Couple travel world with their newborn

Wompa1

Figured this would be a good place to share this. I saw this pop up on my Facebook feed today. It's particularly topical as the pictures show that the little girl has an Irish passport.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3433596/Is-world-s-youngest-backpacker-Mother-takes-10-week-old-baby-world-maternity-leave-just-one-bag-them.html?ito=social-facebook#comments

The short of it is that they had their baby. Dad quit his landscaping job, they sold their car, rented out their place (in London) and travelled the world for what looks like 10 months. I've seen the story reported in a couple of places. People seem divided on it.

Personally, if no harm is done to the child. I say live and let live and fair play to them but at the same time, as a first time dad to a 2 week old, this seems remarkably selfish.

angeldelight

Selfish how? I think fair play to them! It's certainly not the traditional thing to do but they did what makes them happy and included her in it

Nekarsulm

Selfish how?
They are enjoying themselves and nobody got hurt.
Could have stayed on the sofa for ten weeks like most, but instead had an adventure instead.
Hats off to them, I say.

cant26

Don't know how it's selfish. Obviously the little girl won't remember any of her travels but some of those experiences would have been great for her development. Beats going from one manky play cafe to another!!

pwurple

No idea how this is selfish, or even that is unusual. I know at least two other couples who did similar on mat leave. Breastfed baby in sling, the husband was at end of contract or similar, so they used the mat leave to travel. Great time to do it before the baby is walking.

I'd hazard there are babies already in any place they go to.

No big deal.

eviltwin

I fail to see how it's selfish. It's their time, their money. How they spend it is up to them.

Wanderer78

Tough one but I'd worry about the child's development with his family but sure it's up to his parents to decide

eviltwin

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Tough one but I'd worry about the child's development with his family but sure it's up to his parents to decide

The child was with her family. If you mean extended family she's home now so plenty of time to bond. What do people do when they live away from loved ones?

Nekarsulm

If they were walking from Syria, sleeping on the side of the road, and paying all their money to smugglers to be ferried across the Med. in an overloaded rubber dinghy, then there sould be cause for concern...

jennyhayes123

Amazing. Fair play to them

Wanderer78

eviltwin wrote:

The child was with her family. If you mean extended family she's home now so plenty of time to bond. What do people do when they live away from loved ones?

A lot of them get home sick. Bonding very important at early stages of life but as said earlier, parents decision, their child. It may not have caused any problems to the child. Tough journey I'd say though on parents.

AnonoBoy

Why is it selfish? They're not abandoning the child, the child isn't in danger.

I personally wouldn't do it with or without a newborn but that doesn't mean it's not the right thing for some people to do.

People are very quick to judge others based on their own particular life view.

iano.p

Fair play to them. I know one other couple who done this and said it was the best experience. As long as the child is happy and healthy no harm is done.

iano.p

iano.p wrote: »

Fair play to them. I know one other couple who done this and said it was the best experience. As long as the child is happy and healthy no harm is done.

How did they keep up to date with vaccinations and developmental checks?

iano.p

I know they paid for stuff in oz so I would say it was done there. Alot of other countries have better health care than ours so there would be no problem getting check ups or vaccinations . Any parent would always put there child first and by the looks of it the child in this post looks well looked after.

eviltwin

Wanderer78 wrote: »

A lot of them get home sick. Bonding very important at early stages of life but as said earlier, parents decision, their child. It may not have caused any problems to the child. Tough journey I'd say though on parents.

How does a new born get home sick? The child is bonding with the most important people in her life, her parents. I get that it must be hard for others in the family but it's no different to any situation where people live away from home.

cyning

The vaccinations thing had me wondering: and so did the picture of her on a bike with baby in a sling on her back... Rather hoping that was just a photo op.

But seriously at 10 weeks bringing either of my kids anywhere gave me hives let alone a round the world trip: that's pretty amazing!

Penny Dreadful

A baby's needs are pretty basic really. They need to be well fed, loved, kept warm and dry and safe. That can happen at home in your semi d or in a sling on your mother's back in Thailand.
My only concern would be around travel vaccinations if needed but I think the parents opted for places where this wouldn't be an issue. The other routine vaccinations can be sorted out according to your travel plans.
It looks like they all had a whale of a time and while the cute little girl won't remember the things she saw or experienced I like the spirit of adventure.

