's kind of interesting”. If you already have other kids, or something like that, people want to do something nice for you, I thought that was a nice thing, have you heard of that before, Darcy?

Darcy Allen : I have, it's really new, honeymoon registries have been around for years, but now the babymoon registry is the same companies that offer honeymoon registries, they are now coming out with babymoon registries. I also get contacted quite a bit from grandparents trying to think of a gift to give to their daughters or their daughters in law, and so they'll do gift certificates that they can use. So it doesn't necessarily have to be at complicated that is doing a registry, you can just let people know that that's kind of in the plan, and gift certificates are a great way to help that couple experiencing something a little bit more than maybe they would have on their own.

Sunny Gault : Sure. So if you are planning your own babymoon, when do you start planning this? What is the process, is it you find out you're pregnant and you need to start planning it right away? I know sometimes – at least on my family – we have a tendency to wait until the last minute, 'cause we think – maybe not the very last minute – but we try to get those good deals that sometimes are kind of spur the moment stuff, but I know that there is a sweet spot for scheduling travel and stuff like that, so what is your advice on planning a babymoon?

Darcy Allen : I wouldn't plan it as soon as you find out you're pregnant, make sure you're healthy before you do anything, but if you're going to be flying somewhere, I generally recommend looking about a month in advance, if you can. It also depends on the time of the year that you're going to go. Certain areas you can go super last minute maybe it's low season for that destination. If you're having a baby though in January or February, and you want to go to the Caribbeans, that that's going to be a lot harder to plan that type of trip at the last minute, just because that's the most popular time to go to that destination. So you should think about that when you decide where you want to go on a babymoon.

Sunny Gault : That's a really good point when you think about that. So when – and I'm talking about during the pregnancy – when do you usually advise people that reach out to you to go on a babymoon? We actually did an episode recently that Annie was part of, Stephanie, you were a part of our travel episode, right?

Stephanie Saalfeld : Yes.

Sunny Gault : We just released it, it was a few episodes ago. And we talked about travel during pregnancy and we had an OB on the show to really talk about what you should keep in mind when you should travel. So for our listeners out there, be sure to check out that episode, because it gives you a lot of really good information. But from your perspective, Darcy, what do you usually recommend, because you don't want to go so late in your pregnancy that you have trouble flying or you have trouble moving or being able to really enjoy yourself, because for a lot of women, that third trimester – that's a tough one. But anyways, when would you recommend that pregnant women go to really be able to get the most out of a babymoon?

Darcy Allen : It's actually a good thing to think about, because airlines actually have restrictions now on when you can fly based on how far along you are, so that might be a determining factor for you. I have three boys personally, and I did a babymoon with each of my children, in the first, second and third trimester, and I can definitely say for the second trimester, that's your sweet spot. You're kind of over the morning sickness, you can still kind of see your feet, you're feeling pretty good, you've got a little bit more energy, so that's definitely the time period, three months or so, in your second trimester, that I would recommend planning your babymoon.

Sunny Gault : That makes a lot of sense, because they talk about the second trimester being your honeymoon period of pregnancy, so it makes sense that you would go on a babymoon during your honeymoon period of your pregnancy, right?

Darcy Allen : Exactly.

Sunny Gault : Alright, well when we come back, we'll discuss Darcy's recommendations on where you should go for your babymoon, plus how you can save a few extra bucks in the process. We'll be right back.

[Theme Music]

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Sunny Gault : Welcome back, today we are talking about babymoon with Darcy Allen, who is joining us on the phone. So, Darcy, in general terms, where should we go on our babymoon?

Darcy Allen : Well, I don't think a babymoon has to be something complex, it could be just an overnight stay at the local bed and breakfast, it could be a weekend at a spa resort, or a real vacation, go somewhere, maybe an adult only hotel or a resort, to kind of give you that piece of relaxation that you need.

Sunny Gault : We didn't actually talk about that in the first segment of the show, but that's a really good point, and that is how long do you go for? I want to bring that up with the panelists. Annie, how long were you gone for your babymoon?

Annie Laird : Just three days.

Sunny Gault : And that was enough, that was good for you?

Annie Laird : It was just a long weekend, at the time, my husband and I were getting our graduates degree, so we took a long weekend or something. It was pretty darn close to my due date, but I went very late into my third trimester, but because we were only a couple of hours away, and I knew that first time labor takes 24 hours, and was likely to go to 41 weeks, which I did. It was a little bit uncomfortable in the car, that's the only thing. We took that in consideration, how late we took our babymoon, with how far away we went and how long it was.

