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.

Moonbeam

I think it is amazing:)
I had no idea what to do on my 1st maternity leave as I had never had time off other then holidays so brought baba to a mobile home in France for a month.
We had a lovely time and it was off season so not expensive and we got to spend a lot of time outdoors.

Moonbeam

I think it is amazing:)
I had no idea what to do on my 1st maternity leave as I had never had time off other then holidays so brought baba to a mobile home in France for a month.
We had a lovely time and it was off season so not expensive and we got to spend a lot of time outdoors.

bp

Would love to do that! When I traveled I met families of all shapes, sizes and ages and thought how cool is that

groovyg

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

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.

Are you referring to the parents ? The parents love travelling and decided to spend a year travelling with their baby. Judging by the fact they have another holiday booked I don't think they suffer from homesickness.
As for the poster calling them selfish, I don't see anything selfish about it, the Mum and dad got to spend 10 months travelling the globe with their baby daughter.

Theboinkmaster

Mom+dad+baby spending a year together travelling the world = awesome.

Fair play to them, that's incredible.

Wompa1

Here's my reasoning for it being selfish. If you read her blog, the boyfriend had to get work in New Zealand to help fund their travels. They spent everything they had on a trip that their child won't remember. That money could have gone towards securing the well being of the child in the future. Dad also quit his job, so he was coming back to no job. (what they may not have mentioned in the blog for no reason, may be that they are getting financial support from his or her parents...that seems likely, otherwise their actions are very reckless based on the information she has put forward)

I got upset watching my kid get the few inoculations that he's already got. He has another round coming up at the 8-9 week mark. I wouldn't wish another round of them on him. Their daughter needed a third round for the travel.

Maybe I'm over paranoid but my other half and I have planned urgent care facilities and pediatricians around the city we are in, in case of emergency. They went to unknown places with a young child. Even with vaccinations, young children are more at risk around infections and disease. Even without going to these more exotic countries. An airplane is a flying petri dish.

She claimed in one of the tips sections that she was breast feeding. She also mentioned drinking alcohol. I don't know how that's viewed in Ireland..I had my kid in the US. Drinking while breastfeeding is seen as a big no no! You have to be very careful of your intake and dumping out the right amount. The suggestion here is there's two things you must avoid. Fish and Alcohol.

One of her tips was to not be afraid to let the kid eat different foods. Babies have a very sensitive digestive system. e.g. spicy foods or foods with cow milk or dairy byproducts are risky. So, either she didn't care about that or she was just being too vague with that tip.

My guess is they didn't risk the child in this way and just wanted to have nicer looking pictures or something BUT in some of the pictures you can see on her site, they endangered the kid. i.e. on the back of the bicycle without a helmet (I'd guess they just took them off for a picture)...a bigger one, on a boat without a life jacket. Rule no. 1 for boating, put on your life jacket BEFORE you get on the boat. There's also a picture of the baby with a monkey climbing over her face.

Now, with all of that said. No harm seems to have come to the child and honestly, my opinion is just based on the information in the article and on her own blog. I'd bet she was less than forthcoming about her actual financial and support situation. Her site is pretty crappy but it looks like she's got a custom banner. Either she's the creative type that's handy with a computer or maybe, she's getting backing from somebody and she's trying to get this viral to start making money as a travel blogger. But that could just be me being cynical!

cyning

You can drink when your breastfeeding. There is nothing wrong with it. Minimal amounts get into the breastmilk. You should look into Jack Newmans and others research on it. There is also nothing wrong with eating fish... In fact I can't think of any single reason not to.

I do agree with you about the helmets and lifejacket though.

Again nothing wrong with eating spicy food if baby likes it. Or dairy. My two would have had curries and dairy from 6 months on. And I certainly care about them.

She is a nurse too so better suited to see if baby was getting sick etc.

