babymoon

n. a planned period of calm spent together by a just-born baby and its parents; occasionally, time spent by parents without their baby; (hence) a vacation or holiday taken by a pregnant woman and her partner. Subjects: English

Editorial Note: The latter meaning is on the rise in the travel industry. Etymological Note: Sheila Kitzinger claims to have coined the word.

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Citations: 1995 Usenet: misc.kids.pregnancy (Mar. 1) “Re: family help after delivery??”: I think it’s great to give yourselves time for a babymoon before sharing your new little one with all of creation. 1996 Sheila Kitzinger Year After Childbirth (Sept. 6) p. 203: The transition to fatherhood is easier when a man can take time off to be with his partner and baby in what I call a “Babymoon.” A couple lay in food and other necessities, lock the door, and go to bed with their baby for a few days. 1997 Ian Hargreaves Guardian (U.K.) (Feb. 5) “Parents: Nappy Days” p. T8: This period is the “babymoon,” when the parents enjoy a few days inside a bubble before contending with other, more familiar realities. 2004 Lisa Lewis Athens Banner-Herald (Ga.) (Dec. 26) “Lewis: You may be entitled to a babymoon”: I have learned a brand new word—"babymoon."…This is just like taking a honeymoon except you’re pregnant. So, in truth, this must be nothing at all like a honeymoon, however, the purpose is to have one last “hurrah” as a couple (whatever that may mean—a solid night’s sleep?) before baby arrives.…The originally coined term “babymooning” has an altogether different definition. The babymoon, as childbirth educator and author Sheila Kitzinger described, is the necessary uninterrupted time parents need to bond with their new baby the first days after birth, sans well-intentioned visitors. 2007 Hilary Howard New York Times (May 13) “Babymoon: Getting Away, While There Are Just Two of You”: AT 20 weeks pregnant, Courtney Monardo, a 40-year-old processor for a mortgage company in Scottsdale, Ariz., was—to quote Madeleine Kahn in “Blazing Saddles”—“so tired.”…First on the agenda was an in-room ice cream sundae. Next, a couples’ massage. Then a shopping trip for baby clothes, a room-service dinner ordered from the 24-hour cravings menu and a movie. The next morning included breakfast in bed, a round of golf and a pedicure. The appeal of this brief but indulgent experience—known as a babymoon in travel industry parlance—is pure escape.

Posted 7 Jan 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend