Insane to take an international trip next summer without kid?
My partner and I just received an invite to a friend's wedding in Italy in July 2027. No kids allowed, which is expected and totally fine. Initially thinking that we wouldn't be able to go, but the thought of a delayed honeymoon in Italy is insanely tempting-- but we'd have to leave our then-2.5 year old at home, likely. We've had her do two overnights at grandparent's houses this past year and she seems to do okay, but they've always been in the same city and we've not gone more than a day without seeing her.
Some context: My husband has been in law school and we got together about 4 years ago, so we had roughly one year together before law school, marriage, and a child hit and in that time we haven't been able to do any vacations or trips more than like, a cabin in the woods for a long weekend-- certainly nothing international-- and haven't done a honeymoon because schedules and finances didn't allow for it since I was the solo breadwinner.
Are we insane to consider a week in Italy next summer and leaving the baby with grandparents? It's so temping, and I think my worry is mostly coming from insane amounts of mom guilt, so I'm trying to see if there are people here who have left a toddler for a trip. How did that experience go?
I also know that we could also take the baby with us, but honestly we likely aren't going to want to deal with a long flight with a VERY mobile toddler, and the trip would be 0% relaxing if she was with us. Posting here since this is the "mom" community that feels most aligned with my values and I think in other mom spaces there is sometimes a large amount of SAHMs who are like "I COULD NEVER LEAVE MY BABY I JUST LOVE THEM TOO MUCH" and so wanting a more diverse perspective than that!
Posted Aug 13, 2026, 4:12 PM UTC