Again not a trip I would ever do (baby or no baby for that matter!) but it's not selfish. Or dangerous.

afkasurfjunkie

Wompa1 wrote: »

Here's my reasoning for it being selfish. If you read her blog, the boyfriend had to get work in New Zealand to help fund their travels. They spent everything they had on a trip that their child won't remember. That money could have gone towards securing the well being of the child in the future. Dad also quit his job, so he was coming back to no job. (what they may not have mentioned in the blog for no reason, may be that they are getting financial support from his or her parents...that seems likely, otherwise their actions are very reckless based on the information she has put forward)

I got upset watching my kid get the few inoculations that he's already got. He has another round coming up at the 8-9 week mark. I wouldn't wish another round of them on him. Their daughter needed a third round for the travel.

Maybe I'm over paranoid but my other half and I have planned urgent care facilities and pediatricians around the city we are in, in case of emergency. They went to unknown places with a young child. Even with vaccinations, young children are more at risk around infections and disease. Even without going to these more exotic countries. An airplane is a flying petri dish.

She claimed in one of the tips sections that she was breast feeding. She also mentioned drinking alcohol. I don't know how that's viewed in Ireland..I had my kid in the US. Drinking while breastfeeding is seen as a big no no! You have to be very careful of your intake and dumping out the right amount. The suggestion here is there's two things you must avoid. Fish and Alcohol.

One of her tips was to not be afraid to let the kid eat different foods. Babies have a very sensitive digestive system. e.g. spicy foods or foods with cow milk or dairy byproducts are risky. So, either she didn't care about that or she was just being too vague with that tip.

My guess is they didn't risk the child in this way and just wanted to have nicer looking pictures or something BUT in some of the pictures you can see on her site, they endangered the kid. i.e. on the back of the bicycle without a helmet (I'd guess they just took them off for a picture)...a bigger one, on a boat without a life jacket. Rule no. 1 for boating, put on your life jacket BEFORE you get on the boat. There's also a picture of the baby with a monkey climbing over her face.

Now, with all of that said. No harm seems to have come to the child and honestly, my opinion is just based on the information in the article and on her own blog. I'd bet she was less than forthcoming about her actual financial and support situation. Her site is pretty crappy but it looks like she's got a custom banner. Either she's the creative type that's handy with a computer or maybe, she's getting backing from somebody and she's trying to get this viral to start making money as a travel blogger. But that could just be me being cynical!

Bit ott don't you think? Vaccinations take all of ten seconds and the kid forgets about them. My fella was grand after 2 mins. Slept loads after. Twas grand. Myself and husband certainly don't have urgent care facility plans worked out. Local gp number saved on the phone is about it.
He eats everything we eat. Likes certain spicy things. What do people in India and Asia feed their children? They cope fine.
Things are gone a bit mad and overprotective here at times. I'd say the states is worse.
I wish I had the balls to head off travelling on maternity leave. But I was too busy reading up on which travel system to get, baby monitor with motion sensor, nappy disposal system and all the other unnecessary commodities we are brainwashed into having.

madeinamerica

Wompa1 wrote: »

Here's my reasoning for it being selfish. If you read her blog, the boyfriend had to get work in New Zealand to help fund their travels. They spent everything they had on a trip that their child won't remember. That money could have gone towards securing the well being of the child in the future. Dad also quit his job, so he was coming back to no job. (what they may not have mentioned in the blog for no reason, may be that they are getting financial support from his or her parents...that seems likely, otherwise their actions are very reckless based on the information she has put forward)

I got upset watching my kid get the few inoculations that he's already got. He has another round coming up at the 8-9 week mark. I wouldn't wish another round of them on him. Their daughter needed a third round for the travel.

Maybe I'm over paranoid but my other half and I have planned urgent care facilities and pediatricians around the city we are in, in case of emergency. They went to unknown places with a young child. Even with vaccinations, young children are more at risk around infections and disease. Even without going to these more exotic countries. An airplane is a flying petri dish.

She claimed in one of the tips sections that she was breast feeding. She also mentioned drinking alcohol. I don't know how that's viewed in Ireland..I had my kid in the US. Drinking while breastfeeding is seen as a big no no! You have to be very careful of your intake and dumping out the right amount. The suggestion here is there's two things you must avoid. Fish and Alcohol.

