Of course, not every vacation, and not every baby, will demand an unbearable amount of work and fuss. Hanging at a posh resort, where your meals are prepared and your bed is made for you, will certainly require less work and generate less stress, than something more ambitious. Week long river rafting expeditions are on hold for a while, unless you're one of those happy couples blessed with remarkable parents who love to baby-sit for a week or more. Eco-touring the Costa Rican rainforest with a two-month-old could be certainly be hairy. And I'm not just talking tarantulas here.
Babies in the '00s require an extraordinary heap of high and low-tech gear, baggage, accoutrements and stuff to comfort, feed, clean, entertain, console, medicate, desensitize, moisturize, amuse and put them to sleep. To say nothing of the traveling medicine chest, which would require its own mule-team. No, there are no two ways about it. After a baby, things change.
But despite the work and occasional stress, you do get a little something to drop in the pan in countermeasure. Maybe you'll even strike a just balance: Someone new to share your vacation with. Someone entirely new.
There's a lot to be said for old magic sparked by a new person.
If you're lucky, your little one will make you flash on times when you were young. You'll get to see again, dimly, those brighter days, when the world was wide and wonderful and more than a little frightening. When a flag flapping in an ocean breeze could hold your attention for eons of kid time, and falling snowflakes looked like magic breaking out all over. Remember when a box turtle was awe-inspiring, and fireworks were literally breathtaking? Remember fireflies at twilight and the simple joy of chasing an ice-cream truck? Your newborn will bring all those lost treasures back to you, if you'll let him.
So load up the mules, or the mini-van, and head for the hills (or the coast). Maybe it won't be so bad after all. Just don't let 'em eat the sand. Happy vacationing!
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