The day is finally here. You’ve talked about it for months, your ticket is booked, bags are packed and kiddos are off with the in laws. You’re officially on Vacation! You’re off of diaper duty for a week and you couldn’t be happier.
You and your spouse jet off to an island to get some rest and relaxation. You arive after a long day of traveling and instead of dropping your bags at the room and running to the beach with a Pina Colada in your hands you’re thinking about the kiddos. Are they ok? Do they miss me? Is 7 days away too long? I’m all too familiar with this feeling. After all I wrote this from my hotel bed while on vacation. I asked myself the same questions the first couple of days. Although I knew that a vacation was well overdue I honestly don’t think I prepared myself properly. This was my first trip away from my son and of course I knew that I would miss him but I didn't anticipate this much. The mom guilt started to sneak in which made it difficult for me to enjoy myself or even the time with my husband. Here a couple of tips for surviving vacation away from your kiddos.
Give Yourself Permission: to have a good time. You know just how hard it is to be super mom. You know just how much your deserve this time to relax. Girl TURN UP!!!!! Because once you get home to the babies it’s back to business. So go ahead and give yourself permission to have a good time. If you can’t, then I give you permission! Spend Time With Your Significant Other: Spend uninterrupted time. Take a walk on the beach, have an extended breakfast or even schedule a couple message. Whatever you do just be sure to make it all about y’all. Parenting gets hectic at times. Take a time out to remind them that y’all are on the same team. Coping with Separation Anxiety: As I mentioned above. I really Struggled with this the first couple of days. I quickly realized that the frequent FaceTime calls were not making it easier on me or my son. He would cry when I said goodbye and my heart would break all over again. The best advice I can give here is limit the check ins to once or twice a day. We texted my in-laws in the morning and briefly FaceTimed a night. This helped me to stay up to date on what was going on but also helped my son to see our faces to know that we hadn’t completely abandoned him. Look at photos and funny videos: Even though it made miss him more It was nice to see pictures and videos of my baby having a good time. I’m not going to lie the videos proved that I missed him more than he missed me. My baby was having a ball with his grandma.
Never Say Goodbye: when we did FaceTime if I said “bye” at the end of the conversation he would start crying (which made me cry) so we decided to never say good bye. I was always close the conversation with Mommy and Daddy need to get some sleep or it’s story time. Then click we’d hang up. I know its a little harsh but it worked for us and kept the tears from flowing.
I know that everyone is different and all of these tips may not work for you. Hopefully you found something in this article useful. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment below.
Thanks you,
Leyann