Planning a Babymoon

Planning a Babymoon in Miami

What is a babymoon?

A babymoon is a getaway for you and your spouse prior to your baby’s arrival. I read that the second trimester is the best time to take a babymoon because most women will be beyond the morning sickness and fatigue that is common in the first trimester but before it is hard to get around and the aches and pains of the third semester. The purpose is whatever you need in the moment - are things getting wild and intense pre-baby? Perhaps focusing on rest and relaxation is what you need. Worried that you’ll be homebound once baby arrives and want to get in some excitement and adventure before you’re tied to a small human? Then focus on packing your babymoon with fun activities! Make it yours - there are no rules. Plan a trip and enjoy!

Babymoon Tips

When to go:

From what I read, most people suggest going on a babymoon during the second trimester, which would be between 13 - 27 weeks of your pregnancy. Usually the unpleasant symptoms from the first trimester have subsided by this time but you aren’t so large that travel is uncomfortable. Keep in mind, it is usually not advised to travel by air after 36 weeks (it is always a good idea to discuss this with your doctor.) If you can’t travel until later in your pregnancy, then you might consider planning your babymoon closer to home or you might consider getting travel insurance. When you go might help you decide where to go - will you be feeling up for a long flights? I had a relatively easy pregnancy, but I still found travel while pregnant to be a little more difficult than travel while not pregnant. Suffice it to say, I was a bit slower. But for me, flying was easier than a road trip - I found cars to be increasingly uncomfortable as my pregnancy progressed.

Babymoon Destination: Miami

Where we stayed:

My husband travels quite a bit for work and one of the perks is hotel status and points. We cashed in some of his hotel points for a long weekend at the St. Regis Bal Harbor in Miami. We’d stayed at a St. Regis once before, when we celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary in Kauai. It is a real luxury to stay at a St. Regis - and we are not the kind of people who can afford to stay at one out of pocket (at least not yet…maybe when I sell my book and it gets made into a movie…one can dream.) So we don’t take these trips for granted, we appreciate the thoughtful details and the attentive service. You can’t miss the nightly sabering of the champagne bottle - it is a St. Regis tradition!

Planning a Babymoon at the St. Regis Bal Harbor

Activities:

We split our babymoon into two parts: we started with a focus on rest and relaxation and ended with more active activities.

Rest and Relaxation:

The spa - Every stay at the St. Regis should be accompanied by a trip to the spa. My husband is new to the luxury of massages - he’d only had one massage prior to this trip. But somehow I convinced him to do a 90 minute couples massage on our babymoon and it was the peak of relaxation. They made special accommodations so that I could have a prenatal massage - they had pillows with a hole for my growing belly situated on the table so that I could lay on my stomach without squashing the baby. They go all out accomodate pregnant women. My husband added the stone massage and I added the Gilded Face Mask.
Pool/Beach time - The St. Regis Bal Harbor is located right on the beach but they also have two beautiful pools. Spending time at one, the other, or both is pure relaxation, depending on your preferences (I get some people don’t like the chlorine of the pool or the sand from the beach getting everywhere. Choose what relaxes you!) My husband and I enjoy both. We spent some time in each location. At the pool, there are servers walking around offering food and drink. Before we were even situated on our towels someone brought us a cup of ice water to cool us down in the Miami heat. A pool attendant helped us find two chairs next to each other and positioned the umbrella so that we would both be in the shade. At the beach, there are lounge chairs and umbrellas set up and even tent-like structures to provide even more shade. They’ve thought of it all. Keep in mind, this is an excellent time to enjoy the adults only pool, while you still can.

Out and About

Art Deco Walking Tour - My husband and I also wanted to get out and see some of Miami. We didn’t want to spend our entire honeymoon on our bums. So we booked the Art Deco Walking Tour. They covered the history of Miami along with the design details unique to art deco architecture. The tour was about two hours long, taking us in and out of art deco buildings, with a slow walking pace. It was VERY hot that day, but I managed to keep up. Most of our tour group (which was small - only five people allowing us to move a bit quicker and see more than some of the larger tours we saw) didn’t even realize I was pregnant until the end of the tour.

What we read as expecting parents:

I thought it would be fun read parenting books while on our babymoon. These are likely to be the only parenting books we read - we have a very laid-back approach to parenting and value a calm approach rather than overwhelming ourselves with a variety of parenting philosophies. So I chose Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting (now with Bébé Day by Day: 100 Keys to French Parenting) by Pamela Druckerman and my husband chose How to Raise Kids Who Aren't Assholes: Science-Based Strategies for Better Parenting--from Tots to Teens by Melinda Wenner Moyer. The juxtaposition between those two titles makes me laugh every time.

