Anyone leaving little ones at home??

[4THELOVEOFBOO]

My hubby and I are going on the Dream in November and have a Three year old little boy that we are leaving home with Nannie and Papa who he loves! I know that he will be taking care of very well but I have all this worry and guilt!!! My husband and I work very hard and do not get to spend much time together and we left him home on purpose to have a vacation alone. But, my heart aches!!! I don't want to bring him with us I know we need a break but, I was wondering if there were any others out there that leave little ones home and if they struggle with the same feelings?? I mean are we "mean" parents by leaving hime home? We just think that he is too young to bring him too... Just venting:)

[BobbyD]

I can certainly relate. Years ago, my wife and I took our first "real" vacation without our two young sons, just about the same age as your child. We left them in good hands. We had a great time without the stress of not taking care of two young children. It was awesome. As the trip ended, it was an added excitement to go back and see the kids. Remember that he is young. He probably won't remember the trip if he goes and he probably won't remember that he didn't go. Have a great time alone, you've earned it! That being said, you will have other opportunities to include your child on a great vacation, especially when he is older and can appreciate it more! Have fun! You can certainly miss him but no guilt!

[lucyintheskywithdiamonds]

I'm going to Europe w/out the kids and I feel no guilt.. It's a great opportunity for you and your husband to get quality time together,, every marriage needs that! and your son is in good hands, he and his grandparents will have a blast..

 

enjoy, have fun, don't worry, no guilt!:)

[Tightlinerods]

Go decompress and relax knowing he is in GREAT hands. at his age they lack th ability to recall vacations.

 

When he hits 6-7 start taking him as he will have a more enjoyable time.

 

John

[crunchy05]

My husband and I are going on the Legend in August w/o our 2yr old and 5 yr old. I definately feel guilty about it, but I also feel like its a much needed break and my parents are always more than happy to get their grandbabies and allow us a break from time to time. So put those gulity feelings aside and have fun with your husband - that's what I plan on doing. ;)

[sandi1967]

We are taking our three older kids on a cruise in June and leaving our 9 year old son and 6 year old daughter at home. It was hard when we had all five of them on a cruise a few years back.. Granted Del was 6 and Addie was 3......this time we want our older kids to have fun and not have it centered around their younger siblings. I do feel guilty....but I know they will have fun here....we plan to do something with just the two of them before we go.

 

Go and have fun!!!! Your sweet boy will also have fun with his G-parents!!! :)

 

Sandi

[k9_Cop]

We will be leaving our 1 year old dog at home... does that count haha

[geaux_aces]

We will be on the dream in November as well and are leaving our 5 year old son at home with his Nanny. He's more excited about her coming to visit than going with us I think. We take a vacation every 18 months without him. I think it's helpful for them to be left as a kid and for mom and dad to have some time to work on their relationship.

[pyroguy]

We are leaving our 3,8 and 10 year olds at home for our first real vacation in November . Feeling pretty guilty, but it was a lot of work when we took them all last time. Nana and papa will watch them for the week, so they will be well taken care of.

[Flythrower]

We left our 2 young children with their grandparents a year ago on our first cruise and plan on doing the same thing for our cruise in February. We make it up to them by taking them to Ocean City for a week every summer in our timeshare.

 

It is a MUCH needed break and it gives me and my wife a chance to have some alone time with each other.!!!!

 

Don't feel bad at all!!.. Here is how the emotions first worked for us:

 

Day 1 - Holy crap, we have no kids and are goiong to the Southern Caribben!!!

 

Day 2- I wonder how the kids are doing

 

Day 3 - What kids?

 

Day 4 - I feel bad for the people with kids on this cruise, they look so BUSY!!

 

Day 5 - What are our kids names again?

 

Day 6 - I wonder if the kids miss us?

 

Day 7 - We cannot wait to get home and see our kids. We miss them so much... :)

[mrobnmel]

Your little one will probably have a much better time with nannie and papa. Remember the happiest home for kids start with a strong happy marriage for mommy and daddy. It is always important for mom and dad to spend time alone and reconnect which can be hard with little ones. We have been on 1 cruise without the kids several years ago and are leaving in 2 weeks again. We booked a family cruise next year and the kids are excited about that. They are 7 & 13. We will miss them a ton, but I know we will have a blast and the kids will be well taken care of. I bring a small photo and leave it next to the bed. I hope you enjoy your trip and the special time alone with your hubby...who knows maybe you will come home with a gift for your son- a little brother or sister;)

[peaece13]

We are going on our 3rd cruise without our 4 year old son. We went in 2009 without him on a much needed vacation and in 2010 we took him along. It was such a different cruise experience. It was not bad, but it was much more stressful than the ones without him. But to be fair we also had along my parents, and my 83 year old grandparents....so the grandparents added some stress as well! My husband and I need this time to reconnect as my husband has a very stressful job so it is nice to get away!