Nekarsulm

We brought our girl on a Ryanair to Germany at four weeks, caught a few trains to a tiny village up near Hanover, picked up a little VW campervan and spent three weeks driving back through Germany, Luxembourg and France.
OK, it's not the Far East, but it was great fun.
A breast feeding mum is a vital necessity though!

looksee

Some forty-odd years ago we took our first, a 2 month old baby to a rural bit of Africa and lived there for over 2 years, had another one while we were there. The children were absolutely fine, it is astonishing how little equipment you actually need for a baby/toddler. They were breast and then bottle fed, for bottles we had a large container and some milton. Terry nappies. Apart from the eldest getting a sniffly cold on her first birthday and both of them throwing up - once - they had no illness at all till we came back to Ireland, then they joined the usual round of colds etc, though they were generally healthy kids.

iguana

The article does specifically reference Esme getting her travel vaccinations before they set out, so I don't think there was much to worry about there. If it was what what both parents wanted to do then I don't see any problem with it. Traveling with a baby that age is easy as their wants and need are the same thing and all they need is to stay close to their parents and be kept fed and comfortable. There wasn't any huge benefit to the baby from the traveling itself, as at that age a child can literally find entertainment from a blank wall. I remember when my son was 1 and a half debating taking him to Fota and deciding against it because he was still at an age where random dogs and crows where every bit as exciting as giraffes and zebras. So if we had gone it would have been for my sake not his, so I felt it wasn't worth the hassle. But it was no harm to the baby and if traveling like that made her parents happy and content in a way that they wouldn't have been at home then that was a huge benefit to her because spending that first year of her life with two happy parents sharing their life with her is only a very good thing.

AnonoBoy

Don't worry folk who are against this - the joyless readers of the Daily Mail are with you!

https://twitter.com/DMReporter/status/697007085989588992

pwurple

AnonoBoy wrote: »

Don't worry folk who are against this - the joyless readers of the Daily Mail are with you!

Lol, it's the Daily Mail sure.

Couple take baby on holiday SHOCKER!

AnonoBoy

pwurple wrote: »

Lol, it's the Daily Mail sure.

Couple take baby on holiday SHOCKER!

One of them is complaining because they themselves can't afford to go on holiday!

iguana

I love how so many of the comments are variations of 'if she's fit to travel, she's fit to work.' Completely missing the main point of maternity leave. Obviously in the first few weeks women need time to heal, longer in the case of complications during pregnancy or birth, but for the most part longer maternity leave is about the baby's best interests as spending as long as possible in the care of their primary caregiver is (usually) the best environment for the child's development. It's also incredibly helpful for a breastfeeding mother, as this woman was/is, to actually be with her baby when she is the baby's sole/main source of nutrition. Where the parent spends their time is irrelevant to the baby as long as the parent is with them and capable of being emotionally and physically responsive.

Traveling like that with a newborn wouldn't be for me. The simple joy of watching my baby grow and experience the world was more than enough adventure for me. But for people who do enjoy it, I can empathise with how wonderful and bonding an experience it must have been for the whole family. Exactly what maternity/paternity leave is supposed to be about. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a parent doing what makes them happy as long as it isn't at the expense of their child's needs.

Wanderer78

eviltwin wrote:

How does a new born get home sick? The child is bonding with the most important people in her life, her parents. I get that it must be hard for others in the family but it's no different to any situation where people live away from home.

Haha was expecting this response. Please read back over our previous comments. I actually wasn't talking about the child getting home sickness but on a side note, homesickness is nasty if not dealt with correctly. Oh and mellow out

esforum

Provided the chosen locations were safe, medication and medical care if needed was available, vaccinations were all sorted and the travel was not unduly harsh on the child then fantastic idea.

The world is changing, its becoming smaller and the family / social importance is being pushed more and more so spending this time together is a once in a lifetime event. Kids have to start school so better to travel when they are young not too mention that at a young age their little sponge brains soak up weather, languages and cultures much better than in adulthood.

Neyite

Actually, I'm in awe of that couple.:) I'd have loved to spend my maternity leave hanging out doing really interesting stuff with my baby like that. And I know my partner would have loved a maternity leave to spend with the baby - even more so if it was travelling the world.

They got to build amazing memories of their first year with their baby. Their first year as a family. Kudos to them. But on the other hand, it sets the bar for family holidays very high after it.

eviltwin

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Haha was expecting this response. Please read back over our previous comments. I actually wasn't talking about the child getting home sickness but on a side note, homesickness is nasty if not dealt with correctly. Oh and mellow out

Who are you talking about then? The parents? I'm sure if they got homesick they would just have gone home wouldn't they? I don't get what point you are trying to make.

Wanderer78

eviltwin wrote: »

Who are you talking about then? The parents? I'm sure if they got homesick they would just have gone home wouldn't they? I don't get what point you are trying to make.

ah dont worry about it, just enjoy the story

iguana

esforum wrote: »

Provided the chosen locations were safe, medication and medical care if needed was available, vaccinations were all sorted and the travel was not unduly harsh on the child then fantastic idea.

Well as the mother is a health care professional, an NHS nurse, I'm sure she had all of that well planned in advance.