My husband and I had two very different outlooks on how our life would change once we became parents. Before we had kids, we had plenty of alone time together. We made a point to go on a date several times a month.  We loved going out to dinner, the movies, or the park. We loved road trips and going on vacation, and even traveled throughout my pregnancy! Papa Jumper argued that we’d start spending more time at home, and have little time together or alone after kids.  I argued that our life wouldn’t change very drastically.  I had every intention of taking our baby with us everywhere we went — out to eat, to the mall, and on all of our travel adventures.

It turns out we were both right, and we were both wrong.  We do spend a lot more time at home as a family unit, but genuinely enjoy our time together.  We also travel just as frequently as we did before.  But date nights, as Papa Jumper predicted, seem to have disappeared.

In the last year, Papa Jumper and I have had two official dates.  It was just as hard leaving Baby Jumper behind at eleven months as it was at five weeks.  The first time I let my parents watch her, I prepared a color coded manual.  You guys, I wish I was joking!  My parents humored me and didn’t laugh when I called every 15 minutes to check in.  It was so hard being away from the baby that we cut our evening short and came home early.

Now we take Baby Jumper with us everywhere.  She’s been out of state a few times and is really turning into a great traveler.  She loves going to the mall and is so good when we’re at a restaurant.  Our days are filled with bottles, diapers, baby snuggles and schedules.  So when do we get our alone time?

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Baby Jumper is ready for her first sleepover at Grammy’s House!

We have lots of date nights with the baby.  There are a handful of family-friendly restaurants in our town that we like to go to.  We spent a lot of time going for walks or at the park over the summer.  Most evenings, you’ll find us playing in the living room until it’s time for bed.  Now that it’s fall, we plan on taking Baby Jumper to the pumpkin patch and on her first hayride.  She’s still too young to go to the movies, but I see lots of family time at the movie theater in our future!  And, of course, we’ve gone on several trips since she’s been born and enjoyed every moment of traveling as a family.

Now that she’s older, we’re getting much better at getting more alone time.  Until recently, I hated the idea of leaving her with a babysitter… even if it was my parents!  I felt guilty leaving her behind and worried that we were being a bother on my parents, who are our go-to sitters.  Everyone, including my parents, reassured me that it’s just as important for my husband and me to get alone time as it is we spend time together as a family.  Turns out, they’re right.

A few weeks ago, my parents offered to let Baby Jumper sleep over at their house.  This would be her first overnight trip, and the first time I’d be away from her for more than a few hours.  It was hard and I initially said no to the request, but later changed my mind.  We took Baby Jumper shopping for an overnight bag (see the backpack in the photo?) and she picked it out herself.  It’s hot pink and Minnie Mouse, her favorite character, and she helped us pack it up the night she slept at my parents’ house.  She had a fantastic time at her first sleepover, and Papa Jumper and I enjoyed a night to ourselves.  We went shopping, out to dinner, had a few drinks and stayed up all night watching Netflix.  We picked Baby Jumper up the next morning, had breakfast with my parents, then spent the afternoon playing outside.  It was the perfect end to our weekend!

Was it hard for you to leave your little one for the first time? When do you think you’d feel comfortable leaving them overnight?