[raylene5]

DH and I went on a cruise a few years back without the kids...back then we only had 2 and left them both with nana. I'm a stay-at-home mom and never once felt guilty about it. A few months prior to that we took them with us on a cruise. We now have 4 kids and took them all with us last month on a 9 day cruise and it was great...not what I would call relaxing, but great nonetheless :)

 

As far as previous posters who suggest that the kids would rather be home than go with you or wouldn't enjoy the cruise anyway...I definitely don't believe that's true at all. I think the 3 year old would LOVE a cruise and would LOVE to vacation with mom and dad. That's not to say you shouldn't leave the kid...I just don't believe s/he would rather stay home.

 

Now, as I mentioned above, I'm a stay-at-home mom. So, for me, I have no problem taking the occasional vacation without the kids. I'm literally with them all day, every day and they really do love time with nana, away from me. If I was a working mom (and my husband worked) I would have a MUCH more difficult time leaving them behind on a vacation. I used to work in a day care in college and we had lots of parents who would still drop their kids off every day of their own vacation. They'd leave their kids, go enjoy the day without work and pick up their kids at the end of the day. There are so few vacation days when you work, I have a hard time understanding why someone wouldn't want to spend those with their kids. Now, it's true that quality couple time is important but a full week away from your kids when you already have them in daycare year-round...I just personally couldn't do it. Of course I don't know what your own situation is though.

 

I'm leaving the kids this fall to do a solo cruise (because we all know DH is just another kid! ha ha) and I'm super excited to have some alone time. They will be splitting the week between DH and nana. I don't feel the slightest bit guilty about going alone but I'm sure I will be excited to see them by the end of the week! :)

[Redsfan]

we have 3 girls: 4, 2 and 10. Took them in November it was fun, but lots of work. If we cruise again in the late Fall this year we will likely take them again. Our parents are in their 70's and don't have the patience to take care of a 2 and 4 year old so we will bring them with us. Would it be nice to travel alone? Yes. Would I trust others to look after them? Nope...lol.

 

Have fun and take advantage of having family that will help you out, mine can't/won't.

[hubofhockey]

My hubby and I are going on the Dream in November and have a Three year old little boy that we are leaving home with Nannie and Papa who he loves! I know that he will be taking care of very well but I have all this worry and guilt!!! My husband and I work very hard and do not get to spend much time together and we left him home on purpose to have a vacation alone. But, my heart aches!!! I don't want to bring him with us I know we need a break but, I was wondering if there were any others out there that leave little ones home and if they struggle with the same feelings?? I mean are we "mean" parents by leaving hime home? We just think that he is too young to bring him too... Just venting:)

 

It is too young to bring him and you are doing the right thing. What kind of vacation is it for you if you have to be back in your cabin at every night by 9 pm and are restricted in what you can do at ports. Either wait until he's older or do exactly what you're doing. We take every other cruise with our kids, who are now 13 and 11. This summer they are with us and next summer we'll cruise while they are at sleepaway camp.

[raylene5]

we have 3 girls: 4, 2 and 10. Took them in November it was fun, but lots of work. If we cruise again in the late Fall this year we will likely take them again. Our parents are in their 70's and don't have the patience to take care of a 2 and 4 year old so we will bring them with us. Would it be nice to travel alone? Yes. Would I trust others to look after them? Nope...lol.

 

Have fun and take advantage of having family that will help you out, mine can't/won't.

 

Yeah, we are very lucky that my mom and dad LOVE having the kids over and can easily handle all 4 with no problem. And my sisters are great with the kids too. It would be very hard not to have family to help out. We've NEVER had non-family babysitters for the kids so without family, we would have never even gone to a movie by ourselves.

[nbrgirl]

You're not alone. DH and I are going on our first cruise in July. We are leaving our boys, 11 & 5 with grammy and papa for the week. We haven't been on a vacation by ourselves in 8 years (the honeymoon). So looking forward to the getaway but sure will miss the kiddos. Especially the youngest, the longest I have ever been away from him is 3 days. I know they will be fine with the folks. I don't feel guilty though, we took them to Disney in 2009 for their vacation of a lifetime.