Where we ate:

If you know anything about us, you should know that we are foodies. However, for this trip we made a conscious effort not to make too many meal plans (in an effort to keep this trip on the more relaxing side.) Here’s where we ate and what I thought of each place:

La Sandwicherie - We ate here after the art deco architecture tour. It was just a couple of block from our end point, had available seats, and was highly recommended by Conde Nast Traveler. I husband ordered the Tropical Signature Sandwich which includes Avocado, Mozzarella, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Papaya, Mango, Pineapple. It was perfectly refreshing after being outside for so long in the Miami heat. We ordered the Bora Bora smoothie featuring Mango, Banana, Pineapple & Orange for the same reason.
Ariete - The culinary highlight of our babymoon was dinner at Ariete. It. Was. INCREDIBLE. My favorite dish, due to its uniqueness was OUR FLORIDA ORANGE: chicken foie mousse, duck and sour orange pâté, chocolate dirt, mint, white bread. The WAGYU SHORT RIB was the best short rib we’d ever had (pastrami style, red pepper-beef jus, gem & fennel caesar, oyster & short rib croquette.) For dessert, you can’t miss the THE CIGAR for its fun presentation. It looks exactly like a cigar (manjara shell, hazelnut praline, gianduja mousse, espresso ice cream.) But seriously, you can’t go wrong. It was all so good.
La Gourmandise - This was my favorite meal at the St. Regis Bal Harbor. We booked the traditional St. Regis Afternoon Tea ritual for our lunch (trust me, there is plenty of food to replace a meal.) It is a prix fix menu, but the restaurant called me ahead of time to ask about any food allergies and were happy to accommodate the food restrictions that go along with pregnancy. The ritual includes three courses - a scone, a variety of sandwiches, and variety of sweets. We were so full by the end that we took most of the sweets back to the room with us to finish over the next day. Our server even decorated our table with baby-themed confetti.

Atlantikos - This was probably our least favorite meal of the weekend. Everything was just a little…off. They seemed severely short-staffed, though the restaurant was nearly empty they were unable to seat us when we arrived about twenty minutes early for our reservation. We had been seated for a full hour before our first course arrived at the table. The food was good (not great) and the servers were friendly (though slow and somewhat forgetful.) It just wasn’t worth the price - so skip this restaurant during your visit.

BH Burger Bar - When we first arrived at the St. Regis Bal Harbor, we were starving. So we stopped by the BH Burger Bar for a late lunch/ early dinner. The server was super friendly and attentive, offered recommendations, and took pride in mixing me up a nonalcoholic drink that felt like proper cocktail. I’d recommend the truffle fries as a side.
Room Service - My absolute favorite thing to do at nice hotels is order room service. I am usually the one who wakes up early to make coffee each morning (we do a pour-over each day, it is delicious, but time consuming.) So to have coffee arrive at our specified hour hot and ready to enjoy is so lovely. We also had a wonderful view of the ocean from our balcony, so we took our meal and coffee outside before the heat got too intense and enjoyed a relaxing meal together.
Artisan Beach House at the Ritz Carlton Bal Harbor - On our last morning in Miami, we woke up early to watch the sunrise (I highly recommend this, it was quiet, cool, peaceful, and beautiful!) Behind the St. Regis Bal Harbor is a walking trail that parallels the beach and connects the hotels along the beach front. We took this path and walked to the Ritz Carlton which was just under a mile away for breakfast at the Artisan Beach House. It was a really nice walk, we crossed paths with lots of dogs, and the food was delicious. It was also fun to peek inside another hotel. We just might have to stay at the Ritz Carlton Bal Harbor next time!

Babymoon Gifts

Want to buy yourself or someone you know a gift for their babymoon? Consider one of these options:

Book them a massage
Find out where they are staying and send a snack box that will be waiting for them when they arrive
Hire a professional photographer to capture memories of the babymoon
Upgrade their room - my parents did this for me for my 30th birthday and it was one of the best surprises
Luxurious bath items like bath oils, milk bath, face masks, etc.

More from the At Home with the Hastys Series…

For the entire At Home with the Hastys series, click here.

This post was originally published on January 22, 2023.

Hi.

Sep 10 Planning a Babymoon