Tags
BlogHer, Europe, Mama Separation Anxiety, New York, New York City, Travel, Travel with Kids, vacation
I just bought the plane ticket, so there’s no going back now: I am officially going to NYC for BlogHer’12 and leaving Adeline at home with David. Ahhhhh!
Now you can go ahead and read that “Ahhhhh!” in two tones: (1) oh my god, I get to go to New York alone and have a ton of fun and not have to worry about baby stuff for four days and it’s going to be amazing! and (2) oh my god, I’m going to leave my baby, I’m not going to see her for four days, what if she misses me, what if I miss her, what if David can’t get her to sleep, oh my god, this is going to be really hard!
In New York last summer with Addie
Most of the other moms I know have already left their babies, some with other family members, some at less than a year old, and some for up to two weeks. I’ll be leaving Adeline with her father (and his mother will be here to help), she’ll be nearly 21 months at the time, and we’ll only be apart for three nights. Part of me feels like a crazy person for even worrying about this. But the bigger part of me knows that, while this is an important step, it’s natural for it to be difficult and stressful.
When I was growing up, my parents very rarely went on vacation without my sister and I. We did road trips all over the country. We went to California and Colorado and Florida. As we got older, they took us to Europe with them many times. It probably would have been nice for them to get away, but it was awesome for us to go along.
I took this on my first trip to France, when I was 12
I loved that experience as a kid, and it certainly didn’t prepare me for the idea of parents taking vacations without their kids. Of course, BlogHer’12 is kind of like a work event (although I also think it’s going to be super fun) and it’s really only a long weekend. So I’m building up my courage and I think I can manage. But the two-week vacation without the kids? I really don’t think I could do that.
And I don’t know that I’d want to. I want to expose Adeline to the world. I want to her experience different places, different cultures, different people. I want her to develop a love of travel and adventure. And I also want to take her to places where she can see the conditions that some people live in: I want to create a sense of philanthropy in her through the real-life experience of seeing the world.
On the other hand, I very much value my alone time with David. Maybe next time we’ll leave her with Grandma and get a weekend to ourselves. Just a weekend, though.
So what do you think? Have you left your kids? Did you struggle with it? Am I crazy?
Yes I left them. The first time I probably called every 2 hours…no kidding. After that I got better. Now I think about calling after 2 days
it gets better.
I left my daughter when she was 16 months…it was hard, but she was fine. Now that my kids are older I absolutely believe in traveling with them-but your baby is so little she wouldn’t remember it anyway! Have fun!
The first time we left him for one night at his grandparents’ at New Years Eve when he was 6 months old. Now I went on a weekend trip with my mom and left him for 2 nights, one with his grandparents and one with his dad. That 2nd night with his dad was extremely relaxing for me! Not a doubt that he’d be fine. I could have stayed two days longer actually
You’re not crazy.It’s probably way harder for us to leave than it is for the little ones, but our kids are kind of a part of our body. Wouldn’t you miss your left arm, when you leave it for days? We sure will take him with us on vacation later but we also will regularly take our time off and leave him with his loving grandparents.
I have a 16 month & 4 year old. We have only left once for a two night stay somewhere. Super hard, but great for our marriage. With that being said, if we had more family around we would maybe do it more often.
I bet you’ll have a blast! I would feel much better leaving my boys with my husband rahter than us both going somewhere
I have never been away from my 16-month-old overnight, but honestly, it sounds like pure bliss to me.
Enjoy your trip and be happy that your daughter and hubby get some good time together!
Yes, this is one of those rip off the band-aid moments. I left my son and my daughter for the first time at the same time. It was a wedding in Portland, OR that I simply could not miss over New Year’s Eve just a few months ago now. It did get easier once the plane landed and I had the excitement of a new city in front of me. But I was pumping the whole time (C was just 10 months) so it was a limited reprieve. You will have a blast! Hope we can hook up during the BlogHer festivities.