XP: Vacation without D/S??

MaggieF516 · April 2014

I posted this on the 12-24 month board as well, but I'm hoping to get some feedback from the working mamas as well!

I'm wondering if anyone has taken a vacation without their child and how it went? We would like to take a vacation that would be about a week long and our son will be 22 months. D/S would stay with one grandmother half of the time and the other grandmother the other part of the time. He is VERY used to one grandmother as she watches him while I work, but he sees my mother less frequently as she spends part of the year in FL and lives an hour away the rest of the year. D/S is good being away from us for 1-2 nights at the time at either grandmother and there are no issues at all (and he seems to even act better behaved than he does with his father and me). We technically could bring him with us, but his father and I were hoping to have a vacation by ourselves as we are just getting back together after an 8 month separation.

I already feel guilty just thinking about being away from him for so long, so I'm not sure what I should do I keep stressing out about him feeling like we "abandoned" him. Has anyone had a toddler-free vacation that went well? Thanks for your help!!

jf198400 · April 2014

We took a 5 day trip to Jamaica last year when the kids were 15 months and almost 3 yo. Left them at home with my mom and they were totally fine. They are very comfortable with my mom. She also took them to daycare during the day so they kept their normal routine. Honestly I would so it again in a heartbeat. It was so good for me and DH for our relationship. And honestly even just for myself to lay on the beach in peace not having to take care of anyone. Vacations with kids are work. I needed some down time. We called home everyday to check on the kids. But they were fine, they had fun with grandma and barely missed us.

djm31012 · April 2014

we are planning 2 nights away in august and that will be our first time we are both away from DS over night (DH has gone away and I have gone away..but not both of us together just the 2 of us yet). Could you maybe plan something shorter? like 3 or 4 nights? that might make you feel better. i think its very important for the health of your relationship...your DS will be totally fine and I am sure the anticipation leading up to it is much worse than it will actually be...

Amelia4 · April 2014

My husband and I went to Spain for a week right before my son turned 2. My mom, who he sees about 3 times a year, came down to stay with him. He got to keep his routine and we skyped a few times.

It was amazing. He had a blast with his grandma and while he missed us, it was easier on him than us. Meanwhile, we ate, slept, toured, and did whatever we wanted. It was wonderful and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Also, my mom loved it, too, and told us we better not wait two more years to do it again.

jlaOK · April 2014

We went out of town w/o DS for the first time when he was 1. He did great and the grandparent's loved it. It's only gotten easier as he's gotten older...mostly because he is more independent. Your DS will miss mommy and daddy but I think it's totally beneficial to have some time away to focus on each other.

molisar · April 2014

DH and I are going on our first trip alone since having kids. DS1 is 3 and DS2 will be 11 months when we go. I can hardly wait. If you are nervous, maybe have your DS stay at his grandparents house as a sleep over maybe 1 or 2 times before your trip? That way he can get adjusted to sleeping without you and so can you. Also if you have an iphone, FaceTime is my go-to form of communication when I'm traveling for work. I love it.

rockychryslerb2010 · April 2014

We left E for about a week right around 2 yrs. It went great. We tried to keep his schedule and routine as much as possible, so during the week he stayed at home with our nanny, and MIL stayed with him at night. He did great. Then for three days over the weekend he went to my parents house. They said he asked about us a few times, but never really expressed that he missed us.

That was the longest MIL has watched him, usually he only stays an evening or an overnight with her. I think if you can keep their routine, it helps, but you should definitely go! I think getting away without kids is important to the marriage too, you need some quality alone time. Plus, we knew we'd be trying for #2 soon, so we wanted to get away while we only had the logistics of one!

Tink112011 · April 2014

We have done a few shorter trips.. the most recent one being 3 nights/4 days for an out of state wedding.

It was fine and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again, but I personally would have a hard time being gone longer than that. DS would be fine, but I think I'd miss him too much beyond 4 days.

We had the grandmas each do half, and I would not do that again. He had settled into a routine with one grandma and then had to go through a transition again. He was fine, he got over it, but I know that it would have been easier to leave him with one grandma the entire time. The only reason we split the time was because one grandma would have had hurt feelings otherwise.

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