Wanderlust Family Retreats: The Mother-Child Retreat of my Dreams
This is a sponsored post for Wanderlust Family Retreats. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When I first signed up for Wanderlust Family Retreats it felt like it was an alternate reality where I would be attending. A mother-child retreat? The most gorgeous location? THOSE CABINS? All of this after nearly two years of COVID isolation. It felt unreal.
I have struggled with taking care of myself in early motherhood. The isolation of having a COVID baby, being a young mom whose friends are not at that stage yet, and also not wanting to leave my son have all made navigating that part of motherhood the most difficult for me. I’ve never been on a retreat before. I thought the time I would go on that was over because I would not want to leave my child. I was truly amazed to discover an opportunity to bring my son on a retreat, a retreat that balanced a bit of “me time” with plenty of intentional bonding time. I am a real proponent of the idea that self-care doesn’t need to be away from your child. As someone who gets very little time away from my child (and doesn’t really want it) the self-care narrative of time away from your child has stressed me out a bit. This felt like a reassurance that I am not alone. There are others seeking a refuel with their child(ren) by their side.
I didn’t really know what to expect. It all sounded incredible. Too incredible. It was the first year so I didn’t really have much to go on. From when I first showed up though I could tell this would be something special.
We were met in the parking lot by a golf cart and a Wanderlust team member who took our stuff, got us a fresh juice, and drove us to our cabin. Neither Yitzchak nor I had ever been on a golf cart so we loved the experience. Walking into the cabin was truly like walking into my dreams. There was a giant window filling an entire wall overlooking a forest, a king-sized bed, a bathroom, and a mini fridge. It was truly gorgeous. They explained that there were curtains that could be put up and explained how others used blackout curtains. I was grateful Yitzchak could sleep with light coming in because I wanted to go to sleep and wake up to that view.
Once we got settled we headed to the main pavilion where they had smoothies available. There was Pikler Triangle and a climbing arch there, both gross motor toys Yitzchak is used to from home. He settled into playing, we enjoyed a smoothie, and then we read some books in the tent they had set up. We arrived earlier than many of the guests so we had several hours before dinner to walk around outside and explore.
That evening we all gathered for dinner: our first activity. The food was delicious (and they were flexible working with my needs for kosher food) and hanging out with other like-minded mothers was a dream. After dinner they had a bonfire, storytime, and chocolate-covered strawberries.
The next morning was the first day of full activities. We had a delicious breakfast of overnight oats and then childcare began. This was my first time leaving Yitzchak for any real amount of time. I was emotional but felt so much less alone as I saw other mothers also leaving their little ones for the first time. The playroom had Lovevery toys from the Babbler kit Yitzchak has at home so he settled right in with his carrot posting. I went on to Yoga. The programming during the children’s program was well thought out: yoga, mom brunch by the pond, a meditation sound bath, and a bit of free time. I picked up Yitzchak from childcare and the nanny who had been with him said he had a wonderful time. It was clear she was warm with him and really met his needs. His favorite part was the walk they took through the forest to see deer.
After childcare, we reconvened and went on a mother-child hike. We took golf carts to a lovely meadow where we walked around and saw some deer. Yitzchak slept in the carrier, but I enjoyed the exercise and conversations with other mothers. We came back to smoothies and hung out until mother-child yoga in the late afternoon.
Mother-child yoga was so well run. The instructor understood children and that they might just be running around everywhere. Yitzchak was one of the children doing that and she welcomed him to her mat when he walked by. Yitzchak mostly ran around but joined me on my mat for a bit of it too.
After yoga we all joined together for dinner. The setup was gorgeous and the food fresh. Multiple members of the Wanderlust staff checked in with me to make sure I had food to eat given my dietary preferences. They made me a special dish and we enjoyed the meal with everyone.
That night we again settled into our lovely cabin. Yitzchak fell asleep early and I enjoyed the sunset through the forest as I journaled and read.
The next day had a similar lovely programming. Yitzchak, however, wasn’t feeling well so we spent most of the day in a hammock with him sleeping on me as I read. It was definitely disappointing to miss out on the wonderful program of that day but if there was one location to just spend the day as he recovered, this was it. Wanderlust staff members were all so understanding asking if there was anything we needed or how they could help.
We truly had the most wondering time at Wanderlust Family Retreats. This was the first year of the retreat and I am honestly amazed by how well it was organized. We always felt taken care of and the magic was in all the details.
Wanderlust Family Retreats is running two retreats in 2023. They are running a June one in the Catskills and in September trying a new location on Cape Cod. I have no doubt both will be amazing. Their waitlist is now open. You can use code HOMEANDONTHEWAY10 for 10% off. If you have any questions about the retreats feel free to reach out to me or to the Wanderlust Family Retreats team. They are very active on Instagram and always happy to reply to messages. You can also contact them at info@wanderlustfamilyretreats.com
Thank you to Brittany Sturret Weddings for providing some of the photos used in this blog post.