One of her tips was to not be afraid to let the kid eat different foods. Babies have a very sensitive digestive system. e.g. spicy foods or foods with cow milk or dairy byproducts are risky. So, either she didn't care about that or she was just being too vague with that tip.

My guess is they didn't risk the child in this way and just wanted to have nicer looking pictures or something BUT in some of the pictures you can see on her site, they endangered the kid. i.e. on the back of the bicycle without a helmet (I'd guess they just took them off for a picture)...a bigger one, on a boat without a life jacket. Rule no. 1 for boating, put on your life jacket BEFORE you get on the boat. There's also a picture of the baby with a monkey climbing over her face.

Now, with all of that said. No harm seems to have come to the child and honestly, my opinion is just based on the information in the article and on her own blog. I'd bet she was less than forthcoming about her actual financial and support situation. Her site is pretty crappy but it looks like she's got a custom banner. Either she's the creative type that's handy with a computer or maybe, she's getting backing from somebody and she's trying to get this viral to start making money as a travel blogger. But that could just be me being cynical!

Hi Wompa, I've also had a baby in the US, so just to comment on a couple of your points from that perspective:

Breastfeeding and alcohol - there are new guidelines out that bf mothers can drink a bit and there is no need to pump-n-dump. The amount of alcohol that gets into breastmilk is very small, and even if you did want to avoid it you can just time drinking around feeds as the alcohol will leave the breastmilk as it leaves your system, at about the rate of one drink an hour. I don't drink myself as I can;t afford the hangover but it is quite acceptable for a bf mom to have have a glass of wine in the city I live in in the US.

Breastfeeding and fish - I've no idea what the problem is there? I've been recommended to eat fish and for my child to eat fish.

Food for baby - it is not common for babies to be sensitive to cows milk or spicy food, unless they are weaned to solids too young or have some inherent issues. I've been recommended by my US paediatrician to include varied foods/tastes/textures in my child's diet from 6 months on. The idea that babies need bland food for fragile digesitve systems is an older one that was due to weaning at too young an age before they were ready. How do the local people in other countries feed their children? Not feed them local food? I've friends here of various backgrounds and nationalities who feed their babies a wide range of foods based on their cultures.

You may be more conservative than the couple here, which you are free to be. But you can't say that your way is the only way to raise a child correctly or that what you describe here is recommended in the US, as in my experience it isn't.

Wompa1

madeinamerica wrote: »

Hi Wompa, I've also had a baby in the US, so just to comment on a couple of your points from that perspective:

Breastfeeding and alcohol - there are new guidelines out that bf mothers can drink a bit and there is no need to pump-n-dump. The amount of alcohol that gets into breastmilk is very small, and even if you did want to avoid it you can just time drinking around feeds as the alcohol will leave the breastmilk as it leaves your system, at about the rate of one drink an hour. I don't drink myself as I can;t afford the hangover but it is quite acceptable for a bf mom to have have a glass of wine in the city I live in in the US.

Breastfeeding and fish - I've no idea what the problem is there? I've been recommended to eat fish and for my child to eat fish.

Food for baby - it is not common for babies to be sensitive to cows milk or spicy food, unless they are weaned to solids too young or have some inherent issues. I've been recommended by my US paediatrician to include varied foods/tastes/textures in my child's diet from 6 months on. The idea that babies need bland food for fragile digesitve systems is an older one that was due to weaning at too young an age before they were ready. How do the local people in other countries feed their children? Not feed them local food? I've friends here of various backgrounds and nationalities who feed their babies a wide range of foods based on their cultures.

You may be more conservative than the couple here, which you are free to be. But you can't say that your way is the only way to raise a child correctly or that what you describe here is recommended in the US, as in my experience it isn't.

Yes, you're right. Pump and dump but also limits on the amount of alcohol you should consume. This all based on the literature given to us my the hospital but there's several foods which babies commonly have problems with like Broccoli and dairy. Newborns apparently have not built a tolerance for what comes in a cows milk. Cow milk, cheese and other dairy can give the baby gas.

