WHY I TOOK MY BABY ON AN ADVENTURE

WHY I TOOK MY BABY ON AN ADVENTURE ~ I have had some raised eyebrows when I tell people I left home with both of my kids, when they were just a few weeks old. Packing my house up, renting it out and selling our belongings in a postpartum daze was not so fun.

Its pretty scary because nesting instincts are usually in full swing. All I really wanted to do at the time, was cuddle up with my newborn on the sofa. An adventurer at heart, I had made plans of travelling during maternity leave before I knew what it was going to be like. When the time came, I wondered what the hell I was thinking? Why would I schlep my newborn across to the other side of the world?

The truth is, with a little encouragement and a ‘we can do it’ attitude from hubby, we got through the hardest part – leaving! Once we sat our bottoms on the plane on an overnight flight to Singapore, we thought it’s going to be fine and it worked out to be the best time of our lives.

Of course it had its ups and downs, but it was mostly filled with incredible family memories. That’s why we decided to take our second baby Quinn on an adventure too. The packing, the renting and selling our car were all the hard parts again. However we felt so much better prepared from our previous experience, that we just couldn’t wait.

I like to say to people if you are thinking about it, you are already half way there. It’s usually the ‘ I’m not sure what to expect’ that puts people off. So wether you are considering a mini gap year, or your first holiday, here is why I took my baby on an adventure he will never remember!

WHY I TOOK MY BABY ON AN ADVENTURE

MY SANITY

For the most part, we have had a lot of positivity and encouragement about our choices. However we have equally experienced our fair share of criticism. The common thing I’ve read is, ‘your selfish, it’s not about the baby’ You know what, I have to agree with our critics to a certain extent.

The thought of being at home for a year with a couple of outings a day to meet a friend for a coffee, or a baby class wasn’t for me. I go stir crazy at 10am on a normal day, so an entire year of spending a lot of time at home was not appealing.

In truth, I can see why post-natal depression is really a thing! I can’t talk from experience, but I imagine it can feel quite isolating being at home. The sleep deprivation, the lack of time for one self, the lack of adult conversation, the relentlessness of not being sure why baby is crying. Doing it at home alone must be hard. Or at least I was thinking that I would find it hard.

I felt if we were out and about exploring most of the time, I would feel happy. I never wanted to distract from our new baby. The main thing was, not to isolate myself. It has worked out really well and I have never felt isolated whilst travelling. You know the saying ‘happy mum, happy child’, I really believe that.

TIME

The most amazing part of going on an adventure with a baby, is the undivided quality time together. At home, there is always cooking, cleaning, or errands to run. It can be a job in itself trying to work all of those things into the day, alongside caring for a little one. We have been able to spend every minute of the day with our baby. We don’t miss anything.

I know it will be all too soon before I have to go back to work and it could be days on end without seeing him. That’s the nature of my job as a nurse! Long shifts, with early starts and late finishes.

I have loved having the time to see how Quinn reacts to different people. What things he notices when we go for a walk on the beach, in the mountains, or through a busy market. I am cherishing every moment, the quality time getting to know him is second to none.

WHY I TOOK MY BABY ON AN ADVENTURE

DEVELOPMENT

I have read that the first year of life is the most important from a development perspective. How many times have you heard the saying a baby’s brain is like a sponge? They go through the biggest developmental leap in the first year.

From learning to laugh, smile, eat, drink, move around and interact. If they really do develop as much in that time, I wanted to stimulate baby as much as possible with different sites, smells and sounds.

I am almost certain my son was destined to be a shy character, just like his dad. He was incredibly coy for the first few months of his life. Travelling in the way we have has left very little room for that characteristic.

He sees other people all day every day. From people sitting in the restaurant at breakfast to those walking down the street, everyone says hello to a baby. Even when we are not looking, people wave at him and make friendly faces. 

He waves at everyone, its kind of hilarious he has a full regal wave. However he’s still quite cautious of anyone picking him up. Interestingly thats so different from our older daughter that will happily go to anyone. I guess having an older child its been easy for me to see how the experience has paved his developmental path. 

I am almost certain the experience has changed him already. Of course this is all presumptive, but it’s going to be interesting when we go home. Will he retreat back into his shell? I know he won’t remember any of this time but I am sure it has excelled his development, particularly from an interaction perspective.

WHY I TOOK MY BABY ON AN ADVENTURE

EQUAL PARENTING

I am all for equal parenting. As a mother, I carried baby for nine months, and I have been breastfeeding him for ten months now.  Dads, or the second parent don’t generally get enough time with their new baby. Not unless they live in Scandinavia where they value both parents equally.

I guess we have a relatively unique situation in that I am the higher earner of both of us. For that reason it gave us the freedom to do what we wanted. We have always worked in a situation whereby my husband renovates our home, I fund the build and generally support us by working. So in one way he is earning a lot for us in the long run, but not cash here and now. So I have to admit we are lucky with our setup. 

Hubby has had the chance to bond with both of our kids as much as I have. He has been with them every day of their life. We are both parenting in equal measures at the moment and we really love having each other around all of the time. Its helped us both to be compassionate with the other when the day has been difficult. We have time to talk about the hows and whys of parenting.

I feel we argue less about certain things to do with parenting, than other couples. We both know how we like to do things when it comes to the kids, so there is no confusion. I am so glad for our baby that he has had time with both of us.

Its also less confusing for him when we both have a similar approach. If we were at home, we would be taking turns working and caring for the kids. Doing it together is the best.

WHY I TOOK MY BABY ON AN ADVENTURE

MEMORIES

As parents we have developed some incredible memories of our baby’s first year of life. From visiting Machu Picchu with him on my back to swimming in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Ocean together. Not to mention coming across bears in Canada on a morning hike.

We have some fabulous stories to tell him when he is older. Our critics always say its pointless because he won’t remember anything. I disagree wholeheartedly. We have some awesome photos, it’s not your typical baby album. Is it really selfish to create memories as a parent?

Just like our daughter, we will continue to adventure with him as often as possible. It’s not like this is once in a lifetime opportunity. He will have travelling memories, lots of them.

Our now four year old recalls being on a gondola in Venice aged two. She has plenty of childhood adventure memories in the bank already. I can’t wait to figure out Quinn’s first memory.

Have you enjoyed my reasoning ‘why I took my baby on an adventure?”

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