Sunny Gault : Stephanie, what about you?

Stephanie Saalfeld : We went for two nights. It was enough.

Sunny Gault : Did you drive to Vegas?

Stephanie Saalfeld : Yes.

Sunny Gault : You did drive, that's brave, because it takes about 4-5 hours from San Diego to get to Vegas, that's kind of a lot of driving.

Stephanie Saalfeld : Not a lot of places to stop, either.

Sunny Gault : No, there aren't. Actually, they just built a little nice rest stop halfway. But you're right, and being in the car can be kind of crazy. So, Darcy, you kind of mentioned this, but what about staycations, that's kind of a popular term that we're hearing more and more about – especially, we record in San Diego, and we hear a lot about staycations here, because San Diego is such a big vacation spot. So what do you have to say about that? 'Cause I think sometimes moms are like, “I can't go anywhere, I've got all these responsibilities”, and that may be perfectly true, but sometimes we forget that just getting out of the house and getting away from your daily routine to focus in on your partner and just to reconnect, to focus on yourself, to focus on your baby, from all the other distractions, can accomplish exactly the same thing as going a 1000 miles away.

Darcy Allen : Definitely, I mean, there is no rule that you have to spend the night or go for a week or what have you, it really should be tailored to the couple. The whole thing should be about – pick some place that's easy to get to, maybe that's a day at the spa, with a fantastic dinner, overlooking the beach or the ocean. Something like that, you're trying to capture that romance and that feeling of just togetherness, and you certainly don't have to go too far to get something like that.

Sunny Gault : Are there certain places that you know of, Darcy, that cater to babymooners? I was doing some research online for this episode, and I did find a couple hotels, but they were international hotels, that really promoted themselves as a great babymooning location. Have you heard of those before, and what are they?

Darcy Allen : Absolutely, I think hotels and resorts have really jumped on that babymoon wagon so to speak, they're adding specialty packages and treatments in their spa, or mocktails in their bar, special things to attract babymoon couples to come and spend some time at their place, and many will put together special packages, maybe with a candle at dinner for two, breakfast in bed. One of the resorts that I know does a decadent desert in bed at night, so you get breakfast in bed, you go out for a spa treatment, and you come back and they wheel in a cart fool of chocolate.

Annie Laird : That sounds delightful.

Sunny Gault : I love that. Now, the big question is, these places exist but how in the world do you find them? Do we go through a travel agent like yourself to be able to find out where these places are? Someone who has the know-how and the in with facilities, these places?

Darcy Allen : Definitely. I think it's important to work with a travel agent that plans babymoons, not just someone who's heard the term and goes, “Oh, yeah, somewhere you go when you're pregnant”. They have to really understand the needs of a mom, and I think, for myself, having gone through pregnancies and babymoons, that really helps me to understand my clients a little bit better. A good travel agent that does specialize in babymoons also has a network of hotels. So, for instance, I have hotels that I work with on a regular basis, and depending on where my clients are based, and where they're going, I know that these hotels have the facilities and services to really offer that memorable getaway for a babymoon couple. Now, if you are a DIY travel planner, I think it's important to ask a tone of questions, you want to really make sure that this is the right place for you. Just because it has babymoons splash on the package, doesn't necessarily mean that they really specialize in prenatal services, for instance if it's a spa, I think that's really important. And play the baby card, I think that's important.

Sunny Gault : I was actually going to suggest that, because I did that – especially, once I'm showing, I really do play the baby card in a lot of ways, like, “Oh, I'm sorry, can you get the door for me?”, whatever. But I was thinking like, sometimes they just want to be nice to you, I know when I've been pregnant in the past, and my husband and I have taken a trip or whatever, my husband would say, “Oh, this is our first baby, we're celebrating this” or whatever, and usually they'll knock off some money off the price tag.

Darcy Allen : Definitely, it never hurts to say and to look miserable at the same time, you get a better seat on an airplane, get a better room with a view. For me, when I have a plan, I always email the manager of the hotel to say, look, these are my clients, they're pregnant, this is what's happening, and I always try to work with the manager to see what we can do. Discounts aren't as readily offered, but value added is a little extra, maybe it's a complimentary room upgrade, or spa discounts, and it never hurts to ask.

Sunny Gault : Absolutely. Since we're on this money kick here, what are some smart ways to save money? Because even though the economy seems to be improving a little bit, a lot of us are still pinching pennies, we want to enjoy ourselves but at the same time it's got to make sense for our budget, so what are some good ways to save money if we're planning a babymoon?

