One of the most memorable parts of my pregnancy was the babymoon. I traveled to Spain with my husband; we had a wonderful trip, I took amazing pictures, but most importantly I realized I had to prioritize my pregnancy. If you are pregnant, I strong encourage you to get away from the daily routine and focus on what truly matters, your baby.

I found out I was pregnant right when I started a new job but decided to tell my boss after the first trimester. My husband and I had planned a trip to Spain months before I accepted this new job. When I got hired, I told them I had my trip booked and paid and my management team was fine with it.

Two days before I left for my babymoon, I told my boss that I was pregnant. With no expression on her face, she said congratulations but said my job was in jeopardy. They were not pleased with my work and that I had poor performance. She said: “If you really cared about your job, the smartest thing would be to cancel your trip and prove that you really want to be here.” I would be placed on probation for one month when I returned from my trip. I was completely in shock and couldn’t speak up to defend myself.

Devastated, I begged my husband to cancel the trip. My career was important and financially I was doing well, so how was I going to provide for my child? My husband firmly stated that we were not cancelling the trip and that our babymoon was more important than my job.

The first few days I couldn’t sleep, I was stressed, I could barely eat and would just cry. During a romantic dinner in Seville, my husband said he was also worried about the money but no matter what the outcome was, we would figure it out. He said all problems have solutions and he was confident that I would take their criticism and improve my performance and prove my commitment to the company. He wanted me to enjoy our trip because we wouldn’t be able to go on another solo trip in a while. He didn’t want me upset, crying and stress because he was concerned about my emotional state. He said: “I love you and all you have to do is take care of yourself and that baby. Everything else, you leave it up to me.”

I didn’t want to ruin the trip since my husband was going above and beyond to make it memorable. I realized he was right. Life gets tough but what will I teach my son if at every obstacle I give-up on myself. When I got back from my trip, there were intense months of hard work but I pushed through. During my maternity leave I decided to become a stay-at-home mom and it has been the best decision I could have ever made.

For our babymoon, we went to Madrid, Barcelona, Toledo and Seville. We did the typical tourist things and visited important landmarks, we had romantic dinners, we laughed, we shopped, we slept and we ate.

If you’re pregnant I highly recommend you take a babymoon. Try to get away even if it’s just for one day. Have a romantic dinner, walk hand-in-hand, be affectionate, have meaningful conversations and remind your partner what you love about them. Cherish those moments because in a few months when you’re up feeding the baby late at night you will think back on your babymoon and realized life will never be the same. Life with a baby is hard work, tougher than any 9 to 5 but motherhood is an overwhelming beautiful life.