Date Nights During Pregnancy

The weekend after I discovered those two little pink lines, I started craving an ice cold beer. Alcohol adverts on the telly make me moody and I’ll leave a busy pub after twenty minutes as the optics behind the bar seem to be goading me. This makes date nights a complicated affair. Somehow romantic meals with just the two of us lose their lustre without a bottle of wine. So just what do you do for date nights during pregnancy when alcohol is off limits?

Shows & Musicals

Okay, trying to cram all of Shaftesbury Avenue’s offerings into 9 months is a bit of a tall ask. Musicals and theatre trips are expensive too. I’ve made a list of the top 3 shows I’d like to see and we do one per trimester. They’re fabulous nights out and at least you can say with certainty that you’re guaranteed a seat for the performance! I’ve been eying up the Jesus Christ Superstar arena tour for our next London date - it’s celebrating its 40 year anniversary this year Chris Moyles and Tim Minchin are on the cast list.

Source: London Evening Standard

Comedy Nights

Okay, okay, so many of these are held in bars and are a magnet for rowdy stag nights, but all the best comedians do regular theatre tours too. Our local theatre (Reading Hexagon) has been graced with the likes of Jimmy Carr, Russell Brand and Jason Manford recently.

Concerts

Okay, Glastonbury might not be the best event for us pregnant ladies. Standing up for 12 hours in a muddy field is likely to play havoc with your centre of gravity and I’ve only just written a warning post about overdoing it in pregnancy. It is worth tracking your favourite bands on Facebook though, as most will perform a few more intimate gigs throughout the year.

Cinema

Watching films is one of those things we often take for granted before we become parents. It requires approx 2 hours of silence that you just don’t get when you enter motherhood. Even when you watch a Blu Ray at home you’ll have to hit pause half a dozen times as you’ve heard something that sounds ominously like a spaceship landing in baby’s nursery through the baby monitor.

The cinema is therefore a cheap and cheerful way to spend non boozy time together before D Day. If you’re heavily pregnant, most babies will also respond to the acoustics within a cinema - so if the film is rubbish at least you can have some bonding time with your bump.

Source: Supernormal Festival

Hobbies

There’ll never be a better time to spend time alone together learning something new without any distractions. Whether you’ve a secret desire to learn Italian, you’re both passionate about art, or your massage techniques leave a lot to be desired, there’s plenty of local classes around the UK to take advantage of. Even dancing is still possible as there are plenty of classes that cater for pregnant women. I’m currently begging Craig to come along to a few life drawing sessions with me as it appeals to my immature side