The fish is due to levels of mercury found in fish.

Foods like Broccoli, Sage, Peppermint etc. do not carry the weight of the warning of alcohol and fish. Those are the two that can be very damaging to their health. Dairy and others can just cause pain and discomfort as far as I know from what I read.

eviltwin

As a new parent naturally your instinct is to be over protective, nothing wrong with that but that doesn't mean this family did the wrong thing. Every family finds its own path. Enjoy your new role and don't over think what other parents do too much.

esforum

iguana wrote: »

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

Well thats great but I doubt very much any health care worker carries a hospital and surgeon in their pockets while travelling through a Vietnamese jungle!

If you travel with kids there needs to be proper medical facilities available, not just a good knowledge of first aid so some backpacking, world travel locations and situations are not feasible.

Im all for it, I have and will travel with my kids but theres certain locations that will simple have to wait until they flow the nest

cyning

Wompa1 wrote: »

Yes, you're right. Pump and dump but also limits on the amount of alcohol you should consume. This all based on the literature given to us my the hospital but there's several foods which babies commonly have problems with like Broccoli and dairy. Newborns apparently have not built a tolerance for what comes in a cows milk. Cow milk, cheese and other dairy can give the baby gas.

The fish is due to levels of mercury found in fish.

Foods like Broccoli, Sage, Peppermint etc. do not carry the weight of the warning of alcohol and fish. Those are the two that can be very damaging to their health. Dairy and others can just cause pain and discomfort as far as I know from what I read.

Sage and peppermint are best avoided as they affect your milk supply. They will not affect baby at all.

The nhs advice on fish is one portion of shark/Marlin per week same as every other adult and no more than 2 portions of oily fish. Unlimited other fish as it's very good for you. So not to avoid. It is NOT damaging to babies health. Neither is having a few drinks.

Dairy is a good one to cut if babies are having issues but not unless they are. I ate loads of broccoli/spinach etc.

These are all common things bandied around about breastfeeding but are inaccurate and out of date.

Neyite

esforum wrote: »

Well thats great but I doubt very much any health care worker carries a hospital and surgeon in their pockets while travelling through a Vietnamese jungle!

If you travel with kids there needs to be proper medical facilities available, not just a good knowledge of first aid so some backpacking, world travel locations and situations are not feasible.

Im all for it, I have and will travel with my kids but theres certain locations that will simple have to wait until they flow the nest

I'd say she knows more than 'just a bit of first aid'. She's a nurse. :pac: And there are good hospitals in all of those destinations, especially for private patients on travel insurance. Maybe I'm missing it, but I cant see anywhere in the article where it mentions trekking through a Vietnamese jungle?

Wanderer78

groovyg wrote: »

Are you referring to the parents ? The parents love travelling and decided to spend a year travelling with their baby. Judging by the fact they have another holiday booked I don't think they suffer from homesickness.
As for the poster calling them selfish, I don't see anything selfish about it, the Mum and dad got to spend 10 months travelling the globe with their baby daughter.

na was talking about homesickness in general. something was obviously lost in translation im afraid. interesting story though. be hard job to do. found traveling hard on my own in those countries.

RentDayBlues

OP, I really think that as a new parent of a 2 week old your world view on parenting is very restricted.

Kids are not half as delicate as you might belief. I think what this couple did is amazing. They got to spend their daughters first year together as a family, both parents getting to spend all day with their child. And on top of that, they got to see the world.

Had they both taken a year out and stayed at home to spend the time with their child no one would have an opinion but as they choose to explore the world people think it's selfish. Travelling with a breastfed child is the easiest thing, they are so portable and you have their needs to hand. As to your criticism of the mum breastfeeding and drinking, unless you have proof that she drank to intoxication hence passing the alcohol on to her child, then I think this was a low dig.

Neyite

Actually, typical of the Daily Fail to bend facts to suit the drama, but if you read her actual blog...

