Monday, October 8, 2012

Travels with Baby



"You better get all that traveling out of your system before you have kids."

It's a doom and gloom prophecy, camouflaged as advice, that's preached to expectant parents the world over. The well-wishers want us travelers, us adventurers to get all our traveling and adventuring out of our systems before we have a baby, because once that baby comes...poof! You can no longer travel, you can no longer spend your life as it is meant to be spent--living.

When we believe this "advice," we internalize it and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Backpacking trips in Italy suddenly turn into a week at the shore. Flights to other countries turn into drives to the next state over.

This change is not a law. It is not something we need to resign ourselves to. The days of traveling do not need to end when a baby comes along. We can still travel.

All this comes with an asterisk, though. A big one.  

While new parents can still travel (without dropping baby off with the grandparents first), things have to change to make it possible and enjoyable for everyone involved. From here on out you'll be finding tips on traveling with a baby on A Life in Awe. The tips will change as Norah Grace changes and grows, so "Travels with Baby" may get changed to "Travels with Kid" and eventually on to "Why Won't my Teen Travel with Me?" I'll share with you what works (and doesn't work) for us in hopes that you'll find what works for you (or at least find humor in our own misadventures). And if you have your own ideas or stories to share, I (and everyone else) would love to hear them.



1 comment:

  1. I don't know...I think you should drop the baby at the grand parents...signed Pop Pop (grand pa)

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