9 to-do's before baby arrives

An ex-colleague of mine had a spate of amazing, off-the-beaten-track holidays during our time working together. He and his wife had been married some years and I guess I missed the 'about to start a family' vibes (at the time I was happily single and had never been married). With five parenthood years and two-point-five pregnancies of hindsight, here are 9 things I have learnt are best enjoyed before wee ones arrive...

1. Date night - the sort without a babysitter curfew.
2. Babymoon - possibly a modern, fashionable thing, but since Papa and I missed not only the babymoon but the honeymoon also (work followed our wedding and the pregnancy came shortly afterwards) I recommend that others learn from our oversight. Our "honeymoon" included a very young Miss.
3. Take a 'day' - spa day, golf day, fishing day - whatever sort of day suits you. Thanks to a dear friend (who clearly knew better than me about such things) I indulged in one delightful spa day after Miss and before Master - absolute bliss.
4. Lie-in - as often and as much as you can enjoy. You may not have such opportunities again for a long, long time.
5. Live music/theatre - I am yet to see a live performance all the way through without a "Mama, I need a wee..".
6. Travel - most especially to intrepid locations. It will be far easier without all the baby stuff (even with children, I travel light, very light) and without worrying about any dangers to wee ones.
7. Snowboard/Ski - Miss and Master cannot join ski school until age three and a babysitter would be needed for apres ski activities (see "Date night" per curfew).
8. Movies - catch a latest release on the big screen, at nighttime. Kiddie movies and "baby screenings" are always during the daytime.
9. Study - while not out of the question as a parent (many of us do it), things are far easier without juggling study with morning sickness or family life.