Her partner, the dad of the baby, is NZ. They went to NZ when the baby was 11 weeks old until the baby was 10 months old. Spent that time with his family there and introducing their baby to her dad's heritage and home. Dad worked a short stint there too in the 8 months they spent there. That's not 'backpacking'

So the baby had vaccinations in the UK, then the remainder in NZ. Then, when the baby was 10 months old, they travelled through several countries back to the UK over the course of 7 weeks of backpacking.

At 10 months, the baby was well able for different foods, topped up by breast milk as required, but certainly plenty of time between feeds if mum wanted a drink, chances are the baby was well sleeping through the night by that stage.

The baby had also learned to swim in NZ, probably for a damn sight cheaper than bloody Waterbabies here in Ireland cost me. Baby swimming techniques focus on teaching a baby to 'fall' in to the water and not panic, but to swim to the surface.

Lots of added drama thanks to the DM.

groovyg

Op if you believe you everything you read sure you wouldn't leave the house.
There is loads of conflicting information out there you could have one expert saying don't feed your babies milk, dairy, broccoli, fish etc and then you'll have another expert saying the opposite.

I agree with her on feeding and testing out different foods on the kid. There's nothing wrong with dairy, fish or spicy foods, kids will eat them or they won't but the only way of finding out if they like them is to test them out. What do kids in India, Thailand, Middle east eat?

I know with friends of mine who have kids they were uber careful with the first kid cooking them separate dinners etc by the time 2nd and 3rd kid came along there were no separate dinners for the new addition one meal was cooked for everybody.

Wanderer78

Neyite wrote: »

Actually, typical of the Daily Fail to bend facts to suit the drama, but if you read her actual blog...

Her partner, the dad of the baby, is NZ. They went to NZ when the baby was 11 weeks old until the baby was 10 months old. Spent that time with his family there and introducing their baby to her dad's heritage and home. Dad worked a short stint there too in the 8 months they spent there. That's not 'backpacking'

So the baby had vaccinations in the UK, then the remainder in NZ. Then, when the baby was 10 months old, they travelled through several countries back to the UK over the course of 7 weeks of backpacking.

At 10 months, the baby was well able for different foods, topped up by breast milk as required, but certainly plenty of time between feeds if mum wanted a drink, chances are the baby was well sleeping through the night by that stage.

The baby had also learned to swim in NZ, probably for a damn sight cheaper than bloody Waterbabies here in Ireland cost me. Baby swimming techniques focus on teaching a baby to 'fall' in to the water and not panic, but to swim to the surface.

Lots of added drama thanks to the DM.

some country lads, nz. if you ever get the chance, just go there

olaola

RentDayBlues wrote: »

OP, I really think that as a new parent of a 2 week old your world view on parenting is very restricted.

Kids are not half as delicate as you might belief. I think what this couple did is amazing. They got to spend their daughters first year together as a family, both parents getting to spend all day with their child. And on top of that, they got to see the world.

Had they both taken a year out and stayed at home to spend the time with their child no one would have an opinion but as they choose to explore the world people think it's selfish. Travelling with a breastfed child is the easiest thing, they are so portable and you have their needs to hand. As to your criticism of the mum breastfeeding and drinking, unless you have proof that she drank to intoxication hence passing the alcohol on to her child, then I think this was a low dig.

Totally agree here! Of course you can drink while breastfeeding, barely any goes through to your milk & the baby ingests it, it doesn't go straight into their bloodstream. (refer to Dr Jack Newman for more info on alcohol & BF) Travelling with a BF child is such a doddle. All you need are nappies and a few clothes.

What an amazing experience for the three of them. I look back on all our little adventures (which don't seem that adventurous compared to these three!) with such fond memories.

I don't really see any issues, babies and children DO exist where they are taking their baby! It's not as if they're bringing an alien species to a different planet.

Also, no one would bat an eyelid if they lashed the baby into creche. But God forbid you keep her with her parents for her first year of life (which is recommended) Good on them. Wish we were in a position to take off for the year and travel!