Traveling without children

I have a 19 month old son and he will be staying with my inlaws next month while we take our week long RCI Western Caribbean cruise. I'm very excited but also nervous to leave him for so long. The longest we have left him before was two nights. Any words of wisdom to calm my fears? Also, does anyone know if I need to leave my in-laws with a letter granting them permission to have my son treated medically in case of emergency? Any other suggestions to make it less traumatic on me and my son?

Thanks

When my DD was about that same age, I left her for 16 days and when to Scotland. I was concerned as well. I got her a special teddy bear and gave it to her before I left, I told her it would watch over her while I was away. I only called a couple of times, and I also sent her a postcard almost everyday I was gone. I did get back to the States before some of them, but that was cool, I got to read them to her, and let her know I was thinking about her the whole time. She still has the postcards and looks though them and she is 4 now, and asks me when she gets to go to Scotland.:D

I did leave my parents a letter giving them permission to have her medically treated in my absence.

Everything when smoothly and I had a wonderful time, I know you will to...

As a grandma I can only say that you are giving your in-laws the GREATEST gift by letting them take care of your darling son for the week. :D There are no other people in the world who love that boy more than they do!

Relax! Enjoy your time with your DH! Just think, you can have whoopie and you won't have to worry about an unexpected little darling coming through the door! :eek:

Enjoy your cruise!

Michelle

Michelle,

Thanks, your right. I will be leaving three children 9,3, and 20 months for a week with my In-laws. I know they will do all they can to take care of them, but you still worry. Your right though it will definitely be a gift for them, I know they will cherish every minute.

Thank you,

Chris:)

we're leaving in 3 weeks, leaving behind our 5 1/2 YO and almost 2 YO. I put up a post like this when we first booked and got a lot of informative responses. some things that were suggested that I have done are:

- leaving 1 small gift each night for your child to open at bedtime

- reading bedtime stories on tape, with a little message to your child

- have your child make a paper chain, taking one link off each day, to better illustrate to him/her when you'll be home (this one may be a little over the head of your DS, I don't know)

- write out a detailed daily AND weekly schedule for your inlaws. routine is a good thing.

- leave your insurance info and "release to treat in medical emergency" form (I filled one out at the pediatritian's office AND the hospital, for them to have on file)

I can't decide which of my kids will have a rougher time...the younger because he doesn't have a real concept of time yet (which could be a GOOD thing in this case), or the older because she does. although the older one will understand by looking on the calendar, etc. when exactly we will be returning.

anyway, I hope some of those suggestions work for you. I've been telling myself since November, "they will be fine. you will be fine. they will probably welcome the change of scenery as much as you do!". we're 3 weeks out and I'm still telling this myself multiple times daily. :o

Thanks for all the great advice. I know my son will be fine. He's just really been a mommies boy lately. He's loves his grandparents but doesn't see them that often since they live 3 hours away. They are in their sixties and I hope they can keep up with my DS. He's so active right now. Only two more weeks until we leave.

Eva

I'm not a mom, but I was a kid who was left with relatives while the parents went backpacking in Mexico for a month. I was about 4, my sister was about 1. We were fine, and everyone involved had the time of our lives. Go, enjoy your cruise, and know that your son is being taken care of by the most qualified people in the world next to you. The cool thing about grandparents is that you KNOW they know what they're doing-they raised your husband!

Have a wonderful time on your vacation!!

Being a mom of 2, I can completely understand your feelings. I left my son when he was about 2 for the first time when I went on a cruise with my husband. I was a wreck. He was fine because he adores his Grammie and Granddaddy. I would highly recommend leaving a letter authorizing your in-laws to decide medical treatment options while you are gone. I would also recommend you sign up for a free email account (hotmail, juno, yahoo, etc.) and you can email him while you're gone (if your in-laws have access to email).

One other thing I did was I bought 8 separate presents (one for each day I was gone) and wrapped each one and gave them to my parents to give to my DS; one present each day. They were just little things that didn't cost much at all (hot wheels cars, a teddy bear, a framed picture of us, etc.). Whenever he started to miss me, my Mom gave him his present for that day. I also gave him an 8x10 picture of the family. Every night, he said good-night to us and every morning he said good morning. My mom said it was the sweetest thing!

Anyway, he will be fine. It's you I'm worried about ;) Just relax,have fun, drink a lot :D and before you know it, you'll be home and back in his arms again. The funny thing that you'll find is that he'll tell you he didn't miss you at all!!!

Happy sailing!

Be very grateful you have loving grandparents who want to take care of your little one. Not only is it a good thing for your marriage, it's good for your kids to have the time to form a stronger bond with the grands. Without the intervention of the parents, I may add.

We didn't have grandparents to watch our kids so we could get away, so it was 13 years before we left them for a week (with other relatives). Sure, you will miss them and they will miss you. But, the week will be over before you know it and everyone will be fine. It's easier to say all this as I'm looking back, but I sure wish we could have gotten away a few times.