Pregnant Heather Rae El Moussa Skips Family Vacation to Mexico on 'Doctor's Orders'

Heather Rae El Moussa is closely following her doctor's orders during her pregnancy.

On Monday, Heather, 34, was absent from a large family photo posted by husband Tarek El Moussa that also featured his children, Brayden, 6, and Taylor, 10, whom he shares with ex-wife Christina Hall.

"Family trips to Cabo are always a good idea 😎," the HGTV star, 40, wrote. "Staying in a villa with my entire fam and our kids and having a blast ❤️ Experiences like these are nothing without your family or close friends to share them with 🙏 So if you need the El Moussa fam, we'll be here:)"

"Just missing @heatherraeyoung like crazy but doctors orders come first!!" he concluded the caption, mentioning his wife.

In a later post on Instagram where Heather was musing over nursery designs, she also mentioned the missed trip. "Missing @therealtarekelmoussa and the kids so much while they're in Cabo but trying to use this time to do some nesting and planning 🤍," she wrote, in part.

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RELATED GALLERY: Heather Rae El Moussa Bump Photos

A rep for Heather tells PEOPLE that the decision for Heather to skip the trip came out of an abundance of caution, to avoid risks such as Zika virus and food poisoning.

Heather shared with PEOPLE that her doctor told her, "It's not worth getting sick. Chances that you can avoid, you should. Unavoidable exposures are different."

Christina Cernik

The Selling Sunset realtor and the HGTV star were in the middle of in vitro fertilization treatments and had even scheduled a date to transfer an embryo next fall when they found out they were expecting, they told PEOPLE exclusively last month.

The pair, who are in the middle of filming their new HGTV docu-series The Flipping El Moussas, is expecting a baby boy early next year.

Heather Rae El Moussa/Instagram

In a recent Instagram post, Heather reflected on how "sweet and supportive" her stepkids have been since learning they're going to have another sibling.

"Never in my wildest dreams did I think my heart would be so full from being a step mommy… and now I get to be a mommy, myself ❤️," Heather wrote of her relationship with the children in an Instagram caption.

"It's crazy how life works. One minute you go from wondering when 'the one' with come into your life to meeting the love of your life, helping raise 2 incredible kids, getting married, envisioning having a baby, to being🤰," she continued. "The most fun part of it all is how sweet and supportive Tay and Bray have been."