Darcy Allen : Plan ahead if you can, especially if you are going to be flying. If you're working on a tighter budget, look local, look at the solutions in town, or the next town over, look at things that are a little bit closer to home. The farther that you have to go, the more expensive is going to get, for transportation costs and other things like that. I think that's really key. And don't be afraid to work within your budget. I think a lot of moms choosing, “I just don't have a lot of money so I'm not going to do anything”, maybe then you just go and spend the day and get your toes done, or do something special, I think that's really important.

Sunny Gault : What about activities, what can we do – this was what I was thinking about when Stephanie was talking about her trip to Vegas, and she kind of touched on some stuff – but, sometimes we're like, “Man, the stuff that I would normally do on a vacation!” You may be a little bit more active, you may – I mean, there's the whole drinking thing, but that's kind of beside the point, right? But what are some activities that you typically recommend for clients to just be able to relax or reconnect and be together during this time?

Darcy Allen : It's definitely not the time to try rock climbing or something like that. Think about relaxing things you can do together, whether that's a drive to the countryside, frequent potty breaks, maybe going and taking in a Broadway show, if you are going to do a city stay somewhere, plan a day at the spa, go to a new museum exhibit, walks at the beach, take a nap – now that I have kids, I would love to just take a break and sleep for three days, I think that would be huge. Think about good conversations, good food, and a comfortable place to sleep.

Sunny Gault : Good advice. Well thank you, Darcy, for joining us today, we appreciate all the great information you shared with us. If you want some more information about our expert, Darcy, as well as our panelists today, you can visit the episode page on our website. This conversation continues for members of our Preggie Pals Club. After the show, Darcy will share her top three recommendation babymoon vacation spots. To join our club, visit our website, PreggiePals.com.

[Theme Music] [Featured Segments: Baby Nursery on a Budget]

[00:27:50]

Sunny Gault : Before we wrap today's show, here are some tips for keeping your baby nursery on a budget, from Cynthia Kaiden.

Cynthia Kaiden : Hello Preggie Pals! I am Cynthia Kaiden, founder of Trick My Crib Nursery and Kid's Room Designs, where I help your nursery dreams come true. I'm excited to talk to you today about money saving tips for the baby's room. Specifically, about saving on the crib. One of the first steps in designing your baby's room is to know your overall budget and develop a good idea of how much you have to spend on a crib. Second, explore whether you might have the opportunity to receive a hand me down, or borrow a crib from someone who isn't using theirs. Moms love to help other moms-to-be, as a side benefit, they get that unused crib out of their home. If you are going to purchase a new crib, shop around. Go to the big baby stores to look, feel and experience the crib hands on, but then go home and shop online. You will be amazed that you can find online virtually the same crib you fell in love with in the baby store, for hundreds less. Convertible cribs are huge money savers. If you don't by convertible, you should plan on buying a toddler bed in about two years, and then a big bed in another two years. I think that's a huge waste of resources, and it really is not necessary. The convertible cribs convert first to a toddler bed, and then to a full size bed, often with a head board and a bar that already fits and matches the room, they are great. Be aware that you can also buy a crib mattress that converts from infant to toddler, just by flipping it over. What a great money saver! I can help you find the perfect crib as part of my design service. Please like Trick My Crib on Facebook, and visit my page often for decorating ideas. Thanks for listening to today's money saving tips, and be sure to listen to Preggie Pals for more great pregnancy tips in the future.

[Theme Music]

Sunny Gault : That wraps up our show for today, we appreciate you listening to Preggie Pals, don't forget to check out our sister show, Parent Savers, for parents with newborns, infants and toddlers, and our show The Boob Group, for moms who breastfeed their babies. Next week it's a special father's day episode, if you want to share with your significant other, how does pregnancy affect men and what do these guys wish they had known prior to their babies being born? That should be very interesting conversation. This is Preggie Pals, your pregnancy, your way!

[Disclaimer]

This has been a New Mommy Media production. Information and material contained in this episode are presented for educational purposes only. Statements and opinions expressed in this episode are not necessarily those of New Mommy Media and should not be considered facts. Though information in which areas are related to be accurate, it is not intended to replace or substitute for professional, Medical or advisor care and should not be used for diagnosing or treating health care problem or disease or prescribing any medications. If you have questions or concerns regarding your physical or mental health or the health of your baby, please seek assistance from a qualified health care provider.

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