Sun, sand, and sea. Ahhhh... This is the life!

I was lucky enough to go on a baby-moon or “last getaway” before the baby arrives. My husband and I spent the last 5 days in Aruba: relaxing on the beach, sipping sweet drinks, and eating delicious food (“one happy island” as they say).

I did my fare share of research on how to prepare for the beach while pregnant. The biggest thing I heard from my yoga buddies was to drink A LOT of water to stay hydrated. Naturally, my Doctor also said to stay out of the sun because skin is more sensitive during pregnancy.

I packed my plastic water bottle, 50 SPF, aloe, sunglasses, and hat in hopes of protecting myself from the sun while not avoiding the sun all together. This is a beach vacation after all, I’m expecting to come home with a tan.

The only real challenge I faced was finding adequate swim attire. (This should be a whole other blog post really. TBA.) The challenge of finding a fashionable yet supportive swim suit was a bitch. I won’t even mention the distress my husband endured trying to balance the numerous purchases, exchanges, and returns in our checking account.

We stayed at the Westin Resort on Palm Beach where all the high rise resorts are located (the RIU, Radisson, Hyatt, Occidental, Marriot, Holiday Inn, the whole gang was there). It really is the best and most popular location because everything you could need was within walking distance. You could walk along the beach in front of the resorts for about 2 miles and find a ton of tiki bars, restaurants, and water sport rentals. Or walk on the street side of the resorts for about 2 miles and find a slew of touristy shops and restaurants, even a Hooters and Senior Frogs.

I think it’s important to note how our baby-moon differed from a typical pre-pregnancy vacation:

Early to bed, early to rise: We woke up naturally around 7am every day. What the heck? This is vacation! Maybe going to bed around 9pm and not being hung-over had something to do with it. Well I won’t complain about more day light hours. Plus we had to reserve our palabra by 8am.

Shade vs Sun: Beach time was spent under a beach palabra (umbrella) versus coated in oil and baking in the sun. Unavoidably, I did spend some time in the sun, and despite the SPF 50, I left Aruba with mild sun poison on my belly and hands to prove it.

R&R: Our daily itinerary centered around doing nothing. We didn’t schedule a jeep tour, horseback riding, jet-skiing, tennis, or golf. It may sound like a snooze-fest to adventure tourists, but perfect for preggers like me. My husband actually read a complete novel for the first time in a year. I laid on the beach, swam in the pool, did yoga, got a massage, walked on the beach, napped, and practiced my photography. We signed up for a 3 hour snorkeling trip on a catamaran, but sadly, the waves were too rough and they cancelled the tour. Safety first!

Drinking: I had my doubts about virgin cocktails (what’s the point, right?). Well, those lime daiquiris and Oreo mudslides really hit the spot when I was fighting to stay cool. And they were half the price of alcoholic drinks, cha-ching! Another great thing about Aruba is they have the second largest water treatment facility in the world (I swear I read that somewhere), so I had unlimited refills of tap water and ice versus paying for bottled water, cha-ching!

Nightlife: Or lack of in our case. Nothing shouted my name more than a nightly rerun of ‘Law and Order: SVU’. We steered clear of the casinos and dance clubs. Honestly, Aruba isn’t a terribly happening place at night anyway. It’s not Cancun, and I don’t even remember seeing spring breakers. Our fellow beach goers were mostly families and couples. And call me prude, but the resort’s nightly Magic & Comedy Show did not lure me in.

Besides having a great vacation, I’m so happy my husband and I scheduled time for just us. It was our first vacation with just the two of us in over a year. Although baby was ever present (in the form of kicking my ribs), we were on our own schedule without worrying about anyone other than each other.

We also realized how lucky we are to have a really low key pregnancy without sickness or complications (besides the rash factor), and considering our “fast-paced” lifestyle in NYC, being pregnant hasn’t slowed me down THAT much (knock on wood).

Now, let the next (and last) 10 weeks of baby showers, birthing classes, and Doctors appointments begin!