[H82seaUgo]

My hubby and I are going on the Dream in November and have a Three year old little boy that we are leaving home with Nannie and Papa who he loves! I know that he will be taking care of very well but I have all this worry and guilt!!! My husband and I work very hard and do not get to spend much time together and we left him home on purpose to have a vacation alone. But, my heart aches!!! I don't want to bring him with us I know we need a break but, I was wondering if there were any others out there that leave little ones home and if they struggle with the same feelings?? I mean are we "mean" parents by leaving hime home? We just think that he is too young to bring him too... Just venting:)

 

we left our then two year old home with her grandparents for a 5 day cruise.

 

our hearts ached the whole time.

 

we rushed off the ship when we got back. she broke down in tears when she saw us. we never did that again.

 

she is now platinum.

[Kerry's Girls]

My twins have been cruising every year since they were 13 months, so I'm clearly pro taking-kids-on-cruises, but I think it's also very important to your son that you and your husband set aside these times to get away and enjoy each other. It's not just good for you, it's good for him. Have a great time!

 

Best,

Mia

[Tbay-eh]

You will miss them but they will be in good hands. Keep in touch of course but don't talk to them every night - send cut little emails or messages but don't tell them how much you miss them - they might get upset and then who ever is looking after them have to deal with settling them down. My sister in law, near the middle of the cruise, would not let the other one talk to her kids as it took her hours to get the kids calmed down again. Have some sort of nice little treat for them when you get home.

[pattyfresh]

We left our 2 young children with their grandparents a year ago on our first cruise and plan on doing the same thing for our cruise in February. We make it up to them by taking them to Ocean City for a week every summer in our timeshare.

 

It is a MUCH needed break and it gives me and my wife a chance to have some alone time with each other.!!!!

 

Don't feel bad at all!!.. Here is how the emotions first worked for us:

 

Day 1 - Holy crap, we have no kids and are goiong to the Southern Caribben!!!

 

Day 2- I wonder how the kids are doing

 

Day 3 - What kids?

 

Day 4 - I feel bad for the people with kids on this cruise, they look so BUSY!!

 

Day 5 - What are our kids names again?

 

Day 6 - I wonder if the kids miss us?

 

Day 7 - We cannot wait to get home and see our kids. We miss them so much... :)

Lol, I like this post! I've been struggling with feeling guilty and nervous about leaving my 2 young sons since I booked the trip last year! We are leaving our 14 month old (who I never been away from for more than a few hrs.) and our 3 1/2 year old with grandparents. My dh and I haven't been on vacation in over 6 years since our honeymoon! I almost was going to bring them but really wanted a relaxing time!

[SCW4665]

My hubby and I are going on the Dream in November and have a Three year old little boy that we are leaving home with Nannie and Papa who he loves! I know that he will be taking care of very well but I have all this worry and guilt!!! My husband and I work very hard and do not get to spend much time together and we left him home on purpose to have a vacation alone. But, my heart aches!!! I don't want to bring him with us I know we need a break but, I was wondering if there were any others out there that leave little ones home and if they struggle with the same feelings?? I mean are we "mean" parents by leaving hime home? We just think that he is too young to bring him too... Just venting:)

 

 

I left my 2 1/2 year old daughter at home earlier this month to go on a cruise .. She was with her grandmother .. Next time she is coming with me .. I missed her but I knew she was in good hands .. Nothing wrong with needing to get away for a while without the little one. We need a break sometimes ..

[SCW4665]

We will be leaving our 1 year old dog at home... does that count haha

 

 

LOL.. trust me , its harder for some to leave their pets than their kids ..

[Peg_S]

Go. Enjoy. They will be fine.

 

DO NOT CALL ANYWHERE NEAR HIS BEDTIME. Morning is best, when they've got the day's activities ahead.

 

If you want, have a surprise for him for each day you're gone. Of course he'll miss you - but look - presents!!!!!! He may want you to stay away a couple more days!!!!

 

GO!

 

Peg

[LivingWild]

When the economy started to take a dive many many couples started to spend less "relationship building" time together when it was needed the most. Too many of these couples are no longer together because of this.

 

We have 3 kids (14, 11, 8) and make a point of taking an equal number of "family" and "us" vacations each year.

 

You should enjoy your much needed time together and not worry that your little one gets to be spoiled for a few days. ;)