My daughter Esmé was an unexpected pregnancy. My husband Shaun and I had plans to travel so when I found out I was pregnant, I was a bit upset.
I was nearly 30 and I did want to have a baby eventually but we didn’t want to cancel our plans.
I started to wonder if we could just take the baby with us. I saw my maternity leave as a great opportunity and by the time Esmé was one, we had travelled to 10 countries.
The experience was great so it was an unspoken understanding that we would do it again if we had another baby.
Quinn was born in June 2017 and he first went abroad to Spain at seven weeks. We then set off on a 10-month trip starting in Canada and travelling down to Argentina before going to New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia and Singapore.
We went for a hike in some woodland near Calgary and within 20 minutes, we encountered some grizzly bear cubs
Our trip got off to a bit of a dramatic start. On our first day in Canada, we were up very early because we were jetlagged.
We went for a hike in some woodland near Calgary and within 20 minutes, we encountered some grizzly bear cubs. It was not what we were expecting at all!
I had a 10-week-old newborn on my front in a carrier. We were frightened because we knew there might be a protective mother nearby.
We walked backwards and got the hell out of there. We then came across a black bear sitting in the grass.
Luckily, he wasn’t interested in us at all. We were there with Canadian friends who had been in the area all their lives and never seen bears before. They were really shocked too but just said ‘Welcome to Canada’.
Quinn had been to 23 countries before he turned one. He spent his first birthday in the south of Ireland with family but he met his milestones in some amazing places. He sat up for the first time in Colombia, first crawled in Peru and took his first steps in Singapore.
He won’t remember our travels but Esmé is about to turn four so she will remember bits of them. We are putting together a baby book of Quinn’s first year but it’s about more than having awesome pictures. The experiences he has had, socially and developmentally, will have a lasting impression.
I must admit travelling was a lot harder the second time.
Babies are easy, you can put them in a carrier and they just come with you.
I realise the strops she had while we were away were just part of her being three
It’s not as easy with a toddler. You are constantly going ‘Am I doing the right thing. Is Esmé happy?’
We are home now and I realise the strops she had while we were away were just part of her being three and would have happened if we’d been at home.
Having the children with us opens up conversations with people that we might not otherwise speak to. As parents, you see everything from a totally different perspective and I think it has changed the way we see the places we visit.
Lots of people were so friendly to us. Our children are blonde and in some of the places we went to, people weren’t used to seeing blonde children so they attracted a lot of attention. I guess we travel a little bit slower as well and take it all at a different pace.
We are pretty good at being adventurous. If anything, we have become even braver since having kids. Maybe it is just because we are older and more experienced. If we want to go on a crazy hike, we will just put them on our backs and go.
The best place we visited was Peru. We started off in the northern sand dunes, which is completely wild coastline before going into the Andes and to Machu Picchu and Cusco.
There was a floating village inside the highest lake in the world, Lake Titicaca. It was spectacular and very different – we loved it.
Esmé and I were sick once in a whole year and that was it. Most children would get poorly more often than that back at home
Our least favourite place was Bolivia. It was just a bit too much with the kids. We arrived in the salt flats in the middle of the night and it was raining. It was a bit of a disaster if I’m honest and we were happy to leave.
There was political stuff going on while we were there and Esmé got a tummy bug. But we didn’t really get sick that often. Esmé and I were sick once in a whole year and that was it. Most children would get poorly more often than that back at home.
Now we are back in the UK, we are still going travelling once a month and I think we will keep that going until Esmé starts school.
We have come to the point where we have some serious life decisions to make about where we are going to live long-term. At the moment we are in London but we feel there are other places which might be better for us.
We don’t want to put Esmé into school in the UK because of the way they view holidays in term time. We know travelling is very educational and it is part of our life.
I started my blog Travelmadmum when I was travelling during my first maternity leave to keep my family and friends up to date with what we were doing. It has grown from there and hundreds of people have been in touch saying ‘thank you for making me realise I am ok to go travelling with my baby.’
People call me selfish and maybe in a way I am but is that always a bad thing?
We do get negative comments from people who think there’s no point as the children won’t remember our travels.
My response to that is ‘well, what’s the point in reading them a book or taking them to the park then?’ You don’t only do things with your children so they will remember them when they are older.
People also think we are putting them in danger. But the worst accident Esmé has had was at a soft play in the UK when she split her head open.
People call me selfish and maybe in a way I am but is that always a bad thing?
I do feel like I could have been predisposed to postnatal depression if I had sat at home with the children during my maternity leave.
I have a very mentally-challenging job working for the NHS and I am pretty sure I would have struggled. I was able to be with my husband for my entire maternity leave. We had such great family time and the kids had both of us with them 24/7.
The other day, a woman stopped me in the street to say she had booked a round the world trip with her newborn after reading my blog. To think I had an impact on that makes me feel really proud.
Karen Edwards was talking to Catherine Ball
